Dead and Gone Read online

  ‘I don’t understand.’ Peter Macaulay spoke for the first time. ‘If the man we all knew as Farrell is this Tankard character, what happened to the real Jonathan Farrell?’

  ‘He suffered the same fate as Linda Wilson. Murdered by their hired thug, a Slovenian hitman nicknamed Ivan the Terrible, and buried at one of Macaulay Property Holdings’ holiday cottages. The murder took place well before Bishopton Investments went belly up.’

  Nash stopped to allow Tina to take up the story. ‘Having examined the student records, I can vouch for the fact that although Tankard was competent enough to design some of the software and install it, the real talent lay with Farrell’s wife. The pair had disposed of her husband and Linda Wilson, so she now used her influence within Macaulay Industries to force them to recommend the software to all of you. As you’d all lost money in the Bishopton Investments collapse you were only too glad to avoid something similar happening to your companies.’

  ‘You mean Diane Carlson did all this?’ Crawshaw was seated next to her and moved his chair further away as he spoke.

  ‘No, we believe Ms Carlson to be simply another convenient scapegoat.’ Nash smiled at her to reassure her. ‘No, the person responsible was Peter Macaulay’s mistress and she either bribed him or blackmailed him into taking up the Security Solutions package and promoting it to others.’

  Peter Macaulay looked aghast at the revelation of his affair and the accusing glares of the other executives round the table.

  Nash continued, ‘I’m referring to Jonathan Farrell’s widow, who works as Peter Macaulay’s personal secretary and now uses her maiden name, Morgan Hope.’

  Morgan was already on her feet before Nash revealed her name, and attempted to dash from the room. She flung the door open, but found her way blocked by DS Mironova and DC Andrews. She was led away, as Nash continued his explanation. ‘When she excused herself from the meeting a little while ago, she went next door to Diane’s office and activated the virus using Diane’s computer. However, Dr Silver had already blocked it, so that didn’t work.’

  ‘We also have a direct witness to the activities of their hired assassin, Ivan the Terrible,’ Fleming told them. ‘Patricia Wain, whose planned internal audit at Shires together with the murder of Neil Ormondroyd led to the uncovering of the whole plot.’

  ‘How did you find out that Tankard had switched identity with Farrell?’ Crawshaw asked.

  ‘To begin with we were convinced it was the missing Mark Tankard in the grave we’d found, except there was one thing niggling me. Diane Carlson said that Tankard was no more than medium height. Having seen the skeleton in the grave, that didn’t seem to fit. Either her memory of the man was wrong, or that wasn’t the right corpse. I got our pathologist to check, and he confirmed the body was that of a man over six feet tall. We obtained details on both men from the university, and sure enough, Farrell was six inches taller than Tankard.’

  ‘You may be happy enough that the crimes have been solved,’ the CEO of Good Buys grumbled, ‘but that doesn’t help us.’

  ‘You’re quite right,’ Crawshaw agreed. He looked at Nash. ‘Do you have any idea of the sums involved? We will have to reimburse customers for the amount they’ve been overcharged. We’ll have to stand those losses, but without some indication of how much is involved, we won’t be able to make adequate or accurate provisions on our balance sheets.’

  ‘Our job begins and ends with apprehending criminals for the offences they’ve committed,’ Nash told them. ‘We have to deploy other agencies and specialist departments to recover the proceeds of those crimes. I think at this point Superintendent Fleming and I should check that the arrested woman has been processed correctly. In the meantime, it may well be that Dr Silver can give you a more accurate picture of the current situation than we can.’

  chapter twenty-four

  ‘What the heck was all that about?’ Jackie asked when they were outside the boardroom. ‘You know very well that Clara and Lisa are more than capable of following the right procedures for detention of suspects.’

  ‘I know, but there are times when it is better for us to appear to be ignorant of what is going on. If we were inside that room, we would be unable to deny knowledge of what is being discussed if the matter becomes an issue at a later date. Tina explained that she has been able to access information which will set our friends in that room at ease. However, in a technical sense, part of what she has done is, shall we say, open to misinterpretation. She thought it would be better for us not to hear this part of the proceedings. So I suggest we pay a tactical visit to the coffee machine in the reception area. Tina assured me that what she had to say wouldn’t take long. Then we can wrap things up here and start questioning our suspects.’

  Nash grinned. ‘The guys in there have had some huge shocks already, but they’re nothing compared to the ones Tina has in store for them.’

