The Paderborn Connection (14 page)

“Would you ask her to see if they have a Perry Como song called something like I love you so?”

“Consider it done.”

His third choice was one of his own personal favourites, Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana by Mascagni.

He thought about what to tell Donald Makepeace about his father's life. He had his and his mother's birth certificates together with their marriage certificate. His father was born in Enfield in nineteen twenty four, his mother in nineteen twenty nine. They were married in nineteen fifty two. He had seen active service in Belgium, Holland and Germany with the Super Heavy Regiment of the Royal Artillery.

On Tuesday morning Mick was in early, he rang the front desk and enquired whether or not there had been any messages overnight from St Albans. There hadn't been.

When Emma came in he immediately asked her about her visit to the house with the room to let. She said that she had been shown the room, a double room at the back of the house overlooking the back gardens. She feigned interest in the view commenting that the immediate neighbour's gardens were nice, as was the garden of the house she was standing in, but the house next door but one was a bit overgrown.

“That's Mrs Morrison's,” the woman had said “She's not so active these days but does her best.”

“Doesn't she have any family to help her?” said Emma.

“I think she has a daughter but she doesn't live locally. She visits occasionally but the last time I saw her was about three or four weeks ago.”

Emma carried on the pretence of inspecting the room, asked about the kitchen and bathroom, who else lived in the house and how much was she asking for the rent. She said that she had one other place to see but had promised to ring and let the woman know if she wanted the room or not.

“Ah well,” said Mick “thanks anyway Emma, at least we know that she's not there now.”

However he decided against informing St Albans police for a couple of weeks in case she returned.

“Andrew, could you speak to Larry Gardner at Ramstein, can he give us any information from Major Hennessey's file that might give us a clue to where she might be in England? Also have they searched her room and did they find anything there, bank accounts, insurance policies, telephone bills, letters from friends, in fact anything with a UK address or anything at all that might link her to Captain Austen. How are you progressing with the stuff from the South African Police?”

“Well I've only just glanced through it so far, I'll ring Larry Gardner, and then I'll go through it line by line.”

Emma said she would ring the owner of the house near to Sylvia Morrison and tell her that she wouldn't be wanting the room as she had found one near to where she worked, but thanked her and said that she hoped that they would find someone to rent it soon.

Andrew rang Larry Gardner who said that due to the length of time that had elapsed since Major Hennessey had gone absent without leave, together with the fact that she was wanted by the British Police, he would get permission from her commanding Officer to search her room. He promised to ring Andrew as soon as he had done that and would send copies of any documents.

“Can you also ask her friends and anybody she worked with if they had heard from her or had any idea where she might be in England?”

Emma was busy adding something to the whiteboard.

“New information?” asked Mick.

“It's from the files from Captain Austen's flat,” said Emma.

“We found last night that some of the initials and dates we found in Phillip Austen's little loose leaf folder also cropped up in another book he kept listing all of his transactions but with names instead of initials.”

“Last night?” said Mick, “working late were you?”

“I invited Emma to dinner at the hotel,” said Andrew. “I had taken the files home as I thought I was onto something in the afternoon. Emma came up to my room and we read out various lists to each other, ticking off matching names and initials.”

“I hope you don't mind boss,” said Emma looking acutely embarrassed.”

“Why should I mind Emma?”

“About me and Andrew.”

“Emma, you're both unattached and what you do in your own time is absolutely nothing to do with me.”

“I told her that's what you'd say,” said Andrew.

“Actually Andrew my wife Sue is dying to meet you and has asked me to invite you for dinner at our house on Saturday night. I guess I should re-phrase that and say you and Emma.”

Andrew and Emma looked at each other, Andrew nodded to her and said “that would be nice Michael, thank you very much.”

*

Mick spent the last hour of the day reading through files, getting more and more frustrated that he couldn't find anything to give him a clue as to where Karen Hennessey might be.

“Andrew, I don't suppose you've heard from Larry Gardner?”

“No not yet, but he did say he would have to get her commanding officers permission to search her rooms.”

“Bob, have you found anything?”

“Not so far boss.”

Andrew walked over to Mick's desk to show him a list of dates and names.

“These five names, one of which is Karen Hennessey, appear at least four times in the last four months. I recognise one of the names, he's with one of the regiments based in Sennelager. I'm going to ring Captain Wright and ask him to check the other names.”

Mick left them to it and drove home, he wanted to get everything ready for Donald Makepeace's visit the next evening and he got home just after six, before he had even taken his coat off Sue said that she had got a C.D. of Perry Como's greatest hits which included a song called ‘And I love you so'.

