Smoking Gun (Adam Cartwright Trilogy Book 1) (28 page)

I nodded. “Yes. I agree, it’s unbelievable. There’s something gone awry with Hargreaves thinking. Using the wrapping paper to point the finger even more clearly at Mount Godwin Gold Mine doesn’t ring true. Anyone with a clear head would realise that it was an obviously phony ploy to create a link between me and the Mount Godwin robbery. Hargreaves and company must be desperate. They have panicked and were not thinking clearly.”

***

Promptly at two o’clock the following afternoon I made the Skype video call to Toni Swan as requested. She was sitting in a conference room with the five others that I had met on my first visit to the Commission. I waved a greeting and said, “Hi.”

They all responded with smiles and a chorus of friendly greetings.

As soon as we got down to business Toni Swan asked Margaret Smith to report on the meeting with Roger Gray. She was happy to oblige. “We met Roger Gray at his home at around six p.m. last evening. He appeared to be a stable, intelligent man who would be a reliable witness. We showed our credentials and explained that we were conducting a confidential enquiry and that you, Adam Cartwright, were not under suspicion in any way. He looked carefully at the photos that we spread out on a table. There were twenty in all, even though there were only five persons of interest. He took his time but confidently identified Harry Hawsall and James Foster.”

She paused to give me time to react. After a few moments I said, “Well, that makes sense. I couldn’t imagine any reason for any of the other three to be hanging around my boat.” I then gave a grin and added. “Unless they were thinking about planting something.” Then in a less flippant tone I asked, “Did Roger Gray have any idea of the dates that he saw them?”

“Yes. He said the first time that he saw them he intended to tell you the following Saturday as he had heard that you were onboard for the weekend. But when he went to see you early on the Saturday morning your boat was out. Then with one thing and another he didn’t get around to telling you until quite a few weeks later. Not long after he again saw the same two men back on the jetty, looking at your boat.”

As she had been talking I had been thinking. It all made sense so I said, “The only Saturday morning that ‘Irish Mist’ was out early was the time that I was thrown overboard. That means that Roger Gray saw them just a few days before the first attempt on my life. The fact that Hawsall and Foster had been hanging around my boat before the attempted drowning, and a few weeks later, supports my identification of them as the persons responsible.”

Toni Swan responded, “Yes. It’s another link in the chain of circumstantial evidence against the two of them. But now, Peter will give us a rundown on what we know about the two packages removed from your boat.”

Peter gave a slightly smug grin as he commenced his rundown. He probably thought that he had an even better tale to tell. “The white substance in package number one is Cocaine. It is only 250 grams but has a street value of at least $50,000. The second package contains two gold doré flat bars weighing about one kilogram each. Both bars have the Mount Godwin Gold Mine stamp on them and are typical of the five hundred or so bars that were stolen last year. We have yet to assay the gold content but based on Mount Godwin’s advice the total estimated value of the two bars is $50,000. There were no discernable fingerprints on the contents or wrapping of either package.”

Toni Swan nodded at Peter Williams and took over the narrative. “So D I Hargreaves and company have invested around $100,000 in their attempt to not only discredit you, but to link you to the Mount Godwin Gold Mine robbery and murders as well. But thanks to your security surveillance it has backfired.”

I was happy with how things were turning out but I did wonder what the Commission’s strategy to deal with the situation would be and asked, “What will you do next?”

“If you had asked me half an hour ago I would have said that we’d wait until Hargreaves makes his next move. But, literally just minutes ago, we were informed that D I Hargreaves has applied for a warrant to search ‘Irish Mist’. Their application for a warrant claimed that Hargreaves had received an anonymous tip that you, Adam Cartwright, possessed some items related to the Mount Godwin Gold Mine robbery and murders and had placed them on your yacht ‘Irish Mist’. They supported their application with the statement that you were a ‘person of interest’ in regard to that crime.”

