The Jonah (23 page)

‘Our set-up is simply this: we deal in the importation of raw material and the exportation of the fully processed product.’ Slauden smiled. By “raw material” I do, of
course, refer to various basic drugs. Cocaine comes from Peru, cannabis from Pakistan, India and the Middle East. Opium comes mainly from Turkey. My own legitimate chemical company provides certain
precursors and compounds used in processing or synthesis, although we bring in ergotomine tartrate, the base used in the synthesis of pure LSD, from a company in Laupheim. Ironically, the
government, itself, encourages the production of milk powder in my own mill across the river – providing it’s suitable only for animal consumption – whenever the country suffers
yet another “milk mountain”. All negotiations are carried out in the Algarve area of Portugal, which, I’m sorry to say, is fast becoming known as the mecca of such transactions;
it’s from there that all materials are brought into this country.’

‘You’ve got boats from Portugal coming upriver?’ Kelso’s curiosity was overcoming his apprehension.

‘That would be rather stupid. It could be done, of course, but it would be too risky. Even the once relatively safe method of smuggling items in aboard light aircraft has become too
obvious for safety. No, Kelly, the boats come nowhere near our own shoreline. Surely Trewick told you
that
?’

‘I’ve already told you: he was cagey. He wouldn’t let me know too much.’

‘And you couldn’t work out that the goods were exchanged at sea?’

‘Trewick’s fishing boat!’

Slauden looked at Kelso in surprise. ‘Tom Adcock’s boat, actually; your friend was only a deckhand. Do you really mean to say you didn’t know?’

‘Andy kept everything to himself,’ Kelso replied. ‘He said it was best I didn’t know too much.’

‘I see.’ The detective caught the look that passed between Slauden and his personal secretary. ‘Then no doubt you are anxious to learn just how the goods were brought in under
the watchful gaze of the coastguard and police patrols. It’s all very simple, really; an idea taken from the Germans in the last World War. They used to secretly bring down submarines through
the fjords of Norway into the open sea by towing them beneath harmless-looking trawlers. We have merely adapted their idea: the drugs are sealed in watertight, weighted containers, attached to
Adcock’s drifter somewhere in the North Sea, then towed back into Adleton’s harbour. When the time is right, and always at night, my men – we have some excellent underwater divers
– detach the container and hook it onto my own motor cruiser, which is conveniently anchored nearby. From there, the container is brought upriver to my boathouse and its contents unloaded.
The underground passageway – built, by the way, by the original owners of Eshley Hall, who were smugglers like myself – provides a discreet and useful link to my laboratory. The empty
container is returned for the next run and exchanged for another, which holds the new merchandise. Rather clever, don’t you agree?’

‘It’s beautiful,’ Kelso was forced to admit, even though the revelation confirmed his fear that there was no way they would let him go free. Slauden was feeding him the
information in the sure knowledge that it would get no further.

‘Once we have the, uh, raw materials, as it were, safely in the laboratory, processing and packaging takes place. Our LSD tabletting, for instance: we take great care in producing as many
variations of shapes and colours and content as possible, so that they cannot be traced back to one particular source. How many variations do we have now, Dr Collingbury?’

For the first time, the bespectacled man spoke and his voice was as nervous as his demeanour. ‘I, er, er, nearly sixty now. I think.’

‘Yes, nearly sixty. We also produce LSD in liquid or crystal form, as you well know. From crude morphine blocks we produce heroin of the highest quality, and naturally, it’s safer
than the extremely nasty “Chinese” which has flooded the market in recent years. Of course, ours is far more expensive, but then “Chinese” contains many impurities –
highly toxic poisons, in fact, such as strychnine. It’s hardly surprising brown powder often comes cheaper than cannabis. Two other synthetic drugs we produce with similar effects to the
opium alkaloids are Pethidine and Methadone, and even ready-mixed pure cocaine and heroin is packaged here.’

‘It’s some operation,’ Kelso commented flatly.

