That Will Do Nicely (23 page)

Roberts looked in the direction of the voice. He saw a man in his late sixties or early seventies, with greying hair and a heavily lined thin face looking at him. He was dressed in a brown lab coat, which he wore almost as a uniform
... Roberts detected the air of an old soldier about him... the man was certainly old enough to have fought in the second war. Under the coat the man wore an equally old cardigan, which poked out beyond the coat sleeves. He wore the coat open, reminding Roberts of a scatter-brained chemistry tutor he had had at school many years before. He seemed to Roberts, a lonely man, possibly a widower, but one who hadn't entirely given up keeping himself spick and span as was apparent from his 'short back and sides' haircut and clean shaven face. The man walked with a permanent stoop which made him appear short, although he was probably six foot plus.

"Let him through!" c
ommanded Roberts.

"So you're the caretaker of these
offices, Mr. Spriggs." The man nodded.

"Right
, Mr. Spriggs; there doesn't seem to be anybody at home today at this office. Could you open it up for us?"

"I don't know about that,
Sir. It's a private office."

"We're quite aware of what it is Mr. Spriggs. Can you open up for us or not."

"I'm not sure I should. Perhaps I'd better phone my boss."

"And who would that be Mr. Spriggs?"

"Mr. Tomlinson, at Harvey Properties."

"Go and phone them Mr.Spriggs and while you're on the phone, tell your boss that the sound of breaking wood and glass that he can hear is his office door being broken."

"You wouldn't do that..."

"Wouldn't we? See this
..," Roberts took the warrant out of his pocket and waved it in front of Spriggs’ eyes.

"What's that?"

"That, Mr. Spriggs, is all the permission I need to break into these offices.., it's called a Search Warrant. Now, are you going to open up with your keys, or do we have to break the door down?"

"I'll get the keys,
Sir." Spriggs shuffled off to his den.

"Pat - Make sure neither he nor the keys gets lost."

The two men returned shortly... Carefully the caretaker unlocked the door. First the Chubb, then the Yale, then he stood back and allowed Roberts to push the door open.

"This way Pat
; the rest of you stay where you are." Roberts didn't want evidence being spoilt by several pairs of hands and feet. They moved quickly to the inner office. The place, as expected, was deserted.

"O.K. Pat
... let's just have a quick look ourselves before handing it over to the forensic boys."

"What are we looking for chief?"

"Anything would be nice."

They moved around the room in much the same way as professional decorators, starting at the door and working clockwise around the room. At the desk, Roberts inspected each drawer in turn using his biro to pull-open the drawer handles. Only two drawers proved fruitful. The first yielded a box of travelers' che
que wallets, the second, a stack of proposal forms and the little booklets on advice for travelers' cheques. They placed both finds in polythene evidence bags and were on the point of leaving the inner office, when Heath noticed a piece of paper protruding from underneath the desk blotter. He called to his chief, before lifting the blotter.

"What have you found Pat?"

"It looks like a list of some sort... there's about 15 names on it, of which 9 are crossed through; there are some figures listed against each name."

"Did you check the safe
, Pat?"

"Locked as we expected."

"Ask the caretaker if he can open it; failing that, get him to ask his boss."

"And if neither of them can open it?"

"Then call in the specialists. It's probably empty, but we have to know and I want to know by the end of the day, one way or another."

They moved into the outer office, searching just as carefully, but found nothing. Roberts posted one man on the door and sent the rest scavenging around the building, to check rubbish bins etc., although he was pretty sure that would find nothing.

"Come on Pat, I think it's time we had another word with the caretaker."

Spriggs didn't seem too happy to see them.

"Mr. Spriggs. There are some questions we'd like answered. "Spriggs nodded." We'd like you to tell us everything about the people in the office upstairs. When did they come?"

"About a month ago I suppose."

"Did they just turn up one day and open for business, or did someone turn up to decorate beforehand?"

"There were some decorators a couple of weekends before."

"Now, I want you to think very carefully before you answer. Were they the same people?"

"Were who the same people?"

"Were the decorators the same people who staffed the office?"

"Don't be silly, they were decorators doin' the decorating."

"How do you know they weren't the same people."

"Mr. Guyton in the office was a gent, a real gent
... so was his lady... no way were they the decorators. Came and introduced themselves to me. Right proper they were."

"I'm sure they were Mr. Spriggs. You just referred to the woman as his lady. Are you saying there was more than just a business relationship between them."

