by UD Yasha
Kolte thanked the young man and let him go.
‘That tells us that Mule knew Secure Point’s system was at risk because of what he was going to do,’ I said.
‘But that doesn’t change his actions,’ Kolte said.
‘Do you know who could have hacked your system?’ Rahul asked. I knew where he was going with the question. If Secure Point knew the owner of the Dark Web chat room or the hacker, we could be directly led to the person responsible for what was happening.
‘No, we don’t know. It’s going to take a long time to figure that out. Maybe we will never find out. For all we know it could be a teenager in Moscow or an old lady in Bangkok.’
Kolte pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and dabbed his forehead with it. He said, ‘I don't think we can help you with the data you want to decrypt. Decrypting it is the last thing on our agenda. We've got to clean up this mess that Mule has created. He can't even be sued because he's dead. The directors are going to be taken to court. I am the Head of Relationship Management. I'm going to have to get back to work. I'm sorry. But you need to leave. We have other things to do,’ he said, handing us back our phones.
I got up to exit but then stopped. I opened the picture of the blue file that we had found at Mule’s house.
‘Is this the data that Mule took?’ I said, turning my phone to let Kolte see the screen.
His face turned red. ‘What? How did you get that?’
‘Your reaction confirms it was. That’s all I wanted to know,’ I said and walked out along with Rahul.
As we exited Kolte’s office and walked down the long corridor, we heard heavy footsteps behind us. We turned around to see that it was the young man who had entered Kolte's office. He whispered in Rahul's ear as he went past us.
‘What was that?’ I said, surprised.
‘He just asked me to meet him in the men’s washroom.’
‘What?’
‘Yeah. He said he needs to tell me something. I’ll be back,’ Rahul said and strode ahead faster.
Chapter Forty-Four
I waited for Rahul in the same area where we had sat before. I tried to remember the name tag clipped to the shirt of the young man. It eventually came to me. Jay Parikh.
I checked my messages while I waited. I had two messages from Radha and one from Rathod. Radha first told me she had not yet come across anything. And then in the next message, she told me she was looking at transactions that had different figures but the same values because of exchange rate fluctuations. Rathod's text was an update on Jaggu and Manohar’s friend Vijay Krishnan. He had spoken to both of them and their stories had checked out. Shaunak Manohar was still the good guy in this.
When I looked up from my phone, I saw Jay coming out of the bathroom, adjusting his hair. Rahul walked out three minutes later and joined me.
‘Let’s walk out. I’ll tell you what he said,’ Rahul leaned forward and whispered in my ear.
Once we got in the car, Rahul said, ‘Jay Parikh said he wants to help us out. He can tell us the name of the chatroom and TOR page. But he said it wouldn’t be useful as we wouldn’t be accepted into the chatroom so quickly.’
‘Does he know what it is about?’
‘I asked him the same question. He told me it's impossible to tell. It could literally be anything. He also told me that Mule did not download the data of one lakh people like Kolte told us. But instead, he downloaded one lakh data points. We do not know how many people's data was downloaded, thereby giving us no clue regarding the size of the chatroom. He said he'll meet us at a café here in fifteen minutes if we want to know more about the functioning of such chat rooms or pages on the Dark Web.'
‘Tell him we want to meet him,’ I said.
‘I already did. It never hurts to know as much as you can.’
We drove to the café that Jay had asked us to wait in. It was a small place in one of the many by-lanes of the South Main Road in Koregaon Park. Jay arrived at the same time as our order of three cups of cold coffee. He was still in his skinny tie. I saw it had Donald Duck on it when he sat down at our table.
‘Thanks for coming,’ I said.
‘Pleasure is all mine. Sitaram Mule was my mentor,’ Jay said.
‘Do you know anything about the data breach?’
‘No, I don't. He didn't tell me. But I believe whatever he did must have been worth it. He has worked at Secure Point since he retired from the police force. The company means a lot to him. He wouldn't jeopardize it in any way unless it was an absolute must.'
