The Spotted Dog Page 14

  ‘So what you’re telling me is that these VPNs are used by all sorts of people, and not just people who want to look at Bad Stuff on the internet. And you can pretend you’re anywhere in the world and no one really knows where you are?’

  ‘Yeah, that’s right. But the code I read from their ransomware looked very familiar. They could have bought it off the dark web. You can buy anything there.’ He broke off again. I guessed he had found some very unsavoury things there. ‘But what I’m sayin’ is that it wasn’t very good ransomware. I could do better in my sleep if I wanted to. It’s just that …’

  He looked around nervously – for fear of being overheard, it seemed – then he leant forward as though preparing to impart secrets of state. ‘Corinna, you know what he had on his computer?’

  I shrugged and widened my eyes in encouragement.

  He shook his head quickly, as if unable to believe it himself. Dramatic pause, snare-drum percussion … ‘McAfee!’

  As usually happened when talking to a member of Nerds Inc., I was possessed by the feeling of not being on the same page, or even in the same universe. ‘And this would be bad?’

  He snorted, like a horse being offered an inferior band of oats. ‘Corinna, McAfee comes free with Adobe updates. Every time there’s a new update, you have to remember to unclick the McAfee box or it downloads automatically. Anyway, McAfee is better than nothing at all, but trying to stop a malware attack with that is like –’ he waved his arms expansively ‘– it’s like trying to stop a bullet with a box of tissues. When we set up Del’s system way back, we put proper antivirus software on it. So when that met McAfee, which had downloaded along with an update, the two programs spent all their time fighting each other and the malware got through. So I deleted them both and put Kaspersky on instead.’

  ‘And that’s better?’ I enquired. Memory presented me with an unwelcome calling card. I vaguely recalled seeing the McAfee logo on my own computer. Had I unclicked the box when last Adobe had presented me with yet another unsought upgrade? I feared I had not. So would my software be fighting McAfee and letting down my cybernetic defences too? I would need to check this later. In the meantime, we were meandering off-topic. ‘Gully, does Azerbaijan mean anything to you?’

  He shook his head. ‘Never heard of him. Sorry.’

  ‘All right. What about Kilmarnock? Can you tell me anything about that?’

  It was as if his eyes had clouded over. Amazingly, he reached out his grimy hand and grabbed my forearm. ‘Corinna, you don’t want anything to do with those guys. Get away, and stay away. They’re evil.’

  ‘Well, yes, I gathered as much. Gully, are you aware that our apartment building has been repeatedly broken into? We’ve had far too many burglaries for one lifetime already, and that was just this week.’

  He picked up his Coke, imbibed a goodly gulp thereof, and shook his head. ‘Really? Sorry, I’ve been busy. I must have missed that. You okay?’

  ‘We seem to have got the better of them so far,’ I assured him. ‘But I’m wondering if the bad guys of Kilmarnock might be responsible.’

  He thought about this while draining the rest of his Coke. ‘Jeez, I hope not, Corinna. But I don’t think it’s likely.’

  ‘Why not?’

  ‘’Cos you got nothing they’re interested in. They want guns and drugs. You haven’t got those, have you?’

  ‘No. Well, thanks, Gully. You’ve been very helpful.’

  He grinned again, rose, and wandered out of the cafe. My coffee arrived, courtesy of Anastasia, and I inhaled the bitter scent of concentrated Greek insomnia. This is totally different from Turkish coffee, according to the Pandamus family, and I would have to take their word for it. If you couldn’t stand a spoon up in it, it wasn’t real coffee. I had heard that Athens was powered by this stuff. My loathsome ex-husband James had gone to Athens once to stitch up one of his repellent business deals. Or so he thought. When he arrived home, a broken shell of a man, he described in faltering tones a nightmare of ouzo, super-strength coffee, appallingly late dinners and loud parties. ‘Corinna, they never sleep!’ he had whimpered to me afterwards. ‘It was awful!’

