Next In Line

Chapter 2

The commander took his place at the top of the table, joining his inner team — a unit that had taken him five years to build, and was now acknowledged to be among the finest in the Yard. But their coup de grâce was surely catching up with Miles Faulkner in Spain after he’d escaped from custody and finally bringing him back to England to face trial.

However, the Hawk could only wonder how many of his team would be called on to give evidence in that particular case. William and Ross would have to face cross-examination from Faulkner’s no-holds-barred counsel. Booth Watson wouldn’t hesitate to let the jury know that two of the Met’s most experienced officers had seized his client illegally during a trip to Barcelona. The Hawk still had one ace up his sleeve though — he knew something about Booth Watson that a leading QC wouldn’t want the Bar Council to find out about — but it would still be a close-run thing.

The Hawk thought of the officers seated around that table more as family than colleagues, but then he had no children of his own. However, like all families, they had their problems and differences, and he wondered how they would react to what he was about to tell them.

Detective Chief Inspector Warwick may have been the youngest DCI in the Met, but no one referred to him as ‘Choirboy’ any longer, with the possible exception of DI Ross Hogan, who was sitting opposite him. Ross was undoubtedly the black sheep of the family, a maverick who was more interested in locking up criminals than filling in endless forms, and who had survived his frequent run-ins with superior officers only because the Hawk considered him the finest undercover operative he’d ever worked with.

On Hogan’s right sat DS Roycroft, one of Ross’s many former lovers, who was probably the bravest officer sitting around that table. As a junior PC just out of Hendon, Jackie had tackled a six-foot-six Algerian arms dealer and had him flat on the ground and handcuffed before the next officer arrived on the scene. But she was possibly better known among her colleagues for having knocked out an Inspector who had placed a hand on her leg while on duty. No one came to her defence when she reported the incident, as the Inspector in question was the only witness. And after that her career prospects had come to an abrupt halt, until the commander had spotted her potential and asked her to join his team.

Opposite her sat DS Adaja. Bright, resourceful and ambitious, he had handled any racial prejudice inside and outside the force with dignity and grace. The Hawk didn’t doubt that Paul would be the first black man to make commander. And what amused him was that Paul didn’t doubt it either.

Finally, DC Pankhurst, the youngest member of the team, who never mentioned her public-school upbringing, or first-class honours degree, and certainly not that one of her most famous ancestors had been to jail — more than once. Rebecca was possibly the cleverest officer sitting around that table, and the commander had already decided it wouldn’t be too long before she was promoted, though he hadn’t told her yet.

The trouble with commanding such a bright and energetic group was that you had to get up early — very early — in the morning if you hoped to stay a yard ahead of them. But on this occasion, the commander felt confident he was up and running before their alarms had gone off.

‘Let me begin,’ he said, ‘by congratulating you all on the roles you played in solving the cold murder cases that the Assistant Commissioner asked us to deal with. However, that is now in the past, and we must look to the future.’ He glanced up to find he had everyone’s attention.

‘The Commissioner, in his wisdom, has decided to take the unit off murder, and to present us with an even greater challenge.’ He made them wait, but only for a moment. ‘Royalty Protection Command,’ he allowed the words to hang in the air, ‘have become, in the Commissioner’s opinion, a law unto themselves. Their commanding officer, one Superintendent Brian Milner, is under the illusion that his unit is untouchable, answerable to no one other than the Royal Family, and therefore no longer a part of the Metropolitan Police Service. We’re about to disabuse them of that notion. For some time, Milner hasn’t bothered to interview outside candidates whenever one of his officers moves on or retires. That way, he never loses control of the unit, which is a problem in itself, because following the recent terrorist attacks around the world, MI6 have been in touch to warn us that the next target could well be a member of the Royal Family, who they feel are all too often an easy target. And that includes the Queen.’

This silenced everyone for a few moments, before Paul asked, ‘And where do MI6 think such an attack would come from?’

