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  Billy turned to leave, but he sensed Slipper wasn't done and paused. Slipper looked up at him and spoke slowly and softly.

  'I just got off the blower with Butler. The DPP has been leaned on from on high. We don't wait until we've got James, Reynolds, Edwards and White, we go with who and what we have. Which means pulling everything together, pronto. All hands to the pumps on evidence prep, which means we let Reynolds and the others slide for now.' Billy could tell this

  didn't please him. They had almost caught Jimmy White after his missus went on a spending spree in Reigate. They tracked him to a caravan where they found £30,000 hidden in the walls, and White's fingerprints. But no Jimmy. 'Trial will be early next year at Aylesbury. I'm going to claim the call came after I sent you after our laddie in St John's Wood. So, Billy, come January, make sure Roy James is in the dock as well, won't you?'

  The estate agents on Blenheim Terrace was a holdover from the 1940s, with a heavily wooded front and thick frosted glass designed to keep natural light out of the place. What little managed to enter simply highlighted the volume of dust floating in the air, thrown up whenever a document was inadvertently disturbed. At the rear, under spluttering fluorescent lights, two elderly men were writing in ledgers, and they sent their apprentice forward to deal with the inconvenient interlopers.

  The young clerk listened to Billy and WPC Waring as they explained they were looking to move into the area and how much they could afford. Apparently two thousand pounds was not enough to get them anything other than a garage in need of decoration, so they upped it to three and were rewarded with a thin folder of possibilities, mostly one-bedroom flats. One of them, however, was a tiny cottage in Ryder's Terrace. They took the single sheet description and left the gloom of the office before they developed rickets.

  Holding the paper before them, they walked around the corner into the mews. WPC Waring slid her arm through Billy's as if snuggling for warmth. It was a cold, bright day, the sky blue and diamond-hard, the sun low enough to hurt the eyes.

  'Relax,' she said, as she felt him stiffen when she pulled

  him closer. 'Newly engaged couple looking for a house for marital bliss. What could be more natural?'

  'What's GCH?' he asked.

  'Gas Central Heating.'

  'Right. T and G?'

  'Don't know.'

  He glanced down at her. Under an A-line topcoat she was wearing a grey woollen dress, sleeveless, with a cream chiffon blouse underneath. She had on knee-high boots, white tights or stockings, and a small beret on the back of her hair. It was certainly a change from the unflattering uniform and clunky shoes she was forced to wear most days. 'What made you join the Force, Patricia?'

  'My dad.'

  'Really?' It was hard to imagine any father wanting to put his daughter into the rough and tumble of the all-male, unforgiving world of the Met.

  'He was a DS in Brighton for twenty years. Didn't want me to go in, but it's his own fault for telling so many good stories. And yes, he was right, you do get treated either like a dyke or a whore. It's Patti, by the way.'

  'What?'

  'My name. Patricia in uniform, Patti at all other times, William.'

  'Billy.'

  She rolled her eyes. 'I know. I was teasing. Shouldn't detectives be a bit quicker on the uptake?'

  They had reached Ryder's Terrace and looked along the row of houses. There were two rows of cottages. Number 14 was on their left, on the plainer side of the street, flat- fronted and painted white. The ones opposite had fancier doorways and bowed windows.

  The apparently happy couple stopped outside number 18, which contained the flat for sale, and looked up at it.

  'Windows need painting,' he said. 'And look at that guttering.'

  'Billy.'

  He turned to look at her and she pushed onto her tiptoes and planted a kiss on his lips. 'Try and look pleased,' she whispered. 'Someone's just come out of number fourteen.'

  He gave a smile.

  'You look like you've got constipation. Show me the property details.'

  He was aware of someone passing behind them as he looked from page to house, reading out some of the features.

  'He's gone,' Patti said.

  'Was it him?' Billy asked, stepping back from her and looking down the passage that led back to Blenheim Terrace.

  'Right height. Beard, though. And hat. Hard to be sure. Sorry about the kiss.'

  'All in the line of duty.'

  'Well, I'd wipe off the lippie before you get back, for both our sakes.'

  Billy took out his handkerchief and dabbed away the pink lipstick from the corner of his mouth. 'Nice shade.'

  'Pale Fire,' she said. 'Come on, let's take a look.'

