Where the Action Is
Where the Action Is |
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Time passed, and at last the whole smuggling ring was rounded up. Their hideouts were found, their caches were taken, Interpol had picked up the European members of the gang. Everyone was caught, for the men, including Richardson, told all. They were not so brave and fearless now they were helpless. There was not one man who was able to get away.
Jack, Juliett, Max and Impie had returned to their homes and the parents of Jack and her brother and sister, who had been kept informed all along of what was happening, were told of this. They were told that they should be proud of their children, without them the gang could not have been rounded up. Juliett’s younger brother, David, retuned to Thelston, to help cheer up his parents, who were still terribly upset about what had happened. Along with this, Jack learned that her parents would be returning to Engald soon, so she and her family would be leaving Thelston. There was still some time before they returned, however, and she hoped the case would be over before they took her and her brother and sister home.
Terry Regan also had his work to do. It took some time to mend the transmitter, the men had not been gentle when they removed the crystals, but in time it would be possible for the damage to be repaired. There was much difficulty in restoring his company to order, and coaxing the advertisers back. Also there was Marty’s recovery to wait for, though when the station was to return to the air, Jonny, the spare time engineer, was to take his place for a while. The time spent in doing all the jobs gave the staff a chance to recover before resuming their proper work, as well.
The day came when all was over, and all the problems solved, so Ed Muldoon and John Adams decided to release the whole details of the case to the press, who were very interested indeed. The case had been followed by hundreds of the public, because of the radio station, therefore a Press Conference was arranged, and not only journalists, but also those people who had been involved in the case, were invited.
The conference was held in one of the Thelstone Police Courtrooms. Terry and his staff came, so did Jack, Max, Impie and Juliett. Besides them there were seven reporters. The room was therefore somewhat crowded.
John and Ed entered. Silence fell.
‘Now,’ said John, ‘you know why you are here. This case has provoked much interest, and therefore it has been decided to release the details. It is a strange and indeed, unprecedented case, as you will hear. Nothing of its kind will happen again, either. You may ask questions whenever you want to. But now, if no-one objects, I will begin.’
He sorted through some papers and then after a cough began the most extraordinary story any of the listeners had ever heard.
It appeared that Richardson had always been the gang leader. When first he joined the Police force he had done so because he really wanted to and he felt he could do the job well. And indeed he did. He was promoted fast for his good work. But then corruption began to set in. When he reached the position of Superintendent he began to think that the pay was insufficient for a man of his merit, and he decided to supplement his income. The smuggling idea seemed to him the best way, he could link his ring onto an international organisation, and also he would be able to avoid the police, as he would have inside knowledge of the progress they made.
His knowledge of Underworld people helped him to build up his organisation. In this Robin Scott-Gibson, his deputy, who he had known for a long while, an unscrupulous adventurer with blood on his hands, helped him. Richardson did everything through Scott-Gibson, the men knew nothing of the real leader.
A reporter asked, ‘ For how long has this gang been operating?’
‘At least two years, maybe more, we are unsure,’ John replied. ‘Too long, that’s all I can say. Anyhow, to return.’
He went on to say that Thelstone St Felix had been chosen as ‘base’ because it was a little known stretch of coast, not used very often, and also conveniently near the Continent. It was far enough from London but not too far, and Elchester, a large city, was nearby.
Scott-Gibson came to live in Elchester, and he ran the organisation on Richardson’s orders, sometimes going down to London to meet Richardson in secret, to get more first-hand information on his next moves. Scott-Gibson in turn had a deputy, Ben Rodgers, who, though his intelligence was not up to that of the two chief men, was a ‘good’ man in that he was loyal, and violence did not worry him in the least.
This Ben Rodgers was the man who Jack and Juliett had seen at the Folly with the smoking gun. He was in fact Clarence’s murderer, on his own confession, for all the evidence pointed to him, even the footprints found on the day of Clarence’s murder were matched up with his. He had also beaten up the policeman left to guard the brandy in the Folly. That policeman had survived, but Rodgers had been charged with Clarence’s murder, with Scott-Gibson.
Originally, John went on, their hideout was in the cliffs of St Felix Bay, where there was no beach. The cliffs were honeycombed with caves and passages, for example, the one where Jack and Alan were bound. These were probably where the bodies of the staff of the radio station would be dumped. They knew of more caves than anyone else, so the ‘mass-grave’ would be undiscovered for ages.
Later, when two of their men were captured, they moved to Abbey Island, the crypt of the Abbey. Scott-Gibson had found this from old maps he had access to. It was very convenient, they found, and this is where they set out from to take over the fort the second time. Besides these main bases, the cave and the island, they had many caches, for example, the farmhouse where drugs and things had been found after the capture of the two members of the gang. Also they used White Sands Forts and the Folly. The Folly was a favourite and they persisted in using it, even after it had been discovered.