‘Probably the Middle East,’ said the Hawk. ‘Counter Terrorism are keeping a close eye on anyone coming into the country from Iran, Iraq or Libya, to name the three most obvious candidates. Assistant Commissioner Harry Holbrooke didn’t leave me in any doubt what we’re up against. He named the three terrorist organizations who are on his watchlist and pose an immediate threat.’

Everyone around the table continued to make notes.

‘Holbrooke doesn’t think they’ll leave the safety of their own countries, but has no doubt all three of them will have placed several sleeper cells around the UK who can be ready to move at a moment’s notice. He’s already set up surveillance teams to keep a close eye on a dozen or more of the most obvious candidates, but admits he doesn’t have enough foot soldiers to watch them all as his resources are stretched to the limit. With that in mind, he’s asked us to share whatever intel we come across, however insignificant we might consider it at the time.’

‘Cops and robbers are certainly a thing of the past,’ said Ross with some feeling.

‘The dim and distant past,’ said the Hawk. ‘And it doesn’t help that Holbrooke, among others, has lost confidence in Superintendent Milner as head of Royalty Protection, and wants him replaced as quickly as possible.’

‘For any particular reason?’ asked Ross.

‘Yes — when he phoned him at Buckingham Gate and left a message asking him to get in touch urgently, Milner didn’t bother to respond until a week later. And after Holbrooke had fully briefed him on the latest terrorist threat, all Milner had to say on the subject was, and I quote, “Don’t worry yourself, old chap, we’ve got it all under control.”’

‘Which prompts me to ask, sir,’ said Jackie, looking up from her notebook, ‘is the fact the Commissioner doesn’t think Milner is up to the job the only reason we’re all being assigned to Royalty Protection?’

Commander Hawksby remained silent for some time, before saying, ‘No, it isn’t. In fact, even Holbrooke doesn’t know the full story, because I still consider it an internal matter.’ He closed the file in front of him and added, ‘Stop writing,’ which they all obeyed without question. ‘The Commissioner also has reason to believe that Milner and some of his inner circle are bent, not least because he appears to be living the life of a minor royal on the salary of a Superintendent. And if that turns out to be the case, we are going to need incontrovertible proof of what he’s been up to for the past decade before we can even think about arresting him. Not least because, stating the obvious, he has friends in high places, some of whom he’s worked with for several years. With that in mind, Milner will be getting four new recruits joining him in the near future, but they won’t include Ross Hogan, who will be reporting directly back to me.’

‘Am I going undercover again?’ asked Ross.

‘No,’ said the Hawk. ‘In fact you couldn’t be more out in the open,’ he added without explanation.

No one else asked the obvious question, or interrupted while the boss was in full flow.

‘DCI Warwick will be joining Royalty Protection as Superintendent Milner’s second-in-command, but not until the rest of you are all fully up to speed with the problems you’ll be up against, which could take at least a couple of months. And remember, we don’t want Milner to find out what we’re up to. So make sure you don’t express any opinions to other colleagues outside of this room. We can’t afford to give that man the slightest opportunity to cover his tracks before we even turn up. DCI Warwick will be given considerable latitude to root out any other officers who consider themselves above the law, while at the same time trying to find out if they take the terrorist threat at all seriously.’

The commander turned to William. ‘The first problem you may encounter will be Milner himself. If the biggest apple in the barrel is rotten, what hope is there for the seedlings? Don’t forget that Milner has been in command of the unit for over a decade, and considers the only person he has to answer to is Her Majesty the Queen. You’ll have to tread carefully if you’re going to stick around long enough to find out how he’s getting away with it,’ the Hawk added, handing over the baton to the one person at the table who had already been fully briefed.

‘During the next few weeks,’ said William, ‘I want you all to carry out some in-depth research on how the Royal Family go about their public duties, while at the same time assuming you’ve never heard of them. Start with a clean sheet and treat them as if they are all criminals who need to be investigated.’

‘That should be fun,’ said Jackie.