  As Nash and Fleming were walking downstairs, the executives in the boardroom listened to Tina’s explanation of what had happened. ‘The reason Inspector Nash and Superintendent Fleming left is because I suggested it. I understand from them that the repatriation of stolen funds is a very tricky situation to resolve, and is not always successful. Normally, it can only happen with the cooperation of the bank involved and often the government of the country where the funds have been lodged. On more than one occasion, the authorities have taken the opportunity to seize the money and hold onto it. Even if that weren’t to happen, the funds could only be repatriated following lengthy and expensive legal proceedings conducted in a legal system that is alien to our own and quite often extremely corrupt. The very reason that perpetrators choose those places to lodge their money is because of the difficulty involved in retrieving the funds later. Given the less than satisfactory nature of that procedure, it has become more common practice to bypass such processes and act unilaterally, wherever possible.’

  She paused, aware that what she was about to tell them was, to put it mildly, contentious. ‘With that in mind, once I was in possession of the requisite codes I was able to access the overseas accounts where the criminals had lodged the money and remove it. I have transferred that money to the United Kingdom. I have to tell you that the sum involved runs into eight figures.’

  Tina smiled as one of the listeners whistled with surprise. ‘That’s nothing compared to what they might have got away with had they succeeded in emptying your accounts completely. Had that happened, they would have been able to buy a small country to hide away in.’

  ‘Where is the money now?’

  ‘For the sake of expediency I have lodged it in an account belonging to Wilson Macaulay Industries. However, before any of their directors rush out to order a new Rolls Royce, I would add that I have ring-fenced that sum with a login name and password known only to me.’

  There was obvious relief amongst her audience, but Crawshaw still had an important point to raise. ‘It’s going to be a nightmare trying to sort out refunds. How will we know which customers have been overcharged and by how much? The mis-selling of PPI was bad enough to resolve. This will be ten times worse.’

  ‘That would have been a problem,’ Tina agreed, ‘had it not been for the meticulous lengths that Tankard and Hope went to when they set up the scam. I’ve only had a brief look at their software, but I can confirm that every individual transaction is coded and logged to identify dates, amounts and the customer reference numbers within your systems. They needed that to ensure they demanded the right sum, and it has actually worked in our favour. Organizing the refunds to your customers won’t be as difficult a task as you might have imagined. Although it will incur considerable cost in man-hours, that will be nothing compared to the losses you might have been facing, and the potential damage to your companies, both in cash terms and the loss of reputation. Overall, I’d say you’ve escaped quite lightly.

  ‘There is one more point,’ Tina continued. ‘After the distribution of the refunds, there will be a residue, which should rep
resent, at least in part, the money taken from Bishopton Investments. I don’t for one minute think the full amount of what they stole will still be there, but what there is should go to the creditors of Bishopton and the people defrauded by them. I have to tell you there is one more crime the fraudsters planned to commit. Possibly the most callous of all, apart from the murders.’

  She handed those nearest her two sets of envelopes. ‘Please pass these to the person whose name is on them, but don’t open them yet. In addition to removing money from your companies’ accounts, they’d also accessed the personnel files of all your employees. A program was set up to drain their accounts of every penny they possessed, with no exceptions, from the office cleaner or supermarket shelf stacker right up to the board of directors. To test the effectiveness of their software I hacked into it and downloaded your personal details. I printed them off and the results are in those envelopes.’

  The only sound for the next few moments was that of paper tearing, followed by gasps of surprise and dismay, accompanied by some less than businesslike language. Tina knew she had already convinced them, but had one more unpleasant surprise left.

  ‘I also found another program which would have acted in the same way on the accounts of all your suppliers, customers and shareholders. The only mistake I made was in saying they could have bought a small country. I think, to be accurate, they could have bought quite a large one.’

  The reaction of all the executives was one of relief. Half an hour later, Fleming and Mironova escorted the grateful businessmen from the building. Nash went back into the boardroom to collect Tina. As they reached his car, Nash asked why she was looking so cheerful.

  ‘I’ve been asked to supervise the distribution of the funds retrieved from the scammers,’ she told him. ‘And each of the clients wants me to write them a proper security program. I’d say that will keep me in work for the next three years, and it’s all thanks to you, Mike. It seems that once again I’m hugely in your debt.’

  Nash took hold of Tina’s hand. ‘I’m glad about that, because I have a question to ask you. A very important question.’

