The Island of Dragons (Rockpools Book 4)

by Gregg Dunnett

  Amber had more words ready in her mind, justifying their need to speak, and her need to come inside to do so, but she didn’t need them. Lily stepped back from the door, allowing Amber to walk inside. It was even more impressive in the giant hallway than outside.

  “Come through. But I don’t have long.”

  Amber followed Lily through the house to an enormous and beautiful kitchen. She tried to make sense of it as quickly as she could. Apparently Lily had been in here, working on her laptop, since it stood open on the counter-top of a breakfast bar that overlooked the garden and the river. There was an open bottle of white wine next to it. Lily pressed the lid of the computer down, then indicated a chair at a table, on the other side of the room. She also picked up the bottle.

  “Can I get you a drink?”

  Amber said nothing, but smiled her thanks, while Lily poured a second glass. She stopped when it was less than a third full.

  “Please, sit down.” Lily handed her the glass, “you heard about us then?” Her voice was flat and dulled.

  “Yes. Billy told me. Before he…” Amber let the end of the sentence drift away. Now she was here she feared if she used the word dead her voice would give away that it wasn’t true. But it seemed Lily had fewer qualms about describing it.

  “Before he killed himself?”

  Amber took a moment. She nodded again.

  “So what do you want to talk about?”

  “I just thought we should talk. To make sense of everything. To understand.”

  Lily didn’t reply, and Amber took a sip of the glass. There really wasn’t very much wine in it, and she sensed that when it was gone then so was her time here.

  “I went to Billy’s memorial service, a couple of days ago. I just – I thought you should know.”

  Lily did answer this time. “I knew about it. I guess a part of me thought I should go. But after what he did – to that man, to my family. Well I couldn’t.”

  “Do you really believe he did it?” Amber couldn’t stop herself from asking.

  “Don’t you?” Lily looked at her sharply, surprise in her voice. Amber reminded herself this wasn’t why she was here. But still she went on.

  “It just seems totally unlike him.”

  “The FBI don’t have any doubts. They say Billy perfectly fitted their profile.”

  Amber didn’t answer, but used the pause to check the room, searching for ideas.

  “You have an incredible house,” Amber said, partly to cover for her glancing around, but also because it was true. Yet Lily simply gave an automatic response, an uncaring thanks. Amber took a sip of her wine, feeling Lily’s eyes on her again. Watching her, much more suspicious than she had anticipated. This might not work. This might be impossible.

  “You said he hurt your family,” she said. “It would help me, if I could understand.”

  Lily took a long time to answer, a hurtful look on her face. “It’s none of your business, but the bombings that Billy was doing drove down the share price on my family’s company. So much so that a hostile takeover bid was launched. We could lose everything.”

  “I’m sorry.” Amber said.

  “Yes. Well. I’m not even sure if he didn’t target me only because of who I am. Another attempt to attack my family’s company. I don’t know if he ever felt anything for me personally.”

  “I understand you’ve got back together with your old boyfriend? James – you were with him when we met before.”

  “That’s none of your business.”

  There was silence.

  “Was there anything else? As I said, I don’t have much time.”

  Amber hadn’t even finished her wine, and she felt herself begin to panic. She glanced again at the laptop. She only needed two minutes. She thought fast. Had she misjudged with her timings? Where the hell was he?

  “He didn’t say anything to you? About what he was doing?”

  This question seemed to surprise Lily, and she turned away, thinking before answering. A hope flared for a moment in Amber. It wasn’t a real chance, not with Lily still in the room, but she only had to keep her talking. Surely it would only be a few more minutes.

  “No.”

  “Why do you think he might have done it?”

  Lily seemed to be losing her patience fast now. “Look I don’t think he meant to kill, if that’s what you mean. If that’s what you came for.” She said. “I think he had some confused, wrong-headed idea about what Fonchem is, and he set out to destroy it, by any means. But he was wrong. Fonchem is a good company. Well run. And maybe Billy didn’t care as much as he liked to pretend. Maybe he didn’t care if other people got hurt.”

