Bridge of Doom (12 page)

Annie sighed in frustration, 'so that makes it even more difficult to spot them. Apart from the time I've spent on the sales floor, I've also wasted God knows how many hours, sitting here in the office reviewing video footage of days when the most recent thefts occurred. And I’ve found absolutely nothing, zilch. So how on earth will we ever catch them? Nothing's been said so far, but I'm pretty sure the store is starting to wonder if the money we're charging is worth it.'
 

'Don't worry, kiddo, sometimes on this type of job you just have to keep plugging away, until you get a lucky break. What’s certain is that something is happening inside that store in plain sight and everybody has missed it so far. I’ll keep working on the video footage, because sometimes all it takes is a fresh eye, you know.'

'Absolutely, that would be great.' 

'By the way, just so that I can keep the guys at the Royal Bar fully up to speed on what to get their wives for Christmas, what's the latest hot handbag?'
 

‘You’re asking the wrong person. I've been using the same scruffy courier bag since my first year at college, but as far as I know there are several really big sellers at the moment. Although the manager did mention that the store is preparing for a major promotion in two days' time, to tie in with a magazine and internet advertising campaign. It’s for an expensive new range of bags by a hip Italian designer, called Max Bellendi.' 

Jack laughed out loud. Puzzled, Annie asked, 'what's funny?' 

'Sorry, it's the name … you know, Max Bellendi. He sounds like a Latin porn star. It just appeals to my smutty schoolboy sense of humour. Please go on.'
 

Ignoring her partner, Annie continued, 'so the launch will certainly attract the attention of the local fashionistas, the women with more money than sense, and maybe the shoplifters as well. If I was guessing, I'd say there's a good chance they'll put in an appearance, because the latest, hottest bags will always be easiest ones to sell on for the biggest prices.' 

'That does make sense, so how about if we both spend the entire day in the store on the day of the launch and maybe the following day as well. If nothing happens by then, I think it's probably only fair to ask the store if they want us to continue with the job, or we can just wrap things up and tiptoe away. Sometimes jobs are like that, Annie. You do your best, of course, but if it doesn't pan out for one reason or another, you just get out of Dodge and go straight on to the next one. As long as we get paid, that's all that matters.'

'Thanks for the briefing, boss,’ said Annie. ‘I feel much better about things now you've explained how shoplifting gangs actually operate. I didn't realise that so much preparation and thought went into it.'  

'You better believe it. And that applies on both sides of the fence. It's a real battle of wits, because the shoplifters keep coming up with new tricks and scams to exploit any weakness in store security. It's almost like a war, or a duel.' 

'In this case, I suppose you could say it's like handbags at ten paces.' 

'Yes, very good, Annie. Best not to give up the day job just yet.'

On the first day of the in-store promotional event, for the latest collection of designer handbags by Max Bellendi, Annie left her car in the large multi-storey car park adjacent to the John Lewis store. Then she walked with Jack downhill, past the Royal Concert Hall and the statue of the late Donald Dewar, complete with obligatory traffic cone on his head, towards the Buchanan Street shopping precinct.

Halfway down Buchanan Street Annie paused and said, ‘where we’re standing right now is actually the centre of Glasgow’s style mile. You know, the shopping area for all the latest must-have fashions.’

‘Style mile … really? That’s strange, I’ve stayed in Glasgow all my life and I’ve never heard of it.’

‘For someone who’s usually sharp and totally on-message about the latest gear, you do surprise me,’ said Annie, stifling a snigger. ‘Anyway, the style mile runs from Sauchiehall Street, down Buchanan Street to where we are now, and then turns left along Argyle Street. They say, if you can’t find what you want here, boss, it doesn’t exist.’

‘Well I can tell you right now, they definitely don’t have what I want,’ said Jack sourly.

‘Which is?’

‘At my age, it’s quite a long depressing list, Annie. Starting with a cure for sore feet at one end of my body and progressing to a remedy for thinning hair at the other end, with all points in between affected to a greater or lesser degree by decrepitude. But let’s not bother with that now. Tell me more about this store we’re going to.’

'The store manager was telling me yesterday that the cost of retail space per square foot in this street is second only to London.'

'I can believe that, Annie. Because Glaswegians have always loved having all the latest fashionable gear and the flashier the better. The problem is that some of them don't like paying for the stuff.'

As they paused on the opposite side of the pedestrian precinct, observing the impressive glass and chrome façade of the store, Jack said, 'it's not what you'd call understated, is it? Okay, I fully appreciate that I'm not part of their target demographic group. But to me the overall look screams out that only people with loads of money and not much taste are welcome in there.'

