The Other Side Page 11

  ‘You are so sweet Kavya, warmly inviting the person who suspected you as the culprit behind the scam,’ said Sahil and burst into laughter. He again got a nice punch from Harvey. Eventually, Harvey and Sahil accepted the invitation to dinner.

  Chapter 25

  Sahil introduced Harvey to the best hacker in Mumbai. Kavish Mehra had a record of hacking many accounts and retrieving information. Tracking phones and IP addresses, or sending messages without exposing the IP address was easy for him. Sahil thought he might be able to help with something. He also had helped cybercrime bureau various times to solve cases. Kavish dressed casual, like a college going kid. His physical appearance was such that no one would take him seriously. But once he brought up a superb idea and cracked a difficult cyber puzzle, he would leave his clients amazed. Kavish had opened his little online security agency, where they protect websites and other details from getting hacked or stolen. Sahil had full confidence on his friend. Sahil briefed Kavish about the scam and how his friend had got affected. Being a hacker himself, he had heard about the scam and what the hackers did.

  ‘So, what all information do you have until now?’ asked Kavish.

  ‘I have the IP address of the first email that my friend had received, and the second is from some different place. The account detail which the blackmailer had given to transfer the money is from India, and we have found that it is of some bank from Ankleshwar, Gujarat. The way my friend was blackmailed is completely different from that of other victims. The modus operandi for the transfer of the hush money was rather odd. My friend was asked to visit Las Vegas where he was asked to lose a certain amount of money to a pre-decided opponent. The girl to whom he lost was an Indian, Kavya Mehta, who claimed that she was unaware of the scam and was in the US for holidays. This was also confirmed by an email from the blackmailer saying that he had missed the girl at the table and a fresh and larger demand was made of him. My friend followed Kavya, and eventually, they turned out to be good friends now. He too is convinced that she cannot be the blackmailer. But I am not and so I came here to track her and check,’ said Harvey.

  ‘Dude, is she the same Kavya Mehta who has filed PIL and is in the news?’ asked Kavish.

  ‘Yes dude, she is the same one,’ said Sahil.

  ‘Are you sure she can be the culprit?’ Kavish asked Harvey. He too could not believe Kavya would do such a thing.

  ‘There are chances that she may not be, as whatever details she had given about herself to my friend is true. Moreover, we tracked her for a day, and there was nothing fishy about her movements. I had also attached a GPS tracker to her car to follow her movements, but she found out and somehow managed to see me, and she called my friend and told him everything about it. She met us later to return the device and has invited us for dinner tomorrow. She also said we could ask her anything directly and that she would co-operate,’ said Harvey in an embarrassed tone.

  ‘Dude, seriously? GPS tracker and all and she found out about it? She is a smart girl. In that case, I doubt if she can be your culprit. No hacker involved in such a big scam would love to be in the limelight. And secondly, she has given all the correct information and is so friendly to you people,’ said Kavish.

  ‘I know, all things favour her, but there is something so smart about her I feel that she is involved,’ said Harvey.

  ‘Okay, we will find out; give me the IP address of the first email you had received. And tomorrow do go for dinner at her place, and as you get a chance, send me an email from her laptop to check her IP address, rest we will see,’ said Kavish. Sahil went off to drop Kavish after dropping Harvey to the hotel.

  ‘I didn’t know detectives from the US are unable to deal with this scam. The hackers there have gone to such a huge level of doing a big scam like this. And a detective from there is playing with a GPS tracker here in India, with the person who is ready to give information and help. I just don’t understand this, is he not wasting time here?’ asked Kavish.

  ‘I too think Kavya cannot be the culprit and I have explained it to him. But it is also true that his instinct works really well. I had seen that when we were in London. So even though I feel he is on the wrong track, I am letting him satisfy his instinct and helping him here as he is new in India,’ explained Sahil.

  ‘Why does he not complain to police in the US? They are so well equipped, with the latest technology which we can just not use it here without legal permission. I am sure they can solve his case sooner than he can solve it himself,’ suggested Kavish.

