The Tangled Web
Page 16
Hi Flic
No, the email address is just mine. Did you want to place an order?
Diana
*****
To: diana@hepcatcupcakes.com
From: fx@hunEmail.com
Date: 8th March
Subject: Re: Re: Your promotional flyer
No, I did NOT want to place an order. I have a proposal for you. I keep quiet about who you are and don’t tell Magnus. You keep quiet about what I’m doing and don’t tell George. But there are conditions. You absolutely MUST convince Magnus to break up with Vicky. It will benefit you because you get him to yourself. And it will benefit her because she can find someone who deserves her and she can stop wasting her time.
Flic
*****
To: fx@hunEmail.com
From: diana@hepcatcupcakes.com
Date: 8th March
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Your promotional flyer
I am already working on it. Do you think I actually want to share my boyfriend with someone else? That’s just stupid.
Lumi
*****
To: diana@hepcatcupcakes.com
From: fx@hunEmail.com
Date: 8th March
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Your promotional flyer
You’ve got a month or I’ll tell Magnus everything.
Flic
*****
To: fx@hunEmail.com
From: diana@hepcatcupcakes.com
Date: 8th March
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Your promotional flyer
And if I don’t? Do you really want George to know what you’re doing? I won’t be blackmailed!
Lumi
*****
To: diana@hepcatcupcakes.com
From: fx@hunEmail.com
Date: 8th March
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Your promotional flyer
In a month I won’t care. George will know anyway.
Flic
18
9th March
Flic wants to chat with you!
Flic says…
Hi Pamela, thanks for agreeing to this chat
Wee Mela says…
No probs. What can I do for you boss? :D
Flic says…
I prefer to think of us as colleagues, rather than me being your boss ;)
Wee Mela says…
Really???
Flic says…
Yes :)
Wee Mela says…
Epic! :D
Flic says…
I have another job for you to do. One to keep you from going insane while you’re trying to trap that Christos loser
Wee Mela says…
Thank fuck for that! He’s driving me bonkers. He’s soooooooooooooo boring!
Flic says…
Well, this isn’t a honey trap as such. I just want you to do some digging for me.
Wee Mela says…
I can do that.
Flic says…
The problem is I’m honey trapping someone and I think this person you’re going to investigate is getting in the way. But don’t tell Vicky. I don’t want her to think I’m unprofessional and can’t get the job done myself.
Wee Mela says…
Gotcha. So you think this bloke is more interested in this person I’ll be investigating than in your honey?
Flic says…
Something like that. She’s in the way. Her name is Diana Dutkowiak.
Wee Mela says…
Ok. Where do I find her?
Flic says…
That’s what I need you to tell me. I’ve already got Tête-a-net covered. But I need you to find out as much as you can about her elsewhere. Find out if she’s on any other sites. Look at who her friends are on Tête-a-net and see if any of them are in contact with her elsewhere. She may be using different names. One of them might be Lumi. She may or may not be using the email address diana@hepcatcupcakes.com
Wee Mela says…
I’m looking at her pic on Tête-a-net just now. Do you know who her BFF's are? That would be a good starting point.
Flic says…
Not sure. A guy called George Goodbody would be a good one to start with. And try Magnus.
Wee Mela says…
Magnus? Vicky’s Maggie?
Flic says…
The very same.
Wee Mela says…
Why don’t you just do this yourself?
Flic says…
I’m really busy with all the honey trapping jobs, or I would. Plus, you’re so much better at actually FINDING people than I am. Flirting is my forte.
Wee Mela says…
Have I got to talk to her or anything?
Flic says…
If you feel you need to in order to get more information, go for it. But remember this: you absolutely MUST stay incognito AT. ALL. TIMES.
Wee Mela says…
I’m on it.
19
30th March
Flic hovered over the “Turn Off Computer” option for a few seconds, then finally clicked. She collected up heavily edited printouts of the chat which had just taken place with George and sullenly placed the papers in a brown envelope.
She hated herself. She had encouraged George until he said the most explicit things to her that she could have imagined. Her prior knowledge of him meant she knew what he liked and didn’t like. It was too easy.
She stared at the envelope for a few moments, until her phone began to vibrate. She picked it up and saw Vicky’s name.
‘Hello,’ she attempted to put a smile into her voice.
‘Hi.’ The croaked response told her that Vicky was possibly feeling worse than she was.
‘What’s happened?’ she demanded, suspecting this was related to Magnus.
‘Magnus dumped me,’ Vicky sniffed.
‘Oh. I see. I’m so sorry,’ Flic sighed.
‘Are we both single now?’ Vicky asked.
Flic swallowed the lump in her throat down and took a deep breath. She had to tell Vicky some time. ‘Yes. Yes, we are.’
‘What’s happened with you and Adam? I saw that he had changed his relationship status on Tête-a-net to single,’ Vicky wheedled.
‘It was never going to work. Not while I’m doing this job. I just told him it wasn’t fair on him to be involved with him right now,’ Flic stated. She was trying to sound unaffected. She suspected she was failing.
