Authors: David Lowe
‘Alec, you know I’m in no position to do deals.’
‘You’ve got me bang to rights. My fingers have been well and truly caught in the till. Think about it. If you charge and bail me, the others in the Special Branch will know there was something on me, but if you delay charging me and release me on police bail, it’s a different matter. You can put whatever conditions you want on the police bail. Why don’t you put it to the CPS? I’ll do whatever you want to catch the mole and then when you have the mole, charge me and I’ll willingly take whatever the court gives me. Trust me, I won’t abscond. I know you’ll have already frozen my bank accounts and I’ll hand you my passport. Detective Superintendent Edge here, who’s said next to nothing and let you do all the work, can sit right next to me when I’m in the office. While we’re trying to catch the bastard whose passing information to the Real IRA, you can keep me in custody in the same room as you two in a local hotel. Think about it, even if it means you arranging it with Five or the Home Secretary personally it’ll give you a greater chance of catching the bastard. You could make it my last hurrah George. I’d rather my last act was remembered as catching the mole rather than stealing money from the Special Branch. For god’s sake, I’ve received five force commendations, three for bravery with the other two for the quality of my detective work. Please George, just think about it. What have you got to lose?’
‘Alec, you know that I’m in no position to make any deals. However, what you suggest makes some sense . . .’
Paul Edge looked at George. Horrified that he was contemplating Alec Harvey’s suggestion, he interrupted George and said, ‘DI Byrne, I must stop you there. As Harvey’s admitted the offences, there’s no way on earth can we can even consider his suggestion.’ He turned and looked directly at Alec Harvey and said, ‘In two years you’ve stolen just over a million pounds. This is not simply a case of fiddling the police out of a few hundred pounds on expenses. There’s no way we can even consider your suggestion. As the senior investigating officer, I’ve decided to go to the CPS and recommend you be charged and kept in custody until you go to court. That’s non-negotiable.’
Sat in Alec Harvey’s office, David Hurst was analysing the conversation Murphy had with Sayfel earlier when George walked into the office and sat down opposite his DS. David looked up from the computer screen he was using and said, ‘Well, did you get a cough out of Alec?’
George slumped into the chair opposite David and said, ‘Yes and no. He’s not the mole, but he did confess to helping himself to just over a million pounds of the ISB budget over the past couple of years.’
A surprised David stopped working on the computer, looked up at George and with a tone of incredulity said, ‘He’s been what?’
George placed his paperwork on the desk and said, ‘He’s only gone and helped himself to about six hundred thousand pounds a year for the past two years. His wife was behind it. Rather than have a meeting with Julia Hudson this morning, he and his wife had a meeting with their accountant to make arrangements to deposit what they had left into an offshore account to make it harder to trace the money. He’d have got away with it if we, or should I say, you were not suspicious he was the mole operating in this department.’
David sat back in his chair shaking his head in disbelief at what he had heard and said, ‘I wasn’t expecting that.’ Looking at George, he could see the hurt on the DI’s face at finding out what his old friend had been up to and in an empathic tone of voice added, ‘It must have been hard for you to find out he’s bent?’
‘It was and it was even harder to take when he placed a deal on the table.’
‘Don’t tell me the cheeky fucker wanted a deal after helping himself to a million quid?’ David said laughing at Harvey’s audacity to make such a request.
‘It’s not as absurd as you think. What he suggested made sense and I know where Alec was coming from. He might be greedy, but deep down he still sees himself as a bobby and wants this mole caught. He suggested we put him on police bail, closely monitored of course, so he could help in catching whoever it is that’s passing on the info to the IRA.’
‘So why didn’t you go for it?’
‘Edge wouldn’t allow it. When Alec put the offer on the table Edge threw it back in his face. After the interview, he went to see Cheshire’s chief con while I updated the custody officer when the custody assistant said Alec wanted to see me in his cell. The custody officer allowed it, only on the proviso he accompanied me while I saw Alec. He wanted me to ring the CPS on the QT to see if they would go with his plan.’
‘So did you?’
‘Yes. Edge knows nothing about it, but as he got to them before me, the CPS threw out the idea. So helping himself to the Special Branch budget will be Alec’s last act as a police officer.’