  Amber nodded awkwardly. Somehow she’d expected to see Lily in some stage of grieving. That didn’t seem to be the case.

  The doorbell rang, a deep trilling of an old fashioned device, built to last. Lily looked confused, frustrated. Amber looked at her, expectantly, putting pressure on her to answer it.

  “I uh,” Lily frowned again. “I don’t know who that is?”

  “Do you want me to go?” Amber offered, gambling that Lily wouldn’t want whoever was at the door to see her leaving at the same time.

  “No. I’ll… Just hold on. I’ll be right back.” She got up, and left the room.

  Amber got to work at once. She moved immediately to the laptop and pulled up the screen. It took a few seconds to wake from its sleep mode – seconds that seemed to take forever. But while they happened Amber already had the USB drive in her fingers, and was ready to slot it in. The computer sounded a soft tone, and was ready to use. She pressed the drive in.

  There were more seconds. Agonizingly slow. While Amber heard the front door opening. And then a box popped up, just as Billy had described. It was just like installing any other software, you had to launch it, and let the files copy across, shown by a bar that filled the screen. She wasted a few seconds wondering why it wasn’t even getting past zero percent, before realizing she had to click OK on the touch pad before it would start.

  “Fuck”, Amber muttered, knowing she’d made the task even harder. But now the bar was filling, and her mind allowed the sounds from the hallway to filter into her consciousness. Lily’s voice, confused.

  “I didn’t order a pizza.”

  “What do you mean?” A man’s voice, annoyed. “It’s all paid for.”

  “Whatever, I don’t care. Please just go away.”

  Shit, this was going to happen much quicker than she’d planned. When she’d ordered the pizza, asking it to be delivered at precisely six o’clock, she had thought it might take a couple of minutes for Lily to sort out the mistake, perhaps working out which of her neighbors had made the mistake. Now Amber realized this was wildly optimistic.

  “It’s vegetarian. The lady on the phone was very specific.”

  “I don’t care. I don’t want it.” There was the sound of the front door being firmly closed. Amber looked at the screen. Ten percent done. Not even close. She delayed another second, wondering whether to yank the USB out now, and just abort, and by then it was too late. Lily was already re-entering the room. Amber – up and out of the chair from where Lily had left her – had no choice but to improvise. She grabbed the wine bottle.

  “I was just topping myself up. I’m sorry – I hope you don’t mind? This has all been so stressful for me.” Amber took the bottle back to the table, and before Lily could reply, she refilled her glass. Her hand shook slightly as she did so, but not as part of the subterfuge.

  “Of course,” Lily said, her voice was cold and hard. Amber stopped herself from asking about the pizza delivery, that would be too conspicuous. She tried as well, to keep her eyes off the laptop computer on the counter top. The screen was still open, the USB device still sticking out of the side, the files still transferring. If Lily glanced at it this would all be over. And in a way that Amber didn’t want to see.

  “I have to go out though. You can’t be here long.”

  Amber nodded,
and put down the bottle. She took a swig from the glass, letting her eyes glance at the screen as she did so. The wine helped. She was at a complete loss what to say next, but to her surprise Lily kept the conversation going.

  “I’m sorry. I guess he tricked you too.”

  Amber felt herself wanting to weep, and since she couldn’t think of anything better to say, she let it happen. But it wasn’t the sobs that had hit her when she really thought Billy was dead, it was just nervous, awkward shudders that rocked her shoulders. She realized she could see the screen reflected back at her, in the window at the back of the kitchen. The bar looked about three quarters done. Billy had said that once it was installed she wouldn’t have to do anything, the software was designed to be secretive and covert, it would begin hiding itself the moment it was installed, including removing any evidence that it had been installed. All she had to do was remove the USB stick, and get out of there.

  “Yeah. I guess he did.” Amber took another large gulp from her glass. “Look I’m really sorry. I don’t know why I’m here. I just thought… Well I knew that you and he were together, for a while.”

