Stalker

Chapter Forty

As Beth drove through the rush hour traffic, Matt contacted the station and put out an alert to bring in Derek Flint, then got put through to a colleague and asked her to check Flint’s bank account for any recent activity. The bank details were already on file because of the ongoing investigation into his criminal activities, but Matt couldn’t access them from the car and it needed senior approval. While he waited for her to return the call, he took Flint’s new phone from its box and switched it on. A welcome screen appeared.

‘As we thought, the phone is brand new,’ he said to Beth. ‘He hasn’t even started a contact list. The store’s sticker on the box should help identify some of Flint’s movements if his bank account doesn’t. The purchase will have been logged on their computer so they should be able to tell us the day and time he bought it. If Mrs Flint is telling the truth it will be sometime on Tuesday.’

Beth nodded. ‘Ask them if he bought the laptop at the same time.’

Matt returned the mobile to its box as the car’s phone bleeped with an incoming call. He pressed the speaker button.

‘Hi Matt, Beth. It’s Sue here with the information you wanted.’

‘Thank you. That was quick,’ Matt said.

‘I’m a fast worker,’ Sue quipped and Matt smiled. ‘Flint has used his debit card once this week. On Tuesday morning. The transaction was timed at eleven-fifty am at My Computer World on the Coleshaw retail park. It was for three thousand five hundred and sixty-eight pounds drawn from his current account. He also set up a direct debit at the same time for twenty-one pounds a month for a mobile phone contract. Prior to that he withdrew one hundred pounds in cash the week before at the ATM of his own bank at 153 High Street. There is a standing order on his account for gas and electricity, which is due to come out tomorrow. The balance at present stands at two thousand one hundred and forty pounds, sixty-eight pence. I checked his credit card and that hasn’t been used since Christmas, and has no outstanding balance.’

‘Thank you. Any other accounts?’ Matt asked.

‘Just a savings bond but he hasn’t made any deposits or withdrawals this year.’

‘That’s great. Thanks.’

‘Thanks, Sue,’ Beth added.

‘You’re welcome. Have a good day.’

Matt cut the call and glanced at Beth. ‘So that confirms where he was on Tuesday morning and answers your question about the laptop being bought at the same time. But where did he go after that?’

‘I saw an icon on his laptop marked “diary”,’ Beth said. ‘Long shot but have a look to see if he recorded anything in it. Given his obsession for record keeping it’s possible he might have started logging his movements again.’

Matt opened the laptop as Beth concentrated on driving. The Windows welcome tune sounded and the screen again filled with icons. ‘Top row, fourth from left,’ she said, glancing across.

‘Got it.’ He opened the file and read out: ‘“Bought a decent laptop, two hard drives and a phone this morning. Might send the bill to the police!” So he has got a sense of humour,’ Matt said.

‘Is that all there is?’

‘“Mother is staying with her sister for a few days, which will allow me to get on and work.” That’s it. The rest of the week is blank.’

‘Given how meticulous he was in keeping his diary on his last computer I think it’s reasonable to assume he intended to continue with it but something stopped him,’ Beth said. ‘What “work” do you think he’s referring to?’

‘His home security business, I suppose. Let’s see what else is on the laptop.’ Matt closed the diary folder and began studying the other icons. ‘He’s so precise, I mean how many people arrange their desktop icons in alphabetical order?’ He paused. ‘Now what have we here?’

Beth again glanced from the slow-moving traffic ahead to the laptop screen as Matt opened another folder. ‘Clients. Wow! I don’t believe it!’

‘Abbot, Andrews, Brown…’ Matt read. ‘They’re all his old clients.’

‘Perhaps they’ve remained loyal to him,’ Beth said. ‘After all, he hasn’t been charged with anything yet. He’s just helping the police with their enquiries.’

‘No, these aren’t their accounts. These are live streams coming from their CCTV. He’s up to his old tricks again!’

Beth braked as a car in front suddenly stopped.

‘Are you sure? I telephoned them all and told them to change their passwords. Did none of them do it?’

Matt was silent for a moment as he opened and closed a few of the files. ‘Couldn’t have done. These are all live streams. Here’s the one for The Mermaid Massage Parlour!’

‘You don’t need to check that,’ Beth said with a laugh. ‘Betty was the only one of his clients who gave permission to be viewed.’

‘Spoilsport.’

‘Have a look in the properties of some of the files to see when they were created. We’ll have digital forensics go over it properly but it might help to know what he was up to before we interview Paul.’

Matt fell silent again as he concentrated on checking the properties of the clients’ files he selected at random. ‘From a quick look it seems they were created from Tuesday afternoon through to the early hours of Wednesday morning. I haven’t seen any before two pm on Tuesday or after four am on Wednesday morning. He appears to have worked through the night so whatever he was up to was urgent.’

‘Can you phone a few of the clients who have live streams and ask them if they changed their password? He seems to be using the same filing system so their contact details will be on a spreadsheet in their files.’

