‘I am busy on Thursday Vince; it would suit me better if you came on Friday.’
‘I will book for Friday then and confirm by email.’
‘I’ll meet you at the airport as usual.’
‘OK, I’ll talk to you then.’
I put the phone down and went to call at the travel agent on my way to the school to pick up my kids.
There was no problem in booking a Friday flight, and I was back home with Michael and Victoria in plenty of time to catch the tube to meet Sir Montgomery. My journey took me longer than expected due to the rush hour, plus masses of smiling, sweating, bustling tourists and I arrived at the Sherlock Holmes Hotel slightly late. Sir Montgomery was waiting for me in his usual corner.
‘Sorry for being a bit late sir, I didn’t expect the tube to be so busy, and I got held up all along the line.’
‘Don’t worry Vince I was a bit late myself. I’m not in any hurry,’ he stood up and shook my hand. ‘Have a seat.’
‘You’re looking exceptionally well sir,’ I commented as indeed he was looking quite tanned and much fitter than the last time we had met.
‘I have been able to get some golf in recently as the weather has improved. I am feeling a lot better for the exercise. Do you play golf Vince?’
‘No, I never actually had the time to play as I was always on the move in the army. Perhaps I will take it up now as a way of keeping fit.’
‘Anyway, tell me all your latest news and how the investigation is going Vince and maybe you can also explain what happened to your head.’
I told him the story about my head and then proceeded to tell him all that I had been up to since I had seen him last, being selective in what I told him. I decided that it might not be politic to tell him about my conversation with Dale Fortuin and the involvement of his son Harold in the shooting of Phillip Fortuin last year.
I related all that had happened in Cape Town and confirmed to him that the yacht was on its way back to Europe, with drugs on board, in addition, to the diamonds.
‘Are you sure that it is carrying drugs Vince?’ he inquired.
‘I obviously wasn’t able to test the packages, but they looked exactly like what packages of drugs should look like. Anyway, why would they be carrying the packages if they aren’t drugs?’
‘I tend to agree with you Vince, and it is probably realistic to assume that they do have drugs as well as the diamonds.’ He nodded his head as he spoke and leant towards me.
‘Did you see the diamonds being put on the yacht?’ he added.
‘I didn’t actually see the diamonds, but must assume that the two different packages I saw being put on board contained the diamonds. Unfortunately, I was clubbed and left the scene just as it was getting interesting.’
‘I am sorry Vince; you seem to be getting a lot of injuries doing this investigation. I had hoped that you would be able to solve the case without any physical contact with the opposition.’ Sir Montgomery seemed to be genuinely concerned about my injuries.
‘I was extremely lucky this time that I was wearing a life jacket under my anorak. That certainly saved me. We are dealing with cold blooded killers.’
‘What are you going to tell Inspector Baird? He no doubt will expect a call from you.’
‘I would appreciate your advice on what I tell him. I feel that it could be the key to the satisfactory conclusion of the investigation.’
‘I don’t follow your logic Vince.’
‘Well, the Inspector already knows about the diamonds and that they are being smuggled in from South Africa. He also knows that I am on the trail of the people involved. At the moment, he doesn’t know there are drugs involved.’
Sir Montgomery nodded his head as I proceeded with my explanation.
‘If I tell him about the drugs, he may get the French police to impound the yacht and arrest the crew when it docks in La Rochelle. I then would have no opportunity of following the diamonds to see where they end up.’
‘I see Vince, and I agree with your thought process. As soon as the yacht was impounded the trail would go cold as everybody involved would go to ground.’
‘Unless we catch the leaders in this whole money making scam, then they will just lie low for a while and re-emerge when it has gone quiet,’ I suggested to Sir Montgomery. ‘Even as we talk they are stealing diamonds at the Mookgopong mine and preparing the next cache of diamonds to be shipped back to Europe. In order that we don’t set off the alarm bells too soon, the last part of this whole process must be to tell Limpopo Specialities about the thefts taking place at their mine.’
‘So I take it, from what you have just said that you are not going to tell the Inspector about the drugs.’
‘That’s right, but I will ask him for help and support in tracking the diamonds and bringing those involved to justice. He has already offered his help, so it is likely that he will go along with my plan. His interest is in catching a murderer or murderers; it is not in getting the diamonds.’
‘How long is it before the yacht gets to La Rochelle? Sir Montgomery asked.
‘I talked to Willem about this as he is a sailing man, and he estimated three weeks give or take a few days. I have made plans to see him this coming Friday in Rotterdam, and we can verify that our timetable is still correct.’
‘When do you hope to see the Inspector?’
‘I suppose that I will try to meet him either tomorrow or Thursday. I didn’t want to make an appointment to see him until I had spoken to you.’
‘I appreciate that Vince. Can you please let me know how you get on with him and what he suggests?’
“I will sir. I will call you after I have seen him and give you an update.’
‘And thank you for coming here to meet me. It must be particularly tiring and debilitating to get a bang on the head and then take a long flight.’
We both stood up and made our way to the exit. He said goodbye and walked off down Baker Street. I headed for the nearest tube station, to take the underground home.
