by Alex Caan
‘What was the message?’
‘Just about some issue with MINDNET. Ruby wanted some advice and we were trying to get together to discuss it.’
‘You don’t know what the issue is?’
‘No, we were arranging a time to meet and talk. She wanted to deal with it face to face.’
‘Are you a lawyer as well?’
‘I am aware of enough law to satisfy my client’s needs. I also do their accounts for them. And PR.’
‘And you take how much?’
‘A measly seven per cent,’ said Rourke, turning his mouth down.
‘Seven per cent seems low, since you do so much for them,’ said Zain.
‘They are in a position of power; they bring the audience. It’s as simple as that. Economics.’
‘Have you got any clients left? Or did MINDNET take them all?’
‘They took everyone I had at the time. I’ve got some more since. Building my list again.’
‘You didn’t set Ruby up with MINDNET, then?’
‘No, MINDNET approached her.’
‘Before that, did Ruby come to you directly?’
‘No, through her ex-boyfriend. James Fogg. He was on my books, too. He was a vlogger as well.’
‘Was?’
‘MINDNET didn’t want him. And I didn’t keep him on. James is one of those kids, they don’t really have a talent. He did some goofy stuff online, made a few people laugh. His audience outgrew him. He stopped doing it, moved on.’
‘To what?’
‘I have no idea. We lost touch.’
‘Must have been tough for him. Losing his online career, and then his girlfriend.’
‘James is made of stern stuff. He’s normal, already has a new girlfriend, I believe. If anything, Ruby was the one struggling to get over him.’
‘The personal stuff she confided in you about?’
‘Yes. She saw me as a father figure.’
Zain looked around the office. There were a couple of filing cabinets – steel, old school. A coffee table with magazines, and a comfy sofa. A door at the back led to the WC.
‘You must pay a premium for this place.’ said Zain. ‘The MINDNET money must have helped?’
‘I pay nada,’ said Rourke. ‘I inherited the lease, and I rent upstairs to train man. Just pay bills.’
‘How does he survive?’ Zain said, referring to ‘train man’.
‘Don’t be fooled by his dinky engines; some of them go for hundreds. He’s a specialist; serious collectors and enthusiasts come to him. He does a lot of international sales. India is surprisingly obsessed with classic British trains.’
Zain feigned interest, then dropped in his key information. ‘I spoke to Millie Porter today. Came directly from her flat, in fact.’
Rourke’s mouth opened into a grin, but his eyes darted sideways, and Zain detected the start of perspiration on his lip.
‘Do you know her?’ said Zain.
‘No, I don’t think I do,’ said Rourke.
Chapter Thirty-four
Zain asked for water, which Rourke got from the sink in the toilet. He gulped it down before speaking again.
‘Lying to a police officer is a serious crime, Mr Rourke. Millie Porter claims you booked her for a party for Dan. She’s an escort.’
‘Not true. I haven’t booked escorts for any of Dan’s parties, or for any of my clients, past or present. I’m not their pimp, detective. She’s lying.’
‘Why would she?’
‘God knows. Maybe ask her?’
‘I did. I saw her. Saw the injuries, too, the ones that Dan gave her. The ones that you paid her off for.’
‘Dan has never been charged with anything, so all you say is conjecture and hearsay.’
Zain liked the man’s confidence, but he needed to convince his face: colour and moisture were all over it.
‘I spoke to Dan this morning. He claimed you supplied him with the drugs he was high on,’ Zain said, deliberately lying. ‘I’m guessing he would say the same about the alphabet of drugs available at his party. The birthday party, you know? The one you didn’t book any escorts for? The one Millie wasn’t pushed out of the window at?’
Rourke wiped his face with his sleeve.
‘Don’t worry, as per your agreement, Millie won’t be pressing charges. Her conversation with me was off the record. Just like this one. Come on, Karl.’
Zain picked up a photo frame on Karl’s desk. A boy and girl, with a woman who looked like summer. Chestnut hair, blue eyes, a naturally straight-toothed smile.
