Wednesday morning (12th) and the weather continued to settle. The fishermen in Parfleet St Peter listened to the weather forecast and decided it was time to try and fish again. It was 7.15 a.m. and daylight. They headed down to the harbour and their respective vessels. Walmar stopped and stared when he saw the Penny Jane missing from her mooring. Others called out to Walmar and asked him where his fishing boat was. Walmar said he didn’t know. It should have been there. He went to the harbourside and noticed that the mooring ropes were hanging from the bollards. Then Walmar headed for his shed. Once inside he called out for Enderby but there was no reply. The door to the accommodation at the rear was locked. He pulled his bunch of keys out of his pocket and selected the Yale for the door. Unlocking the door he went in and found the place deserted. Walmar started checking the cupboards and noticed that Enderby’s personal effects were missing, as was the encoder and code books. The place was ‘clean’. He realised that Berin (alias Enderby) had left and must have taken the Penny Jane. His immediate feeling was a sense of relief but he was angry at the theft of the Penny Jane. It was his vessel that he had worked and saved for. He decided to report it stolen. Walmar went back out to the harbour and told the other fishermen that Enderby had packed his things and must have stolen the Penny Jane. He walked over to the co-operative and went to the office to use the telephone and report the missing vessel to the police. After that, Walmar walked home to tell his wife about the missing vessel. He was relieved that the vessel was insured and would now report it to the insurance company.
Unaware of the events, Commander Rice drove out to Parfleet St Peter and parked in the harbour area. He got out and noticed that the Penny Jane was not at her moorings. Rice asked one of the men on an adjacent vessel when the Penny Jane went out. “She were stolen last night by Walmar’s crewman. Walmar’s gone and reported it to the police.” Rice thanked the man for the information.
As he walked back to his car, a car pulled up alongside his and two men in suits got out. Rice walked over to them and introduced himself. They proved to be the Special Branch men he had to meet. “It looks as though the bird has flown and taken the fishing vessel he worked as crewman on,” he told them. “We had better find Walmar and check his premises.” They agreed that the Special Branch men would stay and watch the harbour while Commander Rice went to Walmar’s house. Arriving there he knocked on the front door and Penny Walmar answered his knock. He asked to see Mr Walmar and she invited him in.
“He’s just on the telephone and will be with you soon,” she said as she showed him into the sitting room. Commander Rice thanked her and stood on the rug near the fireplace as Penny went out to tell her husband of the visitor. Looking round the room, Rice noticed it was warm and homely. There were pictures of the two children, wedding photos and another of the family. It showed a happy family.
Walmar entered the room and apologised for keeping him waiting. “My fishing boat was stolen last night by my crewman and I was reporting the loss to my insurance company,” he said. “I’ve already reported it to the police so I guess they’ll be out soon. How can I help you?”
“My name is Rice, Commander Rice of MI5. We have reason to believe that your crewman is not the person he claims to be.” As he spoke, he pulled out his identification and showed it to Walmar. “It also appears that he could be a suspect in the attack on a RAF serviceman yesterday morning. Could we go down to your shed and make a search, please?”
Walmar nodded his agreement. “Let me just tell my wife and I’ll take you down,” he said. He left the room and went to the kitchen and explained to his wife, Penny, what was happening.
“Just be careful, darling,” she said.
“I’ll be fine,” Walmar replied. He kissed her and went back to the sitting room.
“Let’s go, sir,” he said to Commander Rice and led the way out of the front door. He took a duffle coat off the hallstand and put it on as they went out.
As they walked down to the harbour, Rice asked Walmar, “How long has Enderby worked for you?”
“Just a few weeks. He’s an experienced deck hand and was looking for work. My other deck hand had left and I needed one so I checked his papers and gave him a job,” Walmar explained. “There were no locals looking for work at
