Soul Fire

dangerous. I’m sure Javier just wanted this to be an end to things, not the beginning of a new
vendetta.’
    ‘With all due respect, Alice, it’s not your decision.’
    I hear the steeliness in his voice, but I can’t let him do this. The consequences don’t bear thinking about. And it’s my fault. I brought him here. ‘Please
don’t.’
    Gabe sighs. ‘I know you’re being sensible. But you must see that I don’t care about the danger. What I care about is putting things right. Justice, if you like.’
    That word. It’s one of the most dangerous there is.
    ‘His father’s crazy, Gabe. What if he kills you too?’
    Gabe shakes his head. ‘You know what? I don’t think I care.’
    Maybe Gabe and Javier will end up like Meggie and Tim, on the Beach for all eternity. I don’t want that to happen, but I also know I’ve started something I can’t stop.
    ‘All right, Gabe. But if you’re going to do this, I want to be here.’
    ‘You’re a sweet kid, Alice, but I can take care of myself.’
    ‘That’s what J thought. I won’t try to stop you, I promise. I want justice almost as much as you do.’
    I can see him thinking it through and his face relaxes a little. Even if I am only a kid , I sense he’s relieved that I want to see this through with him.
    Gabe nods. ‘OK. But you don’t have to wait with me.’
    ‘I want to.’
    ‘Alice, don’t be dumb. He could be hours yet.’
    I look at my watch. It’s just after four thirty. We’re meeting Zoe at eight, to bag a prime position for the parade – though she laughed when Sahara called it that. It’s not clowns and Disney carnival floats. They take this seriously. So should you.
    ‘If I give you my number, will you promise to text me before you go anywhere near J’s father?’ I ask Gabe. ‘Please? I’ll be in this area, anyway. But I guess I
should see my friends or they’ll wonder what I’ve been up to.’ Friends? Tonight has little to do with friendship. It’s my last – and my best – chance to
watch my suspects, and catch them unawares. And right now, I should be on my way to talk to Lewis about the Burning Truths photo.
    Gabe nods. ‘Thank you.’
    ‘Don’t thank me, Gabe. I know Javier wouldn’t have wanted you to face this alone. And I need to see this through.’

42
    Lewis’s room is like something out of a Bond movie. His bathroom is twice the size of our shared hostel bedroom, and the view from the twelfth floor is like looking down
from a giant ocean liner. If I was staying here, I don’t think I’d bother going out at all.
    Lewis doesn’t notice what’s beyond his window, or bother asking how my day’s been. He’s too busy frowning at his laptop screen.
    ‘You need to see this, Alice.’
    He’s pulled up the Burning Truths site. I look over his shoulder.
    There’s a close-up photograph of a crystal wine glass.
    ‘What’s that supposed to . . .’
    Then I notice the lip print, in darkest crimson. A shade Meggie never wore; it was too garish for her golden colouring.
    Yet that cupid’s bow. I’m pretty sure it’s hers. She went through a phase of signing off all her letters with lipstick prints and the perfect shape on the glass matches those
exactly.
    This is the image I couldn’t see: MeganForster _lips.jpg .
    ‘That’s just weird.’
    Lewis nods. ‘This picture. And the other one,’ he scrolls down to the first photo posted there, of Meggie’s lifeless hand.
    ‘I know it sounds odd but they almost remind me of collector’s items – like you’d see in a museum.’
    I think of another interpretation and it makes me shudder. ‘Or the pictures they take on crime shows. At the post mortem.’
    Lewis nods. ‘If we can find out who took these, I think we will have found the killer.’
    It’s only what I was thinking, of course, but when he says that, the danger I’m in hits me harder than it ever has before. And it’s not just me, but also Lewis. Or all of us.
All of us, except the person responsible. And I can’t help wondering . . . Was Sahara following me earlier on?
    ‘Alice, there’s another thing. I don’t want to worry you, but I wonder if I should take this down. At the moment, hardly anyone has found the site. But if one person stumbles
on these photos and realises what they are, it could go viral. And then . . . well, it might be a lot harder to get at the truth.’
    ‘You can do that? Take the site down.’
    ‘I could launch a denial of service attack right now.