The lights seen on White Sands, which started off the whole affair, were accidental, no-one was supposed to have seen them. The smugglers managed to clear up quickly when the fort was investigated later, though luck had always been on their side, until they got too ambitious. When the children went to the Folly, and Max fell into the crypt, this was because the men had failed to lock the trapdoor correctly. The hay had been there to hide the boxes, but this was not proof against people falling in!
Ed Muldoon interrupted here: ‘The children were lucky in one respect, for the smugglers had just been to clear up their goods, and they just missed them. If they hadn’t, there may have been a greater tragedy! Go on, John.’
John continued. Clarence Thelstone, apparently, had seen the men return with goods, these were Scott-Gibson and Rodgers. He had overheard too much, and they saw him and had to kill him. It was apparently Rodgers who fired the gun, but both were held guilty of the murder. Jack and Juliett were recognised because Rodgers, as a local man, had seen them before, and they were well known in the district anyway. This Rodgers was the man Adrian had tangled with on the fort, said John, in reply to a question put by Adrian.
When the children were moved to the fort, reports reached Scotland Yard and were seen by Richardson, who told his deputy. The gang decided to try and take over the fort, for they were no longer afraid of capture. They were drunk with power. Again their luck held, in that, in the darkness of evening the boat that came out from the cliffs in the bay was unseen by any of the authorities.
When the children were moved to the inn, a watcher saw them and reported to Scott-Gibson. The inn was then perpetually watched, the watchers using unlicensed, smuggled, walkie-talkies. They did perhaps intend to capture the children, but this they found difficult. However, when they got Jack and Alan, they were pleased, for they were not sure of all the police were doing. Even Richardson did not have access to everything.
Then the Yard was called in, and somehow Richardson by his guile and cunning, managed to get himself sent to Thelstone. His two aides, however, knew nothing of what he was. He chose two of the least clever officers he knew of. When he came he changed things a little. For instance, the watch on the forts was diminished and finally left alone. Richardson had ideas about the radio station, he hated it because it disturbed his plans, and at first, he had admitted, he intended to ‘make’ them the smugglers. Then it dawned on him that this was impossible. He was now ‘in’ on all the plans of the Thelstone police and he decided perhaps to destroy the station was the best plan. He thought himself invulnerable, now. He could do anything and get away with it, he thought.
Secret discussions with Scott-Gibson were held, and a great plan was formed. Fog had been threatening for ages, and the plans were made to keep the gang alert so as to set off on the next foggy day, when the fog was densest. It was safe for them, for they knew the waters very well; they were brilliant sailors. The day came when it was obvious fog was on its way, and would get very thick. The call about the inn was a decoy, which worked. Richardson now had to obstruct the police so that the take-over was not discovered. He reckoned without the aid of the friends of the station, though. The boat came from and went to Abbey Island, and was not seen once. The faked papers were got, and the whole great plan seemed to the gang infallible. The whole motive was revenge, and so great was their hatred that they forgot practically about the children at the in,, who constituted the greater danger.
Richardson’s downfall was his arrogance, which blinded him to everything. In his pride at his success, he did not think that others even could destroy his plans. He got worse as time went on, would listen to no-one, and tried to destroy all that was against him. Finally he went too far, and he was discovered.
‘That,’ said John, ‘about covers what I have down here. Now, are there any questions? If so, Ed here will answer, for I’m exhausted after all that!’
‘I have a question,’ cried a young newsman, starting up. ‘Can you enlighten us on the international side of this ring?’
‘Yes,’ said Ed. ‘There were already organisation for peddling drugs and contraband on the Continent, of course, and as the fame of Richardson’s gang spread, from the trade they did with them, a few of them became affiliated to it. Richardson became overall leader, of course. Their ships used to meet the English gang’s small boat outside the three-mile limit and exchanges were made. That part of the gang has been rounded up by Interpol, I’m glad to say. We’ve traced a really big ring to earth!’
‘How come the smugglers’ boats weren’t seen?’ asked another reporter, a girl.
‘That is more difficult to explain,’ Ed answered her. ‘We think it is because they went only on dark nights, lightless, and anyway, the coastguard in this district was not too vigilant then. That’s been rectified now!’
Jon Konrad came next. ‘What about the grapple gun they used to try to board our fort? Where did it come from?’
‘That’s easy,’ replied Ed. ‘It came from the Continent; the Continental ring got it for them, as they did the forged papers, in fact. It was a brilliant device developed for mountaineering, but they found another use for it!’
There were some more questions asked, and finally, with all things answered, the company returned to their several homes. The nightmare had come to an end, never to be repeated again in Thelstone.
