Paige’s heart sank – how did she tell Jade that she hadn’t ever met Ella. She decided the only way to make this work was to take a risk and tell her the truth, however weird it may sound.
Paige Webb (16.35pm) – I actually didn’t know Ella, sorry. I am working for Professor Hugh Eckland and I came across some notes that I think Ella made on his essays.
Jade Spencer (16.35pm) – Oh, that creep. Yeah, Ella worked for him for a while, he came out of retirement to give us a lecture in first year and she got the job after that.
So, it was Ella who made those notes... Paige thought to herself. Could it really be a coincidence that they were both attacked and killed in the same place, just 24 hours apart?
Paige Webb (16.35pm) – OMG, really? And you didn’t like him?
Jade Spencer (16.36pm) – No, he was always calling her, inviting her to dinners and whatnot. She really liked him though, a bit too much...
Paige Webb (16.36pm) – You think she liked him... like that?
Jade Spencer (16.36pm) – Yeah, definitely, she was always talking about him. Going on about how clever he was and how generous.
Paige Webb (16.37pm) – I didn’t realise when I took the job that anyone else had worked for him.
Jade Spencer (16.37pm) – That sounds like Eckland. He’s intelligent and overly nice so I think that’s how he hides it.
Jade clearly suspected something too, so throwing caution to the wind, Paige added:
Paige Webb (16.38pm) – I’m so sorry to pry after your loss, but there’s something else that made me go the meadow that day.
Jade Spencer (16.38pm) – It’s ok, you’re not prying, what is it?
Paige Webb (16.39pm) – Well, I know they’re saying Ella’s death was a robbery gone wrong, but I’m worried there’s more to it.
Jade Spencer (16.39pm) – Honestly, that’s exactly what I thought. But the police didn’t give a shit. They said there wasn’t any proof that it was murder and Ella’s phone and purse were stolen in the attack.
Paige Webb (16.39pm) – Yeah, I know. Thing is, I was attacked in the same place the night before. The police didn’t do anything then either.
Paige waited with racing heart for Jade’s reply. Five minutes passed and the message still said “read”. Paige closed her eyes in frustration as she saw Jade’s icon change from “online” to “away”.
Putting her phone back in her pocket, she sighed and tried to finish her dinner, heart still racing. She had to focus on her mum and Tom right now and not worry about Eckland. For all she knew, there was a perfectly innocent explanation for it all.
Her phone buzzed again, and she pulled it back out, expecting to see a message from Jade. Instead, she saw a text from the unknown number again.
07764321123 – unknown number
16.46pm
Don’t trust Jade.
Ella x
CHAPTER TWELVE
Paige read and reread the text again. Don’t trust Jade. And signed Ella x. As she took it in again and again Paige felt herself hardening to her situation. Someone was messing with her, pretending to be Ella, trying to scare her. She had had enough.
She stood up, taking her plate back to the staff in the hospital canteen and headed out of the building, walking down Headington road, to a Starbucks she knew of. She wanted to be far enough away from her mum and Tom for what she planned to do next.
Once there, she ordered a hot chocolate and sat on a stool at the bar in the window, so that she could see the door and anyone walking past. She took a deep breath to try to calm her nerves, hoping that her fluttering heart wasn’t obvious to onlookers. She did her best to keep her face as blank and casual as she possibly could.
She took out her phone and carefully typed:
07764321123 – unknown number
16.46pm
Don’t trust Jade.
Ella x
17.05pm
I’m in the Starbucks on Headington Road. I want to talk.
As she watched everyone walking in and out, she started to realise she didn’t know what she was waiting for. How would she know what the person on the other end of the phone looked like? If they were pretending to be Ella, they wouldn’t reveal themselves to her now. Would they even turn up?
She decided to send one more text to act as bait.
07764321123 – unknown number
16.46pm
Don’t trust Jade.
Ella x
17.05pm
I’m in the Starbucks on Headington Road. I want to talk.
17.12pm
I have information about the Ecklands.
She marked the time – quarter past five. If someone hadn’t approached her by half past, she thought, she would go back to the hospital. The texter seemed to know her actions, including messaging Jade, but even if the texter was following her, would they reveal themselves?
Pausing briefly, she pressed send on the text.
The unmistakable sound of a Nokia two note text alert sounded from behind her. She swung around, scanning the faces of teenagers flicking through Tik Tok, a man speaking loudly in a foreign language on his mobile and an elderly woman gingerly poking at her screen with one forefinger.
No one’s faces gave anything away. If it was any of these people, they clearly didn’t have any intention of revealing themselves to her. Thinking quickly, she fired off another text:
07764321123 – unknown number
17.14pm
Are you here?
The Nokia alert sounded again, but she still couldn’t pinpoint its location. It had definitely sounded behind her, but she was at the front of the Starbucks, so that didn’t reveal anything. She tried to gauge how far away it had sounded. Had it been muffled by a pocket?
One more try, she thought.
07764321123 – unknown number
17.16pm
I’ll be here until 5.30 waiting.
The alert sounded again. She noticed a small green Eastpak bumbag left unattended on a chair at the far end of the shop. The table in front of it had a half-drunk coffee on it. Had the sound come from the bag? There didn’t seem to
