CRIME ON THE FENS a gripping detective thriller full of suspense (13 page)

‘I’ve just had the report from the officers who searched his cottage.’ Joseph unsealed an envelope and removed several sheets of paper.

‘Anything interesting?’

Joseph skimmed through quickly. ‘Nothing really. No sign of his missing phone, and nothing to indicate anything untoward had happened there. Apparently both Kris and his mother were pretty unhappy about his observatory being searched, and when the officers saw two heavy padlocks and a mortise on the door, they wondered what they’d find, but the whole interior is packed with computers, telescopes, cameras, tripods and accessories. “Like Jodrell Bank.” is the comment made.’

‘And that is relevant in some way?’

Joseph shrugged. ‘It indicates he’s obsessive. And stuff like that costs big money.’

‘How big?’

‘Hundreds, maybe thousands.’

‘So where the devil does a twenty year old get that kind of dosh from?’

‘Pass.’ Joseph placed the papers on her desk.

Nikki glanced at them ‘I’m more concerned about his being out day and night. He could well be spending time with his captive.’

‘But the neighbour gave him an alibi for when Kerry was taken.’

‘Not good enough for me, Sergeant. The dog may have been there, and Kris may have made quite sure that his potty old neighbour saw him at certain times, but in between times, he could have gone out, to abduct Kerry.’ Nikki grimaced. ‘Sorry, but I think that alibi has enough holes in it to strain cabbage.’

‘Mm, maybe,’ Joseph gnawed on his bottom lip. ‘But I have a different kind of concern about young Kris. For someone who is so averse to mobile phones and texting, he seems to be very comfortable with a computer console that sounds like it’s previous owner was NASA. It doesn’t add up.’

‘If you ask me, not much about that lad does,’ growled Nikki. ‘And another thing, do you remember when his mother spoke to us about him, she said he ‘treasured’ his friends. Isn’t that odd terminology when describing a young bloke?’

‘Yes, that does have an unhealthy feel to it, I agree.’ Joseph frowned. ‘Although I really don’t think Kris has any connection to Lisa Jane Leonard. His mother would have mentioned a girl as stunning as that, wouldn’t she?’

‘If she ever saw her. Mummy’s boy may have had good reason not to bring her home for tea and cakes.’

‘You really don’t like him, do you?’ said Joseph.

‘Until you can show me someone else who fits the bill.’ Nikki narrowed her eyes. ‘Galileo is still my number one.’

CHAPTER NINETEEN

‘Bingo!’ Cat pushed her chair away from the computer and gave a little whoop of delight.

‘That sounds more promising,’ said Dave, putting down the phone.

‘Got a trace on Lyco.’ She stood up. ‘Coming with me? We could do with some fresh air.’

‘From what you told me about that creep, the air would probably be fresher in the men’s karzy.’

‘So bring a peg. Let’s go make a house call!’

‘What house call?’

‘Oh, hello ma’am,’ Cat calmed her enthusiasm. The boss didn’t always go a bundle on frivolity. ‘I’ve been hunting, guv. In cyberspace. I’ve located the pervert who designed the computer game.’

‘The one with the Griffyx?’

Cat nodded. ‘Dave and I were just about to drop in on the sleaze-ball.’

The inspector held up a hand. ‘Before that, what’s the connection with the masks?’

Cat filled her in as concisely as possible, then added, ‘And this Griffyx character really likes to maul beautiful women.’ She paused, ‘well actually he likes to do a lot more than maul them, but I guess here is not the place or the time . . . ?’

‘Precisely.’ The guv’nor threw her a dark look. ‘But you can forget about the two of you tackling this creep alone. I really don’t think you’ve thought this through, Detective.’

Cat sat back down and stared up at her boss. A small “thank you, good work, Cat.” would have been nice.

‘If this man, what’s his name?’

‘Terry James, ma’am.’

‘Right, well, if this James has a direct link to the masks, he could be very dangerous, apart from being a pervert.’ She paused, ‘Where does he live?’

‘Rydell Street, ma’am. Over the Off Licence.’