  The bar showed the files were ninety percent transferred. Ninety-five.

  Amber stood up, suddenly fearful that as the bar hit one hundred percent, the computer would sound its soft tone again, announcing the installation had been a success. Amber drained the rest of the wine, ready to set the glass down loudly at the same moment. And then she saw what she had to do. The only way to get the device back.

  She waited a few more seconds, and then as she went to replace the glass she let her hand flail out and connect with the wine bottle, sweeping it over and onto the floor. There was a loud crash that drowned out any noise the computer might have made.

  “Oh -I’m so sorry. I’m so clumsy…”

  “Fu…” Lily brought herself under control, but still looked pissed. “It’s OK.” She turned to grab a cloth, but Amber came with her, and as she passed the laptop she saw the screen had returned to how it had first looked, the software either running or not, she had no way of telling. She let her hand trail along the counter top as she pretended to reach for a cloth, and she slipped the USB out and into the pocket of her jeans.

  “I said it’s OK.” Lily’s voice was aggressive now. She’d wadded up some kitchen roll, and was bending over, mopping up the mess.

  “I’m sorry. I should go.” And with that she made her way to the front door, and with Lily not far behind her, opened it and stepped outside.

  She half walked and half ran, until, once she was a few streets away, she pulled out the phone Billy had given her and called him, using the encrypted app.

  “You got the software in?”

  “I think so. I don’t know. ”

  “No, you did. I’m listening in right now. She’s on the phone to James. I’ve got her whole system. You did great.”

  The next stage of the plan was more simple. Billy was able to listen in to Lily’s laptop even when it was off – the microphone could record and send the audio just as long at the computer had an internet connection and power. Lily might notice that her battery was running down quicker than usual, but that would likely only prompt her to keep it plugged in. Otherwise, the software was invisible. As a result he was able to call Amber when he knew that James was at her house, though the first two times this happened Amber was at work, and wasn’t able to act on it. On the third time, however, she was.

  The hardest part was to break into James’ apartment. In theory, this was the only difficult part, but Billy had coached her on how to use the lock pick set that he’d owned and practiced on years before. It wasn’t difficult, after a bit of practice, to open the transparent practice lock, but it was a different challenge to do the real thing, in a corridor where other students might appear at any moment.

  Amber climbed the stairs, wishing she could have Billy on the phone confirming once again that James was still at Lily’s house. But he’d only said he would contact her if James left. She got to the door described by Billy and looked left and right. There were four other entrances in sight, but no one visible, so she pulled the pick from her pocket and inserted it into the lock. It was no good, she couldn’t stop her hand from shaking, and she had to pull the tool out again to reset. She stood in front of the heavy, wooden door, with the golden circle of metal holding the lock barrel. This was easy, she could do this. But as soon as she lifted her hands again she saw the shake, so instead she went for a walk, up and down the corridor, taking deep breaths to calm her nerves.

  Two girls passed her. Giggling and laughing as they went. Neither of them even glanced at her as they passed. Amber waited a few moments and followed them to the stairwell. Watched them down to the ground floor, and out the front door. A lone male came back in, and she flattened herself against the wall – blinking in surprise at how she’d called him a lone male. Was she some kind of undercover cop now? He came up one flight of stairs, but then went off into the corridor below her. Amber breathed deeply. She returned to James’ front door.

  This time she knelt down in front of the door to get a better angle with the tools. The way Billy had shown her, he made it look incredibly easy to use the lock picking tools, but while she had managed to break his transparent padlock in seconds, it was much harder with the real lock she’d practiced on. And she simply hadn’t been able to try out her new skills on a standard door lock – there was no door she could practice on without being seen.

