Play With Fire

by Solomon Carter

  “There’s no need to apologise, Lauren. Thank you. But stay alert, the man’s hurt, but this is his domain. He might come back.”

  “He’s still out there. He’s going to kill me, Eva. I told you right from the start, didn’t I? But now this has happened he won’t stop. He can’t afford to, can he?” Lauren’s eyes were hard and bright, but her voice was soft and weak. Eva knew she had taken too many risks. She had put Lauren in the line of fire because of pursuing evidence.

  She laid a hand on Lauren’s shoulder. “From now on, we’ll do this on our terms. First we get out, take a breath, regroup, and plan our next step. If we don’t we could stumble into another trap.”

  “Did you manage to get your evidence?” said Lauren.

  “No… but I’ve seen plenty,” said Eva.

  “But you said you wanted to find something on Jamie,” said Lauren. “Sounds like we took a lot of risks for nothing.”

  “Lauren, you always said we didn’t need any leverage. The way things are going, I think you could be right.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “That you’ve suffered too much already. I promise you, Lauren, next time – we’ll do whatever it takes.”

  They walked to the street and picked their way carefully to Eva’s car.. Eva checked the windscreen then looked around the street. There was no sign of a parking ticket, not yet, maybe one would arrive in the post. And there was no sign of Boothroyd either, though Eva was certain he was watching. A look of satisfaction drifted across Lauren’s face as she climbed into the car. Eva started the engine. Across the street, an injured man waited in the darkness of the park, blood trickling down his head. He watched from behind the railings. And behind Eva and Lauren, in the small damp back office of a rundown computer shop, a mess of papers lay sprawled across a grimy carpet behind an open window. Amongst them lay countless pages of an unread French psych report from 2001, and all the secrets held within.

  Eleven

  The next morning Dan decided to let Eva sleep in. The truth was she seemed like an immovable object, her eyes sealed tight shut. She snored gently, sleeping the sleep of the dead. Dan stood up to pull on his jeans and smelt the acid-sweet taint of white wine on the air. Okay… so it seemed Eva had got back late and opened a bottle as a stress reliever. Old habits and all that, but where Eva was concerned, the drink wasn’t a good sign. Though he could hardly blame her. Lately they’d both been like ships in the night. They needed some time together – time away from other people’s problems. But it couldn’t happen yet. They had just too much on.

  Dan’s own sleep had been fitful at best, disturbed more than once by images of a little girl peering down from her bedroom window. In his broken dreams Dan had felt certain that some disaster was about to strike, and the unwelcome feeling had followed him into the daylight. It lingered in the background of his mind. He did his best to ignore it. Dan walked out into the hallway heading for the kitchen, idly scratching his bare chest. As he passed the living room door he stopped dead. He looked in and smelt the residue of perfume, mixed in with the intense smell of white wine and stale, sleepy air. The sofa was occupied. And right away, Dan knew who was sleeping on it. Lauren Jaeger shifted beneath the duvet as if she had sensed someone watching her. Dan counted two empty wine bottles on the coffee table, and a third one which had been left half full. One bottle plus each? On a weeknight that much drink represented a skinful. The woman groaned and slowly pulled herself to a seated position, her eyes still closed. She dragged a hand across her bleary face and looked at Dan through the gaps between her fingers.

  “Hi,” she murmured.

  “You again,” said Dan.

  “Yeah,” said Lauren. “Me again. Look… Me staying here wasn’t part of the plan but things got a little crazy last night.”

  Dan looked at the bottles. “Yeah. I can see that.”

  “You know?” she said. “I actually think me and Eva are beginning to hit it off again. I think we’re going to be good friends.”

  “And that’s your decision, is it? Like cutting her off in the first place was your decision… and now making her dance to your tune in this mess is all your decision.”

  “Dan?” Lauren was wide awake now, and though there was a self-pitying look on her face, Dan sensed her anger too. He’d gotten the woman’s back up just as he’d intended. Good, she deserved as much. He didn’t want her around. For Eva’s sake, he wanted the case finished right away.

  “Maybe you still don’t believe me about what’s going on. I know Eva didn’t. But she does now. She’s seen the truth, Dan. Maybe you should just ask her what happened last night.”

  “Thanks for the tip,” said Dan. “I’ll be sure to do that. When I get round to it. By the way, any other reason for the late night drinking party?” He nodded at the bottles.

  “Like I said – I think you’d better ask Eva yourself.”

  Dan scowled and walked away, deciding to hit the shower before Lauren took up residence for the foreseeable future. As soon as he was clean, Dan called Mark. He didn’t fancy breakfast conversation with Lauren, and Eva was certainly going be worse for wear, and probably sheepish. Going out on an early mission would spare them all and seemed like a sensible use of his time. The fridge was almost bare. They needed to go shopping, which made breakfast a challenge. So Dan made a cheese sandwich – not ideal but at least it was food. Dan breezed past Lauren with the sandwich hanging out of his mouth as he pulled his leather jacket over his shoulders. His hair was still slick from the shower. He stopped in at the bedroom and found Eva still snoring heavily.

