Curse of Thieves: Another Major Vince Hamilton Investigation Read online

I pointed to the bullet hole in the back of the boat. 'That bullet was meant for me and, only for a one Euro coin that somebody had dropped, I would now be dead with a bullet in my brains.'

  'I don't believe it. Who would want to kill you?'

  'It is obviously one of the gang who are stealing these luxury yachts.'

  'Will I be safe?'

  'I don't imagine that they would be after you as you can't affect them. Just don't be on the scene when they try to steal another boat.'

  I took him back to a bar in the town where we both had a stiff drink. I steered well clear of the police we encountered on our way back as I didn't want to get involved in a long inquiry. They did stop us at one point, but as we both spoke English, they left us alone.

  Having calmed down I was able to get to sleep. I had an interesting story for the owners’ group that I was due to meet in the Grand Hotel the following morning.

  Chapter 14

  I had expected to receive a phone call from Freddie Shuttleworth asking me to come to the Grand Hotel early as on the previous occasion, but my mobile stayed silent. I rolled along at 10.50am, grabbed a cup of coffee and went over to talk to Freddie.

  'Good morning, are we still all set for 11.00am?' I asked as I shook his hand.

  'Yes, and we should have a good turnout as most have confirmed that they will be here.'

  'Nick told me last night that the membership of the owners' group has increased since the last meeting.'

  'That's right; nine others have joined. There are a lot of anxious owners as a result of the most recent theft.'

  'When I was visiting the boats with Nick last night somebody shot at me. It was only by good fortune that I wasn't hit.'

  'You say that surprisingly casually but I bet it shook you up. I want to hear more about what happened, but we had better get the meeting underway as I know that some of the owners are in a hurry to get away. You can tell the meeting what happened as part of your report.'

  Freddie announced that the meeting was about to begin, and people should take their seats. I joined him sitting at a table facing the assembled gathering.

  'Good morning gentlemen,' Freddie started. 'I would like Major Vince Hamilton to bring us up to date on where we stand at the moment and on what has been happening since our last meeting.'

  I could see Peter Brown getting extremely hot and flustered. He looked like a volcano that was about to erupt. I didn't have to wait long.

  'Freddie, I am not happy that we continue using the services of Major Hamilton. He totally screwed up the recovery of my boat Splendiferous and failed completely to get it back when he knew exactly where it was.'

  'Peter, why don't we hear what Major Hamilton has to say before we criticise him.'

  'I personally don't want to hear any more from him. He has totally ballsed up as far as I am concerned, and I want him out of the investigation.'

  'Does anybody else feel the same as Peter?' Freddie asked the rest of the members.

  'I can understand why Peter is so upset about what happened to his boat, but perhaps the Major can explain what exactly occurred,’ a member, who had stood up to make his point, said forcibly. ‘Having heard his explanation we can then decide whether he should remain in our employ.'

  'I agree with Ronnie,' another member added.

  'Are you happy that we proceed and let Major Hamilton give us his report?' Freddie said, addressing Peter Brown.

  'Oh, I suppose so, but I am not happy.'

  'Perhaps you could give us an overview of recent events then Vince.'

  'I want to start by saying that I am as upset as anybody that we lost contact with Splendiferous. We used the tracking device that had been placed on board to follow it to Sete, which is a port close to Montpellier. I then went after it on foot to try and find out what was going on. Unfortunately, I was attacked, overpowered, and captured. They also worked out how I had traced the boat to Sete and removed the tracking device. I was locked up, and they moved Splendiferous back into the Mediterranean when the bridges opened at 10.00am the following morning. By the time that I was rescued by the police, the boat was long gone.’

  'Did they harm you?' One of the members asked, showing genuine concern.

  'I received a few bruises when I was knocked off the stern of the boat into the water, but other than that I was relatively unhurt.'

  'Why the hell did you not report the fact that my boat was in a boatyard in Sete to the police?' Peter Brown shouted.

  'As I explained to you at the time if we are to find the other two boats that were stolen, we need to be aware of all the links in the chain. The boatyard in Sete was being used to modify the motor yacht before it was taken elsewhere. It was getting a paint job, being renamed and being altered in appearance. It then was going to be moved further along the chain.'

  'So what you are telling us Vince is that the boats are taken a short distance away from Cannes to some obscure boatyard. They are then modified to make detection virtually impossible.'

  'That's it exactly. What I was hoping to do was follow Splendiferous using the tracking device so as I could establish where the final destination was. Unfortunately, they removed the device after they discovered that I had tracked the boat to Sete.'

  'I still don't understand why you didn't go to the police?' Peter Brown persisted.

  'If we don't find out where the stolen boats final destination is then they can steal another boat and use a different location to alter the appearance. The boat will vanish again, and we are no further forward.' I replied as patiently as I was able.

  'Tell the members about what happened last night Vince,' Freddie suggested.

  'I accompanied Nick Knowles on his nightly visit to check that the crews were all on board. At the last boat, while Nick was checking the crew, and I was waiting at the foot of the gangplank, I was targeted by somebody with a rifle. If I hadn't bent down to pick up a shiny one Euro coin that somebody had dropped, I wouldn't be sitting here in front of you today.'