‘You can start by booking a tour of Windsor Castle on an open day when no members of the Royal Family are in residence. Your single purpose is to get the lie of the land while at the same time checking security. I want you all to be a yard ahead, not a yard behind, by the time you report for your first day as Royalty Protection officers.’

‘Any bets against me getting into the castle unnoticed?’ said Ross.

‘Don’t even think about it,’ said the Hawk. ‘You’re in enough trouble as it is. But if you should bump into any recently retired protection officers, you’re free to go on a fishing expedition. Just make sure you don’t end up as the bait, because if you do, you can be certain their next call will be to Milner, and you’ll have to be taken off the case.’

‘However,’ said William, ‘when we do eventually report for duty, you can expect to be ignored, insulted, even ridiculed, by officers who don’t realize they may not be there in a few months’ time. But try to remember they won’t all be corrupt; some may well feel the same way about Milner as the Commissioner does, while I fear others will be beyond redemption. Team meetings will continue to take place here at the Yard every morning between eight and ten, when we can share our latest findings, and hopefully find out exactly what we’re up against, even before we turn up. Any questions?’

‘You didn’t mention what role I’d be playing,’ said DI Hogan, trying to look offended.

‘That will depend on whether she offers you the job.’

‘She?’ said Ross.

‘Her Royal Highness, the Princess of Wales,’ said William, turning to face his old friend, ‘has requested we join her for tea at Kensington Palace at three o’clock tomorrow afternoon.’

Ross was silenced for a moment, unsure if this was William’s idea of a joke.

‘Sadly, I can’t make it,’ he ventured casually. ‘I have a more pressing engagement tomorrow afternoon. I need to get my hair cut.’

The rest of the team waited for the Hawk’s response.

‘The only pressing engagement you’ll have tomorrow afternoon, Inspector, should you fail to turn up at Kensington Palace on time, will be at the Tower of London, where you’ll find I’ve put DCI Warwick in charge of torture. DS Roycroft will operate the rack, and DS Adaja the thumb screws, while DC Pankhurst will have the difficult task of finding a large enough block to put your head on. And you needn’t ask who the executioner will be. Any more frivolous questions, DI Hogan?’

This time the laughter was supplanted by even louder banging on the table. After it had died down, William was the first to speak.

‘You can all have the rest of the day off before we begin working on our new assignments. However, I’ll expect you to be in my office by eight tomorrow morning for a full briefing on your individual roles. Just make sure you’ve read these carefully before then.’ He passed each of them a thick file.

Paul glanced briefly at his file, before saying, ‘Can I point out, chief, for the sake of evidential accuracy — something you’ve always felt strongly about — that if we all turn up at eight tomorrow morning, having read our files carefully, we won’t actually have had any time off?’

‘You’re quite right,’ said William not missing a beat. ‘But should you fail to be on time and have not read all the documents, DS Adaja, we will have two Detective Constables in our ranks, and I may decide that one is surplus to—’

‘I’ll be on time, sir,’ said Paul, picking up his file before William could complete the sentence.

‘I’m glad to hear it,’ said the Hawk, ‘but for now, you, Jackie and Rebecca can leave us, while I have a word with DCI Warwick and DI Hogan.’

The Hawk didn’t speak again until the door had closed. ‘Now, as you both well know, we have an even more serious matter to discuss. Miles Faulkner is back in prison, resuming the sentence for fraud and deception he was serving before his escape, but there are going to be some very serious questions about how you got him back from Spain to Belmarsh. I assume,’ he said, leaning forward and placing both elbows on the table, ‘that you both have a credible explanation for the extra-curricular activities you got up to in Spain, which Mr Booth Watson will certainly describe to the jury as kidnapping and theft, not to mention a gross violation of his client’s human rights?’

‘Theft, sir, in legal terms, is when you take something which you have no intention of returning to its rightful owner,’ said William. ‘I admit to removing a Frans Hals portrait from Faulkner’s home in Spain, but I immediately handed it over to its rightful owner in England. A fact that has been confirmed in writing by Faulkner’s ex-wife, Christina,’ he continued as he handed over a letter to the commander.

