Curse of Thieves: Another Major Vince Hamilton Investigation Read online

  'That's great and is a massive weight off my mind. I am sure that he will do a fantastic job and won't let us down.'

  'I mustn't forget to get his details before I leave. He is a perfect solution to our problem,' I concluded.

  We had a delicious seafood lunch, and the conversation was just as pleasant. There was no more talk of boats being stolen, with the topics being centred on the social life of Cannes. I could appreciate better what the theft of one of these luxury vessels would mean to the owner and his family. There was something very special about them.

  At around 3.30pm, Willem and I made our excuses and left them to it. Nick made sure that I received his details before I stepped ashore.

  'I could get used to that sort of life Vince,' Willem remarked as we walked back along the quay.

  'It's another world from the one that I am used to Willem, but I also could get used to it.'

  'It can be summed up as being different but quite acceptable, Vince,' Willem said.

  Before we returned to the hotel, we had a further look around Port Canto but didn't discover anything new that would enhance our knowledge of the place.

  'I am going back to the hotel Willem; I badly need a siesta after drinking that wine at lunch.'

  'Me too Vince. My eyes are starting to close and a snooze is a very attractive proposition.'

  'Meet me in the reception area of the hotel at 7.30pm, and we can go out to the same restaurant that we went to on Friday evening.'

  The following day we had a restful morning until we were picked up by Freddie Shuttleworth at 11.15am. He took us to the airport, and we caught our flight for Paris at 13.35 hours. In Paris, we said our goodbyes as Willem was traveling to Amsterdam, and I was flying to London.

  I was back in Heathrow Airport by 4.15pm and eventually arrived home by 6.30pm. I was suntanned but exhausted. It had been an eventful few days, but very educational. I now knew a lot more about the lives of the rich in Cannes and their motor yachts.

  Chapter 5

  Back in my own bed, after my weekend in Cannes, I slept exceptionally well and, with the children not having to get up for school, didn't wake up until the phone disturbed me at around 9.00am.

  'Good morning Vince; Chief Inspector Baird here from Hampstead CID. Sorry, for telephoning you so early.'

  It sounded as if he was in one of his brusque moods this morning. I was surprised by his call as he was the last person that I would have expected to hear from. We hadn't been in contact with each other since the conclusion of the diamond smuggling case earlier in the year.

  'Good morning Inspector, I am surprised to hear from you.'

  'I need to talk to you urgently Vince. Is there any chance of you coming in to see me this morning?'

  'I can be with you in about two hours that's the best I can do?'

  'I would appreciate that. I will tell you what it is all about when you get here.'

  'I'll see you at around eleven o'clock then.'

  I put the phone down and stood there with a surprised look on my face.

  'You look as if someone has just told you that your dearest friend has died,' my wife said as she passed me.

  'That was Inspector Baird of Hampstead CID. He wants me to go and meet him as soon as possible.'

  'What have you been up to Vince, you naughty boy?' She smiled.

  'He sounded very much on edge and was extremely business-like, so I don't think that it was a social call. I told him that I would go to see him this morning as soon as I can get across London to Hampstead.'

  I showered, dressed and breakfasted, leaving the house just after 10.00am. I made good time and arrived at the police station in Hampstead just after 11.00am.

  As I travelled on the tube, I went over in my mind the events that had taken place a few months’ previously. Inspector Baird and his officers had been instrumental in helping me capture the crooks behind the diamond smuggling. His men had also saved my life when they had fished me out of the river after I had been thrown, into the Thames, to drown. The fact that he wanted to talk to me made me very curious. I couldn't wait to hear what it was all about.

  When I reported to the desk sergeant, he told me to go straight to the Inspector's office where he was waiting for me. I presume the sergeant recognized me from my previous visits to the station.

  The same aroma of Dettol pervaded the atmosphere, and I could see that the walls were still covered by the gloss lime green paint that I remembered from before. I knocked on the door of the Inspector's office and was told to enter. He came around the desk to shake my hand.

  'It’s nice to see you again Vince. Have you any bumps on your head or other physical damage from recent escapades?'

  'No, I have kept out of the way of heavy swinging objects recently. In fact, I am just back from an interesting few days in Cannes paid for by a client.'

  'I was hoping that you wouldn't have signed up a new client yet. I need you to do a bit of investigating for me.'

  'I should have some time available as, at the moment, all I am doing is waiting for something to happen, and that may not occur for a few weeks.'

  'Will that event happen in Cannes by any chance?'

  'Yes, we are placing tracking devices on a number of motor yachts in Cannes as there have been some thefts of large and expensive vessels in the past six months.'

  'Well then, what I have in mind might fit in nicely with your present assignment as it is local and short term.'

  ‘Why did you want me to come in and see you this morning Inspector? You have aroused my curiosity.'

  'Well Vince, believe it or not, there are diamonds involved, but I have no idea what is going on.'

  'Are these raw diamonds as in the last case or jewellery?' I asked.