‘The ends justify the means,’ Rahul said.’
‘I worked closely with him. I was surprised to know that he didn’t tell me about this side project of his. He knew I loved things like this. I am prepared to go completely against the system and flout rules for the greater good. The only reason he would not have told me was because it might have been too dangerous.'
‘What makes you say that?’ Rahul said.
‘I looked up the case that you guys are working on. The CID database is not well protected. So much blood has already been spilled. With the introduction of the Dark Web, it’s going to get messier.’
‘What can you tell us about the Dark Web?’ I said.
‘At the end of the day, the Dark Web is all about anonymity and secrecy. But that can be exposed if you are not careful. I don’t know how Sitaram sir got involved. Although, I can tell you that his presence ruffled the wrong feathers. He could crack open any system and he probably had done just that with the chatroom. The data he took will have answers to a lot of your questions. But I understand it’s encrypted.’
I showed Jay the picture of the files.
‘I can help you with it if you don’t mind,’ he said. ‘It’ll be my way to repay the faith Sitaram sir showed in me.’
I wondered for a beat if it was wise to share information with a complete stranger. He could be faking everything and I would not be able to tell. But we were staring at a dead end otherwise and I thought there was no harm in sharing a copy.
‘Sure, I’ll send it to you.’
‘Thanks. One more thing,' Jay said and leaned forward on the table. ‘Such chat rooms in the Dark Web are spread wide. I wouldn't be surprised if it has members from countries that we haven't even heard of. I can't promise that I'll give you the names of the people who run the chatroom. But I can give you the names of the members. In most cases, when something illegal is happening on the Dark Web, it leaves footprints in the physical world. The Dark Web is only a place where you can transact—whether it be an exchange of ideas or money or something else. To see the transaction to fruition, you need to make a move in this real physical world. Once we know the members, we can follow them making the physical move. And then BOOM. You can get to the bottom of what's happening.'
‘Thank you. That was very insightful,’ I said.
‘Thank me when I decrypt the data.’
Rahul asked, ‘How long do you think that will take?
‘I can’t promise you that either. But I will work on it till I can crack it..’
Just as we were leaving, Jay came up to us and said, ‘Be careful. You will come across hell on the Dark Web.’
Chapter Forty-Five
It was almost five o’clock in the evening when we began heading home. We had been out for more than five hours. The weather had gone from being blistering hot to cloudy and humid. I looked skywards. The clouds had gotten greyer now. As we got into our car, everything that Kolte and Jay had told us swirled in my head.
‘I’m trying to figure out how the first four murders fit into this,’ I said as we descended the fly-over near Sancheti Hospital.
‘Malini Sinha took workshops in a field of medicine that had ample opportunity for corruption. Maybe she stepped on the wrong toes,’ Rahul said.
‘Even I thought about that. There are innumerable crimes when it comes to fertility and in vitro fertilization. But that doesn't explain why Manohar took Natasha Gill. It also does not explain
why her mother Sumeira is missing.'
‘Both girls were sick. Maybe that has a role to play somewhere,’ Rahul said.
‘Atharva was supposed to speak to the girls’ doctors. Let’s hear what they have to tell us,’ I said and called Radha.
The call was connected via Bluetooth.
‘I’m still trying to find a link between their financial statements,’ Radha said, sounding tired. ‘I’ve tried at least two hundred different permutations and combinations.’
‘Look at something else for a bit, babe,’ Rahul said. ‘It might give you a fresh perspective.’
‘How are maa and Natasha doing?’ I asked.
‘Maa put Natasha to sleep on her lap and then slept on the couch herself. Shadow also dozed off next to them. It’s an adorable sight; all three of them sleeping next to each other,' Radha said. ‘I wasn't finding anything in the accounts so I came downstairs feeling frustrated, only to be welcomed by the three of them sleeping so cosily.'