  Tina looked at him in surprise. Nash seemed to struggle with the words, but eventually managed to convey what he wanted.

  Tina stared at him for a long time, her surprise evident. Eventually, she put her arms around him. ‘Yes, Mike. Of course I will.’

  It had been a long and tiring day, but in the end, highly satisfying. When Nash returned to the station, Binns greeted him with a smile. ‘Don’t go near the interview rooms without earplugs,’ the sergeant told him cheerfully. ‘All three of them are singing like canaries, and the sound of each one accusing the others is deafening. Viv’s got Ivan, Clara’s got Hope, and the superintendent’s dealing with Tankard. You’re redundant, I’d say.’

  Next morning, Nash received a phone call that surprised him. It was from Christopher Macaulay. ‘I thought you’d like to know that we had guests for dinner last night. Naomi and her young man. The atmosphere was a bit frosty to begin with, but I think Dean has now forgiven us for our suspicions about Linda. Naomi told us all you did for them, and with what your team and Dr Silver have achieved, I think you can expect a lot more phone calls from grateful executives in the area. I had chance for a long chat with Naomi and Dean. They’re planning to get married as soon as Naomi graduates. I don’t know what will happen with my son’s marriage, and I regret to say both my children have been a disappointment to me. Other than my son agreeing to raise his sister’s child, that is, and for the moment I believe we are right in keeping that information strictly confidential.’

  ‘I assure you, Mr Macaulay, that information has been treated as you requested and has not been documented in any of my reports. It was not necessary, so no one else is aware of that fact.’

  ‘Thank you, Inspector. However, your assessment of my granddaughter was absolutely correct. She’s going to start working for the company as a management trainee when she has her degree and my hope is that eventually she will take over as managing director.’

  The church was almost full when the chief constable and her husband arrived. They managed to find two empty seats on the pew alongside Superintendent Fleming and took their places. After a few moments of mutual admiration of outfits, both women looked towards the front of the church. O’Donnell focused her gaze on the spot where the groom was standing alongside his best man, awaiting the imminent arrival of the bride. ‘Mike looks a bit nervous,’ Gloria whispered to Jackie.

  ‘Hardly surprising: it’s a big day for him.’ Fleming was about to add more, but her attention was caught by the arrival of Tina Silver. She nudged the chief constable and they watched in delight as she walked up the aisle with her chosen attendant. Young Daniel Nash was beaming with pride. ‘Just like his father,’ Gloria muttered, ‘never happier than with a lovely girl on his arm.’

  The organ was already playing the familiar theme and as the bride took her place alongside the groom, the vicar began to intone the familiar words, ‘Dearly beloved, we are gathered together here in the sight of God, and in the face of this congregation, to join together this man….’

  After the ceremony, the guests watched the photographer take a seemingly endless succession of photographs, before they dispersed to the reception. As the bride and groom greeted each arrival, Nash smiled happily at them. ‘Congratulations, Naomi, or should I say, Mrs Wilson?’

  ‘Thank you, Mike, and thanks for standing in as best man at such short notice. Typical of the army to send Dean’s CO overseas just before the big day.’

  Nash felt a dig in his ribs and found Clara alongside. ‘I must say I was surprised by your choice of companion today.’ She glanced at Tina, who was chatting to the groom while Daniel was eyeing-up the buffet. ‘I do hope you’re behaving yourself,’ Clara added severely.

  Nash looked shocked. ‘Clara, you should know better than to ask. Don’t I always behave myself?’

  It was several moments before Clara recovered sufficiently to explain the reason for her sudden outburst of laughter to her fiancé.

  Sometime later, the chief constable and Superintendent Fleming stood to one side watching proceedings. Gloria smiled as she observed Nash and Tina dancing; saw the way he was holding her and the look that passed between them. She nudged her deputy. ‘Jackie, you owe me twenty quid. Hand it over.’

  The Mike Nash Series

  Depth of Despair

  Chosen

  Minds That Hate

  Altered Egos

  Back-Slash

  Identity Crisis

  Buried in the Past

  Copyright

  © Bill Kitson 2015

  First published in Great Britain 2015

  ISBN 9780719818202 (epub)

  ISBN 9780719818219 (mobi)

  ISBN 9780719818226 (pdf)

  ISBN 9780719815829 (print)

  Robert Hale Limited

  Clerkenwell House

  Clerkenwell Green

  London EC1R 0HT

  www.halebooks.com

  The right of Bill Kitson to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988