Royal Heist (24 page)

De Jersey turned to Wilcox. “What about you?”

Wilcox shuffled his feet with embarrassment. “Well, what Tony’s saying is true. That Pamela woman’s a flake too. Thinks she’s auditioning for the National Theatre the way she’s carrying on. If we come in on the expenses you’re paying out, we’ll be paying her a grand a week like the others, more than she’s ever earned in her life I reckon.”

“She’s worth it. She’s going to be right in the thick of it,” de Jersey snapped.

“You say so, but how do we know she won’t cave in?”

“She’s as tough as they come, plus she knows the consequences if we fail. She’s worth her price.”

“But, again, we only have your word and you only have the trust you’ve placed in them. Then you say we’ve got two speedboats and you’ve ordered four helicopters as decoys. Have you got all these extras lined up, or are you just making out lists of things you’re thinking about doing but haven’t got round to yet? Where are we gonna get these two boats from? Then there’s got to be river moorings organized. It’s still all up in the air.”

De Jersey bit off the end of his cigar and spat it out.

Wilcox continued. “We’ve got to be tooled up, and I wouldn’t trust that Westbrook character to carry a water pistol let alone a shooter. We’ve never used so many amateurs for a gig before.” He took a deep breath. “It could all fall apart, and then I’ll be in an even worse situation than when we started. You say you’ve laid out for everything, and you have, I can see that. But I’ve paid for the cars, and Tony sorted out the weapons. I can’t pay out any more.”

Driscoll started again. “I’m broke from this wedding. I mean, we’ve been lucky in the past, we all know that, but this is stretching it to the limit. We’ve not even got into how we’re getting the gems to France.”

De Jersey blew a smoke ring above his head as Wilcox took over where Driscoll left off.

“And this Dulay character. You say we can trust him, but you’ve had to squeeze his balls to get him to agree to be part of this, and that’s always dodgy. Carrying that gear out of the country is impossible. The scream will be up so loud that every airport and dock will be surrounded. I know you’ve worked out decoys, and I’m sorry to sound so negative, but I just don’t buy it.”

“Dulay has a big yacht. I was planning to use it unless you want to use yours,” de Jersey said to Wilcox.

He was taken aback when Wilcox shouted, “I bloody can’t use mine! I had to sell it months ago. You see what I’m talking about? We’re up shit creek on this one, and you are gonna have to admit it.”

De Jersey was finding it hard to maintain his calm. “Things will go wrong if you don’t keep your cool. Dulay is picking up the jewels from the south coast. It’s all taken care of.”

Wilcox bowed his head. “All taken care of! I hope bloody Sylvia Hewitt’s also taken care of. That’s more cash you’ll likely have to pay out to keep her quiet. So if you’ve got it all planned, why the fuck don’t you tell us about it and take care of our worries?”

Driscoll put up his hand, like a schoolkid. “There’s another thing, Eddy. I see what you’ve paid out and I know I’ve not come in with much, but you’ve never discussed what you expect to get from the sale of the jewels. Can you give us an idea?”

Wilcox interrupted. “Hang on a minute. We’re depending on Dulay for this Japanese buyer. Dulay says he’s got him, but that’s just his word. If he doesn’t pull off the sale, we’re gonna be left with the hottest gear around. Nobody’ll touch it, no matter what it’s worth. We’ll all be left with fuck-all. And another thing—”

Driscoll put up his hand again. “Have you met the buyer?”

“No,” de Jersey said, and he flushed with anger because he knew they were right. He was not being as professional as he had been in the past, and he was depending heavily on Dulay and Marsh.

“Shit, this is a mess. Admit it, Eddy, it’s just not working.” Wilcox heaved himself out of the worn, old armchair.

“It is, and it will work. I trust Dulay. If he says this Japanese guy is good for it, he is, and you checked him out in Paris.”

“I don’t call that checking out,” snapped Wilcox. He was pacing up and down now in fury. “All I did was tail Dulay to the Ritz and see him meet up with the guy. What they said and how far we can trust them is another matter.”

“He’s agreed to pay an excellent price for the Koh-i-noor Diamond alone,” de Jersey said, opening his briefcase.

“How much?” asked Driscoll.

“One million per carat. It’s over a hundred carats,” de Jersey said, tight-lipped. He took out his notebook.

Driscoll’s jaw dropped.

“He wants the Koh-i-noor for starters, but selling him the other gems will be no problem.”

“But who is this guy?” Driscoll asked.

