by Ian Campbell
"Miss Fairbrother, she called herself." Spriggs permitted himself a smile at the memory of her.
"I expect she was a real lady," hinted Roberts.
"Certainly was. Conducted herself properly at all times.., nice lady.., even gave me a cup of coffee once."
"What did she look like?"
"A bit too straight-laced for my liking. Her hair was scraped back off her face and she always wore big glasses. Not my type at all.., but she did have a nice figure."
“Was she tall and slim?"
"Not too tall, shorter than me I think, but then these women wear heels... "
"Quite. In other words she was average looking?"
"I'd say she was, although the next man might have fancied her."
"But you didn't?"
"Didn't what?"
"You didn't fancy her because she wasn't your type?"
"Right."
"Can you think of anything else Sergeant Heath?"
"Only about the safe, Sir. Can you open it Mr. Spriggs, or does your boss have the combination? We'll need to open it and if we can't find the combination, we'll have to cut it open. Perhaps you'd like to phone your boss."
"That won't do any good."
"Why?"
"He's always away on Wednesdays; won't be back 'til tomorrow night."
"We'll have to cut it then," said Roberts, "You'd better arrange it sergeant. Thank you Mr. Spriggs, we'll be on our way."
"Don't you want to know about the others?"
"What others?"
"The other women who worked there."
Roberts, who was already half-way out of the door, swung round to confront Spriggs again.
Chapter 23
Left-hand, right-hand
"What is it you'd like to tell us, Mr. Spriggs?"
"Mr. Guyton and Miss Fairbrother started work in the office the Thursday before Easter... the day before Good Friday and they worked alone for the best part of three and a half days. Then on the Tuesday afternoon, Mr. Guyton comes in while I'm washing down the stairs and asks me along to his office, where he introduces me to these two women.., one of them's young - the other had seen her best days. He tells them that if they have any problems they're to see me."
"And that's it; that's all there was to it."
"Yes. I think they were temps or something."
"Had you seen them before?"
"No."
"When was the last time you saw Guyton and Fairbrother?"
"On the Tuesday.., nearly lunch time."
"Have you seen them since?"
"Not a sight nor hair of them after Tuesday."
"And the Temps.., when did you last see them?"
"They was working up to this Sunday."
"I believe there were some security guards as well?"
"You mean the two geezers from the security company."
"That's right. You're sure they were from the security company?"
"Course I'm sure.., their name was on their shoulder flashes, just like the regiment's name was in the war."
"Is there anything else you can remember about them Mr. Spriggs; anything at all?"
"Nothing, except one of them had a car."
"You saw them with a car?"
"Not exactly. It was the first day they came, the day before Good Friday. They each came in carrying cases and stuff then he went out again, and came back some minutes later."
"So what makes you think there was a car?"
"Because the first time they came in I saw them with a case in each hand, then he went back out and returned five minutes later with another bag."
"I still don't see how you know from that they had a car," said Sergeant Heath.
"You tell him Mr. Spriggs," Roberts gave him a conspiratorial wink.
"Simple sergeant. If they'd had a cab waiting, he would have been straight outside for the last bag, paid the cabbie and back in. It would only have taken a minute, but Mr. Guyton was gone more than five minutes, so he had probably parked a car nearby."
"Thank you Mr. Spriggs." You see Pat, you're never too old to learn."
They took their leave of the old caretaker and walked to the street entrance, chatting as they did so.
"I'll leave you in charge here Pat and go back to the shop and start things rolling from there. Give me a bell if you learn anything new here." They were about to go their separate ways, when a uniformed Inspector approached them.
"Is one of you gentlemen D.I. Roberts?" The uniformed Inspector asked. Roberts half raised his hand in acknowledgement.
"Something wrong Inspector?"
"You could say that. I’ve had half my division turning this place over looking for burglars and then I find I've got you lot from Malborough Street on my manor, without as much as a 'by your leave'.
"So who invited you to the party?" asked Roberts.
"I doubt you’ve ever heard of a silent alarm.., we got the call 30 seconds after you entered the office and that's why I came here mob handed. Why the hell didn't you let division know?"
"I did leave a message to inform your division, but obviously the liaison system got fouled up. I'm sorry you weren't told."
"Your lot's always the same.., always after the glory, but unwilling to do the spade work."
"I sympathize Inspector, but I've apologized for not letting you know personally and that's the best I can do for you. As for doing this for my own personal glory.., you're way out of line. 'Chummy' here, hasn't put a foot wrong so far; but we're getting there. For all your tactics and hard work rate, your boys in blue weren't even aware there was anything going on in their own manor, so that hardly leaves you room to complain. Good-bye Inspector."
Roberts arrived back at Marlborough Street and got on with the business of tracking down the employment agency, which, according to Spriggs, had supplied the 'temps' for the bank.
He worked methodically, making a list of all agencies within half a mile of Change Alley, then one mile and a last list covering a three mile radius from the bank. He got lucky on the 17th phone call he made. The first interview, with Karen Napier, took place at an office in the City, where she had been engaged as secretary for a month.
"Good afternoon Miss Napier, we'd like to talk to you about your employers at the Change Alley office, a week or so ago."
