‘Did they find her phone to see if Alex did try to make contact?’ I wanted to know.
Jayden shrugged. ‘How would I know? Come on, Alyssa – you’re the brainy one and you’re not giving me anything!’
‘What do you want? You want me to
invent
something just to get you off my back?’
Then suddenly I stopped. I heard Alex’s voice again and I saw the stricken, wounded look on his face.
‘The first I knew about it was the cops coming knocking at my door, not telling me what it was about, asking when did I last see Scarlett? I say, in Starbucks in the shopping centre at
one o’clock on New Year’s – why?’
‘OK, maybe there is something I can do,’ I decided.
Trotting ahead, Bolt had stopped at the worn stone steps we’d used to come down on to the towpath. He turned and panted, waiting for Jayden to tell him what to do.
‘Stay!’ Jayden called, then turned his attention back on me. ‘About effing time, memory girl.’
I pressed my lips together and tried not to retaliate. ‘I’ll be in touch later today,’ I told him.
‘One more thing before you go.’ He eyed me suspiciously, as if I was the one who was totally to blame for Scarlett ending up in the canal and for his mate being held in custody.
‘There’s a kid at your school I think you should check out.’
‘At St Jude’s?’ Immediately and illogically I locked into the existing fear that it was someone I knew well who was behind the Facebook pictures, the dead bird, the sick
challenges. It was a gut feeling and I still didn’t have hard evidence for any link with Scarlett’s death, but my skin began to prickle as I realized that Jayden might be about to
deliver it. ‘Who?’
‘Will Harrison,’ he muttered, hardly moving his lips.
I had to lean in and ask him to repeat the name.
‘You heard me – Will Harrison.’
My heart gave a small jolt. ‘Why – what’s the connection?’
‘Not many people know this, but he’s one of Scarlett’s exes.’
Another jolt, a tingle like an electric shock. I stared at Jayden.
‘I checked it out with Ursula – she gave me the details,’ he insisted. Then he turned his attention to Bolt, who was sniffing and cocking his leg, rummaging in amongst the
tattered pages of an old newspaper blown into a smelly corner under the stone steps. ‘Fetch!’ he said when he saw his dog sniff at what looked like a length of string lying in the
snow.
Bolt didn’t hesitate. He picked it up and carried it between his teeth towards Jayden, then dropped it at his feet. There it lay on the dirty snow – not a length of string but a lost
or discarded cable from a phone charger.
Neither Jayden nor I had noticed the forensic officer follow us along the canal path, but Bolt did. He curled back his lips, bared his teeth and snarled.
‘Don’t even think about picking it up,’ she said, swiftly producing a plastic bag and scooping the cable into it. ‘Inspector Ripley will be very interested in this. She
may even want to thank you in person – watch this space.’
Swearing, Jayden took the steps two at a time, but when he reached the top a uniformed officer stood in his way. He forced Jayden to give his name and address, a process like pulling teeth as it
turned out.
I gave my details without any problem and answered questions about what we were doing and why.
‘I don’t see you leaving any floral tributes,’ the uniform said drily. ‘No misspelled, heartfelt messages of regret.’
Jayden upped his tally of extreme swear words and was cautioned by the officer.
Bolt emitted a long, low growl.
In turn I was cautioned about the company I chose to keep. On the whole, I reckon we were both lucky to walk away with no more than the equivalent of a referee’s yellow card and a warning
to stay out of trouble in future.
‘I’ll text you later today,’ I told Jayden as he swung off towards the centre of town.
Greenlea Shopping Centre was twenty-five years old and jaded. It didn’t
Jayden shrugged. ‘How would I know? Come on, Alyssa – you’re the brainy one and you’re not giving me anything!’
‘What do you want? You want me to
invent
something just to get you off my back?’
Then suddenly I stopped. I heard Alex’s voice again and I saw the stricken, wounded look on his face.
‘The first I knew about it was the cops coming knocking at my door, not telling me what it was about, asking when did I last see Scarlett? I say, in Starbucks in the shopping centre at
one o’clock on New Year’s – why?’
‘OK, maybe there is something I can do,’ I decided.
Trotting ahead, Bolt had stopped at the worn stone steps we’d used to come down on to the towpath. He turned and panted, waiting for Jayden to tell him what to do.
‘Stay!’ Jayden called, then turned his attention back on me. ‘About effing time, memory girl.’
I pressed my lips together and tried not to retaliate. ‘I’ll be in touch later today,’ I told him.
‘One more thing before you go.’ He eyed me suspiciously, as if I was the one who was totally to blame for Scarlett ending up in the canal and for his mate being held in custody.
‘There’s a kid at your school I think you should check out.’
‘At St Jude’s?’ Immediately and illogically I locked into the existing fear that it was someone I knew well who was behind the Facebook pictures, the dead bird, the sick
challenges. It was a gut feeling and I still didn’t have hard evidence for any link with Scarlett’s death, but my skin began to prickle as I realized that Jayden might be about to
deliver it. ‘Who?’
‘Will Harrison,’ he muttered, hardly moving his lips.
I had to lean in and ask him to repeat the name.
‘You heard me – Will Harrison.’
My heart gave a small jolt. ‘Why – what’s the connection?’
‘Not many people know this, but he’s one of Scarlett’s exes.’
Another jolt, a tingle like an electric shock. I stared at Jayden.
‘I checked it out with Ursula – she gave me the details,’ he insisted. Then he turned his attention to Bolt, who was sniffing and cocking his leg, rummaging in amongst the
tattered pages of an old newspaper blown into a smelly corner under the stone steps. ‘Fetch!’ he said when he saw his dog sniff at what looked like a length of string lying in the
snow.
Bolt didn’t hesitate. He picked it up and carried it between his teeth towards Jayden, then dropped it at his feet. There it lay on the dirty snow – not a length of string but a lost
or discarded cable from a phone charger.
Neither Jayden nor I had noticed the forensic officer follow us along the canal path, but Bolt did. He curled back his lips, bared his teeth and snarled.
‘Don’t even think about picking it up,’ she said, swiftly producing a plastic bag and scooping the cable into it. ‘Inspector Ripley will be very interested in this. She
may even want to thank you in person – watch this space.’
Swearing, Jayden took the steps two at a time, but when he reached the top a uniformed officer stood in his way. He forced Jayden to give his name and address, a process like pulling teeth as it
turned out.
I gave my details without any problem and answered questions about what we were doing and why.
‘I don’t see you leaving any floral tributes,’ the uniform said drily. ‘No misspelled, heartfelt messages of regret.’
Jayden upped his tally of extreme swear words and was cautioned by the officer.
Bolt emitted a long, low growl.
In turn I was cautioned about the company I chose to keep. On the whole, I reckon we were both lucky to walk away with no more than the equivalent of a referee’s yellow card and a warning
to stay out of trouble in future.
‘I’ll text you later today,’ I told Jayden as he swung off towards the centre of town.
Greenlea Shopping Centre was twenty-five years old and jaded. It didn’t
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