"I couldn't say, really."

"But you did say just that. Sergeant Heath, could you read back your notes on that?"

"Mr. Guyton in the office was a gent, a real gent... so was his lady..." read Heath.

"Well I never saw anything improper between them, but they just seemed comfortable together."

"Thank you Mr. Spriggs... but you're quite sure that they weren't the same people who did the decorating."

"I've already told you that."

"Just making sure. Could you describe each of them for us?"

"Mr. Guyton was a real Gent
... "

"I want to know what he looked like Mr. Spriggs
... not whether he was kind to old ladies and animals."

"That's just it, he was a real Gent
... straight from the City.., pin-stripe suit, bowler hat, the lot.., and he looked comfortable in them clothes, not like some of them do. He spoke like one too.., refined.., but not a snob, mind you; didn't mind speaking to me and didn't talk down to me either."

"What about his physical appearance, Mr. Spriggs?" Inquired Heath.

"Taller than average."

"What's average?" a
sked Roberts.

"Taller than
him." Spriggs pointed to Heath, "and broader too."

"Did you notice any identifying marks on him?"

"You mean did he have any scars?"

"Well did he?"

"Not that I noticed... he seemed perfectly healthy to me."

"Tell me about the way he spoke
.., you said he was a real city gent. Did he speak like one?"

"He spoke well
.., refined sort of.., like the officers we used to have in the army."

"Was he clean shaven?"

"No, he had a beard.., a full beard, dark brown, the same color as his hair."

"Glasses?"

"Not that I remember."

"Can you tell us anything about the shoes he wore
.., did you notice his shoes?"

"Funny you should mention that. Shoes is always what I look at. You can tell a lot about a man from his shoes. His were black, patent leather."

"And what about the woman?"

"Miss Fairbrother, she called herself." Spriggs permitted himself a smile at the memory of her.

"I expect she was a real lady," hinted Roberts.

"Certainly was. Conducted herself properly at all times
.., nice lady.., even gave me a cup of coffee once."

"What did she look like?"

"A bit too straight-laced for my liking. Her hair was scraped back off her face and she always wore big glasses. Not my type at all.., but she did have a nice figure."

“Was she tall and slim?"

"Not too tall, shorter than me I think, but then these women wear heels... "

"Quite. In other words she was average looking?"

"I'd say she was, although the next man might have fancied her."

"But you didn't?"

"Didn't what?"

"You didn't fancy her because she wasn't your type?"

"Right."

"Can you think of anything else Sergeant Heath?"

"Only about the safe, Sir. Can you open it Mr. Spriggs, or does your boss have the combination? We'll need to open it and if we can't find the combination, we'll have to cut it open. Perhaps you'd like to phone your boss."

"That won't do any good."

"Why?"

"He's always away on Wednesdays
; won't be back 'til tomorrow night."

"We'll have to cut it then," said Roberts, "You'd better arrange it sergeant
. Thank you Mr. Spriggs, we'll be on our way."

"Don't you want to know about the others?"

"What others?"

"The other women who worked there."

Roberts, who was already half-way out of the door, swung round to confront Spriggs again.

Left-hand, right-hand

"What is it you'd like to tell us, Mr. Spriggs?"

"Mr. Guyton and Miss Fairbrother started work in the office the Thursday before Easter... the day before Good Friday and they worked alone for the best part of three and a half days. Then on the Tuesday afternoon, Mr. Guyton comes in while I'm washing down the stairs and asks me along to his office, where he introduces me to these two women.., one of them's young - the other had seen her best days. He tells them that if they have any problems they're to see me."

"And that's it
; that's all there was to it."

"Yes
. I think they were temps or something."

"Had you seen them before?"

"No."

"When was the last time you saw Guyton and Fairbrother?"

"On the Tuesday.., nearly lunch time."

"Have you seen them since?"

"Not a sight nor hair of them after Tuesday."

"And the Temps
.., when did you last see them?"

"They was working up to this Sunday."

"I believe there were some security guards as well?"

"You mean the two geezers from the security company."

"That's right. You're sure they were from the security company?"

"Course I'm sure..,
their name was on their  shoulder flashes, just like the regiment's name was  in the war."

"Is there anything else you can remember about them Mr. Spriggs
; anything at all?"

"Nothing, except one of them had a car."

"You saw them with a car?"

"Not exactly. It was the first day they came, the day before Good Friday. They each came in carrying cases and stuff then he went out again, and came back some minutes later."

