Page 133 of Better the Devil

Logan shook his head. ‘No, you need…’

The sentence started confidently enough, but petered out quite quickly. Logan looked to Dave, who chimed in with the rest of the explanation.

‘Think of the wallet like a safe. We might know where it is, but we’d still need the keys to get into it.’

‘So… what good does knowing where it is do you?’ Ben asked, dunking the biscuit in his tea.

‘Well…’ Dave shifted in his chair, trying to find an analogy for tracking a digital currency on the blockchain that would make sense to a man who could never remember which way round his telly remote should go. ‘OK, so, it’s a safe, but it’s got a big window in the front. Or a display that shows you how much is inside at any given time. But, it also shows you what’s been moving in and out.’

‘Like a bank statement?’

‘Aye! Sort of. Like that,’ Dave said. ‘That’s a better way of looking at it. She’s giving us a bank statement, so we can see the current balance, and all her recent transactions. But, we can’t actually take money out with that information. Not without her say-so.’

Ben raised his biscuit, tilted his head back, and lowered the soggy half into his mouth. He mushed it around for a moment, then swallowed and nodded.

‘Makes sense,’ he said, and he sounded as surprised by that as anyone.

Logan clapped his hands together and rubbed them. ‘OK. I’ll do the interview. Ben, I’m going to get someone from CCTV to come up and take you down there, so you can help them identify this van.’

He hesitated, having second thoughts.

‘Actually… are you alright, or…?’

‘I’m fine, Jack. I can do it,’ Ben insisted.

Logan knew better than to argue.

‘Good. Right. Dave, when that wallet information gets to you, do your stuff.’

It was pretty vague as orders went, but Logan didn’t know enough about the ins and outs of it all to be any more specific.

‘Will do.’

‘What about Hamza and Sergeant Fleck? Any word?’

Dave reached for a couple of Post-its on his desk. ‘Hamza reckons another half an hour at the scene. Pathology’s there now.’

Logan tried not to think too much about that, and just nodded.

‘Sergeant Fleck’s done at the house. Think it was pretty rough, by the sounds of it. Wife took it hard. He and the constable he was with hung on with her until the liaison turned up. He’s heading back up the road now. Should be here any time.’

‘OK. Good. Ask him to write it all up, and to update the Big Board. Sinead can sort it out properly in the morning.’

Jack took out his phone, checking the time, but also checking to see if he’d received any messages from home.

Nothing.

Dave’s desk phone rang. He answered it, had a brief conversation with the person on the other end, then hung up.

‘She’s here. Eleanor Belov. She’s in interview room three.’

‘How many lawyers?’ Logan asked.

‘Not sure.’

Logan sniffed. ‘Aye, well, no’ too many, I hope.’ He returned his phone to his trouser pocket, then rolled up his sleeves. ‘Because she’s only getting the two seats.’

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT