CH2-10a Brichester bound

[carnage_lee]

Andy Wade

Andy makes quick introductions and enquires if the Professor's glass needs refreshing; after spending a few minutes at the bar returns with a couple of pints of best bitter and a diet coke for Liz and settles into his seat, Checking that Liz is keeping to her role and has her notebook and pen ready.

"Cheers" he says before taking a large sip. Then setting up a compact digital recorder on the table between them. "I hope you don't mind this being recorded?" he says, in a manner that conveys that it's standard practise and starts the machine running, "Thank you for agreeing to this interview Professor, I appreciate you taking the time to meet me." Andy then looks down to his pad to refresh his memory... on the page written in his usual shorthand is the following:

• Aims
• information on Malta, why was he 'set up', who does he think did it, how will that affect the University
• recent terrible events (Gossham et al) - try and find out what Westerlund knows about the research research
  
  
  Questions
• You have recently arrived back from Malta after being arrested over some irregularities with some finds, can you give us the facts of the case as you see them?
• My source tells me that the items in question were not related to your area of research on any of the Universities dig-sites can you speculate as to where they came from?
• Were there any previous problems at any of the sites - any harrasment etc?
• How does the University plan to deal with the algations, have any dates been set for any court hearings?
• Recently you collegue Professor Gosshamm was brutally murdered and recently Tom MAthers was killed in Wales, can you comment on the hypothesis that these dreadful events are linked?
• I also understand that someone else in a similar field of work was found dead of an aparant overdose, were you aware that Charles Grundy was a drug user? Ay comment on a link between all three men?
• I am led to believe that there is a possible link to Albanian organised crime and the people on CCTV that attacked Prof Gossham, we know that Prof Gossham's area of expertise was the Balkans and Albania and that he recently returned from that country, so you know what Gossham was researching?
• I understand that Gossham's latest research included the work you supervised on Malta, can you tell us anything about that?
• The backers for his research are strongly rumoured to be the Albanian charity 'Kush nderton' have you had any dealings with them, do they support the Universities work in Malta as well?
• Followups...
• How well did Professor Westerlund know Gossham, what can he tell us of Maria Demachi?

"I want to ask about your recent problems in Malta, understand you and the Universities position on the allegations and how that might affect your department in the months and years to come." He pauses "I'd also like to hear anything you have to say about the terrible murder of your colleague against some information that has come to light recently." Taking another sip of his pint before he asks his first question....

OOC:   Andy will try and get across that they want to be favourable to Westerlund and the Uni. Andy will be more than amenable to anything 'off the record' and will agree to stop the recording - however both he (and Liz) will take notes. If Westerlund gets at all 'difficult and defensive' then Andy is also prepared to 'push; things by switching off the recorder and producing the photos of the relics that they removed from his town house and how 'friends of theirs' had done him (Westrerlund) a large favour.

[ghill]

Westerlund seems quite amenable, he clearly sees Andy as a member of the friendly press

[*]You have recently arrived back from Malta after being arrested over some irregularities with some finds, can you give us the facts of the case as you see them?

Yes, well the Maltese authorities have charged me under their Antiquities protection act with the theft and illegal sale of artefacts from the digs. I was questioned by the police and released on bail. The case is due to appear in court sometime later in the year, although the colleges brief says its more likely to be sometime in the new year. As I understand it, they had received an anonymous tip off and some artefacts had certainly turned up in the local markets, but they weren't exactly culturally significant by any means, and certainly not as a result of anything I had done. I'm always very thorough about documenting our finds.

[*]My source tells me that the items in question were not related to your area of research on any of the Universities dig-sites can you speculate as to where they came from?

Maltese fragments, no they're not directly related to my own area of research, although there were quite large quantities at all three of the sites. Now, can I just say they are so common that we don't typically bother documenting them, its a bit like finding a flint arrowhead in the states, its nice, its interesting, but under most circumstances its not a significant find.

[*]Were there any previous problems at any of the sites - any harrasment etc?

