An African Adventure (Vince Hamilton Private Investigator Book 4)

by Patrick Slaney

  Chapter 9

  While I was waiting for the underground train to arrive, I called the police tracking centre in Hampstead on my mobile.

  'Hi, its Major Hamilton here, is there any movement on the van that arrived in Pernik?' I always used my military title when speaking to the police. Rank had its advantages sometimes.

  'Well I have no idea where the van is, but the motorbike is still at the location whose coordinates I gave you.'

  'Next time we must find some way of putting a tracking device on the van as well as the motorbike,' I suggested. His comment about the van wasn't what I wanted to hear, but he was correct

  'Good idea Sir. A motorbike is a lot harder to find than a white van, but we mustn't forget that the value is in the 'bike. The van is only the means of transport.'

  'The guy I sent out to Pernik hasn't been able to locate the van or the motorbike.'

  'Well, all I can tell you is that the transponder being tracked by us here is still at the same location it arrived at. It hasn't moved. Of course, they might have found the device and taken it off the bike. If they discovered the device, they would probably take it off the bike and leave it switched on just to confuse us. The bike could then be taken anywhere, and we wouldn’t know.'

  'Let’s hope they haven’t found it. Many thanks for the information. I am now happy that it is still worth my while flying out there tomorrow morning at the crack of dawn.'

  'Join the non-sleepers club sir. I hope you find it.'

  I had just finished the call when the southbound Jubilee line train pulled in.

  The advantage of travelling by train was that it gave me plenty of time to think and sort through the events of the day.

  It had been an eventful day and one full of stress. Thankfully, Nick had been found much quicker than I could have expected. The Inspector had saved my bacon once again. It was a miracle that in a period of seven hours, Nick had been kidnapped, found, and returned to his grandparents. Thank God things had not gone worse. I didn’t fancy having to contact Carol in Australia to let her know that her youngest son was missing. That would have been an incredibly awkward conversation.

  My brain then switched to the confusing situation in Bulgaria. Where was the damned motorbike? Had the criminals moved the bike before Reggie got there? That didn't make sense because the tracking centre had confirmed to me that the signal was still coming from the location having the coordinates that had been given to Reg. It was certainly likely that the white van had left on its return journey to the UK. There was no need for it to stay there, once the driver had caught up on his sleep. On the other hand, if it was still there, then why hadn't Reggie found it?

  I next started to think about the conversation I was going to have with my wife. I had told her that I wouldn't have to travel if I got involved in another investigation and that Reggie would do all the leg work. She had insisted that I was dreaming if I thought that Reggie could carry out the tasks as well as I could. She was convinced that he would fail and that I would have to travel sooner than later. Utilising Reg was the first time that I had used anybody else to do the travelling for me, and he had failed miserably. By the time, I had reached East Putney tube station I had convinced myself that I was the victim. My wife was bound to understand that I had tried my best to reduce my involvement, but my plans had failed due to no fault of my own.

  When I arrived home, Daphne was watching television in the lounge. She joined me in the kitchen.

  'I didn't expect to see you home this evening. Has Carol's youngest boy turned up?' She asked.

  'Yes, he is thankfully safe at home with the rest of his family.'

  'That was quick, had he just gone to visit a friend?'

  'No, he had been kidnapped; however, when the kidnapper phoned in his ransom demand to Carol’s house, the Inspector was able to trace the call. It turned out to be from a gym close to Clive Newsome's business. A raid was organized, and we found Nick there. He was in good shape and unharmed. The kidnapper has been arrested so the family should be safe now.'

  'Was it to do with the money he owed?'

  'Indirectly yes, but it wasn't any of his debtors. Clive must have talked to the owner of the gym while he was there working-out. The owner of the gym decided to use the information to blackmail him by kidnapping his son and pretending that he was from the Mafia. Luckily he was very amateurish, and the police got Nick back very quickly.'

  'So when is Carol due back from Melbourne?'

  'She arrives back on Saturday morning, but I won't be here to pick her up from the airport.'

  'That sounds ominous Vince. Where will you be?' She looked intently at me with a very stern face.

  'Reggie hasn't located the motorbike or the white van in Pernik, Bulgaria,' I explained. 'I am going to have to go out there to have a look myself, and, before you say anything, I know that you are about to say - 'I told you so'.'

  'When are you planning on leaving for Bulgaria?'

  'There is an EasyJet flight from Gatwick at 6.25am tomorrow morning. I will try and book a seat on that.'

  'This is ridiculous Vince; the kids are still on their half term break, and you are doing your vanishing trick again. They were hoping that you would be able to take them on another day out since you had Carol's car.'

  'I promised Inspector Baird that Reggie would go to wherever the motorbike ended up and get a full picture from that end. As you know, I did that. Unfortunately, he hasn't found the bike or the van, so I don't have any other alternative but to go there and have a look around myself. I will come back as soon as I have solved the mystery.'

  'I am not going to bother telling you again my feelings relating to what you are doing. You promised me that you would take a step back, and now here you are up to your neck in another investigation.'

  'I am trying to reduce my involvement, but it is easier said than done.'

