The Paderborn Connection (11 page)

On Tuesday morning Mick parked in the multi- storey in the town centre and walked to the registry office carrying the envelope with the Doctors certificate in it. He was shown to a cubicle which afforded some privacy and the woman asked him a series of questions, filling in a large form as she did so, she then asked him to check his answers and if he was happy, to sign the form.

“Is that the Doctors certificate?” she asked looking at the envelope Mick had placed on the desk.

Mick opened the envelope and gave her the certificate, she added a couple of things to the form and said if he could wait in the room off the entrance foyer, she would bring him the death certificate in about fifteen minutes.

“How many copies would you like?”

Mick said, “Is five OK?”

“Yes,” she replied.

*

Mick got back to Hatfield and just as he was parking the car, Rachel Bond came out of the building.

“Morning Ma'am,” called Michael.

“Hi,” she replied “how are you?”

“O.K. Ma'am thank you.”

She asked about the funeral and so on and then she said there was something she wanted to ask Michael about Lieutenant Jordan.

“I notice that you don't address him as Lieutenant, always Andrew.”

“That's right Ma'am, when I first met him when he picked me up at Dusseldorf Airport I remarked on the fact that he wasn't in uniform and when I called him by his rank, he asked me not to do it. They are acutely aware of the security implications if total strangers can identify them as serving members of the armed forces. They've had over thirty years of it, with the I.R.A., and then Al-Qaida.”

“Of course, I should have realised” she said, Mick could swear she was blushing slightly, probably with the embarrassment of making such an elementary mistake.

“Is he settling in OK?”

“Yes Ma'am, as I said he's a ‘people person', it's as if he's always been with us.”

“There is a pool car he can have use of, but only during the day unfortunately so you or one of you team will have to get him to and from the hotel.”

“I'm sure D. C. Stavely will be only too happy to oblige Ma'am,” said Mick with a smile.

“I might just pull rank on her,” came the reply accompanied by an even wider smile.

*

Mick rang the undertakers and arranged to go and see them the next day at eleven. He thought about what sort of service they should have, if service was the right word as it would not be religious. What sort of music should they have? He had been to similar funerals before and it was usually a mixture of classical music with one of the deceased favourite songs. He immediately made a mental note to rule out ‘my way'. He remembered his father singing along to a Perry Como record called something like ‘I love her so', perhaps something by him would be suitable with a couple of pieces of classical music. He would wait and see what the undertaker had to say, after all he is the expert.

*

At eleven thirty Mick called everybody together for the team meeting.

` “OK,” he began “We've got a huge amount of information about Captain Phillip Austen and thanks to Andrew and his contacts in the US army intelligence, we've now got a name for the major. Our primary concern is to find Major Karen Hennessey and bring her to justice with sufficient evidence to secure a conviction.

This case is somewhat unusual for us as there is a secondary issue that will overlap to a very large extent with our investigation, I'm talking about the smuggling of diamonds from South Africa to Phillip Austen in Germany.

My very clear brief from upstairs is to get an arrest and conviction for the murder but we are to give Andrew every assistance to enable him to get a result on the smuggling where British Army personal are involved.

Andrew, would you like to give the team your thoughts on where your priorities are and what your ultimate objectives are?”

“Yes, thank you. We are fairly confident that Phillip Austen was the driving force behind the smuggling along with his brother Simon who lives in Bloemfontein.”

“Obviously we can't arrest and convict Phillip Austen as he is no longer with us, but my brief is to establish if any other British Army personnel are involved and if so to arrest them and gather evidence for a conviction.”

“I have additional issues to consider. Firstly Major Hennessey is a serving officer with the US Army stationed in Germany with both British and American Citizenship.

As her crime was committed in this country you have all the authority you need to arrest and convict just as if she were any other nationality working for any other employer. The question of where she would serve her sentence is not the concern of anybody in this room. However I need the help and co-operation of the US Army intelligence people so a certain amount of diplomacy is called for. Fortunately I have a good contact in Larry Gardner, it was him that gave us the Majors name.