  I wished I had been there. It sounded like fun, and when I looked over the deal that my idiot husband had signed it was surprisingly merciful. It was clear what had happened. They had worn down his resistance over six frenetic days of partying, and when he was so demoralised he would have signed his own execution warrant, they had let him off with absurd leniency. Presumably because he was Australian. Greeks really do like us. I am grateful for this, as always. The hardy folks of Athens might like it industrial-strength, but I like my coffee medium. Drunk at midday, you could reasonably expect to get to sleep after another ten hours or so. And I needed to be alert. I was enjoying what I hoped would be an andante weekend, after the allegro prestissimo of the week from hell I had just endured, but I needed answers.

  What a lot I hadn’t been learning about the internet today. I mentally revised this. Actually, I had, now I came to review my talk with Gully. As far as he knew, the ransomware culprits had probably been Russians, though he couldn’t be sure. And whoever had put it on Del’s system wasn’t particularly good at cyberwarfare. This could well fit with my slowly coalescing image of a dangerous criminal gang from Azerbaijan, living in Kilmarnock and terrorising people. I still had no idea what they wanted with me, but that was a question for the future.

  My present now included a wonderful open sandwich, supplied by Kyria Anastasia. There was proper grilled lamb (the Pandamus family will not have gyros on the premises) done to a turn, with lemon, olive oil, tomato, lettuce, yoghurt, cucumber, pepper and the inevitable oregano. It was magnificent. I had already had a big breakfast, but somehow my stomach had forgotten it under the influence of this masterpiece of culinary art. I ate at my leisure, and wondered if anyone else from Insula would join me. I was doing well so far.

  As if in response to my mental stage-managing, the door swung open and the actors all trooped in. To my surprise, Kylie and Gossamer were with them. I waved, and they waved back, but they went to sit at the big table up the back of the cafe. No problem there. If they didn’t want to talk to me I could easily overhear them. And they were actors, so I would probably learn less about them if we spoke face to face. If they had the slightest doubt about me and my motives, they could adopt any persona they liked and leave me none the wiser. So I left them to their gossip, and for quite a while I pretended that I had no interest in their talk. Snippets did arrive my way, however. The actors were fascinated to learn that Kylie and Goss had actually been on TV, and were duly sympathetic (without excessive shows of emotion) that their TV careers had not taken off subsequently. And at one moment I heard one of the girls (Gossamer, I thought, though not with any conviction) exclaiming, ‘It looks like English, but it’s really hard!’ Luke agreed that this was indeed the case. I hoped he wasn’t teasing her.

  When I had finished my souvlaki, I accepted a small bowl of yoghurt and honey from Anastasia. Not because I was hungry. On the contrary, I was stuffed. But I really wanted to continue to listen to the actors unobserved. And the snippets I heard were about Prospero and Caliban and their motivations.

  ‘Yes, I know the plot’s ridiculous. It’s all about the language. It’s like opera. How many opera plots make any sense? You just have to run with it.’

  ‘There’s more to it than that. It’s about colonialism, white superiority and ruthless exploitation of people classed as natives.’

  ‘Well, yes. But Caliban is so eager to enslave himself because he’s been accustomed to it, so he plays up to cultural stereotyping.

  Luke carried on, getting more animated. ‘And what about Ariel? Is Ariel following the same trajectory as Caliban all along? Ariel has White Superiority but isn’t any better than Caliban.’

  ‘Yes, but Ariel doesn’t get pissed. Anyway, it’s just another usurpation play, like Hamlet or Richard II, where the paradigm gets subverted at every turn. Prospero was p
robably a rotten duke anyway. I’m not surprised he found himself with a one-way ticket into exile. He’s only better than a modern dictator because he took his magic books instead of a helicopter filled with gold bullion.’

  I had heard enough. They were young, they were innocent, and I was ready to scratch them from my list of suspects. I was just about to go, when there was a commotion at the door. There was barking, followed by a soothing female voice. ‘Just stay there, Biscuit! Allegro? Sit down! I won’t be long.’

  I looked out through the glass front door and saw one of the girls from Heard It Before and the two nervous spoodles. The music girls were also new to the neighbourhood, I realised, though Daniel and I had neglected to add them to our list. I would join the young woman outside, I decided. Luck really was running my way today …

  Philomela: I have had an idea. And this really is going to work. It had better. I’m getting tired of this. I miss my life.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  How camest thou in this pickle?

  WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, THE TEMPEST, ACT 5, SCENE 1

  I let myself out into the hot summer air. It was a pleasant day for those who like hot weather, of which I am not one. I could cope, though. The tearing hot northerlies which turn Australia into the interior of a giant pizza oven had decided not to pay us a visit. It was hot, still, but relatively painless.

  I looked at the girl. She wore a pretty summer dress in black with pink spots. She was dark-haired, curvaceous, beautiful, and a little foreign. I had seen many girls like her in Paris. I rummaged in my databanks until the name Marie popped into my head. Though it might be Kate. I decided to take a chance on my first instinct.

  ‘Hello! Marie, isn’t it?’ I ventured.

  She looked up and smiled. Her smile could have powered a medium-sized village. She blinked behind her black-rimmed glasses and said, ‘Corinna? It’s good to see you.’

  Allegro and Biscuit did not agree. The two dogs eyed me with suspicion, and Marie bent over them. ‘Stop that!’

  They gave me that Look again. Yes, we remember you, they were saying. You’re the human with the two ferocious cats. And where, they wanted to know, are your attack cats now? They sniffed the air, and Marie whispered sweet nothings in their ears. As in all fashionable pavement cafes there was a big aluminium bowl of water attached by a small chain to one of the outdoor tables. Urged on by their mistress, the two spoodles took turns to lap from the bowl. ‘That’s better. Sit down, you two!’ They obeyed, and she flashed me an embarrassed smile. ‘Sorry about that.’

  ‘It’s okay.’ I gestured to one of the chairs. ‘Have you got time for a coffee?’

  She took out her phone to check. ‘Yeah, I guess. It’s just gone half the hour. Kate sent me out for a takeaway souvlaki. They’re really good here.’

  ‘They really are. Attic heaven on a plate.’

  At that moment Del appeared.

  Marie grinned at him. ‘Geiá sou! Éna souvláki gia na páei kai éna kafé ellinikó parakaló?’

  ‘Entaxi, Despina,’ Del pronounced, and disappeared within.

  I gaped at Marie.

  ‘I went to Greece for a holiday straight after school,’ she explained. ‘Well, Corinna, you’ve been having adventures lately, I hear? Did you walk into a door? It looks painful.’

  ‘Far too many adventures for my liking. But lately it’s been getting better. I’ve gone a whole day now without being burgled.’

  She laughed. ‘Let’s hope it stays that way.’

  ‘Marie, I’m fascinated by this business of yours. Would you mind telling me how it works?’

  ‘Come see for yourself, please. I know music shops are supposed to be so twentieth century, but what we do is something different. When you have mass-market competitors like Amazon, you have to offer something special. So we do. We find music people have vaguely heard somewhere but they don’t know either the track or the composer. And we remix songs for people, or we take their old vinyls and turn them into digital collections. But our main business is birthday and Christmas presents. We’ll make a gift-wrapped CD or thumb drive with someone’s favourite music on it – even if they don’t even know it’s their favourite music.’ She dimpled. ‘They will when they get it.’

  ‘It sounds brilliant. Do you play your own music as well?’

  ‘Yes, we both play. Keyboards, strings. I’m soprano, Kate’s alto. We’re both music majors. Tell me what you like and I’ll make you a song in that style.’

  ‘What a wonderful idea! I hope your business thrives. But …’

  She laughed again. It was like listening to a magpie’s morning song. ‘There’s always a but. I know. The thing is, we live above the shop. We’d have to pay rent anyway, and we think this might catch on.’

  At that moment Del arrived with a small cup of industrial-strength caffeine and placed it reverently in front of her.

  ‘Souvlaki, maybe five minutes, miss,’ he announced. She nodded. Some more Greek passed to and fro, but I missed it completely. I don’t really do Hellenic. Del disappeared, and Marie clasped the cup and sipped. A gold ring adorned her fourth finger. She caught my eye and blushed, ever so slightly.

  ‘Engagement ring. Now that we can get married at last. All that time we weren’t allowed to here, it was a bit awful. We could have gone overseas to some civilised country to marry, but we decided we were fucked if we were going to. So we waited, and finally the plebiscite happened and we’re free at last. Anyway, we both love music and we think we can make a go of this. And I’ve paid the rent on the shop and apartment for the next two years. We’ll know by then if we’re on to something or not.’