‘He’s nothing if not predictable,’ Matt said, and opened the first file.

Beth concentrated on the road ahead. The traffic was clearing now and moving faster so they should be at Paul’s in about ten minutes.

‘I may as well keep to his order so the Abbots first,’ Matt said. He pressed the speaker button on the car phone and entered the Abbot’s home phone number. The call went through to their answerphone, but he didn’t leave a message.

‘Andrews next,’ he said closing one file and opening the next. ‘Preferred contact is Mr Andrews’ mobile.’ He keyed in the number.

‘Clive Andrews speaking.’

‘Good afternoon, Mr Andrews. DC Matt Davis here from Coleshaw police station. It’s a routine call. My colleague Beth Mayes contacted you a few weeks ago in respect of your CCTV, and advised you to change your password. Did you do so?’

‘Yes. Why? Is there a problem?’

‘No, it’s just part of our ongoing “keeping people safe online” campaign. Did you inform Home Security of your change of password?’

‘No. Of course not. We changed our security company too after what we saw about him on the television and in the press.’

‘Thank you for your time.’

Matt said goodbye and ended the call. ‘Well, that’s interesting. Let’s try the next.’

The result was the same, password and company changed, Home Security not informed, but nevertheless Derek had managed to log in to their cameras. The third had stayed with Home Security, presumably unaware of the story in the press, but had changed the password and not informed Derek Flint. All very puzzling.

Beth pulled into the road where Paul lived and parked out of sight of his house.

‘So how the hell has he been getting into their accounts?’ Matt asked.

‘Try phoning one of the clients who doesn’t have a live stream and see if there’s a difference. Then we’ll collect Paul.’

She watched as Matt opened the relevant spreadsheet and keyed in the number. The call went through to voicemail. ‘I’ll try another one, there’s only four without live streams. They live in Southfields; nice area, must have some money.’ The call connected after a few rings.

‘Mrs Rudd?’ Matt asked.

‘Yes. Speaking.’

‘Sorry to trouble you, it’s DC Matt Davis here from Coleshaw police station. A routine call. My colleague Beth Mayes contacted you a few weeks ago in respect of your CCTV and advised you to change your password. Did you do so?’

‘Oh yes, straightaway with a high-strength password. My husband’s company’s website was hacked a few months ago and lots of employee details were stolen. As soon as your colleague phoned we changed it. We also changed the password on our router at the same time, and when the news broke about Home Security we changed company.’

‘Thank you. That’s most helpful. I assume you haven’t told anyone your new passwords?’

‘No, and neither would we. Can I ask why you want to know?’

‘It’s just part of our ongoing campaign to keep people safe online.’

‘That’s very reassuring. There is so much online fraud now with websites being hacked. You can’t trust anyone. It’s good to know the police are running these campaigns and advising people.’

‘Thank you, Mrs Rudd.’ Matt cut the call and turned to Beth. ‘Do you think that could be it? That their password strength is high enough to keep Flint out, and they changed the password on their router too?’

‘It’s certainly possible,’ Beth said. ‘Most people leave their default password in place, especially on their router. But that would mean Flint has changed his tactics and widened his field and is now hacking into websites rather than learning the passwords from his clients. Let’s see what Paul has to say for himself. Best hide the laptop and phone. We’d look right fools if we came back to find the car window smashed and them gone.’

Matt leant behind and secreted the laptop, phone and portable hard drives under his jacket on the rear seat, then opened his car door and got out. Beth joined him on the pavement.

‘We’re taking him in for questioning, right?’ Matt confirmed.

‘Yes.’ She followed him up the path.

He pressed the doorbell but no one answered. He pressed again. Still no answer and none of the windows were open. The front door of the house on the right opened and a woman came out.

‘They’re all at work,’ she said. ‘Mrs Mellows is usually back first.’

‘Thank you. When will that be, do you know?’ Beth asked.

She looked at her wristwatch. ‘In about half an hour, usually around six. Then her husband comes in around six-thirty. No telling when her kids will be back now they’re older.’

‘Thank you, that’s very helpful,’ Beth said. ‘You know the family well, do you?’

‘No, not really. Only to say hello, but I see them coming and going, like I do most in this street. Did you want anything in particular?’

‘It’s just routine. Thank you anyway,’ Beth said. She and Matt returned down the path and to the car.

‘Mrs Flint’s not the only one with nosy neighbours,’ Matt remarked as they got in.

‘And doesn’t it make our lives easier! We might have just gone away. Now we can wait for Paul’s mother to come home and tell us where he is.’

‘May as well put the time to good use,’ Matt said, retrieving the laptop from the rear seat.

‘I’m impressed.’ Beth stifled a yawn. ‘To be honest I’m knackered. It’s been a long week and it’s not over with yet.’

