I See You(102)

The line was so quiet Kelly thought Lexi had put down the phone, but finally she spoke.

‘It wasn’t your fault, Kelly.’

‘But if I’d only—’

‘It wasn’t your fault for hanging up, and it wasn’t my fault for walking by the woods on my own. I don’t blame you, and I don’t blame the police.’

‘They should have taken your earlier reports more seriously.’

‘Kelly, the only reason I was raped that night is because one man decided that’s what he was going to do. I don’t know if he’d ever done it before, or if he’s done it since, and rightly or wrongly I don’t care. It was one night – one hour – of my life, and I’ve had thousands more that have been filled with light and happiness and joy.’ On cue, Kelly heard her nephews laughing in the background; infectious, uncontrollable giggles that made her heart lift. ‘It was no one else’s fault, Kelly.’

‘Okay.’ Kelly couldn’t say more, for fear of bursting into tears. She wished now she’d called Lexi from her mobile, instead of being tethered to her desk where everyone could see her. She closed her eyes and put her hand to her forehead. In the background, Fergus and Alfie continued to play, the giggles now interspersed with indignant shouts over the ownership of some toy or other. In her head, Kelly could see Lexi standing in the kitchen, the boys still full of energy despite a full day at school and nursery, scattering Lego bricks around her feet. Nothing about Lexi’s life was defined by her past; she lived in the moment. It was time for Kelly to do the same. She pulled herself together, and they both spoke at the same time.

‘What do you think I should wear?’

‘What are you going to wear to the reunion?’

Kelly smiled, remembering the times they would finish each other’s sentences at school. Lexi used to claim they had special twin powers, but really it was simply that they spent so much time together. The very best of friends.

‘I have to go, actually,’ Kelly said, catching sight of Nick repeating his earlier coffee-drinking mime. ‘I’ve got to go into a meeting. Let me know how it goes. And whether Gemma eats something other than sausages nowadays.’

Lexi laughed. ‘Thank you for calling. I do love you, you know.’

‘I love you, too.’

Kelly walked backwards into the briefing room, pushing the door open with her bottom and trying not to drop the tray, which was bent and wobbled ominously with every step she took. ‘We’re low on teabags, Lucinda, so I’ve done one of your herbal things, is that all right?’ There was no reaction from the analyst; in fact, no one looked up at all. ‘Something’s happened, hasn’t it?’ Kelly said.

‘Cyber Crime have just received notification of a new profile,’ Nick said. He shifted his chair to make space for her, and Andrew Robinson gestured towards the laptop in front of him.

‘After Nick’s membership was rescinded we set up a new account, as per his instructions,’ Andrew said. ‘Fifteen minutes ago I received this.’

The email was brief; a line of text at the top, beside a thumbnail photograph of a blonde woman.

Brand-new download: FREE today only.

‘Have any of the others been free?’ Kelly asked.

‘Only to Platinum members. None of the profiles have ever been priced at less than ￡200, and this is the first time we’ve been notified of a new listing. As far as we knew, the only notification came from the adverts in the Gazette.’

Kelly read the profile.

White.

18 years old. Long blonde hair, blue eyes.

Blue jeans, grey ankle boots, black V-neck T-shirt with oversized belted grey cardigan. White knee-length puffa coat, also belted. Black handbag with gilt chain.

Size 8–10.

1530: Enters Crystal Palace Tube station. Takes Overground train to Canada Water, choosing the first carriage and sitting by the doors. Changes to the Jubilee line, walking down the platform to stand next to the Tube map, where the doors to carriage #6 will open. Sits and reads a magazine. Changes at Waterloo, turning right and going down the steps to Platform 1; northbound Northern line. Walks down the platform to stand in the middle, near a worn section of the yellow line. The central carriage opens directly opposite this. Stands by the doors until Leicester Square. Takes the escalators, then leaves via exit three on to Charing Cross Road.

Availability: TODAY ONLY.

Duration: 45 minutes

Difficulty level: extremely challenging





‘It’s gone out to all members,’ Andrew said, moving his cursor to the address box, where the ‘to’ box said exactly that. There was a pause, as everyone considered the significance of findtheone’s entire membership list – however large that might be – clicking on this woman’s profile and downloading her commute. How many men would already be sitting in front of their computers, or looking at their phones, reading exactly what Kelly had just read? And on reading it, knowing she would be making her way through London, unaware she was being watched, how many would take that a step further?

‘Can you make that photo any bigger?’ Kelly asked. Andrew obliged, filling the screen with an enlarged version of the thumbnail they had just seen. The photo was a selfie, the teenager pouting at the camera; masses of streaked blonde hair half over her eyes. The soft-focus filter suggested it had been taken from Instagram, or been doctored for some other social media site.