Jesse forced himself to take a deep breath before trying the key. He returned to the prompt marked ACCESS ACCOUNT. Carefully, he entered the long chain of characters. He hit Enter and red letters appeared in a screen banner. KEY NOT RECOGNIZED. He was positive he’d made no error. He tried the key on the wallet with the ten grand. A blue-lettered banner. CLEARED FOR TRANSACTIONS. Jonathan had set up this wallet. But how had he accessed the multimillion-dollar account?

Jesse checked the time. Five thirty. Ten thirty in London. Odds were Tracy was still awake. He texted her a message:

need to talk asap via WhatsApp. no Skype.

He knew she’d understand he wanted the most secure connection available.

Five minutes later, she called.

“Something’s happened, right?”

“Yes. Something big. I re-created Finch’s computer and was able to link to virtual wallets.”

“You were able to use the KryptoFold?”

“No. I found wallet addresses and worked manually.” He explained the actions he’d taken and what he theorized had transpired. “I’m going to share this with Ethel, but I want you to have the same information. Get ready to write. I’m giving you the addresses and the private key to the smaller account. Set up your own wallet and transfer all the funds from the one we can open. Our killers might be trying to do the same thing. And try and trace the coins that Finch gave them. Do that as quickly as you can while I cover Ethel.”

“Jesse, you know they’ll see someone has taken the ten grand.”

“I know. But they won’t know who I am. Or you. We’ll talk in the morning. Meanwhile not a word to anyone.”

***

A gentle knock roused Ethel. She opened her eyes to a darkened room. Still foggy with sleep, she fumbled for her phone and checked the time. Seven thirty.

The knock repeated. She got up and switched on the overhead light. “Who is it?”

“Jesse. I’ve got something to show you.”

She opened the door. He stood smiling and gripping his closed laptop like someone might rip it from his grasp.

“You recovered Jonathan’s data?”

“Yes,” he whispered. “You won’t believe what I found.”

“A link to KryptoFold’s CEO Dwayne Parker.”

His smile vanished. “How did you know?”

“It has to be why they searched the Finch house. They found what you found and are looking for the private key. So, how much are we talking about?”

“Over twenty million.”

Ethel nodded slowly. “Few people would be immune to that temptation.”

“What are you saying?”

“Just that we know the initial conspiracy involved at least three people. Were they at the same level, or does this thing go higher?”

“How much higher?”

“How high can you stack twenty million dollars?” She put on a pair of slippers. “Let’s not talk here. The workout room would be better.”