by Conrad Jones
What is our theory on Yasmine Ahmed’s involvement in all this? The press are going to have a field day on this one. It will not be long before they link the shootings in Holyhead with the raids in Warrington,” Tank said.
The forensic evidence recovered from the men that attacked you in Holyhead only confirms what we already know. They were all living in Warrington and working for several employment agencies carrying out temporary work. Sometimes they worked at the distribution centre, but not always. They were known to worship occasionally at the mosque there, and were friends of Tariq. We have been looking for Yasmine Ahmed ever since Yasser used her identity to enter the country. We can only assume that she went to the marked address in Warrington and picked up the Scuba gear on her brother’s instructions. The majority of people that we have interviewed are asylum seekers. They will not jeopardise their residency applications by associating themselves with the incidents that we are investigating,” the fat controller paused for a sip of water. “I am assuming that Yasmine Ahmed was heading toward Liverpool when she was shot, therefore I am also assuming that Ahmed and his affiliates are in the city somewhere.”
We need to make a press release that indicates that Yasmine Ahmed was shot whilst being involved in terrorist activity. Tell them nothing more specific than that. As far as the press are concerned, you will tell them that the incidents in Holyhead and Warrington are unrelated. I do not want London on our backs while we are looking for this bastard,” the Major stood and pointed at the digital photograph of Yasser Ahmed.
This would not be the first time that the truth was massaged by the security services. After the shooting dead of a Brazilian immigrant following the 7/7 bombings in London, the press were initially reporting that he had run away from and resisted being arrested by, armed security service officers. Eventually the Metropolitan Police issued a full apology, stating that the innocent Brazilian had not run away or resisted arrest. He was the victim of mistaken identity. Some members of the public sympathised with the police who had to make a split second decision. Other sections of the public condemned the killing as police brutality. The door opened suddenly and Grace Farrington popped her head round it. “I am sorry to interrupt but the coastguard has just recovered a body from the river,” Grace stepped into the room. “There would be nothing so unusual about this except that the man they recovered was of Middle Eastern appearance. He has also had his hands and his head removed. The body is with the coroner now. It could be an isolated boating accident; he could have been injured by a propeller blade, but initial reports say that it looks like the injuries were caused deliberately. I have sent some DNA samples that we recovered at the mosque and the house in Warrington, to the coroner’s office. They can cross reference the tissue from the body found in the river to see if it could be our missing man Tariq.”
The cleric that we interviewed said that Tariq might have been having a change of heart. He had indicated that `he was going to do the right thing’. It looks like someone disagreed with his good intentions,” Tank said, recalling his conversation with the Muslim cleric.
That could explain the tip-off that the customs office received. It could be that Tariq knew about the explosives coming into the country and decided that enough is enough,” the fat controller said as he headed toward the door. He nodded to Timms as he left, indicating that he was going to prepare the press release.
What are we going to do about Mustapha Ahmed going missing?” Timms asked.
We have sent his picture to uniformed police officers both here, and in North Wales just in case he heads back to Holyhead. The problem is that he looks so much like his brother. The armed units are on the lookout for Yasser Ahmed. It would be easy to confuse the two of them. We don’t need another dead sibling of Yasser Ahmed on our hands.”
Tank and the Major talked about the information that David Bell had summarised earlier. They decided that Sian should return to her undercover position at the customs office in Holyhead. They agreed that Mustapha would more than likely head back there eventually. It would kill two birds with one stone; Timms was under pressure to discipline Sian for allowing Mustapha to escape from protective custody. He had not informed his superiors in London that Mustapha had probably witnessed the shooting of his sister.
Although the investigation had been a rollercoaster of events, it seemed that little progress had been made. They still had one of the most dangerous terrorists on the planet at large. They knew for definite that he was in possession of Semtex explosives. The Scuba diving gear made them assume that the potential target could be on or near to the River Mersey. The possibilities were endless. Along the length of just ten miles, the River Mersey had an international airport; an oil refinery; a huge chemical processing plant; one of the biggest coal fired power stations in the country; local ferry ports; International ferry ports, plus three miles of busy cargo docks. These crucial economic sites were all situated on the riverbanks.
Tank and the Major both agreed that whilst security on the river could be increased, it would be impossible to stop a determined attack from underwater. The coastguards were already increasing their patrols following Chen’s discovery of the Scuba equipment in Warrington. The fact that Yasmine Ahmed had tried to retrieve the equipment meant that the focus must be on the River Mersey.
The Airport and the oil refinery worried them the most because of their proximity to the water’s edge. The oil refinery at Stanlow covers 1900 acres of riverbank, and at any one time can store two million tonnes of crude oil. It had the capacity to produce three million tonnes of petrol and two million tonnes of jet engine fuel every year. An explosion at the refinery would cause an ecological disaster on top of the human cost. Financially, an attack on a facility like Stanlow could bring the country to its knees. In recent years, the site had been the target of protest against the British government’s high taxation on fuel. The protesters had used farm machinery to blockade the refinery, stopping fuel tankers from leaving the site. Within twenty-four hours the effect of strangling fuel supplies brought the North of England to a standstill. Supermarket shelves were empty and the public couldn’t travel to work. Human reliance on the internal combustion engine was highlighted during the protest; without petrol or diesel fuel, nothing moved.