  'Let me fill you in on all the facts and then you will understand why I am so curious.' The Inspector leant forward and put his elbows on his desk. 'Lady Penelope Dunston has decided to sell an extremely expensive diamond necklace at auction, and the auction house, which she has chosen to sell the jewellery, is Alexanders of Pall Mall. The necklace is being included in an auction to be held this coming Friday, and the necklace has been on the auctioneer's premises for the past ten days. There was a break in on Sunday night at the auctioneer’s premises, but the auction house is convinced that nothing was stolen, and no damage was done.'

  'So why are the police involved?'

  'The alarm is connected to a security centre, and when the alarm went off, they immediately notified the police. As it is a possible serious crime, I was appointed as the investigating officer. I am feeling decidedly uncomfortable about the situation. My investigator's nose is telling me that something is going on, but I don't know what.'

  'Are they satisfied that nothing was stolen? They must have hundreds of items on the premises for Friday's auction.' I commented.

  'It is an extremely exclusive auction house, and they only sell a small number of expensive items in any one sale, so it was easy for them to check.'

  'If nothing was taken, how do you think that I can help?'

  'I have recommended to the Managing Director of Alexanders that he employs you for a few days or, at least, until after the sale of the diamond necklace on Friday. He is terribly nervous about the next few days, so he has accepted my proposal. If you are in agreement, I will take you over to meet him now.'

  'I would like to emphasise that if another boat theft occurs in Cannes I am going to have drop everything and head over there. Until I get that call, I should be able to assist Alexanders in whatever way I can. Thank you for recommending me.'

  'I'll just telephone Alan Shaw, the Managing Director, to tell him we are on our way.'

  The Inspector made the phone call, and we travelled by underground to Piccadilly Circus, the nearest tube station to Alexanders.

  There was a large sign outside the front door of the premises advertising the next auction. We went in, and the Inspector asked the receptionist to tell Mr Shaw that we were in the reception area.
/>   His administrator came to pick us up and take us to his office.

  We were ushered into a luxurious, wood panelled room. This auction house was obviously extremely prosperous and upmarket. Alan Shaw rose from behind his desk and came over to meet us. A small man, he was dressed in a pinstripe suit and wore a white shirt with a silvery grey tie, obviously silk. A diamond tie pin completed the picture. I would estimate that he was in his early fifties and looked as if he spent some of his time keeping fit.

  The Inspector introduced me, and we all sat down around a circular table.

  'I have asked my security officer to join us as he is clearly the person who is most affected by current events.'

  'Is that Peter Danford who I met yesterday?' The Inspector asked.

  'Yes that's him.'

  There was a knock at the door, and another small thin man entered who I took to be Peter Danford. He looked more like a bank clerk than a security professional.

  Once he had been introduced and was seated at the table Alan Shaw addressed us.

  'Thank you for coming to see us today and I just hope that it is not a waste of time. Would you like to take over the meeting Inspector as this actually was your idea.'

  'The reason I suggested that you got Major Vince Hamilton involved is that I feel it might be a good idea to get another highly analytical brain looking at the problem. We are all puzzled as to why your property was broken into as nothing appears to have been stolen.'

  'Might I add that this is the first time that the premises have been broken into since I became security officer in 1995,' Peter Danford added, defensively.

  'My policeman's nose tells me that it is not as it seems; however, since there was nothing stolen; I cannot allocate resources to pursue the matter,' the Inspector said. 'I worked with Major Hamilton on another case involving diamonds, and I feel that he might be able to help you.'

  'I have talked to our insurers, and they are naturally concerned about the break in, especially as there is a significant event scheduled for this coming Friday,' Alan Shaw added. 'Are you available Major Hamilton to help us this week?'

  'I am involved in another case at the moment and may have to rush off at any time, but if you are willing to accept that risk, I can do what I can.'

  'I am willing to accept those circumstances as you only need to be involved here for the rest of this week,' Alan Shaw said.

  'I am ready to get involved right away if that suits and, after an initial assessment, will report to you later today on what my first impressions are.'

  'Peter, will you spend time with Major Hamilton and give him access to whatever he wants to see?' Alan Shaw addressed his security officer.

  'I have nothing urgent planned for the rest of the day so can give as much time as he needs'' Peter Danford replied.

  'The estimate on the diamond necklace that we are due to put up for sale on Friday is one point eight million pounds, so it is essential that nothing happens to that item while it is in our custody. I don't want to have to phone the insurers to tell them that it has been stolen.' Alan Shaw spoke with considerable feeling.

  The meeting broke up, and the Inspector left to return to Hampstead. Peter Danford took me to a local restaurant to have some lunch and give me some more details on the break-in.

  Chapter 6

  'It seems to be a bit stupid getting you involved when we know that nothing was stolen,' Peter Danford said as soon as our food was placed in front of us, and the waiter had departed.

  'I am inclined to agree with you, but I am also aware of the Inspector's nose for trouble, and he is convinced that all is not as it seems,' I replied.

  'We don't even know if the burglars entered the premises. The alarm went off, we discovered that a pain of glass in a roof skylight had been broken, but, beyond that, there was no trace of an entry.'

