Hacker Read Online Free Page B

it?’ Gib squeaked.
    ‘Just over.’ Mum nodded.
    ‘They must be crazy. If Dad had that kind of money we’d all be living on our own island somewhere,’ Gib said scornfully.
    ‘This isn’t funny, Gib.’ I rounded on him.
    ‘Do you see me laughing?’ Gib snapped back.
    Mum was about to tell us both off when the doorbell rang.
    ‘Who on earth is that?’ Mum frowned.
    She stood up and went to open the door. I couldn’t think. Nothing would come into my head. I sat absolutely still, trying to force myself to concentrate on what Mum had just said.
    Arrested … This had to be a joke … or a mistake. A horrible mistake. Dad arrested … Where was he now? How was he feeling? I turned to look at Dad’s PC which sat, rather self-consciously, on its own table in the corner opposite the telly.
    One million pounds. All that money in Dad’s account … How had it got there? Dad hadn’t put it there, I knew he hadn’t.
    ‘Aunt Beth!’ Gib sprang up off the sofa.
    I turned my head to see Mum follow Aunt Beth and her husband Sebastian into the room. Mum sat down in the armchair, while Aunt Beth sat down in the space Gib had left for her on the sofa. Sebastian stood leaning against the door frame.
    ‘Hello, Aunt Beth,’ I said. ‘I didn’t know you were coming round tonight.’ I had to force myself to speak normally. I wasn’t sure if Aunt Beth knew what had happened.
    Aunt Beth wasn’t really our aunt but that’s what we’d always called her. She and Dad both worked at Universal Bank, although they worked in separate sections of the computing department. They’d known each other for years. I think Aunt Beth was actually matron-of-honour at Mum and Dad’s wedding. So she’d never believe Dad was guilty. She’d be on our side.
    Aunt Beth was tall, quite a lot taller than Mum. She wore glasses with bright red frames and her blonde hair was pulled back into its usual ponytail. I’d never seen her hair in any other style. And she was wearing her usual tiny, gold-stud earrings and her necklace with a ‘B’ hanging from it that she had bought for herself when out shopping with Mum once. I looked past her to Sebastian.
    I liked Sebastian. He was Aunt Beth’s second husband. He didn’t really say much, but he smiled at me a lot. Sebastian was a manager in one of the big West End department stores – I’ve forgotten which one.
    ‘Hello, Gib, Vicky.’ Aunt Beth smiled. ‘Do you mind if I just have a quick word with your mum?’
    From the forced smile on her face and the anxious look she gave Mum, I guessed that she knew all about Dad and the business at the bank.
    ‘It’s all right, Beth. I’ve already told them what’s happened,’ Mum said wearily.
    ‘Is there anything I can do for you, Laura?’ Aunt Beth asked Mum.
    ‘No, I don’t think so,’ Mum sighed. ‘I just wish I knew what this was all about. David phoned me from the police station but all he said was that one million pounds went missing from the bank and it was found in his bank account.’
    ‘I’m afraid I don’t know much more than that,’ Aunt Beth apologized. ‘Usually banks like to try and keep this sort of thing quiet, but the sum of money was so large and David is an employee rather than an anonymous hacker from outside, so the General Manager felt she had to call in the police.’
    ‘Why would the bank want to keep it quiet?’ Gib asked curiously. ‘Surely they’ve got more chance of getting their money back if they make it public.’
    ‘’Cause they don’t want all the people who keep their money at the bank to think that it isn’t safe, of course,’ I answered.
    ‘I didn’t ask you.’ Gib glared at me.
    ‘You’re absolutely right, Vicky,’ Aunt Beth replied. ‘It’s silly but there it is.’
    ‘What do you think will happen, Beth?’ Mum asked her.
    Aunt Beth shrugged. ‘I don’t know. Nothing like this has ever happened at Universal Bank before. But I think the bank will definitely press charges.