High-class restaurants, casinos and some night clubs were closing because their sponsors were getting nervous over the deteriorating security situation. Garside was now warming to Carsforth’s plan of making a greater show of strength on the streets especially as Slattery was still determined to reposition his policing methods. He and Mason discussed the disappearance of Winterton and could only conclude that he had been taken by Judge and his men. Garside expressed his concern that he may reveal too much and asked ‘just how much did your man know Henry?’
Mason lied ‘not much Tony. He was given the target, he managed the hit squad, and that was about it. Talking of which, the squad we had based at Earls Court Road has been wiped out by Judge’s men. There were no survivors. Unfortunately, we have no more resources to call on until we can recruit some more.’
‘I hope your man was as quiet as a church mouse Henry. It seems a bit odd that we should lose a squad almost immediately after your man went missing.’ Garside said suspiciously and with menace. There was a long pause before he continued. ‘I cannot see how you can recruit more resources with Slattery around. He must be got rid of, he is making my job of running this country impossible.’
‘I’ll call in one of my specialists from an overseas post and get it sorted Tony.’ Mason knew that it would take weeks to extract an operative from their current project. He concluded that he might have to look for alternatives. As things turned out, he didn’t have to bring anyone in because three days later Commissioner Slattery was shot by one of his own men. An armed policeman stormed into Slattery’s office and fired three shots killing him instantly. The official report concluded that PC Abbots shot and killed the Commissioner while suffering a mental breakdown. Before he fired the fatal shots, he was heard to shout ‘I’m not going to let you destroy what we have spent years building, you bastard.’ The assailant was then shot by one of the Commissioner’s aides.
The Deputy Commissioner, now temporarily in charge, decided he would allow the status quo to continue until a new Commissioner was appointed. He wasn’t going to rock any boats and knew the strength of feeling against his deceased boss’s ideas. He duly issued instructions to defer any of the changes the Division Commanders had started to initiate if any. Graham Johns and Frank Walter’s agreed that they were powerless to intervene. Garside was overjoyed; he now had the Police and the Army back firmly in his control. For him it wasn’t about wealth anymore; he had accumulated enough over the last 15 years and happy it was safely stashed away; no, it was all about power. The power to control and manipulate people and events was like a drug to him. Even in his dealings with the International community he revelled in his ability to lie to them with impunity. He didn’t care that they knew he was lying.