The Deadly Dare Mysteries

by Malorie Blackman

  ‘I think we can start panicking now.’ Bullet slumped in his chair.

  ‘So are you going to try another password then?’ Jade asked.

  The screen from which Jade had sent the email to her dad beeped loudly.

  ‘Dad’s replied to my message.’ Jade jumped out of her chair and moved over to the other screen.

  Immediately everyone gathered around, watching avidly as Jade displayed the message on the screen.

  To: JDriscoll@JDriscoll.private.uk

  From: PDriscoll@PDriscoll.private.uk

  Darling Jade,

  Thank God! Thank God you’ve found my package at last. I was beginning to lose hope of you ever finding it. Yes, it’s exactly what I’ve been waiting for. Here’s what I want you to do. DON’T TRY TO READ THE DISKS! That’s most important. After school, I want you to take them to the shopping centre. At exactly four-thirty, I want you to drop the package into the bin outside The Body Shop. Then you’re to go home. I’ll send you a message at exactly five o’clock – and I’ll have a surprise for you, but only if you’ve followed my instructions to the letter. Remember, don’t tell anyone about me and don’t show my messages to anyone. I’ll be watching you. All my love.

  Dad.

  ‘I don’t know who’s sending you those messages, but it’s a dirty, rotten trick if you ask me.’ Bullet scowled.

  Startled, Jade asked, ‘What d’you mean?’

  Bullet was surprised. ‘Well, that obviously can’t be your dad because he’s been asking you for ages to find this mysterious package – but if it really was your dad, he’d have known where the package was from the beginning.’

  ‘He might’ve forgotten,’ Jade said quietly.

  ‘Yeah right!’ Bullet scoffed. ‘And even if he had forgotten where it was, he wouldn’t have forgotten what it was. So why does he keep referring to it as ‘the package’ all the time? And since when does a ghost need a package to be dropped off in a bin outside The Body Shop? If your dad wanted to get rid of the package, he could’ve told you to throw it in the nearest bin in school or anywhere. And if he did want the package, surely he would’ve told you to put it on his grave or something? And what would a ghost want with a couple of disks? Angela told me what your dad used to do for a living. I reckon your dad must’ve been working on something really important and someone out there is trying to get their hands on it.’

  The room was as still as an early Sunday morning. You could’ve heard a feather drop.

  Bullet looked around the room, confused. ‘I mean, that’s what you all reckoned – right?’

  Still no one spoke.

  ‘I just thought it was a nasty trick.’ Bullet defended himself, even though he wasn’t sure why. ‘Someone has obviously got hold of your dad’s email account and password and they’ve been trying to get you to do their dirty work for them.’

  Theo looked down at the floor. If, at that moment his life depended on it, he still couldn’t have looked at Jade. He, Angela and Ricky had each tried to tell Jade the same thing but she’d never listened. And in his heart, Theo could understand why. But now Bullet had come right out and hit the nail smack dab on the head. Bullet had come straight to the point where Theo and the others had danced gingerly around it. And truth to tell, Theo had begun to wonder if maybe, just maybe, the email messages might actually be from Jade’s dad?

  ‘It is a nasty trick, isn’t it?’ Jade’s voice was barely more than a whisper.

  Only now did Theo dare to glance up. Silent tears streamed down Jade’s cheeks.

  ‘I’m sorry. What did I say?’ Bullet asked distraught. ‘What did I say?’

  ‘Excuse me.’ Jade ran out of the room.

  ‘Will someone please tell me what I said?’ Bullet pleaded.

  Ricky turned to him. ‘It’s not your fault, Bullet. You only told her the truth, that’s all.’

  ‘I don’t understand.’

  ‘Jade believed those mail messages really were from her dad,’ said Theo.

  Bullet’s eyes widened like dinner plates. ‘You’re joking.’

  Theo, Ricky and Angela all shook their heads.

  ‘I wonder though,’ Angela said thoughtfully. ‘I wonder if Jade really did believe that those messages were from her dad? Or did she just want to believe it?’

  ‘Does it make a difference?’ Ricky asked.

  ‘No, I guess it doesn’t,’ Angela sighed.

  ‘What about these disks?’ Bullet asked. ‘What should I do with them?’

  ‘Are you going to try and put in the password? You’ve got one more go left,’ said Ricky.