‘Hopefully, they'll still be in the same position when we come home. Take a picture for us,' I said. ‘Did Atharva get through to the doctors?'
‘Not yet, they’ve been insanely busy throughout. Both have had one surgery after another.’
‘Alright, we’re almost home. We’ll see you in ten minutes,’ I said and hung up.
We got home in eight minutes. I missed the spectacle that Radha had described on the phone because Shadow got up when he realized I was coming. He gave me the welcome that he always gave me. He jumped on me for a while and then kept rubbing his face on my leg. I always loved it when he did that.
Maa and Natasha were still sleeping. So, we went upstairs with Radha.
They had set up their base in my room. I could not help but smile on seeing Atharva. He got up when he saw me.
‘I heard both you and Radha haven’t had much luck today,’ I said to him, joining him at his right elbow.
He shook his head. ‘I'm going to speak to Rucha's doctor in fifteen minutes. Hopefully, there won't be any life-threatening injury to anyone meanwhile.'
‘I knew you were never selfish,’ I said and winked. ‘How’s Malini doing?’
‘I spoke to her on the phone a few times. She’s eating today so that’s a relief.’
‘I’m glad. We had a productive day,’ I said. ‘I’ll call Rathod as well so he will also get to know when I tell you both about it.’
I called Rathod, put the phone call on speaker and narrated the events of the day. Rathod had nothing to report. All CID officers were deeply stressed. The media had ridiculed them after Manohar had been killed in their custody.
Rathod said, ‘The entire matter has blown out of proportion. The Chief Minister was here in the afternoon. He had to issue a press statement as well.’
I could make out from Rathod’s voice that he was frustrated. I went to the kitchen after the call and grabbed some water.
I was still feeling tired so I decided to take a shower to freshen up. As the hot water flowed down my body, my mind drifted. Bits of conversations I had during the day played in my mind non-stop. Round and round. The water kept flowing.
I entered a trance. I felt like staying under the running water for a bit more. But I had decided not to take long showers in order to conserve water. It did not feel right to know that farmers committed suicide due to water scarcity when I used it in copious amounts to relax. I shut the tap and began drying my body.
Just then, something clicked in my lizard brain. It was an idea that stemmed from two different conversations I had during the day. Jay Parikh’s words rushed to my mind. At the end of the day, the Dark Web lends anonymity and secrecy. But that can be exposed if you are not careful. Then I remembered something that Radha had said. I tried to see if there was a pattern by taking into account different currency exchange rates over a period of time.
How foolish was I to not have thought of it earlier?
I wrapped myself in a towel and ran out. I called Radha to maa’s room.
‘Hey, you said you were looking at the difference between the exchange rates of different currencies to see if there was a link between the accounts, right?' I said.
Radha nodded her head.
‘Which currencies did you check?’
‘The Indian Rupee, the American Dollar, the British Pound and the Russian Ruble.’
‘We didn’t know before that we’re dealing with the Dark Web.’
Radha squinted her eyes.
I said, ‘The Dark Web is all about secrecy. Paper money is traceable. Check their account statements by converting the entries into—'
‘Different cryptocurrencies,’ both of us said together.
Chapter Forty-Six
Radha ran out of the room and grabbed her laptop. I put on shorts and a T-Shirt and joined her in my room.
‘What’s happening, ladies?’ Rahul said.
‘The essence of cryptocurrency is anonymity, secrecy and freedom,' Radha said. ‘The same characteristics on which the Dark Web stands. That it is used to do illegal stuff is not the point. The intention to start to develop both the Dark Web and cryptocurrencies was the same. They were created to move away from establishments. And that's why the two go hand in hand. I know most Dark Web monetary transactions are funnelled using cryptocurrency.'
‘I’m checking the account entries against Bitcoin exchange rate to begin with. If that’s not a match, I’ll go for the other popular cryptocurrencies,’ Radha said. ‘This is going to take a bit of time. There’s a lot of math and possibly thousands of combinations that need to be analysed. I’m going to write some code so my computer does the heavy lifting for me.’
