SEE HER DIE a totally gripping mystery thriller (Detective Jeff Rickman Book 2)
Page 36
Foster shook his head. ‘Tech Support got all the encrypted numbers off the magnetic strip.’ They fell silent, picturing the card, trying to visualise any other information Megan could have gleaned from it.
‘The card number!’ Rickman exclaimed.
‘No.’ Foster said. ‘They checked the card number — there was no such account.’
Rickman picked up the phone and punched in the number for Tony Mayle. The crime scene coordinator picked up on the second ring. ‘Tony? Jeff Rickman. When Megan gave you the encryption code for the credit card, what did you check it against?’ He listened. His heart hammered against his rib-cage and he broke out in a sweat. ‘And they traced all of those accounts? You’re sure they got all the money from them?’
He listened to Mayle’s reply, thinking, We missed it. It was right there, under our noses the whole time, and we missed it. ‘Shit. Tony — I want you to use the encryption key on the card number — the embossed number on the card, yeah. Call me back when you have something.’ He hung up.
‘Tech Support only checked the numbers on the stripe,’ he told Foster. ‘They didn’t check the card number itself.’
* * *
Megan worked with intense concentration. Her computer screen was black with white lettering. She was working in computer code, at the level she envisaged as inside the mind of the machine. She accessed bank codes, downloading them direct to her laptop hard drive, using a USB connection, and manipulating the information with software she had developed under the tutelage of her brother. The computer’s light reflecting off her face gave it a sickly grey tinge. Her eyes darted from keyboard to screen, to laptop.
A warning beeped, and she realised someone was trying to access her account. She typed commands as they tried to shut her down.
* * *
Rickman’s phone rang. It was Mayle.
‘We’ve found another account. She’s using some kind of firewall. We can’t get in — and neither can the bank.’ He spoke in a low, urgent voice. ‘We’ve traced the location of her computer to a hotspot in the city centre.’
‘Give me the location.’ Rickman made a note, tore off the sheet of paper and after a moment’s hesitation, handed it to Foster. ‘Don’t screw this up, Lee,’ he said. ‘Take Garve with you — and Hart.’ The message was clear: Megan should not get away a second time.
* * *
Megan had several programmes running simultaneously; one of which temporarily denied the bank systems manager access to the computer network, fencing off a small area only, so as not to trigger a total freeze on the system — a security tool to prevent hackers taking control of the network. She finished by transferring a large sum of money by anonymous file transfer protocol, using a re-router. The account she sent it to would be effectively untraceable.
* * *
Foster, Hart and Garvey found the WiFi hot spot with no problem: it was an internet café. Located in the city centre, next door to The Courts pub, and in sight of the crown courts.
Garvey took the back door; Hart and Foster went in through the front. Foster scanned the room and located her immediately, sitting in the far corner, her computer angled so that the other customers couldn’t see what she was doing. He walked over and grabbed her by the shoulder.
‘Hey!’ The girl turned around, alarmed and angry. ‘Get in the queue!’ she said.
The manager came over, a man in his late thirties, dressed in combats and a T-shirt that read, ‘GONE PHISHING’. His clothes smelled faintly of the bitter-sweet aroma of cannabis resin. ‘What are you playing at, mate?’ he demanded.
‘Well, it’s not Game Boy.’ Foster and Hart both showed their warrant cards. Foster pulled a photocopy of Sara’s sketch from his pocket. ‘We’re looking for this woman.’
The manager looked shifty.
‘Where is she?’ Foster said.
‘Sarge, take a look at this.’ Hart was standing next to a computer which appeared to be in use, even though nobody was at the keyboard. Images, numbers, rows upon rows of figures and symbols flashed on-screen, too quickly for the eye to register exactly what they were.
‘Who’s using this?’ Foster asked.
The manager looked at the faces of the two officers and decided it would be wise to be helpful. ‘She left half an hour ago,’ he said. ‘She booked the computer for two hours but left after five minutes. Paid extra for me to keep the link open.’
‘What’s she doing?’
He glanced from one to the other again and licked his lips nervously. ‘She’s using it as a relay.’
Foster only just managed to keep his hands off the man and his bad-smelling, bad-spelling T-shirt. ‘So where . . . is she?’
The manager took a step back. ‘I — I don’t know,’ he stammered. ‘She could be anywhere.’
* * *
Nobody paid much attention to the blonde, waifish student with the short haircut; her face was a little long for the hairstyle, and her eyebrows rather too dark in contrast with her hair colour, but the other students were more concerned that she had tied up two machines in the University of Liverpool post-grad computer lab. She typed studiously at her computer, apparently unaware of the other students, and of the bad feeling from a cluster of three, waiting near the door, glowering at her. These computers were many times more powerful than the under-grad computer labs dotted around the campus and could be configured to use a variety of computer languages by simply typing in a password and the language required.