Mick put it in the CD player and said “brilliant, that's the one you clever girl.”

“How's Andrew?” she asked “It can't be much fun living in a hotel, has he got any friends or family who live locally?”

“His father lives in St John's Wood, he hasn't mentioned any friends although Bob North reckons he and Emma are ‘an item'.”

“Is that a problem?” asked Sue.

“Not for me it isn't, they're both unattached and if they want to socialise out of work, it's nobody's business but theirs.”

“Bye the way Andrew has accepted your kind invitation to dinner on Saturday evening, I've also invited Emma as Andrew has no transport of his own, hope that's o.k. with you.”

“Of course it is Mick.”

Sue also told him that there were two letters for him, both from the Council, the first about the rent for the flat, saying that there was about thirty pounds due but that it was the Councils policy to waive sums of less than fifty pounds in the event of bereavement. The other one was a final bill for council tax, which actually showed that his father was in credit and that they would send a cheque for forty six pounds ten pence within fourteen days. Sue entered the amounts in the book and they sat down to dinner.

After dinner Mick copied the three pieces of music he had chosen for the funeral onto a blank C.D. He wrote out what he knew about his father, date of birth, date his parents got married, his army service or at least as much as he knew about it, where he worked and lived all his life.

Wednesday was the breakthrough day for both Mick looking for Karen Hennessey and for Andrew looking for British servicemen involved in the smuggling. At nine thirty Larry Gardner rang Andrew and said he had searched Major Hennessey's quarters and had found information that might help the British Police. Andrew said he was standing next to Inspector Michael Joyce who was in charge of the case and it would be better if he spoke to him direct.

“Good morning Lieutenant Gardner, Inspector Joyce here, Andrew tells me you might have some information for me?”

“Good morning sir, yes, we searched Major Hennessey's quarters as Andrew requested and found several items which might be of interest to you. Firstly we have her bank statements going back two years, there are several entries where she is purchasing foot passenger Eurostar train tickets from Brussels to London, presumably driving to Brussels from Ramstein on Saturday morning and returning Sunday evening. On the same day, always a Sunday, there is a credit card payment to a hotel in Birmingham.

Secondly there is a notebook with several names and addresses, two of these are in Birmingham. The others are mainly in the south of England with some in Cambridge and Suffolk. Thirdly there is documentation for the sale of her car, a red Audi TT. Finally there are some handwritten personal letters from somebody who signs herself “Judy”, who appears to be a lifelong friend. There was a letter from Karen Hennessey addressed to Judy Simkin in an address in Northamptonshire, waiting to be posted.

I've also made discreet enquires to establish who her close friends were here in Ramstein, although I have to say there aren't many, she seems to be a bit of a loner.”

“That's great Lieutenant, can you email me the names and addresses and then send copies of everything to the Police Station here in Hatfield?”

“Sure, Andrew has given me the address, I'll do it right away.”

“Right Bob I'll contact the Police in Birmingham to let them know I will be going there in the morning to check out the addresses in Karen Hennessey's note-book. Can you follow up those leads on the addresses in the south? I'll come back via Northampton and check out Judy Simkin's address as well.”

Later that morning Captain Wright rang Andrew.

“Morning sir, did you get anywhere with that list of names?”

“Yes I did Andrew. You were right about that private at Sennelager, he's still based there and goes away for a couple of days every month. His mates say he has a girlfriend in Frankfurt. One other name has come up, a Lance Bombardier in the Royal Artillery at Hohne. I've got somebody checking him out but I'll send both of their files over to you and I'll keep looking for the other two.”

“Andrew do you or Emma have any special dietary requirements, vegetarian or anything?”

“No Michael, living with Army cooking for all these years tends to make one grateful for anything edible. Emma seems to eat anything as well, I don't know where she puts it all, there's nothing on her.”

Bob looked up but didn't say anything.

Mick wrote down the pertinent facts about the Birmingham connection to the case including the two addresses in Handsworth and then rang the West Midlands Police in Birmingham.

“Good morning” he began “my name is Detective Inspector Michael Joyce of the Hertfordshire Police. I am currently investigating a murder that took place in Stevenage, I have a suspect and two names and addresses in Handsworth have come to my attention. Could I speak to a senior officer about visiting Birmingham tomorrow morning to pursue my enquiries please?”

He was put through to Detective Superintendent Chauhan.

“Good afternoon Inspector, I understand you wish to come here in connection with a murder enquiry?”

Mick ran through the basic facts of the case and said he was interested in two names and addresses in Handsworth.

