‘Of course it does,’ Bullet said with indignation. ‘Or at least, I’ve written all the programs. Now I’ve just got to get some real cases with proper data to test the programs and make sure they work.’
Theo studied the screen again. ‘Couldn’t we input the data we already have?’
‘Under what heading?’ Ricky frowned.
‘I was just about to ask that,’ said Bullet.
‘How about fraud and cons – number 4?’ suggested Theo. ‘That’s all about lying, isn’t it?’
‘Who’s lying?’
‘And about what?’
‘Jade’s dad. Or at least the person who’s sending Jade all those email messages and claiming to be Jade’s dad,’ Theo said.
‘You don’t know that.’ Ricky’s frown deepened.
‘You don’t honestly think that Jade’s dad is really sending her messages?’
‘I thought Angela was the one with the closed mind, not you,’ Ricky countered.
‘I don’t call it having a closed mind. I call it having a brain,’ said Theo.
‘Hang on a minute …’
‘Why don’t I try number four and see what the program comes up with?’ Bullet interrupted. ‘It can’t hurt.’
Theo sat back in his chair. Ricky leaned forward. Theo frowned. He couldn’t understand it. Usually he and Ricky never argued – about anything. And yet they had blown up at each other twice in as many days. What was going on? They’d had disagreements before, but never like this. Never so … personal. It was as if the very subject of ghosts was stirring up all kinds of nasty things. Not just ghosts and ghouls, but it was forcing Theo to think about death and dying and things he didn’t want to think about. Dying was for old people, but his mum and dad were old. And deep down, Theo knew it wasn’t just old people who died. Young people died too. Death wasn’t choosy. Suddenly, Theo didn’t want to do this any more. They were getting into very murky waters here. He didn’t want to be forced to think about Jade and her dad. That road led to too many other places that he had no desire or intention of exploring.
BULLET’S CRIMEBUSTER PROGRAM
FRAUD:
Select type of fraud:
1. Fraud involving money
2. Fraud involving jewellery or other possessions
3. Computer fraud
4. Cons and tricks
5. Other
Enter number:___________
‘That menu is about as much use as a chocolate teapot,’ Theo said impatiently.
‘Why d’you say that?’ Bullet asked.
‘Your menu selections are all too vague. I mean, in Jade’s case numbers two, three or four or all of them could apply,’ Theo replied.
‘You have to pick the one that’s most likely to apply,’ Bullet said. He was obviously miffed that Theo had found fault with his program.
‘OK. How about number four?’ Theo suggested.
‘Cons and tricks? You really think so?’ Ricky asked.
Theo nodded.
‘Cons and tricks it is then.’ Bullet inputted the number four.
Immediately a series of random numbers and letters scrolled down the screen. Theo sat back, immensely disappointed.
‘I thought I’d fixed that bug,’ Bullet muttered to himself.
‘So much for computer power,’ Theo said with disgust. ‘We’ll just have to use our brains and do it ourselves.’
‘I’ll have it fixed by this afternoon,’ Bullet protested.
‘We’re not going to hang about waiting for you to fix your program,’ said Theo.
‘Let me know anything new you come up with and I’ll input that data into my program. I’m sure it’ll help you,’ said Bullet.
Ricky stood up. ‘Come on, Theo.’ He smiled sympathetically at Bullet. ‘Thanks anyway.’
‘I will get it working. I will. You wait and see,’ Bullet insisted.
Ricky and Theo left the room. Mrs Daltry ambled down the corridor deep in conversation with Mr Dove. Mrs Daltry had a liquorice allsort in her hand, on its way to her mouth. She stopped abruptly when she spotted Ricky and Theo and made a great show of rubbing her eyes.
‘A paranormal event in itself. You two are here early! Whatever next?’
Ricky grinned. ‘We’re here to help Bullet with one of his programs.’
‘Does he need help?’ Mrs Daltry asked, surprised.
‘Yep! And in more ways than one,’ Theo said, sourly.
‘I heard that!’ Bullet called out from the computer room.
Theo couldn’t help but smile in Bullet’s direction. Bullet wasn’t too bad. Maybe he was a bit of a computer nut but he was willing to help them. All things considered, Bullet was OK!