‘So where is the painting now?’ asked the Hawk, after he’d read the letter.

‘At the Fitzmolean Museum where it will be displayed as part of their Frans Hals exhibition next year.’

‘It doesn’t help that your wife is the curator of that exhibition,’ said the Hawk, looking directly at William.

‘She and Christina have been friends for several years,’ William reminded him. ‘But then Beth always sees the best in people.’

‘A fair-weather friend,’ said the Hawk. ‘Mrs Faulkner would switch sides faster than a spinning coin if it suited her purpose.’ Neither officer commented. ‘That doesn’t alter the fact that we’re still stuck with the kidnapping allegation. Would it be too much to hope you also have a credible explanation for that?’

‘I saved Faulkner’s life,’ said Ross with some feeling. ‘What more does the damn man want?’

‘A get-out-of-jail-free card, I expect,’ came back the Hawk’s immediate reply. ‘Whatever happens, the jury will want to know how and why you ended up saving Faulkner’s life.’

‘Faulkner somehow managed to lock himself into his own safe, and I was the only other person who knew how to open it,’ said Ross. ‘In fact I got there just in time, otherwise Faulkner would sadly have died,’ he added, not sounding at all sad.

‘And as I’ll remind the jury, Faulkner was unconscious when we opened the safe,’ said William, checking his report. ‘Lieutenant Sanchez of the Spanish police had to administer mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to revive him.’

The commander said, ‘Booth Watson’s next question will be, “Why didn’t you immediately call for an ambulance?”’

Ross considered the question for a moment before he said, ‘I was about to when Faulkner came around, and managed a few words. He was pretty incoherent, but he pleaded with me—’

‘Insisted, would sound more convincing,’ suggested the Hawk.

‘He insisted on seeing his own doctor. I assumed they would be Spanish, but Faulkner told me his name was Dr Simon Redwood, and his practice was at 122 Harley Street.’

The Hawk turned to William. ‘Then what happened?’

‘We drove Faulkner to the airport, where his private jet was preparing for take-off.’

‘How convenient,’ suggested Hawksby. ‘But surely the pilot asked you why you hadn’t taken Faulkner to the nearest hospital? And before you answer, we should assume Booth Watson will put him in the witness box.’

‘He did ask that question,’ said Ross, sounding rather pleased with himself. ‘And I told him I was simply carrying out Mr Faulkner’s orders. I said he was welcome to express his opinion to his boss if he wanted to. But he didn’t.’

‘That was fortunate, wasn’t it, Inspector?’ said the Hawk, making no attempt to hide his sarcasm. ‘However, you’re still going to have to explain to the jury why, when you landed at Heathrow, you didn’t take Faulkner straight to Harley Street, but had him driven to Belmarsh, London’s highest security prison.’

‘It was five o’clock in the morning,’ said William. ‘I did ring the Harley Street surgery from the car, but all I got was an answerphone saying the practice opened at nine o’clock.’

‘Was the time of that call recorded?’ demanded the Hawk.

‘Yes, sir. At 5.07. I called back just after nine and told Dr Redwood he could visit his patient in the prison hospital at his convenience, and carry out a full examination. He did so later that morning.’

‘Thank God one of you was thinking on his feet,’ said the Hawk. ‘However, I would suggest you both make sure you’re singing from the same hymn sheet long before the case comes to court, as I can assure you that once Booth Watson returns from Spain, and has had a chance to consult his client, he’ll quickly realize he has more than enough ammunition to drive a coach and horses through your evidence. You’ll both have to pray that the jury accepts Ross’s version of events rather than Faulkner’s. Because if they find out that you seized Miles Faulkner illegally, and then dragged him back to England, you could both end up sharing a cell together.’

The phone on his desk began to ring. The Hawk grabbed it and almost shouted, ‘I thought I said no calls, Angela.’ He listened for a moment before saying, ‘Put him through.’