Atharva entered the room.
‘My lucky hour,' Atharva said. ‘I spoke to Natasha's doctor—Vinay Sapre. He doesn't know Rucha's doctor personally but knows of him because they are both prominent in the field. He told me Natasha was finding it difficult to breathe. He conducted a few tests and then cleared her of anything major. He asked her to use a mask whenever she stepped out. He saw Natasha at least thrice a year because she has an atrial septal defect—which is commonly known as a hole in the heart. It's not as dramatic as it sounds.'
‘What did he think of Natasha’s health in general?’ I said.
‘It went up and down according to him because of the atrial septal defect. He said that congenital diseases can be tricky. Most people born with ASD lead a healthy life despite it. Some are less lucky.’
‘Did he know of her cardiologist's opinion that she should be careful for the next few weeks?'
‘Yes, he told me Sumeira had called him up after her cardiologist's appointment. He said in cases of ASD, high blood pressure in the lungs can be fatal. He even spoke to her cardiologist, who said Natasha had recently developed high blood pressure in her lungs.'
‘That sounds rough.’
‘That’s why she had to be careful in the coming weeks. The medicines are helping her.’
‘What did Dr. Sapre sound like?’
‘He sounded busy. He was being called to do something even in his five minutes of free time. I'll speak to Rucha’s doctor in an hour. I think his name is Dr. Sameer Bhide.’
I checked the time. It was ten minutes past seven. Talking about doctors reminded me that I had rescheduled maa's session with her psychiatrist Dr. Aakash Pande from earlier in the morning at his clinic, to nine o’clock in the evening today at our house. He was going to drop by for an hour after he finished with his clinic.
‘I'm done,' Radha said. ‘I've fed all the account entries from the Sinhas and the Gills into the computer. I have written a code that tracks every credit and debit with the price of bitcoin against the entry date in the passbook. Now we will sit and wait. The code will scan the entries year by year.'
She got up from the bed and let out a huge sigh of relief.
‘You seem happier than usual,’ I said.
‘I don’t want to celebrate prematurely.’
‘Did you find something in their accounts?
’
‘The value of Bitcoin was the highest at the start of 2018. Certain outflows from Malini and Daksh's joint account, their personal accounts as well as Sumeira's account were the highest then. That is because one Bitcoin was worth about fourteen thousand dollars then. The higher the value of the Bitcoin, the more dollars or rupees you need to spend in buying them. From a peak of more than fourteen thousand dollars in early 2018, Bitcoin's value fell to less than four thousand dollars in early 2019. That's a steep drop of sixty-six per cent. Some outflows from both accounts also dropped by roughly the same ratio. The logic I'm using is that they would buy bitcoin by paying for it from the money in their bank account. Which in this case was rupees. Then that money goes to a Bitcoin Wallet. From there they can purchase anything they want using Bitcoin. I wouldn't be able to trace that unless I have access to their wallet.'
‘I don’t get it,’ Rahul said. ‘Wouldn’t the value in dollars also be the same in their accounts as the exchange rate of Bitcoin is the same for both of them?’
‘That’s only if they buy something of the same value. If they buy different things, then the amount they have to pay is different. I don't know what they were buying. So, I’m only looking at ratios. Like I said before, this would only tell us if they were buying or selling Bitcoins.’
‘Great job, Radha,’ Rahul said.
‘But we need to wait. I need to confirm if the math adds up. What I told you right now was based on a simple observation.'
‘What about Manohar?’ I said.
‘His account has no such activity. It is easy to make it out as well. He was a salaried employee so he did not have business expenses. In Daksh and Sumeira’s case it is not straightforward because they were business owners and have hundreds of various transactions.’
‘If it's true, they were using Bitcoins to pay for something online. If we find out what they were buying, we'll get to the bottom of this,' I said.
