Josh #3
“No. And I’m not even sure what he meant. He kept all his notes on his laptop, which he had with him. I got the call about the accident while I was still on the training course, so when I got back, I didn’t see the point. Do you think it’s important?”
“I don’t know,” says Nishan. “But if it had been, I think he would have put something in the secret cypher rather than in words.”
“Good point,” says Josh.
“Are you okay to let me have Albert’s mobile phone number? If so, I’m going to try and get a list of all the calls and text messages—received and made—in and around the days leading up to his death—”
“You can do that?” I ask.
“I know people who can. And no, it’s not strictly legal, but let me worry about that.
Second, we need to find out what the police were doing at Callico House today.
I suggest you call Alice, but not using your phone.
I have a couple of pay-as-you-go devices.
You can use one of those. But before you do, let’s have a chat about what you tell her.
And last of all, we need to get you off the grid as soon as possible. ”
“I don’t do social media, if that’s what you’re asking,” I reply.
Josh and Nishan share another grin.
“Not quite what I meant. You have a traceable mobile phone number and use messaging and Wi-Fi. Do you have credit or debit cards?”
“Only an ATM card.”
“The use of which could potentially be traced. The fact you’re between homes is in your favour, but everything else leads straight to you. From the sound of this warning, Gabriel Redbrick needs to disappear completely.”
“And you’re going to tell me how.”
“Well,” says Josh, after taking a deep pull from the spliff and squinting at me with one eye closed. “It just so happens you are talking to the right potheads.”
“Do you have any other devices?” asks Nishan. “A tablet or a connected watch?”
“I have both,” I reply, flashing Nishan the smartwatch Albert bought me.
“Hand them over,” says Nishan.
“Is that really necessary?”
I seldom use the tablet Albert gave me, but I am fond of the waterproof sports watch with the exercise app.
“Albert gave you very specific instructions to go offline. If you trust his judgement, then you’ll have to trust ours.”
How can I argue? I dig the tablet out of my rucksack and hand it over.
As soon as I remove the strap on my sports watch, Josh grabs my wrist. He seems horrified, and I notice Nishan watching as well.
As I expect from the two, Nishan’s reaction is one of surprise, but calmer, more curious than shocked.
“Fuck, Gabe. How tight do you wear this thing?” asks Josh.
Deep grooves mark the skin around my wrist where I tightly bind the sports watch. Painfully tightening the strap is a habit I formed to help me focus before diving into the pool.
“You know I love to swim,” I say, as Nishan leans forward to help me unfasten the strap. “It’s second nature to wear the watch tight. I use the apps to time my swims, and to measure my heart rate and blood pressure.”
“Sorry, Gabe,” says Nishan. “There are ways to track electronic devices. Let me see what I can find you.”
Nishan rises and heads out of the room. Josh smiles as he watches him go, then turns to me, his voice lowered.
“He has a workshop under the stairs where he performs electronic autopsies and hooks up with his geek freaks. A total mess. I’m not allowed in there, in case I touch anything. Fine by me. One less room to clean.”
Nishan returns a few minutes later, carrying a generic smartphone. After a quick check, he taps his thumb repeatedly on the numeric keypad and hands the device to me.
“Passcode is all ones. Obviously, change that as soon as. Now hand over your phone.”
I reach into my rucksack, fish out my phone from the side pocket, but hesitate before handing it over.
“Which one shall I use to call Alice?”
“This new one.” When Nishan plucks the phone from my hand, I feel a moment of loss.
“Nobody will be monitoring the number. And just be yourself, Gabe. Tell her your battery died and is being charged, and that you’re staying with friends for a couple of weeks.
Then tell her what you saw on the way here today. ”
“She’ll probably want to meet up.”
“Not yet, Gabe. Be nice, but tell her you need space from the family. Do you think she’ll buy that?”
“Completely. Do I tell her about my meeting with the solicitor?”
“You said it’s the Callico family solicitor, so they’ll probably know, anyway. The only thing absolutely off-limits is Albert’s cypher.”
I stare at Nishan and Josh as a thought crystallises in my head.
“I’m heading to Italy tomorrow.”
“That’s definitely off the grid,” says Josh, eyeing me with uncertainty. “But you’ll need a passport—”
“I have one,” I reply, unzipping the rucksack next to me and bringing out the black leather passport wallet Albert bought me to celebrate the arrival of my new blue UK passport.
The holder feels bulkier than I remember.
When I unclip the fastener, I flash the passport in the transparent pocket and the photocopied coach ticket, then toss the whole thing to Josh.
“I’ve never used it, but Albert helped me to get one.
We had to go back and forth to the foster carers and the orphanage, but as you can see, I have a legit one now. ”
“You’re adopted?” asks Nishan.
“Long story, Shan,” says Josh, placing a warning hand on Nishan’s knee and steering him off the topic.
“No, it’s okay, Josh. Nishan ought to know,” I answer, shrugging, then turning to Nishan.
“I was orphaned from the age of twelve. Had a series of foster parents. No idea who my actual parents are—or were. At the time they found me and took me into care, I had a condition called retrograde amnesia, which means I have no memories from before that age. Still don’t. ”
“You have no idea who your parents were?” asks Nishan.
“Not a thing. I know most of us have limited recollections of our very early lives, but I was almost a teenager. And yet I know nothing, don’t even have glimpses of faces or memories of times together.
Josh will fill you in on the rest. But the long and short of it is, I didn’t have a birth certificate and couldn’t get a passport.
Albert fixed that for me, which is why we were heading to Brussels together and why getting to Italy is not a problem. ”