‘OK, we’ll all go and we’ll take uniform with us. And wear your stab-proof vests. As we have no idea what the agenda is behind the masks, we can’t be too careful.’ She stood up, then smiled at Cat. ‘And good work, Detective. It’s the first proper lead we’ve had on those damned rat-faced masks.’

Cat said nothing, but could not contain the satisfied grin that was spreading slowly across her face.

* * *

The door of 42 Rydell Street was opened by a plump, middle-aged woman with brown cow-eyes and an instant smile. The smile faded swiftly when she saw police officers, and her hands flew to her mouth.

‘Oh no! Something’s happened to my Terry, hasn’t it? He’s had an accident!’

‘Please, Mrs James, don’t distress yourself.’ Joseph stepped forward and with his most sincere smile, said, ‘We just need his help with something, that’s all. There’s no accident, okay?’

The woman heaved a great sigh. ‘Oh dear, well, I’m sorry but he’s out visiting a client. That’s why I thought . . .’ she allowed the sentence to trail off, then added. ‘He’s due back any minute, you’d better come in and wait.’

Nikki sent Dave and the uniforms back to their cars, then she, Joseph and Cat went inside. The living room was big and airy, with large sash windows and a high ceiling. Everything was scrupulously clean, tidy and minimalist. So spotless that Nikki felt the urge to check the soles of her shoes for specks of dirt.

‘What sort of work does your husband do?’

‘He’s a web designer.’ Mrs James announced with pride. ‘And he’s very good. Got lots of satisfied customers.’

Nikki didn’t dare look at Cat, who was making a strange coughing sound. From what Cat had told her about the computer game, the people who used it were after a very particular sort of satisfaction.

‘What is this is about, Inspector?’ Mrs James had begun to look worried.

‘We just have a few questions for him.’ Nikki looked at the woman shrewdly. ‘What sort of people does your husband work for?’

‘Small businesses mainly. So many people shop online these days that it makes economic sense to have a mail-order side to your business, if it’s appropriate. Terry designs sites for them.’ She stood up. ‘I can show you some of his work, if you like?’

‘That would be helpful.’

The woman led the way out into the hall, down a narrow corridor and into a large room used as an office. Two computers sat idle, and shelves full of books, CD-ROMs and office equipment neatly lined the walls.

‘Here.’ She moved the mouse on one of the computers and a vivid desk top appeared. She double-clicked on one icon and a very professional cookware site appeared. Not quite the sort of thing that Nikki had expected.

‘This is his latest design.’ She closed the site and opened another. ‘This is the company he’s working with today. They are a floral postal service. Nice, isn’t it?’

Brightly coloured bunches and bouquets of flowers filled the screen.

Joseph leaned towards the screen. ‘Must be quite difficult work, what with all the different options, shopping baskets and checkouts, etcetera?’

‘Oh yes. But Terry’s worked with computers for years.’

‘And you, Mrs James, what do you do?’ he asked.

‘I look after the accounts. You could say I’m Terry’s general factotum.’ She smiled. ‘I work harder now than when I was employed by the university.’

‘The Fenland university?’

‘That’s the one.’

‘Bella?’ A voice echoed down the hall. ‘What on earth is going on?’ A tall, receding and bespectacled man, accompanied by Dave, was hurrying towards them.

‘Don’t worry, it’s alright, dear. These officers just want to talk to you. Let’s go back into the lounge.’ Mrs James led the way.

‘What is it you want?’

Nikki’s heart sank. This man, with the buttons on his jacket done up wrong, looked more like an absent-minded professor than a pornographic high-tech gamester.

‘Does the name Lyco mean anything to you?’ asked Joseph.

The man turned the corners of his mouth down and frowned. ‘Lyco? Can’t say it does.’ He swung around to his wife. ‘Bella? Have we a client with a name like that?’

‘Definitely not,’ she said emphatically.

‘Mr James.’ Cat stood up. ‘Would you mind if I take a look at your computers? You can come with me, of course.’

‘Be my guest. The older one has my basic designs on it, and Bella uses it for our invoicing and banking. The newer one has the finished articles, and a data base of all my business accounts. There’s nothing on there that you can’t look at.’

‘Do you encrypt anything, sir?’

‘No need. Only my wife and I use them, and we have no secrets.’