  “I’ll text you,” he whispered, and skipped down the stairs.

  “Bye,” called Lauren, her voice thick with sarcasm. “Have a nice day.”

  Dan didn’t bother to reply. He was too irritated to play along.

  He settled into the Egomobile with his sandwich and his mobile phone. He was about to text Mark, when he saw a new message on screen.

  Time for an update, Dan. Call me back to arrange drinks. Cosy or public, it’s up to you. A. x

  So Alice Perry was after another pound of flesh. The girl didn’t look too bad on the eye, but the hassle and the risks always outweighed the optics. It was too early to call back, and Dan decided he would make her wait as long as he could. Dealing with two troublesome women before breakfast was enough to spoil anyone’s day and Dan already had worries on his mind… worries about a girl in Basildon. They needed to be addressed before anything else.

  ***

  It took twenty-five minutes of clock-watching, bad tea and platitudes with Mark’s mother before the kid was finally sprung from his house. Mark needed a shower, and his mother wanted to ask how he was doing at the office. Code for a pay rise request. As soon as the front door was shut, Dan breathed a genuine sigh of relief. “What’s up with all the badminton rackets and shuttlecocks in the hallway?” asked Dan.

  “Oh those…” said Mark.

  Dan turned to look at Mark as he closed the garden gate.

  Mark shrugged. “She’s got a new boyfriend.”

  “A guy with a badminton fetish?”

  “Yuck. That’s my mother we’re talking about.”

  “I am aware. But this job tends to broaden the mind. People get up to all kind of weird things behind closed doors.”

  “Not my mum, thank you very much,” said Mark. “And I’m pretty sure those rackets are just props to convince me that when she’s out in the evenings she’s out playing Badminton.”

  “And you don’t believe she is?”

  “I had a look at them. The handles are totally pristine, some still in plastic wrapping. They’ve never been used. Same for the shuttlecocks.”

  Dan sighed as they got into the Egomobile. “An amateur mistake, and you’re an apprentice PI. Did she forget?”

  “Sometimes I forget it myself.”

  “Well, this morning should definitely remind you,” said Dan. He started the engine and the car rattled and clanked back into l
ife.

  “Did you get anything on The Bleaches and their ASMR schtick?”

  “I got a lot on ASMR, but not The Bleaches. Couldn’t find anything on them at all,” said Mark, yawning. “Why are we up this early, anyway?”

  “Because we’re going to do some weirdo watching and I happen to know a certain little street in Basildon where we might get to see a whole bunch of them.”

  “Which weirdos are you talking about in particular?”

  “Well, ASMR still sounds pretty off the wall to me so we’ll be watching both of them,” said Dan.

  ***

  They arrived at Carberry Close just before eight am. It was still school summer holidays, so the routines of domestic life were a little more sedate than usual. Only the workers and commuters were up and about, and most of those had already left, so the street was quiet again. The Egomobile was noisy, but they needed the car as cover for their watch. They drove as far up the cul-de-sac as the engine noise would allow, pulling to a halt just before the part of the kerb which jutted into the street as it curved away – the part of the street where Ronson and The Bleaches lived.

  “Find anything else?” asked Dan, looking at Mark.

  The kid had a fancy new phone. Not only was the thing almost as big as the windscreen, but the kid had all-you-can-eat data. In the ten minutes since they had parked up, Mark had been dabbing the screen and drilling down into the ASMR business. Teenagers and their phones. They couldn’t help fidgeting with the damn things, but at least this way Mark’s habit had a purpose.

  “There’s so much stuff out there on YouTube. A heck of a lot. I’d never even heard of some of the things these people do.”

  “Such as?”

  “For instance, people whispering to camera. Whispering is ASMR too. Girls are mainly the ones doing the whispering. Then there are people vacuuming. All you see is the hoover and their shoes. It’s dull as dishwater, but the sound is kind of calming. Then there’s people talking in low voices, poking all kinds of implements into these ear shaped microphones. The sounds seemed to come through pretty loud and clear.”

  “Sounds pretty weird.”

  “It looks weird too. But it’s like a set pattern. A lot of them have those ear microphones. And get this – some of them, would you believe it – they film themselves kissing the ears.”

  “What? They kiss fake ears?” said Dan.

  “Yes. This is a thing. There’s bundles of them kissing these ears. It’s about all the mouth sounds, apparently. It’s another form of ASMR that relaxes people.”

  “Mouth sounds?”

  “Yeah. Like the tiny sounds between words. Clucking, tutting, salivary type noises. It seems some people get off on that.”

  “Get off on it?” said Dan raising an eyebrow.

  He shot Mark a look.

  “Well… it’s a nuanced thing,” he said. “Some of these videos look like straightforward ASMR. By which I mean it’s all about the sounds and the relaxation. But for others, well, let’s just say the girls kissing those ear mics aren’t all trying to hide away their faces. Or their bodies. Some of them are making eyes at the camera while they’re doing it.”

  “So you’re saying this ASMR stuff is for titillation? Why am I not surprised?”

  “Not all of it. Like anything else, some people are going for the sexy angle.”