None at all. Well I say that but the girls sometimes have a bit of harassment from from the Maltese young men, hot blooded Mediterranean's and all that; but that isn't what you mean is it. So I'd have to say no. If anything the sites have been lacking in the normal petty thievery you come to expect.

[*]How does the University plan to deal with the allegations, have any dates been set for any court hearings?

The college is providing a legal brief in this case, so clearly someone at the top is on my side (he says this with a rather weak smile) Not formally no, although as I said probably early next year.

[*]Recently you colleague Professor Gosshamm was brutally murdered and recently Tom Mathers was killed in Wales, can you comment on the hypothesis that these dreadful events are linked?

I'm afraid I don't know Professor Mather's, except by academic reputation The police say its drugs related, but I'd be surprised if that was the case. Personally, I suspect Adrian put his big size 9's where they weren't wanted and put someone's nose out of joint.

[*]I also understand that someone else in a similar field of work was found dead of an apparent overdose, were you aware that Charles Grundy was a drug user? Any comment on a link between all three men?

I've read some of Grundy's papers, he's a fine academic or I should say he was. I met him once or twice when I went for drinks at Adrian's place. Actually, come to think about it Mathers might have been there as well, I think I remember talking to his wife and young daughter about college choices. I'm afraid I didn't know Grundy well enough to say whether he was a drug user, not sure I'd recognise a drug user anyway.

[*]I am led to believe that there is a possible link to Albanian organised crime and the people on CCTV that attacked Prof Gossham, we know that Prof Gossham's area of expertise was the Balkans and Albania and that he recently returned from that country, so you know what Gossham was researching?

Was it one of those bloody stupid pre-historical civilisations things, he was always going on about? Adrian had a bloody fine mind, bloody fine, damn shame it was away with the fairies half the time.

[*]I understand that Gossham's latest research included the work you supervised on Malta, can you tell us anything about that?

Well lets just say over time the two of us have looked at the same evidence and drawn entirely different conclusions. Adrian was clearly looking for something to support his theories. I thought digs one and two were really quite interesting examples of very early Bronze Age architecture, Adrian for one reason or another simply wasn't interested. Whereas the third site which seemed quite a simple early bronze age temple seemed to catch his interest when he did visit, but certainly not for long.

[*]The backers for his research are strongly rumoured to be the Albanian charity 'Kush nderton' have you had any dealings with them, do they support the Universities work in Malta as well?

Oh when you say rumoured, it makes it all sound hush, hush. They're on record with the college as the funding authority for the digs and I know they've helped Adrian out. We can't take money without declaring it, it might make our research questionable if we wanted to publish. It was Adrian who helped me secure my funding with them actually, I couldn't see any connection with Albania, but he must have said something to get them on side, I never asked because to be honest I suspect he must have bent the truth somewhat.

[*]How well did Professor Westerlund know Gossham,

We were good work friends, went for a pint after work or at lunchtime occasionally, went to his place for summer BBQ that sort of thing.

[*]what can he tell us of Maria Demachi?

Never heard the name I'm afraid

[Mr. Handy]

Liz sits with her legs crossed, resting her notepad on her knee and taking diligent notes. She glances over at Albert and then at his camera, wondering if he should share the pictures of the dig sites with Westerlund and get his opinion.

[carnage_lee]

[*]Recently you colleague Professor Gosshamm was brutally murdered and recently Tom Mathers was killed in Wales, can you comment on the hypothesis that these dreadful events are linked?

I'm afraid I don't know Professor Mather's, except by academic reputation The police say its drugs related, but I'd be surprised if that was the case. Personally, I suspect Adrian put his big size 9's where they weren't wanted and put someone's nose out of joint.

"That's an interesting comment Professor, can you elaborate..."

Have you read any of Adrian's works? He was outspoken in the extreme, if you were an Albanian you might be a bit miffed to discover that everything you've done pales into insignificance in comparison to some ethnic minority who no one likes.

