Tony.
He answered at the second ring.
‘The phone arrived safely then?’ I said.
‘First thing this morning. Where are you now?’
‘Back in my hotel. Where are you? Can you talk?’
‘I’m in my car,’ he said. ‘Still in the parking lot at FACSA. I’m leaving for the day.’
‘Are you alone?’
‘Yes.’
‘Good. Stay and listen. I need a couple of things.’
‘Shoot.’
‘First, someone from here made a call today to the BHA offices asking about me. It may have been an innocent check or it might have been our friend being suspicious. The person declined to
give his name. Can you access the section phone records? Can you find out if anyone called London at midday today?’
‘I’ll try,’ he said, not sounding particularly hopeful.
‘But don’t tell anyone else. If it was our friend who made the call, I don’t want to spook him.’
‘What’s the other thing?’ Tony asked.
‘I was excluded from an operational planning meeting today. If this is another operation where the details are likely to be leaked, I need to know what’s going on. I can’t do
this job if I’m to be kept in the dark.’
There was a pause from the other end.
‘Tony?’ I said.
‘I’m thinking,’ he said. ‘When Jason Connor first came to me with his suspicions, I sent a memo to all staff reminding them of the need for secrecy and not to let any
non-agency personnel be aware of our operations. It would be a bit hypocritical for me to now insist you were brought into the loop.’
‘I agree,’ I said. ‘And it would flag up to our friend that I’m more than just an observer. But I still need the information. You’ll have to get it for me. And
Tony, could you make a list for me of everyone who knows about the operation?’
‘No problem,’ Tony said. ‘I was at the meeting today so I already have the details. How shall I get them to you?’
‘Could your wife deliver them? After dark.’
‘No problem,’ he said again. ‘I’ll go back in and make copies of the paperwork.’
‘Tony,’ I said. ‘Be careful. If FACSA is anything like the BHA, you can’t make copies without entering your personal code on the copy machine.’
‘OK,’ he said with a resigned sigh. ‘I’ll use the small copier in my PA’s office.’
As far as I was concerned no precaution was too minor to be ignored. In my experience, it was usually the accumulation of small clues that added up to create the big picture rather than any
single dramatic revelation. The fewer traces we generated regarding the true purpose of my visit the better.
‘I also need account details for all the racing section staff, preferably recent bank statements. Whoever is leaking information may be being paid for it. If so, we need to find those
deposits.’
‘That’ll need court subpoenas,’ Tony said.
‘Then get them. But will the staff then know their statements are being looked at?’
‘They shouldn’t. I’ll deal with it personally and the banks will get the subpoenas, not the staff. The need for discretion will be emphasised.’
‘Good.’
‘Anything else?’
‘Yes,’ I said. ‘I want to go to the Kentucky Derby this Saturday. Frank Bannister told me the whole racing section is going to Louisville on Wednesday. Can you fix it so that I
go with them?’
‘Absolutely,’ Tony said. ‘The operation we were discussing today will be executed at Churchill Downs this coming weekend. I’ll ensure you are included on the
flight.’
‘Carefully,’ I said. ‘You don’t know me, remember.’
‘I’ll have a quiet word with Norman Gibson.’
‘He’s not in the loop,’ I said. ‘I’d prefer it to remain that way.’
‘Don’t you trust Norman?’
‘I trust nobody to keep a secret that my life might depend on.’ Not even you, I thought, but I decided not to say so.
The package from Tony arrived at nine o’clock as I was again studying the FACSA personnel files.
Out of curiosity, I had looked up Tony
He answered at the second ring.
‘The phone arrived safely then?’ I said.
‘First thing this morning. Where are you now?’
‘Back in my hotel. Where are you? Can you talk?’
‘I’m in my car,’ he said. ‘Still in the parking lot at FACSA. I’m leaving for the day.’
‘Are you alone?’
‘Yes.’
‘Good. Stay and listen. I need a couple of things.’
‘Shoot.’
‘First, someone from here made a call today to the BHA offices asking about me. It may have been an innocent check or it might have been our friend being suspicious. The person declined to
give his name. Can you access the section phone records? Can you find out if anyone called London at midday today?’
‘I’ll try,’ he said, not sounding particularly hopeful.
‘But don’t tell anyone else. If it was our friend who made the call, I don’t want to spook him.’
‘What’s the other thing?’ Tony asked.
‘I was excluded from an operational planning meeting today. If this is another operation where the details are likely to be leaked, I need to know what’s going on. I can’t do
this job if I’m to be kept in the dark.’
There was a pause from the other end.
‘Tony?’ I said.
‘I’m thinking,’ he said. ‘When Jason Connor first came to me with his suspicions, I sent a memo to all staff reminding them of the need for secrecy and not to let any
non-agency personnel be aware of our operations. It would be a bit hypocritical for me to now insist you were brought into the loop.’
‘I agree,’ I said. ‘And it would flag up to our friend that I’m more than just an observer. But I still need the information. You’ll have to get it for me. And
Tony, could you make a list for me of everyone who knows about the operation?’
‘No problem,’ Tony said. ‘I was at the meeting today so I already have the details. How shall I get them to you?’
‘Could your wife deliver them? After dark.’
‘No problem,’ he said again. ‘I’ll go back in and make copies of the paperwork.’
‘Tony,’ I said. ‘Be careful. If FACSA is anything like the BHA, you can’t make copies without entering your personal code on the copy machine.’
‘OK,’ he said with a resigned sigh. ‘I’ll use the small copier in my PA’s office.’
As far as I was concerned no precaution was too minor to be ignored. In my experience, it was usually the accumulation of small clues that added up to create the big picture rather than any
single dramatic revelation. The fewer traces we generated regarding the true purpose of my visit the better.
‘I also need account details for all the racing section staff, preferably recent bank statements. Whoever is leaking information may be being paid for it. If so, we need to find those
deposits.’
‘That’ll need court subpoenas,’ Tony said.
‘Then get them. But will the staff then know their statements are being looked at?’
‘They shouldn’t. I’ll deal with it personally and the banks will get the subpoenas, not the staff. The need for discretion will be emphasised.’
‘Good.’
‘Anything else?’
‘Yes,’ I said. ‘I want to go to the Kentucky Derby this Saturday. Frank Bannister told me the whole racing section is going to Louisville on Wednesday. Can you fix it so that I
go with them?’
‘Absolutely,’ Tony said. ‘The operation we were discussing today will be executed at Churchill Downs this coming weekend. I’ll ensure you are included on the
flight.’
‘Carefully,’ I said. ‘You don’t know me, remember.’
‘I’ll have a quiet word with Norman Gibson.’
‘He’s not in the loop,’ I said. ‘I’d prefer it to remain that way.’
‘Don’t you trust Norman?’
‘I trust nobody to keep a secret that my life might depend on.’ Not even you, I thought, but I decided not to say so.
The package from Tony arrived at nine o’clock as I was again studying the FACSA personnel files.
Out of curiosity, I had looked up Tony
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