The Hawk Is Dead

94

Wednesday 29 November 2023

Just after 4 p.m., Shannon Kendall phoned Roy Grace. ‘Roy,’ she said, as he answered. ‘I’ve got more information on Jon Smoke.’

‘Tell me?’ Roy said, full of energy.

‘He has a Bitcoin account with the cybercurrency exchange, Coinbase. So far all I’ve been able to ascertain, with Emily Denyer’s assistance, is that in July he made a deposit of a substantial cash amount, which was converted into Bitcoins.’

‘What amount are we talking about, Shannon?’

‘Three hundred and forty-three thousand pounds.’

He was silent for a moment. ‘That seems quite a chunk of change for a police constable, even with London weighting.’ He said it with a wry smile. ‘Any idea where the money might have come from? An inheritance, a compensation payout?’

‘Possibly. Or a big win at a casino. Sale of his house? Except Emily’s checked on that one and he rents a one-bed apartment in Clapham. Then you have to question why he would put it into Bitcoins? Could be to speculate on the currency, but I’m thinking there’s another reason.’

‘Which is?’

‘Cybercurrencies like Bitcoin are used by criminals to hide money. It’s taken two days to find this — and I know my way around like very few other people.’

‘Where do you think this amount of money might have come from? Is he dealing drugs?’

‘That would be a pretty big drug deal, Roy. Not impossible. But here’s the interesting thing. Using the portals I’ve opened, Emily has discovered two other deposits of an identical amount, three hundred and forty-three thousand pounds, made into Bitcoins through Coinbase, on exactly the same day this year. July the fifteenth, 2023.’

‘By whom, Shannon?’

‘So far we’ve identified one depositor, but not the second. We’re working on that. But the first is our friend, Rose Cadoret.’

‘Their Majesties pay big bonuses to people working in the Royal Household, do they?’ Grace said.

‘Yeah, right.’

‘Good work. What else can you tell me? Any thoughts on who the third person might be?’

‘Not yet. But Emily Denyer has identified a recent very substantial deposit into Sir Jason Finch’s personal bank account — almost three quarters of a million pounds.’

‘Three quarters of a million pounds?’

‘Yes.’

‘Do you know the source?’

‘I’m working on it.’

Ending the call, Grace sat reflecting on what he had just heard. Jon Smoke and Rose Cadoret both receiving huge, identical amounts of cash. He was thinking about Sir Peregrine’s coded diary entries.

Was Sir Jason Finch the third conspirator? Smoke and Cadoret had deposits to date totalling over a million pounds each. And Shannon reckoned these were just the latest in a series of deposits. Did these three all have their snouts in the royal trough?

In his experience there were people who killed business partners, loved ones and total strangers for a lot smaller amounts of money than this.

He called Glenn Branson. ‘Polish your shoes, put on your least offensive suit and quietest tie — and bring your best handcuffs with you. We’re going to Buck House in the morning.’

‘Awwww, not the Palace again, you social gadfly, you. Living it up with your royal buddies?’

‘If you’re defrosting your fridge tomorrow, don’t worry, I’ll take Norman Potting.’

‘The fridge can wait until Friday.’