The lab housed thirty workstations; the flow of students in and out of the centre numbered in the hundreds per week. The student finished her download and dutifully logged out of the system, collecting her shoulder bag and jacket as she left, giving a shy smile to the boy who took her place.
She had startling blue eyes, the kind of shade that can only be obtained from an optician specialising in contact lenses. Her bag contained a laptop and a carefully rolled picture in a cardboard tube. The laptop would be required to access her bank accounts when she reached her destination; the picture was a reminder of who she was. But for now, as she stepped out into the press of students making their way to lectures, she was just another face in the crowd, unknown and invisible.
THE END
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thanks to all my net buddies, whose late-night conversations kept me sane when the going was tough. I am particularly grateful to Tabitha for her help with comic-book lore. And to the many sites I visited as a lurker: you were an inspiration. Neil Barrett’s fascinating and eminently readable text Traces of Guilt proved a tremendous source of information on computer crime.
Once again, DCI Dave Griffin provided help, encouragement and procedural detail — thanks a million, Dave.
ALSO BY MARGARET MURPHY
CLARA PASCAL SERIES
Book 1: DARKNESS FALLS
Book 2: WEAVING SHADOWS
DETECTIVE JEFF RICKMAN SERIES
Book 1: SEE HER BURN
Book 2: SEE HER DIE
ROWAN & PALMER
Book 1: BEFORE HE KILLS AGAIN
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A SELECTION OF BOOKS YOU MAY ENJOY
MURDERER’S SON
By JOY ELLIS
UK www.amazon.co.uk/MURDERERS-gripping-crime-thriller-twists-ebook/dp/B01LWY0PUJ
US www.amazon.com/MURDERERS-gripping-crime-thriller-twists-ebook/dp/B01LWY0PUJ
What if your mother was a serial killer?
A BLOODY KILLER SEEMS TO HAVE RETURNED TO THE LINCOLNSHIRE FENS
A gripping crime thriller by the best-selling author of the Nikki Galena series. Twenty years ago: a farmer and his wife are cut to pieces by a ruthless serial killer. Now: a woman is viciously stabbed to death in the upmarket kitchen of her beautiful house on the edge of the marshes.
Then a man called Daniel Kinder walks into Saltern police station and confesses to the murder.
With no evidence to hold him, Jackman and Evans are forced to let him go, and in a matter of days the lonely Lincolnshire Fens become the stage for more killings and Daniel has disappeared.
In a breath-taking finale, the truth about Daniel’s mother comes to light and DI Jackman and DS Evans race against time to stop more lives being destroyed.
Full of twists and turns, this is a crime thriller that will keep you turning the pages until the shocking ending.
MURDER ON THE OXFORD CANAL
BY FAITH MARTIN
UK www.amazon.co.uk/MURDER-OXFORD-gripping-mystery-twists-ebook/dp/B0763RXLRV
US www.amazon.com/MURDER-OXFORD-gripping-mystery-twists-ebook/dp/B0763RXLRV
DISCOVER THE MILLION-SELLING SERIES NOW.
MEET DI HILLARY GREENE, A POLICE WOMAN FIGHTING TO SAVE HER CAREER.
Not only has she lost her husband, but his actions have put her under investigation for corruption.
Then a bashed and broken body is found floating in the Oxford Canal. It looks like the victim fell off a boat, but Hillary is not so sure. Her investigation exposes a dark background to the death.
Can Hillary clear her name and get to the bottom of a fiendish conspiracy on the water?
This is a crime mystery full of well-observed characters, which will have you gripped from beginning to end.
MURDER ON THE OXFORD CANAL is the first in a series of page-turning crime thrillers set in Oxfordshire.
HE IS WATCHING YOU
BY CHARLIE GALLAGHER
UK www.amazon.co.uk/WATCHING-absolutely-gripping-thriller-massive-ebook/dp/B07KKK5N7W
US www.amazon.com/WATCHING-absolutely-gripping-thriller-massive-ebook/dp/B07KKK5N7W
DISCOVER AN ABSOLUTELY GRIPPING RACE-AGAINST-TIME THRILLER FROM BEST-SELLING AUTHOR CHARLIE GALLAGHER.
MEET DETECTIVE MADDIE IVES IN THIS NEW SERIES THAT WILL HAVE YOU GRIPPED FROM THE EXPLOSIVE START.
A young woman’s body is left in a metal container in a remote location. The killer is careful to position her under a camera that links to his smartphone. He likes to look back at his work.
HE IS WATCHING HER. BUT SHE ISN’T DEAD.
So he will return to finish the job.
Detective Maddie Ives is new to the area. She is handed a missing person report: a young woman with a drink problem who’s been reported missing fifteen times. It looks like a waste of time. But DS Ives has a bad feeling about the woman’s disappearance.