‘Are those your kids? You really want to jeopardise their happiness for Dan’s habit? I’m just trying to work out who he is, and if he had anything to do with Ruby being kidnapped.’
Rourke hesitated, eyeing the picture of his children, clearly gripped in a mental struggle. Zain gave him time; he even moved his chair back, pretending to stretch his legs, to give Rourke physical space.
‘We are running out of options, and time,’ Zain said evenly. ‘I’m not trying to cause trouble. I just want to know as much as I can about Ruby. I’m hoping some little detail will turn up, that somehow we’ll make a link and find her.’
‘You saw the video, you saw what state she is in. Dan is not capable of that. I’m not, either. Whoever has her, it’s not someone from our world. Vlogging isn’t a prelude to kidnap and torture, detective.’
‘Then help me. Right now, Dan’s name is screaming at me. Shut him down as a suspect, so I can focus elsewhere. You know supplying class A drugs is against the law? You must do, you have enough law to work that out, I’m sure.’
‘The drugs are a lie. I’m not crazy. Like you said, I have two kids to think about. And, yes, OK, I hired Millie and a few other girls. As waitresses, not escorts. Just to serve drinks.’
Zain held his smile in check.
‘Dan has a clean image. He’s the boy next door, the all right guy everyone wants to hang with. He’s not cool, but he’s funny, genuine, a mate. That’s his appeal: he’s approachable and he’s relatable. Millions of guys out there think they can be him.’
‘And if they saw him wired and off his rocker?’
‘It’s a tough call. Some might think it’s wild, edgy. Most wouldn’t, and his fan base is teenage kids, mainly. The older ones make a show of getting wasted, but drugs . . . and escorts . . .’
‘A step too far?’
‘Something like that. It’s not just Dan, though. It’s Ruby, too. MINDNET have engineered their romance. It’s not organic, or real. It’s them trying to enthral their captive audience. Everyone loves a love story, right?’
‘Ruby’s parents seem convinced she’s genuinely dating Dan.’
‘How much do parents really know about their kids these days? They do date, but I don’t think they’re in love. I don’t even think Ruby likes Dan very much. It doesn’t matter, though. They make videos in which they play silly games. They make cute comments about each other. Act like a young couple in love, and their fans watch them. Millions of them watch their videos. And MINDNET . . . well have you seen Twilight?’
‘The vampire stuff?’
‘Yes. MINDNET have a blueprint. They want to turn Dan and Ruby into the Edward and Bella of YouTube. They want people to root for them that way. The potential earnings, it’s something, right?’
‘Ruby went along with all of this?’
Rourke looked embarrassed now more than angry or worried. He didn’t meet Zain’s eyes, started scratching at a spot on his desk.
‘MINDNET didn’t like the existing set-up with Ruby and James. I’m not sure how, but they convinced Ruby he had been cheating on her. I don’t know the details; I just caught the tail end. Ruby was heartbroken, distraught. You know what young people are like; they think their relationships are like something out of Titanic.’
‘So Ruby is heartbroken, and MINDNET push Dan into her path? It’s classic in its simplicity, but sickening in its execution. They used her?’
&nb
sp; Rourke didn’t respond. The implication was there though. Then again, was Rourke just bitter at the loss of his former clients? Is that why he was helping Dan with his escort issues? He just couldn’t let go?
‘And if Ruby wanted out of everything? What would Dan and MINDNET do? How far would they go?’
‘You’d have to ask them.’
‘And you? Must be difficult seeing someone else managing them now? Did you resent them? You gave them a start, and when MINDNET turn up, they drop you. Must have hurt.’
Rourke swallowed hard, before denying it. But he was hiding something, Zain was sure of it.
Chapter Thirty-five
Zain was feeling uneasy when he left Rourke, and also feeling sorry for Ruby. These men had orchestrated messing with her emotions, for their own gain. She was barely out of her teens. Zain tried to remember how unprepared he was for the world at her age, how sheltered a life he had led.
His phone rang as he made his way through the Covent Garden crowd.
‘Harris,’ he said.
‘We’ve been trying to get hold of you,’ said DS Rob Pelt.
