Betrayed (Powell Book 4) (18 page)

Roger answered all Powell’s questions, seeming to understand it was his best and only option. The questioning went on for three hours. Powell would ask the same question in different ways, to verify he was getting the truth. Roger was providing the same answers each time and eventually Powell called a halt, satisfied he had learned everything possible from Roger.

He had recorded the last round of questions on his phone. It wasn’t evidence which could ever be used in his defence in a court of law but it might still serve a purpose.

After they finished, Powell put ten thousand pounds cash in Roger’s hand. It garnered a quizzical look from Jenkins but it wasn’t Powell’s money and he wanted Roger out of the picture. Without the money, he may have to stick around. Powell was sticking needles in a voodoo doll of Scott and making Roger disappear was one more pin in the doll.

Unfortunately, Roger was very much the junior partner in the relationship with Scott and Tommy. He wasn’t even able to confirm the names of the crooked police officers. The one point of interest was something he had overheard Scott and Tommy discussing, just the previous day. Scott had been stressing the importance of keeping Hattie sweet until her birthday, which sounded like confirmation Scott was primarily interested in Hattie for her inheritance.

Scott had then mentioned a silent partner and said he was getting concerned by recent events. The revelation of a silent partner was hugely important. Powell didn’t believe Scott was referring to his police friends. It was the only time Roger had heard mention of a partner.

Roger thought it might be someone in the drugs business. Possibly the very man who Jenkins had stolen from in the park. Roger had been able to clarify he was a local gangster of Italian origin, called Luigi and it was his son in the park. Luigi and his son supplied a host of small dealers in and around Brighton.

Powell doubted it was him because Scott would have referred to him by name. It sounded like Scott was referring to someone who was a secret partner and even Tommy didn’t know his name.

Powell considered it likely this partner had some form of financial interest in Scott’s business. Either that or he was a public figure, whose identity needed protecting. Perhaps he was someone much more senior in the police? The way Scott had referred to the silent partner as being worried, suggested he was an important partner. Scott seemed concerned that his partner was worried. That was the type of reaction you might have to an investor. Perhaps this partner was helping fund Scott’s business and was expecting payback when Hattie inherited her money.

Powell recognised he may be clutching at the proverbial straws. He was so desperate for positive news. He decided he would speak again with Samurai and get him to spread the net of financial investigation, a little wider. There must be a trace somewhere of even a silent partner. 

Powell felt there was a possibility Roger would tip off his old friend Tommy that Powell was responsible for their problems. While there was still a possibility they didn’t know it was him, he wanted it to remain that way.

Powell pointed out to Roger, before putting him into a taxi, that he was best off not contacting Scott or Tommy. They would not believe Powell let him go without obtaining some important information. There was even a possible scenario where Tommy decided to question Roger. It was evident from the expression on Roger’s face that he didn’t fancy being questioned by Tommy.

Currently, Scott would assume Roger was still being held captive and that would make it easier for him to put some distance between Tintagel and where ever he was planning to go. Given the connections Scott had to the police, it might be best to go abroad for a time. Powell hinted Spain was much warmer than Britain at this time of year.

Once Roger had departed, Powell and Jenkins wasted no time in also leaving. Roger had some money in his pocket and might decide to place an anonymous call to the police, divulging Powell’s whereabouts.

Jenkins drove for a change so that Powell could phone Tina and ask Samurai to widen his search for information. 

“Any news?” Powell asked, after brief pleasantries. In theory it would be easier to speak directly with Samurai but he didn’t interact well with anyone except his sister.

“My brother would have called you, if he had any important news,” Tina stated.

“I know that but I’d still like an update.”

“I’ll go speak with him and call you back in five minutes.”

It was more like ten minutes when Tina called back.

“I have a summary report,” Tina said. “But don’t get too excited. There is very little concrete information,” she quickly warned. “Scott has little money in his personal bank account and no other assets. Williams has a little more money, a savings account with a few thousand and a mortgage on his home. In other words, neither of them have any obvious signs of wealth. However, that doesn’t mean they don’t have millions offshore in a Swiss bank account.”

“What about the commune?” Powell asked, with a touch of impatience.

“I was getting to that,” Tina replied. “The commune is run as a Limited company under the name of Lindfield Social Enterprises. There is only one director, an accountant for a large firm in London. Scott is a signatory on the bank account, which basically means he has access to all the funds. The shareholders are both offshore companies based in The Cayman Islands. Peter hasn’t yet been able to establish if Scott has any involvement in those companies.”

“In a couple of months, Scott is expecting to get his hands on a large sum of money from a Hattie Buckingham, who lives at the commune. We could be talking several millions. Ask your brother to think about where that money might end up.”

“I’ll ask him,” Tina confirmed. 

“What about Tintagel?” Powell had asked Samurai to investigate who owned the property and any connection to Scott.

“Tintagel is owned by a property company,” Tina answered.

“I know that.”

“Powell, can you please let me finish. The property company is based in Panama and all of the shareholders are other companies based in Panama. My brother believes what he has found could suggest someone is trying to hide the true ownership of Tintagel but equally it could just be a company trying to avoid taxes.”

“Is he going to keep investigating?”

“My brother loves solving riddles. He’ll get to the bottom of who really owns Tintagel.”

“It seems odd both the Commune and Tintagel are owned by offshore based companies.”

