Chapter 4: Boxes in the Wall

‘That’s great thanks,’ Roy told him, ‘We’ll have to meet up for a drink soon. Oh, I nearly forgot, who was in the house when you eventually went in?’ ‘Just the girlfriend,’ Myles said, ‘But we did notice there were two half-finished cups of coffee on the kitchen table. I touched them and they were both still hot.’

‘Is it possible he saw you waiting out front?’ Roy asked him. Myles thought for a moment. ‘I suppose it’s always possible,’ he said, ‘But we were parked well down the road, in an unmarked vehicle and the driver was in civies.’ Thanks again, Roy said. ‘Hope to see you soon.’

On his next day off, he called to see Keith Browns girlfriend. Showing her his warrant card, he asked if he could speak to her. Inviting him in she asked if he had any news of Keith. ‘I’m sorry no,’ he told her, ‘We haven’t found any new information. Can you tell me what happened the day you last saw him?’

‘He came round that morning,’ she told him, ‘I knew your lot were looking for him, but he’s always been ok with me, so I wasn’t going to shop him, no matter what he had done. We were just having a cup of coffee when I got a phone call from one of your people asking if I’d seen him.’

‘I said no, even though he was sitting here with me. Then the guy asked if I was at home. When I said yes, he said he had a search warrant and would be round in ten minutes to search the house. Don’t go out he said otherwise we’ll have to break in.’

‘I told Keith they were coming so he shot out of the back door. That was the last time I saw him.’ ‘Five minutes later your lot arrived and searched the house, finding very little.’ Roy well knew that they had found enough evidence to convict him of at least two murders, but he passed no comment.

‘Have you heard from him in any way since?’ Roy asked. ‘Don’t you know about his arm and the photos she asked him.’ ‘Yes, and it looks bad I agree, but the only definite evidence is that he has lost his arm. The photo’s look genuine, but photos can always be faked.’ ‘Oh, I suppose so, but no, I haven’t heard from him,’ she said. Roy believed her so thanking her for talking to him, he left.

He returned home and brought his records up to date. The more he discovered, the more puzzled he became.

MONDAY AFTERNOON – SPECIAL GROUP

The information given by Gerry Adams before his execution had been spread between two departments. The two names he had given as his suppliers had been put under discrete observation ever since. So far with no results.

Although the special team could act at will, they could not afford to pick someone up unofficially then find no evidence to convict them.

After Tony Appleton’s demise, it was interesting to find that he had given the same names as Gerry Adams had for whom they contacted to buy. Both Tony and Gerry had said that the actual drugs were delivered by the suppliers direct to their distribution centre.

In Tony’s case his home as he was only just starting up again. In Gerry’s case the shop. So, they never saw either the drugs or those delivering them. Cash had been collected direct from them for full payment either, from home by courier the day before delivery, or by a prearranged meeting elsewhere, following their phone request.

The phone number changed frequently, a new number arriving by post.

The surveillance teams were hoping that they would either see a collection from home, or a dealer going to drop off the cash. Then they could follow the courier.

Brian asked for a copy of the surveillance reports from both teams.

Malcom Triggs was thirty-five and lived in a very large, detached house in a country village with his wife and two teenage children. He had been an insurance salesman for many years earning a combination of salary and commission. Salary was a set figure, but commission depended on what policies he sold. So, when he bought a big house, those who knew him just assumed he had made a lot of first-class sales.

He had bought the house about two years before Gerry Adams had bought his, paying £190,000. When Gerry had named him as one of his suppliers, he had been looked at with a fine-toothed comb.

Checks with all the relevant authorities as well as his previous employers showed that he had never earned anywhere near enough money, officially at least, to fund such a purchase. Interestingly, with the high upkeep on such a property, he had had no known employment for the past five years. The house purchase had also been made in cash.

John Wilson was thirty-two, he lived in an equally large, detached house, just outside the city. Living with his wife and one eleven-year-old son, he had been a self-employed builder who still filed tax returns as such.

Apparently, he had made a taxable profit of two thousand pounds when he was twenty-one which had gone up by one thousand pounds each year since, so his last return had shown a profit of thirteen thousand pounds.

Despite this, plus previously living in rented accommodation and there being no record of any savings, he had managed to purchase his present house for £220,000 eight years ago, also bought with a cash payment. Although still officially trading as a general builder, no one could be found who had had any work done by his firm in the past eight years.

From the surveillance it seemed likely that just like Gerry Adams, neither handled the drugs, but were the organisers behind it all. Given the quantity of drugs stored at Gerry’s shop and the estimated number of ‘Blows’ that could be supplied, the team had decided that both men would need to re stock at least once a month. So far, the surveillance had been in place for three weeks with no results.

As no bank accounts could be traced to either of them that showed regular income, it was assumed that as all transactions were in cash, they must keep large amounts of cash hidden. But without specific reason for a search warrant, raiding their homes was not yet an option so surveillance continued.

No common ground had been discovered where both men ever met or attended regularly like a gym or club. Most of the occasions either man had left home, it had been for pleasure trips or domestic matters.

Whilst their vehicles were parked when they were out, a tracer had been attached to the car, so that when they were being followed, the trailing vehicle didn’t need to keep it in view. This of course meant there was far less likelihood of anyone becoming aware of the tail.

A few days later, the tail on Malcom Triggs was alerted to the tracer moving. As he lived in such a small village, they had to stand by some distance away. Luckily, there were only two exits to the village, as soon as the tracer showed which one the car was heading for, they could position themselves along its route.

He left the village, then was followed into the city. Going round the outskirts, he went to Norden Hall, a lovely Hotel and Restaurant set in its own grounds.

He got out of his car carrying a briefcase which he took with him into the Hotel. The two officers went in soon after and took a table for lunch. They were seated on the far side of the restaurant to Malcom who was sat at a table alone.

Just as they were giving the waiter their order, another man came in, also carrying a briefcase. He looked around, saw Malcom and went over to sit with him. They ordered a meal too so during the meal, the surveillance team managed to get several photos of the other man.

Detective Superintendent Hopkins had had a gadget made which looked like a tall wooden pepper mill. However, it was a combination of periscope, camera and viewing screen. Pop it on the table, point the camera in the direction you wanted, then look at the viewing screen down at the bottom.

From there you could record continuously or just take snaps. It wasn’t necessary to look over in the direction you were photographing, so there was no danger of anyone looking up and catching you taking a picture.

Once they had finished their main course, they got up and left. Returning to their car, they pointed out Triggs car to the backup car they had sent for, then sat in their own car to wait. An hour later, Triggs came out, got in his car and left, followed by the backup car.