The second issue I have to deal with is the fact that the initial crime of smuggling was committed in South Africa. That crime, whether it was the theft of diamonds from the mine or an official in the mine itself trying to avoid the tax and Export Levies that the South African Government imposes, is not my concern. What I want are the names of the people involved in getting the diamonds from Germany to wherever they were destined for.

I am almost certain that Phillip Austen was the organiser at the European end of things whist his brother looked after the South African end. I am in contact with the police in Bloemfontein and they will investigate the crime there and no doubt arrest Simon Austen and others. They will pass on to me any information they find that will help us with our investigations.

We have a book that Phillip Austen kept with a list of initial and dates. Karen Hennessey's initials appear seven times on that list. It's my belief that that list contains the initials of couriers that Phillip Austen used for onward transmission, possibly to Amsterdam, Antwerp or London.

Inspector Joyce and I discovered a considerable amount of financial documentation in his flat in Germany, evidence of him having several bank accounts, not all in his name. This could indicate his method of paying these couriers from the proceeds of selling the diamonds to unscrupulous dealers.”

“Any questions?” asked Mick.

“It appears that there are two lines of enquiry that we have to focus on,” said Bob. “Firstly we have to track down Karen Hennessey and secondly assist Andrew in finding the couriers.”

“I think that's a fair summary Bob.”

“In that case it would seem that you and I should concentrate on finding Karen Hennessey whilst Andrew, with Emma's help and expertise with computers, should concentrate on wading through the financial records to get a lead on the couriers.”

“That was my thinking as well Bob. Andrew are you happy with that?” He nodded and said that he was.

“Emma, any thoughts?”

“Purely on a practical level the white boards we have on the wall currently have information covering both of those lines of enquiry. Wouldn't it be better if we separated them out, with one board with the information for Karen Hennessey and the other for the couriers? Any information that affects both lines of enquiry can go on both boards.”

“Not just a pretty face is she,” said Andrew.

Emma visibly blushed and Mick said, “That's a good idea Emma, you and Bob can do that, you take the board behind your desk and Bob can take the board on his side of the room.”

*

Emma and Bob spent the afternoon re-organising the white boards and Andrew started to go through the bank statements, the cheque books and Building Society passbooks. He made a list of the various account holders names, there were three bank personal accounts in Phillip Austen's name, one with HSBC in Portsmouth, one with a bank based in Germany and one based in Holland. There was a building society account with the Leeds Building Society and a Post office saving account.

There were also bank accounts in various company names, four in total with two in the UK, one in Germany and one in Holland. He then started the laborious process of setting up spreadsheets to track money paid in and out. After a while a pattern began to appear, money would be paid into one of the German banks, then after varying periods of time it would be transferred to another bank, then a third, sometimes in the UK, sometimes Germany or Holland.

The amounts were never the same and never round numbers. There were no single transactions over five thousand pounds or six thousand euros.

Eventually money would finish up in the UK bank accounts and would be used to buy the shares through the broker in Guilford.

Presumably this elaborate paper chase was designed not to cause suspicion, if no single incoming transaction was large enough for that bank to have to notify the authorities.

Mick remembered what the neighbour in Guildford had said about Phillip Austen having served in the police before joining the Army – in the fraud squad. Perhaps that was where he had learned about using multiple bank accounts and moving money about in the way that he had.

Mick spent the afternoon looking at various documents on Phillip Austen's laptop, making a note of any individual or company's initials. He was particularly looking for people who might have worked with or have known Karen Hennessey.

At about six Andrew and Emma left, Bob said he wanted to finish something off and Mick wished him goodnight.

Mick drove in to work on the Wednesday morning thinking about how was the best way to find Karen Hennessey's mother, Sylvia. For some inexplicable reason there was no current address for her next of kin, presumably her mother, recorded on her most recent personnel file sent from Germany.

“Was she still alive even?” he said to himself.

Bob was trying the electoral roles but that was a long, tedious job and ultimately fruitless if she was using her maiden name or had remarried.