  They strolled past number 14. It was a two-storey house, with large windows on the first floor, protected by railings, like a small, impractical balcony. Two doorbells showed it was also split into flats, although judging by the exterior dimension they must be exceedingly compact.

  'The bottom one says Mrs King,' said Patti, squinting. 'I doubt if he's gone that far to disguise himself.'

  'What good eyes you have,' Billy said, unable to read the names for himself. 'Let's take a stroll around the back.'

  They walked the neighbouring streets, alert for a likely escape route. Number 14 butted against the walled yards of Blenheim Terrace. Jumping into one of those would trap you. One end of the row meant a drop into the access alley directly onto the pavement. You'd break a leg or ankle. At the western end of the cottages, the terrace gave onto rough waste, its ground level higher than that of the street. The distance from the roof to earth was still daunting.

  'He'd need a parachute,' said Billy, turning away.

  'Hold on.'

  Patti picked her way gingerly across the rubble and broken glass, careful not to snap her spike heels. She hesitated at the foot of the wall and crouched down.

  'What is it?'

  She stood up and retraced her steps just as carefully. Then held up a hand blackened with dark soil. 'An allotment, apparently.'

  'DC Naughton. A word.'

  It was George Hatherill, looking terribly drawn, his usually immaculate tie askew. Billy guessed the Train Squad weren't the only ones working all the hours God and the devil sent.

  'Sir.'

  'In here.' He shuffled Billy into an unused interview room. 'You've heard, I suppose? About the DPP?'

  'Yes. Trial to go ahead.'

  Hatherill took out a cigarette and offered Billy one. They lit up. 'Well, the PM, Home Secretary and Postmaster General all had a hand in it. I want to know whether things are watertight this end.'

  'Sir?'

  'You know what I mean. Has anyone been unduly enthusiastic? I don't want any nasty surprises in court.'

  Billy thought about Gordon Goody and the paint. Len had certainly been 'enthusiastic', but he wasn't going to reveal that to Hatherill, just as he hadn't to Slipper. 'Not that I know of, sir.'

  'Because these blokes have the cash to hire some of the best briefs in town. Speed, Finch and Salmon, among others. One of them has that bastard Miles Cokely who would get Hitler off if the money was right.'

  'There's one thing worrying me, sir.'

  Hatherill smoked furiously. 'What's that – Frank Williams?'

  'No. We've got the robbers at the farm, right?'

  'Yes. Conclusively.'

  Billy didn't think so. 'Many of the prints are on items that could be moved. Monopoly, for instance.'

  'I am aware of that. They'll claim they played elsewhere. We'll be prepared for it.'

  'And we have nothing at all to place anyone at the robbery. Nobody at Bridego Bridge or Sears Crossing. Not a single print, fibre or hair. Everything depends on that farm and the jury believing that if you were at the farm you were part of the team.'

  Hatherill dismissed that with a wave of his Senior Service. 'Well, it's commonsense.'

  'Will that bastard Cokely think so? Or will he sow some seeds of doubt? You might hav
e been at the farm, you might even have money, but does that mean you were at the train? He could go for accessory after the fact or receiving.'

  'That's true,' the Commander conceded. 'But we've got Arthur James and Neil MacDermot for the prosecution. They are no pushovers. Receiving might do for some of them, but

  the main blaggers I want done for conspiracy to rob the mail and armed robbery. Which brings me back to my main point. I know time is running out, but I don't want to see anyone in the dock who will embarrass us. Is that clear? If you have any doubts about how anyone is proceeding, the veracity of the evidence, dates, times, forensics, anything at all, then come straight to me. Not Slipper or Butler or Williams. Me. You understand?

  Oh yes, sir. You want your Last Big Case to go off without a hitch. And you want me as you own little snout.

  'Perfectly.'

  'Good.' He clapped him on the shoulder and left, puffing smoke behind him like a corpulent steam engine.

  Billy stubbed out his own cigarette and followed, his feet dragging a little more than when he entered the room.

