got to do with Charon Angel?’
‘Look at his sweatshirt. The image on it.’
‘Yeah. I think it’s … Let me check.’ Lexi tapped some keys on her computer, running image recognition software. ‘Yes, it’s a band sweatshirt. The group’s called Kaktus Changer – death metal from Iceland.’
‘And, according to Terabyte, what had Charon – Sharon Angie – been buying?’
‘Icelandic music.’
Troy nodded. ‘Exactly.’
‘There was something else,’ said Lexi. ‘She bought car parts online and she lives in a place called Wengen. But, listen to this.’ She read from some tourist information on the Swiss village. ‘It has a tranquil atmosphere because it is a rare example of a European resort that is free of cars.’ She looked at her partner and said, ‘Why buy car parts when no one’s got a car? Don’t tell me. You think Sergio Treize, Charon Angel and Sharon Angie are all the same person – and they don’t live anywhere near Wengen.’
‘That’s not all. I reckon he’s Samaritan 999 as well. All these identities are a front – to hide his dodgy activities.’ Adjusting the onscreen display so it showed the close-up of Sergio’s hand again, Troy said, ‘Check out his middle finger.’
Lexi squinted at the image. ‘Can’t you sharpen it up a bit?’
‘No. It’s at its limit. Any closer and all you’ll get are pixels.’
She sighed. ‘Well, there’s a slight mark. It runs round the whole finger, I think.’
‘And the skin colour’s a bit lighter.’
‘So,’ Lexi deduced, ‘he normally wears a ring – which stops the sun tanning him just there. He’s not wearing it now, though.’
‘Why not?’
‘How should I know?’ said Lexi.
‘I don’t either. But if it had sapphires in it and one of the stones dropped out …’
‘I was with you all the way there – till you started daydreaming. Are you going to claim you can tell his shoe size by looking at his hands?’
‘No. But,’ Troy said with a wry expression, ‘that sweatshirt would go really nicely with Adibok trainers.’
Lexi laughed.
‘We need Terabyte again,’ Troy said. ‘Can you talk nicely to him? Maybe he can trace where Sergio Treize really is if I keep him on a video call for long enough.’Half an hour later, Troy settled himself in front of his computer. On his left, Terabyte was seated at a linked workstation. Lexi was on the other side. Both of them were out of range of the camera. ‘Okay?’ he asked.
‘I’m networked,’ Terabyte told him. ‘Ready when you are.’
Lexi nodded. She intended to listen for background noises and study the images for any hints of location.
‘Okay. Let’s push this boat out.’
Lexi looked across at Terabyte, raised her eyebrows and shrugged. She took the headphones from around her neck and positioned them over her head and onto her ears.
Troy soon established a connection to his main suspect. This time, Sergio was wearing a different sweatshirt. Plain and white, it matched his spectacles. From somewhere, light reflected from his smoothly shaved head.
‘Sorry to bother you again,’ Troy began. ‘I just wanted to ask if you’ve been monitoring Charon Angel, like we agreed.’
‘I don’t remember an agreement but, yes, as a favour, I’ve checked her out now and again. All perfectly innocent.’ He leaned to one side, apparently scrolling down a list. ‘Here’s an example. She wasposting stuff on Wednesday to someone who’s serious about suicide. “If you go ahead, your absence will change the way things are supposed to be. It’s a shame to deny the world your contribution.” No one’s going to say that’s urging a visitor to die, are they?’
‘No. That’s … good. Helpful. I’m still worried about your site, though.’
‘Oh?’
‘It’s a place where vulnerable people meet. Virtually meet. Maybe they don’t have the strength or the nerve or whatever you need to pull the plug alone but, when they get together, maybe they pluck up
‘Look at his sweatshirt. The image on it.’
‘Yeah. I think it’s … Let me check.’ Lexi tapped some keys on her computer, running image recognition software. ‘Yes, it’s a band sweatshirt. The group’s called Kaktus Changer – death metal from Iceland.’
‘And, according to Terabyte, what had Charon – Sharon Angie – been buying?’
‘Icelandic music.’
Troy nodded. ‘Exactly.’
‘There was something else,’ said Lexi. ‘She bought car parts online and she lives in a place called Wengen. But, listen to this.’ She read from some tourist information on the Swiss village. ‘It has a tranquil atmosphere because it is a rare example of a European resort that is free of cars.’ She looked at her partner and said, ‘Why buy car parts when no one’s got a car? Don’t tell me. You think Sergio Treize, Charon Angel and Sharon Angie are all the same person – and they don’t live anywhere near Wengen.’
‘That’s not all. I reckon he’s Samaritan 999 as well. All these identities are a front – to hide his dodgy activities.’ Adjusting the onscreen display so it showed the close-up of Sergio’s hand again, Troy said, ‘Check out his middle finger.’
Lexi squinted at the image. ‘Can’t you sharpen it up a bit?’
‘No. It’s at its limit. Any closer and all you’ll get are pixels.’
She sighed. ‘Well, there’s a slight mark. It runs round the whole finger, I think.’
‘And the skin colour’s a bit lighter.’
‘So,’ Lexi deduced, ‘he normally wears a ring – which stops the sun tanning him just there. He’s not wearing it now, though.’
‘Why not?’
‘How should I know?’ said Lexi.
‘I don’t either. But if it had sapphires in it and one of the stones dropped out …’
‘I was with you all the way there – till you started daydreaming. Are you going to claim you can tell his shoe size by looking at his hands?’
‘No. But,’ Troy said with a wry expression, ‘that sweatshirt would go really nicely with Adibok trainers.’
Lexi laughed.
‘We need Terabyte again,’ Troy said. ‘Can you talk nicely to him? Maybe he can trace where Sergio Treize really is if I keep him on a video call for long enough.’Half an hour later, Troy settled himself in front of his computer. On his left, Terabyte was seated at a linked workstation. Lexi was on the other side. Both of them were out of range of the camera. ‘Okay?’ he asked.
‘I’m networked,’ Terabyte told him. ‘Ready when you are.’
Lexi nodded. She intended to listen for background noises and study the images for any hints of location.
‘Okay. Let’s push this boat out.’
Lexi looked across at Terabyte, raised her eyebrows and shrugged. She took the headphones from around her neck and positioned them over her head and onto her ears.
Troy soon established a connection to his main suspect. This time, Sergio was wearing a different sweatshirt. Plain and white, it matched his spectacles. From somewhere, light reflected from his smoothly shaved head.
‘Sorry to bother you again,’ Troy began. ‘I just wanted to ask if you’ve been monitoring Charon Angel, like we agreed.’
‘I don’t remember an agreement but, yes, as a favour, I’ve checked her out now and again. All perfectly innocent.’ He leaned to one side, apparently scrolling down a list. ‘Here’s an example. She wasposting stuff on Wednesday to someone who’s serious about suicide. “If you go ahead, your absence will change the way things are supposed to be. It’s a shame to deny the world your contribution.” No one’s going to say that’s urging a visitor to die, are they?’
‘No. That’s … good. Helpful. I’m still worried about your site, though.’
‘Oh?’
‘It’s a place where vulnerable people meet. Virtually meet. Maybe they don’t have the strength or the nerve or whatever you need to pull the plug alone but, when they get together, maybe they pluck up
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