Matt studied the screen of the laptop. ‘He’s set up an email account,’ he said presently. ‘Let’s take a look at who he’s been emailing.’ Beth watched as he clicked on the email icon. There was nothing in the sent box but a dozen or so emails in his inbox, only some of them read. Matt began opening and closing them.

‘Anything of interest?’ Beth asked after a moment. She was looking through the windscreen for any sign of Mrs Mellow’s return.

‘Not so far. A notification from his energy supplier that the direct debit will be taken from his account within the next few days. Another is confirmation of the direct debit he set up for the new mobile phone. Then a product of interest email from Amazon. More junk mail.’ A pause then: ‘Bloody hell, Beth! Hide your eyes!’

Beth immediately looked at the screen. ‘Struth! That’s a bit graphic,’ she said. ‘Naked men sodomizing each other.’

Matt read out the writing beneath the photograph: ‘“Local man, Derek Flint, pleaded guilty in court today to the charge of gross indecency after a member of the public reported him and another man to the police.” The writing seems to be an excerpt from a newspaper article from nine years ago but with a different picture.’

‘Who sent the email – Paul? Given we know he’s been blackmailing Flint he’d be my first guess.’

‘No, it’s from an organization called Watching You, whoever they are. It’s not asking for payment.’

‘I’d put money on Paul being behind it though,’ Beth said. ‘It’s easy enough to set up an anonymous email account. Digital forensics should be able to trace the sender but there’s no one else been blackmailing Flint as far as we know.’

‘I wonder if receiving this email has anything to do with Flint suddenly taking off?’ Matt said, looking at the other emails. ‘This is the last one he read, all the others are unopened.’

‘It’s possible.’ Beth paused and looked sombrely at Matt. ‘I hope Flint hasn’t done something daft.’

‘What, like suicide you mean?’

She nodded. ‘It would explain why he’s missing. Perhaps he hasn’t jumped bail and done a runner; perhaps his body is lying somewhere, as yet undiscovered.’

‘I’m not sure,’ Matt said doubtfully. ‘This is old news. He must have realized it couldn’t do him much harm now.’

‘Who knows what went through his mind. He’s pretty screwed up and doesn’t have friends who can support him through a difficult time. I can’t imagine he confided in his mother. Perhaps the pressure built up. He’s being investigated by us and Paul ups the blackmail and it all becomes too much.’

‘You could be right, I suppose, but I’m not convinced.’ Matt looked up through the windscreen. ‘Isn’t that Mrs Mellows coming down the road?’

‘Yes.’

Matt tucked the laptop under the passenger seat and followed Beth out.

‘Mrs Mellows,’ she called, catching up with her on the garden path.

‘Oh, hello. You were here before.’

‘That’s right. DC Beth Mayes and DC Matt Davis.’

‘If it’s Paul you’ve come to see, he’s not home, and I’m not expecting him until much later.’

‘It was,’ Beth said. ‘Does Paul have a job then?’

‘Yes, then he’s meeting up with friends later, so it’s likely he won’t be back until well after midnight.’

‘I don’t suppose you know where he is now?’

‘Not when he’s out with his mates, no,’ she said with a caustic smile. ‘He’s a bit old to be telling his mother.’

‘And when he’s working?’ Matt asked. ‘Where’s that?’

‘On Cranberry estate. Maintenance. It gave me great pleasure telling that Derek Flint Paul was working again after the way he treated him.’

‘You’ve seen Derek Flint?’ Beth asked, astonished.

‘Yes, he came here on Wednesday morning. Quite early on; I was getting ready for work but Paul had already left. I don’t know what Flint wanted, but Paul seemed to think he might come round and had left the address of where he could be found.’

‘I don’t suppose you remember it?’ Beth asked.

Mrs Mellows thought for a moment. ‘Bushmead Close. But I should think he’s finished work for today.’

‘Has Paul mentioned what Derek Flint wanted with him?’ Matt asked.

‘No. But I didn’t ask. I’ve never liked that bloke and after hearing on the local news what he’d been up to, it rather confirmed I was right not to trust him.’

‘Do you have Paul’s new mobile number?’ Beth asked. ‘The one we have is no longer in use.’

‘He lost his phone and bought a new one. Come inside while I find the number.’

They followed her into the hall, then waited as she retrieved her mobile from her handbag and scrolled down the list of contacts. She read out Paul’s number as Matt made a note. ‘Thank you.’

‘I’ll tell Paul you were here then.’

Beth thanked her and they left. In the car Matt immediately tried Paul’s mobile number but it went through to his voicemail and he didn’t leave a message.

‘That would have been too easy,’ Beth said. ‘It seems we’ve got two choices: sit here all night until Paul returns or drop Flint’s laptop off so forensics have it over the weekend. Then pick up Paul first thing on Monday.’

‘Definitely the second option,’ Matt said. ‘It’s not likely to make any difference, and Flint might have reappeared by then, saving us an awful lot of work.’

‘Agreed.’