by David Lowe
‘So why didn’t you go for it?’
‘Edge wouldn’t allow it. When Alec put the offer on the table Edge threw it back in his face. After the interview, he went to see Cheshire’s chief con while I updated the custody officer when the custody assistant said Alec wanted to see me in his cell. The custody officer allowed it, only on the proviso he accompanied me while I saw Alec. He wanted me to ring the CPS on the QT to see if they would go with his plan.’
‘So did you?’
‘Yes. Edge knows nothing about it, but as he got to them before me, the CPS threw out the idea. So helping himself to the Special Branch budget will be Alec’s last act as a police officer.’
Recognising why George did what he did and how it would have been useful to still have Alec Harvey on the scene, David sighed and said, ‘So we’ve still got a fucking traitor running around.’
‘Yes, and if you ask me it’ll be someone in a senior position.’
‘Did you find out how Alec knew I was in Ireland yesterday?’
George began shaking his head and said, ‘When I saw him in the cells, he claims MI5 told him, but I know it’s not the case. I think he’s covering up for someone.’
‘Did you put it to him that Five wouldn’t have told him about me going to Ireland?’
‘No, I just left it at that, but he did mention about you going to Ireland earlier when I was in with Edge.’
Rolling his eyes, David said, ‘Shit! How did he react to that?’
‘Out of earshot of Alec, Edge pressed me on what it was you were doing there. I told him I was under orders not to tell anyone, including him and he should contact Jenny Richmond at Thames House. His response was “not that bitch”. He hasn’t said a word about it since.’
‘Whoever’s passing the information on must have access to what’s going on here as Murphy eluded us once again this morning. He slipped out of his business premises, right under our noses and had a meet with the officer who’s working from the inside. It can’t have been Gary or anyone from his team, as they were in their surveillance posts for the whole morning. After the meet, Murphy came back to his yard in Runcorn and called Sayfel where he had a coded conversation with him. There was so much said between them, it’s been doing my head in trying to work out who’s doing what. I’ve worked out there are definitely two jobs the Real IRA are planning and Murphy’s brought over eight new recruits from the north of Ireland to assist with whatever it is they’re planning. One job looks like it’s going to be in Cheshire involving two-experienced PIRA men, who are now working for the Real IRA. They’re staying at a safe house in Winsford. The other six are staying at a guesthouse in Shiel Road in Liverpool. I’ve passed this onto Steve and the Merseyside lads. They’re making discreet enquiries and once they’ve housed them, they’re going to get a warrant to search the guesthouse.’
Hearing this brightened up George’s demeanour as he said, ‘That’s positive news. Do any of the Cheshire Special Branch officers know of these details?’
‘No, the only ones who know about it in this office is Gary and the DC’s out there at the moment and of course, you and I.’
‘We’ll keep it that way. Where’s Debbie?’
‘She’s over in Liverpool. As its Siobhan’s birthday, she’s going out with my Mum and our Siobhan and a few of her mates for a night out. If you’re looking for some specialist intelligence analysis, Jenny’s got one her of team on the job. I’ve contacted her at Thames House and she’s got all of the recordings as I needed their help. You can send it down to them. I’m just waiting for their reply.’
‘Don’t worry about it. What I’ve got can wait until tomorrow when Debbie gets back. I assume she’s coming back tomorrow?’
‘Yes, she’ll be back late morning.’
‘What are you working on now?’ George asked leaning over to look at the screen of the PC David was working on.
‘It looks like Murphy’s been buying explosives and munitions as he talks about buying new equipment with the money that Sayfel gave him last night. It sounds like the equipment they’re going to use is already at an address in Liverpool. Regarding the two ex-PIRA operatives he’s brought over, they’re staying in Winsford with a family that originally come from Liverpool.’
‘That should be relatively easy to check out. See who’s moved into the area from Liverpool.’
David laughed and said, ‘You are joking? Winsford’s full of ex-pat Scousers. It’s a Liverpool overspill.’
