Nothing Ventured

16

‘I called this meeting at short notice,’ said Hawksby, ‘as I understand there has been a development in the Carter case.’

‘There has indeed, sir,’ said Lamont. ‘Carter left Barnstaple early on Wednesday morning. DC Warwick followed him to Heathrow, where he checked in for a flight to Rome. DC Warwick phoned me from the airport, and I told him to keep following Carter, who only had a holdall with him, so he clearly wasn’t going on holiday. I’ll hand over to DC Warwick who can brief you on what happened next.’

‘I sat three rows behind Carter on the flight,’ said William. ‘At Da Vinci, I was met by a Lieutenant Monti of the Italian Special Investigation Team, who could not have been more cooperative. Carter got a taxi, and we tailed him to a government building in the center of Rome. Monti followed him inside, and informed me afterward that Carter had an appointment at the Naval Division office, where he applied for a diving and recovery license to explore a shipwreck off the coast of Elba.’

‘What’s he looking for?’ Asked Hawksby.

‘Seven hundred eighteenth-century Spanish silver cob coins,’ said William. ‘In 1741, during a particularly violent storm, a vessel called the Patrice sank off Elba, drowning all fifty-two passengers, along with nine crew and a cargo that included the coins and other valuables. I have the records of the Italian Receiver of Wrecks from the time,’ he continued, ‘which read, “This claim has been confirmed by Lloyd’s of London who insured the vessel and cargo for ten thousand guineas, and paid the amount in full.”’

‘I’m halfway there,’ said Hawksby.

‘Over the years, several attempts have been made to locate the wreck and recover the coins, but without success.’

‘And Carter thinks he might get lucky, despite the odds?’

‘I don’t believe he’s relying on luck, sir,’ said Jackie. ‘While DC Warwick was swanning around Rome, I returned to London and had the photographs he took of Carter’s shed enlarged by our specialists here in Scotland Yard. They confirmed one thing without question: DC Warwick is no David Bailey.’

They all laughed.

‘However, after one of our experts had studied the photographs more closely, she came up with a very interesting suggestion.’ Jackie handed each member of the team an enlarged photo of the workbench in Carter’s shed.

‘What are we looking for?’ asked Hawksby, as he studied the image.

‘You’ll notice all the usual equipment required by any engraver — chisels of various sizes, wire brushes, even a nail file. But if you look more closely, you can also see what Carter is working on.’ She handed around three enlargements showing the top of the workbench for the team to consider.

‘It looks like a half crown to me,’ said Hawksby.

‘Same size, same shape, different value,’ said William, ‘as I discovered when I visited a numismatist at the British Museum, who told me he’s fairly sure it’s a Spanish cob, which as you can see is dated 1649.’

‘No doubt you asked him its value?’

‘He had no idea, sir, but recommended I visit Dix Noonan Webb in Mayfair, who are specialists in the field. Mr. Noonan showed me a similar example of a Spanish cob coin from one of his recent catalogs which sold for just over a thousand pounds.’

‘Multiply that by seven hundred,’ said Lamont, ‘and Carter would end up with more than seven hundred thousand.’

‘I think I know what he’s up to,’ said William.

‘Spit it out, Warwick,’ said Hawksby.

‘I suspect that all the old silver he’s been buying recently has been melted down, and he’s spent the last few months stamping seven hundred newly minted Spanish cob coins.’

‘If you look at the photographs more closely,’ said Jackie, ‘you’ll see something we might have missed in normal circumstances.’ She pointed to the bottom left-hand corner of one of the pictures.

‘It looks like a bucket of water to me,’ said Hawksby.

‘That was my first thought,’ said William, ‘until I think I’ve worked out Carter’s next move.’

‘Don’t keep us all in suspense,’ said Hawksby.

‘I suspect he intends to return to Rome as soon as possible, collect his license, and then be seen sailing off into the sunset in search of seabed treasure. A few days later he’ll sail back into port bearing a wooden casket full of silver coins. And if you look more closely at photo 2B, you’ll even see the casket that will be raised from the bottom of the sea.’