Despite Sir Montgomery’s agreeing with me, I was still feeling guilty that I wouldn’t be telling the Inspector about the drugs?
Chapter 35
The tube was packed and I spent most of the time standing up protecting my little bit of space against the other commuters. I didn’t have time to chew over my greatest problem while I travelled. Arriving home I found the family waiting for me so as we could have a family meal for once, so the rest of the evening passed without me even thinking about the case.
In the morning, my first task was to walk with Michael and Victoria to school, and I then had to phone Inspector Baird to make an appointment to see him.
‘Baird’ the phone barked at me.
‘Inspector, its Vince Hamilton here. Good morning.’
‘Who is it?’ I had clearly phoned him at a bad moment.
‘It’s Major Vince Hamilton; Sir Montgomery Fortiscue’s investigator.’
‘Sorry Vince I wasn’t on your wavelength. What can I do for you?’
‘Well Inspector, I am back in London, and I thought it was essential that I have another chat with you.’
‘Can you come to my office in Hampstead Vince? I am busy at the moment and won’t have time to meet you anywhere else.’
‘When are you free to see me Inspector?’
‘I am never free Vince, but I could make time to see you this evening if you like to call in after 4:00 p.m.’
‘I’ll be there at 4:00 then.’
‘See you Vince,’ he put the phone down.
OK, I was now seeing the Inspector this afternoon and Willem on Friday, this left Thursday free. I could use the spare day to learn more about Edward Crawford, the Managing Director of Charlton Diamond Traders and African expert. He was clearly a key player in the whol
e scheme of things, but, other than the fact he had been at school with Harold Fortiscue, I knew nothing about him.
I would start off by going to Companies House in Westminster, just off Victoria Street, and I would decide on a plan of action based on the information that I was able to garner there. Comfortable that my week was now fully loaded, I went to meet my wife in Putney High Street where we had decided to treat ourselves to lunch.
After lunch, I took a stroll down by the river before catching the tube from East Putney station to go to Hampstead to see the Inspector.
The officer on the desk told me to take a seat and Inspector Baird would be with me as soon as he was free. The area that I was asked to wait in was part of a corridor, dark, dingy and smelling of Dettol. There was continuous traffic past me as I waited, with only a few of the officers who passed acknowledging my presence. After twenty, minutes, the Inspector finally came to collect me and take me to his office.
As the door closed I put the bottle of KWV 3 Year old Brandy on his desk.
‘This is for you Inspector. Your old pal Laurie Scott told me to bring it to you as he said that it was your tipple.’
‘That’s very kind of you. I haven’t had a bottle of this for yonks, so it will go down exceedingly well.’ He took the bottle and put it in the bottom drawer of his desk.
‘Laurie wouldn’t take payment for the gun and ammunition that he lent me. He suggested that I bought you this instead.’
‘Did you get on alright with Laurie?’
‘Yes he was very helpful. He lent me a Glock and some ammunition. He also managed to borrow some keys for a boat that I used as an observation post, to do some spying in the Royal Cape Yacht club’s marina.’
‘Did you have to use the Glock at any time?’
‘Yes, it came in very useful one evening when I had a car chasing me. I did a bit of sharp manoeuvring and then managed to shoot the tyres out on the pursuing car. In the confusion that followed I escaped.’
‘Did you manage to get back to see Dale Fortuin at the prison in Johannesburg Vince?’
‘No, I am afraid that I didn’t. I would have liked to visit him again, but there wasn’t time. The only visiting times are on a Saturday and a Sunday, and it takes over four hours for a forty five minute visit.’
‘You phoned me after you had seen Dale, so I know what happened up to that point. Did you have any other interesting events after that?’ the Inspector asked.
I gave the Inspector a summarised account of what had taken place in Cape Town, including more details of the car chase that had commenced in Hermanus. I carefully avoided telling him about the packets of drugs and just told him that I had seen the diamonds being placed on board the yacht.
This guy Caas Teifel seems to be actively involved?’ The Inspector commented after I had told him about the loading of the diamonds.
‘He is undoubtedly one of the main men, and he is now on board the Belle Diamant as it is sailing back to Europe. He isn’t going to let the diamonds out of his sight. What is also intriguing is that he didn’t travel on the yacht on its way to Cape Town and was seen in London at a casino during that time.’
‘You still think that they are heading for La Rochelle, Vince?’
‘Well that is what I heard them say Inspector. I suppose that they could change their mind at the last minute and end up somewhere else.’
‘When are they likely to arrive in La Rochelle?’
‘Our best estimate is they will arrive in around three weeks’ time. There is a transponder on the yacht which they will hopefully switch on when they start sailing from Agadir. As long as it is switched on we can pick up the signal by satellite and track the yacht. We were able to track the Belle Diamant when it travelled down the coast of Africa to Cape Town.’
‘But it is possible to switch this device off Vince?’ the Inspector asked with a degree of concern.
‘It is if they remember to switch it off. At the moment, the power will not be on as the yacht is piggy backing on a freighter; however, as soon as they are back in the water and start to sail, they will have to switch the power on again. With a bit of luck, the transponder will automatically come back on as it was operational when they arrived in Cape Town.’
