Page 165 of King’s Ransom

It was a long, shoulderless road that cut through the forests and swamps of this part of Southampton.

There were few cars.

At length, we came to a side road that branched left off Millstone Brook Road, heading north.

It was a tight lane called Northwest Neck Road that went for about a mile or so.

There was only one house on this road and the single narrow tree-lined laneway was the only way in or out.

That house—or rather, mansion—belonged to Aristo King’s first ex-wife, Winnie Tan.

The cab ride ended up costing me $344.

I paid the driver in cash and tipped him another hundred bucks and he drove away happy.

I pressed the call button on the gate.

‘Yes?’ a curt voice answered through the speaker.

‘My name’s Sam Speedman. I’m a private detective. I’d like to speak to Ms Tan about what happened at 59West last week.’

‘Ms Tan already issued a public statement about that and will not speak further about it. Good day—’

‘Tell her I’d like to discuss the affair she’s been having with her ex-husband, Aristo King,’ I said. ‘I have video evidence.’

There was a pause at the other end of the line.

Bzzzz-click.

The gate beside me unlocked and opened by itself.

I stepped through and the automated gate swung shut behind me.

I’d only taken a few steps up the pebbled drive when my burner phone rang.

‘Sam, it’s me, Monty.’ He was speaking quickly, breathlessly.

‘Talk to me,’ I said.

‘Dude, my algorithm just decoded the first two lines of that corrupted plaintext! Don’t go to Winnie Tan’s mansion! Don’t go in there yet, at least not without some cops or FBI with you! It’s her! She’s the client in the plaintext!’

I stopped on the driveway, glancing back at the closed gate.

The very idea of running now was stupid.

I was in the middle of nowhere, among forests and swamps, with no car.

Besides, I’d come here anticipating a less-than-enthusiastic reception, maybe even a confrontation. It’s kinda part of the job.

‘I was starting to suspect the same thing from the fragments of text we had,’ I said. ‘Tell me exactly what you’ve decoded.’

Monty said, ‘It’s just the first three lines of plaintext for now, but here it is:

‘4071AY says: “Need you to be there on the roof with Yasmina.”

‘Then 4633QQ says, “You won’t hurt me, will you?”

‘4071AY replies: “You’ll be extracted upon payment. She won’t. It will look like the GM double-crossed her.” And then the rest goes on. Sam, it was Winnie Tan on the roof with Yasmina Ivanova. She agreed to be there.’