Читать книгу The Day I Died - Polly Courtney - Страница 13

Jo punched in her login and password and looked around the empty internet café as the page loaded up. A sign hung above her head, advertising ‘FAX–PRINTING–WEB @ CCESS’ in spiky handwriting. Appended to the last point was an additional explanation: ‘Check your email! Chat!’–presumably to entice the technophobic Radley residents online. Jo looked back at the screen. She had one new message.

Saskia Dawson

Today at 12.54

Re: Who R U?

Roxie?!?! Good to hear frm U hun! Bin textin U & no reply…Thought you was dead! Why the alias? U freaked me out xx

Jo’s heart pounded against her ribcage. Roxie. She was getting somewhere. Saskia Dawson had given her a name–such as it was. Roxie. She rolled the word around in her mouth a few times, trying it out. It seemed…odd, somehow. Not what she’d anticipated.

She read the message one more time. Thought you was dead. So presumably Saskia had known about Jo being caught up in the bomb blast. Which implied that Saskia had been there too…or maybe not. She would have to find out–but carefully. It was clear they were friends, but Jo couldn’t tell what sort of friends. She didn’t know how far back they went, how much they confided in one another, what she supposedly knew of the girl. She would have to trust Saskia, to some extent, but not more than she needed to. Opening up completely would leave her too vulnerable.

Jo Simmons

Today at 12.56

Re: Who R U?

Yep it’s me! Sorry I didn’t reply to your texts–I lost my phone. All been a bit mad these last few days…

Alias thing just a joke–I lost my fb login details (stored in my phone–duh!) so just set up a random account for now.

Jo clicked Send and looked again at the young blonde who continued to pout back from the mugshot. The face seemed more familiar now, but that was hardly surprising; Jo knew the streaks of blusher and locks of hair off by heart. She tried to remember something about the girl, or the friendship–presumably it had been a friendship–but it was just speculation, nothing more.

The fact that Saskia knew about Jo’s presence at the club that night was intriguing, but alarming too. It seemed likely that they had been out together, possibly with others. And if that were the case, Jo thought anxiously, then they probably had a lot to discuss. Which could prove tricky, although not unfeasible. Assuming Saskia was happy to converse via Facebook. That was the ironic thing about Facebook–you weren’t actually talking face to face; there was always time to plan your response. Except, Jo realised, watching the page refresh, when both parties were online.

Saskia Dawson

Today at 12.59

Re: Who R U?

U dopey cow! Want me 2 hack in2 yr fb account? Glad ur ok–reckon most of the girls r keepin a low profile, eh. xx

Jo frowned. It was the second part of Saskia’s message that really interested her–although the first half did too. She tried to think of a way of finding out who ‘the girls’ were, and why they’d want to keep a low profile.

Jo Simmons

Today at 13.03

Re: Who R U?

Hack wd be good–if you can! So have you spoken to others recently?

She was treading dangerously, but she had to. Saskia was her only lead. Coming clean on the amnesia thing was an option, but not one she wanted to take. If she was clever, she would be able to mine her friend for information without divulging anything about her situation.

Saskia Dawson

Today at 13.05

Re: Who R U?

Whats ur user name then–think u said rebecca.ross99@hotmail.com? Yeah I spoke 2 Candy yest…She aint sayin nothin either.

Rebecca Ross. So that was her name. Roxie was just a nickname. Jo looked at the words on the screen. They sounded good. Better than Jo Simmons, she thought. Although it probably wasn’t wise to embark on any sudden name-changes in Radley Her boss and her landlady were already suspicious enough.

And who was Candy? What was the deal with all these porn-star names? Jo pictured the three girls together, even though she didn’t know what Candy looked like: Saskia, Roxie and Candy, getting ready for a night on the town. A night in the Buffalo Club. It was like a scene from some corny American movie.

Jo Simmons

Today at 13.06

Re: Who R U?

Thanks mate. Yes, try that…Hopefully it’s right–I haven’t logged on in ages so can’t quite remember!

Jo wondered about asking some sort of clever question about Candy and Saskia–something that would give more away about their relationship, or explain why the girls were ‘keeping a low profile’. It seemed odd that Saskia hadn’t talked more about what had happened in the club that night; surely bombs didn’t go off that often in London nightclubs?

Saskia Dawson

Today at 13.08

Re: Who R U?

Cool–leave it w me. I’ll send U a new login. By the way, U got any work? I’m quitting the stripping thing–gonna get a real job!

Jo stared. Then she glanced over her shoulder in case anyone happened to be looking at her screen. She reread the girl’s words and then opened another browser.

‘Buffalo Club London’, she typed into Google.

And there it was. The Buffalo Club: Mayfair’s Premier Table Dancing Establishment.