  'There is a bloody big hole in the stern of my boat. I saw it this morning,' the owner of the affected motor yacht said in an excited tone.

  'Thankfully, he only got off two shots before the police arrived, and neither Nick nor I was hurt. Whoever is carrying out these boat thefts obviously feels that we are getting close to them; otherwise they wouldn't do something drastic like this.'

  'Unfortunately, all you have told us is now in the past, and there appears to be no progress,' Freddie Shuttleworth went on. 'What are you now suggesting is the next step?'

  'Let me write a few things on that flip chart over there as it will make it a bit clearer.' I got up and moved over to the flipchart where I wrote.

  1. Still need to find final destination and who is in control.

  2. Unlikely they will use Sete again.

  3. Put two tracking devices on each boat - one easy to find - the other well hidden.

  4. Thieves should be satisfied when they find one device.

  5. Crews must not be on board when second device fitted.

  6. Don't move in on a stolen boat at any time until sure of final destination.

  7. Track boats remotely - Willem in Holland.

  8. Additional boats of new members need to be fitted with devices and added to Willem's list

  9 Nick continues to check crews every night but must vary the time that he does his inspection.

  10. A member of the gang is based in Cannes so there must be no signs that anything has changed.

  11. Next theft is likely to take place on the coming Friday according to the previous pattern.

  'On point nine; I would like to state that last night when Nick and I checked the crews, on one boat we found that they were in the local bar. It is extremely important that you tell your crews that they must be on board by sunset and that they stay on board.'

  'Are there any questions?' Freddie Shuttleworth asked.

  'What happens if they find both the tracking devices?' Peter Brown barked with a cyni
cal smile.

  'We have to make certain that one of the devices is exceptionally well hidden. May I make a suggestion; each owner should personally locate and fit the second tracker, and nobody else should be on board at the time. You have a vested interest in making sure that the tracker is impossible to find.'

  'There is no way that I can be in Cannes over the next week,' one of the group said.

  'If you can't be there perhaps you can delegate the task to somebody that you trust.' I suggested. 'None of the crew that could be on the boat if it is stolen must know where the second device is located. The simplest way for the thieves to find the devices would be to torture the crew that I am certain they are capable of doing.'

  'Well, you have heard the approach that Vince wants to take. It is vital that we all agree to what has been suggested. I don't want any more surprises like Peter received,' Freddie added. 'Anyone disagree with the proposed approach?'

  'If it is the only way of recovering Splendiferous then, I suppose I will have to go along with the proposed plan,' Peter Brown whined.

  'Thank you all for agreeing to Vince's suggestions. This is the final roll of the dice so let's hope that it all works out. Have you anything else to say Vince.'

  'I want to add one other piece of information into the mix. I am involved in investigating how luxury cars are being stolen on a regular basis in London. Italians seem to be the orchestrators of the thefts. Of interest is that there were also Italians in Sete. It could be that all the robberies are connected.'

  'How could they possibly be connected?' Peter Brown asked aggressively.

  'Well, it looks as if they steal very specific motor yachts, and it is the same with the cars. I am convinced that they are stealing to satisfy a specific demand or have a buyer already for the stolen item. There are also Italians involved in both cases.'

  'That sounds a bit farfetched to me. You really have no idea have you?' Peter Brown again, airing his doubts.

  'I am working with a very experienced police Inspector in London, and he has a hunch that they are connected. From my experience of the Inspector, his hunches are seldom wrong.'

  'What is the next step Vince?' Freddie asked.

  'I will give you the number and contact of the company that fits the tracking devices. It is vital that you organize for the devices to be fitted between now and Friday evening when I expect the next theft to take place. I have warned them to expect a lot of business over the next few days. They, in turn, have said that they will do everything in their power to make sure that you have the number of devices required.'

  'That's fine. Let's hope that we crack it this time and don't lose any more boats.'

  The meeting over, the members left remarkably quickly leaving Freddie Shuttleworth and me still sitting at the top table.

  'Thank you for rescuing me from Peter Brown. I thought that he was going to lose it and destroy the meeting,' I said, turning to face Freddie.

  'I expected him to react that way and had already asked Ronnie to step in and try and steer the meeting back on track.'

  'If I was Peter, I would probably be just as upset at losing my million-dollar pride and joy. If we find where the boats are being taken, then we may still be able to get it back.'

  'Phone me again when you can Vince. In the meantime, I'll keep on at the owners to make sure that they get the devices fitted.'

  The meeting over I now had the remainder of the day to kill. I walked back to the Hotel Martinez, where I was staying, keeping an eye out for any suspicious people who might be following me. I didn't think that whoever had fired at me the previous evening would try anything in the middle of the day, but it was better to be careful.