  'What was in the room where the skylight was damaged?'

  'The very high value items for the sale being held on Friday, but they were all locked away in a safe that was in a corner of the room.'

  'Is there any evidence that the safe was tampered with.'

  'It's hard to ascertain, but I would say that it wasn't touched.'

  'Just to check with you again; you are one hundred percent sure that nothing is missing?'

  'I am absolutely certain that nothing was stolen.'

  'Your boss mentioned that there is an extremely expensive necklace up for auction this coming Friday. Presumably that is in the safe in the room, in question?'

  'That's right. I personally checked that it is still there.'

  'Do you have a security guard working throughout the night?'

  'No, the security guard knocks off at 10.00pm each evening, but the premises are thoroughly alarmed.'

  'So, on the night of the break in, it was the alarm going off that alerted the police?'

  'Yes, the police were telephoned by the alarm monitoring centre. The centre also phoned me to tell me to go and meet the police at the premises and unlock the front door so as they could enter.'

  'How far away do you live?'

  'I am a twenty minute taxi ride away, but on this occasion it took me half an hour as I had trouble getting a taxi.'

  'So, whoever set the alarm off had plenty of time to get clear of the premises.'

  'Unfortunately, you are correct. The police probably took about ten minutes to arrive, and I only got here forty minutes after the alarm was activated.'

  'The other unknown is we don't know whether the alarm was set off when the burglars were entering or leaving the premises?' I suggested.

  'Hopefully, the alarm went off when they broke the window, and the noise of the alarm stopped them entering the building, but I don't know.'

  We had finished our meals, so Peter Danford settled the bill, and we headed back to the auction house.

  'Can we take a look around the back of the building as I would like to see where the burglars might have got access to the roof?'

  'Yes, we can go around to the back, but it will be quite a hike as there is no way through from the front. You can see that our property is in the centre of quite a large block of buildings.'

  We walked northwest along James's Street, turned right into King Street and then turned right into Crown Passage. There was a warren of narrow streets and alleyways covering the area. At night, it would be like a rabbit warren, and you would need to know where you are going to find the right building.

  'Peter, you would never see anybody at night in this area, and presumably there isn't any street lighting when it gets dark.'

  'We do have security lights on the back of our building that will come on if activated, but, other than that, it is extremely dark around here at night.'

  I had a good look at the top of the buildings, and there appeared to be nothing to stop someone travelling across the roofs. Somebody could access the roof of any other building in the block and then move onto the roof of the auction house.

  'There is nothing to stop someone from moving from the roof of another building to yours is there?' I asked Peter.

  'You're right Vince. If they got access to the roof of another property less well protected than ours, they could easily travel over the roofs to our building.'

  'Let's return to your property and see what I can find there,' I suggested.

  Having had a good look around and inspected all the rooms that could be accessed from the roof; I had to agree that I couldn't fault the security. The expensive items were held in a massive save that the Bank of England would be proud of owning. The only lots not kept in the safe were too large or heavy to be removed in a surreptitious way.

  When we had finished and were sitting in Peter Danford's office having a cup of tea, I said to him, 'congratulations Peter, I think that you run a highly secure operation here, and I can't see how anybody could steal anything. They would have to take the entire safe if they wanted to take the necklace.' Unfortunately at that moment I wasn't aware that it was possible to obtain the skills
of an expert safecracker if you had sufficient funds. Such a person would have no difficulty in getting into the safe, in a matter of minutes, and as I had calculated earlier, any thief had forty minutes to do his business and be gone, even if they set the alarm off.

  'Thank you Vince; I would be obliged if you would pass your comments onto my boss.'

  'If you can bring me to him now, I will give him a summary of my thoughts and also take my leave of him,' I said.

  Peter took me to Alan Shaw's office, where, after a short delay I was able to have a brief word with him. I informed him that I was convinced that, in my opinion, everything was being done to keep the necklace, and other valuables secure and Peter Danford was doing an admirable job. Little did I know that, in my ignorance, I was giving him a false sense of security.

  'The only suggestion I would make is that you keep the security man on the premises all night for the remainder of this week or up to the day of the auction,' I suggested.

  'We've already taken on an additional man, and he will cover nights until the auction on Friday. So that's covered,' Alan Shaw replied.

  There was nothing more that I could do at the auction house, so I left them to it, telling them that if they needed me they should call me. I went home to Putney and my long suffering family.

  I received no emergency calls during the week, and curious to see how Willem was getting on tracking the yachts in Cannes I gave him a call on Thursday evening.

  'Hi Willem, how are things going with you this week?'

  'It's been unusually quiet, and more and more blips have appeared on my screen as the boat owners have installed and activated the tracking devices on their vessels. At the last count, there are seven boats with live transponders.'

  'I am relieved that all is quiet on the boat front as I have another job running in parallel that should finish tomorrow.'

  'Are you able to tell me about it,' Willem asked.

  'I don't see why not and it even involves diamonds. This time the diamonds are in the form of an expensive necklace.'