"So what makes you think there was a car?"

"Because the first time they came in I saw them with a case in each hand, then he went back out and returned five minutes later with another bag."

"I still don't see how you know from that they had a car," said Sergeant Heath.

"You tell him Mr. Spriggs," Roberts gave him a conspiratorial wink.

"Simple sergeant. If they'd had a cab waiting, he would have been straight outside for the last bag, paid the cabbie and back in. It would only have taken a minute, but Mr. Guyton was gone more than five minutes, so he had probably parked a car nearby."

"Thank you Mr. Spriggs." You see Pat, you're never too old to learn."

They took their leave of the old caretaker and walked to the street entrance, chatting as they did so.

"I'll leave you in charge here Pat and go back to the shop and start things rolling from there. Give me a bell if you learn anything new here." They were about to go their separate ways, when a uniformed Inspector approached them.

"Is one of you gentlemen D.I. Roberts?" The uniformed Inspector asked. Roberts half raised his hand in acknowledgement.

"Something wrong Inspector?"

"You could say that. I’ve had half my division turning this place over looking for burglars and then I find I've got you lot from Malborough Street on my manor, without as much as a 'by your leave'.

"So
who invited you to the party?" asked Roberts.

"I doubt you’ve ever heard of a silent alarm
.., we got the call 30 seconds after you entered the office and that's why I came here mob handed. Why the hell didn't you let division know?"

"I did leave a message to inform your division, but obviously the liaison system got fouled up. I'm sorry you weren't told."

"Your lot's always the same.., always after the glory, but unwilling to do the spade work."

"I
sympathize Inspector, but I've apologized for not letting you know personally and that's the best I can do for you. As for doing this for my own personal glory.., you're way out of line. 'Chummy' here, hasn't put a foot wrong so far; but we're getting there. For all your tactics and hard work rate, your boys in blue weren't even aware there was anything going on in their own manor, so that hardly leaves you room to complain. Good-bye Inspector."

Roberts arrived back at Marlborough Street and got on with the business of tracking down the employment agency, which, according to Spriggs, had supplied the 'temps' for the bank.

He worked methodically, making a list of all agencies within half a mile of Change Alley, then one mile and a last list covering a three mile radius from the bank. He got lucky on the 17th phone call he made. The first interview, with Karen Napier, took place at an office in the City, where she had been engaged as secretary for a month.

"Good afternoon Miss Napier, we'd like to talk to you about your employers at the Change Alley office, a week or so ago."

"I hope you've squared this with my boss, taking his time and all."

"Don't worry, Miss Napier, I'll have another word with him before we leave. Now, what can you tell us about the job at Change Alley?"

"Just another job I suppose."

"Nothing out of the ordinary then?" probed Roberts, anxious not to put words into her mouth."

"Not really... they just left us to get on with it."

"You and who else?"

"Sally."

"Sally Hardcastle?"

"Yes, that's right. Have you seen her yet?"

"No, we thought we'd see you first. What exactly were your duties at the office?"

"Just the usual, really. Answer the door and the phone; in fact it was money for old rope. We only saw a handful of people the whole time we were there. I've never been so bored..."

"What did you do for the people who did come to the office?"

"I just showed them in to Sally and ticked them off the list."

"Was that a list of
about 15 names or so?"

"Sounds like it. Only eight or nine of them ever came in."

"Did you notice anything strange about the people?"

"Only that they were all American."

"Thank you Miss Napier, you've been most helpful."

They tackled Mrs. Hardcastle at her home near King's Cross Station. She was cautious and refused to open her door until Heath pushed his warrant card underneath it. They were confronted by a blousy woman in her early forties who looked a little the worse for wear for drink. She seemed like a woman who liked to keep herself looking good, but one who was fighting a losing battle against the onslaught of the years. She was none too pleased at their visit.

"Mrs Hardcastle, we have reason to believe that you recently worked for a bank in the City, at Change Alley."

"What if I did? There's no law against that
, yet."

"We believe you worked there with a colleague, Miss Napier."

"Stuck up bitch; was it her who put you onto me."

"I think you've taken things the wrong way Mrs. Hardcastle. Nobody's said anything against you
; we're just interested if finding out about the people you worked for. What were your duties exactly?"

"I just took money off the people
; checked them off the list and banked the proceeds."

"On your own?"

"Sorry?"

"Did you do the banking on your own or did Miss Napier come with you?"

