Dave typed it and a list of about three hundred files scrolled up the screen and whizzed off the top. He scrolled through before pointing out one called cpx.exe.
‘Can you remember what .exe means?’ Dave asked. ‘It’s the same as in Windows.’
‘It’s short for executable, which is another word for a program,’ James said.
‘Exactly,’ Dave nodded. ‘And the batch of files next to it with .cpx at the end of their names are saved files that work within that application.’
Dave picked one of the .cpx files at random and typed its name. The screen flickered to a crude depiction of a roulette wheel and the laptop played a couple of bars of Viva Las Vegas before a screen of text popped up:
Welcome to CPX – Casino Module for Nimbus
Accounting System
Copyright Gamblogic Corp 1987
Please enter your operator password >_
Dave correctly guessed that the password was PATPaT. A list of options opened up on the screen.
?(1)?Inputs
?(2)?Staff
?(3)?Payroll
?(4)?Cash Account
?(5)?Nominal Ledger
?(6)?More Options
Dave was mystified. ‘This must have come out of some old computer, but why would Will have it?’
‘God knows,’ James shrugged. ‘Maybe it’s just data he found on a second-hand PC. Hannah mentioned that Will was a serious computer geek. He took computers apart and made a bit of money upgrading them, and setting them up for people and stuff.’
‘But that doesn’t explain why he burned the data on to a CD and hid it inside another computer,’ Dave said. ‘There’s got to be more to it than that.’
‘Open up the files. See if you can work out what casino it belonged to,’ James suggested.
Dave selected option one and a screen popped up with a list of data fields.
‘Golden Sun Casino, Octopus House, London SE2,’ James read aloud, then he gasped. ‘Holy turd on a stick!’
‘What?’ Dave asked.
‘Millie’s list, the one I showed you with all the robberies on. Have you still got it?’
‘I tossed it after you showed me. We can’t leave stuff like that around with Max, Pete and Sonya coming in and out every five minutes.’
‘OK, forget that,’ James said. ‘Switch that disk off for a minute and go on to the Internet. Do a news search for Golden Sun Casino and see what you get.’
It took James’ laptop a couple of minutes to shut down, reboot and connect to the Internet. But a quick Google News search confirmed his suspicions:
(Golden Sun Casino Robbery Nets Over ￡90,000
BBC London News – 03 Jun 2004
LONDON – A security guard was seriously injured following an armed raid on the Golden Sun Casino. The raid took place over … (8 Related Stories)
Dave grinned at James. ‘Well remembered. The only snag is, Leon would have needed way more than ninety grand to buy that pub, especially if he had to share the loot with partners.’
‘But look at the date on that web article: June 2004 ties up perfectly,’ James said. ‘It’s obviously not the whole story. But you can’t tell me it’s a coincidence that a kid who lives on this block has information about a casino that was robbed at exactly the time Leon came into the big money.’
Dave nodded. ‘I think Millie’s on duty tonight. I’ll leave a message about this on her answerphone. You contact the twenty-four-hour desk on campus. E-mail them the data on that disk and get them to send it to MI5 for a detailed analysis. Carbon-copy the message to John Jones, so he knows what’s going on as soon as he gets to work in the morning.’
25. GLAMOUR
By the time James had converted the information on the CD into a format that could be read by Windows and attached to an e-mail, it was gone 1 a.m. He dragged his duvet and mattress through to the living-room to escape the lingering smell of burnt dust.
Dave had already set off for his first morning’s work on the car lot when James got woken by a text message from campus:
AM ON THE CASE. WELL DONE ;) SPEAK LATER. JOHN
James snapped his phone shut and snuggled up. He fancied a lie-in after the late night, but realised he had to get off his butt and go to the laundrette, unless he was prepared to walk around smelling like a bonfire for the rest of the week.
*
It was a quiet morning on the lot. Pete had gone fishing with a couple of mates from college. Dave waxed cars and Leon watched daytime TV in the cabin until the first customer turned up. She wanted to test drive a Vauxhall Astra