‘You’re supposed to use your initiative, Emilia.Isn’t that what you’re good at?’
It was true she’d pulled off much more elaborate stunts than this before, but still she hesitated, fearful that he was trickingher, getting her hopes up only to dash them once more.The whole thing sounded crazy and yet what possible motive could he have for spinning such a fanciful story, unless itwastrue?
‘Please, Emilia, you have to trust me on this one,’ her father continued, as if reading her mind.‘I’m not trying to trick you, this isreal.I’ve stuck instructions detailing how to find the gold to the underside of this table.’
He nodded gently towards the battered slab of chipboard between them.
‘When I leave, retrieve the piece of paper, go to her house, find the gold.This is all I can offer you, my last act, your inheritance.Please, my girl …’
His eyes locked on to hers, intense, pleading.
‘… let me do this one last thing for you.’
Chapter 25
‘Are we sure it’s the same guy?’
DC Roberts nodded cautiously at Charlie, not wishing to betray his evident excitement, lest his lead proved to be another false dawn.
‘As sure as we can be.Same intonation, always keeping the message short and sweet, and in the earliest one, you can hear that same rhythmic, mechanical sound.I think the same guy has made a number of fake tip-offs to the Border Force helpline over the past few months …’
Moving the mouse to a different audio clip, DC Roberts clicked ‘Play’.
‘So there’s a shipment incoming,’ the voice growled.‘Ten illegals from Syria.Arriving on the 5th on the 1.45 p.m.boat from Rotterdam.The driver’s name is Geert van Biezen and he’s driving a Dutch truck, registration plate 29 KTV 7.’
The line went dead, but the team came alive, exchanging glances.They were crowded around DC Roberts’ desk, which was littered with coffee cups and biscuit wrappers after a hard night’s trawling, but no one present noticed the mess, their attention squarely on this surprising development.Charlie was quick to pick up on their energy, responding to Roberts with enthusiasm.
‘So this tip-off was from …?’
‘October the third last year.’
‘And the other one?’
‘January this year.’
Charlie digested the dates, nodding to herself.Suddenly all thoughts of Helen, of Holmes, were forgotten, the prospect of a solid lead consuming her.
‘So the same guy calls three times in the last seven months, always with a tip-off about human trafficking, all of which turn out to be a bust.’
‘That’s about the size of it.’
‘So he’s either a serial hoaxer …’ DC Malik suggested.
‘Or he’s deliberately misleading us, drawing attention away from other trucks coming through perhaps,’ DC Shona Williams added, concluding her colleague’s thought.
‘We’re certain all of these tip-offs came to nothing?’Charlie queried earnestly.
‘Two of them were complete busts,’ DC McAndrew responded quickly.‘The third had a moderate supply of hashish on board, but nothing to write home about.’
‘And the port of origin for all three of these trucks was Rotterdam?’Charlie asked eagerly.
‘Correct.’
‘Which might suggest,’ she continued, ‘that our caller is working with a trafficking outfit operating out of the Netherlands, drawing our eye away from the good stuff to make sure it gets through safely.’
‘Can’t see why else he’d be doing it.This guy made three calls in seven months, so he’s not exactly an obsessive hoaxer and it doesn’t sound like he’s doing it for fun.He’s very efficient, delivering his info swiftly and sharply before ringing off.’
‘Are all the calls made from the same phone number?’DC McAndrew asked, pipping Charlie to the post.