‘Quite so.’

‘And you manufacture THC. Isn’t that as dangerous as “Chinese”?’

‘Hardly. The risk is only from overdose and that is entirely up to the individual. We merely cater for every need and, if cannabis is too mild for certain people, we are happy to provide
something stronger.’

‘Terrific,’ Kelso muttered under his breath.

Slauden’s voice became tight. ‘We deal only in quality merchandise here, Kelly. I’m sure you realized that when you sampled what you stole from us.’

‘You should get the Queen’s Award for Industry.’

The little man’s smile was strange. ‘In a way you are right. My organization is both efficient and productive. The standards I set are high.’

‘Do you mind telling me how you distribute the drugs?’

‘Why not? I’ve told you everything else.’

‘That
might not be wise, Sir Anthony,’ Henson quickly said.

‘Nonsense. At the end of this conversation, Kelly will either be with us, or against us. The latter has only one consequence. He cannot harm us in any way.’ Henson looked uncertain,
but Slauden continued: ‘The drugs are taken across river to my mill, which not only produces animal feedstuffs, but specializes in transforming certain raw materials that other mills cannot
utilize because of lack of equipment. It gives us more delivery outlets, d’you see? We supply to other mills all over the country.’

‘And the drugs go with the deliveries?’

‘Can you think of a more innocent guise? Who would imagine that among twenty tons of animal feed there would be perhaps half-a-million pounds’ worth of drugs. The appropriate sacks
are dropped off at certain points along the route, of course, many at ports from where they can be shipped abroad. Obviously we work on a cell system after the delivery point, so that if one group
is discovered, then we, the nucleus, cannot be traced. Occasionally, I export direct from here, using coasters from Amsterdam and Rotterdam that bring in dicalcium phosphates or fertilizers.
Unfortunately, such legitimate shipments are not frequent and the 250-ton vessels coming upriver attract attention, so their use is limited. However, dispersement of our product has never been a
serious problem.’

Kelso was shocked. Slauden’s operation was simple, productive, and effective. He had a perfect personal cover and an ideal business front. No wonder the reprisal against Trewick had been
so severe. He wondered how many other ‘misguided’ employees had suffered the same fate.

‘Now perhaps you can see how you could personally benefit from joining my organization. I promise you, the rewards are great. But first you must give me some information about your own
network.’

Kelso cleared his throat, thinking fast. ‘I worked alone with Andy Trewick. It was no big deal, just a steady supply to friends of mine in London. Students, photographers, advertising
people – like I said, nothing big.’

‘And the service men from the NATO base.’

‘No, that was Andy’s side of things. I only dealt with the London end.’

‘And the girl?’

‘Ellie? She’s just my girlfriend; she’s got nothing to do with all this.’

‘He’s lying again.’ The words were soft, unaccusing, and came from Henson, who was casually examining his fingernails.

‘I’m not. Why the hell should I lie to you?’

‘To save your fuckin skin,’ Bannen snarled. ‘He’s not in this alone. If he’s peddlin in town, he’s got a lot more backup. Let me get it out of him my
way.’

Kelso tensed, but Slauden shook his head. ‘I had hoped, Kelly, that by taking you into my confidence in such detail you might be equally frank with me. Please try a little
harder.’

‘I’ve told you the truth. There’s nothing more to tell.’

‘I hope I haven’t wasted my time, Kelly.’

‘That’s all there is to it.’

Bannen moved away from the chair and towards Kelso. ‘Come on, you fuckin toe-rag, what other villains are workin with you?’

‘Bannen, he may not be working with other villains at all.’ Henson was looking across at Slauden, who gave the slightest nod of his head.

‘What are you talkin about?’ Bannen spat out. ‘There’s bound to be others involved. Gawd knows how much Trewick creamed off.’

Henson switched his gaze to Kelso. ‘Oh, there may be others involved, but perhaps not the sort you’re thinking of. It could be that our friend here is working for the
police.’