‘Anyway Vince, we can do nothing about that now. You will just have to see how things develop. What are your plans for the next three weeks?’
‘I haven’t made any plans for next week or the week after at this stage, but I have planned to fly to see Willem van Grimbergen in Rotterdam on Friday to get his input. I am rather hopeful that he will travel with me to La Rochelle to help me monitor the arrival of the yacht.’
‘That’s an extremely good idea as there are likely to be a lot of the opposition around when the boat arrives,’ the Inspector added.
‘I have seen from the map that there are two harbours in La Rochelle, which they could use to offload the diamonds. I will need some extra eyes to be sure that I don’t miss them.’
‘Can you trust this Willem van Grimbergen, Vince?’
‘Yes, 100%,’ I replied.
‘I would like to help you, but unless the action is in London I am unable to allocate resources. I might be able to send a ‘plain clothes’ guy with you to France if van Grimbergen can’t go with you.’
‘Thanks Inspector that might be particularly useful. I will have a better idea of my action plan when I return from Rotterdam. I will contact you next week.’
‘Just remember Vince, my interest in all this is to find the murderer or murderers of Brian Fortiscue and John Power. I strongly suspect that Harold Fortiscue, Caas Teifel or Edward Crawford pulled the trigger, or they certainly know who pulled the trigger. I would also like to find the killer of Phillip Fortuin so as we can get poor old Dale out of prison.’
‘I think that we both have the same objective even if we are coming at it from a slightly different direction Inspector.’
‘OK let’s leave at that for the time being Vince, and we will meet again next week.’
The Inspector stood up, and the meeting was clearly over.
I shook his hand and left, feeling a bit guilty that I hadn’t revealed that there were drugs on the boat. I headed for the station, to get the tube back to Putney.
The following day I did my duty and dropped the kids off at school and then passed the time until the Companies Office opened drinking a cup of coffee and reading the Telegraph.
I had never done a company search before so I was totally ignorant of what information was available and how I should go about it.
The lady on the information desk was exceptionally helpful when she saw that I was clueless and directed me to a computer where she said I could extract whatever information they had on the company.
When prompted by the programme I entered the name ‘Charlton Diamond Traders’.
The following information came up:
Chairman: Ronald St John Pendleton
Managing Director: Edward Martin Crawford
Directors: Estelle Mary Crawford
Margaret Lucinda Fortiscue
Caas Waldger Teifel
Company Secretary: Raymond Henry Price
Registered Offices: 66 Hatton Garden, London
Date of Incorporation: 23rd. April 2004
Former name of company: Hatton Diamond Traders
Last set of audited accounts: 31st. December 2005
I wrote all this information down in my notebook in case I might need it at some later date.
There were more details of the directors listed, and I read through these with interest. It also gave addresses for the Directors; however, they were sadly their accountants’ offices, which would be of no use in trying to locate where they actually lived.
There were only two names that I didn’t recognise. One was
Raymond Price, the company secretary, and I wasn’t too interested in him. The other was Ronald St John Pendleton, the Chairman. Who on earth was he and where had he come from?
Estelle Crawford was clearly Edward’s wife, Margaret Fortiscue was likely to be Harold’s wife, and of course Caas Teifel I knew all about.
There was a link which allowed me to bring up the audited accounts. It would be interesting to see a list of the emoluments for all the directors.
I didn’t believe what I saw. The Chairman and each of the directors had only been paid one hundred pounds. The Managing Director’s salary was put down as fifty thousand pounds. This latter salary would not have provided Mr Crawford with the funds to purchase a controlling interest in Charlton Football Club. He was obviously getting most of his money elsewhere.
I went over to the receptionist and asked her if I could find out the directorships a specific person might have. She came over to the computer I was working on and brought up a different screen. I entered in the name Edward Martin Crawford, and a remarkably short list came up. He was a director of a couple of small companies and also Charlton Football Club. When I drilled down into the companies listed they showed that he didn’t get much money out of them either. So there was a gigantic question mark over where he was getting his money.
I also typed in the name Ronald St John Pendleton and was rewarded with the information that he was the Chairman and chief shareholder in The Star Casino Group. This was the group that John Power had worked for. Why would the principal shareholder in a large Casino group be bothered with a small Diamond Trading company? Clearly there were a few questions to be answered.
While I was in the Company’s Office, I also did a quick check on Fortiscues of London to see what it said about them. I learnt nothing new as it showed that Sir Montgomery was the Managing Director and Chairman and his two sons Harold and Brian were Directors. It appeared to be all in order.
There was no more information that I could get about the company, so I decided to satisfy my hunger. After lunch, I would go and look at the offices at 66 Hatton Garden.
I took the tube over to Hatton Garden and was in luck for once. There was a delivery van double parked outside, and painted on the side of the van was the wording ‘CHARLTON TRADING. On the door was an address; 16 Gallions Way, Charlton. They must have another office or warehouse in Charlton. I also wrote this address down for future reference.
The Diamond Chain Page 20