'That does just about cover it, yes. And although I worked in the store for four months, I've only ever been in once as a customer. This place is way above my pay grade
and
they don't sell Doc Martens. So that’s a deal breaker for me, right there.'

'Okay, tell me all about their security set-up.'
 

'The store claims it has a pretty sophisticated security system, with a wireless network of CCTV cameras covering every floor. There are five floors in the building and at least twenty cameras on each floor, so you would need an army of people in the security office to be able to watch all of the screens all of the time. Actually there are normally only two security staff monitoring the live feeds from the various cameras at any one time. They’re in constant touch with a small team of plain clothes store detectives, operating inside the building, and also two uniformed staff covering the front door. The manager told me their new CCTV system has facial recognition capability, which can automatically cross-reference images with a database of convicted shoplifters and their known associates. I don't know exactly how it all works but, apparently, it can also detect any suspicious behaviour and automatically alert security if it's spotted a potential shoplifter.’
 

'That sounds damn clever,' said Jack. 'If it works. But I mean, how do you define suspicious behaviour? A woman could be just rummaging around in her shopping bag, looking for her purse, or maybe she's actually using a pair of pliers to try and remove a security tag. I reckon it's hard for a piece of software to tell the difference. My guess is they get loads of false alarms.' 

'Anyway they've had this expensive new system up and running for over a year and the store security manager seems to think it's been a worthwhile upgrade. Their year on year losses from shoplifting were actually down twenty per cent, until this big spike of thefts came along in the last three months, when they've started losing expensive handbags and watches on a regular basis.'
 

'Look I'm not knocking all of this new technology, Annie. Even if it only works some of the time, it's obviously a useful tool to have. I'm just saying that human nature always comes into it and, as time goes on, the tendency will be for the security guys to relax and start over-relying on the new system, instead of concentrating the way they should be. I mean the fact that they've had to call us in confirms that. I'm assuming they've stepped up their security measures and endlessly reviewed the video tapes, but the truth is they still don't seem to have a clue how these thefts are being carried out. Okay, tell me about security at the entrance to the store.’ 

'We're looking at the only public entrance, although there’s also a staff and service access door at the rear of the store, from West Nile Street. Both the public entrance and the one round the back are monitored by cameras and the latest EAS security bollards.'

'Whoa there … what's that?'
 

'Sorry, it's an acronym they use for Electronic Article Surveillance. That's the system you see used in shops everywhere, which activates an alarm if anyone tries to leave with an item which has the shop's security tag still attached. They've got the same set-up inside the store, at the entrances to the various public toilets. As I said, there's always at least two uniformed security guards covering the front entrance. But they have a big problem with false alarms.’ 

'That's right and, just to make things worse, sometimes the problem isn't caused by a shoplifter on the way out, it's actually a completely innocent shopper bringing an item in from another shop, where the person who served them forgot to remove a security tag. A lot of the stores use exactly the same kit, so the number of false alarms in an average day must drive the security staff nuts. It's like any kind of alarm going off, on a house or car. You just kind of tune them out, don’t you? Because nine times out of ten, it's another false alarm. Okay, Annie, let's go inside and you can give me the guided tour.'
 

They made their way through the shoppers thronging the pedestrian precinct and checked in with security at the store entrance, before making their way to the suite of management offices on the top floor, where Annie introduced Jack to the store's head of security. They chatted briefly, mainly to do with the upcoming promotional event for Max Bellendi, and then a temporary ID badge was issued for Jack.  

'What do you think is the best way to do this?' said Annie. 'Obviously I'm familiar with the store layout and where all of the really valuable stock is on display. So maybe I should do a couple of hours out on the sales floor first, while you get to grips with the security camera system up here in the office.'
 

'Yeah, I suppose that makes sense. Although I was looking forward to doing my John Inman impersonation and I've even brought along my own tape. You know, for taking inside leg measurements.' 

Annie looked at her partner in complete bewilderment and shook her head, before picking up a radio handset and heading off to patrol the sales floor. Meanwhile Jack reluctantly settled into the security office, where he tried to familiarise himself with the store's network of CCTV cameras.  

After half an hour Jack's radio crackled into life and Annie enquired, 'have you seen anything interesting so far, boss?' 

'Absolutely. I've just spent ten minutes watching two extremely fit looking young women. They went into the changing room with an armful of dresses and, bold as brass, stripped right down to their unmentionables. It was quite a sight, I can tell you. I had no idea suspender belts were still so popular.'

