Remember Remember (29 page)

“Good morning, I need a room for this evening, do you have any vacancies please miss?”

The young lady smiled and then turned her attention to the computer screen. After much clicking of keys and mumbles about slow computers she confirmed a room was available. He presented a business card and said he would pay the £80 in cash for the room.

“Yes Mr Walsh” said the lady as she confirmed the room and gave him a receipt for payment and a room number which would be vacant at 2.00 pm. He thanked her and left the hotel turning right then left after 50 yards, then along the narrow river bank walk, again checking regularly that he wasn’t being followed. At 9.15 am he entered his rented office, said good morning to Theresa and set about contacting the 80 potential customers. His first call was Keith Stubbs of Pickering.

“Hello Mr Stubbs, this is Alan Walsh of Lolts, did you receive our samples?”

“Yes I did and they’re very good. We let them off on Christmas Day and they were quite spectacular, just as good as any we have used before.”

“Good. I’m glad you like them, would you be interested in taking shipments from us for this year’s event?”

“Only if the price is right and you can guarantee delivery this year and for the next three years.”

“As you know we will guarantee delivery for three years at a fixed price which is now 30% less than you will pay for similar fireworks even from the Chinese.”

“OK, I will take 100 tonnes this year rising to 150 next year if it all works out.”

“Thank you Mr Stubbs, you do know our terms and conditions of payment which mean that if you take the fireworks in April or May you will not have to pay until the end of August or early September by which time you will have sold them on to your customers.”

“It all sounds good to me.”

“Good, then I will fax a contract for you to sign and if you can send it back to me I will put the wheels in motion for delivery. As you know, Turkey is trying to join the EU and bolster its world wide trade, therefore these deals are very good at the moment but will not last forever, in which case you may wish to sign up now for three years at the current rates.”

“Send me the forms. I promise I’ll sign for a year but I’ll have to think about the three year deal.”

“Thank you Mr Stubbs, I’ll fax it to you straight away.”

He replaced the receiver, smiled and thought, “One down, seventy nine to go.”

He faxed the form and looked at his watch. The transaction had taken 10 minutes and meant he could do five per hour for six hours at best. Therefore he needed at least three days without interruption from the police, four days if possible.

January 22
nd
, Stockport Police Station.

Sergeant Lawrence rushed into Major Rock’s office waving two pieces of paper and exclaimed, “We’ve got him sir, we know where the bugger is.”

He had Rock’s attention immediately, “where Sergeant, where?”

“His car’s in Leeds but the bugger’s in York staying at the Ivy Hotel, which is owned by an ex-SAS friend. We received a report from the York police that Johnson had stayed there before in June and December last year so I put a call in to the Ivy and asked if I could speak to Mr Alan Johnson. Some woman said he had gone out for the day but would be back around six pm. If my hunch is correct this is our Mr Alan Johnson, sir.”

“Good work Sergeant,” Rock jumped to his feet, “get the car to the front, I need the driver plus one other and you to accompany me. Bring overnight bags, we’ll leave in 30 minutes.”

He dialled SBCT headquarters and spoke with Commander Bagshaw. “We’ve located him sir, staying in York with an ex-SAS colleague. I want permission to go there and escort him back to Stockport for further interrogation with regard to the Olu Deniz murder. I expect to detain him for up to 48 hours and even 7 days.”

“As you wish Major, you know the law as well as I do.”

Rock replaced the receiver and gathered his notes and overnight bag for the drive to York.

It was decided the best plan would be to try to tail Johnson to see where he went and who he met. Therefore the Ivy would be watched by two officers while Rock and Lawrence liaised with the York police to see if more man power could be used to help in the shadowing operation.

By 3.30 pm two officers were positioned close to the Ivy Hotel, one at the front and one at the rear entrance and Rock accompanied by Lawrence was in a meeting with Chief Inspector Petchey.

“Chief Inspector, we believe the man we are looking for is responsible for one murder in Turkey and for plotting terrorist activities in the UK. He is English, white, average height, weight and age. He is ex-SAS and trained in many skills, one of which is the ability to disappear at will without trace. Therefore I would like your staff to help us locate him, but not apprehend him. I need to know why he is here, what he’s doing and who he contacts.”

“Major, like all police forces we are busy, but we will endeavour to find your man; we have his photograph and my men have the local knowledge required to hunt this man down. How long do you think he will be here for?”

The Major shook his head, “I don’t know, I really don’t know, but the last time he disappeared was for about nine days so it might be the same this time.”

“Well, I can certainly give you some resource for that length of time.”

“Thank you, it’s greatly appreciated. Please inform your colleagues not to apprehend him. We want to know why he’s here and who he meets.”

“I understand,” the Chief Inspector rose to go, “now I need to put this in motion, so if that’s all let’s close the meeting.”

The Major and Sergeant rose, shook hands and thanked him, they left the Police Station and went to relieve their colleagues at the Ivy.

The four officers had been booked into the York Hilton Hotel and by 7.30 pm Rock and Lawrence were in a meeting room in the hotel.

“He’s still not returned, Sergeant, I think we should telephone the Ivy and ask to speak to Tony Broadhead, what do you think?”

“I agree, we can say we are from the York Constabulary and want to speak to Johnson and ask when he will be back.”

“Good, please call him now.”

Tony Broadhead was told by Pat, his waitress and Girl Friday that he had a telephone call; he picked up the receiver and said,

“Hello, how can I help you?”

“Good evening, is that Tony Broadhead?”

“Yes it is.”

“My name is Sergeant Lawrence of the York Constabulary, you may recall we visited you recently regarding a man called Alan Johnson and we believe he’s staying with you now.”

