Paparazzi Princess

by Cathy Hopkins

  ‘And this boy, have you seen him since?’ Dad asked.

  I shook my head. ‘When we went to the cinema, Riko acted weird again, like she was looking for someone before we went in and then when we took our seats, she kept texting someone. I thought I saw the boy outside the cinema but after that, Riko was with me the whole time. I began to think I was being over-paranoid but just in case, I asked Bridget if she’d seen anyone hanging about outside here.’

  ‘And had she?’ asked Aunt Maddie.

  ‘She said she’d seen a boy a few times but not really taken much notice. People are always staring at Porchester Park. Do you think he might be a stalker?’

  Dad stood up. ‘He could be anyone. He could be someone she knows or someone she’s met on the Internet. Some girls can be very gullible. I’m going to call the police right now and tell them what you’ve told me. Whoever he is, you’ve given a very valuable clue, Jess. I have to pass it on immediately. In the meantime, we have to pray that she’s not in any danger.’

  Dad went to make his call and within ten minutes, he came back with a young police officer who’d been questioning staff who worked at the apartments. He held out a photograph to me. I glanced down at it.

  ‘You father says you’ve seen someone hanging about a few times,’ said the officer. ‘Do you recognise the boy in this photo?’

  It was the boy I’d seen outside Porchester Park. I nodded. ‘That’s him,’ I said.

  The officer took the photo back.

  ‘Do you know who he is?’ I asked.

  ‘I’m afraid I can’t divulge that information at this stage of the investigation. More to the point though, do you know who he is?

  ‘No.’

  ‘Is there anything else you can remember apart from what your father has already told us?’

  ‘No.’

  The police officer stared at me. ‘Hmm.’

  I felt a rising panic and once again, found it hard to breathe. I was sure he could see right into me, that he knew I was the one who had caused this whole sorry mess, but then he looked away and I felt the iron grip in my stomach relax a little.

  ‘Thank you, Jess. You’ve been very helpful. Thank you very much. Well done.’ He left, already talking into his mobile as he went.

  Well done, he’d said. If only he knew the truth!

  13

  Everyone was round the table. Meg, Flo, Charlie, Henry and Tom, even Pia had raced back from her shopping trip.

  ‘What can we do to help?’ asked Tom.

  After the police had gone, I’d sent out an alert to all my mates. I had a plan. The police were doing what they could. In the meantime, I’d decided to organise a search party of my own.

  ‘Henry. You and Pia take Harrods,’ I said.

  ‘Isn’t it getting a bit late now?’ asked Meg.

  ‘Never too late,’ I said. I had actually thought the same thing myself but I had to do something.

  Pia saluted me and grinned at Henry. ‘Yessir.’

  ‘Flo and Meg, you do Westfield. Riko said her idea of heaven would be to explore a mall without a minder and Westfield is the closest and biggest.’

  ‘But we don’t now what she looks like,’ said Flo. “Better I go with Charlie. He’d recognise her.’ She gave Charlie a coy look which was lost on him.

  And it would give you a chance to spend time with my brother, I thought. Smart girl. She’d obviously read the last facebook update and seen the message about sharing a mutual project with a boy.

  ‘Good plan,’ I said. ‘OK with you, Chaz?’

  Charlie nodded. ‘Maybe I’d better take Meg too. Westfield is a big place. And Tom, probably best you go with Jess because she knows what she looks like.’ I had to stifle a giggle. It seemed everyone had been reading the facebook updates. I just hoped that Tom hadn’t wised up.

  Tom smiled and gave me a look that made my toes curl. I felt conflicted. Part of me was still in deep shame about blabbing to Bridget but another part of me was doing cartwheels, thinking, Wahey. Time alone with the love god. People are complicated. I’m complicated. So many emotions and all in the space of sixty seconds!

  *

  ‘So, where to?’ asked Tom when we got outside and the others had gone off on their various missions through the snow which had started to fall mid afternoon.

  Back to your house for a snog session, I thought. God, if my thoughts came out of my mouth, I’d be in deep trouble. Focus, Jess.

  ‘Good question. She could be anywhere. Um—’

  ‘We have to start somewhere,’ he interrupted. ‘Have the police let on who the boy might be?’

