“Is there a local beer you’d recommend?”
“They’re all good, sir. The Harveys Sussex Best Bitter or the Boddingtons are both popular, or if you fancy a cider we have Stowford Press on draft. Take your pick.” Ralph settled for the Harveys and wondered if drinking such a potentially strong beer was a wise choice considering what he had in mind for that evening.
“Quite nice down here,” Ralph observed conversationally to the well-dressed man who sat at the next table. “You’re local?”
“Lived here man and boy. I’m Jack Valence.” He stuck out a hand that had seen some work in its time.
“Ralph Chalmers. Pleased to meet you Jack. It looks as though they do a good trade in here.”
“If you’re eating then I’d recommend the Sussex veal. It comes with mashed potatoes, mushrooms and spinach. Just right for a night like this. You staying around here or just been visiting. Petworth House?”
“No, just passing through. Well actually I’m hoping to look up an old friend of mine.” Ralph had not rehearsed what he had just said and he knew it was only a half-truth but he kept going. “An old army chum. Colonel Stigart.” It was a long shot but he thought, why not. Driving around in the half-light trying to find a house he had never seen in a place he had never visited was a bit ludicrous, he smiled inwardly.
“Can’t say it rings a bell. Don’t know any Colonels. Bit of a rare breed nowadays. Not like after the war. You practically tripped over the buggers,” he laughed good humouredly. Mind you this place got its name from when the Household Cavalry used to drink here while their horses were watched over by Lord Egremont’s people up on the Petworth Estate back in the 1800s.” He downed his beer and placed his glass close to Ralph’s.
“Can I get you the other half?” Ralph enquired.
“Pint of Boddingtons. Thanks.” Ralph wondered at the man’s gall. Most would have just said, ‘a half will do fine’. But not Jack Valence. He probably got all his drinks that way, thought Ralph.
“My friend spends a lot of time abroad, so his place is left empty most of the time,” Ralph explained.
“Not thinking of burglary are you?” His new friend chortled as he sipped his foaming beer.
You don’t know how close you are to the truth, Ralph thought, but just chuckled at the comment.
“Now I think of it, there’s a place not far from here’s left empty most of the year. Turn left out the door and about a mile down towards the river. There’s a big pair of black gates, as I recall and I have seen some bloke walking around the grounds at weekends. Must be some sort of security because there’s a notice about guard dogs as well. Alsatians, I believe. If that’s your friends place you’d best give him a ring. You don’t want to go on a wild goose chase in this weather. Look I’m going in for supper if you care to join me.”
Ralph politely declined the offer and said he would take Jack’s advice and give the Colonel a call. His new friend shrugged and thanked him for the beer.
“Go easy,” Jack warned. “It’s threatening to blow tonight and that river might be over the road before dark.”
“Thanks. I will.”
Ralph drove carefully down the winding road towards the valley and the river. After a mile or so he saw a pair of black gates just as Jack had described. He parked the Jag under a gnarled old oak and wondered what on earth he was doing there. It had all been a spur of the moment decision, but the idea of discovering just what the Colonel was up to had been bugging him. If he had told anyone what he had in mind they would have said he was crazy. And they would probably have been right, he smiled, as the front windows started to mist up. Turning up his coat collar and pulling on his cap, he opened the door to take a closer look at the gates and the deserted looking house. The evening light was beginning to fade. The wind, as forecast, had picked up, and the remains of the winter leaves that had been piled up at the side of the drive way swirled angrily, going almost straight up towards the darkening sky. For a moment Ralph was tempted to just go back to the warmth of the Horse Guards Inn and join Jack for a veal supper and another pint. He shuddered as the rain belted down. But he was here now, so he might as well at least take a quick look around.
To his surprise the gates were unlocked. Within a few strides he was alongside one of the barns that flanked the pathway to the house. He picked up an old iron rod that lay there in the wet grass and used it to lever the side door. He could just see the headlines in the morning paper:
Kingston University Professor found breaking and entering. When questioned he told the police it was just curiosity.
Ralph was certain that his ancestors must have been from the criminal classes. On more than one occasion when he felt action was need he had bent the law. In any event, it was too late to worry about that now. He was already inside the barn.
He noticed a bank of boxes stacked on a set of racks. The iron nails creaked and screeched as he used the iron bar to ease up the lid of the one nearest the front. Heckler and Koch G3 rifles. He recognized them from his time in the Royal Navy Reserve when they had been shown them while on a training session at Exeter. He was just standing there trying to wrap his mind around what he saw and what it might all mean when a blow to his side practically knocked him off his feet. As he dropped the iron bar and staggered to maintain his footing he managed to punch his assailant in the ribs and heard a gasp. But evidently Ralph’s new chum was not alone. Another man grabbed his other arm and a third grabbed his legs.
“Now sir. If you promise not to struggle, we can all be civilized and go into the house and find out what this is all about?” Ralph was in no position to argue from his vantage on the barn floor.