  'All you have to say is 'NO', Vince - surely that can't be too difficult.' She stormed out of the kitchen leaving me feeling very bruised.

  I got out my laptop and booked the flight to Sofia for the morning. Luckily there were seats still available. I then sent a text message to the Inspector to let him know that I was going to Pernik myself as Reggie hadn't found anything. His message back simply read. ‘Thanks’. Finally, I booked a taxi to pick me up from my home at 4.15am the following morning to take me to Gatwick. I was all set to go.

  As I was packing ready for the morning, my mobile rang. It was Reggie updating me on his latest search. He still hadn't found any trace of the missing motorbike or the van.

  My last task was to apologise to Michael and Victoria for being a neglectful father. After my explanation, they said that they forgave me and wished me luck in Bulgaria even though they had no idea where it was. It didn't make me feel any better.

  As I would be getting up very early, I reasoned that it was more politic to sleep in the spare room to avoid waking my wife up, although I suspect that she still heard me leave the house. All mothers seemed to have built in family radar.

  I arrived at Gatwick airport at ten past five and was through check-in and security by half-past. I even had time to grab a roll and a cup of coffee before the flight was called. We took off spot on time.

  Three hours later, at 11.25am local Bulgaria time, the plane touched down in Sofia.

  As I exited the airport arrivals area with my overnight bag, I was directed to the front of a queue of rather elderly yellow taxis. The driver's eyes lit up when I asked him to take me to the Hotel Struma in Pernik. The local currency is the Lev, but he surprisingly asked to be paid in Euros. The cost of the trip was reasonable at twenty-six Euros indicating that Bulgaria wasn’t an expensive place to visit.

  From the outside, the hotel we arrived at looked pretty good. As I entered the lobby, Reggie came up to greet me with a big smile on his face.

  'Welcome to Pernik, Vince, did you have a good flight?'

  'Yes thanks, Reg, it wasn't too bad.'

  'This morning
I returned to the location the motorbike is supposed to be at, but I had no luck.' He couldn’t wait to bring me up to date.

  'Are you sure that you are looking in the spot that the tracking station gave you the coordinates for,' I enquired. My suspicion was that he didn't know how to operate the GPS device and was looking in the wrong place.

  'There is a possibility that I could be wrong. I will let you find the location using the GPS device when we go there after lunch.'

  'Can we grab a sandwich in the hotel?' I asked him.

  'Yes, they do snacks, and you can have a broad range of things. I am sure that they have sandwiches.'

  'You order Reg while I go to my room and dump my bag. Get me a cheese and ham sandwich or something similar, and some coffee.'

  I went to reception and checked in. After I had dumped my bag in the room, I joined Reggie in the lounge of the hotel where he had my food waiting for me on a table.

  'Show me how to drive the GPS device Reg?' I asked.

  'Sorry, it is in my room. I'll go and get it.'

  He vanished for a few minutes and returned carrying the device.

  The next ten minutes or so were spent in showing me how to use it. I was surprised by the fact that he was quite competent. When he had told me that he couldn't find the van or the motorbike I had automatically assumed that he couldn't use the device. He had proved me wrong.

  'OK Reg, let's put in the coordinates and let the GPS device guide us to the spot.'

  'I have already been there twice, and there is definitely nothing there. There is no point in going back there for the third time.' He was getting upset with me for doubting him.

  I took a gentler approach with him.

  'Reg, before I left the UK, I checked with the police tracking station to confirm that the signal was still emanating from the same location. It is, so the motorbike must still be there. We'll have one last look just to satisfy my curiosity; perhaps four eyes are better than two.

  On our way to the location, we passed a University. It was their lunch time, and there were masses of students milling around on the street outside the main entrance. I had an idea.

  I stopped at a group of students who had spilt over onto the pavement.

  'Does anybody here speak English,' I asked in a loud voice.

  One of them replied, 'Yes I do. I speak quite good English as it is part of my studies.' He was a tall, good looking and a well-presented guy. Ideal for what I had in mind.

  'Would you like to work for me as an interpreter for a few days?'

  'When do you want me to start?'

  'Immediately; if you are available.'

  'I have finished lectures for the weekend, so I am free now if you need me.' He had a strong accent but spoke good English.

  'That's great. We are walking to a place near here looking for something very important, so you can join us immediately if you like. I'll sort out what I pay you later, but my plan is to pay you by the hour, plus any expenses you may incur.'

  'Thank you, that sounds perfect.' His English was really excellent.

  'When we came to the location that the co-ordinates indicated was our target, I stopped.'

  'What is your name?' I asked the student.

  'It's Dragan; I won't give you my surname as you wouldn't be able to pronounce it.'

  'OK Dragan, thank you for helping us. My name is Vince, and this is Reggie.' I pointed to Reg.

  'Can you please explain why you want me to help you?' He asked.

  'A very expensive motorbike was stolen in England, and it has been tracked to this exact spot where we are now standing. It was brought here in a van; however, we think that the van has now returned to England; however, the motorbike is still sending a signal from here.' I showed him the information on the screen of the GPS device.

  'So why do you need me?' Dragan asked.