  ‘I too suggested the same. The police are working on the scam as the company has complained. But he cannot put a complaint personally as then his friend’s family would come to know about it. Especially his wife. As of now, his wife is not aware of anything, this is what his friend says,’ said Sahil.

  The next day was leisure for Harvey and Sahil. As of now they didn’t have to track Kavya or anyone else. Harvey started preparing to leave for the US as well. He kept his morning for some sightseeing and eating some authentic Indian food. Sahil took him to Colaba for some authentic biryani and rolls at Khyber and Bademiyaan. Harvey did some junk shopping from Colaba. He was excited to get many antiques from there. He liked collecting small stuff and sovereign from wherever he goes. After all the sightseeing and shopping they reached Kavya’s place at 7 p.m.

  ‘Hi, welcome to our home, Harvey and Sahil,’ Kavya greeted them as she opened the door. Harvey liked the entrance of her house, it was beautifully decorated with flowers and idol of Lord Ganpati. The name board was artistically engraved on the wooden plank. And a nice aroma enchanted the entrance. All of it gave very positive vibes. The hall was decorated more prettily, it had a huge balcony where she had kept all different plants and many colourful bougainvilleas. The corner of the living hall had a huge bookshelf and a reading space. Harvey checked the collection of her books carefully. As he observed minute details here and there, Kavya walked in with some welcome drinks.

  ‘If you are done, Harvey then come, have a seat,’ said Kavya sarcastically as she offered them drinks. Sahil winked to Kavya at her sarcastic tone.

  ‘I am not investigating now, you guys, I just loved your décor, Kavya. You have done it very beautifully,’ complimented Harvey.

  ‘Thank you, Harvey, have the drink, and then I will show you other areas of the house,’ said Kavya.

  ‘So, how’s your investigation work going? Don’t you want to ask any questions or do you want to still keep investigating secretly?’ Kavya teased Harvey. Sahil sensed that Harvey was feeling awkward about everything and that he still had to get the IP address of Kavya’s laptop. To further save him from the embarrassment, he only asked Kavya for her laptop.

  ‘No, no, Kavya. He is completely done with your case. He is just on a leisure day today. But can I get a laptop or a computer of yours to use for five minutes? I have been out since morning with Harvey for Mumbai darshan and I had to mail a report to my office. I have not got time since morning, and since the attachment is long, I cannot send it from my phone, and by the time I reach home it will be too late,’ said Sahil. Harvey looked at him in surprise and smiled after realizing that he saved him from further embarrassment.

  ‘Oh sure Sahil, you don’t need to give me such a big explanation. You can use my laptop,’ said Kavya. Sahil quickly sent an email to his other email id and gave the laptop back to Kavya. Sahil found nothing substantial in her laptop while he was using it. Looking at her readiness to provide him with the laptop without delaying a little made him, and Harvey convinced that the IP address was not going to match with any of which they have.

  Kabir came on time as just Kavya was serving the starters. Harvey and Sahil left all their investigation work as they were convinced that they are not going to get anything. They just simply relished good Indian food and were chatting over other issues. Kabir asked Harvey about the scam and other things happening in Los Angeles. They talked about Sam and Kavya’s health issues and about her movement of filing PIL.
Harvey and Sahil were enjoying themselves and rather than leaving from their home, they sat for a more time post-dinner and were chitchatting about other things. All were really having a good time. Looking at their friendly and co-operative gesture, finally, Harvey was convinced that she cannot be Sam’s blackmailer.

  ‘Thank you, Kavya, for the lovely dinner and the quality time. And am really sorry for tracking you and suspecting you. Do let me know when you come to visit the US again and get well soon,’ wished Harvey to Kavya. Sahil too, was overwhelmed with their hospitality and exchanged numbers to be in touch.