‘I didn’t know that.’
‘Also, today the mole gave Murphy more information on what we’ve been up to and he’s having another meeting with him about half ten on Monday morning. In addition to this, it looks like whoever’s replacing McCrossan in London are acting as decoys for SO15. O’Byrne and McElvaney are doing the same with Steve and Merseyside. Murphy bragged to Sayfel how by watching these targets, we’ve kept our eye off the ball as to what they’re actually planning. As a result he’s been able to slip in other Real IRA operatives onto the mainland.’
‘At least knowing six of them are going to be staying at one of these guesthouses is going to be useful,’ George said giving a strained smile through the tiredness he was feeling, ‘You never know, if a few of the six we lift are inexperienced, we might get more out of them regarding the two in Winsford and what McCrossan’s replacements will be up to in London.’
‘We can lift Murphy as well. We’ve got enough to make something stick on him,’ David said leaning back in the soft leather-bound chair Alec Harvey used behind his desk.
George thought for a moment and said, ‘I think it’d be better if we leave Murphy for now and see if he leads us to the mole. In the meantime, I’ll get a freezing order on all of Murphy’s personal and business bank accounts. That’ll restrict his movements as well as draw him out.’
‘That could be a risky strategy George. If we get him in, we can interview him solidly for the next few days and empty him out as to who the mole is, as well as finding out what they’re targeting in Cheshire. It looks like the Royal visit’s one target, but this second one they mention could be the chemical works in Runcorn or Ellesmere Port. Imagine that going off? Another option is the Stanlow oil refinery. Not only would it provide a big bang, it would fuck up the oil supplies for the northwest of England and North Wales in the short term and the rest of the country in the longer term. The cost of oil-based products would rise, especially petrol and diesel causing further misery on the British economy.’
‘We could do that, but with luck, holding off lifting Murphy at this stage not only could lead us to the mole, but we could also find out more information on the two ex-Provo’s.’
Concerned that George could be countermanding MI5 instructions, David said, ‘I suggest you discuss this with Jenny Richmond. I can see where you’re coming from, but I think it’s too risky letting them loose. If they find out their comrades have been lifted in Liverpool, it could cause them to panic and change their plans. Don’t forget they’ve got Sayfel on their back at the moment.’
‘True. That reminds me, I’d better start getting back to Manchester. Alex Bullard’s organised raids on the two targets in Prestwich linked to this West York’s Al Qaeda operation. I promised to assist her and at my age it doesn’t do to burn the candle at both ends.’
* * *
It was late evening when Steve walked into the gaudily decorated reception of the Shiel Park Guest House in Shiel Road, Liverpool. As no one was in the reception hall, he pressed the bell on the small reception desk and waited for a member of staff. Looking round, it was a clean, well-maintained reception area, but he felt he should be wearing sunglasses as the orange and yellow painted walls were just too bright and did not go with the character of the Victorian building. As he was waiting, three young men in their late teens and early twenties entered the guesthouse. As they walked past him to the
stairway, he overheard them talking about pubs they could go to further down the road from the guest house. As the three spoke with Northern Irish accents, he paid them particular attention. As he was watching them, a softly spoken female voice with a Liverpool accent behind him said, ‘Can I help you?’
‘Alright love,’ Steve said quickly turning round to face the woman, ‘Any chance of having four double rooms for the weekend and for the rest of next week. My company’s got a building job in Liverpool. We’ll be working long hours, so we need somewhere handy to stay.’
The slightly built lady that Steve reckoned was in her late fifties shook her head and said, ‘I’m sorry love, but you’ve just been beaten to the last of our spare rooms.’
‘Just our luck. We only got the contract at the last minute. It’s not those Irish lads I just saw who beat us to it is it?’
‘I’m afraid so, they arrived just over an hour ago. Stay there love and I’ll ring Marjorie from the guesthouse down the road and see if she’s got any vacancies.’
