Terror on the Way

by Ron Finch

  “More criminals are involved in transporting the stolen goods from the dock downriver to other locations; most likely to London. There may be an even broader distribution system than that. I don’t know, but I do know we need help with this investigation.”

  Chief Petrovic continued, “Yesterday afternoon, after thinking this through, I made a decision; and as a result, placed a phone call to the chief of the London Police Force. I had a good conversation with Chief Lawrence Bedgegood.

  “This past July, Chief Bedgegood set up a special unit within his police department to handle raids on buildings and for other operations where several policemen are required. He appointed an inspector by the name of Thomas Simpson to head the unit. He thinks they’re the perfect group to assist us in shutting down this theft ring.

  “I’m expecting Inspector Simpson and his team to arrive in Chaseford for a meeting with us at 2 o’clock tomorrow afternoon. We need to finalize a plan and implement it as soon as possible. Any delay could easily result in information leaking out and the thieves disappearing.

  “As a result, Inspector Simpson and I will be talking about putting our plan into action late tomorrow night; or should I say, early Saturday morning? That’s all for now.”

  IT TOOK US A COUPLE of hours, but we did finally find the oars caught up in some branches at the edge of the river. After we’d fished them out and returned them to Stuffy, I sincerely hoped I’d never see them again.

  Friday, November 17th

  FOR THE 11 O’CLOCK meeting, Chief Petrovic had pushed his desk to one side of room and brought in another table. His office was crowded, but there was now enough room around the table for eight of us.

  Chief Petrovic sat at one end of the table and Inspector Simpson sat at the other end. Constables Jarvis, Smith, and Herman sat along one side of the table while I sat on the other side of the table with two of the policemen that had accompanied inspector Simpson from London.

  After a couple of minutes of introductions and words of welcome, Chief Petrovic said, “Inspector Simpson and I spent over an hour early this morning on the phone, coming up with a plan that we think will work well.

  “We are going to present that plan at a 2 o’clock meeting here with the factory managers. I’ll explain, without releasing many details, the progress we’ve made these past few days. Then inspector Simpson will outline his plan to them. I’m going to turn this meeting over now to Inspector Simpson and let him explain the plan to you.”

  “We have an ambitious plan,” said the inspector. “With your help, we are going to catch a lot of criminals. I’ll go through the plan quickly; I know we all want time for lunch at Mabel’s Diner.

  “The first part of the plan will take place in Chaseford,” said Inspector Simpson. “Each one of the local constables will be teamed up with one of my men. That will give us four teams of two policemen each.

  “We are going to request that each factory manager – with utmost secrecy – arrange a place of concealment for two policemen in the storage yards that back onto the river. Each team is to be in their secret location by 4 o’clock today.

  “We want a local constable in each team because it will be a large advantage when it comes time to apprehend someone who lives in the area.

  “Your stay in the secret location could easily be twelve hours or more, so make sure you prepare ahead of time to have food and drink. And a bucket.” As he said these last words, he smiled knowingly.

  “From your secret location, you are to observe any activity in the furniture storage yard. You are not to apprehend anyone until the boat in your area has been loaded and on the river for at least five minutes. Use your watch to time it. Then I want you to move in and make arrests as quietly as possible.

  “The second part of the plan will take place at the loading dock downriver that Constables Herman and Franklin located Tuesday night. We need to scout out that location to find good observation posts. Later this afternoon, Chief Petrovic will accompany me and two of my men to the dock downriver so we can familiarize ourselves with the area.

  “At 10 o’clock in the evening, I and two of my men will drive to the loading dock area, hide our vehicle, and take up our observation posts. When the boat docks, and the van arrives, no arrests will be made. When the van leaves, we will follow it at a discreet distance in an attempt to find the next part of the network.

  “The last part of the plan involves locating the dock on the Thames. According to information that was obtained Tuesday evening, we believe there is a dock on the Thames River not far from where the Von River enters the Thames. It is probably well hidden and not easily visible from the river. By 10 o’clock this evening, I will have three of my men – Tom Vanderbot, Tony Marcoux, and Mick James – in a motorboat moored in the Thames, just past where the two rivers meet. Their job will be to tail the boat that had previously carried the stolen goods. We want to discover the location of the dock on the Thames. If possible, at that site, they will arrest the two men operating the boat.”

  Inspector Simpson stopped and looked at us. “You have heard the plan. A lot of manpower is being designated to this raid. If you have any questions, it’s important that you ask them, because we want this to be successful.”

  FOR THE 2 O’CLOCK MEETING in his office, Chief Petrovic had managed to convince his wife to let him borrow her favourite tablecloth. Her only conditions were that he return it in perfect condition and that they spend one Saturday before Christmas shopping in London. The tablecloth was large enough that it covered the two tables he had pushed together for the earlier meeting. He wanted the cooperation of the factory managers and he knew that one way to get cooperation was to treat people with respect. He also had ordered pastries and coffee from Mabel’s Diner.

  When Inspector Simpson walked in at a quarter to two for a brief strategy discussion, he smiled and said, “You didn’t have to go to all that trouble for me.”