‘If the two of you are looking for something to do, you can help me and Mr Dove set out the equipment for the first lesson,’ Mrs Daltry suggested.
‘That would be great,’ said Mr Dove. ‘It would give me a chance to get to know you better. Mrs Daltry has told me a lot about you.’
‘Actually, we were just on our way to the library, weren’t we, Theo?’ Ricky said with haste.
‘Er … yes, that’s right. We have some research to do.’
‘Hhmm!’ Mrs Daltry didn’t sound too convinced but she let it pass. ‘All right then, but just make sure you do go to the library and don’t dawdle in the corridors.’
Theo and Ricky scampered off, eager to get away from the teachers before Mrs Daltry insisted on their help.
‘So where are we going?’ Theo asked, once they were out of Mrs Daltry’s earshot.
‘To the library, like I said.’
‘Why?’ Theo asked, surprised.
‘I’ve had an idea. I think I know how we can make sure that it’s really Jade’s dad trying to communicate with her.’
‘Oh yes? I’m all ears.’
‘The first thing we need to do is track down the host machine that he’s using to send Jade those messages,’ said Ricky.
‘That information usually comes with the text of the message itself, but I can’t remember seeing that in any of the emails that Jade showed us.’
‘Yes, I know. We’ll have to ask Jade if we can see the messages again.’ Ricky pushed open the library door and headed straight for the non-fiction/computing section. This section was over by one of the large library windows and the cold October morning sunlight streamed in, illuminating the books.
‘I thought we could …’ Ricky stopped abruptly when he saw who had beaten them to it. It was Jade.
Ricky made a bee-line over towards Jade, a grin splitting his face from ear to ear. Jade stood watching his approach, her face a mask. Theo felt a strange uh-oh warning chill creep down his spine. Something in Jade’s deliberate lack of expression warned him to watch out.
‘Hi Jade,’ Ricky enthused. ‘I think we’ve come up with a way to help you find out for certain whether or not your dad is really sending those messages …’
‘He isn’t,’ Jade said. Her voice was soft, but the tone was firm enough to stop Ricky in his tracks.
‘Pardon?’
‘I said dad didn’t send me those messages. I made them up.’
A long silence followed.
Ricky frowned. ‘I don’t understand.’
‘OK, then. Here it is in words of one syllable. It was just a wind-up. I sent those messages to myself.’ Jade turned to Theo. ‘You were right after all, Theo. I was just pulling your leg.’
‘Why?’ Theo asked, his eyes narrowed.
‘Why not? I didn’t have anything better to do and you two and Angela were obviously looking for something to get you going. So I gave you something. It was your ad about your detective agency that gave me the idea.’
‘I don’t believe you.’ Ricky’s voice was ice-cold.
Jade shrugged. ‘Suit yourself. But my dad’s d-dead. How can he send me Internet messages?’
‘But we saw the messages …’ Ricky began.
‘I typed those in myself. I thought it would be a good joke, but I want to
stop it now before it goes any further.’
‘Why?’ asked Theo.
Jade looked confused. ‘Why what?’
Theo regarded her steadily. ‘Why stop it now? You could’ve had a lot more fun watching us chase around trying to find out what was going on. So why stop now?’
‘I … I …’ Jade got no further. As unexpected as it was shocking, Jade’s face crumpled up and she burst into tears.
‘Just leave me alone,’ she sobbed. And she tried to run past them out of the library.
‘Jade, what’s going on?’ Theo stepped in front of Jade to block her escape. ‘You didn’t make it all up. I don’t believe that for a second.’
‘Why?’ Jade asked bitterly. ‘You were convinced I was lying before. Why the sudden rush to believe me now?’
Theo couldn’t answer. He didn’t know how to answer.
‘You didn’t make up those messages, did you?’ Ricky asked. There was more than just a question in his voice. A hope against disappointment was mingled in there as well.
‘Yes, I did,’ Jade said quickly. ‘You won’t get me to say anything else.’
‘Jade, you can trust us. I promise you,’ Ricky said earnestly. ‘We won’t let you down.’