“Yes he is, but he’s not here at the moment, he hasn’t come back since this morning.”

“I see; does he often work late when he’s staying with you?”

“Who mentioned work, I’ve no idea what he does or where he goes.”

“Sorry sir, I assumed that if he was out all day he’d be at work.”

“Well, he may be, I don’t know, but usually he’s in by now.”

“Thank you Mr Broadhead, I’m sure we will be talking with you again soon.”

Lawrence replaced the receiver which rang immediately. He picked it up and listened for a moment nodding his head then replied, “OK Tom, just a minute.” He moved the receiver from his mouth and looked at the Major, “It’s Tom sir, the one on duty at the Ivy, asking for a replacement.”

He nodded and replied, “Get onto the local police and see if they can muster up two staff to replace ours and then tell Tom and Barry to make their way here.”

“Yes sir.”

By 8.00 pm they had been replaced by the York police who would mount an all night vigil to no avail. Alan Johnson did not return to the Ivy on January the 22
nd
.

January 23
rd
, Ibis Hotel, York.

Alan Walsh approached the reception at one of the busiest times of day, after a 5 minute wait it was his turn to check out.

“Good morning sir,” said the lady, taking and looking at his room key, “are you checking out?”

“I only asked for one night, but now I find I need another, will it be possible to stay in my room again for tonight?” He immediately offered the cash to pay for the second night and the receptionist said she would check availability. Some moments later she was counting the money having confirmed that Mr Walsh was OK for a second night. He left the hotel with the key, aware the receptionist had hardly given him a second glance. If the police checked this hotel, which he thought would be inevitable, the chances of anyone recognising the relaxed Alan Johnson in casual wear and the smartly dressed businessman Alan Walsh, as the same person were slim. Again he took the narrow winding route via the river to the office, and after checking at least three times that he was not being followed he entered the rented office. He bade, “Good Morning,” to Theresa and received a smile and a, “Good Morning Mr Walsh,” in reply before setting about his task for the second day.

Day one had been very productive with 28 calls made and 16 acceptances of contracts totalling hundreds of tonnes of fireworks. That amount alone would cause chaos and death on a major scale. However, with some fireworks containing no anthrax, he knew that for his mission to be truly effective the project required two to three times more tonnage to be bought.

He set about day two as day one, telephoning, emailing then getting contracts typed and faxed. He did not venture out, drank coffee from the kitchen and bought a sandwich from the sandwich lady at reception. By the evening of Day Two he had secured a further 18 acceptances of contracts totalling many more hundreds of tonnes of fireworks.

At 5.30 pm he left the office, purposefully in the rush hour, walked to his hotel, went straight to his room, exercised, showered, then slept for two hours. At 9.00 pm he rang for room service, ordering a steak and chips and a bottle of red wine, purposefully avoiding the lamb chops which were the special of the day. When they arrived he opened the door and went immediately into the bathroom wearing only a towel. The waiter, catching barely a glimpse of him placed the tray on the small room table and left, hearing a voice from the bathroom saying, “many thanks, the money for the meal is on the table, please take it.”

He then moved out of the bathroom, double locked the hotel room door and sat down to his steak, chips and red wine. He was asleep by 11.00 pm.

January 23
rd
, York Hilton Hotel.

The four officers met in the York Hilton to discuss their tactics for the day. The all night reconnaissance at the Ivy proved just one thing; that Johnson did not return to his room that night.

“It could be a woman,” stated Tom.

“Could be,” chuckled Sergeant Lawrence, “all this time we think we’re hunting a terrorist and he’s just having it off with some tart in York.”

“Sergeant,” growled Major Rock.

“Sorry sir, but it could be true.”

“I’m well aware there could be a woman involved but that does not detract me from my belief, after all there’s a woman involved in Stockport, isn’t there?”

“Yes sir, but she’s only a girlfriend.”

“Let’s get back to the problem, we came to locate Johnson and find out what he’s up to, but to date we have nothing, therefore I want you to ask Chief Inspector Petchey to get his staff to check out all the local hotels, guest houses and pubs to see if anybody has seen Johnson. Tom, you check with the guys covering 78 Sandiway and the Brown Cow. I don’t want to find Johnson has led us here and then gone back because that really would make us look bloody foolish. Barry, you and I will go and interview Mr. Tony Broadhead at the Ivy. Perhaps he can shed some light on this affair.”

They walked into the Ivy past the bundle of brown fur. Greetings were exchanged and Rock, Barry and Tony Broadhead sat at a window table where Tony could see the main entrance.

“Tony, may I call you Tony?”

“Yes OK.”

“Tony, we are investigating a murder in Turkey plus other suspected offences.”

“What other suspected offences?” enquired Tony.

“Terrorism.”

“By who?”

“Alan Johnson.”

Tony laughed a loud outrageous laugh, “Terrorism, bloody terrorism! You are joking aren’t you! Alan Johnson is the best soldier this country ever bloody well had, he fought and killed for his country and for his efforts saw many of his comrades die. He’s no more a terrorist than you or me.”

“Thanks for that Tony, but the matter stands.”

“You’re off your bloody trolley Major.”

His face hardened, “thank you; now please tell me, when did Johnson arrive?”

Tony nodded but the smile left his face, “let me get my guest ledger sir.”

He departed and returned a few minutes later with a large brown bound book which he leafed through to find Johnson’s name.

“He arrived on the evening of the 20
th
.”

“So, he’s been here for three days.”

“Not quite sir, although he booked in and stayed the night of the 20
th
he’s not been back since.”

“I see, so where do you think he is?”