The Margin of Evil! (28 page)

So, Milstein and Djugashvilli would pose as a married
couple. They would, arm in arm, walk up and down the street. Piaktow and Trassjohnsky would do the same, but they would be pushing a pram. The pram would contain extra rounds and Molotov cocktails whilst Svaars and Gardstein would storm in at eleven o'clock and rob the place. All of them would be armed with their Dreyse automatics. They would be in and out before anyone realised the place had been robbed.

As a distraction, Gardstein was going to arson a Q
uaker Hall in a nearby street. The police and the local fire brigade would be over there. They would all converge outside the jewellers at ten fifty eight sharp. Milstein and Djugashvilli would assist Gardstein and Svaars in the shop. Then they were to rush out into the street. If all was succeeding to plan Trassjohnsky and Piaktow would happen past with the pram. They would be held up at gunpoint. For the benefit of any onlookers they and their baby would be taken hostage. This play-acting would serve two purposes. One, of keeping the police, and any 'Have a Go Hero's' at arm's length whilst, number two, helping the gang spirit their swag away.

Then they would move quickly to an adjacent re
sidential street. Wellington Rd, - where they would enter number fourteen; holing up there, if need be, until the storm had blown over. If the coast was clear they would move on quickly. Most of these houses had cellars; occupants would be tied up and then bundled downstairs. If they were lucky the owners might be out. They would then scale the back wall and set off in different directions. They would meet at Mrs Browns at six in the evening. Gardstein assured them that it was as simple as that, but it was not without its risks. However, he stressed that even if it did go wrong, if they stayed calm everything would be fine in the end.

'
Obviously in an undertaking of this kind there is always an element of risk. Bad luck etcetera! The English 'Bobby' that just happens along, or the truanting child that just decides to tag along, or the Old Lady that just happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time,' Svaars prophetically said.

Gardstein agreed, but explained that the bold nature of such a robbery would inevitably catch the authorities off their guard.
He doubted that they were prepared or equipped to deal with such a sophisticated crime. The element of surprise was all theirs ... and theirs for the taking! The second robbery would not be, they would have to change their 'Modus Operandi' and strike elsewhere.

'
What about Scotland Yard,' the Georgian said.

'
What about them! They'll probably think we`re Fenians!' Gardstein said. He went on,' Nobody knows us around here! We have not aroused anyone's suspicions. To them we are respectable immigrants trying to make a better life, for ourselves here in London. What could be simpler? We do not fit into any of the stereotypes of the British villain. Look!'  Gardstein then distributed some English wanted posters, 'Look at these ...'

As he was handing them out
, 'The Georgian' said, 'Neither did Dr Crippen!'

The Latvian
'Mastermind' carried on. 'As a precaution, from now on, I don't want any of you to take the same route twice. The Okhrana are here in London. From now on, double check to see if you are being followed. Check reflections in shop windows; do not under any circumstances bring attention to yourselves. If you think that you are under surveillance, make your way to the area around Liverpool Street Station. Several streets away there is a Jewish synagogue. With the piece of chalk I am about to give you. Write on the synagogue wall, by the entrance to the alley, the Roman symbol 'One'. After you have done that, you are to go into the station and buy a single ticket to the village of Wivenhoe in Essex. There is a safe house there, you will go there and await further instructions.'  Gardstein looked at his accomplices, and then said, ‘Any Questions?'

It was Djugashvilli who spoke.
As usual he thanked everyone present, but praise was lavished on Gardstein; the curious thing was, as he congratulated Gardstein 'The Mastermind', on another well-executed plan; Svaars noticed that all the time he spoke, 'The Georgians' eyes were elsewhere. They were focused on the location of where Trassjohnsky was seated.

Crafty bastard Svaars thought, he couldn
't quite conceal the smirk on his face from Milstein. Djugashvilli was toadying up to Gardstein, whilst at the same time giving 'The Eye' to his love interest. What a smooth operator, the more he watched; he couldn't quite help as to wonder what his real motives were. Needless to say Trassjohnsky's eye was not focused on the swarthy 'Georgian', she was staring at the dumb Milstein.