  ‘It’s my pleasure, and do let me know once you track Sam’s blackmailer and give my regards to Sam,’ said Kavya. Kabir gave them boxes of sweets and other specialities of India. He gave one more packet for Sam, and they bid farewell and left for the hotel.

  ‘They are so sweet, I really enjoyed their company,’ said Sahil.

  ‘Yes, they are, so what do we do now? We are too late to meet Kavish now. How about meeting him tomorrow morning?’ asked Harvey. It was past twelve, and they decided to meet him tomorrow morning.

  Chapter 26

  Harvey had a long conversation with Kavya one-to-one while Sahil and Kabir were having a separate discussion on the balcony. It was after that Harvey changed his view regarding Kavya. He confessed about tracking her and asked her if everything was okay, as they had seen her visiting a psychiatrist and then the hospital. Kavya was at first loath to share details and gave a stern look to Harvey. Eventually, she opened up.

  ‘The medicines are creating a lot of side effects. Things are getting beyond my control. All my medicines are toxic and are taking a toll on my body. Due to one drug named Cycloserine, I feel depressed a lot. There are times when I don’t feel like living and want to give up with the fight against TB. There is another drug named Clofazimine; after consuming it for a few months, it makes your skin feel dry and changes it colour. And due to that, I have a condition called ichthyosis on my legs and a lot of skin irritation. Then there is a drug named Monopas of which I consume eight tablets in a day and that is causing a severe stomach ache and abdominal issues. I just don’t feel good within ten minutes after I consume those tablets. And I have to deal with the worst pain in the stomach twice a day for a good half hour. My legs and feet have started feeling numb and this condition of paresthesia continues for hours. After one and a half year, my doctor had to stop Cycloserine after going through this condition for more than fifteen days.

  ‘At times I feel dying is better than going through the side effects. I fear if my skin condition and other side effects will ever go. Will I ever feel normal? I am frustrated at the effect of my medical condition and thus filing an PIL. I don’t want other people to suffer because others spit and cough openly and spread the virus. And to keep going through this whole process, a psychiatrist advice is very important. It helps me keep away from the negativity hovering on my mind at times and to help me focus on things I want to do in life. There are things which we cannot share with family or close friends easily. They end up thinking you are psychotic or get worried about you. Even Kabir don’t know that I seek help from a psychiatrist. He might not understand the need at first or get worried unnecessary and might behave unnaturally with me. My family and my doctors think that I am a strong girl, but I am not, who will tell them,’ said Kavya. She would not have said anything about her issues unless she had been directly confronted about going to a psychiatrist. She also felt rather good and light after speaking to Harvey.

  ‘That’s a great thought, Kavya. You know self-help is the best help. You know even I used to visit a psychiatrist in Los Angeles a few years back. Even Sam doesn’t know about it. Don’t ask me why, as it’s a long story, but it really helped,’ said Harvey.

  ‘I needed a change badly at the time when I came to the US. I wanted to compose myself again, I felt lost, and I wanted to stay alone for a while, and so I visited Las Vegas at last minute instead of going to Cambridge,’ added Kavya.

  After this conversation Kavya’s actions seemed justified to Harvey.

  * * *

  Next morning, Harvey and Sahil met up with Kavish as Harvey had to leave for the US that day and they didn’t have much time.

  ‘The IP addresses are not matching,’ Kavish informed the other two.

  ‘As it is, the idea of tracking IP address on this case was not sound. Why would the hacker use the same IP address? That’s so basic! We will have to use some different technique to get closer to the blackmailer,’ added Kavish.

  ‘Yes, and for advanced techniques, we will require police help and legal permissions, which I cannot take for this case,’ said Harvey. He was feeling helpless as to the next step with Sam’s case.

  ‘Firstly Harvey, if you are saying that the pattern of blackmailing Sam is very different from other victims, there’s a chance that someone is targeting your friend on a personal level and might be taking advantage of the scam. There is a way where we can check if your friend’s account or other details are really being hacked,’ said Kavish.

