Olivia, hand on hip, shot him a questioning look. ‘Well?’
He grinned. ‘It’s not been compromised. Lots of small fry with tiny followings, but that’s good.’
Olivia clapped his back and they walked off towards the highest gun emplacement.
Meredith followed with Richard and Dylan.
‘Why is it good that this place is already well known? I thought the point was to find somewhere unique,’ Meredith asked Richard.
Richard, dressed head to toe in fluorescent Ralph Lauren like an escapee from a nineties Vanity Fair advert, stepped carefully to avoid throwing up any dust that would cover his deck shoes.
‘We love first adopters of a place. It shows that there is an appetite for the images here. That the tastemakers have got here first is fine. What we need to avoid is any of the big hitters with huge followings making it here before us. Then we’d be seen as just copying another influencer. This’ – he pointed up at the ruined gun emplacement – ‘is just perfect, darling. It shows we know what’s hot. Adam is going to love you for this.’
They reached the top of the gun emplacement. The floor of the emplacement was made up of old, faded and cracked tiles, that still retained their beauty. There was a large, faint circle described on the tiles showing the circumference of the base of the AA gun which had covered the approaches to the city over the mountains and across the city to the sea. The view was stunning, one of the best in Barcelona, taking in the mountains, the city and the sea.
A couple of young Swedish girls were at the top posing for photographs and when they saw Richard and Dylan they began to giggle and then ran over to ask for selfies. Dylan and Richard duly obliged.
Adam hugged Meredith. ‘This is the fucking mother lode! Look at that vista! I fucking love you, Nancy!’ He lifted her in the air and spun her around.
It was Olivia who brought them down to earth. ‘We will have to be quick, look.’ She nodded at the Swedish girls whose thumbs were moving quickly over the surfaces of their phones. ‘The word has gone out.’
Adam put Meredith down, placed his camera bag on the floor and began to pull out his camera equipment. ‘Dylan,’ he shouted, ‘I want handstands’ – he waved towards the view of the city – ‘at the edge of the emplacement. Come on, let’s go.’
‘One thing which is important,’ whispered Richard, ‘is that the shots look like we are the only people here. I don’t know why but despite the fact it’s about sharing photographs amongst millions of people, photographs of lots of people don’t do well.’
‘Probably because looking at them is a solo pastime,’ replied Meredith.
Richard laughed. ‘Like all the best ones, darling. Come on, it’s showtime.’
Dylan was performing a one-handed handstand and Adam was on his knees clicking away on his single-lens reflex camera.
The Swedish girls were behind Adam and were taking pictures on their mobile phones.
‘Richard, you’re on!’
Olivia had joined them. ‘Run along, Dickie, time for your jester routine.’ She handed him a small bottle of water.
Richard grimaced but accepted the bottle. He walked into the shot and then with an exaggerated run and jump, started throwing water over Dylan. Adam kept snapping away.
‘Dickie applied for RADA, you know. Got turned down. Who would have thought that, given his obvious talent.’
Richard and Dylan were play-fighting now.
‘Their shots are always the same: fast shutter speeds capturing the water droplets going over each other. Consistently gets high “likeage”.’
‘And what about us?’
Olivia applied some lipstick and looked down the hill. A small crowd of teenagers and millennials was making their way up with their phones held aloft.
‘We need to hurry: they are coming.’
Adam didn’t stop shooting, just waved Meredith and Olivia forward. ‘Dylan, Richard, fuck off. Olivia and Nancy, you’re on.’
‘We do pathos and sexy and that is all. Hurrah for gender stereotypes, hey.’
Dylan and Richard moved back behind Adam. There was a largish crowd forming there and they started posing for more selfies with them.
‘I don’t know how long they will be able to hold them back. We are going to have to work quickly here. Sit at the edge, arms around each other, looking into the distance. Think…’ Adam paused for a moment. ‘Think sadness and that.’
Olivia rolled her eyes at Meredith. ‘Told you, but it works. Come on, sit down here.’ She sat at the edge of the gun emplacement and Meredith joined her. She noted that there was a drop of around thirty feet beneath their dangling legs. If we fell from here, we would very likely die, she thought.
Adam moved around behind them but kept shooting. ‘Keep looking out to the sea. Sadness! This is our “looking for Amy” shot!’
‘How is Amy’s hunk, by the way?’
‘He’s very good-looking and she seemed quite settled there.’
‘Put your arm around her, Olivia!’
Olivia slung her right arm over Meredith’s shoulders and shuffled up closer so their thighs were touching.
‘She does this everywhere we go. She will be bored soon and then come back and after that–’ Olivia made a forward movement with her arm and for a second Meredith thought she was going to push her off the platform.
‘Be careful!’
‘Only messing around: “saved your life” as we used to say at school.’
There was the sound of many footsteps.
‘Shit,’ said Adam.
Three girls sat down next to Meredith.
‘This is so cool, ja,’ said the one nearest to her in a German accent.
‘Game over,’ said Olivia, ‘come on, let’s go.’
They stood up and their places were immediately taken by a Korean couple.
