Imposture (DI Gardener 6)

“Seriously?” asked Gardener, unable to believe that sometimes good news came into an incident room as well.

“We’re still documenting it,” said Gates, “but we’re pretty confident we can make something of it.”

“This backs up something that was mentioned yesterday,” said Gardener. “Maybe they went out under false names and disguises but they’ve had the nerve to return as themselves. Everything the DPA did seems to have been online, which means there must be a record. I realise they were brilliant at covering their tracks, but there has to be a trail somewhere, so speak to cyber crime again. Maybe returning as themselves is the mistake we needed.”

“We’re pretty sure that’s what happened. They all went out on separate days, all within a week of the hit and run,” said Longstaff, “and they all came back on separate days. None of them were together. They were all in different parts of the world. Michael Foreman was in Miami; Anthony Palmer in the Bahamas; and Zoe Harrison in New Zealand.”

“Do we know what names they used?”

“I think they must have been card players at some point,” said Gates. “We have a Jack Spade, and an Alf Diamond, but get this, Zoe Harrison chose Hunter as a surname.”

“Jesus Christ,” said Reilly, “they’re nothing if not inventive.”

“When did they come back in?” Gardener asked.

“Michael Foreman was first,” said Gates, “six weeks ago. Zoe Harrison came in three days later, and Anthony Palmer as recent as Monday of this week.”

“This week?” questioned Gardener.

“Yes,” said Longstaff, “and apparently there was an incident with a clown, involving security. We’re still checking but it involved Anthony Palmer.”

Reilly clicked his fingers, and Gardener nodded. “Roger Hunter told us that Anthony Palmer was petrified of clowns, so what was the incident?”

“We’re not sure,” said Gates. “Apparently a new carrier was having an open day and clowns were present when Anthony Palmer passed through the lounges. The CCTV didn’t show a lot but it looks like he spotted the clown and fainted.”

“There was a doctor on hand,” said Longstaff, “he was checked over, given some tea and then he left, but we’re still working on where he went from there. We need to check more of the CCTV.”

“None of this tells us who is responsible for what’s happening now,” said Briggs. “Two of these people are still at large: Zoe Harrison and Anthony Palmer. On top of that, there is still one more person in the picture. Rosie Henshaw. Have we any idea yet where these people operated from, and whether or not it is still being used by one of them? That might help.”

“All houses have been cleaned out completely,” said Dave Rawson.

“I’m not sure if this will help,” said Gates, “but we also now know what cars they drove and we have the registration numbers from the airport. Like the Evoque, they are all on lease with the defunct company V-Tech, all using the DPA names. Problem is, the cars are all missing, including Anthony Palmer’s.”

“What about the account?” asked Gardener. “Is it still open?”

“No,” said Longstaff. “But it was only closed two weeks ago.”

“That’s interesting,” said Gardener. “How long were they leased for and how was it all paid?”

“Leased for six months and paid in full,” said Gates.

“And now the account has gone,” said Gardener, “just like them and the cars. Can we find out who closed the account?”

“The cars could be wherever the victims are,” said Reilly.

“They could be,” agreed Gardener, “but that would have to be somewhere big and possibly remote, all of which make it very difficult for Rosie Henshaw to control.”

“Only if she’s working alone,” added Reilly.

Gardener glanced at Sarah Gates. “Were each of these cars parked at the airport and taken from there?”

“We believe so,” she replied, “we’re still checking the CCTV to see if the owners rem

oved them, or someone else, and which way they went.”

“Excellent news,” said Gardener, updating the whiteboard. He turned back to his team. “I keep thinking about them all being holed up. We know for a fact that the unit they supposedly had is derelict, a dead end, but if they had somewhere else they operated from, what’s to say that whoever is running the operation hasn’t got them all in their own place?”

“But that would need to be a big industrial unit,” said Briggs. “Especially if they have all the cars in there, and the vehicle used in the hit and run, and this green Evoque that we keep seeing. So the question then is, why would a company who specialise in computer viruses need a big unit?”