'Believe me, they're not, unless you're a pole dancer. Look, for heaven's sake,' hissed Annie, 'you're supposed to be helping me spot shoplifters stealing handbags, not sitting up there perving at female customers in the changing rooms.' 

'Guilty as charged, Annie. But I certainly don't take any pleasure from doing this,' said Jack, unconvincingly. 'I'm just trying to be thorough and I can state with absolute certainty that the women in question do not have expensive handbags concealed
anywhere
about their person. So what's happening at your end?' 

'All quiet so far. In fact, I've been so bored I actually did some light dusting on the display cases. I don't even do that at home.'  

'Good work, Annie. People can say what they like about the JD Investigations crew. Okay, we maybe don't catch the bad guys every time, but we do always leave the place looking nice and tidy.'

Annie arrived in the JD Investigations office the following morning to find Jack leaning back in his chair with a broad grin on his face. 

'Let me guess, you've finally found some poor deluded woman desperate enough to go out on a date with you.' 

'No, it's much better than that, Annie. I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn’t get back to sleep. It was the nightmare again so I decided I was as well coming in here to have another crack at the security videos. I've been sitting here for the last five hours, tearing what's left of my hair out, and to be honest I thought I was beat. But something has been bugging me about one of the tapes that I couldn't quite put my finger on. So I decided to take a final crack at it and then it came to me. I've worked out how your shoplifting gang are doing it.' 

'You're kidding me.'
 

'I shit you not, Annie, come and see for yourself. It's not immediately obvious, but I'll give you a clue. The shoplifter will be clearly in view sometime in the next thirty minutes of video footage. Watch it in real time and try to spot who it is, while I nip out and get some lunch. But I bet a fiver you won't get it.' 

Annie willingly accepted the bet, noted the start time and hunched over the screen, concentrating hard on the security video footage. The picture switched every ten seconds between three different cameras which covered, from different angles, a line of glass fronted display cases containing rows of expensive designer handbags. A connected counter, with till area, where a sales assistant was dealing with customers was also clearly visible.  

Annie discounted the first two customers, young women who had peered excitedly at the price tags on the coveted new handbags, before swiftly recoiling in horror. That left three possible contenders, people who had actually laid hands on the goods in question and appeared to consider making a purchase.
 

First came a young, loved-up couple, who couldn't keep their hands off each other. They briefly perused several top of the range handbags, between bouts of extended snogging, before wandering off purposefully in the direction of the bedding department.

Next up was a tall thin, thirty-something woman wearing a smart business suit, possibly a professional of some kind. Annie speculated that she was a high flier in the financial services sector, perhaps treating herself with the loose change from the annual bonus pot. Strangely she appeared to be in a bad mood about something and, although there was no soundtrack to the video, she was obviously giving the sales assistant a hard time. The woman closely inspected and then discarded a series of handbags, apparently dissatisfied with either the quality, colour or size of everything she was being shown. Finally, she looked at her watch, appeared to realise that she was running seriously late, and swept up her coat and shopping bags from the counter and hurried away towards the nearest lift. 'What on earth was that all about?' muttered Annie to herself. 'Maybe none of the handbags were expensive enough for her.'
 

The final contender in the thirty-minute video sequence was a well-groomed, expensively dressed middle-aged woman, wearing a black wide-brim hat, who was also carrying several shopping bags from other up-market shops in the city centre. She asked for a range of handbags to be laid out for inspection and appeared to be chatting away in a relaxed manner to the sales assistant. However, she didn't make a purchase either and, as she walked away, Annie could see that the customer and the sales assistant were both laughing at something that had been said. So, at the end of thirty minutes of video, there had been no obvious drama, no sleight of hand or magic of any kind, which would shed light on the handbag thief's MO. Pick the bones out of that lot, Annie
. 

When Jack returned to the office with a selection of tasty snacks from Greggs the baker, he sat quietly eating his lunch and smirking as his young partner scratched her head, growing more frustrated by the minute at her inability to positively identify the shoplifter. 

She began watching the video sequence once again from the start, before giving up half-way through and spluttering, 'this is impossible.  You're putting me off, sitting there covered in flakes of pastry, with that big stupid grin on your face. Okay then, smart arse. I know you're just dying to show me how clever you are.'
 

'Thank you Annie, it's so nice to be appreciated once in a while. But before I forget, could you possibly dig out a fiver for me?’ 

Annie searched through her wallet for the dirtiest, most torn and crumpled note she could find and reluctantly tossed it across Jack's desk. 

'Cheers for that partner,’ said Jack, quickly trousering the note. ‘Now re-wind the video back to exactly eighteen minutes from the start of the sequence. Then hit the play button and all will be revealed.' 

