The Samsara Project, David Burgess [most popular ebook readers txt] 📗

was sophisticated enough to detect FM, UHF and digital signals. It could even detect transmitters that were in ‘sleep’ mode, the equivalent of a domestic television being on standby.
Alex pointed towards the photocopier. Geoffrey nodded. He slowly walked up to the machine and scanned around it with his detector. Alex was watching the digital data readings as he did this. Every now and then he would stop to write down numbers on his notepad. Alex opened up the photocopier to reveal the inner workings. Taking out a torch and shinning the beam into the dark bowels of the machine he peered inside. He had to shuffle himself around a few times to get a clearer view. “Not a pretty sight”, thought Geoffrey.
Alex called Geoffrey over and pointed to a two centimetre long by five millimetres wide plastic cylinder. One wire came out of each end of the device and these where connected, using very small crocodile clips, to the positive and negative terminals of the power supply. Alex closed the machine and left everything as it was. He then did a full sweep of the office. Another device was planted behind a picture hanging to the side of his desk and one was fitted inside the BT phone socket giving access to incoming and outgoing phone, fax and Internet activity.
Alex pointed towards the office door. The two men left the room, neither having said a word to each other the entire time. Alex spread out his arms and circled the outer rooms and adjoining offices. Geoffrey nodded. Alex then did a sweep of the rest of the offices and rooms. The only place he found another bug was in the Gents toilet.
After the sweep Alex and Geoffrey went into a ‘clean room’ but still talked in low, hushed whispers. “What would you like me to do with the bugs?”
Geoffrey though for a moment, “Nothing he said, let’s leave them in place. Hopefully whoever planted the bugs won’t know they’ve been compromised. That could work well for us, maybe help me to find out who planted them in the first place”
“If you want to do that then I’ve got something that might help you.” Alex opened his tool bag and took out a small piece of electronic kit. Alex explained that when this was fitted over the photocopier’s mains cable it would send an additional and random pulse down the cable. This would effectively scramble the signal and allow only every third or fourth word to be clear. Whoever was listening would think their equipment was faulty. The phone line was a different matter but there were other ways to make phone calls, and Geoffrey was already familiar with them. Alex agreed to re-sweep the premises every other day until further notice.
Geoffrey and Alex then headed off towards John’s house. It was a certainty that he would be bugged as well. Half a mile away from the house Geoffrey stopped at a phone box. He called John’s number and when he answered asked, in his best Welsh accent, if he could speak to Gwen. John assumed it was a wrong number, and that was exactly what Geoffrey had hoped. All he wanted to do was confirm John was at home from an untraceable phone.
The two arrived at John’s house three minutes later. Geoffrey rang the door bell and as soon as John answered the door gestured at him to stay quiet. The three went into John’s kitchen and Alex put down his bag and immediately started to sweep the house. Geoffrey found a pen and paper and wrote down ‘Your house has been bugged. Don’t say anything’ John looked surprised but nodded anyway. He took the pen and paper and wrote, ‘how do you know?’
‘I had a visitor this afternoon who planted a couple of bugs in the office. Chances are all four of us have been’
‘Any idea who’ wrote John.
Geoffrey shrugged and scribbled down, ‘I hoped you might have some idea’
It was now Johns turn to shrug.
John and Geoffrey found Alex outside in the front garden; he had found eight bugs. ‘What do you want me to do with them?’ Alex wrote.
‘Leave everything in place’ wrote Geoffrey, ‘so long as we know about it, we can deal with it.’ The three men walked a safe distance away from the bugs.
“Whoever is on to you is using some very high tech kit,” said Alex, “It’s not the sort of stuff you get on e-Bay. This stuff’s the real deal, whoever it is that wants to listen in is a very serious player.”
During the next five hours both Pat and Andrews homes were swept, with the same results. The last place to be swept was the museum. It was certain that they would find bugs here as this is where their suspicions had first been aroused. They were not disappointed. They again decided to leave them all in place. With Alex’s work finished he said his goodbyes. It had been a long, but very successful nights work for everyone.
Outside Geoffrey took Pat, John and Andrew back to his car. He knew that the car was clean as it had been electronically swept earlier. With everyone settled in the car Geoffrey started to drive, not to anywhere in particular but he felt less vulnerable when on the move. He asked John to open the glove box. Inside there was four mobile phones. “John, take the first one then pass one each to Pat and Andrew. I’ll have the last one.” John did as he was asked. “These phones are guaranteed one hundred percent untraceable. Each one is registered to a fictitious name and address. Do you know there is a road, well a lane actually, in Liverpool where the even numbers start with number two but the odd numbered house on the opposite side of the Lane, start at number forty seven. Numbers one to forty five never existed, they make great addresses.”
“So these phones are secure?” asked Andrew.
“Absolutely,” replied Geoffrey, “each is ‘pay as you go’ and all have two hundred pounds worth of credit. I have already programmed in the numbers of the other three phones. Do not call any other numbers on these phones, use public call boxes for that. So long as we only call each other, no one will be able to track these phones. Everyone clear with that.”
They all agreed.
“I have a question” said Andrew, “Who is after us, and why?”
“That’s two questions” replied Geoffrey “but tomorrow we’ll start to find out, let’s leave the speculation till then.”
Geoffrey then drove each home, dropping John off last. “I call you after the funeral tomorrow. I’d like you to come round to the office and have a look at the photographs and you can tell me how your meeting with DCS Hughes went.”
“See you tomorrow then,” said John, “and thanks for the ride home.”