‘Thanks, I won’t be long.’ Without waiting for Terry James, Cat slipped out of the room.

‘So what kind of company is this Lyco?’ asked Bella James.

‘It’s not a company, Mrs James,’ said Nikki. ‘It’s an alias for someone we want to talk to.’

Mr and Mrs James looked at each other with puzzled glances, then Terry James said, ‘And you think this Lyco person has used our company?’

‘If he did,’ cut in his wife, ‘he must have done it under another name.’

Nikki drew in a long breath. With every minute that passed she was closer to thinking that Cat had made a massive error over these people.

‘How big is your customer data base, Mr James?’ interjected Joseph.

James thought for a moment. ‘We have about fifty clients in all. Twenty are main clients, who have had full web designs and follow-up maintenance. The rest are companies and individuals who have used us for consultancy or for troubleshooting.’

‘Could you let us have a print-out of them, please?’

Bella James gasped. ‘Oh no, Sergeant! We hold our clients details in the strictest confidence. I don’t think it would be very ethical if we just handed information like that out, do you?’

‘Do it, Bella.’ Terry James shrugged. ‘We have nothing to hide. Just the names and addresses won’t hurt.’

‘Well, if you think so, dear. I’ll get them.’

A few minutes later both she and Cat returned to the room.

‘Here they are, Officer.’ Bella James passed a sheaf of papers to Joseph. ‘But I’d appreciate it if they were destroyed once you’ve looked at them.’

‘Of course, and thank you.’

‘Are we through, DC Cullen?’ asked Nikki, rather icily.

‘I’ve seen everything I need to, ma’am.’

Nikki noticed a look of something like excitement on Cat’s face, but whatever the detective had unearthed, she clearly did not want to share it with the James family.

‘Then we are sorry to have taken up your time,’ said Nikki with a fake smile. ‘You’ve been most helpful. If we need anything else we’ll be in contact.’

Back in the car, Nikki turned to Cat. ‘Okay, spill the beans.’

‘I think I know what’s happened, ma’am. I saw this with another case, a paedo ring that we busted.’

‘Then share it with us, for heaven’s sake!’

‘Have you heard of an evil twin?’

‘No. And try to use English when you explain what the hell you are talking about,’ said Nikki impatiently.

Cat rubbed her temples. ‘Right, well, we’re talking Cyber Crime, right? Now, most people use Wi-Fi, that’s wireless high speed net, and that needs a hotspot to . . .’

‘Lost! I said English!’

‘It’s like this, the evil twin poses as a real hotspot, and when you use your computer, it steals your information, all your personal stuff, everything.’

‘Right. I get that, but how does it fit in with Terry James and the Lyco computer game?’

‘There’s another scam, just like the one that I was telling you about, but the cyber-thief steals your domain. If he’s done something that he doesn’t want traced, he uses the stolen domain, and the shit lands on your head, not his!’ Cat shook her head. ‘One of those two computers has been hacked into by Lyco. There’s nothing more scary on the James’s hard drive than a game of Spider Solitaire.’

‘Great, another dead end.’

‘Maybe not,’ Cat grinned. ‘If I ask the IT section to help me, I think I can still track Lyco. That’s unless Sergeant Easter feels like leaning on graffiti boy, the one who gave him the lead in the first place.’

‘I don’t think Petey Redfield would have a clue who Lyco was. I’m sure it’s just a dirty game that one of the gang stumbled on, now everyone wants to play it,’ said Joseph.

‘Then we go down the IT route. Cat, get onto it as soon as we get . . .’ Nikki’s phone interrupted her. ‘Hello, DI Galena here.’

‘Sorry to bother you, Inspector, but it’s Sister O’Keefe from Greenborough ITU.’

‘Hi, Leah. How’s the boy?’

‘Showing signs of improvement. We will be taking him off the respirator shortly, and we wondered if you’d like to be here?’

‘I certainly would. Thanks for that. We’ll be straight over.’ She closed her phone and looked at Joseph. ‘We’ll drop Cat off at the station and get straight over to the hospital. They’re going to try to bring the lad round. If he says anything, I want to know what it is, first hand.’