Everywhere she looked Meredith could see a phone screen pointing in her direction. It was disorientating and unnerving. Richard appeared by her side and took hold of her elbow. ‘It’s a bit weird at first, but you will get used to it. We have to go: they can get a little strange when their numbers get this big.’
They shuffled through the throng, fixed grins in place, and made their way down the steps to the bottom of the emplacement. The top was swarming with people now all taking pictures, some replicating Dylan’s acrobatic pose, most trying to sit on the edge in the same place where Olivia and Meredith had been a moment before.
‘That’s really scary. Someone could get hurt,’ said Meredith. It was true, thought Meredith, people wanted the experience, or rather a photograph of the experience, so much that they seemed oblivious to the precipitous drop. They would risk their lives and those of the people around them for so little. What would people do for something more deserving, she thought? What would she do?
Richard didn’t stop walking down the path towards the road where the taxis would be waiting. ‘People do, all the time, but the key is to make sure you get the photograph if they do.’
They reached the taxi and Adam was standing outside the cab waiting for them. ‘Great work guys. You okay?’
He didn’t wait for an answer and got in the cab. They joined him and headed back down into the city.
13
Maria stood back and admired the results of her work. She was pleased and so was Meredith.
‘You look so different but still so, so beautiful!’
Meredith would have blushed but that was something that seemed to happen to other people. ‘Why thank you. It is quite striking but I love it.’
She examined herself in the mirror. It was strange seeing her reflection with electric blue hair. It was her, but a reinvented version. This was an odd thing to think as it was only her hair that had changed colour – but it did seem to be more fundamental than that. She smiled at her reflection. She liked it, and in Barcelona, it wouldn’t stand out.
One lesson her father had given her, however unintentionally, was the best way to hide was out in the open. I
f the police were investigating the cause of ‘Tom from Milwaukee’s poisoning’, it wouldn’t hurt to change her appearance.
This also applied, of course, to her increasing Instagram appearances. The risk was vanishingly small that someone from Seneca, Oregon, would be checking Instagram and recognise Nancy as the sixteen-year-old Meredith Weaver who had run away from home following the death of her father. But the blue hair would make her feel more secure.
And what was more, she was positive it would get her more views and likes. Adam would be pleased.
‘You will break hearts with this hair, guapa,’ said Maria.
Meredith thought of Edu but just as quickly forced herself to focus on the prize, which was the life that Amy and The Squad led.
Adam clapped his hands when she entered the rooftop pool area. ‘Out-fucking-standing. I fucking love it. I’m getting my camera.’
Dylan, who was swimming lengths in the pool, popped his head out of the water. ‘Nice hair,’ he said and then submerged himself and continued on his way. It was the longest conversation they had had to this point.
Olivia was sitting at a table sipping on a gin and tonic and she waved Meredith over and smiled at her.
Be on guard, Meredith told herself. She joined Olivia at the table and Olivia leant forward and pecked her on the cheek. ‘You not joining them for a swim?’ asked Meredith.
Olivia pulled a horrified face. ‘Absolutely not, I hate it and, to be honest, I can barely swim. Just enough to save my life. Oh, and I adore the hair. Adam is right: we can use this right away. Hair changes are a big thing. You’re not super well known yet but we have to tell you that our post, ‘Looking for Amy’ has hit nearly 100,000 likes in twenty-four hours. That’s huge!’
Meredith looked for any sign of irony or teasing but there was none. Olivia may be suspicious of her, may not like her, but one thing she did value was the business of The Squad, and Meredith had scored well here. There was hope she may join them yet. ‘Thanks. The hair was an impulse thing, you know.’
She didn’t add that it was the kind of thing Amy would have done.
‘And what a great impulse! It’s a whole new you and on the subject of “new”, I wanted to “reset” our relationship. I feel I’ve been less than welcoming when, after all, we dragged you into our world, not the other way round. Will you forgive me, Nancy?’
Meredith didn’t smile but instead, she put out her hands across the table and Olivia took hold of them. ‘There really is nothing to forgive.’
‘Love it! Hold it there!’ Adam took a bunch of shots. ‘Okay, you can let go now. I got that.’
Olivia raised an eyebrow. ‘What’s the phrase, Adam? “You know the price of everything and the value of nothing.”’
‘This is great content and now, if you wouldn’t mind, Olivia, I need to get some solo shots of Nancy’s new hair. We are going big on this.’
Olivia shifted along and stood up. ‘I’m glad we had this little chat, Nancy.’
‘Me too,’ said Meredith.
‘Come on, Nancy! Give me that legendary smile!’ said Adam.
She twisted her head to one side and smiled her most innocent smile, but even though Olivia had her back to her as she walked off, Meredith was sure that she heard her snigger.
Later that evening, as she sat waiting for Edu to arrive, she saw something puzzling. They had arranged to meet in Plaça de la Virreina and she had arrived, as was her habit, early. As she sat drinking her cortado and watching the people who passed by and stopped in the square, she saw Edu enter the plaza from the opposite corner from where she sat in the Café Virreina.
He stopped briefly to speak to a group of men who were drinking at a terrace table in another café. He hadn’t seen her yet, she was sure, and more to the point he didn’t seem to have noticed the small, middle-aged man who had followed him into the square but who had now stopped by one of the trees. He was pretending to look at his phone but his eyes never left Edu.