"I hope you've squared this with my boss, taking his time and all."
"Don't worry, Miss Napier, I'll have another word with him before we leave. Now, what can you tell us about the job at Change Alley?"
"Just another job I suppose."
"Nothing out of the ordinary then?" probed Roberts, anxious not to put words into her mouth."
"Not really... they just left us to get on with it."
"You and who else?"
"Sally."
"Sally Hardcastle?"
"Yes, that's right. Have you seen her yet?"
"No, we thought we'd see you first. What exactly were your duties at the office?"
"Just the usual, really. Answer the door and the phone; in fact it was money for old rope. We only saw a handful of people the whole time we were there. I've never been so bored..."
"What did you do for the people who did come to the office?"
"I just showed them in to Sally and ticked them off the list."
"Was that a list of about 15 names or so?"
"Sounds like it. Only eight or nine of them ever came in."
"Did you notice anything strange about the people?"
"Only that they were all American."
"Thank you Miss Napier, you've been most helpful."
They tackled Mrs. Hardcastle at her home near King's Cross Station. She was cautious and refused to open her door until Heath pushed his warrant card underneath it. They were confronted by a blousy woman in her early forties who looked a little the worse for wear for drink. She seemed like a woman who liked to keep herself looking good, but one who was fighting a losing battle against the onslaught of the years. She was none too pleased at their
visit.
"Mrs Hardcastle, we have reason to believe that you recently worked for a bank in the City, at Change Alley."
"What if I did? There's no law against that, yet."
"We believe you worked there with a colleague, Miss Napier."
"Stuck up bitch; was it her who put you onto me."
"I think you've taken things the wrong way Mrs. Hardcastle. Nobody's said anything against you; we're just interested if finding out about the people you worked for. What were your duties exactly?"
"I just took money off the people; checked them off the list and banked the proceeds."
"On your own?"
"Sorry?"
"Did you do the banking on your own or did Miss Napier come with you?"
"Don't be daft; one of us had to stay to keep the office open.., the guard drove me to the bank and back."
"Was it very far away from the office?"
"No, only down the road in Gresham Street."
"Can you remember the name of the bank?"
"The Nation... no the Provincial Bank, Gresham Street."
"How many trips did you make in all?"
"Only three or four."
"And the quantity of money involved?"
"£70 - 80,000, I suppose. Here, I shouldn't be telling you all this.., it's supposed to be confidential."
"Don't worry about a thing Mrs. Hardcastle, we won't tell anyone." Roberts reassured her.
"I think you know where to go Pat.., if we hurry, we should just make it before closing time..." The detectives left Mrs. Hardcastle to her bottle, knowing she would have forgotten their call within the hour. The doors of the Provincial Bank were closed when they arrived.
"What time do you make it Pat?"
"28 minutes to four, Guv."
"They've closed a bit sharpish; try the bell."
The voice box, next to the bell push squawked into life in response to Heath's jabs at the bell push.
"Open up please, this is the Police." Heath spoke into the box.
"I'm afraid you'll have to do better than that", a voice emanated from the box."
"Problems Pat?"
"They don't seem to want to open up, Guv."
"Well we do look a little suspicious. Tell them we'll radio our control room and get them to phone our description through." Roberts couldn't really blame the bank for being cautious, as they were in plain clothes and driving an unmarked car. Ten minutes and a phone call later they were inside, talking to the manager.
"Serious Crimes Squad Mr?"
"Bristow," replied the manager. "How can I help you?"
"We have reason to believe that an account has been opened at this bank within the last month or so, in the name of Guyton. Is that correct?"
"If it were, Inspector, I am not sure I would be able to say so.., privileged information and all that."
"Mr. Bristow, we understand your position and caution, however, we are pursuing a case of fraud involving a substantial amount of money, so we don't have time for all the niceties if we're going to recover the money and get it back to people in the same business as you."
"I understand you perfectly Inspector, but if I were to divulge information about our clients, the public's trust in our institution would disappear overnight."
"At the moment, it's the money that's disappearing overnight Sir.., is that any better? Let me put my cards on the table Mr. Bristow. We know that the man who called himself Guyton opened an account with you; we have just interviewed the lady who did the banking for him. We wish to know two things; is the money still here - if not, where and how did it go?"
"And you understand that that information is privileged Inspector and that I cannot possibly tell you. You could of course return with a court order..."
"We're wasting our time here Sir," said Heath, ill at ease in the presence of the manager. They were after all trying to protect the banks, he mused and this was the thanks they were getting for it.
"May I ask if the account is still open Mr. Bristow?"
"It is not."
"Therefore the funds have been transferred elsewhere; out of the country perhaps?"
"You'd make a good fisherman Inspector."
"You don't mind if I continue to think aloud Mr. Bristow?"
"It's a free country.
"I believe Mr. Guyton transferred his funds abroad, using the same name; otherwise your curiosity would have been aroused. He would probably have chosen a European country within easy reach, which leaves us with France, Belgium or Germany."
"Would you care for some coffee Inspector? Sabena can bring some in." Bristow picked up the phone to order it.