“It’s really not that unusual,” Tina explained. “Most companies and individuals with money to spare, will keep it offshore to avoid taxes. It isn’t illegal.”

“Okay. Can you please let your brother know, I believe Scott has a silent partner. I’ve no idea in what way they are partners but I’m sure there will be a financial implication and I wouldn’t be surprised if they are involved in something illegal. I need to know his name.”

“Or
her
name,” Tina added.

“Or
her
name,” Powell agreed. 

Scott placed the call to Luigi, pleased at last to have something to tell the damned Italian. Luigi was running around acting like he was Don Corleone, threatening to kill anyone responsible for his misfortune.

Scott hadn’t appreciated the way Luigi handled Carol. He had slapped, punched and kicked her before Scott called a halt. That had set off another ugly confrontation, which was only cooled by Tommy’s presence. Luigi didn’t like anyone telling him to stop!

Scott didn’t believe Carol knew anything of value and even if she was no longer his favourite woman in the house, he wasn’t happy watching her getting beaten up. He was also seriously worried Luigi was so angry, he might kill her and that was risky. It could lead to further questions and unwanted attention. It was necessary to keep a level head.

Thanks to Tommy, Scott finally had confirmation who was responsible for Luigi and his own problems. Tommy had returned to the supermarket and explained his car had been pranged the previous day, while parked in their car par. He spoke with the man in charge of security and asked if they could check the CCTV.

The man was reluctant at first but two hundred pounds in cash changed his mind. The security man was shocked when he saw the truth of what happened in the car park but knew if he said anything, he would lose his job. 

Tommy caught a brief but clear look of Powell when he stepped out of his car. Scott hadn’t been entirely surprised by the revelation it was Powell. After all, he had plenty of reasons for wanting to get back at Scott. They had all underestimated Powell more than once but wouldn’t do so again. Luigi could focus his attention on trying to locate and kill Powell and that should keep him out of Scott’s hair. Luigi was motivated not just by the thought of revenge but the belief Powell would still have the money and drugs. Luigi wanted his property back.

With the police also hunting for Powell, it was surely just a matter of time before he was found. Scott would prefer it to be Luigi who found Powell as that would be the cleanest outcome. A talking Powell could still be an issue in a police cell. On the other hand, if it could be proved he was killed by a drug dealer, it would just implicate Powell further in the drug business in general.

Luigi intended to kill Powell, although not before he lived long enough to regret his actions. There could be no reasoning with Luigi. His mind was set. Scott had reason to hate Powell but didn’t want to be present when Luigi took his revenge. He would send Tommy in his place. 

Williams was almost as much trouble as Luigi. He was running scared and talking about fleeing the country. It must have been Powell, who broke into his house but the answer was to find and kill Powell, not to run away. If the police did capture Powell, Williams was going to have to silence him before the proverbial hit the fan. By that point they would be in the last chance saloon.

Scott’s phone rang but the caller’s number was withheld, so he answered with a simple, “Hello.”

“It’s me,” was enough introduction. Scott recognised the distinctive voice. “I expected you to call me with an update.”

“I was just about to,” Scott lied. “I’ve been talking to Luigi.”

“Who the hell is Luigi?”

Scott forgot he’d never shared the name of his customer. “He’s my largest customer.”

“For that filth you pedal. We have more important matters requiring our focus.”

“Luigi can help us solve that problem. Powell stole a large amount of product from Luigi, who needless to say isn’t a happy man. Neither am I for that matter as he also stole a great deal of money from me. Anyway, Luigi is what is colloquially referred to as a nasty piece of work. He’s ruthless and committed to finding and killing Powell.”

“That’s all well and good but first you have to find him.”

“Luigi is well connected. He’s circulating Powell’s photo to all the Italians who work in or around the airport.”

“You think he’s staying around the airport?”

“It’s a starting point. Between the police hunt and Luigi, we will find and silence Powell.”

“Make sure you do. We’ve both invested far too much time in this relationship for it to go wrong now when it’s so close to fruition.”

Scott ended the call wondering why he was always on the receiving end of threats from so called partners. He decided to go find Hattie. It was appropriate that it should fall upon her to relieve his stress.

At least the time spent with her had never been a chore. He had struck the jackpot when he discovered she was not only attractive but sexually uninhibited. He would miss her when it came time to leave but the blow would be cushioned by five million pounds.

She had agreed to give him fifteen million pounds of her inheritance and that would be split two ways. Hattie had actually offered twenty million but he’d declined. He believed his refusal of the larger amount, helped prove he wasn’t just after her money.

She thought she was giving him the money as a business loan so he could buy Tintagel but the fifteen million dollars was to be split between Scott and his partner. It wasn’t an equal split but then it had not been his idea in the first place. Scott agreed to take a third but would have settled for less.

Once the money was in his Swiss account, he would be on the plane back to Australia. He didn’t plan to hang around any longer than was necessary. He suspected it would be a very long time before he thought of returning to the UK. Not that he was going to be committing any criminal offence.

He didn’t fully understand the legal jargon but it had something to do with the structure of the companies and the outcome would be that Lindfield Social Enterprises would be declared bankrupt and unable to repay Hattie’s loan.

He would finally achieve his lifelong aim of financial independence. He planned to stay out of the spotlight for the next few years. He would buy a boat and sail around the coast, partying with beautiful girls at every stop. Just two months to go to see his dreams realised.