  Roy James heard the doorbell downstairs ring and froze. He wasn't expecting anyone. Nobody came round at night and he never went out. Who would come calling? The only people who knew where he was were his mum, who didn't do visits in the dead of winter, and Dennis, a friend who had the rest of his train money well hidden. Before that he had entrusted it to an 'associate' of Charlie's and the Richardsons, but that bastard had started to spend it. When he'd tried to get it back he had been forced to drop the names of some of Charlie's even heavier friends who might assist in its recovery. Using mallets and nails. He'd got the lump back, minus seven grand 'expenses and minder's fee'.

  Dennis, though, wasn't a gangster, and Roy was confident he wouldn't take advantage. He was equally certain that Dennis wouldn't come round unannounced, ringing his doorbell.

  Roy was aware that whoever was at the door would know

  somebody was in the flat. He was playing Ray Charles loud enough to be heard outside and the lights were on in the first-floor living room and hallway

  From the bedroom he heard the tinkle of breaking glass and leaped to his feet. His 'cush' was stashed in the low cupboard next to the mantelpiece. He yanked the door open, grabbed the BEA vinyl bag and ran into the hallway. There was a key in the lock of the bedroom, which he turned, buying himself a few seconds. In a well-practised move, he then climbed onto the stair banister and pushed open the fanlight.

  He tossed the bag onto the roof and hauled himself through. Below him came the sound of hammering and splintering as the bedroom door was shattered.

  It was bitterly cold outside and he shivered as, jacketless, he clambered onto the low-pitched roof. The stars were out, with but a sliver of a moon, but even in that light he could see the roof was sparkling with frost. It was going to be slippy, getting over the tiles.

  He picked up the bag and crept forward, bent almost double, walking like Max Wall, his feet slithering and the slates splitting underfoot with a series of loud cracks, until he reached the end of the terrace. Below him, he could hear raised voices in the street. Police and neighbours, bellowing at each other.

  Roy peeked over into the blackness, a void not penetrated either by the feeble starlight or the distant street-lamps. He had to visualise the landing pad he had prepared – a six-inch deep strip of soft, yielding soil amid the broken bottles and scrap metal. He dropped the bag over, wincing as it thudded to earth. It was quite some drop.

  Counting to three, Roy followed it, launching himself into space, his legs slightly bent, ready to absorb the impact, cold air streaking past him, flapping his shirt. His feet sank into

  the soft soil and he pitched forward, landing heavily on one shoulder and partially winding himself. He took a couple of deep breaths, waiting for the pain to subside, then sprang up. He swept to the left where he was sure the bag had fallen.

  Nothing.

  He moved to the right, hands scything low over the soil, until something sharp caught one of his fingers. 'Shit.' He sucked it and tasted coppery blood.

  'Looking for this, Roy?'

  The torch beam snapped on, illuminating a woman holding his BEA shoulder bag.

  'That? That's not mine,' he said quickly, standing upright. 'Never seen it before.'

  'Oh, Roy,' said Billy Naughton, his voice full of regret at such a feeble lie. 'The prints placed you at the farm – what do you think these will do?' The cylinder of light turned on him and Roy held up his arm to shield his eyes from the glare. As he did so, someone grabbed his wrist and snapped a handcuff bracelet round it.

  'Four months since you gave us the slip at Goodwood,' said Duke Haslam, as he squeezed the second steel circle shut on the left wrist and gave him a poke in the kidneys for good measure. 'Hope you enjoyed it. It's the last bit of freedom you'll have for a while.'

  Billy looked over at a beaming Patti Waring. He hoped she got credit for working out that the bit of urban 'gardening' on the bombsite was, in fact, a soft landing pad for a quick, daring escape, dug by the wily racing driver. She probably wouldn't, though. Both Butler and Slipper were at the front of 14 Ryder's Terrace and one or both would doubtless scoop all the kudos.

  As Len Haslam led a disconsolate Roy James around to

  one of the waiting Squad cars, Billy took the bag from Patti and tucked it under his arm. She deserved a drink if nothing else.

  'And then there were twelve,' he said, having added up who was behind bars now.

  'Best go for the round number then,' shouted Len over his shoulder. 'A nice fat baker's dozen.'

  For the moment, Billy didn't appreciate what he meant. But he would soon enough.