‘What’s the urgency?’
Zain stopped, letting people walk round him, like water circling rocks in a stream. He was on the piazza, people having coffee and food al fresco, even in the chill.
‘Check your email. Another video’s been uploaded, this time to Ruby’s website. And it’s not good.’
Zain felt adrenalin prick his skin, run through him, as he opened up his email . . . and stared, frozen, at the horror on his screen.
Kate checked in with her mother, then with Ryan.
‘I might be late,’ she said.
‘That’s OK. Chloe will be, too,’ he said.
It was a condition of employment. Ryan got to use Kate’s kitchen to make dinner not only for Kate and Jane, but for his wife as well. A commodities trader in the City, Chloe’s hours were more unpredictable than her own.
‘She feels awful about the lamp,’ said Kate.
‘Me too. I’ll make it up with her later. Gonna watch Gone with the Wind. That’s torture for me; she’ll know it means I forgive her.’
‘Thank you. Sometimes I don’t know how I’d manage without you.’
‘I know when I took up this post that I agreed I didn’t want to know the details. But if she’s gonna start attacking me . . . we need to talk. I need to know now. You said there was a past that you didn’t want to divulge. But you have to trust me. I’m here in your home, and I’m looking after her. You need to trust me, Kate. If you want me to stay, you will have to tell me what happened.’
Kate knew he was right, but she was loath to comply.
‘I’m in a rush now. But I promise I will.’
Kate’s phone buzzed as soon as she turned it on to receive calls. ‘Riley,’ she said, walking to her car.
‘Boss, I hope to fuck you are sitting down,’ said Zain.
‘What’s going on?’
‘There’s another video. Shit just got nasty.’
‘Have you sent it to me?’
‘By email,’ said Zain.
Kate put her phone on loudspeaker, settling into her car seat. She opened the email, played the video.
‘Oh, God,’ she said, jumping as it ended. ‘Get this taken down, now. I want her website offline immediately. I’m on my way to HQ.’
She was shaking as she tried to put the car in gear, her mind reeling as she headed back into London.
Ruby is on her knees. She is seen through a night-vision lens. Monochrome. Green and grey. She is no longer screaming for help. She is still. As though to move will mean death.
Her hands are tied behind her back. The camera zooms in on her face. It is streaked with dirt. Her dress is white, pure white. It is clean. She has been made to wear it. When she looks into the camera, her eyes are bright. It looks like someone has coloured them with luminous paint.
Behind her is a figure. Male, female, it’s difficult to tell.
The figure wears a jumpsuit; it is dark in colour. On their head, they wear a cloth mask, tied at the neck. On the mask is drawn a smiling mouth; there is no nose, and two holes are cut for the eyes.
The figure creeps up behind Ruby. She senses it, her eyes roll to her shoulder, but she doesn’t turn her head.
The figure bends down, says something to Ruby, staring straight into the camera. Ruby nods. The cloth face’s mouth is smiling obscenely.
The scene cuts to dark.
The lights fade up.
Ruby is still on her knees. The cloth-faced figure stands behind her. This time it is holding a gun. Holding it to Ruby’s head. Ruby’s eyes are closed; she is shaking. Her mouth is now covered with tape.
A lightning flash as the gun goes off. Blood, skull, brain fly from Ruby’s head. She slumps to the floor.
The scene fades. Letters appear on the screen. One by one.
Ruby Day. R.I.P.
They fade, replaced by more letters.
You’re Next.
PART TWO
THE INVISIBLE DEAD
Chapter Thirty-six
There was silence in the room. Five people, and no one moved, or spoke. Kate Rilcy’s team. Special Operations Executive Unit Three.
Detective Sergeant Robin Pelt. Responsible for the CSIs, CCTV, liaison with other agencies.
Detective Sergeant Stevie Brennan. In charge of Met liaison, responsible for getting boots on the ground, organising interviews, searches.
Detective Sergeant Zain Harris. Her second in command. Information and intelligence expert. Responsible for analysis, database mining, cyber expert.
