‘However,’ said Rebecca, ‘the truth is that Milner never takes a taxi when he’s on duty.’
‘You’d better be able to back up that statement with hard facts, DC Pankhurst,’ said the Hawk. ‘Otherwise it will be your word against his.’
‘I had a feeling you might say that, sir,’ said Rebecca, ‘so with DCI Warwick’s permission I took a week off my normal duties and went undercover.’
‘For what purpose?’
‘To follow a week in the life of our most senior royalty protection officer.’
William allowed himself a smile as Rebecca opened an even thicker file in front of her. ‘Every morning at around eight, eight fifteen, Milner leaves his home in Barnes and takes the train to Victoria using his police permit.’
‘As he’s entitled to do,’ said the Hawk.
‘On arrival at Victoria,’ continued Rebecca, unperturbed, ‘he then walks the half mile to Buckingham Gate. If he has an appointment with HRH, he walks across to York House, often accompanied by DI Reynolds, the Prince’s PPO. Once HRH leaves York House, Milner hot foots it back to Buckingham Gate. On two separate occasions during that week he took the train from Paddington to Windsor using his authorized travel card. On arrival, he walked from the station to the castle and disappeared into his office, not to be seen again until he left at around four thirty, when he took the train back to Barnes. During that week, he didn’t once take a taxi, but it didn’t stop him claiming £529 in expenses,’ said Rebecca, handing over fourteen expenses claims for the Hawk to consider. ‘They’re not only claiming expenses for journeys that never took place, but along with his cohorts, they’re coining in around quarter of a million a year, with no one else to check on them.’
The commander studied the claim dockets for some time before he said, ‘Excellent work, DC Pankhurst. But it’s still not enough. What else do you have to offer me?’
‘Nothing else, sir. However, the chief came up with something that needs explaining.’
Everyone around the table turned to face William.
‘I found this locked in the top drawer of Milner’s desk,’ said William, placing an expenses docket in front of the commander.
‘What does this prove?’ asked the Hawk, after carefully checking several expenses claims.
‘It’s not the claims Milner did make that we should be looking at,’ said William, ‘but the half-empty expenses book with his signature already on every page, only waiting for the details to be filled in. He’s like a man at the roulette table who knows which number the ball will land on. He’s perfected a system that always pays out, even when it lands on zero.’
‘Believe me,’ said the Hawk, ‘that man could still bluff his way out of that. No, I need a silver bullet that Milner won’t be able to put back in the chamber.’ The commander noticed a grin appearing on DS Adaja’s face. ‘You’ve been unusually silent, Paul. Can I assume you’re about to produce that bullet?’
‘And the gun to fire it with,’ said Paul. ‘However, you’re never going to believe what I’m about to tell you, sir, despite the fact that you’ve dealt with some of the sharpest criminal minds in the game.’
‘Stop wasting my time,’ said the Hawk.
‘For the past month, I’ve been taking a particular interest in a certain Sergeant Nigel Hicks.’
‘And what’s so special about Sergeant Hicks?’
‘He’s been the Royalty Protection forward liaison officer for the past eleven years.’
‘How fascinating,’ said the commander, stifling a yawn.
‘It would be, sir, if only Sergeant Hicks existed.’
The look on the Hawk’s face didn’t suggest that of a seasoned poker player. ‘Details,’ he demanded, sitting bolt upright in his chair.
‘Sergeant Hicks retired eleven years ago — and died a couple of years later. He was buried at his local church in Sevenoaks.’
‘You have proof, of course?’
Paul produced a photograph of Hicks’s headstone and handed it over to the commander.
‘You’re not going to tell me that—’
‘He still receives his full salary, and last year somehow managed to claim over £70,000 in expenses, without actually turning up at the office.’
‘But did they get away with it?’
‘It’s possible Hicks was involved,’ suggested William.
‘But he died.’
‘Not according to the record book.’
‘But surely someone—’ began the Hawk.
‘That’s the point, sir,’ came back William. ‘Milner, Jennings and Reynolds were all in on the scam, and were only too happy to take their cut. In fact, Hicks still has his own office in Windsor, with his name on the door.’
‘And how did Milner explain why no one else ever saw him?’
‘He was the forward liaison officer, sir, so he was always abroad, checking out venues on behalf of minor members of the Royal Family who were due to visit that country at some time in the future. He claimed travel expenses for cities he never visited, an accommodation allowance for hotels he never stayed in, as well as regular claims for unsocial hours and overtime. In fact, during the past eleven years, the phantom sergeant has been paid over £270,000 in wages, supplemented with another £700,000 in expenses. Not to mention claiming a million airmiles without ever getting on a plane.’
‘What happened to the tickets for those flights he never took?’
‘Some were cashed in, others were used whenever one of the three of them went on holiday. They’ve all visited some fairly exotic places during the past eleven years: Rio, Cape Town, Mexico, St Petersburg...’
‘How did you find out?’ barked the Hawk, barely able to control his temper.
‘I finally broke into the missing sergeant’s office, sir, only to discover that the cupboard was bare.’
‘The dog that didn’t bark in the night,’ said the commander. ‘Bravo, Paul. However, I still require icing on my cake before I report to the Commissioner. Tell me how they disposed of their ill-gotten gains, because it’s always how a criminal spends the money that catches them out in the end.’
‘Pull the trigger, Jackie,’ said William.
‘Once Paul and Rebecca had produced enough evidence to prove exactly what Milner was up to,’ said Jackie, ‘I took your advice and followed the money.’
‘And what did you come up with?’ asked the Hawk.
‘Milner does have a car, a Mercedes SI, latest model, which he paid for with cash, because there’s no sign of any entries other than his salary as a Superintendent, going into his bank account. So someone might be tempted to ask how he can possibly own a three-storey house on the common in Barnes, a country home in Berkshire with five acres, and a substantial property in Ibiza that could only be described as front line.’
An even longer silence followed before the Hawk said, ‘How did he get away with it for so long?’
‘That was the easy part,’ said William. ‘Because there was no one to question him until we turned up, and if Constable Jenny Smart hadn’t felt it was her duty to point Jackie in the right direction, it might have taken us years to nail him. But with her assistance,’ continued William, ‘the team have been able to gather enough evidence, along with Paul’s silver bullet to ensure that Milner will not be spending his retirement in Ibiza, but as a resident of Belmarsh prison at Her Majesty’s pleasure.’
‘A different form of royal protection,’ suggested Paul.
The commander smiled for the first time that morning. ‘Once you’ve handed in your report, DCI Warwick,’ he said, ‘I’ll brief the Commissioner so he has all the ammunition he needs when he has his audience with the Prince of Wales. Meanwhile, I congratulate you all on a job well done. But if it should blow up in our faces, I fear DS Adaja will have to carry the can.’