  ‘Maybe we shouldn’t fiddle about with the disks whilst Jade isn’t here,’ Angela suggested.

  ‘The best way for us to help her is to know what we’re dealing with,’ Ricky argued.

  ‘Any suggestion for the last password?’ Bullet asked.

  No one answered. Bullet shrugged.

  ‘Does anyone know Jade’s mum’s name?’

  ‘Laura.’ Theo remembered Pascoe DeMille mentioning it.

  ‘OK then. Here goes nothing.’ Bullet took a deep breath and typed in L-A-U-R-A.

  Immediately the disk drive sounded like it was winding up about to explode.

  ‘What’s happening?’ Theo asked urgently.

  ‘I think the program is wiping the hard disk,’ said Bullet. ‘I was afraid that would happen.’

  ‘Wiping the whole disk?’ said Ricky.

  Bullet nodded. ‘Mrs Sumonu is going to dance on our heads.’

  ‘Can’t you just stop it?’ Angela chipped in.

  ‘That would probably make it worse not better. The best thing we can do is wait for the disk to be wiped clean and then try to load up as much as we can onto it again,’ said Bullet.

  ‘Can you do that without Mrs Sumonu finding out?’ Theo asked.

  ‘I can reload the operating system and all the software applications, but I can’t reload everyone’s work.’

  ‘Let’s hope everyone who used this computer kept backups of their data.’ Ricky crossed his fingers.

  ‘The trouble is,’ Bullet glanced down at his watch, ‘loading up the operating system and all the software will take at least two hours. Class starts in five minutes.’

  ‘We’ll tell Mrs Sumonu we’ll reload all the deleted software tonight after school,’ Theo suggested.

  ‘No way,’ Ricky interjected. ‘We’re going to put the disks in the bin outside The Body Shop just as the mail message said. Tonight we’re going to find out just who’s doing this to Jade and why.’

  Chapter Fourteen

  The Messenger

  ‘THANK GOODNESS FOR that. I thought this day would never end. We should head straight for the shopping centre,’ said Theo. ‘We need to plant these disks well before five o’clock. The person sending the messages needs to believe that Jade left them there.’

  ‘But suppose our “messenger” is already there?’ Angela said.

  ‘We’re going to have to take that chance,’ Ricky said.

  Ricky looked no happier about it than Angela but they didn’t have much choice. They’d just have to play it according to the email message and watch each other’s backs. School was over at long last and now they had some business to take care of. Theo just wished his stomach would quieten down.

  ‘Jade should be here,’ Ricky sighed.

  ‘She’s far too upset. This isn’t a game for her,’ said Angela.

  ‘It’s not a game for me either,’ Ricky replied. ‘Someone is trying to mess with Jade’s head. I just want to find out who and why.’

  ‘You’re … you’re the ones I spoke to yesterday, aren’t you?’

  Theo jumped. And he wasn’t the only one. They’d all turned the corner and there stood Pascoe DeMille.

  ‘Er … yes, we gave Jade your message,’ Theo said hastily.

  ‘What did she say?’

  ‘She didn’t recognize your name,’ Ricky said slowly. Theo could see the deepening suspicion in his friend’s eyes.<
br />
  ‘It’s been a while since I saw her. I would’ve been more surprised if she had remembered me,’ Pascoe sighed. ‘Did you tell her where I’m staying?’

  ‘Yes, we told her that as well,’ said Ricky.

  ‘How is she doing?’

  ‘Not too well,’ Angela chipped in before Ricky could answer.

  Pascoe bent his head momentarily. When he looked up again, his eyes were shimmering with unshed tears. ‘I wish … I wish there was something I could do for her. Something I could do to make all this easier for her.’

  ‘Were you good friends with her dad then?’ Ricky asked.

  ‘I guess you could say that.’ The merest trace of a smile flickered across Pascoe’s face. ‘We went our separate ways a while ago though. He disagreed with my choice of profession.’

  ‘Why? What do you do?’ Angela asked straight out.

  ‘I am … or rather I was an actor. Not a very good one. Not a very successful one. Paul told me I was wasting my time but …’ Pascoe shrugged.

  ‘Did you quarrel about it?’

  ‘Angela!’ Theo said, exasperated.

  ‘I’m only asking.’ Angela defended herself.