‘So give up the job. It’s not as important as Adam. Neither of us want to do it any more. We’ll finish the jobs we’ve got like we discussed and hand the company over to Magnus,’ Vicky reasoned.
‘That was my plan anyway,’ Flic conceded.
‘Can I come over?’ Vicky grumped.
‘Yeah. I could do with the company.’
The doorbell sounded. ‘Great, because I’m outside.’
Flic couldn’t help but chuckle as she hung up the phone. She sprinted to her front door and wasn’t surprised to see Vicky holding a sleeping Sasha waiting for her.
Vicky tiptoed into the house, so as not to clunk her heels on the wooden floor and settled the little girl on Flic’s plush brown sofa. She placed a blanket Flic had swiftly retrieved from her bedroom over her daughter. They then arranged some pillows and cushions on the floor in case she should roll off the makeshift bed and both sat at the nearby dining table.
‘Do you want a glass of wine?’ Flic began.
‘No thanks, I’m driving. I wouldn’t even fancy having just the one in case it relaxes me a bit too much. Need to stay sharp in case it frosts over again.’
‘I think it will,’ Flic noted, glancing out of the window at the clear blue sky. ‘Do you want to stay over? I bought a travel cot the other day for Sasha to play in when the two of you come over,’ she grinned.
‘Why not,’ Vicky smiled. ‘Are you getting a wee bit broody, spending so much time around Sasha?’
‘Nah. I won’t let myself get broody until I’ve got a man in my life. A permanent fixture, not som
ething casual,’ Flic insisted.
‘So are you going to tell me what happened with you and Adam?’ Vicky pressed.
‘Nothing. Just what I told you.’ Flic hoped Vicky wouldn’t press the issue too much. She retrieved a wine glass from her sideboard and began to pour some red wine for herself.
‘He’s switched his phone off. Where’s he staying?’ Vicky carried on.
‘With Magnus for a day or two. The stairs at Magnus’s flat are causing him problems though. He said he might ask your Mum and Dad if he can move back in with them until he’s better,’ Flic advised.
‘Any chance of the two of you working things out?’
‘I hope so. Once I’ve given up this silly honey trapping business. Maybe…’ Flic trailed off. ‘What’s the script with you and Magnus? What happened?’
Vicky puffed a little sigh out as she appeared to gather her thoughts. ‘He came over tonight, as planned. I thought we were going to get a takeaway and watch a bit of TV. He said he had to talk to me and that things weren’t going to work. We should cool it. But that he hoped we would still be good friends and have a good working relationship.’ She wiped away a rogue tear she had been trying to hold back.
‘What did you say?’ Flic responded.
‘Told him to piss off and threw him out,’ Vicky chuckled and sniffled.
Flic grinned. ‘That’s my girl! Do you know what brought this on?’ she pressed.
‘No.’
‘Maybe he’s just too busy with work and stuff,’ Flic suggested, knowing full well this wasn’t the case.
‘I think he’s probably met someone else. Someone without commitments,’ she reflected.
Flic caught Vicky glancing over at Sasha. She set her wine glass down on the table and pulled Vicky towards her for a hug.
‘Any man who is put off by your daughter isn’t worth having in your life.’
‘I know. I know. I love her to bits. But it’s just hard doing this on my own,’ Vicky sobbed. She seemed to release the tears that were being held back.
Flic held her tighter. ‘Did you really like him that much?’
‘No.’ Vicky let a tearful laugh escape. ‘I was only with him for the sex really. It’s just hurtful getting dumped. It would hurt no matter who he was.’
‘Of course,’ Flic pulled back and found Vicky a tissue from the top of her coffee table.
‘It’d just be nice to have someone to share things with and cuddle up to at night,’ Vicky granted.
‘And I’ve had that and just thrown it away,’ Flic pouted.
Vicky finished drying her eyes and looked directly at Flic. ‘What’s going on? I mean, what’s the real reason you finished with Adam?’
Flic took a deep breath. She would have to tell Vicky the truth. Or at least, part of it.
‘It’s Lumi,’ she began.
‘What’s Lumi?’ Vicky couldn’t mask her confusion.
‘Lumi, the Romanian girl. I met her again at Pawel’s Polish class. Do you remember? And she was calling herself Diana.’
‘Yeah, I remember,’ Vicky nodded.
‘Well, I ran into her again the next day while I was out shopping. And it turns out she’s not just using that name in the Polish class. She’s using it all the time. She’s living as Diana Dutkowiak. Her…um…employer, thinks that’s her real name. He thinks she’s a Polish ex-chambermaid who lived in London and she’s moved up here. She’s taken over our honey’s life.’
Vicky contorted her face. ‘What a weirdo! Why would she do that?’
‘I suppose she’s fed up being Lumi, the homeless girl.’
‘What’s this got to do with you and Adam?’ Vicky scowled.
‘Well, I was a bit unhappy at her using that name and threatened to tell her employer what she was doing. Then she said that if I did that, she would tell George Goodbody what I’ve been doing. It all got too risky. I had too much to lose. Now Adam’s out of the picture, I have one less thing to lose,’ Flic continued.