Michelle Cable. IT and systems analyst. Responsible for their network, hardware, software and technical structure.
Zain was seated closest to Kate, his eyes alert. Rob next to him, red triangles in his cheeks, reflecting his mood. Stevie was seated across from them, looking away from the group.
‘We failed, then,’ said Rob.
They were in a meeting room, large plasma screen across one wall. Michelle was operating the tablet computer running the video of Ruby.
‘You’re next? What does that even mean?’ said Zain.
‘You saw it, didn’t you?’ said Stevie. ‘She’s fucking dead. And now he’s after someone else.’
‘What if she was dead all the time?’ said Rob.
‘She only disappeared last night; she’s been gone twenty-one hours,’ said Zain.
‘And Sack Face could have whacked her in an hour, made his bullshit videos, and watched and laughed while we’ve been chasing a ghost,’ said Stevie.
‘There’s no body. Shall we still treat this as murder, boss?’ said Zain.
Kate stared at the frozen frame on screen. At the white of Ruby’s dress. ‘Officially, it’s an investigation into a kidnapping, a missing young woman. Unofficially, yes, we treat this as homicide. Even without a body.’
‘Who is he warning?’ asked Stevie.
‘Until we know why Ruby was killed, I don’t think we can answer that,’ said Kate.
‘Let’s just assume Dan Grant is behind this,’ said Zain. ‘He has a bad history and he’s a possessive, sick little twat. He’d get off on this, doing this to Ruby, and then posting it where his fans could see. Threatening the ex-boyfriend.’
‘I need proof, not theory,’ said Kate. ‘Michelle, can you get me some background on the video? I want to know if you can trace it. Make sure any channels or sites that still have a link take it down. And break down the first video; get a forensic arborist or forester to have a look. See if there’s anything specific that might tie down a location. And have a look at the list MINDNET sent over. Any of those trolls make specific threats, or more importantly, any of them in the area, I want to know.’
‘I have some software you can use, Michelle. It runs an algorithm on comments. Can check for users trolling under different handles, picks up on key phrases and repeated abbreviations of words. I also have one that can cross-check IP addresses with
mobile phone numbers.’
Zain’s words were met with a cold stare from Michelle Cable. Even in his first two weeks on the team, Zain had shown off his techie skills. Michelle was paranoid, and felt as though he might be judging her. Kate was aware of the tension but didn’t have time for fragile egos; she was about to head up a murder investigation.
‘Pelt, comb the Days’ flat again,’ said Kate. ‘This time look at everything, including the communal gardens. I’ll head over there with Harris and speak to the parents again, keep them out of your way for a bit.’
FLO had said the Days were a mess after the video was sent to them. Again anonymously, from the same source as before.
‘Brennan, I need you to get me manpower. Question the Days’ neighbours. Any cars seen around Little Venice around that time, see if Ruby got into any of them. Send Pelt any suspicious registration plates, get them tracked on CCTV. Start interviewing her friends again. Any anomalies, you bring them to my attention.’
There was a knock on the door. Lia Chan, one of the admins, opened the door nervously.
‘Just thought you better know, it’s hit the news and the press are going crazy. BBC just ran it on News 24, and #RubyRIP is trending on Twitter.’
Lia closed the door quickly behind her.
‘Fuck’s sake,’ said Stevie. She ran her fingers through her short brown hair. ‘We’re a media circus now?’
‘Let it be. It’s happening away from us. Stay fixed on what I’ve said. I’ll speak to Hope and get him to deal with them. It was only a matter of time; this was always going to happen. I would suggest our perpetrator intended this from the start. Without a ransom request, an apparent motive, I think they wanted the media involved. We can use this to our advantage, though.’
‘How?’ said Stevie.
‘We play by the rules of whoever is behind this, and make one move ahead of them.’
‘How are we going to look? No suspects, no idea where Ruby is, or exactly what’s happened to her. We know as much as those guys do,’ said Zain. ‘I say we haul Dan Grant in. Let’s just make him sweat a bit. He might be innocent, but at least we look like we’re doing something.’