  ‘Yes, that’s quite possible. There is a full possibility that hackers other than the main hacker who has hacked the website can take the benefit, but in what way will you find if his account is really being hacked or not?’ asked Harvey. He liked Kavish’s suggestion and was eager to check on that. It was his last day in India, and it was very late to work on it instantly.

  ‘My friend in Australia, Troy Hunt, had recently protected various companies when there were too many cases of data breach and websites being hacked in Australia. His main expertise now is in internet security. Many companies have appointed him for web security and to protect them from cyber breaching. He runs a free web service which allows concerned people to enter their email address, go through a simple process of verification and then to find out if or not their personal information has ever been stolen or exposed in any type of data breach. This way, many companies have improved their internet security, after learning about their data leaked, or accounts hacked. This has saved many people from unnecessary blackmailers taking advantage of the moment,’ said Kavish.

  ‘That’s impressive, we need to check this as soon as possible. Kavish, this is very helpful. Please send me other details and the website to check, everything. As soon as I reach Los Angeles, I shall check all his accounts,’ said Harvey.

  ‘Sure Harvey, the web service’s name is “HaveIBeenPwned.com”. I will also share a word about this to my friend, let’s see if we can get something new to check on,’ suggested Kavish.

  ‘Online security seems such an abstract and distant field, you can just not feel safe anymore. You can get exposed anytime, you never know when,’ said Sahil.

  ‘There was a big credit card breach in January 2000. The blackmailers posted over 300,000 credit card numbers on a website named “The Maxus Credit Card Pipeline”. They stole the credit card information by breaching CDUniverse.com and demanded $100,000 from the owner of the website in return for destroying the data. The hackers are believed to be from eastern Europe, and the case is still unsolved. Like that there are many cases which are not yet solved,’ said Kavish.

  ‘This is though a very different case from other sites breached as it is linked with the private lives and personal information of the victims. It can lead to divorces and suicides, breaking homes. It is going to affect the emotional and mental health of the victim; even if the case gets solved, the scars it will leave behind will never go,’ said Harvey.

  Harvey told them about one of his clients who had joined Ashton Martinson. He had received an email from the blackmailer, stating about exposing his name as a user of the website. The blackmailer demanded two bitcoins, worth around $500, within the next 96 hours to a dedicated bitcoin address. At first, he decided to pay but then on a second thought he stopped. There was nothing wrong in what he did; if he had given the money, then it would prove that there was something to fear of or hide, and thus the blackmailer could take more benefits. Openin
g an account on Ashton Martinson had instead proved beneficial for his marriage.

  The couple, married for years, did not want to have a child at first. Later, when they wanted to have a kid, his wife had a miscarriage. Since she had a lot of issues with sexual relationships, she lost interest in any intimacy with her husband. Husband, on the other hand, wanted to fulfil his sexual desires. He didn’t want to give that part of his life up. Forcing his wife could have led to more stress in their relationship, and hence he opened the account six years ago and has been very happy with it. His desires were fulfilled, and his wife didn’t have to force herself into anything. This led to a good emotional bond between husband and wife. He generally felt happier and less frustrated, which had a positive effect on every area of their life. Relationships are very complicated and have to evolve as people change. And so he decided not to give the money to the blackmailer and rather face whatever came up.

  Meanwhile, Harvey was flooded with calls from Los Angeles, from his clients, from his agency and from Sam. It seemed some emergency had struck in Los Angeles.

  Chapter 27

  Kavish called Troy Hunt to talk to him about the case before Harvey left for Los Angeles. He found out that many people had contacted Hunt to help them in the Ashton Martinson case.

  ‘People mistakenly believe that I have sifted through the leaked data and might be able to help them, my inbox is flooded requesting help; mostly men who are fearful and emotionally distraught. They are asking if I could delete credit card details from the list,’ said Troy.

  ‘That’s bad, let me know if you get any other lead in the Ashton Martinson case,’ said Kavish. He had hopes that soon the case would be coming to an end; at least Harvey would get an idea of his suspect.