“He’s a contact of Dulay,” said de Jersey defensively.

Wilcox looked at Driscoll. “But how can we trust Dulay? How do we know he’s not going to just disappear? And now you tell us this buyer
knows
about the diamond already. Jesus Christ! We’re leaving ourselves wide open. What if this fucking Jap raps to someone?”

Now it was back to Driscoll. “He’s right, Eddy. And, thinking about it, I have big worries. If the worst comes to the worst, I can sell my properties and go back to work full-time. At least I’d still have something. I’m getting too old to take such risks. I’m really sorry to sound off at you this way, but—”

“You want out?” de Jersey asked coldly.

“The way things are right now, yes, cos I just don’t think we can do it. It all depends on people trusting one another, and with so many parties involved we could get screwed from any angle. Right, Jimmy?”

Wilcox nodded.

“I’ve never let you down before.” De Jersey sounded bitter.

Wilcox gave an impatient sigh. “We both know that. But the plan isn’t right yet, and all this farting around today wasn’t good enough. We’ve not got that much time to get it together.”

De Jersey flicked the ash from his cigar. “Fine. Walk away. I won’t hold you to anything. I never did before and I won’t now. That’s not to say I’m not disappointed. Of course I am, because I’m down a lot of cash already. You two don’t want to come in and help me out, fine. But I’ve always made sure that whoever worked alongside me got a fair share and I’m not about to change that. The fair share is the reason we can trust the people I’ve brought in. It is that element of the deal that binds us all together. It worked for us in the past and it will work for us this time.”

“Come on, Eddy, we know that,” Driscoll said. “And don’t think I’m not grateful for our past deals, but they were a long time ago. We were younger then, more prepared for the risks.”

Wilcox nodded. “Yeah, I’ve got six kids.”

“And a habit to feed,” de Jersey snapped.

“I’m clean,” Wilcox said defensively.

“So you say.” De Jersey knew that he had to steer them back on course and, worse, that without them he could never pull it off. He pointed to Driscoll. “You think you and Wilcox here are the best I could get for this? I brought you in on this to ease my guilt for the bad investment advice I gave you. I’m not prepared to lose what I’ve spent the best part of my life building up. Neither do I want to lose my wife or my daughters by spending the rest of my life banged up in prison. I will ensure there’s as little risk as possible for all of us. I’ve taken on board what you’ve said, but when in the past did you ever know all the details and every member of the team? Never! You trusted my judgment. If you no longer trust me, then get the hell out.”

Driscoll put his hands up. “Come on now, no need for this. You said it yourself, Eddy. You said if it didn’t look kosher you’d call it quits and there’d be no hard feelings.”

“What do you say, James?” de Jersey asked.

“I am not doing drugs! I’ve worked my arse off getting these two cars and the bikes ready. I just think the plan’s not up to your usual standard, that’s all. Maybe if we thrash out the details a bit more, know exactly what you’ve planned, we’ll feel happier.”

“Come on, we’ve all done a good share,” Driscoll said, angrily.

“Yeah, us three have, but the computer geek is getting a grand a week and a big cut!” Wilcox was still in a rage.

De Jersey stood up, his military bearing intimidating. “You two are getting greedy. Raymond Marsh is not going to betray us. He’s already in too deep. He’s hacked into the private Royal diaries, intercepted Scotland Yard calls, and made sure there won’t be any links between him and me when this is all over.”

Wilcox sucked in his breath. “Leaving yourself out in the open, aren’t you? You may be using Philip Simmons as a cover, but something this big will have every cop in the U.K. after you.”

“It’s more than a cover,” de Jersey interjected brusquely. “In cyberspace, Philip Simmons is almost as good as flesh and blood. As soon as this is over, he disappears into thin air and all the leads and clues disappear with him. There is no connection back to me because Philip Simmons organized the whole thing.”

Neither man understood what he was talking about, but his confidence in the alias was a bonus. After all, de Jersey himself was a direct link to both of them.

He continued, “Marsh is worth every cent we pay him because we couldn’t pull this off without him. He’s a genius.”

Wilcox and Driscoll fell silent. Then de Jersey’s bravado slipped. He gave a long sigh. “All I can say is this, I’m not just protecting myself. I have to look out for all of you. I’ve been working on how all of us move out when the scream goes up, just as I always did in the past. It takes time and planning down to the last second. If there are loopholes then we have to rethink, or I do. So, ask me what you need to know.” He picked up the black marker pen and crossed to the board. “List every loophole. We’ll go through them one at a time.”

