The two brothers were now semi-retired, and their fabrics business had expanded into a chain of six shops in the southeast of England. Marina’s interests had been elsewhere, and since Andrew had no family to follow them in the business, they had now recruited an experienced management team to run Peters Brothers – but they still kept an oversight of their company.
“Have you ever had any contact with the Russian embassy?” he asked Andrew, who was then at the office they shared over their main shop in South London.
“Not recently,” he replied. “There was that one occasion last year when we were both invited to a reception there, but you couldn’t make it and I went with my wife – do you remember that? It made me realise that they knew something about you and me and our background, but I wasn’t sure why we were invited until one of the staff there started asking me about my network of friends in London – what clubs I belonged to, and so on. Did I still speak Russian?”
“They must have us both on some sort of list,” said Victor. “That explains why Shona and I were invited to another party at the embassy a couple of months ago, and this time we were able to accept. I remember now that after a few drinks, one of the officers there cornered me and started asking me about you and then about our business activities and then about my family. It now seems that I must have told him something about Marina’s new job in Portsmouth. They certainly knew where to find me when this latest business blew up, and I’ve now had two phone calls and a visit today from one of the people there who seemed to be on the intelligence side. Today, he even asked me whether I was interested in helping them, and he seemed to think I could get Marina to pass on information from her job in Portsmouth.”
“I suppose they have to try everything; that’s their job,” replied Andrew. “What did you say?”
“I didn’t want to just say no in case it rebounded on me or Marina in some way. I just said I would think about it. I don’t want to get involved in anything like this. He was really pressing me to tell him where Marina is. What do you think?”
“Just be very careful, Victor. And where is Marina now?”
“As far as I know, she is still helping the police put together the case against that Russian naval man. I don’t know any more than that, except that she called today to say that she was going to be away for a few days – and not to say a word to anyone.”
They agreed to catch up later at the office, and Victor was just preparing to go to the office to join his brother when his phone rang.
“Mr. Peters?” a voice said. “My name is Tom Spencer – I work for the Government security service, and I have been chatting to your daughter, Marina. Do you think I could come to see you sometime today? I can be there in about 30 minutes.”
“Yes, of course,” said Victor. “I’ll be pleased to see you to find out what is going on.”
Shona was curious. “This time it’s someone from the British security service,” explained Victor. “He wants to come here in half an hour, and I hope he can tell us more about everything and where Marina is. Let’s wait to see what he has to say.”
Tom duly arrived at the Peters’ home in Putney, showed his credentials and greeted Victor and Shona warmly. He declined the offer of a drink or a cup of tea and began by apologising for encouraging Marina to go away for a few weeks.
“It is very important for us to keep her away from the press or any other outside influences while we work on this case against the Russian, so we were very happy when she said she has found a friend to visit in Canada. In fact, she is already on the way today. But please do not tell anyone where she has gone,” he insisted.
“Canada?” replied a surprised Victor and Shona gave a gasp. “We didn’t know she was in touch with a friend there, did we Shona?”
“Not that I can remember,” she said. “This seems very sudden but we are getting a lot of surprises these days”.
Victor added: “Yes, we are not sure what is going on and as it happens, I’ve had several press people calling up and asking where she is. And then a man from the Russian embassy came here just this morning asking the same question, but I could not tell them any details, anyway, because I didn’t know.”
“So what else did the Russian want – and do you know who he is?”
“Not really. He gave me a phone number to call and said ask for Jack.”
“Well, I work with MI5 as it happens, and I imagine you know what that is?” Tom continued, and Victor nodded. “Well, we are carrying out an important inquiry into whether this Russian navy man is actually a secret agent and whether he tricked Marina into a relationship to try to get information from her – you know she was doing confidential work for the Navy in Portsmouth, of course? And your family background and Russian connections make this of real concern to us.”
“I don’t think you have any worries on that account,” said Victor. “My parents and now my brother and I are very grateful for the way we have been able to live our lives in Britain, and we feel very British. In fact, it seemed to me to be a sort of acceptance of this when Marina was taken on by the Royal Navy. We are very proud of that.”
“Thank you for that assurance, Mr. Peters. We also know that there are a couple of thousand Russian emigres in London and that the intelligence service at the Russian embassy relies on quite a few of them as informants of one sort or another. We have to keep a close eye on them, and we are aware that you and your brother are known to the embassy and appear on their files, but so far as I know, your family is not under any sort of suspicion. This situation with your daughter is the first time that your names have been highlighted, but we still have to take it seriously. Did your visitor today say anything else?”
“He suggested in a roundabout way that I could possibly be of help to him – perhaps by passing on any information I might get from Marina – and I didn’t like the sound of that. After he left, I chatted to my brother Andrew and we agreed that we did not want anything to do with him. If I hear from him again, I will tell him just that, unless you think it could put Marina in any sort of danger?”
“Don’t worry about that – we will take good care of Marina. Have you had any other contacts with the Russian embassy?”
“Not really,” replied Victor. “My wife and I went to a reception at the embassy earlier this year, and it seemed that they like to stay in touch with people such as my brother and me who are in business here – just a social thing, that’s all.”
Shona then asked, “Is Marina quite safe, Mr. Spencer? Is she in any sort of trouble? This all sounds very worrying.”
“No, no,” said Tom. “You can rely on our team to make sure this all works out. She is helping us in many ways, and we are discovering that your daughter is a bright and intelligent lady; we are all very impressed by her.”
Victor and Shona appreciated this, and Tom then changed the subject. They all relaxed as they chatted about the Peters’ successful business, and he admired their lovely home and their choice of Putney, near the river, for their retirement years.
“Well, it was good to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Peters,” said Tom, getting up to leave. “Let me know if you hear anything further from this Jack fellow, and I will let you know how Marina is getting on. I assure you that she is not in any sort of trouble. It is just that she will be our key witness when the Russian comes to trial as a spy, so she is very important to us.”
He left, and a couple of minutes later, the doorbell rang again. This time, it was a man who introduced himself as a reporter from the Daily Star, who apologised for intruding and asked, “Was that another reporter who just left here?”