  She paused to sip again from the cup of wakefulness. ‘When Grandpa died, everyone else in the family decided to move into a huge palace in the northern suburbs. I didn’t want anything to do with it. They’re more or less okay about me and Kate, but I don’t want that sort of life. And some of my cousins and relatives … well. I don’t want anything to do with them. They’re scary people. So with my share of the estate I’ve put a deposit on a block of land in Narre Warren for the two of us, and there’s just enough capital left over to keep us going. We can always teach music later on if this doesn’t work.’

  Northern suburbs, hmm? I decided to go for broke. ‘I think you’ve made good choices. Following your dreams is important. Can I ask where your family went?’

  ‘Kilmarnock. It sounds a bit dire. And the house? It’s like a fortress.’

  ‘It probably needs to be. I hear strange things about Kilmarnock.’

  ‘Me too. Young gay couple surrounded by bogans and warlords? There’s drugs and guns and warlords having fights and Dad’s in the middle of a gang war with people trying to kill each other all the time. No thanks! The really weird thing is that Dad’s worried about me. “Bad things happen in the city!” he’s always telling me. As if. There’s cops everywhere, CCTV cameras covering every square metre and nothing bad’s happened to us.’ Her face clouded over. ‘Oh, I’m sorry. I forgot about the break-ins in your building. But it isn’t like this normally, surely?’

  ‘Until this last week, no. I would have said this part of the city was really safe, unless you’re out after two in the morning. Apparently that’s when it gets a bit lively, though I wouldn’t know. I keep bakers’ hours.’ Something occurred to me. ‘Can I ask who told you about my break-ins?’

  She gestured towards the interior of the shop. ‘I think it was one of the actors in there. Kate and I have done some drama ourselves, and we got talking to them yesterday. They said they’re living in your apartment block.’

  ‘Can you remember which one it was specifically who told you?’

  She frowned, thinking. ‘The Grammar boy. Stephen I think his name is.’

  At that moment Del Pandamus re-appeared with Marie’s takeaway souvlaki, and both dogs gave voice to pleadings and urgings. ‘It’s all right,’ I said. ‘They can have some of mine.’ I ducked back inside, brought out the remains of my souvlaki and my bowl
of yiaourti me meli and looked at Marie. ‘Is it all right if I feed them some scraps?’

  Marie looked down at Allegro and Biscuit, who gave her the most beseeching looks I had ever seen from anybody ever. ‘All right, you two. Sit down, and the nice lady will give you something.’ She flashed her deep eyes at me. ‘A piece of meat each, and a bit of the pita bread will do them.’ I wrapped up two pieces of meat in scraps of bread and watched them. They were straining at their leashes and whining softly, but doing their very best to be Good Dogs. I could not resist their entreaties, and handed over my offerings.

  These proved acceptable, and Marie rose. ‘I’ll settle up, and then I’ll have to go. Good to see you, and don’t forget to drop in to Heard It Before.’

  As Marie paid her bill, I stroked the two dogs. They looked with envious eyes at the paper-wrapped souvlaki sitting in the middle of the table, but they made no improper attempts at piracy. These were undoubtedly the best behaved dogs I had ever met. Not that I was a Dog Person. Some people are ambidextrous in their love of cats and dogs, but I had never attempted to diversify into canine companionship. What Horatio would say if I brought home a dog was more than I dared imagine.

  Presently Marie appeared, took the leashes in her left hand and waved with her right. ‘See ya!’

  I nodded, thinking hard. No, I decided, nothing sinister should be read into the actors’ gossip about the break-ins. They had not told Marie anything they shouldn’t. But I was still possessed by the feeling that there was something missing. Some vital piece of information that would make sense of all this weirdness to which we had been subjected. But before long my reverie was interrupted again.

  ‘Corinna! May we join you?’

  The whole world was coming to sit at my feet today, it would appear. Detective Senior Constable Letitia White sat down beside me at the table, crossed her legs and gave me a searching look. Constable Helen sat opposite, smiling encouragement to Assist the Police with Their Enquiries.