  After chatting for a couple minutes, it was decided that Chief Petrovic would run the meeting, since he knew the people involved. Inspector Simpson would only speak if there were questions he needed to answer.

  George Manners, from Murphy Furniture, and Ezekiel Pomfrey, owner of Chaseford Imperial Furniture, arrived together. Within a minute the other two managers, Bruce Cherry and Robert Ament, arrived. Chief Petrovic could tell that all four executives were pleasantly surprised to find that they were getting some special attention.

  Chief Petrovic started the meeting by introducing Inspector Simpson.

  “Inspector Simpson is in charge of a special unit with the London Police Force,” he said. “Later in the meeting, I will explain why I have invited him and what help his unit can provide for us in Chaseford.

  “I have called this special emergency meeting for two main reasons: I want to give you an update on the progress we’ve made in the investigation recently; and, as a result of that progress, I would like to request your cooperation in bringing the investigation to a successful conclusion.

  “First, let me tell you about the progress we’ve made to date. I know we’ve all been stymied about how the stolen goods are being removed from the factory properties. We knew it couldn’t be through the front gates, because you’ve all done an excellent job increasing security at the gates.”

  Chief Petrovic paused and looked around. Everyone, including Inspector Simpson, was enjoying the pastries and coffee. But he could tell they were patiently anticipating the revelation of good news.

  The chief continued. “At a meeting a few days ago with my constables, we realized there was another way to remove goods from the factory.”

  Now the four factory representatives put their coffee down and leaned forward.

  “Stolen goods could be transported down the river.”

  Ezekiel Pomfrey was so excited he stood up and said, “Of course! And we never thought of it because we really don’t use the river much anymore. A couple of generations ago, when my grandfather started his company, a lot of the mate
rials to make furniture were brought down the river. The docks at the backs of the factories were important back then.” He looked around, suddenly aware that everyone was watching him. “Sorry for interrupting,” he said, sitting down.

  “I thank you for the interruption,” said the chief. “It gave me a chance to drink some of my coffee and have one of those pastries before they all disappeared.”

  This caused laughter around the table.

  When it had died down, the chief continued. “To test out our new theory, two of my constables spent Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning watching the river from a rowboat. Their surveillance was a success. It was a difficult night for them, and they did end up rowing many miles, but as a result we discovered and tracked a boat carrying stolen goods from the factory docks. They followed it downriver seven miles to a small dock located in a very private area.”

  Everyone was excited now and there was a hubbub of conversation.

  “On behalf of the factory owners, I thank you and our constables for your good work,” said George Manners.

  The other factory representatives chimed in with, “Here, here.”

  “Because it’s an ongoing investigation, that’s all the information I can give you at this time,” said the chief.

  “Thank you very much, Chief,” said George Manners. “I know you’ve lifted our spirits. It seems we may be able to put an end to this thievery after all. At the beginning of the meeting, I think you mentioned you needed our cooperation. What would you like us to do?”

  “Inspector Simpson, would you explain what we need?” said the chief, sitting down.

  Inspector Simpson stood and explained that he and Chief Petrovic would like each of the furniture factory representatives to provide, in secrecy, a hiding space for two policemen in the storage yards behind the factories.

  “I know this is a very short timeline, and I’ll understand if you are not able to provide help today, but if it is possible for you to attend to this as soon as you return to your offices this afternoon, there is a good likelihood we can arrest people early tomorrow morning and put an end to this thievery.”

  There was a spontaneous burst of agreement, with the company representatives saying, almost in unison, “That’s not a problem, we can do it.”

  “Thank you very much,” said Chief Petrovic. He looked at his watch and said, “It’s now about 3:15 in the afternoon. We will have two undercover officers over to each of your factories by 4:15 PM.

  I WAS PAIRED UP WITH Constable Bob Williams from London. We had been smuggled into a large wooden crate that had been used to ship supplies to the Murphy Furniture factory in Chaseford. The box was four feet long, four feet wide, and four feet tall, and had been opened a couple of days ago. A pleasant wood smell still lingered in the box. There was plenty of room for Bob and me. We even had a smaller wooden crate in the box that we could sit on. We also had lots of blankets, which we knew we needed because it was going to be cold at night, probably close to freezing. Bob had brought a pair of binoculars with him, and through the opening we had made in the side of the box we could see most of the yard; in particular, we had a direct view of the dock.

  The most difficult part of surveillance is being patient. There is a lot of waiting. The reward is that, sometimes, what you’re looking for happens. We were pretty sure it would happen tonight; we just didn’t know when. We couldn’t talk except for the occasional whisper, so time passed very slowly. We took turns dozing.

  We checked our watches and saw time inch by incredibly slowly. Midnight. 12:30. 1 o’clock. 1:30. 2 o’clock. 2:30. 3 o’clock.

  Suddenly, shortly after 3 o’clock in the morning, Bob said, “I just saw something, or someone, move toward the dock. Take a look.”