‘That’d be great love. Thanks.’
While the landlady turned her back to make the phone call, Steve looked at the open guest register to read the names. He knew if they were the suspects, they would be using false names and addresses, but any information was helpful. He could see six new arrivals had signed in. Surprised to see they had all given addresses in Northern Ireland, that told him they could be inexperienced. As the details were upside down and some of the writing illegible in parts, it was difficult to read. After making the call, the landlady replaced the telephone receiver, turned to Steve and said, ‘You’re in luck. They had a group of boys who left this morning and she has no other bookings for the next few days. Try there. As you go back onto Shiel Road, it’s just down to the right.’
‘You’re a diamond love. Thanks.’ Walking out of the guesthouse onto Shiel Road Steve rang DI Mark Walsh from Merseyside’s ISB. ‘Hello boss, it’s Steve Adams. The number of the guesthouse we need to hit is eighty-seven Shiel Road. Six guests from Northern Ireland arrived just over an hour ago. They’ve got to be the ones Murphy’s recruited and brought over here.’
‘I’ll have the warrant sorted in the next hour. I’ll also sort out uniform support. Firearms will do a reccie to maximise the safest entry. Make it back to our HQ and I’ll meet you in the Branch office. I’ll get a couple of Andy’s team to keep a watch on the place before we hit it later with the warrant.’
* * *
After having been with Cheshire’s chief constable to update her on the developments regarding Alec Harvey, George called back into Harvey’s office to see David. ‘I’m going back over to Manchester now. I just wanted to make sure you were OK before I left. I had one of two choices. One was to leave your friend Mister Edge with you here to run things or for you stay in touch with the DI working with Steve in Merseyside.’
‘I hope you’re going for the second option.’
‘Don’t worry, I am. Before you do anything, consult DI Walsh. They’ve housed the guesthouse the six targets are staying at and moving in on it in an hour or two, so he’ll be having a late night as well.’
‘No problem. Where’s Edge?’
‘I left him to suck up to Julia Hudson. You never know, if they get on, he might fancy transferring to Cheshire and that would solve a lot of our problems. I think it’s time to call him back so we can make our way to Manchester.’
‘What’s happened to Alec Harvey?’
‘The CPS gave us the green light to charge him and he’s remaining in custody until court on Monday morning.’
‘So they’re definitely not going to bail him to help us catch the mole?’
‘No. I still find it hard to believe he could have done that. It goes to show, you never know, do you? It’s like you finding out Steve’s bent and you’ve got to deal with it.’
‘I know, I’d fucking hate it if that ever happened. Let me know how it goes tomorrow morning.’
‘I will. I intend to be back here by early afternoon. Tim Johnson’s the SIO on our side of the Al Qaeda job, but I’m needed there for the raid. That’ll give me a chance to see what this new boy’s like that’s joined your team.’
‘You kept that quiet, who is it?’
‘Greg Swanton. He’s got six years service and passed to sergeant. He’s been an area jack for ten months and he got the posting to the ISB.’
‘That’s good going. He must have proved himself in the area.’
‘Not quite, he’s Paul Edge’s cousin’s son! On the way here Edge was extolling Swanton’s virtues and skills as a detective. His version contradicts the area DCI’s views on him. He was close to being kicked out and put back in uniform for his incompetence. I’ll give you three guesses why Edge put him on your team.’
‘I assume to keep an eye on me?’
‘In one, but don’t worry. We’ll deal with that after this investigation’s over. For the moment he’s helping Alex or should I say, hindering her on that Al Qaeda job. I’ll see you later.’
* * *
In the late evening David was still working in Alec Harvey’s office when his attention was brought to a call Murphy was making that was picked up from the listening devices in Murphy’s business office in Runcorn.
‘Rory what is it?’
‘Just to let you know one of the boys is on his way up from London. He feels his job’s done and he’s going to join us in Liverpool. He wants paying off and I wanted to know if you’ve got the money.’
