a couple of pay-as-you-go phones. I snapped some interesting business cards and I even managed a quick rummage through the cupboards in the living-room. I don’t think I’ve unearthed anything spectacular, but it might get us somewhere.’
‘The phones sound good,’ James said, though he found it hard to concentrate. His heartbeat was all over the place and there was a two-thousand-voice choir in his head screaming you just had sex!
‘Are you sure you’re OK?’ Bruce asked again. ‘You look pale and you’re all clammy.’
James wished Bruce would stop talking and let him get his head straight. ‘I guess it’s the cut on my leg,’ he said irritably. ‘You dug that glass in too deep.’
‘You know what’s weird though?’ Bruce asked, raising one eyebrow slightly.
‘What?’
‘You know Lois asked me to make a cup of tea?’
James nodded.
‘Well after I’d searched Sasha’s study, I made a quick cuppa and when you didn’t come down I started taking it up the stairs.’
‘You what?’ James gasped.
‘It was really strange,’ Bruce smirked. ‘When I got up near the bathroom I could hear water splashing everywhere. You were making this kind of low groaning noise, then afterwards I could have sworn that I heard Lois saying that you weren’t bad for a first timer.’
James realised he’d been rumbled. ‘She was all over me, Bruce,’ he blurted. ‘You’ve got to keep this quiet.’
‘Do you reckon?’ Bruce laughed. ‘Sasha would hook you up by your scrotum and Dana … Well, let’s just say she wouldn’t be too happy if she found out.’
James had grown to hate his reputation for cheating on girls and he really cared about Dana.
‘It wasn’t my fault,’ James shouted. ‘Lois locked the bathroom door and then practically jumped on top of me.’
Bruce wasn’t listening. ‘You’re such a jammy dog. She’s got a good body. Was it as amazing as everyone says it is?’
James got a kick out of the fact that he’d leapt into the adult realm, while Bruce was forced to remain curious. ‘It was OK,’ he shrugged. ‘I mean, it’s definitely nice to have done it. But Lois kept bossing me around, which wasn’t exactly how I imagined it …’
‘The dominant female,’ Bruce giggled, ‘very kinky. Kerry’s gonna burst when I tell her.’
‘For god’s sake,’ James said. ‘You can’t tell anyone. You’ve got to swear, Bruce. And I’m only fifteen and a half, so I could get expelled if the staff find out.’
But by this time Bruce was laughing so hard that he could barely stand up. ‘Sasha’s daughter!’ he howled. ‘You dirty little goat.’
James was starting to get annoyed. ‘Will you shut up? It’s dark and there could be anyone walking around here.’
‘Sorry,’ Bruce grinned, as he wiped tears on to the sleeve of his tracksuit top. ‘Don’t worry, I’m your mate and was only joking about telling Kerry, but…’
Bruce couldn’t finish the sentence. He was laughing so hard that he had to clutch his stomach to stop his sides hurting.
*
The boys had arranged to meet Chloe at a bus stop about a kilometre from Sasha’s house. From there they made the short drive to her hotel near the town centre. It was gone eleven when they arrived, but the gang lifestyle revolved around late nights and long lie-ins, so neither boy was tired.
‘You look like you’ve been laughing,’ Chloe said as the boys stepped into her room.
For a moment James thought Bruce was going to crack up again, but after a little snort he managed to get a grip on himself.
‘Care to share?’ Chloe asked.
‘Oh, it was nothing,’ Bruce lied. ‘Just this old lady with one of those fancy poodles with all the hair done up in pom-poms. They always make me laugh.’
Chloe looked baffled. ‘It never ceases to amaze me the stuff teenage boys think is funny,’ she said. ‘I’ve got the laptop logged into the police computer. You said you had phone numbers or something?’
Bruce guffawed as he sat at the small hotel desk and pulled the PDA out of the little backpack. ‘The main thing is that I’ve got a couple of pay-as-you-go phone numbers,’ he said. ‘Do you want me to run them?’
‘Sure,’ Chloe nodded. ‘If you know how to use the system.’
Bruce opened the PDA and played back the voice recordings he’d made of the numbers and handset IDs. Technically, you were supposed to get a judge’s approval to access mobile phone records, but in reality the intelligence services had instant access to call records from all of the major networks. If they found anything interesting,