Chapter 63
“Where’s DCI Baddeley’s office?” The Chief Constable asked quietly.
“Over there, matey,” the officer replied without looking up, intent on pressing the enter button repeatedly and swearing under her breath.
“You need to click on the ‘save all’ icon first,” the Chief offered, pointing at the screen.
She looked up. For a second she felt like giving herself a good slapping then she stood up and apologised. “I’m awfully sorry, Sir, I didn’t realise.”
“That’s ok,” he said. “You’re posted to Thatto Heath on Monday.”
She felt the blood drain from her face. It had taken her a long time to get to MIT and everything was over in the blink of an eye and a careless moment. He noticed.
“I was joking.” He broke out his most charming smile. “What’s your name by the way?”
She’d almost recovered her composure, but not quite. “Mel ... Melanie ... erm DC Bradley.”
He smiled again. “Well, carry on, DC Bradley.”
He found Thurstan at his desk, wading through a list of yearly staff appraisals on his PC.
“Can you be free in an hour? I’ve got DCI White coming back in from Southport. There’s something we need to discuss. I’ll explain later, if you don’t mind.” The Chief noticed the custard creams on the plate next to Thurstan’s mug. “May I?”
Munching on his biscuit, he sauntered back past Melanie and flashed her a grin. She blushed.
Chalkie and Thurstan stepped into the Chief’s suite to be greeted by Mrs Byrne. Her smile both dazzling and disarming, she took them straight in along with some folders which she placed on his desk. Chalkie couldn’t help but watch her as she walked away.
“Take a seat, chaps. I’ll be with you in a minute.” He sorted through the files, placing them in some kind of order then moved them to the side and looked up.
“I had a visitor, earlier, one of our colleagues from the Security Service. It seems we’ve stumbled upon something else that’s in their sphere of interest; our body out in Plex Moss Lane.” He paused, looking for any reaction. Thurstan sat impassively, knowing what would come, Chalkie was quizzical.
The Chief leant forward, elbows on the desk. “I’ve been authorised to reveal certain things to you both, Thurstan’s sort of been here before, Chalkie. Of course, the Official Secrets Act applies to what we’re about to discuss.” A disarming smile.
“Now, you no doubt recall the four British Islamic fanatics doing all the beheading out Syria way. The press nicknamed them ‘The Beatles’. Well, our man is the fifth ‘Beatle’. He was a convert to Islam and as things got a bit too hot for him, he was looking for a way out. SIS cultivated him and arranged for him to re-enter the country.”
The Chief smiled. “Now, I know you’ll have some questions but I’ll try to pre-empt them. How did they manage it? Well, I can’t give you all the details but he loves his mum and she’s been defrauding the Benefits Agency for many years. Quite a considerable sum involved it turns out. MI6 used this to encourage him to co-operate. Officially, the DWP is unaware. Suffice it to say, they brought him back in with the promise of no action and her continued receipt of payments.
“Why? Simply because they wanted to identify those they had lost in the ‘system’, such as it was. He was to make contact with fellow fanatics who’d managed to sneak their way back in then, having done so, identify them to MI5 and, if possible, find out what their plans were.”
He wagged his finger at them. “You know, it’s very alarming, they don’t know how many came back and they’ve no real idea who they are. Many were reported on ISIS sites as being killed in drone strikes and the like but MI6 has since discovered this was simply a ploy.” He hesitated. “Who’d have thought,” he added dryly.
Thurstan interrupted. “So, our Government is not only letting these people back in but actually taking an active part?”
The Chief chuckled. “Good lord, man! The actual Government, the one that got elected, hasn’t a clue. No, no, it doesn’t work like that. Eventually, they might be told but it depends on the need to know.” He gave them a fatherly smile.
Chalkie looked at Thurstan then back at the Chief. “I assume, Sir, you’re leading up to telling us the job’s been taken off us because of ‘National Security’?”
“Exactly! But there is a good reason which, I have to say, I agree with. At present, we haven’t released anything of note to the press, so the sooner we wrap it up and the less it’s spoken about the better because MI5 want to continue with their original plan using a ‘doppelganger. Their aim now is simply to make contact thereby actually locating where these people are. That’s going to be a very dangerous task for whoever carries it out and I think we have a duty to give them all the assistance we can.”
The two DCI’s nodded agreement. “If you don’t mind me asking, Sir, what on earth was he doing in the area? It’s not a hotbed of radicalism ... is it?” Thurstan again.
“Oh, that’s quite simple. He was on holiday, would you believe? Paid for by MI5. They had someone keeping an eye on him but unfortunately, it seems they were distracted and delayed by a bunch of pensioners with a dog. By the time they made up the ground, he was dead. It was they who rolled him into the bushes after they removed all his identification.”
Chalkie was stunned. Thurstan slowly shook his head, rested his elbows on his knees and stared at the floor.
The Chief continued, “Anyway, I want everything shutting down immediately. The cover story is the head wound was caused by it striking an old iron reinforcing bar when the victim collapsed from a heart attack and fell down the incline into the bushes. You know, the sort of thing in rubble discarded from old World War Two defensive bunkers. There used to be loads of them dotted all around the area. A post mortem confirms.”
“I didn’t know we’d had one done yet,” Chalkie interjected.
A little smile on his lips, the Chief replied, “We haven’t but I’m assured that when we do it will confirm what I’ve just told you. The matter’s out of my hands, I’m afraid. In the meantime, Chalkie, I need you to work closely with an MI5 representative, who should now be waiting outside. Give them everything we’ve got.”
He looked apologetic. “We haven’t got that much, Sir. We have got a description of someone who might be the possible killer, though.”
“Ahh! Yes, well, we haven’t even got that. Your Bruce Willis lookalike was one of theirs, the one who took all his ID.” The Chief shrugged his apology before continuing, “We also need you and your new friend to identify all those with crucial knowledge of the original circumstances. They’ll all need to be spoken to by myself and my colleague from the Security Service to ensure strict confidentiality. Of course, we won’t be telling them the absolute truth but we’ll probably dress it up as part of a major operation, lives at risk and all that. It has to be done today so it’s probably going to be a long evening for me therefore I would appreciate it, very much, if you could ensure that I’m home before midnight.” He paused for a moment to allow it all to sink in then said, “That’s it, chaps. Let’s crack on!”
As they were leaving, the Chief suddenly called: “Oh! Thurstan, I’ve just remembered. I need a word about another matter.”
He closed the door and, the Chief waving him to a seat, sat down.
“All I want to say is, I don’t think it would be wise of us to tell them all we know about this Nickson business. I think both of us have a sneaking suspicion that this may well be his work and perhaps it’s best not to stir up the past. We still don’t know who the hell he’s working for. I don’t know about you but I don’t want to be caught up in some inter-agency feud. If it is him, he may well have spoiled their plans but, let’s admit it, he’s done the rest of us a favour overall, all things considered. What do you think?”
“I’d have to agree, Sir.”
The Chief put his hand on the DCI’s shoulder as he walked him to the door. “Good. Right, that’s all for now. I needed to know we’re both reading from the same script. Have a word with Chalkie will you and make sure you let young Drayton know what he needs to?”
As Thurstan left, he and Chalkie briefly made eye contact. The moment bypassed the MI5 suit.
Thurstan hung around by the lifts and when Chalkie joined him they took the stairs to MIT.