“I wonder if we could find a record of her marriage to Patrick Hennessey. They knew Karen Hennessey's date of birth so assuming they got married in the two years before at the outside and assuming they got married in Bury St Edmunds near to where her mother lived, that should narrow it down quite a bit,” thought Mick.

*

As soon as Mick got in, he logged on and started a search on the internet for births, marriages and deaths, looking for marriages of men called Patrick Hennessey in nineteen sixty eight give or take a year in the Newmarket or Bury St Edmunds area. He found five but only one to a woman called Sylvia, Sylvia Shaw on ninth April nineteen sixty nine in Newmarket.

Assuming Sylvia Shaw was between eighteen and twenty five when she got married, he searched the births for the period nineteen forty four to nineteen fifty one. He was in luck, there was only one, Sylvia Doris Shaw , born on fifth May nineteen forty six, father Roland Shaw, mother Doris. The address was a house in Newmarket.

As soon as Bob came in, Mick gave him this new information and said that he had to get off to the undertakers to arrange his father's funeral.

He parked the car and went into the undertakers, or “Funeral Directors” as the sign over the front door proclaimed. It was a fairly new, modern building, the reception was carpeted, with several leather armchairs arranged around low tables. He was shown into an office to be greeted by a man in his fifties, quite portly with unkempt black curly hair.

“Good Morning Mr Joyce, my name is David Mitchell. Please sit down.”

Mick sat down at the large desk with the green leather top, Mr Mitchell sat opposite him and placed a large form on the desk.

Mr Mitchell asked if Mick had got the death certificate, which he handed over. “Right,” he began “your father had a prepaid plan with us but I need to go through your requirements for the actual funeral. Is it to be a burial or a cremation?”

Mick replied “Cremation.”

“Will there be a church service first or at the Crematorium?”

Mick replied that there wouldn't be a church service, his father had never been religious.

“Well we can arrange for somebody to lead the funeral at the Crematorium, a non-religious service, if you wish. We use him quite often for exactly this situation.”

“That sounds fine,” said Mick

“His name is Donald Makepeace, I'll give him your phone number and he will arrange to come to your house at a convenient time for you and discuss the form the service will take. He will need your choice of music and your father's history, where he lived and worked, hobbies, friends, anecdotes about his life, that sort of thing.

The music should be no more than three pieces, each of no more than three or four minutes, most people put their choice onto a CD which Donald will play and arrange the funeral service around this.

The pre-paid funeral plan includes for our fees in receiving and preparing the deceased, the Crematorium fees, the hearse and one following car including drivers and coffin bearers. It also includes the coffin that your father chose, a very nice dark wood with brass fittings. Will you require additional following cars?”

“No,” replied Mick “there will only be my wife and I plus my brother.”

“Will you want us to provide refreshments in our Oak Leaf suite afterwards?”

“No, I don't think so, as I said we are a very small family and I have no idea how many friends and neighbours will be there. I need to put something in the local paper telling people what time and where the funeral is.”

“We can do that for you Mr Joyce, in fact I will ring the crematorium now and book a slot.”

He rang a number and said “Good morning Margaret, David Mitchell here. Can you give me the next available slot for a cremation please?”

After about a minute, he tuned to Mick and said “Tuesday week, that's the twentieth of the month, two thirty.”

Mick nodded and the booking was confirmed.

“I'll put a notice in the paper nearer the time, do you want to say anything about flowers or donations?”

“Yes please, family flowers only and any donations to the St Martins Hospice.”

“Consider it done,“ said Mr Mitchell. “I assume that you will want your father to be in his best clothes when he is in the chapel of rest, if you could let us have them as soon as possible please. Do you want the funeral to go from your father's flat or from your house?”

“Is it possible to go from here, my wife and I can drive here, as can by brother, and leave our cars here.”

“Absolutely Mr Joyce, that will be better for everybody I think.”

“I think that's all we need for today, if you think of anything don't hesitate to ring me Mr Joyce.”

They shook hands and Mick left.

*

The afternoon was uneventful, Mick rang Rachel when he got back to tell her the date of the funeral and said that he would submit a request form to have the day off, she told him not to be silly, and of course he could have the day off.