As a postscript Gardstein added that until the Dress Rehearsal, this would be the last time that they were all to gather under the same roof.
Fritz Svaars could see that it was late now and that Gardstein wanted to wind up the meeting. Then Peter Piaktow spoke; he had been quiet all evening. He was voicing what Fritz Svaars assumed everybody else had been thinking. Piaktow wanted to know how and to whom the 'Booty' was going to be fenced and when they were going to get their share of the 'Swag'. Gardstein's reply was always the same, 'Just leave it to me!'

Yes, it was a well-executed operation.
There were still some questions that had not been answered; but the thing was they had done this before, at one time or another, in most of the cities of Europe. They had done it in Budapest, they had done it in Vienna; they had done it in Berlin, Amsterdam, Copenhagen and Stockholm. To date they had not been caught, there had been some close shaves though, but, so far, they had always remained one step ahead of the law. Fritz Svaars thought to himself, why should it not be any different this time?

Chapter Eighteen

Inspector Reginald, Reggie, Twist of 'The Yard' sat at his desk reading the report of the previous days Hatton Gardens diamond robbery. Even for him, it made for interesting reading. He lit up a Woodbine and read Austin Riggs report:

D-Division Incident Report. PC Riggs:

At approximately 10:
30 am, I heard a commotion in the direction of Jubilee Rd. Moving towards the fuss I could hear persons shouting, 'Fire'. Arriving at the scene I saw flames coming out of the Quaker hall.  I established with persons at the scene, if anyone had called the fire brigade. They replied that the 'Brigade' had been called. By the time the fire brigade arrived, and this was approximately 10:45 am, the fire was spreading to adjacent buildings. Until further assistance arrived, I took the liberty of evacuating nearby houses. The blaze was, now, firmly taking hold of the Quaker hall. Embers from that building were now settling on the roofs of nearby houses. I assisted with the evacuation of the elderly and the young. We got everybody over onto the far side of the street. The fire brigade had got to grips with the situation and you could see that they were winning the 'Good Fight' against the accursed 'Red Ember'.

At approximately 10:
58, I was out on the street supping tea with Ethel Firkin when I hears shoutin' coming from up the street, this time, from the direction of Hatton Gardens. A street urchin was running towards me waving his arms wildly. He was shouting in a high-pitched voice. At first, I had difficulty in making out exactly what it was that he was saying. But as the boy got closer I made out that he was shouting, 'Robbery, robbery!'  I made it clear to the lad that, if this was some schoolboy prank, his backside would receive a tanning like it had never seen before! But the boy stood his ground and stated that he would gladly swear on the bible, that what he was telling me was 'Gods truth, and Gods truth alone! So help me God!'  Replacing Mrs F's best china on the pavement, I proceeded blowing my whistle in the direction of Hatton Gardens.

I arrived there to find a scene of absolute
pandemonium going on in the street. There were people cowering behind doorways and it seems that outside the jeweller's two men was wielding handguns. Further investigation established that they had taken hostage a young couple with a perambulator. Into this, and totally unaware of what was happening, motors, horse and carts, tradesmen and barrow boys were strayin'.

It all happened very quickly
. The robbers and their hostages moved very quickly down the street. I, in hot pursuit, managed to follow them in the direction of Farringdon. The robbers had now seen that I was in pursuit and, ably assisted by PCs Weatherall and Pickford, they were shooting at us with deadly accuracy. They turned into Wellington Rd and I saw them kick-in, the front door of a house – Number 14 Wellington Rd - and then disappear inside. That was the last time I saw them. God only knows what has happened to the young couple and their baby.