Jade looked around fearfully. Theo did the same, wondering what Jade was looking for. They were quite alone in the library, so why was she so afraid?
‘Don’t you understand?’ Jade’s voice was no more than a desperate whisper. ‘Dad told me not to talk to you or anyone. He told me that if I do, he won’t be able to talk to me ever again. He’ll just wander around this earth, unable to rest. Well, I’m not going to do that to him. And I can’t lose him again. I won’t. I won’t.’
Jade ran around a now stunned Theo and in seconds she was out of the room. Theo and Ricky regarded each other. Theo didn’t like the way things were going – not one little bit. He didn’t like the way an icy chill was slowly invading his body, atom by atom.
‘If it really is Jade’s dad sending her messages,’ Ricky began, ‘why did he tell her not to talk to anyone about him? I mean, why would he care?’
‘That’s just what I was thinking. Surely he wouldn’t mind that Jade had told us. It can’t make any difference to him,’ said Theo. ‘D’you know what else I think?’
‘What?’
‘I think there’s something very kippery going on here. I think Jade’s in danger.’
Chapter Twelve
Watching
‘SO WHAT NOW, Robin?’ Ricky frowned.
‘Excuse me but I’m Batman. You’re Robin,’ Theo argued.
‘Yeah, OK. But what now?’
‘We’re going to have to catch up with Jade and convince her to trust us,’ Theo decided. ‘If we can’t do that, then there’s not a lot more we can do for her.’
‘We haven’t done anything,’ Ricky said with sudden anger. ‘She needs our help and we haven’t done a thing. And I’ll tell you something else, if anything happens to her, I’ll never forgive myself. Never.’
‘Ricky, aren’t you taking all this a bit too personally?’ asked Theo. At Ricky’s scowl, he added hastily. ‘I mean, our detective agency was only meant …’
‘Our detective agency? This has nothing to do with our detective agency,’ Ricky said, incensed. ‘Jade’s in trouble. Real trouble – whichever way you look at it.’
‘You’re remembering when you were in trouble, aren’t you?’ said Theo.
Silence. Then Ricky nodded.
Theo sighed inwardly. He wasn’t sure when this had stopped being just a joke, a bit of fun. Maybe it never was. But one thing was for sure. It was deadly serious now. Ricky would make sure it was treated no other way.
‘Let’s go and find Jade,’ said Ricky.
‘What about the information you wanted to look up?’
‘That can wait. Finding Jade is more important.’ Ricky was out of the library before the sentence was over.
Theo ran after him. Ricky was so determined to help Jade, even when she told them she didn’t want their help. Theo sensed that part of it was because of Ricky’s own experiences when he’d been kidnapped but there was more to it than that. Theo ran down the corridor, only a couple of steps behind his friend.
‘Where’re we going?’ Theo puffed.
‘Right here. All the girls come in here when they want to be alone or have a cry – I bet.’
It was the girls’ toilets. Theo eyed them with distaste. He didn’t want to stop here. The boys always passed this part of the corridor in a hurry. And what if someone should see them parked outside the girls’ loos? They’d have a mountain of explaining to do. And an even larger mountain of teasing to put up with. Theo shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot.
‘You don’t know she’s in there.’
‘No, but it’s a good place to start.’ Ricky knocked on the door. ‘Jade? Jade, are you in there? It’s Ricky.’
He put his ear to the door. Silence.
‘Jade, I know you’re in there.’ Ricky turned to Theo and shrugged. He didn’t know if Jade was in there or not but he wasn’t going to give up now. ‘I’m not going away until you come out.’
Still nothing.
‘If you don’t come out, then I’m coming in,’ Ricky warned through the door.
The silence around them deepened. Ricky gathered himself up to his full height. He turned to Theo again. ‘Come on, Theo.’
Theo’s eyes widened. He shook his head slowly. ‘No way! No way am I going in there!’
‘Oh come on. There’s nothing to be afraid of,’ Ricky cajoled.
‘Ricky, you’re my best mate and I’d do anything for you, but I’m not going in there,’ Theo said, adamant. ‘The only way you’ll get me over that threshold is to knock me out first and drag me in.’