  'Neither of us speaks a word of Bulgarian, and we need to talk to the people in the locality to see if they noticed anything suspicious or saw the bike or the van.'

  'Will it not be dangerous if I ask questions of the criminals who stole the motorbike?'

  'We will guide you as to which people you should speak to. We know the exact location where the bike is being held, so, if there is a property there, you can miss that one out if you want.'

  'Reggie interrupted. 'There is a small road at the back of the house, and there is a shed in the garden. That's the only place I thought that it might be.'

  'I'll go and have a wander round on my own,' I said. 'Reg you please go with Dragan and find out what you can. Make sure you keep him safe.'

  They went off to see who they could find to talk to. I went to explore the area and get a good feel for what was possible.

  After around half-an-hour, we all met up again,

  As we got close, Reggie couldn't control his enthusiasm.

  'This guy is a bloody genius, Vince.' He put his hand on Dragan's arm. 'He pretended that he was looking for a holiday job, and knocked on all the doors he could find. One guy, who runs a printing business, allowed him into the back of his premises. He was able to look over the fence, and there was the motorbike in the neighbouring yard.' Reg finally took a breath and stopped talking.

  'Well done Dragan, as Reggie says you are a genius. Did you get a holiday job,' I smiled.

  'It was easy, and the motorbike was out in the open. I had no problem finding it. The bike is a magnificent looking machine.'

  '”Was the Manager of the printing works able to tell you who owns the property that the motorbike is being stored in?’

  'He did, and he informed me that the people who recently bought the property are from Varna on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast.'

  'Do you know Varna, Dragan?'

  'I should do as I was born there and my parents still live there.'

  'That could be handy if we end up having to go there.'

  'Does that mean that the motorbike will be going to Varna?' Reggie asked.

  'There is probably a good chance that the bike will go there eventually; however, how soon, is the million dollar question. I spelt out the two options open to us.

  ‘We keep the property where the bike is being held under observation on a twenty-four-hour basis.

  Or

  2. We travel to Varna and let the tracking centre in London do the observing for us. What do you think Reg?'

  'There is nowhere here to observe from other than from the street,’ Reggie commented. ‘Also, there is no cover. The best idea would be to go to Varna and wait for the bike to move. If it isn't taken to Varna, then we won't have far to go to find it again.'

  'Dragan, is there any reason that you can think of that would make us more certain that the bike is likely to be taken to Varna?' I asked him.

  'Well, Varna is not called the crime capital of Bulgaria for nothing,’ he replied. ‘There are a large number of gangs operating in the city, especially around the port area. Also, the gangs in Varna are linked to ones in Georgia and other ex-communist states. They use the port as their supply base.'

  'Sounds as if that is where we need to go to then. What is the quickest way of getting there?' I asked Dragan.

  'You are better off flying as the train is very slow. There is a Bulgarian Airlines flight at 19.45 hours every night and the flight time is one hour. I know the flight times because I use the service often when I am going home.'

  'Will you come with us Dragan? I will pay for your ticket.'

  'That would be great as I hadn't planned on going home this weekend. My family will be delighted to see me.'

  'You have proved yourself very useful to us this afternoon, so I think that we will benefit from your presence when we get to Varna.'

  'What are we going to do now Vince?' Reggie asked.

  'Let's go back to the hotel Struma. I have some telephone calls to make to bring everybody up to speed on what's happening. We probably need to leave the hotel for the airport at around 6.00pm, so Dragan, can you meet us there at 5.45pm.'

>   'Yes, I will go to my digs, pack a bag and then meet you back at the hotel.'

  'Just give me your contact details in case I need to get in touch with you.' He wrote down his mobile number on a sheet of paper I gave him for the purpose.

  We then parted, Reggie and I to go to the hotel and Dragan to his student accommodation.

  Chapter 10

  'You certainly picked a good one there Vince,' Reggie commented as we walked back to the hotel.

  'It's an even bigger bonus that he lives in Varna and can show us around there,' I added.

  'What gave you the idea of using a student? It was a masterstroke.'

  'About a year ago I was in Tunisia trying to track down a luxury motor yacht, and I got talking to a student in a café,' I explained. 'He was studying English at a local University and offered to help me on the understanding that I spoke English to him. Thanks to his help we located the boat that I was looking for. Also, when I had to leave Tunisia to travel on to Italy, he offered to keep an eye on the stolen vessel for me. When the boat finally left the harbour, he sent me an email to let me know. As we passed those students today, outside the local University, I thought that having a student to assist us might work again.'

  'We would never have found the bike without him,' Reggie said.

  'Being able to speak the language is often the key to success,' I said.

  'I must say, Vince, I wouldn’t have come up with a trick like that; it was brilliant.'

  'Well Reg, you now know what to do the next time you meet a similar situation.' I put my arm around his shoulders as an encouragement even though I was still upset at having to come to Bulgaria because of his failure.

  We reached the hotel, and I went to my room to make some telephone calls.

  I informed the operator at the tracking station in London that I had found the bike. I also explained that I would be relying on him to let me know when it moved as it wasn’t suitable for us to keep it under observation. I gave him my email address so as he could send me a notification as soon as it moved. My mobile had no signal in Pernik.