Even though I had expected that Hargreaves would have had a gambit like this in mind when he planted the packages on ‘Irish Mist’, it was still a shock when it became a reality. I knew that I was innocent, but I still felt a degree of shame and was aware of a sense of embarrassment. It was not something that I wanted to have on my CV. Eventually after a prolonged silence I said, “Well, I guess that we all expected that a search warrant would be the next move by Hargreaves. So, now that it has, I hope that it will lead to prosecuting Hargreaves and the rest of them. I suppose that the Commission will sit back and wait for Hargreaves to show up at ‘Irish Mist’ with the search warrant. But what will you do then?”

Toni Swan responded, “We still need the ‘smoking gun’ that Hargreaves apparently thinks you have. But, we could arrest the five of them and question them using the Commission’s power to conduct coercive hearings that require witnesses to attend hearings and give evidence. These coercive hearings enable our investigators to override the right to silence and the privilege against self-incrimination. This allows us to secure otherwise unobtainable evidence, including intelligence regarding activity by criminal organisations. But the Commission is not a court. Even when it investigates a matter, it cannot determine guilt or discipline anyone. In the context of a crime investigation, we can have people arrested, charged and prosecuted. But we can’t pass judgement.”

I was already aware of the Commission’s options from my study of their website. However, what I didn’t know was how they intended to wield them and how they would handle things when Hargreaves turned up with his search warrant so I asked, “Should I be there when Hargreaves turns up?”

Toni Swan shook her head. “No. That’s not a good idea. He may arrest you and complicate matters for you work-wise.”

I nodded. “Don’t get me wrong I wasn’t volunteering to be there. But I don’t want them to wreck my boat maliciously. I’d like someone there.”

Toni Swan looked at Peter Williams and Margaret Smith thoughtfully before looking back at the camera and saying. “Perhaps we should have a couple of the Commission’s officers on board when Hargreaves arrives. Initially they can just say that they are friends of yours. He will not have the power to make them evacuate the boat but he can insist that they do not impede his search. That would mean that they could be obliged to quit the cabin while he carries out the search. As ordinary members of the public they might be entitled to merely retreat to the cockpit and observe things from there. But if he does insist that they disembark then it would be best for them to do so.”

As she was speaking both Peter Williams and Margaret Smith had sat up and were taking a keen interest in the conversation. I think that they were keen for another trip to Cairns. I smiled and said, “I like the idea. I can email a letter to you authorizing someone to be on board my boat in my absence. It’s common practice in the boating world.”

Toni Swan glanced at Peter Williams and Margaret Smith who both nodded before she had even asked a question. She smiled and looked back at me. “I think that Hargreaves will execute the search warrant as quickly as he can. He will have to involve the Cairns police but that will not necessarily slow him down. The search warrant will be issued late this afternoon. I think that he will want to wait until daylight so as to maximise any publicity. Peter and Margaret will return to Cairns this afternoon and can be onboard from first light tomorrow.”

I responded, “Excellent. I’ll email a letter of authorisation to you as soon as we finish this video conference. By the way, what will Peter and Margaret do if they are asked to prove their identity? Will they try to keep their relationship with the Commission secret?”

Toni Swan shook her head and said, “No. I expect that before Hargreaves finds out that the packages are gone he will accept their Drivers Licences as sufficient identification. Afterwards, well he might ask for further identification in which case they will show him their Crime and Corruption Commission’s credentials. By then he will know that things have become unstuck so it doesn’t matter that he knows about the Commission’s involvement. But I have a feeling that he will be so shocked that he could well just panic and escape the scene to try and work out what has gone wrong.”

“You won’t arrest him there then?”

She shook her head and politely declined to answer any more questions by saying. “Only if we think that we need to. It is a fluid situation and we will decide what to do, as and when necessary.”

I held up my hands in apology. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have asked. I appreciate that you have kept me in the loop to the extent that you have.”

