Next in Line (William Warwick, #5)(47)

‘It might also amuse you to know,’ said Jackie, ‘that during his years as head of Royalty Protection Milner has accumulated over a million airmiles in his own name. All legal and above board.’

‘He may end up having to live in mid-air once he realizes we’re on to him,’ said the commander. He paused for a moment before adding, ‘This evidence you’ve gathered, Jackie, is compelling to say the least. But if we’re going to bring down the head of Royalty Protection, I’ll need a damn sight more than that. So, Rebecca, it’s your turn to tell us what you’ve been up to for the past few months.’

‘Superintendent Milner never travels on public transport while he’s on duty,’ said Rebecca, ‘despite having an authorized travel card which entitles him to do so.’

‘He probably uses his own car and claims a petrol allowance,’ said the Hawk, playing devil’s advocate.

‘He never drives his own car. Always takes a taxi and puts it on expenses.’

‘Then the only person who benefits is the taxi driver, and no doubt Milner has the receipts to prove it.’

‘But why take a cab to Buckingham Palace or York House,’ asked Rebecca, ‘when both are within walking distance of his office in Buckingham Gate?’

‘He would claim he can’t risk being followed while carrying confidential documents,’ said the Hawk.

‘He also takes taxis to Windsor and back, which doesn’t come cheap, when he could take the train from Victoria, a few hundred yards from the office.’

This silenced the Hawk for a moment, which Rebecca took advantage of.

‘If you then check his expenses claims carefully,’ she said, opening a file and running a finger down some figures before continuing. ‘Last year alone, Milner made a hundred and seventy-one such taxi journeys at a cost to the taxpayer of just over ￡33,000.’

‘And if you dig a little deeper, as we did, with the help of Constable Smart,’ chipped in Paul, not needing to check the figures, ‘you’ll find that over the past eleven years, Superintendent Milner has claimed ￡434,720 on taxis alone, which I think even the BBC might describe as excessive.’

‘However,’ said Rebecca, ‘the truth is that Milner never takes a taxi when he’s on duty.’

‘You’d better be able to back up that statement with hard facts, DC Pankhurst,’ said the Hawk. ‘Otherwise it will be your word against his.’

‘I had a feeling you might say that, sir,’ said Rebecca, ‘so with DCI Warwick’s permission I took a week off my normal duties and went undercover.’

‘For what purpose?’

‘To follow a week in the life of our most senior royalty protection officer.’

William allowed himself a smile as Rebecca opened an even thicker file in front of her. ‘Every morning at around eight, eight fifteen, Milner leaves his home in Barnes and takes the train to Victoria using his police permit.’

‘As he’s entitled to do,’ said the Hawk.

‘On arrival at Victoria,’ continued Rebecca, unperturbed, ‘he then walks the half mile to Buckingham Gate. If he has an appointment with HRH, he walks across to York House, often accompanied by DI Reynolds, the Prince’s PPO. Once HRH leaves York House, Milner hot foots it back to Buckingham Gate. On two separate occasions during that week he took the train from Paddington to Windsor using his authorized travel card. On arrival, he walked from the station to the castle and disappeared into his office, not to be seen again until he left at around four thirty, when he took the train back to Barnes. During that week, he didn’t once take a taxi, but it didn’t stop him claiming ￡529 in expenses,’ said Rebecca, handing over fourteen expenses claims for the Hawk to consider. ‘They’re not only claiming expenses for journeys that never took place, but along with his cohorts, they’re coining in around quarter of a million a year, with no one else to check on them.’

The commander studied the claim dockets for some time before he said, ‘Excellent work, DC Pankhurst. But it’s still not enough. What else do you have to offer me?’

‘Nothing else, sir. However, the chief came up with something that needs explaining.’

Everyone around the table turned to face William.

‘I found this locked in the top drawer of Milner’s desk,’ said William, placing an expenses docket in front of the commander.

‘What does this prove?’ asked the Hawk, after carefully checking several expenses claims.

‘It’s not the claims Milner did make that we should be looking at,’ said William, ‘but the half-empty expenses book with his signature already on every page, only waiting for the details to be filled in. He’s like a man at the roulette table who knows which number the ball will land on. He’s perfected a system that always pays out, even when it lands on zero.’

‘Believe me,’ said the Hawk, ‘that man could still bluff his way out of that. No, I need a silver bullet that Milner won’t be able to put back in the chamber.’ The commander noticed a grin appearing on DS Adaja’s face. ‘You’ve been unusually silent, Paul. Can I assume you’re about to produce that bullet?’

‘And the gun to fire it with,’ said Paul. ‘However, you’re never going to believe what I’m about to tell you, sir, despite the fact that you’ve dealt with some of the sharpest criminal minds in the game.’