The Commander asked if they knew where Wilde was currently living as her exact address didn’t appear on the action plan.
‘Tennison has been to the flat and will draw up a layout of the premises after the meeting,’ Crowley remarked in an attempt to deflect the question and was about to continue when Jane spoke up.
‘It’s a small basement flat in a four-storey block, sir. She’s lived there for five years. There’s one bedroom, kitchen, garden and…’
The Commander frowned. ‘I’m not interested in the layout right now… What’s the street and number?’
‘It’s in Belsize Avenue, number forty-four, the basement.’
Crowley moved on to the discovery of the scarf.
‘We will be asking Hermès about the different scarf designs they sell, and get some brochures and photographs to show our phone-box witness so she can pick out the one she saw the woman wearing.’
The Commander nodded his approval at this idea and Crowley asked Lawrence to give a forensic update.
‘As expected, we recovered a large number of prints from the public phone box which were submitted to Fingerprint Bureau here at the Yard. Twenty officers from FB One, Two and Three have been working on them day and night… even the Senior Fingerprint Officers have been helping. We’ve had several hits but only to small-time criminals, and none with any IRA or Irish connections. Some of the prints are still unidentified and may belong to people without a criminal record.’
Dexter added, ‘I did a CRO check on the name Natalie Wilde and she’s never been arrested. Also, the witness did say the woman in the phone box was wearing gloves.’
Lawrence looked at Dexter, ‘Well, when Wilde is arrested her prints can be taken for comparison against the outstanding marks, or we could do a covert entry to her flat to seize something we can examine for her prints.’
Crowley shook his head, ‘That’s a bit risky just now, I’d rather do some surveillance on the premises first.’
Lawrence nodded. ‘If she puts a dustbin out we could try to get a discarded envelope or something from the contents. Also, if she took a glove off to put a coin in the box we might get a result. On a previous investigation with WDC Tennison we examined the coins from a call box and discovered the print of a woman who was later charged with murder. But sadly, without anything to match what we do have, it’s likely to be a waste of time.’
Jane raised her arm and everyone turned to look at her.
‘What about the two “Kool” menthol cigarette butts that were discovered in the phone box?’
‘I know you told DS Dexter Miss Wilde smokes the same brand, but that is not really incriminating evidence.’
‘I just thought that opening a cigarette pack, and taking out a cigarette is quite cumbersome if you are wearing gloves… I was wondering whether it was possible that she may have taken off a glove to light a cigarette?’
Lawrence interjected. ‘As everyone probably knows, fingerprints are left due to sweat, oil and grease on the hands. Heat from a cigarette usually destroys those marks, but it was a good point, Jane, and worth a try.’
Crowley snapped, eager to get on. ‘This operation has to be totally covert… if Wilde gets so much as a sniff we’re on to her we could lose our only hope of tracing the bombers.’
Jane held up her hand again and he glared at her impatiently.
‘Then what about the training school at Hendon?’ she asked. ‘Sir… all officers have their fingerprints taken the day they join.’
It was so simple that they had all overlooked it. Dexter gave a slow handclap which annoyed Crowley, but he instructed Lawrence to get onto it immediately.
‘I don’t need to remind you all that it’s imperative we tread carefully so we don’t spook our target. Take it slowly and make sure that all enquiries are tight and secure. WDC Tennison had a concerned interest in Daphne Millbank, and rekindled a friendship with someone who had been at Hendon with her. In her naivety, she believed Natalie Wilde to be a good and honest person.’
Jane felt her cheeks flush and was embarrassed by Crowley’s reference to her ‘naivety’, which had made everyone glance in her direction, apart from the man from the Home Office, who did not seem all that keen on Crowley.
‘She may have been duped, DCI Crowley,’ Mr Quick said, ‘but to her credit she did come forward to you with her suspicions. If it wasn’t for WDC Tennison then we wouldn’t be sitting here now.’
‘And that is why I am taking her concerns seriously, Mr Quick. We know from experience how IRA sleepers operate and we need to work on the premise that Natalie Wilde deliberately set out to befriend Jane as a source of information. Thank you all for coming in at such short notice and now that we have the full picture we can get started.’
The room filled with the sound of scraping chairs as everyone stood up. Jane remained seated, her heart pounding as everyone else left the room.
Two hours later the team had acquired a Hermès catalogue of all the scarf designs that depicted animals. They were sold at Harrods, Liberty and from the Hermès store in Bond Street. Jane sat in Crowley’s office leafing through the catalogue, but found it off-putting that he kept leaning over her shoulder asking if she’d ‘seen the scarf yet’. She was determined to take her time and eventually held up the page showing the identical scarf she had seen at Natalie Wilde’s home. Crowley instructed one of his officers to show the catalogue to the witness who had seen the woman in the phone box, hoping she’d pick the same scarf as Jane.
When the officer left the room, Crowley sat in front of Jane and leaned forward. ‘Just a while longer and you’ll be free to go. I didn’t mention it earlier in our private meeting or in the conference room, but I believe you gave Natalie Wilde the date and venue for the Good Friday bash?’
‘Yes, sir, but it was only in passing. You don’t think…’
‘Who knows, Tennison? Anything is possible if she’s really part of an IRA cell. Be assured I will take precautions. Our priority right now is that to get her to lead us to the bastards who killed innocent people at Covent Garden.’
DCI Church found Jane in the canteen, morosely contemplating a plate of inedible cottage pie and a glass of milk.
‘Well, the story Natalie told you about working at NatWest was true, at least.’ He glanced at his notebook. ‘Head office says she’s been employed by them for four years and resides at 44 Belsize Avenue. She’s worked in two of their London branches and sounds, to all intents and purposes, like a diligent and trustworthy employee.’
‘Perhaps she fooled everyone there as well,’ Jane said quietly in an effort to show she was not the only person Natalie deceived.
‘Seems so, but unlike you, Jane… they’re not detectives. Crowley has suggested you get off home, so I can run you back there when you’ve finished your lunch.’
‘I have… I’m not hungry.’
‘Gimme ten minutes. I have to make a couple of phone calls, then I’ll see you outside reception.’
Jane took her plate and scraped the cottage pie into the rubbish bin. She returned to the table to clear her still full milk glass when Dexter walked in. He walked over to the coffee and tea section and gestured to her to see if she wanted anything. Jane shook her head.
She sat down and waited for him to join her with his coffee. Dexter nodded towards her untouched glass of milk.
‘That for your hangover?’
‘I don’t have one. But I could do with another drink. I think Crowley would like to see me back in uniform directing traffic.’
‘I doubt that… If it wasn’t for you we’d not have much going for us.’
‘What did you tell the people in the conference room before I came in?’
‘Not much, really, kept it simple, recounted what you told me and that you may have been used by Natalie Wilde. I also told them you informed me and Crowley as soon as you became suspicious of her.’