everything, I might spot a connection to Daryl.”
“Erm,” I said, flummoxed by the intense lock Lee’s eyes had on mine.
He clamped his lips together as though he’d picked up on something but didn’t want to say.
I averted my gaze. “I don’t dabble in drugs if that’s what you’re getting at.”
Lee returned to the computer. He rattled his fingers on the keyboard as if giving me a Morse code message to be honest. “This isn’t going well,” he muttered.
I folded my arms. “I’m stumped. Look, I’m no angel, but I’m not the devil either. Surely it should be obvious if I’ve done something wrong? I don’t walk round in a little bubble not caring about what I say to people. What the hell is all this about?”
Eventually, after biting my lip until it stung, I came to a conclusion. I chucked the coaster onto the table. “They’ve got me mixed up with some other Chelsea Denham. Did your brother know anyone else named Chelsea?”
He shook his head several times. “I’m sure there aren’t that many Chelsea Denham’s round here. Nice name by the way.” The keyboard rattled again.
The computer kept Lee’s eyes off me for a moment, although I expected if I looked in them I’d see what he saw – my death sentence.
“We’ve missed something,” he said. “Some clue in the emails. There has to be a way of finding out who’s doing this.”
“I remember the phrase from my first message, if that helps. It said, ‘People have to pay for what they’ve done.’ Just the same as your brother’s.”
Lee glanced at me. His eyebrows had a puzzled tilt. “People? Erm. I wonder. Maybe there are more targets besides you and Daryl.”
What I saw as horror, Lee seemed to take for a challenge. He studied the email for the tenth, maybe twentieth time. “I’m gonna work out who’s doing this if it’s the last thing I ever do.”
I grew tired, couldn’t think. Getting my head around a death threat was, of course, new to me.
Lee swivelled with agitation on the seat, and banged on the desk with his fist at intervals while analysing the emails.
“Can’t we reply?” I suggested. “Tell them they’ve got the wrong person, just in case?”
“We could.”
“Worth a shot, isn’t it? No point panicking and phoning the police if it’s not actually me they want.”
“Sure,” he said, fingers tapping the keyboard. “Who in the hell is this? You’ve got me confused with someone else… I’ll send something along those lines.” He stopped typing for a moment. “In fact. No. I’ll throw a few comments in to rile them up, pretend you know who it is. It might prompt a response and enlighten us.”
“Great, but fingers crossed it’s not actually me they want.”
“I think you’ll need to cross more than your fingers. Someone’s gone to a lot of trouble to set this up, so I doubt they’d accidentally target the wrong person.”
I shut my eyes, massaged my forehead and forced my weary brain to drift deep in thought. The answer must be in my head.
CHAPTER 6
A loud bang startled me awake. I jerked forward on the couch. Jeez! I couldn’t believe I’d fallen asleep. A cool draft of air threaded through the house and I rubbed my arms to warm up. When I looked at my computer desk, reality plunged the dagger of worry back into me. The black swivel chair sat empty. “Lee?”
No answer. He must have left.
After all, who in their right mind would choose to befriend a girl with a death threat looming over her? I almost felt diseased.
I got to my feet. The computer was off. Perhaps Lee’s way of stating that I hadn’t received a new message, yet. I checked the desk for a note. Nothing.
While gnawing the inside of my lip, I spun around in the room unsure of what to do next.
Being alone in my quiet house, feeling angry and helpless, well, I hated it. I grabbed
“Erm,” I said, flummoxed by the intense lock Lee’s eyes had on mine.
He clamped his lips together as though he’d picked up on something but didn’t want to say.
I averted my gaze. “I don’t dabble in drugs if that’s what you’re getting at.”
Lee returned to the computer. He rattled his fingers on the keyboard as if giving me a Morse code message to be honest. “This isn’t going well,” he muttered.
I folded my arms. “I’m stumped. Look, I’m no angel, but I’m not the devil either. Surely it should be obvious if I’ve done something wrong? I don’t walk round in a little bubble not caring about what I say to people. What the hell is all this about?”
Eventually, after biting my lip until it stung, I came to a conclusion. I chucked the coaster onto the table. “They’ve got me mixed up with some other Chelsea Denham. Did your brother know anyone else named Chelsea?”
He shook his head several times. “I’m sure there aren’t that many Chelsea Denham’s round here. Nice name by the way.” The keyboard rattled again.
The computer kept Lee’s eyes off me for a moment, although I expected if I looked in them I’d see what he saw – my death sentence.
“We’ve missed something,” he said. “Some clue in the emails. There has to be a way of finding out who’s doing this.”
“I remember the phrase from my first message, if that helps. It said, ‘People have to pay for what they’ve done.’ Just the same as your brother’s.”
Lee glanced at me. His eyebrows had a puzzled tilt. “People? Erm. I wonder. Maybe there are more targets besides you and Daryl.”
What I saw as horror, Lee seemed to take for a challenge. He studied the email for the tenth, maybe twentieth time. “I’m gonna work out who’s doing this if it’s the last thing I ever do.”
I grew tired, couldn’t think. Getting my head around a death threat was, of course, new to me.
Lee swivelled with agitation on the seat, and banged on the desk with his fist at intervals while analysing the emails.
“Can’t we reply?” I suggested. “Tell them they’ve got the wrong person, just in case?”
“We could.”
“Worth a shot, isn’t it? No point panicking and phoning the police if it’s not actually me they want.”
“Sure,” he said, fingers tapping the keyboard. “Who in the hell is this? You’ve got me confused with someone else… I’ll send something along those lines.” He stopped typing for a moment. “In fact. No. I’ll throw a few comments in to rile them up, pretend you know who it is. It might prompt a response and enlighten us.”
“Great, but fingers crossed it’s not actually me they want.”
“I think you’ll need to cross more than your fingers. Someone’s gone to a lot of trouble to set this up, so I doubt they’d accidentally target the wrong person.”
I shut my eyes, massaged my forehead and forced my weary brain to drift deep in thought. The answer must be in my head.
CHAPTER 6
A loud bang startled me awake. I jerked forward on the couch. Jeez! I couldn’t believe I’d fallen asleep. A cool draft of air threaded through the house and I rubbed my arms to warm up. When I looked at my computer desk, reality plunged the dagger of worry back into me. The black swivel chair sat empty. “Lee?”
No answer. He must have left.
After all, who in their right mind would choose to befriend a girl with a death threat looming over her? I almost felt diseased.
I got to my feet. The computer was off. Perhaps Lee’s way of stating that I hadn’t received a new message, yet. I checked the desk for a note. Nothing.
While gnawing the inside of my lip, I spun around in the room unsure of what to do next.
Being alone in my quiet house, feeling angry and helpless, well, I hated it. I grabbed
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