  But she inserted the tension wrench into the bottom of the lock, and with the same hand applied just a little force. The idea was to take the pressure off the pins that held the lock closed. Then she inserted the pick above the wrench, and began pressing, and twisting and gently lifting, trying to get all of the upper pins to line up, and thus open the lock. She felt the lock’s tension reduce – at this point the lock should turn, but when she tried, it was still stuck, and she had to start over. All her focus was on the lock, she simply hoped that no one was going to come and see her here.

  The tension reduced again, and this time she was more careful. Slower, but more careful, which was the way Billy had told her to do it. This time she used the tension wrench to turn the cylinder, and – as easy as if it had been the key itself – the lock turned.

  Not quite believing what she’d done, Amber pulled the tools out and bundled them quickly into her bag. Then she took a deep breath, and pushed the door open.

  Inside James’ apartment it was quiet, and dark. He had the drapes closed. She felt an urge to call Billy, and confirm again that he was definitely not there, and that no one else was either, but she resisted it, and instead looked around for where he kept his phone charger. Billy had given her two different options, and there was one in particular he hoped she could use.

  She checked the kitchen counter. It was where she charged her cellphone at home, but there was nothing there. Nothing in the living room either, so she stepped into the bedroom. Here, by the side of the bed, she saw the telltale white cable. It was perfect. The body of the charger was hidden away under the bedside table, so he wouldn’t even see if it was a slightly different type. And when she pulled it out to check, she didn’t even need to worry about that. It looked identical to Billy’s charger. She switched them over. And couldn’t quite believe she was done. There was an urge, a strong urge to check around the apartment further, to try and find some incriminating evidence.

  She went back to the kitchen, pulling open drawers to see what there was. She wondered if maybe there would be a pressure cooker – she could photograph it, maybe even take it away. But no. What was she thinking? What the hell was she doing? She had the charger in place. That was enough.

  She slipped out of the front door again, and let the lock close behind her. For a second she was hit by panic when she thought she’d left her bag inside – with the lock picks in it, but then she realized it was hanging on her shoulder. It was just the stress, the nervy excitement of what she’d just done, playing with
her head.

  She called Billy again when she got home, but he didn’t know if it had worked. He needed James to go back, he needed someone to be making noise in the apartment to see if it was being picked up properly. But the next morning Billy called her back. He sounded happy. James hadn’t stayed at Lily’s, he’d returned to his own apartment around midnight. And he’d plugged in his phone to charge, meaning Billy had been able to access it through the dummy charger and install new software onto it. Now James’ cellphone would record every conversation he had, whether using the phone or not, and track his every movement.

  Amber still wasn’t quite sure how all this was going to help, but Billy was delighted.

  Chapter Fifty-Seven

  A week went by, and Amber went back to her normal life. Or tried to. She had to pretend that nothing had changed. That Billy was dead, and that she was in mourning. Albeit in mourning for a friend who had turned out to be a criminal and a murderer. But even playing that part was difficult. The new friends and colleagues she had met in Boston hadn’t ever known Billy, and while they were interested at first in her connection to the young man on the TV news who had bombed the chemical company, the story had no staying power, and so their interest hadn’t either. By the time the next weekend rolled around, no one she knew had asked again, no one even seemed to remember.

  For Amber of course the situation couldn’t be more different. She burned to know what Billy was hearing, and whether he’d picked up anything that demonstrated his innocence, and she phoned him several times to ask for updates. But each time he sounded vague and would only tell that the audio was coming through just fine.

  The issue, Amber decided after a while, was that Billy was nervous about saying too much using the pre-paid phones. Although he had installed software that he said was completely safe, he’d also said he couldn’t know for sure if the Government had a way of breaking through the encryption – if they had it was a secret, but also the type of thing the Government would keep secret. She understood, yet couldn’t let it go. She simply wasn’t able to get on with her life and compartmentalize what was happening with Billy, to just leave him out there and not even know if he was getting any closer to being able to clear his name. But when she suggested visiting him again – by now she wanted to hear for herself what that Lily bitch and her murderous friends were saying – Billy was heavily against it. He clearly still believed her movements were being watched.