It was a few moments before Lamont said, ‘And the bucket of water?’

‘Seawater,’ said William.

‘Of course,’ said Hawksby.

‘But I thought seabed treasure was the property of the government in whose waters it’s found,’ said Lamont.

‘That’s correct, sir,’ said William. ‘But the recovery team would typically receive a fifty percent finder’s fee, which is probably why Booth Watson turned up.’

‘Did I hear you correctly?’ said Hawksby.

‘You did, sir. Booth Watson entered the building a few minutes after we arrived.’

‘You certainly save the best for last, William,’ said the commander. ‘Do you have any idea why he was there?’

‘Monti said he checked all the paperwork meticulously, before he let Carter sign anything.’

‘So this could be just another of Faulkner’s many enterprises,’ said Jackie.

‘Booth Watson does have other clients,’ said the commander. ‘But I agree, the odds must be on Faulkner, who can expect to get around three hundred and fifty thousand pounds once Carter’s retrieved the coins.’

‘I suspect Carter won’t get much more than a few thousand,’ said Lamont, ‘now we know who’s behind this scam.’

‘Why do you say that, Bruce?’

‘I’ve banged him up three times in the past ten years, but never for anything on this scale. And as Lieutenant Monti discovered, when Carter applied for the license to search for sunken treasure he handed over five thousand pounds in cash to the Italian Naval Office in Rome, although the standard fee is less than half that amount.’

‘That explains why he never let the holdall out of his sight,’ said William. ‘And why, according to Monti, it was empty when he left the building.’

‘No doubt he was hoping that his application would mysteriously find its way to the top of the pile,’ suggested Jackie.

‘In one,’ said Lamont.

‘That may well be the case,’ said William, ‘but Lieutenant Monti made it clear that if we want Carter’s application to be held up indefinitely, or even rejected, all we have to do is ask.’

‘Bruce?’

‘Carter hasn’t committed any crime on British soil that we’re aware of, and the only way we’re going to find out what he’s up to is to tell the Italians we have no objection to him being granted a license. In fact, the sooner the better.’

‘If that’s the case,’ said Jackie, ‘why not arrest Carter even before he reaches the airport and confiscate the coins?’

‘And charge him with what?’ said Hawksby. ‘With Booth Watson on his side, he’d claim the coins were just reproductions that he intended to sell for a small profit. Besides, if we want to nail whoever’s bankrolling Carter, we have to let him carry out the whole operation. Because whoever is the brains behind it has to be someone with imagination, nerve, and enough capital to see the whole operation through, which I agree is looking more and more like Faulkner.’

‘So with your permission, sir,’ said Lamont, ‘I’ll call Lieutenant Monti and ask him to rubber stamp the application, and keep us fully informed. Meanwhile, I’ll ask my contact at BA to call me the moment Carter books another flight to Rome.’

‘Where you, Lieutenant Monti, and DC Warwick will be sitting on the dockside waiting for him,’ said Hawksby.

‘Not me, sir,’ said Lamont. ‘Carter knows me far too well.’

Jackie looked hopeful.

‘Then I’ll have to make the sacrifice and accompany DC Warwick myself,’ said Hawksby. ‘Anything else?’

‘Just one thing, sir. DC Warwick and I are going to Pentonville tomorrow morning to interview Eddie Leigh.’

‘The man Warwick is convinced copied the Rembrandt?’

‘Yes, sir. But I can’t pretend I’m hopeful that we’ll get much out of him. People who’ve worked for Miles Faulkner in the past don’t open their mouths if they hope to stay alive.’

‘Just get him talking,’ said Hawksby. ‘He might let something slip he later regrets. And when will Warwick be returning the copy of The Syndics to Faulkner’s home? I ask only because Mr. Booth Watson keeps threatening me with fire and brimstone.’

‘Faulkner leaves for Monte Carlo on Monday morning,’ said Lamont. ‘So any time next week.’

‘You’ve got another busy week ahead of you, DC Warwick,’ said the commander, ‘so I won’t hold you up.’