DI Harry Blaker is called to a hit-and-run of an elderly man left to die on a quiet country road. There is no motive and it looks like a tragic accident. But he’s been working Major Crime long enough to know that something isn’t quite right. The two officers find their investigations intertwine and they will need to work together.
BUT THEY MUST WORK FAST. TIME IS RUNNING OUT FOR THE WOMAN IN THE CONTAINER.
GLOSSARY OF ENGLISH SLANG FOR US READERS
A & E: Accident and emergency department in a hospital
Aggro: Violent behaviour, aggression
Air raid: an attack in which bombs are dropped from aircraft on ground targets
Allotment: a plot of land rented by an individual for growing fruit, vegetable or flowers
Anorak: nerd (it also means a waterproof jacket)
Artex: textured plaster finish for walls and ceilings
A Level: exams taken between 16 and 18
Auld Reekie: Edinburgh
Au pair: live-in childcare helper. Often a young woman.
Barm: bread roll
Barney: argument
Beaker: glass or cup for holding liquids
Beemer: BMW car or motorcycle
Benefits: social security
Bent: corrupt
Bin: wastebasket (noun), or throw in rubbish (verb)
Biscuit: cookie
Blackpool Lights: gaudy illuminations in seaside town
Bloke: guy
Blow: cocaine
Blower: telephone
Blues and twos: emergency vehicles
Bob: money
Bobby: policeman
Broadsheet: quality newspaper (New York Times would be a US example)
Brown bread: rhyming slang for dead
Bun: small cake
Bunk: do a bunk means escape
Burger bar: hamburger fast-food restaurant
Buy-to-let: Buying a house/apartment to rent it out for profit
Charity Shop: thrift store
Carrier bag: plastic bag from supermarket
Care Home: an institution where old people are cared for
Car park: parking lot
CBeebies: kids TV
Chat-up: flirt, trying to pick up someone with witty banter or compliments
Chemist: pharmacy
Chinwag: conversation
Chippie: fast-food place selling chips and other fried food
Chips: French fries but thicker
CID: Criminal Investigation Department
Civvy Street: civilian life (as opposed to army)
Clock: punch
Cock-up: mess up, make a mistake
Cockney: a native of East London
Common: an area of park land/ or lower class
Comprehensive School (Comp.): High school
Cop hold of: grab
Copper: police officer
Coverall: coveralls, or boiler suit
CPS: Crown Prosecution Service, decide whether police cases go forward
Childminder: someone who looks after children for money
Council: local government
Dan Dare: hero from Eagle comic
DC: detective constable
Deck: one of the landings on a floor of a tower block
Deck: hit (verb)
Desperate Dan: very strong comic-book character
DI: detective inspector
Digestive biscuit: plain cookie
Digs: student lodgings
Do a runner: disappear
Do one: go away
Doc Martens: Heavy boots with an air-cushioned sole
Donkey’s years: long time
Drum: house
DS: detective sergeant
ED: accident and emergency department of hospital
Eagle: boys’ comic
Early dart: to leave work early
Eggy soldiers: strips of toast with a boiled egg
Enforcer: police battering ram
Estate: public/social housing estate (similar to housing projects)
Estate agent: realtor (US)
Falklands War: war between Britain and Argentina in 1982
Fag: cigarette
Father Christmas: Santa Claus
Filth: police (insulting)
Forces: army, navy, and air force
FMO: force medical officer
Fried slice: fried bread
Fuzz: police
Garda: Irish police
Gendarmerie: French national police force
Geordie: from Newcastle
Garden Centre: a business where plants and gardening equipment are sold
Gob: mouth/ can also mean phlegm or spit
Graft: hard work
Gran: grandmother
Hancock: Tony Hancock, English comedian popular in 1950s
Hard nut: tough person
HGV: heavy goods vehicle, truck
HOLMES: UK police computer system used during investigation of major incidents
Home: care home for elderly or sick people
Hoover: vacuum cleaner
I’ll be blowed: expression of surprise
Inne: isn’t he
Interpol: international police organization
Into care: a child taken away from their family by the social services
Iron Lady: Margaret Thatcher, applied to any strong woman
ITU: intensive therapy unit in hospital
Jane Doe: a person whose identity is unknown/anonymous
JCB: a mechanical excavator
Jerry-built: badly made
Jungle: nickname given to migrant camp near Calais
Lad: young man
Lass: young woman
Lift: elevator
Lord Lucan: famous aristocrat who allegedly killed his children’s nanny and disappeared in 1974. Has never been found.
Lorry: a truck
Lovely jubbly: said when someone is pleased
Luftwaffe: German air force
M&S: Marks and Spencer, a food and clothes shop
Miss Marple: detective in a series of books by Agatha Christie
MOD: ministry of defence
Mobile phone: cell phone
MP: Member of Parliament, politician representing an area
MRSA: A strain of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Myra Hindley: famous British serial killer
Naff: lame, not good
Naff all: none
National Service: compulsory UK military service, ended in 60s