That night Mick told Sue about the funeral arrangements, she said they might as well start clearing the flat, there was no point waiting until afterwards, especially if they had to go and find his best suit. Mick rang Peter to tell him the date and time of the funeral and the name and address of the funeral directors, where they would be going to the crematorium from. He also said they were going to start clearing the flat and that Peter should meet them there and take anything he wanted. They arranged to meet there on Friday evening, about six.

Mick asked Sue “if she would come and could she ask her friend Helen if the two of them could go there on Saturday to sort out all of the things that could go to the charity shop. I'll pick up Ronnie on the way to the match an hour earlier than usual and we can help carrying things out to the car.”

“Sounds like a plan,” said Sue.

He rang Ronnie who said he'd be only too happy to help.

On Thursday morning Mick asked Andrew if he had heard from the South African police, he said he might give them a ring later and see if there had been any developments.

“Are you making any progress with all of his bank accounts?”

“Quite a bit actually, I think Emma and I should start another white board just for the financial stuff, it's a bit of a maze but I guess that's what was intended.

Captain Austen has three bank accounts in his own name one in the UK, one in Germany and one in Holland, one Building Society and a Post office savings account also in his own name in the UK.

There are accounts in the names of various companies of which Phillip Austen is named as a director, two in the UK and four in Germany. The pattern seems to be that money is paid into the company bank accounts either by cash or, more often, by money transfer using a variety of different agencies, Western Union, the Post Office, HSBC etc. The payments appear to be from customers for work carried out by these companies, there are invoices, obviously fraudulent, to support this. The payments out appear to be to suppliers and wages to workmen, much of this in cash.

The cash payments eventually end up in his personal bank accounts either in Germany or Holland and then are passed on to his accounts in the UK. If the authorities had access to all of the records they would deduce very quickly that there was suspicious activity taking place, Phillip Austen was relying on the fact that his ‘paper chase' was very complicated and involved eleven different bank accounts in different countries together with the fact that there were no individual transactions over the amount which the banks had to report. There was never an instance of an amount in and the same amount out.

I am currently making a list of all of the fake companies, the names of individuals who have either paid these companies for work allegedly carried out or workmen and suppliers who have been paid. I think there is a fair chance that the people paying in are the buyers of the diamonds and the payments out are either payments to the couriers and other accomplices or Phillip and Simon Austen's cut.

The waters are further muddied as Captain Austen's Army Pay is paid into his account in Portsmouth and then transferred to his bank in Germany, where he pays for his day to day living expenses, rent on his flat etc. so there are some genuine “non-fraudulent transactions.”

Mick asked Bob how he was getting on finding Karen Hennessey's mother.

“I've gone through all the records I can think of, I'm beginning to come to the conclusion that Sylvia Hennessey, nee Shaw, is deceased.”

Andrews's phone rang and he answered it immediately.

“Andrew Jordan speaking.” It was Colonel Swanepoel from Bloemfontein.

“Good afternoon Lieutenant, about two hours ago we raided Simon Austen's house, collected a large amount of paperwork to be examined as evidence and arrested him on conspiracy to defraud charges. We were accompanied by officials from the South African Revenue Service who will be involved in the prosecution process.

An hour later, based on what Simon Austen told us, we raided the offices of an independent family owned diamond mine to the north west of Bloemfontein where in addition to seizing evidence, we arrested the three family members who own the mine and charged them with the same offence of conspiracy to defraud.

It will take a few days to check through the evidence but as soon as I am satisfied with what we have, I will send you a full report with copies of anything relating to Simon Austen's dealing with his brother Phillip or anybody else outside South Africa. Incidentally, he wasn't aware that his brother was dead. He told us that he posted another cardboard tube with diamonds in to his flat in Bielefeld last week.

The South African Revenue Service have requested that all the diamonds you have recovered should be sent to them, this can be done via the Embassy in London.”

Andrew thanked him profusely and relayed the information to the rest of the team in the incident room. “I'll get onto Captain Wright and ask him to contact the neighbour, she may have taken in the cardboard tube, either her or the letting agents”.