Once inside the house he was taken to a room where a man who looked more like an Edwardian valet than a modern day servant handed him a set of towels and showed him to a bathroom and suggested that he might like to clean himself up. Ralph sensed it was not a suggestion. Left alone he had time to reflect on what had transpired. He felt in his pockets and unsurprisingly his wallet and car keys, along with his mobile phone, had been removed. He needed time to think. He had been caught red handed illegally breaking and entering someone’s private property. Now he was being treated as though he were a houseguest. It didn’t make sense.
If he had the right place and this was Colonel Stigart’s house then it would be very embarrassing to say the least. It might also be highly dangerous if he had stumbled on the home of an arms dealer. Jeeves, or whatever the manservant’s name was knocked on the door and politely asked Ralph to come with him. When they reached the end of a long oak panelled hallway, the manservant showed Ralph into what looked like a gentleman’s study. There was a large log fire burning in the grate which threw out more smoke than heat but looked welcoming nevertheless on such a wet and inhospitable night. Colonel Stigart got up from his large leather club chair He held a glass of an amber liquid that Ralph assumed was whisky.
“I see you decided to accept my invitation after all, Professor Chalmers,” he smiled. He looked more like a kindly uncle than a man who had just had his property broken into.
“Sorry about the roughhouse. The men can get a bit boisterous at times. Here have a seat by the fire and let me get you a drink. Then we can sit down and have a chat about the mess you’re in and what we can do about it.” Ralph sat down and the Colonel handed him a generous whisky before he came to the point.
“As you probably know, Ralph, this place is owned by Her Majesty the Queen. She lets us use it. The ‘we’ I’m referring to is the Foreign Office. We are part of what you know as MI6, although we like to call ourselves by our proper name, the SIS or Secret Intelligence Service. And whether you like it or not, you are now our guest. I’m afraid you’ll have to stay for a while.”
Ralph had no intention of staying. He was already looking for a way out. Stigart told him that MI6 had been investigating an International arms smuggling organisation and that part of the set-up had been to infiltrate the operation that worked through Tangiers an
d Gibraltar, hence the cover of the yacht and the three men who had been masquerading as his sons. He told Ralph that the British government were particularly interested in the supply of arms to Eta, and now that the arms decommissioning process was underway it was vital to the success of the process that they avoid upsetting National governments in Europe.
“So you see, when you and your friend came along and she managed to take a photo of one of our men in Tangier, we were quite worried that you might – well not to put too fine a point on it – bugger things up.” He emptied his whisky before continuing. “Inspector Linham in Kingston assured us that he had warned you off, but it seems that you were still hell-bent on interfering. Then when I saw you speaking to Count Sparini at Goodwood I thought for a moment that you might be part of the network that we are investigating, but then I realized that he was just an old college pal. He is at the top of our list as the possible key to the entire network.”
“I saw Roberto Sparini in Milan last week.” Ralph just blurted it out. He had been listening carefully to what the Colonel said. He knew that Roberto was probably a bit dodgy in his business dealings, but it came as a shock that he was some sort of International criminal.
“But what about those guns in your barn?” It must have been the whisky, he thought as the words just tumbled out.
“The people in the arms dealing business can be pretty untrusting. We keep that lot of stock just in case they want some proof that we’re in the same business they are. You’d be surprized how much illegal arms transit through the UK. It’s a lot easier to get them across to the Continent by road than by sea or air.” The Colonel used a long poker to stir the logs. A shower of sparks settled onto the broad flag stone hearth. The Colonel grunted as he sat back down and looked at Ralph.
“We know all about your trip to see Count Sparini and quite a bit about what he offered you to come and work for him. As you will be out of circulation for a while, I can tell you now that Maria works for us. We put her in the Sparini organisation to help us keep an eye on the Count.”
Ralph was stunned to hear that Maria was a spy, but he was still thinking about the Colonel’s earlier remark.
“What do you mean by out of circulation? You can’t keep me here against my will.”
“I’m afraid that I can. I’m obliged to read you your rights, sir, and I can do so if you wish, but let’s just say that our investigation is now nearing its conclusion and we can hold you until it is all over. Unless of course you felt that you were able to, shall we say, co-operate.”
“What do you mean by that? Why the hell should I co-operate, as you put it. Okay, so I admit breaking into your barn was a mistake, and I apologise for being such a fool. But unless you intend to report that to the police, then I’m leaving.”
He made to stand up, but the Colonel placed his hand on Ralph’s arm and leant forward.
“This is not a matter for the police, Ralph. This concerns the National interest. Peoples’ lives are at stake. Look Ralph, it’s imperative that we get Sparini to implicate himself on British soil; preferably with some sort of confession. We might even consider some sort of deal. What our American partners call a ‘plea bargain’. He’s an Italian national, and although we have the assistance of Europol and other groups we have to tread carefully. He has some powerful friends.”
Ralph thought over carefully what Colonel Stigart had just said. Now that his initial reaction to repel any notion to restrict his liberty had cooled, he had second thoughts. At the end of the day Ralph wanted to do the right thing, and so he tried to put his ruffled feathers to the side as he measured his next words.
“What do you want me to do?”
