Page 101 of The Impossible Fortune

‘The co-owner of a very well-protected security compound,’ says Ibrahim.

‘Her car blew up,’ says Kendrick. ‘That’s why I was reading about bombs. If you’re scared of something you should find out all about it.’

‘How much money is there?’ Tia asks.

‘A lot,’ says Ibrahim. ‘Certainly a lot more than the half a million pounds you were expecting from your robbery. But don’t get ideas. No one can touch it until they have the codes.’

For some reason Ibrahim seems to be saying this accusingly.

‘Is there like a zillion pounds?’ says Kendrick.

‘Perhaps not quite that much,’ says Ibrahim. ‘Somewhere in the middle.’

‘And if you crack the code, you can steal the money?’ Kendrick asks.

‘Not exactly,’ says Ibrahim. ‘But it might help us catch whoever killed Holly.’

‘Or whoever killed Holly might steal it first,’ says Joyce.

The front door of Ibrahim’s apartment opens and Elizabeth rushes in.

‘But that door was locked,’ says Kendrick.

Elizabeth shrugs. ‘Hello, Kendrick, and you must be Tia. Ibrahim, I have Holly’s code.’

‘Codes!’ says Kendrick, excited.

‘I do too, I think,’ says Ibrahim. ‘The year of her birth, that was the biggest clue. Seventy-six, or, if you flip it around, sixty-seven.’

Kendrick nods.

‘Holly Lewis wasn’t ringing Jill Usher or Jamie Usher,’ says Elizabeth. ‘She was writing down her code.’

‘Nice one,’ says Tia.

‘07941,’ says Elizabeth. ‘That’s the same as Holly’s own number. Then 416617. 416617. That’s her code. It happened to connect to Jill and Jamie Usher, but the person the number belonged to was random and meaningless, which was why we couldn’t find any connection. The number itself was the thing. Holly did exactly what I told her: she wrote it down for someone to find.’

‘That’s very clever,’ says Joyce.

‘I am very clever,’ says Elizabeth. ‘Don’t you remember?’

‘But you still need the other code?’ says Tia.

‘And perhaps you are wrong?’ says Ibrahim.

‘She had no reason to ring either Jill or Jamie,’ says Elizabeth. ‘She wasn’t ringing a person; she was storing a number.’

Ibrahim nods. ‘And I see it does have a seven in it. And two sixes.’

56

Joyce

Well done, Elizabeth, don’t you think?

We need four things to get to the Bitcoin.

We need Bill Benson’s cooperation, and we have that thanks to Ron.