‘She was beheaded?’ Branson asked.
Shannon shook her head. ‘Henry wasn’t a fool, he needed the alliance. They divorced and had an amicable — almost brother-and-sister — relationship for the rest of her life. She actually outlived all his other wives, quite some feat.’ She took another swig of her water and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.
‘One of the miniatures I’ve just described is in the Royal Collection; it’s the only one of Anne of Cleves in existence and it’s of incalculable value. The RCIN is 422297. It is also currently the subject of an international auction on the dark web. Bids have been invited from a known group of collectors around the world. So far there are four bidders. One in Georgia, one in Taiwan, one in the USA and one in Argentina. Because of its historical significance and provenance, it is likely to sell for well over £2 million, which is the current bid.’
Grace and Branson looked at her in astonishment. ‘You know all this for certain, Shannon?’ Grace asked.
‘Do you think I’m making it up?’ she demanded.
Grace shook his head. ‘No. Are you able to establish who is actually selling it?’
‘I’m working on that now,’ she said. ‘Whoever it is knows how to cover their tracks extremely well.’
‘Shannon,’ Branson asked, ‘how computer savvy would someone need to be to access and navigate the dark web well enough to do what you’ve just told us?’
She looked pointedly at them. ‘What do you guys think? To go as deep as whoever this is, you’d need to be able to write code, Roy.’
Grace frowned. ‘Computer code?’
‘Yes, you’d have to code — write — a program that would squirrel its way deep into the dark web. A coding language like Python, which is currently a popular one as it’s relatively user-friendly.’
‘Could anyone learn to do this?’
‘You’d need an in-depth level of experience, and you’d also, if you are savvy enough, use AI to help you. But,’ Shannon added, ‘once it has been set up, anyone computer-literate could learn to navigate it pretty quickly.’
‘So I could, or Glenn?’
‘Pretty well anyone, Roy.’
‘So what kind of people — by that I mean their background — would have the skills to do this?’ Grace asked Shannon.
‘A fairly wide number. There are plenty of trained computer programmers around the world who’d be able to. Some of them from military intelligence, too.’
‘How exactly does this auction take place, Shannon?’ Branson asked.
‘The way it’s been set up is using a forum called Dread — it’s probably the only forum on the dark web that is trusted, in that you can rely on stuff that’s on it. The Buckingham Palace thieves have posted a cryptic message on a Dread bulletin board, and clearly they’ve done this before, multiple times. Those who’ve been buyers before will recognize the message, and indicate if they want to register for the auction.’
‘What was the cryptic message?’ Branson asked.
‘Baking banana, white chocolate and raspberry cake.’
‘What?’ Grace frowned.
Shannon smiled. ‘It’s totally innocuous and meaningless to anyone except those who actually know. It’s a signal to potential bidders. On the assumption this isn’t their first rodeo, they would already have user names and passwords issued, and the details of a Bitcoin account set up by the vendors, into which they would make part payment in the event of a winning bid, with the balance on delivery. Those interested would communicate with the vendors via an app called Telegram — which is end-to-end encrypted. As each bid comes in, it is invisible to all the others.
‘It was developed by two Russians,’ she added. ‘Designed to be completely secure.’
‘But not so secure that you couldn’t penetrate it?’ Grace quizzed.
She answered blithely, ‘Nothing is too secure, if I’m given enough time.’
‘I take it you think other items stolen from the Royal Collection have been sold this way?’ Grace asked.
‘Either by auction or straight sale, yes. For sure. Whoever is behind this doesn’t think they’re leaving any footprints, but they are. They are smart — very smart indeed. But I’m more up to date and, more importantly, I’m smarter!’
‘And modest with it,’ Branson said with a grin.
She gave him a strange look. ‘I’m with Muhammad Ali when he said, It’s hard to be modest when you’re as great as I am.’
Branson was — for one of the few occasions in his life — left nonplussed and unsure how to respond. Grace came to his rescue.
‘OK, Shannon, so you are brilliant. That’s why you’re here and not still in prison. Are you able to identify the four bidders in the auction?’
‘Actually, there are now five bidders,’ she retorted.
‘Five? Where is the fifth one located?’
‘You’re looking at her.’
80
Tuesday 28 November 2023
As soon as they walked back out of the flat and towards the car, Roy Grace’s mobile rang. It was Denton Scroope.
‘Hi, Roy. Good news, I agree with your wife about the code — it is definitely a variation of a Caesar Cipher. I’m pretty confident I’ve cracked the cipher — Sir Peregrine has used his initials PG for the key, which is P equals G, and so on for each subsequent letter. I’ve got the first of the remaining four deciphered: S O T H.’
‘S O T H?’ Grace repeated. ‘Have you worked out what that stands for, Denton?’
‘It could be something like Sanctuary Of The Heart or Shadows Of The Horizon. But given Cleo’s deciphering of A Rose Between Two Thorns, I favour either Song Of The Horseman? Or perhaps Son Of The Horseman?’ Scroope told him.
‘Neither means anything to me. Some allusion to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, perhaps?’ Grace suggested, wracking his brains but not coming up with anything.
‘I’ll have a good mull on it. Is there anyone one who rides, I wonder.’
‘Or whose father rides?’ Grace suggested.
‘Indeed. The good news, Roy, is that having established the type of cipher, I should now be able to crack the remaining three.’
‘Great work, Denton. Really great work,’ Roy said. ‘I appreciate anything you can do.’
Having reached the car, Roy then called Sir Tommy Magellan-Lacey’s mobile before getting in. The Master of the Royal Household answered almost immediately, his voice charming and friendly as ever but sounding a little anxious.
‘Roy! Everything all right? Any progress?’
Grace was tempted to ask him if he knew any horse riders in the Royal Household, but decided it would lead to too many questions from the Master.
‘By the way, Roy, before I forget, I’ve arranged for you to see the box of Granny’s Personal Chips where it’s currently in storage, next time you’re in the Palace.’
‘Thank you.’
‘How did it go with Superintendent Mosse?’
‘Well, we’re not exactly besties, but I think we’ve established a constructive working relationship, Sir Tommy,’ he said, giving Branson a wink.