“Leave it to us to set everything up. We just need for you to arrange to meet with Sparini in London. We’ll do the rest. He’s becoming quite cautious and that visit to Goodwood was unusual. Perhaps you would like to think about it over supper. Then if you agree to assist us, then you can be back in Surbiton once you’ve had a good night’s sleep and an early breakfast. You could be back home in your apartment by lunchtime tomorrow.”
“All right. I guess it doesn’t make much difference one way or the other if I go back tonight or tomorrow.”
“By the way, I don’t need to remind you that you have signed the Official Secrets Act, and whether or not you decide to help us, you must not communicate any of this to a third party. And that includes your partner Ms. Eggleton. To do so would mean facing a twenty year prison sentence and serious consequences to that third party.”
“Look here, Stigart, I don’t need to be told what my obligations are. I might have acted a bit foolhardy by breaking in here, but I’m not stupid And I will make my own mind up as to whether I decide to assist you or not. Your threats won’t change things.” The Colonel looked a bit surprised at Ralph’s onslaught. He was not accustomed to anyone speaking to him like that.
The enormity of the situation he had stupidly got himself into finally struck home. Ralph took some comfort in knowing that if he could help to prevent further outbreaks of terrorism it might save the lives of innocent people, but it was cold comfort when stacked against the downside.
His and Katie’s vision of a quiet life and perhaps sailing around the world all seemed to be sliding away. He had to find some way to recover the situation. For now it was supper and a night at Her Majesty’s pleasure. It was that or a rumpus and a night at the Horse Guards and more pints with Jack Valence. He decided to stay and accept the Colonel’s hospitality.
___________________
Chapter 9
Ralph knew that it was breaking all the rules but he was getting desperate. Inspector Linham had been a good confidante in the past when he had faced some tricky situations. He was not sure how to approach Linham. Eventually he decided that the best way was to lay his cards on the table and see what transpired. Ralph knew that there was a lot at stake. When Ralph telephoned, he was surprized when the Inspector said that he was free that morning and to come right over. Ralph presumed that he was still worried that he might interfere in things. Well, this time he’s right, Ralph thought, but now that he had thrown his lot in with Colonel Stigart, there was no turning back.
The Inspector was on his own which was unusual. Wilson was nearly always on hand to take notes and to make sure that they were supplied with tea.
“Come in, Professor Chalmers, take a seat,” Inspector Linham said when the duty officer showed Ralph to the Inspector’s office.
“Thanks for seeing me on such short notice,” Ralph said as he sat down across from the Inspector. “
“So how can I help? You said over the phone that it was urgent so I didn’t like to put you off. I’m afraid we’re on our own today. My Sergeant has to get some paperwork out before the end of the day, so I’ve told him we can manage without him. ”
“Thanks, Inspector. Yes, it is of some urgency.”
“I hope it’s not to ask me to pull some strings and get you off a speeding ticket,” he laughed.
“I’m afraid it’s a bit more serious than that, Inspector.” Ralph had decided to present his dilemma in the form of a problem that a friend had raised with him. It was an age old technique that students who had an embarrassing problem to discuss with him often employed.
The Inspector listened as Ralph explained the incident at Petworth. He did not mention Petworth or any names, but when he said something about MI6 it got Linham’s attention.
“It seems as though your friend is already in trouble for having told you as much as he has, Professor. But I can see where he’s coming from and I agree, it does look tricky. I just hope he’s a good friend because he’s putting himself in a very dangerous position, if I may say so. But before we go on, I think we had better have some tea.” Inspector Linham did not buy the notion of a friend having a problem anymore than Ralph would have. He too had been in the business a long time and knew a cover story when he heard it. But he wanted to learn more, so he played along. If he knew Chalmers, this time the
Professor had stumbled onto something big. Once the young female PC that he had summoned brought their tea and sat it on Linham’s desk, he went on.
“If, and you realise that this is all hypothetical, your friend went to the police and told them what you have just relayed to me, then they would have to go through the Home Office who would undoubtedly instruct both the local police and your friend to keep clear of the whole affair.”
“I see,” said Ralph.
“From what you’ve told me, it sounds like your friend could become involved in a conspiracy to commit a crime on an unsuspecting third party. No doubt this third party, whoever that might be, would finish up taking it to the European Court of Human Rights and claim that the police and the government had set him up. What we refer to as entrapment or a sting operation, if you want to get melodramatic about it. His lawyers would probably get him off.”
“But what if my friend was acting on behalf of Her Majesty’s Government and just doing his duty?”
“Even if he were an officer of the law he would still be committing a crime if it is entrapment unless he could show that it was all part of an approved policing activity to catch a known criminal. Then the criminal in question would have had to have confessed and the police would have to either have it recorded or else have witnesses. Hard evidence. Documents, names, places etcetera.
“But what about terrorism? Surely there are exceptions to all those rules when people are going around endangering the public like that.”
“There are, but from what you’ve told me, this is an ordinary citizen who for reasons best known to himself chooses to assist in breaking the law. So my advice to your friend would be to stay out of it plain and simple. Whoever is behind all of this will soon find someone else to do their dirty work or another way of skinning that particular cat.”
Murder on the Rocks (The Ralph Chalmers Mysteries Book 7) Page 10