The Terrorist Task Force knew that an attack on this facility or one like it would be devastating. They decided that the site must be a priority red. This was the code given to a potential target if it was felt that an attack was imminent. The International airport at Speke, which was seven and a half miles South East of Liverpool city centre, was also given a code red status. The John Lennon Airport was a concern; as the main runway, which ran parallel to the riverbank, it was less than one hundred yards from the water. A large passenger jet laden with jet engine fuel would make an easy target for a determined terrorist, and the accessibility of Airport perimeters was a major headache for security services worldwide. Liverpool was no different to any other passenger airport. It was a `Soft Target’.
Chapter 39
Tariq Al Masri
Tariq was born in 1986 in the small village of Mukaradeeb in Iraq, near the border with Syria. His father had been a musician, and his mother cared for and educated Tariq and his six siblings. They were raised in the Shea Muslim faith and lived far away from the religious sectarian fighting that the more densely populated areas of Iraq experienced. While the more unfortunate teenagers of Baghdad were learning to make war on the allied forces, Tariq was learning to play the guitar. Tariq and his family were often invited to village weddings to provide the musical entertainment. As most of their neighbours were poor people, they were generally paid for their services with food and hospitality.
On May 19th 2004, a wedding was being celebrated in the village, which formed a union between two of the largest families from the area. Traditional weddings in this part of the world involved the wedding party and their guests setting up large marquee-type tents in the desert outside of the town itself. There t
he guests would eat and dance to the musicians’ music for days. At 3am on the 19th May, American forces bombed the wedding using helicopter gunships. Local accounts reported forty-two men, woman and children were killed in the attack. Amongst the towns dead were Tariq’s entire family.
A military representative for the coalition forces claimed that there was no evidence of a wedding taking place and this was a suspected foreign fighters’ camp. A video made during a visit to the site of the massacre, by members of the Associated Press, showed the remains of brightly coloured decorations and musical instruments. The remains of pots and pans and large quantities of food contradicted the military’s claims. The reports from local hospitals showed that the bodies of thirteen dead children had been recovered from the bombed out tent.
The American Major General, who was put in charge of the incident, was challenged with the video evidence. He replied, “There may have been some kind of celebration going on, but bad people have celebrations too.” Tariq had been left an orphan. Once he had recovered from the extensive burns that he had received, the International Red Cross brought him to England. Tariq had been given an administration job at the mosque in Warrington, mainly thanks to the schooling that his dead mother had given him. His grief had turned to hatred during his rehabilitation and soon his hatred was harnessed by the extremists in the community. He had plotted and planned with the conspirators and he used his position in the mosque to mask their activities. He had realised too late that what was being planned would cause misery and death to more innocent people. He decided that he could no longer be a part of that process. His decision cost him his life. Now the end of his tragic journey had brought his headless mutilated body to the coroner’s table.
The coroner, Graham Libby switched on his tape recorder and proceeded with his autopsy report. “The subject is a young male, between the ages of 20 and 35 years old. He is of Asian or Middle Eastern origin. The body weighs approximately ten stones, the approximations are because the body is missing the head and both hands. Cause of death was shock and massive haemorrhaging caused by a wound to the throat. The wounds to the arms were inflicted post mortem. The removal of the head was carried out with a saw of some description, again post mortem.” Grace Farrington was attending the autopsy on The Major’s instruction. He was desperate to know if the body belonged to Tariq. “Can you estimate when he died?” Faz asked.
It’s difficult to say because the body has been in the water. The body has gone through different stages of putrefaction, but the limbs are less putrefied than the trunk. Bodies pass through certain stages of disintegration but the water could have accelerated the process. Hypostasis or lividity starts about four hours after death. It is caused by the sinking of red corpuscles in the blood to the lowest part of the body. If the body were found standing for instance, hypostasis would be in the legs and feet. The general discoloration of the skin and the fact that the body has no rigor mortis, leads me to believe that the subject was dead at least eightenn hours before it was put into the river. Putrefaction has begun and the body is stained and is starting to distend. Several of the internal organs have started to burst so we are looking at least a week or more, definitely not more than two weeks.”
That would fit into our missing person profile. How can you be so sure that he has not been dead longer than two weeks?” Faz asked. She wanted to be sure that this was Tariq. There had been enough mistakes made already.
There are maggots here around the neck wound. They are the third stage larvae of the common bluebottle fly. The bluebottle fly only lays eggs on fresh meat, so we can safely deduce that the eggs were laid within twenty-four hours of death. The larvae become new flies within twelve days. These little fellows are still wriggling about in here so I can assume they are not twelve days old yet.”
What about identification. Can you match the tissue to the DNA samples from Warrington?” Faz asked, trying to avoid looking at the wriggling maggots.