"Thank you, Mr. Bristow, but we must be off. You've been a great help." Roberts permitted himself a rare smile, as he waited for Bristow to show them out onto the street.
"Well Sir, that didn't get us very far. These bankers are all the bloody same," Heath commented as he got into the squad car.
"On the contrary sergeant, Mr. Bristow could hardly have been more helpful.New Scotland Yard Driver.., and hurry."
They found Forbes in his laboratory and accompanied him to the canteen, to get up to date with the different elements of the case.
"What progress are we making, Duncan?"
"Very little really. So far 36 Americans have been tracked down through the passport numbers on the back of the cheques and nothing. None of them knew they were being used. All of them were pleased to have the opportunity of earning extra cash to prolong their stays and they've come up with any number of descriptions of Chummy and his girl-friend. I've no doubt that when the rest of them are found, the story will be just as confused. Meanwhile, at the Change Alley office, the forensic boys estimate that there are several hundred sets of prints in the offices and that it'll take six months to separate and annotate them."
"In other words Duncan.., we've got nothing concrete."
"That just about sums it up."
"We seem to have had a bit more luck; it seems Chummy employed two temps to help out at the office, and they actually did the banking at the Provincial Bank in Gresham Street in the City."
"You've been there?" asked Forbes.
"Just come from there; had a nice chat with the manager, name of Bristow."
"I bet he was useful.., privileged information and all that."
"You can say that again," added Heath, "The bastard wouldn't give anything away."
"He told us right where to look, Pat. You'll have to wash your ears out. Phone the airport and ask which airlines fly London/Brussels."
"I think I can save you the trouble," said Forbes, but Roberts tapped the side of his nose to prevent Forbes speculating further.
"Let the lad do it Duncan; he's got to learn."
A little later, Heath had the information his boss wanted.
"British Caledonian, British Airways and Sabena, Sir."
"Any of the names ring a bell sergeant?"
"Wasn't the bank manager's secretary called Sabena?"
"Well I hope for her sake she wasn't called British Airways..."
"Can I leave that lead up to you Duncan; you won't be able to do anything until tomorrow, but concentrate on Brussels. I've got a feeling it's the only place in Belgium with a direct service from London and its 10 to 1 the account is still in the name of Guyton, otherwise, our Mr. Bristow would have been poking his nose in. Let me know when you've got something."
On the way back to his office, Roberts bought two bottles of scotch.
"I hope you haven't made any plans for tonight, Pat?"
"Nothing that won't keep chief; what have you got in mind?" He commented, climbing back into the car.
"I've a feeling we're missing something. We can't do any more at the Change Alley office; we've interviewed everyone so far except Chummy and his girl-friend and Forbes is dealing with Interpol... so I propose we go back to the office and mull things over with a bottle of scotch and see if we can turn something up."
"It's alright with me," said Heath r
esignedly.
There were several messages waiting for them at the office.., routine enquiries had turned up a couple answering the description of Guyton and Fairbrother's at the Great East Hotel, but the couple had long since departed; an appointment had been made for Roberts at the American Embassy the next morning at nine o'clock to see someone in the U.S State department; and there had been an enquiry from Robert's wife, to see if he would be home that week. In short, nothing of importance, whatsoever.
"We'll use my office Pat.., nip down to the briefing room and fetch the small blackboard and easel. I'll find some glasses." Pat had been through the routine several times before and although he was not exactly looking forward to it, he knew it sometimes produced results.
"Right Pat.., back to square one. What do we know about Chummy?"
"Early middle age, full beard, dark brown hair, taller and heavier than average. Well spoken, intelligent and well educated; confident." As Pat spoke, Roberts wrote the details on the blackboard.
"What else?"
"Expert knowledge of the travelers’ cheque system and printing."
"In other words, not our usual type of villain at all. Tell me Pat, do you get the impression that Chummy's a first timer?"
"If he isn't, Guv', I'm sure he's never been caught."
"Why? What makes you say that? He's left enough clues."
"Yes, chief, but they don't get us anywhere."
"Perhaps that's it Pat.., he leaves us just enough to keep us running round in circles. When did Chummy last put in an appearance at the office in Change Alley?"
"Last Wednesday, I think. Lunchtime; the woman Napier, said Fairbrother received a phone call which caused them to leave town.., they asked the temps if they could manage."
"What day would that have been?"
"Two days after Easter Monday. What are you getting at chief?"
"I think I'm beginning to understand how Chummy put this together, Pat. Chummy has expert knowledge and creates a scheme were he invents his own bank in Dallas and prints travelers’ cheques."
"We don't know that for sure, yet..."
"No matter; let's proceed on that assumption. He prints his own $100 dollar cheques and to make things worthwhile, he prints £2,000,000 worth of them. His problem is distribution.., how to pass enough of them in a short enough space of time so as not to get caught yet to change enough of them to make the risk worthwhile. He chooses the Easter holiday, when the banking system throughout the major part of Europe is closed down from the Thursday night 'til the Tuesday morning. He can count on five or six clear days before anything can go wrong. What's £2,000,000 divided by six days Pat?" Pat worked the sum out on the blackboard.