  I shook my head. ‘They weren’t giving anything away. She might know him but he might also be a stalker or, worst case scenario, someone she met on the Internet who’s lured her away.’

  ‘Well, we have to hope it’s not that,’ said Tom. ‘I bet he’s her boyfriend. That’s what I reckon after what you’ve told us so far. She probably just wants some time alone with him.’

  ‘You think? But where would they go?’

  Tom shrugged. ‘Depends on who he is and whether his parents live in London.’

  ‘I guess the police will have all that covered.’

  ‘So let’s think,’ he said and looked deeply into my eyes. ‘Where would you go if you had some time with someone you really fancied and it was your first opportunity to hang out with them?’

  I felt myself blush. He has read the facebook update, I thought.

  Behind us, I noticed Eddie, the homeless man in his usual pitch in the doorway. I nodded at him and he looked away. He was there most days now. No matter how many times he was moved on, he always came back. Suddenly I had an idea and went over to him.

  ‘Hey, Eddie, you didn’t happen to notice a Japanese girl leaving the apartment block over there this morning, did you? Maybe with a boy?’

  ‘I see lots,’ he said. ‘Many boys, many girls, many people.’

  I pointed over at Porchester Park. ‘A girl who lives over there. You saw her with me one morning. A Japanese girl. Very striking. Mad clothes.’

  Eddie nodded. ‘I did see her. Very early. She got into a taxi.’

  ‘With a boy?’

  He nodded.

  ‘You didn’t happen to hear where they were going, did you?’

  Eddie stayed silent. Tom fished around for some coins and handed him a pound. Eddie looked at it then back up. I looked in my purse and added another.

  ‘It’s all we’ve got, Eddie, apart from loose change and we might need that if we’re going to look for her. She’s gone missing. Please. Her parents are out of their mind with worry.’

  Eddie took the second coin. ‘St Pancras,’ he said. ‘I heard the boy say St Pancras. They’ll be halfway across Europe by now.’

  ‘Halfway across Europe?’ I asked.

  Tom nodded. ‘Eurostar,’ he said. ‘The Eurostar goes from there.’

  I had a sudden flash. Riko’s perfect holiday. ‘Does it go to Paris?’

  ‘Yup,’ said Tom. ‘Why?’

  ‘I bet that’s where she’s going. Come on.’

  I took his hand and pulled him towards the tube station.

  ‘Why would she go there?’ Tom asked as we skidded along the pavement. The snow was already beginning to turn to slush. I filled him in on my conversation with Riko and her perfect day being in Paris with a boy she liked. ‘. . . See? That has to be it.’

  Tom stopped. ‘Don’t you think we ought to tell the police? It’s a valuable clue.’

  ‘I guess,’ I said. ‘I don’t have a number for them but I’ll call Dad.’

  Tom glanced at his watch. ‘Jess, it’s almost three o’clock. Surely she’ll have gone by now.’

  I felt a sinking feeling hit my stomach. He was probably right but I couldn’t give up and just sit and wait for news. I had to at least go and look. ‘Please Tom. I have to try.’

  Tom nodded. ‘Sure. Let’s go.’

  I dialled Dad’s mobile but it went to voicemail. ‘D
ad, it’s Jess. We think Riko might have gone to St Pancras to catch the Eurostar to Paris. She told me that would be her perfect day out. You’d better let the police know. I . . . I’m going to the station now.’

  ‘Got your Oyster card?’ asked Tom as he got his out. ‘Or do we need to get a ticket?’

  I pulled out my card and waved it at him. ‘If the police get there, she might freak and run. Can you imagine? I think our best chance is to get there, find her, and persuade her to come back. Less trouble all around.’

  Tom looked doubtful but didn’t argue. He got out his iPhone and started pressing the keys.

  ‘What are you looking for?’ I asked.

  ‘Train times to Paris.’ He glanced up a few minutes later. ‘Bummer. They go almost every half hour.’

  ‘Half hour? Oh no.’

  ‘Either they’ve been planning this and booked a particular journey or they’re chancing it but they’ll have been lucky to just walk onto a train. I think it gets booked up months ahead.’

