The door of Donna’s office was closed so Adrian Fielding listened to see if there was anyone with her. He couldn’t hear anything so he knocked and went inside. She was at her desk and looked up from her screen.
“Let me buy you lunch, Donna.”
“You sound cheerful. What’s the occasion?”
“I don’t want to sound over optimistic. But I think we’ve got him.”
“Steven Corby?”
“The very man. Let’s take a walk down to The Quarter and I’ll tell you everything..”
“I don’t think I’ve got time.” She frowned and gestured towards her desk. “I’m trying to track down a little irregularity here.”
“Take-away, then. Let’s grab a sandwich.”
“Oh. OK. Let me get my coat.”
They walked down the stairs into the street and headed down Mount Pleasant to Cuthbert’s.
“What a beautiful day. You wouldn’t think it was February.” Donna looked up at the clear blue sky criss-crossed with vapour trails.
“Yes. It almost feels like spring.” The weather reinforced Adrian’s sense of triumph. A bit of manoeuvring. There was nothing like it. “But let me tell you the good news. It’s in the paper. They arrested Corby this morning and they’ll be charging him with hacking into the University network.”
“The police took it seriously then?”
“Absolutely. What a result! I found someone in the police who actually understood what we were talking about. He used to work in London for Serious Fraud. He’s been bored since they transferred him out here into the sticks so he’s more than motivated to help. He’s throwing the book at the good Doctor Corby.”
“And he can make it stick?”
“Jackman – he’s the policeman – reckons convincing the DPP will be a doddle. The key thing is he sent the e-mail in someone else’s name. Shows intent. From there on it’s just a matter of putting the evidence together and presenting it. Corby can forget about having to pay for his own accommodation for anything from six months to two years. Teach the swine to attack people.”
“Prison? Sounds harsh.”
“Perhaps, but they want to set an example. Send a strong message to the public that they take this sort of thing seriously. Also, I think Sergeant Jackman would relish a high profile success – which might, of course, have something to do with this morning’s newspaper article.” He showed her the headline on the front page.
“Good Lord, Adrian. John will be livid.”
“No. Got his OK. After the senate agreed to involve the police he didn’t have a problem. And if you read the article you’ll find it was vigilance at the University that detected this villain. And – near the bottom – we’re on top of our computer security. The reporter was amazed when he saw the new equipment in the computer centre.”
“I see.” She smiled. “In fact that explains part of what was puzzling me. Why I got an email from John this morning congratulating me on the security arrangements I’d organised.”
“Quite right. But why ‘puzzling’? He’s just recognising foresight and prudence.”
“Possibly. But it’s still mysterious. I didn’t organise it. When you came in I was checking how an order had been placed without my signature.”
“Someone else must have signed it off.”
“Not possible. Aside from him, I’m the only one who can OK something like that.”
“And you’re sure you somehow didn’t do it without noticing?”
“Normally I would have said it was impossible. But a backlog of applications came through over New Year and I might not have noticed it in the pile I signed off. That’s what I was checking.”
“And what will you do if you find it was a mistake?”
“I don’t know. That’s the problem. If I signed it off by mistake I can’t cancel anyway. It’s just so odd it got through the computer systems without me noticing.”
“Hmm… ” Adrian thought through the implications. “No point worrying. Declare victory and move on.”
“I approve something and can’t remember it. Did I do it in my sleep?”
“Forget about it. Accept it. Even you can make a mistake.” They were at the sandwich bar and Adrian opened the door. “You’d be opening a can. Now what’s to eat?”
“You may be right.” Donna looked up at the blackboard. “The soup of the day looks good. Celeriac and coriander. To take out, please.”
“Brie and cranberry panini for me. And since we’re celebrating, a slice of carrot cake.”
“Coming back to Corby. You think he’s for the high jump?”
“He’ll be hung out to dry. He’s been here five years conning people with his ‘tormented genius’ image but this shows him for what he is. Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.”
“Don’t they say his Artificial Intelligence work was quite advanced?”
Fielding laughed. “Propaganda. He admitted to Prof Stern it was purely derivative. And he’s no external contacts, no funding. Beyond amusing himself collecting old computers he contributed nothing. Nada! It was about time they saw through him.”
“Well they certainly can’t accuse you of not contributing.”
“I try my best. And, if I say it myself, I think the sponsorship from the Estate Agents’ Federation was a bit of a coup.”
“Yes. Even John was impressed. And thanks for letting me share the credit.”
“Pure selfishness. Puts you in a better position to look after our joint interests.”
No comments:
Post a Comment