Billy was scared. Not only had Queenen been killed by the gang, but someone had tried to contact him; that was to be done only in the most dire emergency since it could expose Billy. Anyone could be using the phone, maybe one of the gang had grabbed it before they threw Queenen over the edge ... or maybe the mole had got it. There was no way to tell.
Deciding not to answer, Billy grabbed his gear and prepared to make a run for it in case he had been tailed in some way. Once in his car and with no sign of danger, Billy decided to reconsider. Billy drove to a safe location closer to Costello's bar and tried to phone again There was no answer. Surely if Dignam had used the phone, he would have held on to it. This was suspicious. Billy deactivated the phone and went to join the gang. Billy found that Queenan's death appeared to have relaxed Costello. Obviously Costello knew that "Billy" was no longer able to warn the cops, so they did the next drugs pickup as normal.
The next day Billy tried to phone again from the park. Billy phoned several times without success, then suddenly there was a reply. The voice was not Dignam's.
Billy said "This is a dead man's phone, who the hell are you".
"Detective Evans, who are you?"
Pausing to consider, Billy replied "Someone in trouble, where the hell is Dignam".
The cop hadn't got a clue what Billy was on about and went to enquire.
Eventually the cop replied "Sergeant Dignam is off on two weeks sick leave".
"Shit". So who had tried to phone Billy? Billy continued "Spread the word, Queenan was tailed to the meeting with me and then Costello was told where we were. They killed Queenan because they couldn't find me. Costello will find and kill me soon". Billy broke the connection, not certain if he was dealing with an honest cop, or if the call could somehow be traced if Costello had the phone. For now Billy risked leaving the phone live.
Sometime later that morning, Billy was phoned again by an arrogant cop who said that he was Captain Ellerby. Ellerby wanted to know what had happened, but did not give Billy any reason to think that he was a real cop. Billy soon became fed up with having to repeat himself, and was worried by both the time spent and the lack of surety offered; Ellerby treated Billy as a crook and just wanted to ask questions. So Billy said "You could be anyone, even the mole, I only trust Dignam". Billy broke the connection and switched of the phone. Billy would have to wait for Dignam to return, not that Billy trusted Dignam either; Billy had never forgotten Dignam's threat to erase his records, or the way that he had treated Billy as disposable garbage.
A few days later things took a turn for the worst. The gang continued to be skittish and Delahunt's tarring by the cops had not been convincing. Some people pressured Queenan about the danger. Annoyed, Costello said that a contact in the police would soon uncover the rat. Both intrigued and worried, Billy asked how that could be done. Costello replied that some police files were being searched; it should not take long.
What file's? Queenan's undercover files? Unlikely, as they could be accessed only by a Captain and possibly trusted assistants so Billy should already be dead unless the search had yet to begin. The Personnel files? That didn't make sense unless the mole already knew Billy's name. Then Billy remembered the letter. Billy tried to remember the data entry procedure - did it need a password, no. The database would only ask for the password if the person existed on the basis of the information that Billy had supplied Costello.
Billy silently sweated out the next drugs pickup and then went straight home. The mole could contact Costello anytime. Billy grabbed his meds, some biscuits, orange juice and other stuff that he might need, made sure that the house was secure and then returned to his car. Driving near to the park amenities, Billy slept in the car as best he could.
In the morning Billy had "breakfast" and drove into the central district. Once there Billy secured his car and then, with his hood up, walked warily to the SIU building. Once inside Billy headed to reception.