Vicky jolted a little and became suddenly alert. ‘How on earth does she know anything about George? Well, other than what we told her.’
‘I got Pamela to do a bit of digging earlier this week. There’s Diana Dutkowiaks popping up all over the Internet with her picture.’
‘What? How much does Pamela know?’ Vicky blustered.
‘She just thinks “Diana” is someone getting in the way of an assignment. She doesn’t know much else,’ Flic reassured her. ‘I had a think about it and maybe all Lumi would have to do was look up our Diana profile - possibly even befriend her with a fake profile. Then she would know everything about the character and advise all the friends from Tête-a-net that she’d been hacked and just to befriend her elsewhere. Which would explain why George wasn’t overly responsive. Maybe he thought she was spam. That’s why I had to change tactics.’
Vicky threw her head theatrically into her hands. ‘Well, that would explain a lot So what are we going to do?’
‘You’re not going to do anything. I’ve fixed it,’ Flic told her.
Vicky eyed Flic suspiciously. Flic knew that Vicky didn’t trust her to fix anything. She knew that Vicky didn’t have much faith in her abilities as a businesswoman or as a private investigator. She realised that Vicky was probably right to feel that way.
‘What have you done?’ Vicky quavered, her eyes wary.
‘I got George. Properly. There’s no way he or Amy will need to get back in touch after they read the chat I had with him earlier tonight,’ Flic cringed.
Vicky frowned and shook her head. ‘I thought we agreed we weren’t going to do…..THAT! Not with anyone!’
‘I know,’ Flic replied.
‘How is that going to help? I don’t understand,’ Vicky hissed. Flic knew that Vicky wanted to shout but was keeping her voice down for Sasha’s sake.
‘I logged on tonight on a new profile and befriended him. I used a different profile, different name and different picture. Now that I’ve trapped him, I’ve printed the chat and emailed Amy to say the assignment was completed. The stuff in this envelope that I’ve printed is being posted to Amy tomorrow.’ She gestured towards the envelope of documents she had prepared when Vicky called.
Vicky leaned forward and grabbed the envelope from across the table. She took one sheet of paper halfway out of the envelope, skimmed the words on it and stuffed it back where it came from.
‘Jeez! That’s a bit full on! Ok, so now Amy doesn’t need to get back in touch. She pays us, we forget about her. What about Lumi? What’s to stop her from telling George anyway, if she hasn’t already?’ Vicky reflected.
‘She can tell him what she knows – that we were posing as someone called Diana and we used her picture. But when Amy confronts him it will be a different name on the chat with the honey trapper. It will be Zoe. And the picture I used was of a red-head. Lumi’s story will be completely different from ours.’
Vicky appeared to mull this over for a moment. Then she began to nod and make sense of what Flic was planning. ‘Right, so he’ll know that he was trapped but Lumi’s story won’t add up. There will be nothing linking us to Diana.’
‘Exactly. He was trapped by a red-head named Zoe. And if he were ever to get in touch and question me about it, I can say I’m a trainee plumber now, which I am. Nothing will link me to it. Lumi will sound like a weird liar with half a story,’ Flic assured her.
‘What about you and Adam?’ Vicky almost whispered.
Flic shuffled in her seat uncomfortably. She wanted to hold her emotions back and not give away how heartbroken she really felt. After only a few weeks with Adam she had gotten to the point where having to give him up felt worse than giving up George had felt. She opened her mouth to indicate that she was fine about ending her relationship with Adam but nothing came out.
‘Do you want to talk about something else now?’ Vicky suggested.
Flic nodded sharply. ‘Yeah. Once we finish all our existing HunE-trap Investigations jobs, we’ll hand the re
igns over to Magnus, or Pamela if she wants. She’s eighteen now. She can be as involved as she likes. THEN, I can think about me and Adam.’
Vicky patted Flic’s arm sympathetically. ‘He thinks the world of you. I know he’ll want to try again.’
Flic waved her hand dismissively. ‘Let’s forget about it. What about you? You’re single again! How exciting!’ she smiled, attempting to cheer Vicky up.
‘It’s not exciting,’ Vicky grumped. ‘I’ve got no hope of going on a date with anyone I meet because I always feel like I’m taking advantage asking my parents to babysit. And I wouldn’t trust Pamela to do it. All my friends are attached. My ex is off saving the world, one animal at a time…being single is no fun. Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t turn the clock back. I love having Sasha in my life. It’s just hard. And exhausting.’
‘Oh shut up. You know I’ll babysit any time you like! Can I ask what happened between you and Sasha’s father?’ Flic ventured. She had always been curious and never thought the time was right to ask. She asked Adam once, who responded that Vicky’s ex was a “tree hugging prat.”
‘We had been together since we were at school and had planned a big trip round the world together. I started to really enjoy my job as an undertaker though and decided not to take a year out for the trip. I used the money I had saved to buy a flat instead, which I then sold after Sasha was born so I could move in with my parents again. He still wanted to travel, so I told him to go. In the week before he left, we had a few arguments and I told him it was over. Just after he left, I found out I was pregnant.’
‘No! So he didn’t come home then?’ Flic squawked.