The reports of the two teams were relayed to Air Vice-Marshall Denby and to MI5. Action was now up to MI5. A notice was issued to police with a description of the vehicle and its trade plate number. The notice would take time to be relayed to the different county constabularies and down to the local police stations. MI5 started to arrange a team to follow up the search in Sleaford if there was no news by the Friday morning.
Hamilton reviewed the records of all the Jennings Industries employees with some urgency and then started interviewing them. He obtained a list of all those who had either worked on the project or had some administrative connection to it. That included people like typists and switchboard operators. Back in London, Air Vice-Marshall Denby decided that the launcher delivery had to be secure and arranged for it to be transported by RAF transport since it was due to be delivered on the Monday. The RAF transport would collect it on the Friday while there were still RAF personnel there. He decided that when the missiles and control unit were due to go to RAF West Sanby from Argonaut Industries, they would be moved by Brennan Transport. He notified Squadron Leader Dawson of his decisions and then advised Griffiths. He gave ‘security’ as the reason for the decisions but did not advise of the timing of the collection of the launcher from Davis Aviation. Griffiths was somewhat put out but realised that he could do nothing about it.
It was 13.00 hours and Colonel Kharkov’s team were busy dismantling their equipment. Eddy Dennis had been given a meal and was now boarding his vehicle to take it on to RAF West Sanby. As he drove out of the warehouse, the van that had brought him in followed the MLT out. He drove north out of Sleaford and took the ‘B’ road to Potterhanworth, as he had been programmed to do. The van would follow him as far as Scopwick before turning back to Sleaford. Fifteen minutes after they left, a delivery van from Trans Trade Import and Export Co. Ltd. arrived. Colonel Kharkov climbed into the passenger seat carrying a diplomatic bag and the vehicle left and took the road that would take them back to Sheffield. The doors of the warehouse were shut and the work of dismantling all evidence of their stay continued. After reaching Potterhanworth, Eddy Dennis drove to Wragby. From there he took the road to Louth. By 3.00 p.m. he was driving through Louth and taking the road to West Sanby. He arrived there about 3.45 p.m. and pulled up at the main gate and gave his papers to the duty RAF policeman. The arrival was telephoned through to the JSTU and the policeman was told to direct the driver and vehicle through to the airfield gate. From there a Landrover led him to the JSTU hangar to be met by relieved personnel with a lot of questions. Eddy explained that he had been driving around the countryside running the vehicle engine in. It was close to completing the first five hundred miles when the vehicle fitters would need to tighten the head down and check all the other parts for adjustment. He said that he had parked in a lay-by near Gainsborough for the night and slept in the cab of the vehicle. Flight Lieutenant Gaskin arrived and heard Eddy’s story. Asked why he hadn’t telephoned in, Eddy was vague and shrugged his shoulders. He asked about being taken to Grimsby railway station to get a train back to Coventry.
Gaskin telephoned the news to the Unit CO and also to Jennings Industries. The Managing Director at Jennings gave the news to Hamilton of MI5 while Squadron Leader Dawson telephoned Group Captain Clarkson with the news. Denby pulled out a file with Jamie Rogerson’s report on his visits to Parfleet St Peter. Denby wondered... the MLT was last seen outside of Sleaford... a Polish skipper of a fishing vessel with an East European-looking crew member... the crew member changing frequently... it was suspicious. He decided to get Jamie Rogerson to go to Parfleet St Peter and see what happened. Next, Denby contacted Coastal Command for reports of Russian trawlers or other Soviet vessels in the vicinity of the Lincolnshire coast. He then contacted MI5 for reports that might connect with this situation. Thirty minutes later he received a report from MI5. It contained information that a delivery van of a known front company for Soviet activities was seen in the vicinity of Sleaford the same afternoon that the MLT disappeared. Denby telephoned MI5 and then Squadron Leader Dawson. Then he telephoned Lutterworth.
Eddy Dennis was asked to stay and go through the vehicle with the JSTU team before they would sign the acceptance papers. The team took its time and the sergeant kept asking questions of Eddy about the vehicle’s performance on the road. He had received a message to delay Eddy from leaving. Finally, it was too late for him to get a train from Grimsby and he was offered accommodation in the Sergeants’ Mess for the night. He was promised good hospitality. Eddy grumbled but really thought this could be a good evening and he would get a train home in the morning. He arranged to telephone his wife and let her know he was okay and would be home the next day. During the course of the evening the medical officer visited the Sergeants’ Mess in mufti and engaged Eddy in conversation. He couldn’t detect anything wrong with Eddy but concluded that a specialist might pick something up he may have missed. He thanked the president of the Sergeants’ Mess