  ‘Yes, we did quarrel about it,’ Pascoe admitted.

  ‘Jade’s dad seemed to have quarrelled with a lot of people,’ Angela said. ‘He quarrelled with one of his friends at work about some game or another.’

  ‘Oh yes … Dyna-Cybo Warriors …’ said Pascoe thoughtfully.

  ‘How come you know about that?’ Theo asked.

  ‘Letters. We kept in touch.’

  ‘I thought you said you’d lost touch with each other,’ Ricky reminded Pascoe.

  ‘Yes, we did.’

  Well, which one was it? It couldn’t be both. Something didn’t add up. And in the space of five seconds, he’d changed his story twice.

  ‘D’you know Paul’s friend, Alex?’ Pascoe asked lightly.

  Angela shook her head. Ricky and Theo didn’t move.

  ‘Well, Alex is a nasty piece of work. Take some advice, steer well clear. The only one Alex cares about is Alex,’ said Pascoe.

  ‘How d’you know that?’ asked Ricky.

  ‘You’d be surprised.’ Pascoe stared at them without even blinking. His voice held an intensity that had Theo shifting back away from him. There was definitely something about Pascoe DeMille that was not quite right.

  ‘You three take care of yourselves. And remember to stick together,’ Pascoe said.

  And with that he marched off past them and round the corner.

  ‘What on earth was that all about? What did he mean by his last remark?’ asked Angela.

  ‘I have no idea. And did you have to volunteer quite so much information?’ Theo rounded on Angela.

  ‘What’re you talking about? I barely spoke to the man,’ Angela said amazed. ‘What’s the matter with you?’

  ‘I don’t trust that man. I think we should be careful of him. For all we know, he could be the one sending Jade those messages,’ said Theo.

  ‘You’ll be blaming it on the man in the moon next,’ said Angela.

  ‘Don’t you think he knew a lot of stuff for someone who lost touch with Jade’s family years ago?’ Theo suggested sardonically.

  ‘I don’t know. Maybe he’s been catching up since we saw him yesterday,’ Angela said.

  ‘Yeah, right!’ Theo shook his head. Angela swung from not trusting a word anyone said to taking people at face value. She was such a ‘what you see is what you get’ kind of person that she found it hard to believe that everyone else wasn’t the same. It gave Theo a headache.

  The shopping centre was busy and noisy, with people bustling here, there and everywhere. The smell of burgers and pizzas wafting down to them from the food hall made Theo feel slightly sick. The last time he had felt like this was when Ricky had been kidnapped and he and Angela were about to confront the kidnappers. A queasy, uneasy feeling plucked at his stomach like a vulture over meat.

  Shouldn’t we call the police or something?’ Angela whispered.

  ‘And tell them what?’ asked Ricky. ‘That someone claiming to be the ghost of Jade’s dad asked her to dump some disks outside a shop in the centre and we’re waiting for him to pick them up?’

  ‘Ricky, I think Angela’s right. The last time we were in a situation like this, we almost left it too late before calling the police,’ Theo remembered. He looked around nervously as he spoke.

  ‘I wish Jade was here,’ Angela couldn’t help saying. ‘We’re doing this for her. It feels strange her not being here.’

  ‘All the more reason to make sure we don’t fail,’ said Ricky. ‘Did you see her when her mum came to pick her up this afternoon? She couldn’t stop crying.’

  ‘I don’t think Bullet’s ever going to forgive himself,’ Angela admonished. ‘You should’ve warned him before letting him say all those things about the messages Jade was getting.’

  ‘He didn’t give us a chance.’ Theo defended himself and Ricky. ‘He just launched straight in.’

  ‘It wasn’t his fault, it needed to be said. It’s just a shame that Jade had to hear it that way,’ Ricky sighed.

  ‘D’you think Jade is OK?’ Angela said, concerned. ‘Maybe after this we should go to her house and make sure?’

  ‘Her mum won’t thank us,’ Theo pointed out.

  ‘Is that going to stop us then?’ asked Angela.

  Theo shook his head. ‘Nope!’

  ‘I wonder if someone will come for the disks,’ said Ricky, glancing down at his watch. ‘We’ve been here for over an hour now and nothing’s happened.’

  ‘I’ve got to go home soon. I told Mum I’d be home by six,’ said Theo.