  I took the binoculars and scanned the dock. I could make out two shadowy figures. They went to an area that was just out of view, then they came back into view carrying something. They took it down to the dock and then returned, once more moving just out of my field of vision. I passed the binoculars back to Bob and we took turns watching them. After the fourth trip, the two of them stayed on the dock for a moment and then they headed almost directly toward us.

  Bob whispered, “I started timing them as soon as they left the dock area. Unless they stop before they get here, that five-minute time limit that Inspector Simpson gave us won’t end until they’re well past the box we’re hiding in.”

  “In that case, I guess we’ll have to leave the box and tail them until the five minutes has expired,” I said.

  “You’re right,” said Bob. “If we try to arrest them any sooner, it’ll alert the group at the factory dock site next door.”

  The two shadowy figures made it a little easier for us by stopping about fifty feet from the box to have a smoke and a chat. I couldn’t quite make out what they were saying, but I thought I heard the phrase, ‘get a drink at Johnny’s.’

  They had just finished their cigarettes when the five minutes elapsed. As the cigarette butts fell to the ground, Bob and I stepped out of the wooden crate and I said, “Put your hands up. You’re under arrest.”

  The two men looked at us, calculating their odds.

  Bob said, “Don’t move. I don’t want to use my gun.”

  The word gun proved effective. Within two minutes we had both the men cuffed. We led them out of the yard and past the entry gate to our police car.

  ABOUT FIFTEEN MINUTES after the last two men had been arrested in the furniture yards in Chaseford, a large rowboat pulled into the dock downstream of the Funstead farm.

  Once the large rowboat was tied up to the dock, the big guy Joel had identified as Lenny hollered, “Get over here and help us unload this stuff. We got a good haul tonight.” The doors of the 1932 Ford panel truck opened and two men climbed out, heading to the dock.

  From their place of cover, Inspector Simpson turned to one of his men, Ronnie Bettors, and said, “That big man is definitely Lenny Hutchinson. I’ve encountered him before. He’s not only big, but dangerous. The guys that tail those two to the hidden dock on the Thames are going to have fun trying to arrest him. I hope they’re careful.”

  The transfer of stolen goods to the truck took about fifteen minutes. A couple minutes after that, Lenny and the other fellow previously identified early Wednesday morning as Marty, freed themselves from the dock, turned on the outboard motor, and took off down the Von River toward the place where it merged with the Thames.

  Minutes later, Inspector Simpson and his two men set off after the departing truck.

  TOM, TONY, AND MICK were proud members of Inspector Simpson’s Special Services squad. They were waiting in a motorboat on the Thames River, just below where the Von entered the Thames. They were close to shore and hidden in a small cove.

  The Great Depression had resulted in an increase in civil unrest and riots had occurred in several Canadian cities. The formation of a special squad of policeman to handle such disturbances in London had been undertaken by Chief Bedgegood, just a few months ago in July. This was the team’s third mission. Each member of the team spent most of his time serving as a policeman for the city of London. When an occasion occurred that required a trained group of policemen, whether it be confronting an angry crowd, operating against a gang of criminals, or laying siege to a property where there were potential hostages, Inspector Thomas Simpson’s men would be ready. To maintain their function as a team, they spent at least one afternoon a week training together. They had been chosen because they possessed a high degree of physical fitness and mental toughness.

  The three policemen had been waiting patiently in their boat for several hours. It was getting close to 4 o’clock in the morning, and even though the night was cold, close to freezing, they were prepared with thermoses of hot coffee and several blankets.

  Tony Marcoux was currently on watch. He had his binoculars trained on the end of the Von River. Suddenly, he spotted the vague outline of the boat they had been waiting for. At about the same time, he hear
d the ‘putt putt’ of the outboard motor. He alerted his two cohorts.

  The three men sat patiently in their boat, not moving out of the shadow of their hiding place until the other boat had proceeded a fair distance past them down the river and they felt confident enough to use their outboard motor. The noise from the outboard motor on the boat they were following would drown out any noise their own boat engine made. They would just have to be careful to shut off their outboard motor as soon as they saw the other boat heading to dock.

  They had only gone a couple of miles down the river when the boat ahead of them veered toward the shore and momentarily disappeared from view.

  “It must have entered a cove or the mouth of a small river,” said Mick James. “Shut the motor off now.”

  Tom and Tony manned the oars while Mick served as lookout. They steered their boat toward the spot where the other boat had disappeared. Mick suddenly gave a two-handed stop signal and Tom and Tony slipped the oars inside the boat.

  They had just barely missed colliding into the back of the large rowboat they’d been following. The boat was empty and tied up to the dock. A door closed suddenly some distance away, startling them. The three policemen looked at one another.

  “Over there,” said Tony, pointing at a tiny bright spot.

  On closer inspection, the bright spot turned out to be a light inside a small shed.

  “Let’s go take them now,” said Mick.

  “Keep your gun handy,” said Tony. “One of them is Lenny Hutchinson. He’s a big, mean guy.”

  “What’s our plan?” said Mick.

  “Let’s go over to the shed. I’ll bet there’s a vehicle parked not far from it, and there’s probably only one door out of the shed,” said Tom. “We’ll just wait near the door of the shed until they come out and then politely asked them to come with us.”