***

The following morning the first thing that I did upon waking was to check the feed from the security camera onboard ‘Irish Mist’. It was only five thirty and, as expected, there was no sign of activity. I checked it again after getting back from my run. But still no sign of activity. After breakfast though, at about seven forty five, when I next checked the webcam feed I saw Peter Williams and Margaret Smith sitting in the cabin drinking coffee. I smiled to myself, they were dressed suitably for a day out on a yacht. Shorts, tee shirts, soft soled shoes and hats. I didn’t know if they could actually sail but they sure looked the part.

I did not get a chance to check the webcam feed again until almost ten o’clock. Something had happened and it now was history. The cabin was not exactly in disarray but the removable floor panel was now sitting on the table and some cans of food and other items from the under-floor storage were now either stacked on the table or on the seats. There was nobody to be seen onboard although the entry hatch cover was fully open.

I rewound the recorded video until I noticed a body fill the entry hatch and then rewound it for another couple of minutes. When I started replaying the video the time and date stamp stated that it was 09.11 on Friday February 12
th
.

Peter and Margaret were still seated but were now reading the morning papers. No sooner had I started watching the scene that Margaret turned towards the security camera and said in a low voice. “Somebody has just stepped on board. We have a visitor.”

Peter added. “Make that two visitors.”

Moments later I could see the lower part of a man’s body through the entry hatch and heard a loud aggressive voice demanding. “Who the hell are you and what are you doing on board?”

It was D I John Hargreaves and he was in his usual bullying mood.

Margaret Smith was facing the entry and was the first to respond. “I was just going to ask you the same thing.”

By now Hargreaves had walked down the steps into the cabin and was standing by the table at which Peter Williams and Margaret Smith were seated. I could see D S Strong standing in the cockpit and bending down to look into the cabin.

Without speaking Peter Williams reached up on to a ledge, withdrew a folded sheet of paper and handed it to Hargreaves. I assumed that it was the letter from me authorising them to be on board ‘Irish Mist’. My assumption was soon confirmed when Hargreaves grunted. “So you are friends of Cartwright?”

Peter replied, “No. Not really friends. More like friends of friends. But just who the heck are you? Are you friends of Cartwrights?”

I grinned. Hargreaves was being played. I think that Peter and Margaret were having a bit of fun with him. Later I found out that they had been told to make things difficult for Hargreaves but not to obstruct him. The more that he was distracted by unco-operative bystanders the less guarded he might be in what he did and said.

Hargreaves snorted angrily. “Friend? Not bloody likely.” He then flourished his police identity card. “I am Detective Inspector Hargreaves.” Gesturing towards his companion he added. “This is Detective Sergeant Strong. We are here to search this boat. We have a search warrant.”

As he spoke he extended the document towards Peter. However it was Margaret who reached out and accepted it. Unfolding it slowly she then silently perused it for a few moments before looking up at Hargreaves and offering the document back to him saying, “I regret to inform you Detective Inspector that you are on the wrong boat. This search warrant is made out for a yacht named “Scottish Mist’. The boat we are on is named ‘Irish Mist’.

Hargreaves snatched the warrant back, his face flushed an angry red. After a quick glance at the document he gave D S Strong a push to get moving and the two of them left without a further word being spoken. As soon as they had gone Peter stood and walked to stand on the steps to the cockpit and look out over the cabin roof towards the jetty. Moments later he said, “They are standing on the jetty with two other men. I guess that the others are local police officers. They are looking at the search warrant and arguing. I think that the locals are insisting that they leave, probably to check whether they can use the warrant or wait to have it corrected.”

Margaret commented with a deadpan expression. “Perhaps they might decide to check whether there is actually a yacht called ‘Scottish Mist’ somewhere in the marina.”

I laughed. I liked her dry humour.

Peter must have thought so too as he chuckled before saying. “Three of them are leaving. D S Strong is staying put on the jetty.”

