Lisa Stone - Stalker

‘Mr Osman, it’s DC Beth Mayes.’

‘Who?’ She could hear background noise but it didn’t sound like the shop.

‘Beth Mayes, one of the officers who visited you when your stockroom was broken into.’

‘Yes, yes, of course, I remember. There’s an echo here, I’m in the wholesaler’s warehouse. Have you found the people responsible?’

‘Not yet, but I need to ask you a couple of questions about the security at your shop?’

‘Go on then. My wife is better at Internet things, but she will be busy in the shop.’

‘They are straightforward questions. Are you still using the same security firm – Home Security?’

‘Yes.’

‘When the system was first installed, did you change the password?’

‘What password?’

‘You can view your system online, right?’

‘Yes.’

‘It will be password protected. You will have to enter a password to view the stream coming from your cameras.’

‘Yes, yes, I know. We were supposed to have received an email when we got broken into but there was a problem and we didn’t get it. Their fault. I told the insurance company and they’re considering making an ex gratia payment as an act of goodwill.’

‘Good. Can you remember if you changed your password from the default? These systems come with a password and it’s advisable to change them straightaway. Did you do that?’ There was silence. ‘If you can’t remember, perhaps I can speak to your wife later?’

‘I remember, yes. We must have changed our passwords because it’s the first two letters of our names and ten.’

‘Who suggested that?’

‘Mr Flint, I think, so we could remember it.’

‘And you still have the same password now?’

‘Yes.’

‘I think it would be wise to change it. It’s advisable to change passwords every couple of months.’

‘I’ll tell my wife. Is that all?’

‘Yes, thank you.’

Beth replaced the phone, took another sip of water and tried to dampen her excitement. Stay with what you know, don’t jump to conclusions, she reminded herself, a golden rule of good detective work.

The next case wasn’t a break-in but the knife attack at U-Beat nightclub. Still unsolved, apparently motiveless, but the club surveillance had been installed and maintained by Home Security. She opened the file to look at it in a fresh light. Could there be a connection? Concentrating hard on the screen, she ran the CCTV footage from the nightclub on the evening of the attack. She stopped it, first at the place where the figure in black motorbike leathers and a helmet could be seen entering the alleyway, then again when he ran away after the attack. The figure was impossible to identify because of his leathers and helmet, but Derek Flint owned a motorbike and Matt had seen black leathers in his wardrobe.

‘Come on! We’ve got to go,’ Matt said. Beth started as he suddenly appeared at her shoulder. ‘We need to see boss lady. Now. I’m back later than I thought.’

‘Oh! Is that the time?’ Beth gasped looking at the clock. ‘I haven’t even had lunch.’

‘No time for that now. We’re already five minutes late. I hope you’ve got our story ready.’

She grabbed the sheet of paper she’d been making notes on and followed Matt across the open-plan office, smoothing her skirt as she went. The DCI’s office was through the double doors and on the right. Predominantly glass, DCI Aileen Peters could be seen sitting at her desk studying some paperwork. Beth knocked and she motioned for them to go in.

‘Sorry we’re late, ma’am,’ Matt said straightaway. ‘I got held up at the jewellers that was robbed in the High Street, if you’ll excuse the pun.’

Aileen Peters nodded, clearly unimpressed, and looked from one to the other as they stood side by side just in front of her desk.

‘As you know,’ she said, ‘Mr Derek Flint has made a verbal complaint. I’m assuming that some of what he told me was exaggerated and that you didn’t terrorize his elderly mother, nearly giving her a heart attack, nor did you ransack his bedroom. But did you search his house without a warrant?’

‘No, ma’am,’ Matt said quickly. ‘Certainly not. We called at his home on the off chance he would be there. He wasn’t, but his mother was. She was happy to let us in and then volunteered to show us his bedroom. It seemed an opportunity too good to miss.’

‘But why? He has a conviction under the Sexual Offences Act but that was years ago. I also see he was brought in for questioning about a break-in at a garage but never charged. Again, a long time ago. I can’t find anything on file that would give you two a reason to visit him now, both at his work place and home. He’s claiming harassment, and based on the little I know I’m inclined to agree.’

Matt looked at Beth.

‘Ma’am, we believe Derek Flint could be behind a number of thefts and incidents in the area,’ she said. ‘I’ve been working on it for the last two hours but haven’t had chance to log it on the computer yet.’ Matt’s jaw dropped in astonishment.

‘Go on,’ Aileen Peters said.

‘Well, ma’am, there appears to be a much higher than average number of incidents on premises where surveillance systems have been installed and maintained by Home Security, Derek Flint’s firm. He gives the impression he’s running a large company but there is just him and sometimes an apprentice whom he changes very frequently. Our suspicions were raised by chance at the Khumalo residence break-in. Then I went back in our records and found others. I’m up to eleven now where it’s highly likely that Derek could have had some involvement in the crime.’

Matt was still staring at her with a mixture of awe and disbelief.

‘What sort of involvement?’ DCI Aileen Peters asked.

‘I’m not exactly sure yet, ma’am, but in all the cases so far the clients could view their CCTV online, not just on a monitor, and Derek knew their passwords so he could log in too.’

‘For what purpose?’

‘He told them he needed to log in for maintenance but that’s not true. All the other firms I contacted don’t know their customers’ passwords. If they need to log in, they let the customer do it. However, on all the systems Flint installed or upgraded he always insisted the client changed their password from the default to something they could remember. On the surface this appears good advice except Flint always suggested the new password was the first two letters of the client’s names, which of course he knew, plus the number ten.’

‘So he could log into their CCTV and see everything they could,’ Matt put in.

‘Yes, I understand that, thank you,’ Aileen Peters said impatiently.

‘All the clients I’ve contacted so far had external cameras and some had a camera inside their home too,’ Beth continued. ‘Flint never just fitted an alarm system without cameras, which is the most common choice. At least one of his clients discovered a camera with an in-built microphone they weren’t aware of. I’m almost certain there will be others.’

‘So you’re suggesting that Derek Flint has been spying on these people and then robbing them?’ DCI Aileen Peters said.

‘Yes, ma’am, that’s part of it. But there’s more. I was originally working on a list of incidents – that I ran past you – where victims appeared to have been deliberately targeted in apparently motiveless crimes and where the assailant knew where to find them.’

‘Yes.’

‘I’m still checking, but I’m certain at least some of those can be linked to Derek Flint. I had the feeling there was something going on with all the coincidences but there was nothing to connect them to Flint then.’