The Body in the River (16 page)

He said,
‘
Thanks for calling me so promptly, John. I need you here at The Yard for a nine am briefing. I
’
d like to speak to you before, however; how soon can you get here?
’

Brookes looked at his watch.
‘
I
’
ve got one matter that won
’
t wait, sir; give me ten minutes. If I leave then I should be with you by eight thirty, traffic permitting.
’

‘
Good; this is important, don
’
t be late.
’

As Brookes put the phone down, alarm bells were ringing in his mind. Aitcheson was the top detective in the country and was good. But he was also known for keeping a tight rein on detectives under his command. The last thing Brookes needed at this moment was interference from above. Bringing his mind back to the present, he heard Rose chatting away on the telephone in fluent French. When she finally put the phone down, she walked over to him with a steaming cup of black coffee in one hand and the message in the other.

Putting the coffee on the desk in front of him, she said,
‘
They were very helpful, sir. The flight takes about eight and a half hours. It should have arrived at Aine Cesaire Airport on the island no more than an hour ago, if it was on time. The officer I spoke to said that he would get onto the island
’
s police and ask them to find out where Fleming went from the airport. Apparently the island isn
’
t that large and it
’
s not the tourist season, so they should be able to trace him. But they won
’
t be able to detain him without an arrest warrant. The officer took our number here and said he
’
d give it to the Martinique Gendarmerie and ask them to let us know if they find Fleming.
’

Brookes took a tentative sip of the hot coffee.
‘
Well done, Jacqui, that
’
s brilliant.
’
He paused, taking another sip.
‘
Listen, I
’
ve got to go to The Yard for a briefing. I need you to stay here and hold the fort until Derek Short arrives; fill him in on the developments. If you get any more news, call me on my mobile.
’

Rose glowed with pleasure; for the first time since she
’
d joined the team, she actually felt she
’
d made a useful contribution.

Seeing this, Brookes smiled.
‘
I know I
’
ve been a bit hard on you this first couple of days, but as you can see it
’
s been a bit hectic. Things will improve, I promise you.
’

‘
There
’
s nothing to apologise for, sir; I didn
’
t expect a red carpet.
’

*

Arriving at New Scotland Yard, Brookes went straight to Aitcheson
’
s office on the first floor.

In his early fifties, the commander had a roly-poly figure and steel grey hair that defied every effort to control it. Thick horn-rimmed glasses and a bristling moustache gave him the appearance of an absent-minded professor. Brookes guessed that if the man had chosen an academic path, he would no doubt have achieved that. As it was, he had a sharp, incisive mind, the street sense that made him a formidable detective, and the management skills that made him an excellent leader.

He rose to greet Brookes with a smile and a handshake. There were two other men already seated at the commander
’
s small conference table. One was Brian Collins, the other was introduced as Superintendent Bill Griffiths from the National Organised Crime Squad.

Coffee was served and Aitcheson got straight down to business.

‘
John, your murder enquiry has presented us with the opportunity we
’
ve been looking for. It seems that you have discovered how Raymond Silver is sanitizing his profits. I must congratulate you. Richard Mann of Fraud tells me that we are talking in the region of at least fifty million pounds; all in the form of valuable properties throughout the world. I
’
m sure you realise that catching your killer and questioning him about his link to Silver could help bring him down.
’
He added,
‘
I hear this Fleming managed to slip through your fingers and escape abroad; is that true?
’

The implied criticism was obvious and Brookes
’
temper rose.

Through clenched teeth, he said,
‘
It is true that he left the country
before
I had enough evidence to arrest him, yes, sir.
’

‘
And he flew to Paris; is that the latest you have on him?
’

‘
No. I had a message this morning saying that he was on an overnight flight to Martinique in the West Indies, sir.
’
The emphasis on the word
‘
sir
’
was more pronounced than he had intended; he was having difficulty controlling his temper.

Aitcheson glanced at Collins. It was that glance that gave Brookes the clue as to why Aitcheson appeared to be critical of his actions; Collins had put the boot in, making sure any blame would not come his way.

Aitcheson turned back to Brookes. His expression showed that he too had realised what Collins had attempted to do.

In a far more conciliatory tone he said,
‘
What
’
s your next move, John?
’

‘
I
’
ll go after the bastard of course, sir.
’

Aitcheson nodded.
‘
Good, I thought you might. You will need some help so I
’
ve pulled together all the departments involved. You
’
ll meet them all in a few moments. But before we do that, I
’
d like to bring you up to date with the international scene.
’
Turning to Griffiths he said,
‘
Bill, will you do that, please?
’

Bill Griffiths spoke with the broad Scouse accent of his native Liverpool.
‘
First, John, let me give you the background to what we do. I
’
ll start with the international scene. Interpol has come a long way since its formation in nineteen twenty-three. It now has one hundred and eighty-four members. You know it was started to facilitate the extradition of criminals from one member state to another. Well that works very smoothly now. They have even managed to get round the politics; we
’
ve had examples of the successful extradition of major criminals between states that have no diplomatic relations.

‘
Interpol keep a database of international criminals and crimes at their headquarters in Lyon that we all dip into. If your fugitive is found in a member state, we should have no problem getting him back here.

‘
Now the EEC; with the free movement of people between member countries the police have had to get their act together. Europol was formed; they have their headquarters in The Hague. They have two functions, both advisory. They have developed an intelligence network and they facilitate cross-border police operations. They don
’
t get involved in operations themselves but we have found them very useful in our fight against crime. So, that
’
s the international picture.
’

Brookes nodded, having already known most of what he had just been told.

Griffiths continued,
‘
But you will know that things have moved on at home here too. All the old inter-force rivalry was not helping us catch the villains.
’
He grinned.
‘
I
’
m sure you
’
ve experienced some of that when you
’
ve tried chasing London
’
s criminals around the country.
’

Brookes politely returned the smile and nodded again.

Griffiths continued,
‘
Now I work for the National Crime Intelligence Service, which is run jointly by the police and customs, and we target the major criminals. Raymond Silver is one of our targets. We can help you with him and The Financial Action Task Force will look into the money laundering. We will work alongside you.
’

Brookes felt as if the man was trying to sell him an encyclopaedia and simply nodded again. Like most police officers, he was parochial and did not give his trust easily to those he hadn
’
t seen to have proven their worth.

Griffiths finished his sales pitch by saying,
‘
What I
’
d like to do, John, is to set up a liaison with your team; we can coordinate our efforts and free your guys to concentrate on the murder suspect.
’

Brookes
’
mind was working quickly. He was shrewd enough to know that if interference from above was inevitable, it was better if he dictated the terms.

He chose his words carefully.
‘
That
’
s fine with me, as long as catching Fleming remains the priority. Brian here has already leant me a good DS, Paul Moore. He can be our liaison man unless Brian had any objection.
’

Collins laughed.
‘
That
’
s sneaky, John. You make it difficult for me to take him away from you.
’
He paused. Then,
‘
OK, OK, you can hang on to him for a while.
’

Aitcheson had a smile on his face, watching the interplay between the two and knowing its cause. He looked at his watch.

‘
Right, in ten minutes we are in the briefing room to discuss the way forward. Is there anything else you want to ask before we go in, John?
’

Brookes replied diplomatically,
‘
No, sir. I
’
m grateful for the help you are offering.
’
He was relieved; he had no interest in this foray into politics and simply wanted to get on with the job in hand.

*

At 9am, the four detectives joined the others already assembled in one of The Yard
’
s briefing rooms. Commander Aitcheson chaired the meeting.

Introductions were made; in addition to Bill Griffiths, Brian Collins, and John Brookes, Detective Superintendent Bill Parlour represented the Serious Fraud Squad, Detective Inspector Sally Hinds attended from the force
’
s Interpol office, and Phillip Green from The Yard
’
s Press Liaison Office.

Aitcheson got things started.
‘
On Saturday, a young woman was murdered. Excellent detective work by John and his team discovered a connection between the killer and laundering of the profits of organised crime in London. John
’
s first priority is to catch the killer, who has fled abroad.

‘
John
’
s investigation has brought to light the method Raymond Silver uses to launder his profits. Fleming, the murder suspect, is also the money launderer, so his capture takes on even greater importance. The murder of a young woman is serious enough in itself. But when you think of the money involved, all the proceeds of crime, you will see there are further implications.

‘
John
’
s team has discovered that Fleming was in frequent contact with this Silver. Clearly, he may have valuable information that could help us bring him down.
’
He turned to Brookes.
‘
John, please fill in the details.
’

Brookes led them through the investigation to date, answering their questions as he went.

Next, Collins described the criminal empire run by Silver. Bill Parlour filled in details of the finances of Luxury Homes Abroad and the enquiries his officers were conducting. Bill Griffiths made his input, for what it was worth. With the possible exception of the commander, the other detectives in the room were cynical about the effectiveness of outsiders operating on their territory.

Aitcheson summarised,
‘
The unfortunate murder of Alison MacPherson has given us an opportunity. We need Fleming in custody here. With a murder charge hanging over him, we can prise information from him that might well bring down Silver. The implications go far beyond this country and we need the co-operation of police forces abroad, hence Interpol
’
s involvement.
’
He turned to DI Hinds.
‘
Sally, what can you do to help?
’