[*]My source tells me that the items in question were not related to your area of research on any of the Universities dig-sites can you speculate as to where they came from?

Maltese fragments, no they're not directly related to my own area of research, although there were quite large quantities at all three of the sites. Now, can I just say they are so common that we don't typically bother documenting them, its a bit like finding a flint arrowhead in the states, its nice, its interesting, but under most circumstances its not a significant find.

"I see.. You're asserting that these charges are 'trumped up', that there's no case to answer?"

Please don't quote me on this, I'm not sure how much I should say with a court case coming but...well, not so much trumped up, but its a very much the letter of the law. My brief says they cant prove my involvement in the the sales of these fragments, but as the head of the dig I'll ultimately be held responsible if they can prove they came from our digs. Considering the intrinsic monetary and historical value of the "antiquities" or rather the lack thereof, I'm not expecting a particularly harsh punishment.

[*]I am led to believe that there is a possible link to Albanian organised crime and the people on CCTV that attacked Prof Gossham, we know that Prof Gossham's area of expertise was the Balkans and Albania and that he recently returned from that country, so you know what Gossham was researching?

Was it one of those bloody stupid pre-historical civilisations things, he was always going on about? Adrian had a bloody fine mind, bloody fine, damn shame it was away with the fairies half the time.

"Was that Professor Gossham's area of research, does that link into his 'upsetting people' that you alluded to earlier?"

Well yes. Imagine your the Egyptians or the Greeks and I come along and say actually you're not responsible for the pyramids or the Parthenon, you can imagine how that might put some noses out of joint. I mean I find that more realistic, than Adrian was involved in a drug deal. I mean the only drug apart from nicotine Adrian took was real ale. Although, let me just add this is all supposition he never mentioned anything to me and he had a pretty keen eye for that sort of thing, he knew when he'd put peoples noses out of joint.

[ghill]

OOC:   Thats interresting I thought I'd quoted carnage_lee's post whereas I've actually edited it - apologies.

[carnage_lee]

OOC:   How very dare you...

[Mr. Handy]

"Would photographs of the dig sites help you demonstrate that the artifacts did not come from them?" asks Liz, speaking for the first time.

[ghill]

Well as a matter of course the site and all its finds are entirely catalogued my dear. Unfortunately, as I said the fragments can be found all over the archipelago including our site, infact there were a great deal at all three sites, so photos wont really prove anything. The charges are following the exact letter of the law. Quite ridiculous if you ask me as you can find similar fragments in most of the markets, I mean if you walk across a recently ploughed field in some places you'll find more fragments than you can carry. I wish I knew who'd made the complaint to the police, one of the officers said it was the landowner, but considering the landowner is some property holding company I fond that unlikely.

OOC:   The artefacts found in Westerlund's villa bear no resemblance to the stuff he's been charged with selling which are basically fragments of pottery.

[ghill]

OOC:   Liz recognises a fairly typical academic, he's never going to support any of Gossham's more outlandish claims without empirical evidence because doing so would undermine all his own work as well as stepping away from the security of the mainstream. Liz is aware that there is a statue on site 1 (or rather the remains of one) as well as architectural anomalies which Mathias' specifically said would be the stuff of nightmares as far as dating the site was concerned.

[carnage_lee]

Andy Wade

Andy mentally reviews the answers so far, there's nothing to suggest that Westerlund is anything more than he seems. Someone wanted those dig-sites closed down but they still had to find out who.


"Thank you Professor, you've been most helpful." Andy says, reaching out to switch the recorder off and then pocketing the small device.

"For what it's worth, I think you're correct; Professor Gossham's work, more to the point, his latest work was probably the catalyst for his death. Our research also indicates that Mathers and Grundy were in possession of a pre-print version of Gossham's work." Andy looks directly at Westerlund "All three are now dead... murdered..." Andy takes a couple of mouthful of his beer, savouring the taste... waiting to see if his 'conjecture' shakes any reaction from Westerlund.

