The Russian Wife by Barry Maitland

Author:Barry Maitland [Maitland, Barry]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Published: 2021-10-08T16:00:00+00:00

14

By the time she was called to another interview on Wednesday, Kathy was quietly confident that its purpose was to let her off the hook with the minimum of apologies and fuss. She was in for a nasty shock.

The beginning was encouraging enough—Crouch actually smiled at her as he took his seat. True, it wasn’t a very nice smile, as if his facial muscles were unfamiliar with the expression, and Stone by his side looked as stony as ever.

‘DCI Kolla,’ Crouch began. ‘Kathy … shall we call you that?’

‘If you like, Bernard.’

‘Well now, Kathy, you’ve had a chance to think over what we spoke about at our last interview. Is there anything you’d like to change in your statement?’

‘No.’

‘Really? You still deny knowledge of that bitcoin account?’

‘Yes.’

‘Come on,’ he said, in a rather gruesome attempt at playfulness, ‘what’s the password?’

‘I’ve no idea.’

‘What about the’—he consulted his notes—‘the twelve-word wallet recovery phrase?’

‘I don’t know.’

‘Does anyone else have access to the computer in your flat?’

‘No.’

‘Well, that is very odd, since the bitcoin account number, password and recovery phrase were all in a file on that computer of yours. Or at least they were, until the file was deleted the day before we took possession of the computer. Fortunately, our technicians were able to recover it.’

‘No, that’s not possible.’

‘I’m afraid it is.’

At her side, Rory Buchanan cleared his throat and said, ‘I’d like to consult with my client.’

‘Good idea, Rory’—another ghoulish smile—‘because we’ve got plenty more to talk about.’

Crouch switched off the recording equipment and he and Stone got to their feet and left.

‘Kathy,’ Buchanan said, ‘I strongly advise that you reply “no comment” to all further questions.’

Kathy was thinking how glibly people used the phrase this is a nightmare, but this really did feel like one, a place where reason and logic were suspended. How could Osborn have planted a file in her computer, and then deleted it?

‘I want to hear everything they’ve got,’ she said. ‘String them along. Tell them we need coffee and aspirin.’

Buchanan did as she said, and they sat alone for ten minutes while Kathy tried to make sense of it. Could Osborn have hacked into her computer remotely? Or broken into her flat? But how would she have bypassed her computer’s password? Finally she nodded to Rory and they began again.

‘So, Kathy,’ Crouch said, brisk now and deadly serious, ‘what do you have to say?’

‘I can only imagine that Osborn hacked into my computer. I have no knowledge of any bitcoin account.’

‘Oh dear.’ Crouch shook his head and opened his file. ‘Let’s turn to another matter then—that luxurious Thameside apartment of yours, purchased three years ago. A very big step up from that little hutch you had in Finchley. How did you manage that?’

Rory intervened quickly. ‘I advise Kathy not to answer that. It has no relevance to the matter at hand.’

‘No relevance! The Metropolitan Police places the utmost importance upon rooting out corruption among its officers. If I decide it’s relevant, then it’s relevant. Answer the question.

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