And you got soaked.

The investigator walked through the revolving doors of the hotel, entering the lobby. A selection of empty wide lounge chairs was dotted around. He walked quickly across the area, checking where the lifts and stairs came out, before sitting on one of the chairs and taking his phone out.

He was consistently amazed at how you could get away with hovering almost anywhere unchallenged if you looked a little bit smart. It was all about seeming as if you had authority whether you did or not. Jeans and a T-shirt were a definite no. A well-fitting suit carefully matched with a plain tie would do wonders as long as you walked around in a manner that made it appear as if you knew what you were doing.

Andrew typed on his phone’s keypad and stopped every few minutes to check his watch, looking frustrated enough that he might be waiting for someone but not agitated enough to make a scene. As expected, no one paid him any attention.

After fifteen minutes, Andrew spotted the person he had seen with Sienna in the restaurant. Ryan slouched his way out of the lift, looking at his own phone screen and not where he was going. He scowled at a member of staff he almost walked into and left through the rotating door, shoving his shoulder hard into the glass to make it move.

Andrew moved quickly from his seat, pulling his woollen coat around him before exiting into the drizzle. He couldn’t believe his luck that Ryan was wearing bright white trainers and an almost luminous yellow coat. Losing him would be well-nigh impossible, especially because of the uninterested, slouching way the teenager walked. Andrew could see him across the road, heading towards the bus stop he had not long left himself. He walked swiftly through the foot traffic, keeping an eye on the bright yellow jacket as Ryan slowed to a stop by the bus rank. Andrew waited at the far end of the enclosed area, around twenty metres away, thinking it was going to be a long day.

By the time the daylight began to fade, Andrew was annoyed at himself firstly for allowing Jessica to talk him into the job and secondly for the crazy decision to spend the day on foot. As his thighs and legs began to ache, he kept telling himself how good it was for him to be getting so much exercise. The truth was he would have rather been in his car eating a meat and potato pie and brushing the crumbs into the foot well.

His journey had taken him to the college, where he spent the morning in the park next to the bus stop waiting for Ryan to finish. He knew there was a chance the young man could leave by a different route but, considering he knew where he worked, it wasn’t the worst of his concerns. The only reason he hadn’t gone straight to the workplace in the afternoon was because he wanted to get an idea of what Ryan’s journey was like and to keep an eye on anyone he might be hanging around with. He had already scouted the location and knew the back of the college led nowhere. The front was essentially one enormous car park. From his position it had been pretty easy to see everything except inside the building. Realistically he was never going to get access there, so, by using his telephoto lens from the safety of the bushes just inside the park, he had done as well as could be expected without descending to significantly more subterfuge than he was willing to use.

From the college, via the bus, he arrived at Ryan’s workplace. The previous evening, he had left his car parked on the side street opposite the garage, knowing he was going to end up there. Again, finding out what exactly Ryan did inside was a level up from what he felt was necessary but Andrew took photos of Ryan’s workmates and each customer who came and went. At some point, he would share the images he had from both the garage and the college with Jessica to see if she spotted anything he hadn’t.

The clouds had started to mass and with the light fading and his ability to take photos severely impeded, Andrew was almost ready to pack up for the day when he saw Ryan hurrying out of the large sliding doors speaking into his phone. At first Andrew thought he was heading for the bus stop but the teenager turned left almost immediately into a side street. Throughout the day, he had only seen his target slouch but he was now moving quickly and something didn’t seem right.

Andrew dropped the camera in his shoulder bag and stepped out of the car, pulling the lapels up on his coat to partially shield his face. He walked steadily but swiftly across the road, following Ryan’s yellow coat from a distance as the teenager crossed another road and cut across a grassy area until he came to a bridge over the main road.

There were street lights at either end but none in the middle. Andrew hung back, away from the first lamp, squinting into the distance as Ryan stopped almost exactly in the centre of the walkway. From the far end, he saw another figure approaching. It was undoubtedly a young woman, roughly Ryan’s age. She was wearing jogging bottoms and a large coat but her long blonde hair swished in the breeze.

Andrew edged as close to the bridge as he dared, not wanting to stand directly under the street light. The noise of the traffic passing underneath meant overhearing any of the conversation was impossible but the two people seemed to be having some sort of argument. The female waved her hands around and Ryan pointed an aggressive finger. The investigator peered towards them, trying to see if the girl seemed familiar from any of the photos he had taken.

As the duo’s gesturing tailed off, Ryan unzipped his jacket and reached inside. From where he was standing, Andrew couldn’t see exactly what he was holding in his hand but it looked like a folder or an envelope. He held it out towards the woman, who looked inside but didn’t take it. Andrew closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, before starting to walk confidently and quickly past the lamp over the bridge. He was careful not to arouse suspicion by looking at the pair as he moved towards them but glanced up briefly as he passed.

Ryan was shielding his body but his companion was clearly less aware of Andrew’s approach. She was now holding a white padded envelope and, although he didn’t catch the whole sentence, he heard her local accent say one line perfectly. ‘Where the fuck did you get all this money?’

20

Garry Ashford wasn’t answering his phone. Jessica first called from her mobile and then from the station’s phone. With no luck, she tried using the prefix that meant the call showed up as ‘unknown’. He obviously knew she was trying to get hold of him, which meant he was avoiding her calls. In fairness, she didn’t blame him.

Jessica tried dialling his mobile one final time, staring at the Herald’s website on her work terminal. The words ‘SUICIDE CLUB’ leapt off the screen. They were the exact ones which had also been on the front of that morning’s paper and had been picked up by national newspapers who had been calling the press office all morning. Even the television news, who had initially reported things fairly straight, were now using harder language so as not to be left behind by their print colleagues.

At first, she had thought about calling Sebastian to shout at him but held back, thinking he might enjoy it. She also knew from what Garry had previously claimed that the writer didn’t create the headlines. It sounded suspiciously made up and didn’t stop her wanting someone to shout at.

Jessica clicked the ‘contact us’ button at the bottom of the news story and dialled the number on her desk phone.

A female voice answered sweetly on the second ring. ‘Morning Herald, how can I direct your call?’