‘Tell him to contact me once he gets up here. If we wait until the other jobs are completed, I can pay you all off then. What about Trevelyan?’
‘He’s coming up to Chester either tomorrow or Monday. There’s no way the boys down there can get a crack at him. He’s too heavily protected. Never mind Trevelyan, Danny and I have organised a diversionary move for tonight. While the Brits are dealing with this, they’ll take their eye off our friends who arrived today.’
‘OK, let me know how it goes. I’ll speak to you later,’ and Murphy terminated the call.
Once the call ended, David radioed Gary Baker to check he had monitored the call. ‘I did,’ Gary said, ‘and I wonder what the diversionary move is?’
‘Keep Tony and a couple of the others at Murphy’s place and come back to the office. I’m using Alec’s office at the moment. It’s more private. We’ve got to work out what they’re up to. In the meantime, I’ll let Merseyside know.’
‘I’ll be with you in roughly half an hour.’
David contacted DI Walsh. As he had not heard the conversation between Murphy and O’Byrne, David told him what had been said between the two targets and the DI said, ‘Thanks. I’ll put a couple on O’Byrne and his mates to see what they get up to. By the way, we’ve got everything ready for a raid at the guesthouse in Shiel Road for later this evening. A few of the targets have gone out to the local pubs. If they don’t go back soon, we’ll pick them up while they’re in the pub. Where are you now?’
‘I’m using Alec Harvey’s office, it’s more private here. The Cheshire DS I’m working with is coming in so we can see how best to use the few resources we’ve got left, especially after that phone call between Murphy and O’Byrne.’
‘If you can, stay there until we’ve executed the warrant. Once we’re in, I’ll let you know and you can finish off for the day. We should be moving in on the guesthouse in the next hour or so, so it won’t be too late when you finish. Regarding tomorrow, I want you watching Murphy’s house from around six in the morning as he’ll most probably will have had word that we’ve lifted the six in Liverpool by then.’
‘Will do, thanks and I hope it goes well at Shiel Road.’
As David finished his call to Mark Walsh, he received a text message from Jenny Richmond to contact her straight away. ‘Hi Jenny, it’s David Hurst.’
‘Thanks for getting in touch. We agree with your analysis and we also got the latest between Murphy and O’Byrne. I assume you were talking to Merseyside about it?’
‘I was, as George had to return to Manchester to help with the Al Qaeda job that Craig MacDonald’s co-ordinating.’
‘George spoke to me earlier. I see that DCI’s not the mole, just a very greedy boy.’
‘Yes, but at least I’ve got the use of his office and it gives me a bit of privacy. It’s murder working here not knowing which one is the traitor.’
‘I can imagine.’
‘But at least things are on the move in Liverpool. This distraction that O’Byrne refers to worries me a little bit.’
‘Don’t worry too much, if you told DI Walsh, I’m sure he’s on top of whatever it is they’re planning. Where’s Debbie?’ Jenny asked, ‘Isn’t she helping you out in Chester?’
‘She’s gone over to Liverpool. It’s my sister’s birthday and Debbie’s joined her and few of our Siobhan’s friends for a night out.’
‘That’s nice. Do you know where they’re going?’
‘No, but knowing my sister, she likes to go to the expensive restaurants and bars in the Albert Dock.’
‘Very nice too. I hope you won’t be too lonely in your hotel room tonight. I’ll speak to you tomorrow.’
* * *
The custody officer at Deva Road police station was carrying out the hourly check on the detainees in the cells. As the only detainee was Alec Harvey, it was not too arduous a task. Looking through the spy hole of Harvey’s cell, he saw the once proud DCI sat on the edge of the bench with his head in his hands. The sergeant pulled down the hatchway on the door and said, ‘I’ve a message for you sir. It’s from DI Byrne. He asked me to tell you that he had a word with the CPS and they wouldn’t entertain your suggestion. I assume that makes sense to you sir.’