  ‘Maybe they didn’t know that,’ I said. ‘I didn’t and Riko’s not exactly familiar with public transport. We’ve nothing to lose, have we? Let’s still go, if only because someone there might have seen her. She does stand out with her unique style.’

  We flew down into the tube, through the turnstiles and onto the escalator. A man was blocking the way on the left-hand-side.

  ‘Excuse me,’ said Tom. The man gave him a filthy look and stayed put.

  ‘Er, excuse me, sir, but the left-hand-side of the escalator is for people in a rush. The right-hand-side is for people who wish to stand still,’ Tom said politely.

  The man moved aside but looked very disgruntled.

  ‘Thank you,’ I said as we hurried past.

  At the bottom of the escalator a group of Italian tourists were gathered, blocking the way of anyone trying to get off. I almost tripped over Tom but luckily one of them saw us and moved the others out of the way just in time. We hurtled on to the right platform where the display said that there was a train in five minutes.

  ‘Phew,’ I said. ‘It’s straight through to King’s Cross, then St Pancras is just over the road.’

  At that moment, the notice board showed a change in information. CORRECTION. CORRECTION, it flashed in big yellow letters. Then a message came up that the next train would be in fifteen minutes.

  ‘Fifteen minutes. Oh no!’ I gasped.

  ‘We just have to chill, Jess. We’ll get there and hopefully your dad will have got your message by now and Mission Rescue Riko will be sorted,’ said Tom.

  I glanced around. ‘I guess. Still it’s not like in the movies is it? If we were in a movie, we’d be in and out of fast cars—’

  ‘Then a helicopter—’

  ‘And a speedboat that turns into a submarine then a plane.’

  ‘And finally we’d parachute down onto the platform at St Pancras.’

  Tom did a karate move then pointed back at himself. ‘Agent 007. Licensed to thrill.’

  I watched the tube platform fill up with irate travellers who seemed as unhappy about the delay as we were. ‘Instead we’re stuck in the underground with hundreds of others,’ I said. ‘Maybe they’re all on secret rescue missions too.’

  Finally the train arrived and we got on. We stood in the aisle so others could sit down. As the tube rattled off, there was a lurch and I lost my footing and fell into Tom. He steadied me then put his arm around me. ‘Agent Hall,’ he said. ‘You really must stop drinking when on an assignment.’

  ‘Sorry, Agent Robertson,’ I said. ‘I will join AA and deal with my problem as soon as our mission is completed. Hic!’

  We spent the rest of the journey with his arm around me to steady me and instead of feeling in a rush, I now felt that I’d like the journey to go on forever but all too soon, we were at King’s Cross. We got off and raced up to ground level, taking the final steps two at a time. We darted across the street, dodging taxis and cars and into St Pancras station. It was heaving with people, all seemingly in a hurry, pulling cases, looking for platforms, watching departures. Even the cafés looked crowded, with travellers at every table and in queues at the counters.

  ‘Ohmigod, this is worse than Harrods!’ I exclaimed. ‘We’ll never find her. It’s hopeless.’ Riko had disappeared early morning and it was now well into rush hour and the station was swarming with travellers rushing to get home. ‘It’s too late.’

  ‘Hey, Hall. Where’s your fighting spirit? It’s not over yet,’ said Tom. ‘If this was a movie, we wouldn’t be giving up, would we?’

  I shook my head but inside, I felt desperate. I knew that it wasn’t a movie. This was real. Someone had gone missing and I’d had a part to play in that.

  ‘Let’s go to the Eurostar departure area,’ said Tom. ‘In the meantime, call your dad and check he got the message.’

  I got my phone out and started to call Dad when it bleeped that the battery was low. ‘Nooooooooo. My phone! It’s dead. I . . . I meant to recharge it, but . . .’

  Tom handed me his. ‘Use mine.’

  ‘I don’t know how to use one of those,’ I said. I felt stupid. He’d think I was so uncool. I’d make a crap secret agent.

  ‘Give me the number and I’ll call,’ he said as he took it back.

  ‘07856 . . . no. 08956 . . . Oh NO! I can’t remember his number. I never use it. It’s on automatic dial on my phone. I . . .’

  I felt even more stupid than ever now. Tom laughed and pretended to talk into his phone. ‘Agent Q. Agent Hall hasn’t recharged her phone. Recommend you send her to rehab in Botswana for a few years to recharge her brain.’

