Page 90 of Traitors Gate

‘They change from time to time,’ said the Yeoman, ‘and in any case, I don’t exactly move in those circles. Mind you, he played the part to perfection. Didn’t put a foot wrong, but then he’d had Harris to tutor him.’

‘And where was Harris when the Governor went into the Jewel House?’ asked Jackie.

‘He turned the car around, opened the boot and waited as he has done for the past eleven years.’

‘And when they came back out?’ pressed William.

‘He was still standing by the back of the Jag, waiting for the Chief Jeweller to appear and supervise locking the two boxes in the boot.’

Jackie produced a photo from one of her files. ‘Is this Harris?’ she asked.

‘Sure is,’ said Haskins, ‘and if I ever set eyes on him again …’

‘His mugshot has already been circulated to every police station in the Met,’ confirmed Jackie, ‘as well as an All Ports Alert being issued to every major transport hub within fifty miles.’

William nodded. ‘One last thing,’ he said, turning back to Haskins. ‘Not a word to anyone, is that understood?’

‘Goes with the territory,’ said the Chief Yeoman of the Guard.

46 MINUTES

When Paul and Danny reached the pavement on the other side of the road, they both paused to stare at two cars, which couldn’t have been parked much closer to the Tower.

Danny began searching the Land Rover, surprised to find all the doors were open and even more surprised to find one vital piece of evidence. Paul went straight to the boot of the Jaguar, assuming it had to be locked. Wrong again. He opened it and stared down in disbelief at two large black leather boxes with the lettersEIIRpainted in gold on one side.

Paul held his breath as he slowly lifted the lid of the larger box, expecting to find it empty, but there in front of him was the Sword of State, resting in all its glory. Tentatively, he lifted the lid of the second box hoping to find the crown equally resplendent, but nothing.

‘The bastard,’ said Paul, loud enough to cause Danny to quickly join him, clutching the discarded tie.

When he saw the Sword of State, he said, ‘They must have panicked and bolted …’

‘More likely they saw us coming,’ said Paul as he stared ata navy and silver striped Old Harrovian tie. He took a phone out of an inside pocket and dialled William’s mobile. It was engaged.

46 MINUTES

Lamont and Collins got off the tube at Baker Street. When they emerged from underground, they were greeted by a famous detective who stood in front of them, familiar pipe in hand. Lamont bent down and touched the well-rubbed shoe of Sherlock Holmes for luck. They headed off towards a building just a block away which they had both visited several times during the past month, but never at the same time.

They went straight to the front of the queue and handed over their pre-booked tickets, before entering the building. Anything that would save time had been built into the master plan.

43 MINUTES

The commander picked up the phone to find William on the other end of the line.

‘We’ve had an early breakthrough, sir,’ he said. ‘The senior Jewel House Warder, a Mr Walter Haskins, who’s worked at the Tower for the past twenty years, told me a man called Phil Harris was driving the Jaguar when the first group turned up this morning.’

‘Why’s that important?’ asked the Hawk.

‘Harris has been the Lord Chamberlain’s driver for the past eleven years. It seems that until today he had an unblemished record. Haskins was under the impression he’d recentlyretired, and when he raised the subject with him, Harris told him he was leaving in a couple of weeks’ time, even had the nerve to invite him and his wife to his farewell party at the palace – a party that had already taken place.’

‘Then we need to track down Harris before he gets clean away, as he’s obviously their inside man. I need a photograph of him sharpish so I can distribute it to all the relevant agencies.’

‘Jackie’s already done that,’ said William.

‘And Paul?’

‘Has gone in search of the two cars.’

‘Let me know the moment he finds them,’ said the Hawk, ‘while I give you as much back-up as possible.’ His other phone began to ring.

---