***

It was around half an hour before Hargreaves returned. Once Peter and Margaret had settled back to reading their papers and waiting, I fast-forwarded the video to a point when I saw that someone else had entered the cabin. Reverting to playing the video at normal speed I confirmed that the newcomer was indeed D I Hargreaves. Without a word he handed a folded document to Margaret and stood waiting for her response.

She read it carefully and then said, “This looks to be in order….”

Hargreaves interrupted her abruptly. “Okay. I would now like to see some proof of identity from both of you.”

Margaret and Peter responded in unison by extracting their drivers licences from their wallets and handing them over. As Hargreaves studied them D S Strong who had just entered the cabin looked at the licences over his shoulder.

Clearly they were now keen to know who Peter and Margaret were. After almost a minute, including which he exchanged glances with D S Strong, Hargreaves asked, “So you both work in Brisbane?” When Peter and Margaret both nodded he continued. “And you are up here on holiday right?” Again when they both nodded he continued. “Well, much as I don’t want to disturb your holiday would you mind waiting on the jetty while D S Strong and I search the boat?”

Neither of them made any immediate move that looked like they were going to leave the cabin. So Hargreaves dropped any pretence of being polite and barked sharply. “Get moving. I don’t have all day.”

Margaret merely smiled and said, “I noticed that the search warrant does not permit forced entry. Also there is no reason why Peter and I shouldn’t wait in the cockpit while you search the cabin and vice versa.”

Hargreaves glared at her with his eyes in slits. I knew, as did Margaret and Peter, that she had probably alerted Hargreaves to the fact that she was a lawyer. It was not widely known that in Queensland a search warrant does not automatically permit forced entry by the police. If the warrant does not mention forced entry then it is not permitted. I don’t know if his imagination was taking the extra step of wondering who she might be employed by. But, whether he did or not, he decided that enough was enough and that he needed to get going with the discovery of the two packages. Eventually he merely stepped aside to allow Peter and Margaret to leave the cabin and grunted, “Okay. You can wait in the cockpit.”

A few moments later when he and Strong had the cabin to themselves Hargreaves, apparently addressing D S Strong, but speaking loudly enough to be heard from the cockpit said, “Now, the anonymous tipoff said that there were two paper-wrapped parcels stowed in an under-floor locker in the main cabin. That should not be too hard to find.”

It wasn’t. In fact, as Hargreaves already knew, he was standing on the removable floor panel as he had spoken. During the next minute or so the two of them played an elaborate charade of discovering the removable panel, lifting it up and placing it on the table. In complete silence D S Strong, kneeling on the cabin floor, commenced removing the dinghy anchor, tools, and canned food and passing them to Hargreaves for him to place on the table. At first Strong was quite casual in his attitude but after a few items had been removed he started to scrabble amongst the tins of canned food in an increasingly panicky manner and discarding items on the cabin floor behind him. Finally he stared up at Hargreaves and gasped, “They’re not here. They are gone.”

Hargreaves was equally panic-stricken. Pushing Strong aside he also dropped to his knees and commenced moving the few remaining items around in the storage area to peer under them as though by some miracle the packages had eluded their gaze earlier. Eventually they both realised that they had to accept that the packages were no longer there.

The two policemen then turned towards the cockpit where Peter and Margaret were looking back into the cabin watching them with interest. Margaret was the first to speak. With wide-eyed innocence she asked, “Is there a problem, officer?”

I could not see their faces but I could guess that Hargreaves and Strong were mortified and confused. Their thoughts must have been in turmoil, asking themselves what had gone wrong and wondering who was responsible. The sight of the two witnesses to their rather embarrassing failure must have been particularly galling. But it wasn’t just embarrassment that concerned them. That was the least of their worries. It would be clear to them that someone had removed the packages and now knew their contents. If those persons also knew that Hargreaves and Strong had placed the packages on ‘Irish Mist’ then the writing was on the wall for them.

The response by Hargreaves to Margaret’s query was completely in character. “None of your bloody business.” He rasped as he pushed his way through the cockpit to make his way to the jetty. D S Strong followed close behind him.

***