"Don't be daft; one of us had to stay to keep the office open.., the guard drove me to the bank and back."

"Was it very far away from the office?"

"No, only down the road in Gresham Street."

"Can you remember the name of the bank?"

"The Nation... no the Provincial Bank, Gresham Street."

"How many trips did you make in all?"

"Only three or four."

"And the quantity of money involved?"

"£70 - 80,000, I suppose. Here, I shouldn't be telling you all this.., it's supposed to be confidential."

"Don't worry about a thing Mrs. Hardcastle, we won't tell anyone." Roberts reassured her.

"I think you know where to go Pat.., if we hurry, we should just make it before closing time..." The detectives left Mrs. Hardcastle to her bottle, knowing she would have forgotten their call within the hour. The doors of the Provincial Bank were closed when they arrived.

"What time do you make it Pat?"

"28 minutes to four, Guv."

"They've closed a bit sharpish
; try the bell."

The voice box, next to the bell push squawked into life in response to Heath's jabs at the bell push.

"Open up please, this is the Police." Heath spoke into the box.

"I'm afraid you'll have to do better than that", a voice emanated from the box."

"Problems Pat?"

"They don't seem to want to open up,
Guv."

"Well we do look a little suspicious. Tell the
m we'll radio our control room and get them to phone our description through." Roberts couldn't really blame the bank for being cautious, as they were in plain clothes and driving an unmarked car. Ten minutes and a phone call later they were inside, talking to the manager.

"Serious Crimes Squad Mr?"

"Bristow," replied the manager. "How can I help you?"

"We have reason to believe that an account has been opened at this bank within the last month or so, in the name of Guyton. Is that correct?"

"If it were, Inspector, I am not sure I would be able to say so.., privileged information and all that."

"Mr. Bristow, we understand your position and caution, however, we are pursuing a case of fraud involving a substantial amount of money, so we don't have time for all the niceties if we're going to recover the money and get it back to people in the same business as you."

"I understand you perfectly Inspector, but if I were to divulge information about our clients, the public's trust in our institution would disappear overnight."

"At the moment, it's the money that's disappearing overnight
Sir.., is that any better? Let me put my cards on the table Mr. Bristow. We know that the man who called himself Guyton opened an account with you; we have just interviewed the lady who did the banking for him. We wish to know two things; is the money still here - if not, where and how did it go?"

"And you understand that that information is privileged Inspector and that I cannot possibly tell you. You could of course return with a court order
..."

"We're wasting our time here
Sir," said Heath, ill at ease in the presence of the manager. They were after all trying to protect the banks, he mused and this was the thanks they were getting for it.

"May I ask if the account is still open Mr. Bristow?"

"It is not."

"Therefore the funds have been transferred elsewhere
; out of the country perhaps?"

"You'd make a good fisherman Inspector
."

"You don't mind if I continue to think aloud Mr. Bristow?"

"It's a free country.

"I believe Mr. Guyton transferred his funds abroad, using the same name
; otherwise your curiosity would have been aroused. He would probably have chosen a European country within easy reach, which leaves us with France, Belgium or Germany."

"Would you care for some coffee Inspector? Sabena can bring some in
." Bristow picked up the phone to order it.

"Thank you, Mr. Bristow, but we must be off. You've been a great help." Roberts permitted himself a rare smile, as he waited for Bristow to show them out onto the street.

"Well Sir, that didn't get us very far. These bankers are all the bloody same," Heath commented as he got into the squad car.

"On the contrary sergeant, Mr. Bristow could
hardly have been more helpful.New Scotland Yard Driver.., and hurry."

They found Forbes in his laboratory and accompanied him to the canteen, to get up to date with the different elements of the case.

"What progress are we making, Duncan?"

"Very little really. So far 36 Americans have been tracked down through the passport numbers on the back of the che
ques and nothing. None of them knew they were being used. All of them were pleased to have the opportunity of earning extra cash to prolong their stays and they've come up with any number of descriptions of Chummy and his girl-friend. I've no doubt that when the rest of them are found, the story will be just as confused. Meanwhile, at the Change Alley office, the forensic boys estimate that there are several hundred sets of prints in the offices and that it'll take six months to separate and annotate them."

"In other words Duncan
.., we've got nothing concrete."

"That just about sums it up."

"We seem to have had a bit more luck; it seems Chummy employed two temps to help out at the office, and they actually did the banking at the Provincial Bank in Gresham Street in the City."