The test results are not back yet, but we know that he is the same blood group. I will call you as soon as they are returned.”
Faz turned and left the laboratory. She took off the gloves and sterile gown and placed them into an industrial laundry bin. She checked her hair in a small mirror which was fixed to the wall above a sink. She was pleased with the image that she saw and she smiled. Faz was almost certain that the body in the mortuary was Tariq al Masri. They knew that he had his throat slashed and that the removal of the limbs and head were post mortem. Faz considered the removal of the head was to hamper the identification of the body. There was another reason that needed to be considered though; the removal of the head was commonplace amongst Islamic extremists in Iraq. It seemed that these groups deemed it to be the ultimate affront to a human, and Grace had looked at the possibility that Yasser Ahmed and his affiliates were sending some kind of message.
In 2004, a Korean translator, an Italian photographer and two Bulgarian truck drivers were all beheaded by extremists in Iraq. The message was clear; foreign workers risked their lives if they chose to work in Iraq. If it was considered that they were in any way aiding or working for the coalition forces, then they were legitimate targets. In 2005, more beheading occurred, including the decapitation of two Algerian and one Egyptian diplomat, all three were Muslim. The fact that it was seen that they were cooperating with the occupying armies was enough to condemn them to a terrible death. Perhaps poor Tariq had been beheaded for similar reasons. Grace could not be certain of the motives behind his death, but she was certain that Yasser Ahmed was responsible. She headed back to the office.
CHAPTER 40
South Stack Lighthouse
Sian left the old Newborough preparatory school and turned right onto Quarry Street. She pulled the Jeep into a petrol station and filled the greedy vehicle with fuel. She had over one hundred miles to drive back home to Holyhead, it would take around two hours to make the journey if she stopped for breakfast en-route. Sian had been ordered back to the customs unit where she was to oversee the tightened security at the port. Officers were searching for any explosives or munitions that the Irish Republicans may have traded, to stop them reaching the mainland. She was also to look for Mustapha. The general consensus of opinion was that he would head to wherever he felt was home, in this case, that would probably be Holyhead.
Sian didn’t like to leave the case but she understood that recovering Mustapha was a priority, after all, she had been in charge of his protective custody; it was her responsibility to find him. She put a compilation CD into the disk player as she joined the A55 expressway, which would take her along the North Wales coast to Anglesey. She reached a small Welsh coastal town called Penmaenmawr, and decided to stop there and eat breakfast.
She sat by the window in the Little Chef and enjoyed the view across the Straits to Puffin Island. She smiled as she remembered the story that her father had told her about Puffin Island. The Island had once been the breeding colony of thousands of Puffins, however in the early 1900’s an old wooden sailing ship had run aground on the treacherous rocks that surrounded it. The rat-infested ship sank quickly, leaving the drowning rats no option but to swim to the safety of Puffin Island. Being an island, it was ecologically isolated and there was little for the rats to eat except Puffin eggs. Puffins nest on the ground where their eggs were an easy meal for the hungry vermin invaders; therefore, Puffin Island no longer had any Puffins on it.
She ate breakfast and washed it down with three cups of strong coffee. Sian used the washroom on her way out to the Jeep, and brushed her Auburn red hair. Feeling refreshed she started the Jeep and pulled back onto the A55 toward the island of Anglesey. The Britannia Bridge was the crossing point from the Welsh mainland to Anglesey. It would take her twenty minutes to cross the island from the bridge to Holyhead. She drove the Jeep across the island feeling anxious about Mustapha’s disappearance. She drove through a small village called Valley, and she could see Holyhead Mountain towering in the distance. The mountain lies about
a mile west of the town, which is built at its foot; it slopes steeply down to the Irish Sea on two sides. Sian decided to take the coast road through Treaddur Bay and Porthdafarc beach. She was hoping that Mustapha might have made his way back to his caravan there.
She slowed the Jeep down as she approached `cow shit corner’ looking for evidence of their shootout with the Axe men. She shuddered as she looked at the deep holes in the stone wall where bullets had struck. Sand had been sprinkled over the tarmac to cover any bloodstains. There was a solitary bunch of flowers tied to the farm gate. Flowers were generally left at the scene of a death by someone who cared about the deceased. Sian thought this was a little bit odd, but didn’t read too much into it.
The Jeep climbed the crest of the hill away from the scene. As the vehicle came over the crest, Mustapha’s caravan came into view on the cliff tops across the bay. The caravan was in darkness, Sian’s heart sank. She drove the Jeep up the hill towards her house on the mountain. An idea occurred to her; Mustapha loved the lighthouse that was at the bottom of the mountain; he might have walked there. The South Stack Lighthouse had stood on its little island warning passing ships of the treacherous rocks since 1809. It could be seen from up to twenty-eight miles away. An iron suspension bridge was added in 1828, which crossed the deep-water channel between the island and the mountainside. Before the suspension bridge was built, the only means of crossing to the island was by means of a basket suspended from a hemp cable. Sian drove up the steep mountain road, passing her own house on the way.