Annie re-started the video at the appropriate point and gasped in surprise, 'so it was the older woman wearing the big fancy hat? I would never have picked her out as the thief. Okay, she had the sales assistant hauling out bags all over the counter, but all of the others did that as well and it all seemed perfectly normal. I mean that's just what women do when they're trying to make their mind up. They need to see and compare absolutely everything before they finally choose. Especially if they're spending two grand on a new handbag.'

'Yes, but now watch her left hand closely,' said Jack.
 

'It looks like she took her phone out of her bag to check a new text message. So what?' 

'I think that was a text was from another member of the gang, who is somewhere close by. She's just been given the all clear that nobody is watching and can go ahead and lift the bags off the counter.' 

'But absolutely nothing happened. I still don't get it. I'm right at the end of the sequence again and It looks like she's just thanked the assistant for her help and walked away without buying anything, or stealing anything either.'
 

'That's right, because that's exactly what the pictures
do
show. But if you wind it back again and pause it, just there … check the time again. Now hit play again and note the exact time once more.' 

The picture on the screen then momentarily flickered and when it returned to normal, Annie saw the time on the screen had jumped forward by eight seconds. 

'I don't understand, boss. What just happened there? We somehow lost eight seconds of pictures.'
 

'Yes, and in those eight seconds the store probably just lost another two of their most expensive handbags. See
there
… just as the woman puts her mobile back in her handbag. That's when the picture flickers and then the time jumps forward. I'm sure she's activating some kind of electronic jammer, hidden in her bag, which freezes the wireless security cameras for a few seconds. Just long enough to swipe the handbags, while the assistant has her back turned. Obviously we don't see what she did with them, but my guess is they were quickly stuffed into one of her big shopping bags.'
 

Annie whistled in admiration, 'I honestly thought this was an old school crime. I didn't realise that shoplifters would be using the very latest high-tech kit. Okay, so that's how they're actually stealing the bags, but how are they getting them out of the store?' 

'We don't know that yet, but probably the woman wearing the hat left the shopping bag in a pre-arranged spot and another gang member quickly removed, or disabled, the security tags. Then they can all go merrily on their way, probably with a quick detour past the jewellery counter to see if any of the latest fancy watches catch their eye.' 

'I really don't know what to say, boss, this is
so
impressive. I mean, no offence, but technology isn't really your thing. So how on earth did you work it all out?' 

'You're right. But I came at from a slightly different angle, because I'm pretty sure that I know this woman from way back when I was a rookie cop. God, it could be almost thirty years ago. I can't remember her name yet, but it'll come to me. She was quite a looker back in the day and, although she's obviously put on a few pounds since then, that distinctive sharp nose and those high cheekbones are definitely familiar. There's also something about the sexy way she walks that rang a bell with me. So when I spotted her casually
sashaying towards the handbag counter, I immediately became suspicious. Then when I saw the video picture go fuzzy and the time clock jump forward, I immediately consulted an acknowledged expert in this field, Mr Google. That's where I found out about the trick with the electronic jammer. But I'd never have worked it out in a million years, if I hadn't recognised her first. You know what they say, Annie? If you can't be good, be lucky. And I don't think it was any co-incidence either that the theft occurred just before a staff change-over was due to take place.’

‘Right, of course. The sales assistant would be in a rush to get all the handbags put back in the display cases before she took her break. So was this woman a shoplifter when you first met her?' 

'Yes, but not a very good one. She's obviously come on quite a bit since the day I lifted her in the Argyle Street branch of Woolworths, for trying to steal two David Bowie CD's and a Mars Bar.'

Annie checked the date on the security video and said, 'I’m just thinking, this tape was only recorded three weeks ago. You know how we speculated before about how the Bellendi promotion might be a big attraction for the thieves?' 

'Yeah, so?' 

'I'm just wondering if the gang would have the brass neck to come back to the store again, so soon after the last time.'
 

'Yes, I think there is a good chance because they're probably a local outfit and, more importantly, their MO worked perfectly last time. So why not keep doing it again and again? Okay, maybe with a different gang member doing the actual business at the handbag counter, to avoid being recognised. But if they eventually get caught, they're actually not too bothered. Yet another appearance in Glasgow Sheriff Court, for a slap on the wrist and a token fine. They're probably on first name terms with most of the staff round at the Court building and they'll only lose a half-day of shoplifting time. So really not a big deal in the overall scheme of things, if you're a career criminal. I’m pretty sure that's how they'll be looking at it, Annie.'