  Fifty-seven

  Scotland Yard, December 1963

  In the small room put aside for them, the two Bank of England officials examined the contents of Roy 's holdall while Frank Williams and a bleary-eyed but happy Billy Naughton watched. After depositing Roy James and the money at Cannon Row, he and Patti had gone out for that drink, which became seven or eight. He had avoided the Dive Bar and the Phoenix, instead using one off Charlotte Street she knew. It had been a better-than-pleasant evening, and had ended with a kiss that was the genuine article, rather than a means of distraction. Or, at least, he hoped so.

  The Senior Clerk examined the piles of cash before him and said, with evident satisfaction, 'Twelve thousand, five hundred pounds exactly.'

  'What are those?' asked Billy, pointing at the smallest pile.

  'These have serial numbers that match the money on the train.'

  'Yesss.' hissed Frank, punching the air. 'Got the weaselly

  bastard. If that doesn't give Tommy a hard-on, his dick has died and gone to heaven.' He caught the expression on the bankers' faces. 'Sorry, gents.'

  'And there is this. At the bottom of the bag.' The clerk's cotton-gloved hands smoothed out a piece of paper. It was a list of figures.

  £22,400-£5

  £15,000-£1

  £18,200-£1

  £14,000- £5

  £10,000-?

  £5,000-1 Os

  FRA- £1,000

  Flat – £2,000

  Car – £1,000

  £12,500 – Dennis

  £1,500 – Brab

  The Senior Clerk watched the policemen's lips moving as they performed the mental arithmetic. 'In case you are wondering,' he said, 'it comes to one hundred and nine thousand and five hundred pounds.'

  'It must be his share,' said Billy. 'Although it doesn't seem enough.'

  Frank snorted. 'It'd do me. Maybe minus some expenses or drinks. Bobby Pelham's lot isn't there, is it?' He read it one more time. 'What's a Brab?'

  'Brabham,' said Billy. 'Might be a new engine or something. You can't buy a Brabham car for that.'

  'And Dennis?'

  Billy thought, sifting through the dozens, no, scores of

  names which had been linked to the robbery. 'Can't recall a Dennis ever coming up.' 'FRAP'

  'Nope.
Franny? Bruce Reynolds's wife?'

  'Unlikely. A Frank somebody, perhaps. I'm sure Tommy will get to the bottom of it when he questions the lad. Well, we'll bag the list and get it to Aylesbury for him. Yet another exhibit. Must be like the bloody V and A in their evidence room.'

  There were already more than a thousand items that could be used as evidence, and the witness list – which included virtually anyone who had come across the accused – had passed two hundred. It was going to be a very big number indeed.

  'Thank you, gentlemen,' he said. 'We'll take it from here.'

  'You have to sign our count,' replied the Senior Clerk, pushing a document over to Frank.

  The detective fished a pen from his jacket pocket and scrawled his name on the three sheets. 'I'm certain we'll be seeing you again.'

  'Yes,' drawled the Senior Clerk, picking up his briefcase and hat. 'Just another two million or so to locate, I believe.'

  'Piss off,' muttered Frank under his breath as they closed the door behind them.

  'Where's Len, by the way?' he asked Williams. Duke rarely missed a chance to be at the finale of any collar, and they also had their notes for the previous evening to write up, in case they were called into the box to refute James's claim that he had never seen the BEA bag before.

  Frank was busy wriggling his fingers into a set of the white gloves with which he would handle the compromising evidence. 'Len? He's got that warrant.'

  It was the first Billy had heard about it. 'What warrant?'

  'To turn over Tony Fortune.'

  Billy swore softly. 'Home or showroom?'

  'I don't know. Be in the Duty Book.'

  Billy was out the door before he had finished. Frank's voice echoed down the linoleumed corridor as Billy skidded along it.

  'Oi! I need a hand here. Where are you going?'

  But Billy's mind was too occupied to even register the question. A baker's dozen, he had said. Len Haslam was going to take Tony Fortune down.

  Buster Edwards risked going up top from the airless cabin he had been assigned on the stubby little freighter, but he took his case of money on deck with him. He positioned it between his feet and leaned on the rail. The ship was old, it stank of diesel and greasy food. His cabin was close to the engines, noisy and hot. He could have had one on the Canberra for the price he was paying for this crossing. And there would be food then. He was starving; all he had eaten while hiding in the cargo area in the shadow of the Custom House had been one cheese sandwich.