Chapter 12

John walked into the reception area of DCS Hughes half expecting, half hoping to see Tracy sat behind the desk. He knew though that she was at a funeral in Scotland. Sat in Tracy’s chair, behind Tracy’s desk was a very prim and proper looking temp.
“Can I help you?” she asked.
“Yes, my name is John Reynolds and I’ve an appointment with DCS Hughes.”
“Oh yes, Mr. Reynolds,” she replied, John thought, in one of those voices medical receptionists reserve for patients who had returned to find out if their STD test was positive or not.
‘Atilla’, John could not think of a more suitable name, called through to DCS Hughes’ office. A minute later he came out and called John into his office.
“Nice receptionist,” quipped John. DCS Hughes did not reply, instead he just made a grunting noise.
“Off the record John, we are not getting very far just now. I know it’s only two days but we should have some clue, there’s nothing, just a lot of thin air out there and hot air in here. How are you fairing?”
John shifted a little on his seat, not too sure how much to say. “There are some things I know and some things I have theorised and I also know that there is at least one thing you kept from me.”
“And that would be?” asked DCS Hughes, fishing for an answer.
“Let’s start with the cross,” said John, “then we’ll see where we go from there.”
If DCS Hughes was shocked by what John had just said, he hid it well. “Can I ask where you got that information from?”
“You can ask,” Replied John, “but you know I can’t tell you. All I will say and I hope this puts your mind a rest, is that you do not have a leak in the department. It was just innocent but careless talk overheard by someone who got in touch with me. In fact you have just confirmed that it’s true.”
“I don’t like playing games John and you know that if news of this ever got out I’d have every sicko and weirdo from all corners of the UK claiming they were the killer. The cross and what’s on it will determine who the real killer is.”
“I had no intention of publishing anything about it anyway. I know the significance of a signature.”
“Good, I’m glad to hear it.”
John continued, “I have to respect my sources but I am reliably informed that the killer is a woman. I have no idea who or why and nobody else has much of an idea either. Also the victim, Suzie Reeves. You might want to look closely into her past. Apparently she has not got much of one and what she has is fake’ albeit a very good fake.”
“We are working on a few ideas around those lines just now. This time I’ll keep in touch.” replied DCS Hughes.
“One other thing Chief Superintendent”
“Yes.”
“Why have you bugged my house and phones?”
“Don’t be ridiculous, why would I want to do that? If your being bugged it’s got nothing to do with me.”
“So far everyone I’ve spoken to about this case has ended up being bugged. I assumed that it was you. I have no idea who else would have any reason to.”
“I’m telling you, it’s not us.”
John thought for a moment; that was not the reply he had expected or wanted. “Have you had any unexpected visitors over the past couple of days, any technicians, service engineers, that sort of thing?”
“No, no one except Tracy outside, but she’s from the agency we use because Tracy is off today.”
John walked over to the door; he opened it and looked over at an empty desk. At that same moment, agent two, was walking out of New Scotland Yard having left her disguise inside a waste disposal in a ladies toilet on the third floor.
“Your temp, she’s gone,” said John.
DCS Hughes ran out from behind his desk, reaching the door in record time. He went over to the now empty desk. The paperwork was still in place but there was no sign of any personal items such as a handbag, magazine or mobile phone. “They knew I’d be here this morning,” said John.
“Who are they?” asked DCS Hughes
John was about to answer but something made him stop. He looked around for some paper. He went over to the PC printer, opened the paper drawer and took out a few sheets of paper. He then picked up a maker pen and wrote on the paper, ‘Did the temp bring anything into your office? Think now, anything at all?”
DCS Hughes was not used to being spoken to so