‘Well Vince, bring me up to date with what has happened.’
‘I have just come from a session at Hampstead Police Station where Inspector Baird and I interviewed your son Harold. To start with, I will tell you what came out of that.’
I then told Sir Montgomery how Ronald Pendleton had used Harold’s gambling debts to force him to assist in the smuggling of the diamonds and the drugs. Also, that Ronald Pendleton had used his thugs to murder Brian after a drunken Harold had told Brian all about the smuggled diamonds. Brian had then called Ronald Pendleton to confront him, and he had him killed. John Power had also been murdered by Ronald Pendleton’s men. Phillip Fortuin had been shot and killed by Caas Teifel in the Western Cape, and Harold had been present at the murder.
‘Did Harold seem sorry for his actions at all Vince?’ Sir Montgomery asked me.
‘Yes, I could see that he was shattered by what he had been asked to do, especially being associated with the murders. In some ways, I think that he is quite glad it is now all out in the open.’
‘Did he say why he went ahead with helping them to import illegal diamonds when he knew that they would put me out of business?’
‘He said that, when he was asked to help, he agreed because he knew it would hurt you and he was happy about that. You had been the cause of all his problems when you didn’t bail him out of his gambling debts.’
‘I always thought that I was doing the correct fatherly thing by helping my two sons, but I was obviously very wrong in Harold’s case. One of my sons is now dead. The other will be in prison for a long time. I now have no member of my family to hand the business over to.’
‘Don’t give up on Harold altogether sir; he has learnt a serious lesson from all of this, and, if the Inspector works his magic, he may be able to get his sentence significantly reduced by turning Queen’s evidence.’
‘What else have you got to tell me Vince?’
‘Well Caas Teifel has been picked up by the Dutch police. He will be charged with the murder of Phillip Fortuin and the attempted murder of Willem van Grimbergen. Willem incidentally is recovering well from his ordeal. Edward Crawford has also been arrested, but doesn’t seem to have been involved in more than the diamond smuggling, organizing the drugs, and trying to put you out of business.’
‘I am delighted to hear about Willem and the fact that he wasn’t injured too seriously,’ Sir Montgomery interjected.
‘I am planning, to go to see Willem, to bring him up to date on the latest developments. I will also personally visit the Head Office of Limpopo Resources in Johannesburg, to tell them of the breach of security at their Mookgopong Mine. I am sure that when I do tell them, they will act immediately and turn off the supply of illegal diamonds at its source. The Inspector is going to contact the South African Police, and tell them what he has found out about the Phillip Fortuin murder. As a result, Dale Fortuin should be released in the very near future. I will visit him when I go to Johannesburg to give him the good news.’
I felt extremely pleased with myself and smiled a smile of contentment as I finished my report.
‘It seems a long time Vince, since that day a few months ago, when we sat in this room with Harold and asked you to investigate the diamond problem. I want to thank you and congratulate you on what you have achieved. I honestly never realised what I was up against and how many people were involved. Brian, unfortunately, can never be brought back, but the rest can be sorted out now that you have solved the case.’ Sir Montgomery stood up, came around to where I was seated, and gave me a congratulatory hand shake.
‘I was talking to a friend of mine at golf a few days ago, and I told him about the superb job you had done in solving my problem,’ Sir Montgomery added. ‘He asked me to mention his name to you as he would like to phone you. He has a possible job for you.’
I have enjoyed working for you sir and am glad that I managed to uncover all the links in the diamond chain and solve the case. I would be delighted to speak to your friend. What’s his name?
‘His name is Freddie Shuttleworth, and he is the Managing Director of an import/Export agency.’
‘I look forward to hearing from him as I will need something to keep me busy now this investigation is finished.’
We walked out to the lift together where he shook my hand again. I got into the lift, the doors closed, and I left a finished case behind me. I felt quite pleased that my first job as a Private Investigator had turned out so well, and I now had a potential new job in the offing.
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The Diamond Chain Page 29