Dead at First Sight

24 Friday 28 September

‘That’s him,’ Elizabeth Foster said, peering over Jack Roberts’s shoulder at the screen on his desk. At the face of a handsome, amiable-looking man with short silver hair. He was smartly dressed in a suit jacket, shirt and tie.

His profile gave him as a Munich-based film producer, formerly from England.

‘You’re sure, Liz?’

‘Positive.’

‘I looked him up on the IMDb — the internet movie database which lists everyone in the world in the movie business,’ Roberts said. ‘The only Richard Griffiths listed is the chubby actor best known for his role in the Harry Potter films — who died in 2013.

‘Take a look at this,’ he continued. He tapped his keyboard and another image of Toby Seward appeared, this time in military uniform. His profile gave him as Colonel Rob Cohen, aged forty-seven.

Elizabeth Foster narrowed her eyes.

‘Same fellow?’ Jack Roberts asked.

‘I think so. Yes.’

He tapped the keys again and another image of the same man appeared, this time in a British Airways pilot’s uniform, complete with cap. This profile was of a Peter Olins, fifty-one, airline captain.

Roberts looked over his shoulder. ‘Want to see any more of this busy chap? He has plenty of other different personas.’

‘How?’

‘Photoshop?’ He shrugged.

‘Can you give me the links — maybe that will help convince Mother.’

‘Of course.’

‘So, who is the real identity? Which one of these?’

‘I’m guessing it’s Colonel Rob Cohen. But that’s just a hunch.’

‘And presumably he has no knowledge of this?’

‘I doubt it. When they target ladies, these scammers tend to pick military types because they look trustworthy. Look at him, he seems a regular guy, decent and upright.’

They went back over to the sofa and sat down again.

‘I want to get that money back for her, Mr Roberts. My mother’s not a wealthy woman — by today’s standards. When my father died he left her the house mortgage free and just under half a million pounds in cash and stocks and shares. It’s a nice house, a semi, close to Hove seafront, but it’s not a mansion. That money, combined with her state pension, would have enabled her to live comfortably — she’s never been an extravagant woman.’ She hesitated and smiled, nervously. ‘She’s pretty thrifty by nature. She’s always looked for a deal when she’s been food shopping, buying stuff at the end of its sell-by date and hunting down the cheapest supermarket offers. In the past few years she’s done most of her grocery shopping at Lidl, and she’s always proud of her bargains. Only a couple of months ago she phoned me, excitedly, to tell me about an amazing offer Lidl had on prawns. What she’s doing now is so out of character. I need to somehow convince her of what is really happening here. Can you help me do that?’

‘Liz, I’d love to tell you I could, but I don’t want you throwing good money after bad.’

‘I don’t care what it costs, Mr Roberts. My husband’s a very successful businessman, with deep pockets. He’s as angry as I am. I’ve come to you because I’ve been told you are the best in this field. Don and I don’t care what it costs or what it takes, I want to find the bastard — or bastards — behind this and teach them a lesson they will never forget.’

He gave her a sardonic look. ‘I like your spirit, Liz. And I never like to turn down business or a challenge. But before my charge clock starts ticking you need to be aware just how slim the chances of success are. Most of the masterminds behind these scams operate from jurisdictions that aren’t easy for our police forces to get any help from. Ghana, Nigeria and Eastern Europe are the three most common ones. They hide behind firewalls in the dark web. Any money that’s sent to them is either spent almost right away or placed in accounts in countries — admittedly getting fewer these days — that aren’t willing to hand over information to police authorities.’

‘So a shitty little conman in one of these countries can screw my mother — and anyone else in the Western world — out of every penny, and none of our law-enforcement agencies can do a damned thing about it? Is that what you are saying?’

‘Not for want of trying, but in a nutshell, yes.’

‘Well, I’m going to do something about it. Are you in or out?’

Roberts looked back at her confidently. ‘I’m in.’