Armed reinforcements arrived at 11.15 am from High Holborn. They secured the whole area, gardens and all. But when fourteen Wellington Rd was entered and searched, the only trace of robber and hostage I found was the perambulator and some empty shell cases. Eventually Detective Inspector Gardiner arrived on the scene and instructed an immediate door-to-door search of the area.

By the inspectors leave, I returned to Jubilee Rd to check on the fire. Once back at the scene of the fire, I found that the fire brigade had put out the fire. But my eyes met a panorama of utter devastation. The Quaker hall was no more and the houses on either side of it were gutted. The Salvation Army was dealing with the distressed. I returned to Hatton Gardens to see if I could be of any further assistance.

'Very bold, very bold', he thought. He picked up Detective Inspector Gardiner's report:

D-Division Incident Report. Inspector Gardiner:

At approximately 11.05, a report was received that an armed robbery was in progress down in Hatton Gardens. PCs Halford
, Weatherall and Pickford went on ahead. I armed myself and followed a few moments later.

I arrived at 11.20
and was confronted by the aftermath of a robbery. Kauffman's jewellers had been robbed at approximately eleven o'clock. Jacob Kauffman was seated in the corner of the shop and the sales assistant was crying. Mrs Kauffman was consoling her husband. I went back out onto the street to take charge.

P.C. Riggs informed me that the villains, and their hostages, had made off in the directio
n of Wellington Rd. PCs Halford, Weatherall and Pickford in pursuit. It later transpired that they could not make any gains on the villains. This was because they were unarmed and the villains were armed. Not only that, the villains were firing at them and, according to PC Halford their accuracy was deadly. At 11.35, it was established that the robbers were taking refuge in number 14 Wellington Rd. By now further assistance had arrived. I took it on myself to order an immediate evacuation of nearby houses. I also ordered the house be surrounded.

Accompanied by a PC Tipton we made our way slowly down the street. By now the gunfire had subsided. Arriving at the front door of number 14 Wellington Rd, I proceeded to knock on the door. There was no reply. I knocked again, there was still no reply. I tried the door, it was locked. I instructed PC Tipton to use force to enter the building.
We entered, it was dark inside and it took a moment to adjust our eyesight.

Then we heard some sounds coming from deeper within the dwelling. Making our way further down the hallway, and taking special precauti
ons, lest we should be ambushed, Tipton and I located where the sounds were coming from. Under the stairs was a door which led down to a cellar. In the cellar we found an old couple, Jack and Maisie Roche. They had been tied, bound and gagged.

Making our way back upstairs we established that the house was secure. There was no trace of hostage or villain. The only evidence of entry was their pram had been left outside the kitchen door. There was no sign of a baby, but lying on the kitchen floor lay a
childs doll. It was clear to me that both villain and hostage had absconded. Further inspection revealed spent shell cases in the front parlour. At about this time P.C. Riggs asked leave to return to the fire in Jubilee Rd. I said that he could, but he was to return to the station to make a full statement as soon as possible.

In the meantime I asked Mr and Mrs Roche exactly what had happened. They said at 11.15 they were having their elevenses; they were late having them that morning, as Jack had spent the morning touching up the
privy wall. They had just sat down, when the front door flew open and a man and woman pushing a pram made their way into the house. Jack challenged them, but by now two other men and a woman had also entered and these two men were carrying handguns. For a minute or two, the two men with the guns lent out the front door and alternately fired shots down the street. Maisie Roche noted that
all
five spoke in a foreign tongue. The two gunmen instructed the man and woman to tie them up and then they were bundled down into the cellar.

Once in the cellar, they saw no more of them. But they could still hear the sounds of scuffling feet upstairs. Eventually all went quiet
, until the knock on the door and their eventual release ...

Reg Twist stubbed another cigarette out and then picked up the statement of Jacob Kauffman the jeweller:

At 10.45 I received my weekly delivery of uncut diamonds and rubies. I had, as always instructed the sales assistant as to what she should do with the stones. I looked around and a young couple had walked into the shop. Nothing unusual in that, as my sole purpose in life is to serve the general public.