Recognising why George did what he did and how it would have been useful to still have Alec Harvey on the scene, David sighed and said, ‘So we’ve still got a fucking traitor running around.’
‘Yes, and if you ask me it’ll be someone in a senior position.’
‘Did you find out how Alec knew I was in Ireland yesterday?’
George began shaking his head and said, ‘When I saw him in the cells, he claims MI5 told him, but I know it’s not the case. I think he’s covering up for someone.’
‘Did you put it to him that Five wouldn’t have told him about me going to Ireland?’
‘No, I just left it at that, but he did mention about you going to Ireland earlier when I was in with Edge.’
Rolling his eyes, David said, ‘Shit! How did he react to that?’
‘Out of earshot of Alec, Edge pressed me on what it was you were doing there. I told him I was under orders not to tell anyone, including him and he should contact Jenny Richmond at Thames House. His response was “not that bitch”. He hasn’t said a word about it since.’
‘Whoever’s passing the information on must have access to what’s going on here as Murphy eluded us once again this morning. He slipped out of his business premises, right under our noses and had a meet with the officer who’s working from the inside. It can’t have been Gary or anyone from his team, as they were in their surveillance posts for the whole morning. After the meet, Murphy came back to his yard in Runcorn and called Sayfel where he had a coded conversation with him. There was so much said between them, it’s been doing my head in trying to work out who’s doing what. I’ve worked out there are definitely two jobs the Real IRA are planning and Murphy’s brought over eight new recruits from the north of Ireland to assist with whatever it is they’re planning. One job looks like it’s going to be in Cheshire involving two-experienced PIRA men, who are now working for the Real IRA. They’re staying at a safe house in Winsford. The other six are staying at a guesthouse in Shiel Road in Liverpool. I’ve passed this onto Steve and the Merseyside lads. They’re making discreet enquiries and once they’ve housed them, they’re going to get a warrant to search the guesthouse.’
Hearing this brightened up George’s demeanour as he said, ‘That’s positive news. Do any of the Cheshire Special Branch officers know of these details?’
‘No, the only ones who know about it in this office is Gary and the DC’s out there at the moment and of course, you and I.’
‘We’ll keep it that way. Where’s Debbie?’
‘She’s over in Liverpool. As its Siobhan’s birthday, she’s going out with my Mum and our Siobhan and a few of her mates for a night out. If you’re looking for some specialist intelligence analysis, Jenny’s got one her of team on the job. I’ve contacted her at Thames House and she’s got all of the recordings as I needed their help. You can send it down to them. I’m just waiting for their reply.’
‘Don’t worry about it. What I’ve got can wait until tomorrow when Debbie gets back. I assume she’s coming back tomorrow?’
‘Yes, she’ll be back late morning.’
‘What are you working on now?’ George asked leaning over to look at the screen of the PC David was working on.
‘It looks like Murphy’s been buying explosives and munitions as he talks about buying new equipment with the money that Sayfel gave him last night. It sounds like the equipment they’re going to use is already at an address in Liverpool. Regarding the two ex-PIRA operatives he’s brought over, they’re staying in Winsford with a family that originally come from Liverpool.’
‘That should be relatively easy to check out. See who’s moved into the area from Liverpool.’
David laughed and said, ‘You are joking? Winsford’s full of ex-pat Scousers. It’s a Liverpool overspill.’
‘I didn’t know that.’
‘Also, today the mole gave Murphy more information on what we’ve been up to and he’s having another meeting with him about half ten on Monday morning. In addition to this, it looks like whoever’s replacing McCrossan in London are acting as decoys for SO15. O’Byrne and McElvaney are doing the same with Steve and Merseyside. Murphy bragged to Sayfel how by watching these targets, we’ve kept our eye off the ball as to what they’re actually planning. As a result he’s been able to slip in other Real IRA operatives onto the mainland.’
‘At least knowing six of them are going to be staying at one of these guesthouses is going to be useful,’ George said giving a strained smile through the tiredness he was feeling, ‘You never know, if a few of the six we lift are inexperienced, we might get more out of them regarding the two in Winsford and what McCrossan’s replacements will be up to in London.’