Driscoll rested his head in his hands. Wilcox slumped into the old chair. “I can’t fucking think straight now.”

De Jersey looked from one to the other. He tossed aside the marker pen. “Sleep on it, then, but I need to know what the two of you decide by tomorrow.”

He picked up his briefcase, took out the CD, and opened his laptop. “Take a look at this. When you’re through close it down and remove the CD. Don’t let it out of your sight. This is for our eyes only.” He snapped his briefcase shut and collected his coat. “Good night.” A moment later they heard the side door slam shut.

Both men remained silent for quite a while. Eventually Wilcox stood up. “Did you tell him I had a drug problem?”

“No way!”

“Did you understand any of that stuff about the alias?”

“Nope, but he seemed to, and that’s what counts.”

Wilcox got up to look at de Jersey’s laptop. Driscoll followed him and pushed in the CD.

“Fuck me!” he exclaimed. “Look, Jimmy.” He pointed to the interactive floor plan of the D’Ancona safe house.

They sat close to the small screen, taking the virtual tour. When it ended Driscoll pressed eject and took out the CD. “Jesus Christ, do you know what we just watched?” They looked at each other and knew without saying it that they were back on board.

“Let’s go for it! All or nothing!” Wilcox said.

“Yeah, give it our best shot. If we go down at least we’ll be famous. This is gonna be the biggest robbery in history, right?” Driscoll was now determined to see the positive side.

Wilcox laughed. “Just one thing. You don’t have any sort of moral issue over this, do you? I mean, they are the Crown Jewels, and breaking them up is sort of—”

“Unpatriotic?” Driscoll laughed. “Fuck ’em! The Royals have had ’em long enough.” He clapped Wilcox on the shoulder, and the two of them packed up and left.

In the darkness, inside the main part of the barn, de Jersey moved silently from behind the screens. Neither man had seen or heard him return to listen to their conversation. He sat down in the armchair and went through the meeting, listing every gripe that had been raised. Each was valid; they were still a long way off. Could he trust Marsh? So much depended on him. He sighed. Bottom line, he could trust no one involved completely, but that was the risk in this game. He must check out the Japanese buyer for himself and contact Sylvia Hewitt to make sure she was behaving. It irritated him that he had promised to pay her off, but it would be worth his while to keep her silent.

David Lyons was still in Sylvia’s thoughts, and her sister was still living with her. Helen had recovered somewhat from the trauma of losing her husband, but she talked about David all the time. Some nights Sylvia didn’t want to return home and wished Helen would find her own place to live.

On the day de Jersey had brought together the key team, Sylvia had just got home, later than usual as she had dined with a client.

“I’m in here” came Helen’s high-pitched voice. She sounded angry.

Sylvia felt annoyed that her sister would undoubtedly ask her where she had been. “Give me a minute,” she called back and took off her coat. She hadn’t had time to hang it up before Helen marched out of the drawing room carrying a bundle of photographs. “I wasn’t prying. I was looking for a needle. I knew you used to keep a sewing kit in your bedside table drawer. I found these.” Helen thrust the pictures at her. One showed Sylvia and David kissing.

“Oh, it was some office party,” Sylvia said lamely.

“No, it wasn’t. How do you explain the beach and palm trees? What was going on between you and my husband?”

“He’s dead, Helen. What does it matter now?”

“It matters to me. I want to know the truth. Look at me, Sylvia. Tell me what was going on.”

“Oh, for God’s sake, Helen, it’s obvious, isn’t it?”

“No, it isn’t. I want you to tell me.”

Sylvia sighed. “I never wanted to hurt you.”

“Tell me what was going on between you and my husband!” Helen shrieked.

“We were lovers,” Sylvia said at last. It all came out: how long it had gone on, all the times they had been together. She felt wretched, and so sorry for Helen that she burst into tears.

“Sylvia, you disgust me. My own sister!”

Helen walked into her bedroom and shut the door.

The following morning Sylvia tried to speak to Helen again, but she remained in her locked room. When Sylvia returned that evening, two suitcases stood in the hall and Helen’s coat lay over them. She was waiting, her face drawn and chalk white. “I’m leaving. I can’t talk about it. I don’t know if I ever want to speak to you again. I trusted you, and you went behind my back and took the only thing in my life I have ever felt proud of. My marriage is now just some terrible sham, and you are despicable for letting me stay here with you. I was pleased to have you at my side at his funeral, and now I discover that all the time you’ve been lying to me.”