‘All right then. I’ll go in by myself. You keep watch.’ And without another moment’s hesitation Ricky walked into the girls’ toilets.
Theo couldn’t believe it. His admiration for Ricky shot through the roof. There was no place his friend wouldn’t go. No place his friend was afraid of. But mostly Theo felt that Ricky had lost his mind! The girls’ toilets! Nervously, Theo looked up and down the corridor, praying that he wouldn’t see anyone he knew. And if there was anyone else besides Jade in the girls’ loos then it would be all around the school in two seconds flat that Ricky went in there.
Suddenly there came an indignant shriek and Ricky came flying out of the toilets, followed by Jade.
‘Ricky Burridge, just what d’you think you’re doing?’ Jade stormed.
‘I did say I’d come in if you didn’t come out.’
‘Yes, but I didn’t think you meant it,’ Jade ranted. ‘Are you nuts?’
‘Probably.’ Ricky grinned. ‘But we couldn’t let you leave just like that. We want to help you.’
‘Whether I want you to or not – right?’ Jade wiped her damp cheeks with the back of her hand.
Ricky grinned. ‘Something like that.’
Jade studied Ricky as if she’d never seen him before. And Ricky didn’t flinch, didn’t back away. He stood his ground and looked straight back at Jade.
‘You’re persistent, aren’t you?’ Jade smiled reluctantly.
‘I think the word you’re looking for is stubborn,’ Theo chipped in.
Ricky grinned. Jade’s smile faded to nothing.
‘Look, please don’t think I don’t appreciate what you’re trying to do for me. I do. It’s just that, I lost Dad once and now he’s come back. I couldn’t bear to lose him again. Talking to him now, even though it’s only by computer, well, it’s … it’s like he never died.’
Theo licked his lips nervously. All kinds of responses flashed through his head but he bit back every one of them.
‘Why did your dad tell you not to talk to us?’ Ricky asked.
Jade shook her head. ‘I’m not supposed to tell you. I’ve said too much already. If Dad’s watching me now, he might decide to stop sending me messages for not doing as he as
ked.’
‘But in that earlier message you showed us, your dad said he could only communicate via email messages on the PC,’ Ricky pointed out.
‘He meant that’s the only way he could talk to me. That doesn’t mean that he’s not standing right next to you now,’ said Jade.
Both Ricky’s and Theo’s heads whipped round. The corridor was empty. Or was it …? Theo felt an icy knot tighten in the pit of his stomach. The whole idea gave him goose-bumps. What if Jade’s dad was right here, watching them? Theo nervously looked around. Now that the thought had entered his head he couldn’t get it out again.
‘Mr Driscoll, if you are here, I want you to know that Theo and I only want to help,’ Ricky said loudly, his voice totally serious. ‘We wouldn’t do anything to upset Jade. Honest we wouldn’t.’
The silence of the corridor echoed back at them. Even Jade looked nervous.
‘Didn’t your dad like you talking to your friends when he was alive?’ Theo asked.
‘Are you kidding? Dad loved to meet my friends. He always encouraged me to bring my friends home. He always said the more the merrier.’
‘So why would he change his mind now?’ Ricky said gently. ‘I don’t think people change so much when they’re dead.’
‘He might’ve done. Maybe dying does things to you.’
Theo had to fight down the strongest urge to laugh – more with unease than with humour – or to waggle his fingers in his ears or crawl away and hide under a table somewhere. He’d never taken part in such a bizarre conversation. Ricky and Jade were seriously discussing whether or not dying would change a person, apart from in the most obvious way. They were really wondering if it could change your character.
‘So what exactly did your dad say in his last message?’ Ricky prompted.
Jade looked uncertain, then her expression cleared. ‘I’ll show you.’
They all walked together to the computer room. Without a word, Jade sat in front of one of the computers, whilst Theo and Ricky pulled up a chair on either side of her.
‘What’re you all doing?’ Bullet asked from the other side of the room.
‘Nothing,’ Ricky said tersely.
‘Can I watch?’ Bullet asked.
‘No.’ All three of them spoke in unison.