“He is not part of this,” I said. “He just happened to come along after it was all over and helped me out. He has the deli/coffee shop in the village that I use occasionally and we have got to know each other a little. Sometimes I see him in the pub and we have the occasional game of darts.”
“I would like you to come in to the station and go through some of our identification photos to see if you can identify either of the people from last night. Also the guy who broke in to your house.”
“As I told you I didn't really see the second guy last night but I certainly think I would recognise the gorilla who pulled me out of the car if I saw him again. I could come in on the way in to the office tomorrow, would that be OK?”
The sooner the better,” said Lloyd. “ We have been checking out your Mr Plavsic. Quite an interesting character.” At that the doorbell rang.
“Probably Alec, he said he would come over and join us, ” I said as I got to my feet and went to the door. It wasn't him but a DHL courier with an envelope. I wasn't expecting anything so I opened it as I walked back in to the kitchen.
“My god!” I exclaimed, “Have a look at this”
“What is it?” said Lloyd. I handed him the photograph that was the only item in the envelope. It was a photograph of Lisa, apparently out shopping, with a large cross scored across the image with a red marker pen. On the reverse, again in red marker it said, “Give this to Bell.”
“Who is this,” asked Lloyd.
“It's Alec Bell ’s wife,” I replied.
“Give me the bag,” he said, and dropped it and the photograph in to a plastic evidence bag that he pulled out of his pocket. “I will get this checked by forensics to see if we can get fingerprints etc.”
“Well whe re do we go from here? I forgot you were about to tell me what you had found out about Plavsic.”
At that the doorbell went again. This time it was Alec, I let him in and he joined us round the kitchen table drinking coffee. I told him about the courier delivery and asked Lloyd to show it to him.
“ Don't take it out of the bag,” said Lloyd reaching in to his pocket and retrieving the bag.
Alec stared at the photo and then turned it over, he blanched. “Who the hell is doing this? This looks very scary, what do we do now?” he said turning to Lloyd. “Can the police organise some protection for my wife?”
“I think that is justified but I will need to get authority, is there somewhere I can make a private ‘phone call?” he said looking at me.
“There is a phone in the lounge through there,” I said pointing. “We are in a bit of a hollow here so mobile reception can be bad so feel free to use the land line in there if you wish.”
He went off through to the lounge closing the door behind him.
“Martin, what have we got in to,” said Alec? “ It feels like we are in the middle of some crime thriller script, unreal, yet really scary. Are you OK after last night?”
“I'll live, although I don't think I have felt so many pains and aches in my body since I stopped playing Rugby. This is getting serious and these guys, whoever they are, obviously mean business.”
Lloyd returned to the room and said, “I have spoken to Chief Superintendent Fleet, and she has approved a round the clock guard on your wife Mr Bell, is she at home?”
“Yes, she is at home today, but I need to explain to her what is happening.”
“I think you had better go home and do that but first perhaps you might like to hear what I have to report on Plavsic etc. A woman police constable will arrive at your house by 2pm this afternoon.”
He then went on to give us an update on his enquiries. “Plavsic is Serbian and a director of Mendip Finance. However he is not the direct owner. The shares in Mendip Finance are held by a series of shell companies, which so far we have traced to the Caymans without producing any names of interest. We met with Plavsic and asked him about his interest in Control Networks. He refused to discuss it on the grounds of confidentiality and vigorously protested his innocence when questioned on the strong-arm tactics. A blank end with him so far, but we have asked the Economic Crime Squad in the Met to take a look for us. They don't have anything on Plavsic or Mendip, and as with everyone else their time and resources are stretched but they have promised to make a few enquiries.”
“I also tal ked to a few of my contacts in Special B ranch and similarly came up with a blank. Plavsic doesn't seem to be known at all.”
“You don't seem to be getting anywhere,” I said somewhat scathingly.
“Well there is one thing. Do you know anything about Allied Grampian?”
“Not much,” said Alec, “apart from the fact that they are an investment bank with a respectable reputation.”
“Well, they do look legit. But in the past five years they have made a lot of money in dealings with one client and his interests. A Russian called Peter Asimov, he is what is commonly called a Russian Oligarch. Super rich, with vast interests in Russian Oil and extremely close links to the Russian Government. My contacts tell us that they believe, although they have no direct evidence that he is behind some really shady operations in the UK. His links to the Russian government are strong enough for him to have a diplomatic consular appointment in London which of course carries with it diplomatic immunity.”
He carried on, “I had Plavsic tailed. He seems to live at the Grosvenor Hotel in Park Lane, London, and last night he attended a formal dinner at the Savoy. It was a dinner hosted by the Board of Trade for what they call business leaders and innovators. The minister was there and so was Asimov, but as far as we could tell Plavsic and Asimov did not meet.
“So what does all this mean, apart from the fact that the Grosvenor Hotel seems an odd and expensive place for a legitimate business man to reside long term?” I said.
“Not a huge amount at the moment, but there are also indications that Mendip Finance may not be not all it seems. London is really outside of our jurisdiction so I need to discuss all of this with Chief Superintendent Fleet. When you come in to the station in the morning Mr Lever, perhaps I will ha ve some more questions for you. “ I need to get back,” he said finishing his coffee.”
“What about the Volvo?”
“Dead end there I am afraid, it was stolen in London four days ago and the wreck was totally burnt out so there was no evidence left. We have a DNA check to see if we have a match for the driver, but no results yet. The other occupant of the car seems to have disappeared. We have checked out with hospitals and there have been no reports of suspicious injuries, perhaps he was just thrown clear and with little or no injury.”
“I had forgotten about the second car occupant,” I mused.
“ Mr Bell if you have any thoughts please feel free to call me or discuss them with the WPC with your wife. I will let myself out, thanks for the coffee.” With that Lloyd got up and le ft.
“Well,” said Alec, “where do we go from here?”
“I think you should call Frank,” I said. “You need to bring him up to date with what has happened in the past few days. Also you need to get him to get some of his contacts working on this. What do they know about Mendip Finance, Plavsic, Asimov, etc.?”
“I will, but I need to go home and see Lisa now so I will call him from there. I think I should also tell th e brokers that we want to go more slowly on the Float, that could give us a few more weeks until this gets sorted out.”
“I agree,” I said, “but you will need Franks help to handle the board, particularly Armstrong. They could be tricky.”
Alec left and I sat down in front of the computer in the study. I thought I would do a little research myself on these guys.
Next morning I arrived at College Green police station at 9am where I was met by Inspector Lloyd and shown in to a windowless interview room.
“Sorry about the room,” said Lloyd, but we have a screen in here which I can use to show you some pictures. After this session Chief Superintendent Fleet will join us.”
“Did you get that internet research I sent you last night,” I said. “Not really a lot there but according to chat room gossip Asimov was 'around' when both of those big Amsterdam and Paris drug busts were going on.”
Yes, but as far as we can tell he was not implicated in any way.”