[Mr. Handy]

"The reason I asked about the photographs is that we recently visited Malta to get some background on the story," says Liz. "A nice chap who wokrs for Patrimonju Malta, Matthias Balbi, showed me around some of the sites, and we took some fascinating pictures. " She glances over at Albert. "You should show him. There were these remains of an ancient statue, just a pair of sandaled feet, but the whole thing must have been fifty feet or more tall! But it couldn't have been built with the primitive technology around at the time, nor the temple. The domes were well ahead of their time, and the designs there had to have been carved with metal tools. Stone just wouldn't cut it - literally."

OOC,Thanks, I'd forgotten about that!

[ghill]

Westerly seems rather taken aback by Andy's change of tone. Academics are a vicious bunch, but I doubt anyone would go to those sort of lengths just because Adrian said they weren't the font of all knowledge, which history made them out to be" Then clearly more comfortable on familiar ground. Yes, well young lady ... yes well we had to move on to site 3 before I could properly look at the statue, really give it a proper look. I expect proper dating of the statue would have shown it was constructed at a substantially later date than the rest of the temple.

[Mr. Handy]

"Perhaps, but the temple itself is an anomaly," says Liz. "Neolithic people did not have the metal tools they'd need to make those decorations, and they're not supposed to have known how to make domes. Perhaps Professor Gosshamm was onto something. It would be huge if a hitherto unknown advanced ancient civilisation were discovered, and whoever found it could write his ticket. Just the thought excites me! It's a shame the sites were closed down. What would it take to get them reopened?"

[ghill]

Be that as it may young lady the more likely answer not that its made by some hitherto unknown advanced ancient civilisation but simply that it has been incorrectly dated. Something which I'm sure we could prove if we were able to get back on the sites. Unfortunately, the likelihood is, we wont be able to I've already had a letter from the trustees saying that depending on the court case and resulting publicity, the charity is unlikely to offer any continued support, I also had a letter from the property holding company saying in light of the events they weren't prepared to allow us to continue our digs.

OOC:   Westerlund pauses, considering he's just mentioned the impact of publicity on his financial support and perhaps realising Andy is the press

[carnage_lee]

Andy Wade

"Don't worry, the recorder is off... consider this as 'off the record'." Andy says to Westerlund. Andy finishes his pint.... "Fancy another?" he asks, hoping to deflect the Professor from over-thinking what he's been saying. So far the interview has gone well, they've got quite a bit of information mostly corroborating their suspicions, always useful to get a different slant on things.

[ghill]

An look of relief washes over Westerlund's face. "Thank you, that is a relief. A pint of Pride would be great, thankyou. The thing is the I'm most worried about the property company, I can probably get other sources of finance for the digs. When I was talking to the farmers who owned the land, things were much easier. I doubt farmers are overly concerned about publicity good or bad. As soon as the property company came along it all became much more complicated, now I don't know who I'm talking to, I think their offices are in Victoria(Malta), but there is never anyone there and everything has to be done by email. I expect they want to put holiday villas on all this land."

[Papa Gateau]

At Liz' prompting, Albert who has been keeping a discrete presence pulls up a slideshow of the photo's and turns his laptop to face Westerlund

He then collects the empty glasses and heads over to the bar, asking over his shoulder to Liz Same again for you?

[ghill]

Ah site three, yes, yes, very good photos. I typically take the site photos myself, or we persuade one of the guys from PHOTSOC to come over for the summer, but you can see the difference between a gifted amateur and a professional like yourself. says Westerlund

[Mr. Handy]

"Yes, please," Liz says to Albert before returning her attention to the professor. "What's the name of the property company?"

[ghill]

Green Meadow Holdings says Westerlund "They're always very polite, but they always take their time and its always the same response, sorry we cant help under the circumstances blah, blah, blah."

OOC:   A quick Google reveals Green Meadow Holdings is registered in Jersey which has a stronger attitude towards company privacy. Its going to take Liz some effort to pull any details about them.