“Both those addresses are fairly upmarket and although I don't personally recognise the names, they sound like they're from the business community. What time will you be here tomorrow Inspector?”

“Is ten thirty OK?”

“Certainly, I'll run a few checks before you get here, see if we have anything on them”

“Thank you Sir, I'll see you tomorrow.”

Mick spent the rest of the day reading and re-reading several files. He rang a contact of his in Northampton and asked him if they had anything on Judy Simkin at an address in Oundle.

“I'll get back to you” was the reply.

*

Mick left in plenty of time to meet Mr Makepeace at seven thirty. He and Sue ate their evening meal, Mick said that there were no special diets needed for Saturday night. Whilst Sue cleared the table, Mick got his notes out together with the C.D.

Donald Makepeace arrived promptly, he and Mick sat at the dining room table while Sue made coffee for everybody and then sat down with them. He got out a notepad and started writing. Mick was surprised he didn't have a form to fill in, everybody else seemed to have these days.

“OK,” he began “Funeral Service of Bernard Joseph Joyce, Enfield Crematorium Tuesday the twentieth of September at two thirty. You're following the hearse from the Funeral Parlour so I will meet you at the Crematorium. I'll start by welcoming people and saying a few words along the lines of ‘we're here today not just to mourn the passing of Bernard but also to celebrate his life.' Then I'll introduce your first piece of music.”

Mick produced the C.D. and gave Donald the details of the three pieces he had chosen.

“Shall I play it now?”

“Yes please, I'll just check the timings and fit my contribution around it. Mick played the first piece, Adagio in G Minor. As the music played, Mick gave him the notes he had made, his father's date of birth, the details of his parent's marriage together with the birthdays of his brother and himself. He told him about his father's army service during the war, in nineteen forty four and five in Belgium, Holland and Germany.

He told him about where they had lived and where his father had worked.

“That's fine Mr Joyce, I can pad that out nicely, I've had many similar background stories.”

Mick thought that summed his father up, typical upbringing and background, pretty ordinary, nothing exceptional, could be padded out to make it sound more interesting.

He then played the second piece, ‘And I love you so' by Perry Como. Mick explained that it was one of his father's favourites, they used to listen to Family Favourite's on the radio on Sunday lunchtimes and he was fascinated by the places people wrote in from requesting music for loved ones.

Mick then played the third and final piece, ‘Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana.'

”It's one of my personal favourites,” explained Mick “and strangely it seems to finish with a full stop, seemed appropriate for a funeral.”

Mr Makepeace said he had pretty well all that he needed, he would ring if there was anything else.

Mick and Sue said goodnight and showed him out.

“Just as a matter of interest, when did you get interested in classical music, I don't remember you particularly liking it when we were first married” said Sue.

“I guess it was when I first joined C.I.D. I was with a Sergeant who was into it in a big way and he would play it when we were sitting in the car for hours on end on observation duty. It was also about the time of the World cup when “Nessun Dorma” was even played on radio One. I often listen to it when I'm driving to and from work, you get to know the composers you like after a while.”

“Sue, I've not done anything about flowers yet, I think I'll ring Carol and see if she can sort something out.”

Mick rang the number, one of the first he had entered into his contacts list.

“Hi Ronnie, is your better half there?”

Ronnie passed the phone over to his wife and Mick said “Hi Carol, can I ask a favour? Could you arrange for flowers to be sent to the funeral directors?”

“I assume you mean from you and Sue?”

“Well, yes.”

“How much do you want to pay?”

“I don't know Carol, what's the usual price people pay for flowers for their father?”

“About ninety to a hundred pounds.”

“Yes that's O.K., can I ask you to do that for me please ?”

“Yes of course Mick, give me the address of the funeral directors and what you want writing on the card.”

“Just something like” ‘in memory of Bernard Joyce from Michael and Sue.' I'll leave the exact wording to you.”

“I was planning on coming to your dads funeral with Ronnie, is that all-right?”

“Of course it is, we're not having anything formal but I'd love you to come back to our house afterwards.”

She obviously said something to Ronnie and then she said “we'd love to Mick, thank you. The funerals at half past two isn't it?”

Mick confirmed that it was.

“Sue have you seen anything in the paper about dad's funeral?”

“Which paper did they put it in?”

“I don't know said Mick,” he just said the local paper.”

“Well that would be the Enfield Independent, we don't have that. I'll ring Molly, she lives in Enfield.” Sue rang her friend from work Molly who said “yes it was in last night, I'll bring it in tomorrow.”