Why would Edu be followed? Was he married? Could this be a private detective? But this didn’t fit: she had done a cross-check against social media sources and there didn’t seem to be any suggestion of a wife or significant other.
Edu had spotted her now and he waved to her as he crossed the square. She waved back but she was watching the small man who was now, she was sure, using his phone to take a picture of the group he had just been talking to and would, she was sure, soon take a picture of her when Edu arrived.
She got up and shoved a five-euro note in the hand of the surprised waiter and then walked down Carrer de l’Or which ran adjacent to the square. Edu had watched her do this and he followed her. She ducked into a doorway and when he half-jogged past, she stepped out and joined him.
‘Hi! I thought we were having a drink there!’
She linked her arm in his. ‘You are being followed. Don’t look back and walk quickly with me.’
He looked back. ‘Hijo de puta! Okay, let’s just go into the next bar. He won’t follow us in there.’
Meredith shook her head. ‘No, keep walking. We need to shake him off.’ She picked up the pace and they ducked into the next alley and then sprinted along it, jinking down another side passage and eventually emerging in Travessera de Gràcia, one of the main thoroughfares that ran northeast to southwest across the barrio.
Meredith risked a look behind and couldn’t see the small man. ‘Come on, down here.’
They walked quickly down another alleyway and then cut down an even narrower street that was strung with washing drying on lines so low that they had to move through them like palm leaves in a jungle. They heard a woman shout some abuse in Catalan and when they reached the end of the alley Edu grabbed hold of Meredith’s shoulders. ‘Stop, we’ve lost him.’
Suddenly it was quiet, save for the barking of a lone dog from the open window of one of the apartments above them.
Meredith shook loose of his grip. She was angry with him: the last thing she needed now was the police becoming interested in her, not when there was a possibility of becoming a more permanent fixture in The Squad. She pushed him back. ‘Who is following you? Government or gangs, which is it?’
He looked startled and began to speak. ‘I don’t know.’
‘You’re a liar.’ She turned and began to walk off. Edu ran and caught hold of her. ‘Look, I’m sorry, it’s the Guardia, the National Guard. They think I’m part of something a bit more extreme in the independence movement but it’s paranoia, I just let those guys use my bar to meet up.’
Meredith started to walk off again but stopped. ‘No, most people here are part of the independence movement. There is more to it than that. What do they think you are involved in?’
He shook his head slowly and then closed his eyes for a second. When he reopened them, he nodded. ‘Look, they think I’ve got something to do with Terra Lliure, the freedom-fighter group I told you about. It’s total bullshit but everyone is panicked and one rumour can get you arrested. Some of the guys who meet at the bar, they say things when drunk, make big talk about “taking the struggle violent”, but it’s nothing more than that, talk. The Spanish government is so paranoid they spy on everyone. It doesn’t mean anything.’
Meredith looked at him. He was almost pleading with her and she could see that he was telling her the truth or at least something very close to it. ‘Okay, I believe you.’
The lines around his eyes softened and the faint inklings of a smile appeared.
Meredith realised just how hot it was and how the exertion and stress of getting away from the man following them had made her sweat. They both looked like they had been caught in a downpour.
He stepped closer. ‘But can I ask you a question?’
She stood her ground as he closed the distance between them. ‘Sure.’
‘Why did you run when you saw someone following me? What’s your secret, Nancy?’
There it was again, his superpower. She wanted to tell him everything. Or maybe it wasn’t a sup
erpower. Perhaps she did have some feelings for him? Meredith wasn’t sure but something was different and she felt it.
Trust. It was a valuable commodity and Meredith decided to buy.
‘My name isn’t Nancy. It’s Meredith.’
And this time she kissed him first.
14
‘He really likes you, you know?’ said Amy.
Meredith stretched out and let the sand run between her fingers. She didn’t particularly like the beach. There was a vulnerability about lying down amongst strangers whilst wearing a bikini that made it less relaxing than she knew it was meant to be. Barceloneta beach had added dangers, such as hawkers, thieves and drunken, leering guiris, that meant she was never off her guard. She remained vigilant so that she didn’t become prey to the many predators that stalked the beach.
Amy, on the other hand, seemed chilled to the point of dreamy oblivion. Behind her Gucci shades, Meredith could see that her eyelids were heavy, which may also have something to do with the weed she had been vaping since they met a couple of hours earlier. She had offered the vape pen to Meredith, who had declined. She didn’t trust anything that interfered with her thought processes and she was surprised and slightly disappointed with Amy.
Meredith made unfriendly eye contact with a Senegalese man with large green sunglasses and a bag full of trinkets who was approaching them, and he diverted his course towards a group of Dutch girls sharing a large blanket next to them.
‘Edu? He seems nice enough, I suppose. How is your romance with Ferran going?’
Amy rolled onto her back so she could see Meredith, who was sitting cross-legged next to her. ‘I feel like I could be in Cuba in the fifties. He reminds me of Che Guevara.’
How to Kill Your Friends Page 10