‘We can lift Murphy as well. We’ve got enough to make something stick on him,’ David said leaning back in the soft leather-bound chair Alec Harvey used behind his desk.
George thought for a moment and said, ‘I think it’d be better if we leave Murphy for now and see if he leads us to the mole. In the meantime, I’ll get a freezing order on all of Murphy’s personal and business bank accounts. That’ll restrict his movements as well as draw him out.’
‘That could be a risky strategy George. If we get him in, we can interview him solidly for the next few days and empty him out as to who the mole is, as well as finding out what they’re targeting in Cheshire. It looks like the Royal visit’s one target, but this second one they mention could be the chemical works in Runcorn or Ellesmere Port. Imagine that going off? Another option is the Stanlow oil refinery. Not only would it provide a big bang, it would fuck up the oil supplies for the northwest of England and North Wales in the short term and the rest of the country in the longer term. The cost of oil-based products would rise, especially petrol and diesel causing further misery on the British economy.’
‘We could do that, but with luck, holding off lifting Murphy at this stage not only could lead us to the mole, but we could also find out more information on the two ex-Provo’s.’
Concerned that George could be countermanding MI5 instructions, David said, ‘I suggest you discuss this with Jenny Richmond. I can see where you’re coming from, but I think it’s too risky letting them loose. If they find out their comrades have been lifted in Liverpool, it could cause them to panic and change their plans. Don’t forget they’ve got Sayfel on their back at the moment.’
‘True. That reminds me, I’d better start getting back to Manchester. Alex Bullard’s organised raids on the two targets in Prestwich linked to this West York’s Al Qaeda operation. I promised to assist her and at my age it doesn’t do to burn the candle at both ends.’
* * *
It was late evening when Steve walked into the gaudily decorated reception of the Shiel Park Guest House in Shiel Road, Liverpool. As no one was in the reception hall, he pressed the bell on the small reception desk and waited for a member of staff. Looking round, it was a clean, well-maintained reception area, but he felt he should be wearing sunglasses as the orange and yellow painted walls were just too bright and did not go with the character of the Victorian building. As he was waiting, three young men in their late teens and early twenties entered the guesthouse. As they walked past him to the stairway, he overheard them talking about pubs they could go to further down the road from the guest house. As the three spoke with Northern Irish accents, he paid them particular attention. As he was watching them, a softly spoken female voice with a Liverpool accent behind him said, ‘Can I help you?’
‘Alright love,’ Steve said quickly turning round to face the woman, ‘Any chance of having four double rooms for the weekend and for the rest of next week. My company’s got a building job in Liverpool. We’ll be working long hours, so we need somewhere handy to stay.’
The slightly built lady that Steve reckoned was in her late fifties shook her head and said, ‘I’m sorry love, but you’ve just been beaten to the last of our spare rooms.’
‘Just our luck. We only got the contract at the last minute. It’s not those Irish lads I just saw who beat us to it is it?’
‘I’m afraid so, they arrived just over an hour ago. Stay there love and I’ll ring Marjorie from the guesthouse down the road and see if she’s got any vacancies.’
‘That’d be great love. Thanks.’
While the landlady turned her back to make the phone call, Steve looked at the open guest register to read the names. He knew if they were the suspects, they would be using false names and addresses, but any information was helpful. He could see six new arrivals had signed in. Surprised to see they had all given addresses in Northern Ireland, that told him they could be inexperienced. As the details were upside down and some of the writing illegible in parts, it was difficult to read. After making the call, the landlady replaced the telephone receiver, turned to Steve and said, ‘You’re in luck. They had a group of boys who left this morning and she has no other bookings for the next few days. Try there. As you go back onto Shiel Road, it’s just down to the right.’
‘You’re a diamond love. Thanks.’ Walking out of the guesthouse onto Shiel Road Steve rang DI Mark Walsh from Merseyside’s ISB. ‘Hello boss, it’s Steve Adams. The number of the guesthouse we need to hit is eighty-seven Shiel Road. Six guests from Northern Ireland arrived just over an hour ago. They’ve got to be the ones Murphy’s recruited and brought over here.’