CHAPTER 56
In Bangkok, Eddie watched all of this but heard nothing. Mark Dobson, meanwhile, was still holding the phone.
“Who are you taking to,” Eddie asked excitedly. “Colin?”
Dobson held a hand up to politely silence him. “Loud and clear, Colin. Who placed the camera?”
There was a short silence as Colin Asher replied into Mark’s ear piece. Meanwhile, the live, black and white broadcast from Wallingford continued.
“Who’s the man talking to Ritchie?” Eddie asked pointing.
“Ritchie’s father,” Dobson said.
Eddie grinned. His rough, stubbly cheeks folded and wide cracks radiated from around his eyes. Mark smiled at him. “You really need to do something about those wrinkles, Eddie,” he said. “Every time you grin, you look ninety Why don’t you ask Isobel for something?”
“Wrinkles are there to show where all the smiles are hiding,” Eddie replied.
Novak and Olga were body-checked, handcuffed and marched up the driveway to one of the waiting cars. Olga looked back at the car where Ritchie was sitting. Erik tried to run towards the river as if he could swim across but only made ten yards before he was handcuffed and joined the others. Then the two cars outside drove away leaving just the BMW with Ritchie inside and a dozen armed police scattered around the driveway and amongst the trees.
Ritchie climbed out and joined his father who was talking to one of the police officers. “Did you arrest Peter Lester?” he asked.
“Where is he? We were watching but he didn’t come out of the house as we’d expected.” Keith Nolan replied. “His Range Rover hasn’t moved.”
“He was pissed out of his bloody mind,” Ritchie said.
“Language, Ritchie, language.”
“Sorry. He was terribly well oiled, then. If Customs and Excise didn’t get him the local police should have breathalysed him.”
“Did you see him leave the house?”
“No. I thought he had.” Ritchie glanced towards the River. “Might he have tried to do what Erik did? Swim?”
“While pissed as a newt?”
“Language, dad.”
“Sorry.”
“And there was a dog – a white creature called Maximillian.”
“So that’s its name. It answered to Bonzo when we found it wandering in the road. It’s detained.”
“Do we need to search the house?”
“Done already. We bugged it yesterday. What we’re doing now is searching the Easy Trading warehouse.
“You were listening in to everything just now?”
“Everything.”
“Including me talking to Olga.”
“Everything. But we need to check inside again. And what the hell have you done to your hair?”
It was 2am in Bangkok and 7pm in Wallingford when they opened the front door of the house with a key.
“Where did you get the key?” Ritchie asked.
“When we broke in to fix the devices, we found one hanging in the kitchen.”
They were in the cold, dark and under-furnished sitting room that smelled of vodka and cigarettes. Keith Nolan switched a light on. “Is this where you talked with Novak?”
“And drank vodka,” Ritchie replied. “In case you’re worried I poured most of mine down the back of the sofa. I sat there, Novak there. Olga and Lester were in the chairs. I think Lester was drunk or drugged before he arrived but.it didn’t stop him drinking half that bottle. When his phone rang, he could barely stand.”
“But he went outside?”
“Maybe, but I didn’t hear his car and it’s still there. Is there a rear door? Or is he sleeping it off somewhere?”
“We’ll take a look around” Ritchie’s father said. He beckoned to the other police officer. “You’re the one with the weapon, Craig. Try upstairs.”
They soon found Peter Lester. He was on the floor in a bedroom, lying in an untidy heap in a pool of vomit with two empty tablet bottles beside him and a putrid smell of alcohol and drugs. His pulse was almost undetectable but Craig called for an ambulance. One arrived within a minute as if it had been waiting outside on the road but, within that minute, Lester’s heart stopped.
Keith Nolan called Colin Asher. Colin called Mark Dobson. Mark told Eddie.
“It’s a nasty business,” Eddie said rather forlornly. “What now?”
“One down, dozens more to go. This is a big operation, Eddie. News will spread so we need to move quickly and it’s going to be a long night. I now need to talk to Sannan and Jeffrey. This is where we start opening up evidence to the local law enforcement. Are you tired yet?”
“I’m feeling thirsty,” Eddie said.
“There’s water in the ‘fridge”
“Bottled?”
“Of course.”
“Shall I make tea instead?”
“With bottled water?”
“Coffee, then?”
“With bottled water?”
“Surely Bangkok’s public water supply is potable?”
“I’ve never checked, but I’m sure you’re an expert on gastroenteritis and dysentery.”
Eddie was in a dilemma but while he struggled with it, Mark called Sannan in Pattaya. Sannan immediately headed for Bangkok. Then Mark phoned Jeffrey.
“I’ve been trying to call you for hours,” Jeffrey said.
Mark apologised, gave a summary and ended with: “The Malay police still aren’t aware how far this gang is spread so now’s the time to tell them.”
“Which is why I’ve been trying to call you all night.” Jeffrey said. “When the police raided PJ and arrested Ho, I knew the news would spread so I headed for Malacca and got there in time to watch Roman Kolodin loading boxes into the back of a car. He then headed to Johor Bahru so I followed. At midnight, he arrived at the Jalan Pandan site. Two other Russians joined him and they went over to Singapore. That was after midnight. I then made a decision to go into the warehouse. I’m there right now.”
“Inside? Now? On your own?”
Jeffrey ignored him. “It’s an interesting place,” he said, “It’s stacked to roof level with Red Power, Calvin Klein underwear, branded body sprays, perfumes, cosmetics, lipsticks, tea and coffee sachets, drums of coconut oil, pam oil and, Eddie will love this, cans labelled as krabok nut oil.”
“Are you still inside?”
“I’m in an office piled high with paper, invoices and shipping documents. If I’m right then it’s the usual scene – it’ll look innocent and legitimate for anyone doing a quick inspection and paid not to ask questions or dig too deeply.”
“Right well, get out now, lock up, leave no traces and phone your friend, the Director of the Commercial Crimes Investigation Department, Abdul Rahim. Wake him if he’s still asleep and tell him to call the UK National Crime Agency and ask for Keith Nolan.”
Mark turned to Eddie. “You see what happens while innocent people sleep?”