The Lost Testament

72

The backstreet hotel Bronson had picked was not exactly the Ritz, but it did have one thing that he needed: a free Wi-Fi system.

‘We have something else that might help us,’ Bronson explained: ‘the mobile phone I took off that assassin.’

‘How does having possession of that man’s mobile help?’

‘Even if you try to delete almost all the personal data from a mobile phone, the unit still holds an enormous amount of information. If you’ve got access to the right kind of computer program, you can read SMS messages, inspect the call register, look at images loaded onto the phone, and a whole lot of other stuff.’

‘And you have software like that?’ Angela asked. ‘Programs you can use to hack into a mobile?’

‘No,’ Bronson replied, ‘but luckily, I know a man who does, and he isn’t particularly bothered about the legal implications. I need to call Billy the Kid.’

Angela chuckled when she heard the name.

‘And he lives around here somewhere, does he? Conveniently on hand?’

‘Of course not. He lives in a small, cramped and incredibly grubby basement flat in Tooting.’

Angela regarded him with suspicion.

‘So he’s a hacker, this Billy the Kid person. How exactly do you know him?’

‘I met him through an operation I was involved in. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time, or at least that’s what he said. We couldn’t make anything stick, and my guess is that he wasn’t involved. Anyway, I interviewed him a couple of times and we kind of hit it off. After we let him go I kept in touch. I found that having somebody I could call on who was a real computer expert, not the half-trained idiots who staff the IT sections of most police stations, was really useful.’

‘And is he just a kid?’

Bronson nodded. ‘He looks about eighteen, long hair, granny glasses and grunge clothing, but he must be in his late twenties, I suppose. And he lives and breathes computers.’

‘OK,’ Angela said, ‘it sounds as if he might be able to help with this, but how the hell are you going to give him access to the phone?’

‘Let me show you.’