  I spent the rest of the day within the confines of the hotel and whiled away the hours at the fitness centre and in the swimming pool. Both these venues were secure as they were in the grounds of the hotel. I also took the opportunity of phoning my wife and family. Willem also received a call from me; I wanted to inform him of the latest developments. Luckily he didn't mind that he now had sixteen boats to track rather than the original eight. I explained to him that I wouldn't be going after any stolen boats in the future but just leaving the tracking up to him. Surprisingly he was quite pleased with this arrangement. I went to my bed to get an early night.

  Chapter 15

  I arrived back at London Gatwick on a typical autumn day. Low cloud cover and drizzle; how different to the sunshine that I had left in Nice. By the time that I made it to my home in Putney, most of the day had gone; however, I decided to try and get hold of the Inspector before he shut down for the day.

  'Baird,' he answered tersely. He always sounded as if he was being interrupted and was annoyed by having to answer the phone.

  'Good evening Inspector; Vince Hamilton here.'

  'I take it that you are back from France Vince.' The tone of his voice changed and became friendlier.

  'Yes, I flew back today. I had to fly through Amsterdam as there is no direct flight from Nice to London, so it was quite a hike.'

  'I suppose you want to know how the preparation of the cars is proceeding.'

  'That's the main reason that I am calling you. Are we all set for tomorrow?

  'The last time that I checked with the company fitting the tracking devices, they had one car completed, and they were working on the other one. I would say that by now they have everything in place.'

  'That's fantastic news. What time will you commence the operation tomorrow?'

  'We are going to commence the operation at 10.00am. The plan is that we will only park one car at a time as the cars are usually stolen in the first few minutes after they have been parked. The last thing I want is to have to chase after two cars if they happen to be taken at the same time.'

  'That sounds like a logistical nightmare Inspector.'

  'We intend to take the two cars onto the streets at the same time. While one is moving, the other can be parking and vice versa.'

  ‘Clive Newsome was talking about having another model available in case the thieves are looking for a different model to the ones we have prepared.’

  ‘During the course of the week he will give me another car that I will fit with a tracking device. We should have a better chance of catching a fish with three different types,’ the Inspector said. ‘I just hope that one of the models of car we have prepared is on their shopping list.'

  'Can you please keep me up to date on how things go? I especially want to know if one of the doctored cars is taken.'

  'No problem Vince; the minute something happens I will get in touch with you.'

  'Are there any developments on the murder at the lake near Annecy?'

  'There is still no sign of an arrest. The only facts that I have in my possession, you already know; the man who was killed was an art dealer and, as you know, they found three extremely valuable paintings in the boot of the car.'

  'So the police haven't discovered any other motive?'

  'There is a suspicion that the dealer was involved in offloading stolen paintings for a syndicate. He may have decided to take a few for himself. Whoever controls the syndicate, on realising that he had taken goods for himself, could have had him and his family wiped out.'

  'The people running this gang are obviously extremely ruthless. I now see that I was very lucky to survive being captured in Sete and being shot at in Cannes.'

  'The moral of the story is - Stay well clear of them; otherwise you will end up like the art dealer.'

  'Thanks for the warning Inspector, I intend to do just that.'

  'Is there anything else Vince, as I need to go?'

  'No thanks, I look forward to hearing from you tomorrow.'

  I ended the call.

  I made myself something to eat, phoned my family in Maidstone, watched a bit of television and went to bed early. Tomorrow promised to be a long and busy day.

  In fact, Tuesday was a disappointing day. I expected to receive a telephone call from the Inspector letting me
know that one of the cars had been stolen; unfortunately, I heard nothing. The Inspector phoned me around 6.00pm to let me know that they were taking the cars back to the lock-up and terminating the exercise for the day. We had failed, and all my hopes were dashed.

  I went out to my local to relieve my disappointment and get out of the house. I had been sitting in the house all day waiting for my mobile to ring. They did good food in the Pub, so I was able to purchase my evening meal there.

  My mobile rang around 8.45pm.

  'Hi Vince, good news, the fish has swallowed the bait.'

  'I thought that the cars had all been locked up for the night.'

  'One of my drivers decided to spend a few more hours on the street and his enthusiasm has been rewarded.'

  'So what's happening?'

  'The car is heading south of the river towards Battersea. Can you get the Tube to Victoria station, and I will collect you there?'

  'I can leave immediately and should be there in about twenty minutes.'

  'I'll pick you up outside the Victoria Palace Theatre, beside the station, in about half an hour.'

  'Thanks for the great news; I'll see you then.'

  I finished my drink, paid my bill and headed for East Putney station to get the tube to Victoria.

  Twenty-five minutes later I was approaching the theatre on foot. The Inspector was already waiting for me.

  'Hi Vince, all set?' The Inspector said as I got into the car and shook his hand.

  'What's the plan?'

  'The stolen car has stopped at a small garage in Battersea. First step is to get over there and see what is going on.'

  'Do you think that the garage is its final destination?'

  'I don't know at this stage, but I would doubt it. They will want to take it further away from London.'

  'Do you intend to grab hold of the car before it can go any further?'

  'No, our intention is to follow it until it is out of the country. We are convinced that it will head into Europe.'

  'So we will just watch what happens from a distance.'

  'We will pinpoint the exact building so as we can return and search the place at a later date.'