Bannen was stunned. And so was Kelso.

“You’re crazy!’ Kelso protested.

Henson smiled.

‘I think we’ll find out soon enough.’ Slauden leaned forward in his chair. ‘Dr Collingbury, you know what’s needed.’

The bespectacled man left the room and Slauden said, ‘We may well be crazy, Kelly – if, indeed, that
is
your real name – but I’m afraid we can’t take the
chance with you. We’re expecting our next shipment tomorrow, which means we will be frantically busy over the next few weeks; we will have no time to play games with you. Frankly,
you’re a disappointment to me, neither convincing nor interesting. But there is a way of finding out the truth without resorting to Bannen’s brutal methods.’

‘For Christ’s sake, I
am
telling you the truth!’

Slauden appeared not to have heard. ‘There is another kind of violence, you know; a violence far worse than the physically bruising kind.’

Dr Collingbury re-entered the room clutching a small, black case.

‘I refer to,’ Slauden continued, ‘violence of the mind.’

The black case was placed on a sideboard and opened. ‘Sir Anthony, is this really necessary?’ the chemist asked nervously.

Henson rose from the settee and went over to the sideboard. ‘Yes, it is,’ he answered for his employer. Brushing the thin man aside, he busied himself with the contents of the
case.

‘The absorption of lysergic acid into the system can usually be a most euphoric experience,’ Slauden said. ‘Or, under certain conditions and at too large a dosage, it can be a
mind-shattering nightmare. The conditions you will be thrown into and the amount you will receive will send you into extreme shock. It will be an experience I don’t think you will wish to
repeat. We have to know about you, Kelly, so why not tell us now and avoid this unpleasantness? It really would be the best thing to do.’

Kelso said nothing.

Slauden sighed, then snapped, ‘600 microgrammes, Julian.’

Kelso knew the standard dose was 100 microgrammes.

Henson turned to face them, holding a syringe filled with clear liquid. ‘Roll up his sleeve, Bannen,’ he ordered as he came towards them.

Bannen was only three feet away when Kelso reached into the fire and drew out a burning log. The detective ignored the pain from the hot timber and swung the firebrand towards the advancing
man’s face. Bannen tried to duck, but wasn’t fast enough; the burning end of the log struck his cheek, leaving red-hot cinders clinging to his skin. He screamed and tried to beat them
away with his hand, but Kelso struck again, using the log as a short spear. It struck Bannen just below his already swollen nose and he fell backwards, hands clutched to his face.

Kelso faced the others, the weapon weaving before him, almost challenging them to come to him. Henson began to back away, while the two men at the door seemed hesitant. It was Slauden, himself,
who moved fast, leaping from his chair and slicing the edge of his hand hard into Kelso’s upper arm, numbing the muscles there. The burning log fell from the detective’s hand.

The two men by the door moved in. Dr Collingbury, who had involuntarily backed into their path, was thrown aside as they lunged at Kelso. He struck one squarely on the forehead, but the blow had
little effect. He went down with both men on top and they used their combined weight to pin him to the floor. He knew it was useless to struggle, that he was still too weak from his previous
beating, but he fought them anyway, and once more they pounded his body to beat him into submission. He briefly glimpsed Bannen, his face red and blistered, trying to reach him through the tangle
of bodies.

‘No!’ Slauden roared. ‘Julian – the injection, quickly!’

Kelso felt his arm wrenched from his coatsleeve, then his shirt ripped at the shoulder. He struggled against them, but his arm was forced to bend so that the veins stood out clearly. The syringe
came plunging down and he felt the needle prick his skin. Henson was grinning as he depressed the plunger and Kelso spat in his face.

Dr Collingbury, still on his knees near the door, moaned quietly as he watched what was happening. He turned his head sharply towards the window as the rain beat against the glass with a frantic
intensity. The heavy curtains were closed, but they could not muffle the spattering sound and, for one frightening moment, the bespectacled man felt certain the glass would shatter under the fierce
onslaught.