  ‘Dad might be trying to get hold of me after the message I left earlier,’ I said. ‘Oh God, my life is over. He’ll kill me when he finds he can’t get through to me. He’s always on at me to leave my phone on and keep it recharged.’

  ‘Chill, Agent Hall. It happens to everyone.’

  Just at that moment, I spotted Riko in the distance. She was with the boy from the photo and they were looking in a shop window. They were chatting away like friends which was a huge relief. She wouldn’t have been that relaxed if she was being kidnapped. I pulled on Tom’s arm. ‘She’s there! I saw her. Going into that shoe shop now and she’s with him. Come on.’

  We ran along the arcade and up to the shop, where we skidded to a halt and hid round the corner. I tiptoed out and peeked through the window and indeed, there she was, trying on shoes like she didn’t have a care in the world. Tom came up behind me but I pulled him back before she saw us. ‘I can’t believe she’s trying on shoes when the police are out looking for her!’

  ‘Why not?’ He glanced at his watch. ‘She doesn’t know they’re looking for her. Maybe they’ve got a ticket and are just killing time, like the rest of them.’ He indicated the station with all its shops and cafés. ‘And let’s face it, this is as good a place to hang out as anywhere.’

  ‘We have to let someone know that she’s here. What time’s the next train?’

  Tom looked at the board. ‘Twenty minutes then another in fifty.’

  I peeked around the corner and into the window again to check she was still there. Whoops! I looked straight into Riko’s eyes. I don’t know which of us looked more shocked. She turned around and said something to the boy with her, who turned and glared at me.

  ‘Damn. They’ve seen me,’ I said. ‘What do we do now?’

  ‘We confront her,’ said Tom and he pulled me out into the open but it was too late. We saw the back of Riko and the boy as they hurried out of the shop and off into the crowd.

  ‘First we have to let someone know,’ said Tom. ‘I’ll call Charlie. I should have thought of it before. I’m a crap agent too. God, it’s not as easy as it looks being James Bond. Charlie can call your dad and Pia and she can call her mum.’

  We stopped for a moment while he made the calls and luckily, got through to both of them.

  ‘The cavalry are coming,’ he said when he’d finish
ed. ‘They’re all on their way. Now, let’s try and find Riko before she gets on a train!’

  ‘No point. It will take the others forty minutes or so to get here. She’ll be long gone by then.’

  ‘Depends which train she’s on,’ said Tom. ‘And that’s if they’ve managed to get on one. Never give up until it’s over, Hall. In the meantime, let’s try and find her.’ He gave me a quick hug and pulled me in the direction Riko had gone.

  The next fifteen minutes really was like something from a movie as we gave chase to Riko and the boy. We spotted her on an escalator going up. We hopped on, only to see her get on an escalator going down a few moments later. She even waved. She was clearly enjoying herself. We followed them in and out of shops but they always seemed to be one step ahead of us. At one point, they disappeared around a corner then reappeared on the other side of the arcade. Riko saw us and grinned like she was having the time of her life.

  ‘I will kill her. This is getting ridiculous. A waste of time,’ I panted after we’d been in and out of a newsagent’s, a book shop and a clothes store.

  ‘I don’t think so,’ said Tom. ‘At least we’ve established one thing and that is that the boy with her is definitely not a kidnapper or a stalker. She clearly knows him and is comfortable with him.’

  ‘Her boyfriend . . .’

  Tom’s phone rang. He took the call as we raced on to the next shop where a glimpse of a pink coat alerted us to Riko’s presence. ‘Charlie says he’s just spoken to your dad and the police will be here any minute.’

  ‘Quick, Tom. I don’t think she’s seen us. She went into the chemist.’

  We ran after her, past the cosmetics, round a corner then WHAM. Face to face with Riko and the boy.

  ‘Jess! Oh!’ She turned and started to run with the boy.

  ‘No! Riko. Don’t,’ I called after her. ‘Please stop.’

  She stopped and turned back. Her whole body looked stiff with anger. ‘What do you want? What are you doing here?’

  ‘We’ve been trying to find you. Don’t you realise what you’ve done? Your parents are freaking out. They have the police looking for you.’