  ‘That’s what I told Marian,’ said Angela, talking about her foster-mum.

  ‘I hope someone turns up soon. I’d like to take a good look at the person who’s doing this to Jade.’

  ‘Who d’you think is responsible for all this?’ Theo asked.

  ‘I have no idea.’ Angela shrugged. ‘I did wonder if maybe this had something to do with Jade’s dad’s friend, Alex.’

  ‘Why him?’

  ‘’Cos apart from Jade’s mum and your mum, I don’t know anyone else connected with Jade’s dad,’ Angela admitted.

  ‘We don’t have a big list of suspects, do we?’ Theo admitted.

  ‘We don’t need a big list of suspects. This isn’t an Agatha Christie mystery,’ Ricky dismissed. ‘All we need to do is wait to see if someone picks up the package and then take it from there.’

  ‘Shouldn’t we separate?’ Angela suggested.

  They all considered.

  ‘Maybe we’d better not?’ Theo said uncertainly. ‘Just in case?’

  Strange that Pascoe DeMille’s words about staying together should crop up in his head at that moment.

  ‘OK.’

  ‘Agreed.’

  ‘Time to keep our eyes open and our mouths shut,’ said Ricky. ‘We wouldn’t want to miss Jade’s package getting picked up.’

  ‘If it does get picked up,’ Angela pointed out.

  ‘If we can see the person who picks it up,’ Theo added.

  Ricky and Angela looked at him. ‘Well, you never know,’ Theo mumbled. ‘We might all be wrong. Maybe it is Jade’s dad after all.’

  ‘I thought I was the one who believed in ghosts, not you,’ Ricky said, surprised.

  ‘I’m trying to keep an open mind,’ said Theo, loftily.

  ‘But not wide open,’ Angela said with sarcasm.

  ‘Shush!’ Ricky admonished.

  And they all shut up. The centre was full of late afternoon shoppers, laughing, smiling, scowling. Was one of them waiting to see if some disks were dropped into the bin outside The Body Shop? Or was someone else waiting …? For the life of him, Theo couldn’t tell which worried him more – the watchful gaze of the living or the dead. So here he was with Ricky and Angela waiting for something to happen.

  And then it did. But it wasn’t what any
of them had been expecting.

  A tall woman with auburn hair and dressed in an expensive, brown business suit strode up to the bin and looked down into it. With a frown of distaste she rummaged through it, obviously searching for something specific. Then a Cheshire cat smirk spread slowly over her face. She picked up the envelope Jade had found with Private written on it and pushed it into the larger than average handbag over her shoulder. She took a quick look around, and marched back the way she came.

  ‘Come on,’ Ricky hissed. ‘Let’s follow her.’

  They ducked around the escalators where they were hiding and started weaving in and out of the people milling around them.

  ‘We’ve got to keep up with her. We can’t lose her now,’ Ricky urged.

  The woman marched with a purpose, keeping a straight line down the middle of the shopping centre. Theo thought his heart would stop when all at once she turned and looked behind her. Theo, Angela and Ricky immediately stopped in their tracks and looked anywhere but at her. Angela smiled at Theo and said, ‘D’you fancy a McDonalds instead?’

  ‘Nah! I’m not that hungry.’ Theo shook his head.

  ‘It’s OK. She’s moving again,’ Ricky said after a moment.

  ‘Phew! Fast thinking there, Angela,’ Theo smiled.

  ‘We’re not out of the woods yet,’ Angela pointed out.

  They continued after the mystery woman, until all at once Ricky broke into a run.

  ‘Oh no! She’s taking the lift. Hurry up!’

  They all belted towards the lift the woman had just stepped into. Ricky reached it first, just as the doors were closing. He slipped in sideways, whilst Theo and Angela watched in horror as the doors shut in front of them.

  ‘What do we do? What do we do?’ Theo tried to quash the panic which was beginning to rage in his stomach.

  ‘Press the button for the other lift. I’ll watch to see where this one stops.’ Angela pointed to the floor indicators between the two lifts.

  Theo pressed the button, willing the second lift to move down faster. ‘Come on! Come on!’ He clenched his fists, fear and frustration fighting within him.

  ‘First floor. Car park level one. Car park level two. The lift has stopped on car park level two.’ Angela pointed up at the lift indicator. ‘Now it’s stopping at car park level three.’