  Dan frowned and nodded.

  “I’m not sure I’d want my relaxation all sexed-up,” said Dan. “Meditating and zoning out is one thing, the bedroom is another.”

  “Seems like you could be in the minority there. Tons of these videos – hard to say how many – but tons of them are on the hotter side of the spectrum.”

  “And they can get away with videos like that on YouTube?”

  “They already have. It’s not pornographic, this stuff. Just extremely suggestive.”

  Dan gave Mark a deadpan look.

  “What?” said Mark.

  “Mark, have we just found you a new bad habit?”

  “No!” said Mark.

  “Well, we’ll soon find out, won’t we?”

  Mark shook his head. “No thanks, I’m good.”

  “But I’m still struggling to see how these people make any money out of this,” said Dan. “And The Bleaches must have some kind of profile to be making any money out of it at all. Isn’t there some kind of minimum viewing threshold before you can make money from ads?”

  “On YouTube? Yeah, I think so…” said Mark. “I heard it’s something like ten thousand views.”

  “Ten thousand? And that’s before they even begin to make any money?”

  “That’s right,” said Mark.

  “Have you found anything on The Bleaches yet? I’d like to know what kind of ASMR style they’re into. The girl implied it was pretty safe.”

  “Does it matter?” said Mark.

  “It might,” said Dan.

  “I’m looking for them now. They must have a YouTube channel out there somewhere, but the sheer volume of this stuff is amazing. I’m looking for a needle in a haystack.”

  “Videos of pretty girls and kissing stuff? I’m pretty sure you’ll be able to put in the extra effort.”

  Mark shook his head. With Dan, sometimes it was best just to say nothing at all. Mark scrolled on down a list of ASMR videos, checking faces and channel names as he went.

  Dan looked at the houses. Ronson’s house was quiet, but Dan sensed movement behind the closed curtains.

  Dan remembered the text from Alice Perry and it began to gnaw at him. He tapped out a quick message just to keep the girl at bay.

  Alice – bit busy right now. Give me a day or two.

  Dan hoped that would do it, but Perry didn’t waste any time. His phone buzzed almost immediately. A new message had come back.

  Tomorrow, Dan. And no excuses. I’ll want to know what’s keeping you so busy. Venue: Cosy or public? ?? Dan read the message and shook his head.

  Public. As in public house, he replied.

  Mark looked across at Dan’s furrowed brow.

  “Who’s that texting?” he asked.

  “Never you mind. Did you find anything yet?” said Dan.

  “As a matter of fact, I think I might. I’ve just found a few short videos produced by someone called Jennifer Soul ASMR.”

  “I think I heard Lady Bleach get called Jen or Jenny. But Jennifer Soul? That sounds like a character from a new age TV show,” said Dan.

  “Yeah, but I doubt it’s a real name. Here. Look at the profile picture. Does she look familiar to you?”

  Mark handed Dan his supersized phone and pointed at one small picture below a freezeframe of a girl making eyes at the camera as she tapped her overlong fingernails on a piece of wood. Dan looked at the girl in the video freezeframe. She had bright blue hair – almost certainly a wig – but there was something about her face… it was familiar. Dan strained his eyes at the smaller picture and saw a familiar blonde girl grinning back at him. Here she looked pretty and tidy and well made-up.

  “That’s her. That’s Ronson’s neighbour, Jenny Bleach. She scrubs up well. But the girl in the video there is someone else. I recognise her. She must have been at last night’s little soiree.”

  “So we’ve found her channel. Are you sure?”

  Dan looked again at the picture and gave a nod. “It’s her. How did you find her?”

  “I put in a few searches for ASMR Basildon. I guessed some of their fans might have put something local in the comments. That’s how it came up.”

  “Fans? It’s weird to think of people like that having any. Good work, Sherlock,” said Dan.

  “Okay. Now you’ve found them. Tell me what you can see.”

  “I haven’t looked at all of their clips yet, of course, but…” Mark began to click and scroll through video options, his eyes fixing on video time lengths, video titles and key word tags set beneath.

  “There’s a heck of lot of viewer interaction here. These videos get a lot of views. There’s a
few here getting hundreds of thousands of views.”

  “Which means they’ll be making good advertising revenue.”

  “I’d guess so, but I don’t how much.”

  “That doesn’t matter right now..

  “Then what do you want to know?” said Mark.

  “Ronson hates these people. I still think Ronson is the one to watch, but there must be some reason they’re getting on his nerves so badly. I’m hoping you’ll find a clue.”

  “Go on,” said Mark.

  “Look around at their videos. The boyfriend, Mr Bleach didn’t want me looking at their stuff. I could tell. He just wanted me off the premises. And Jenny here didn’t tell me anything about the video channel. She kept it all very general. Which has me wondering all kinds of things.”

  “I’ll take another look,” said Mark.

  “Good. Just be sure not to enjoy yourself too much,” said Dan, with a half-smile. “This is supposed to be work, after all.”

  Dan looked at the Ronson house. The curtains were now open, with little man Ronson leaning close to the glass, his head angled to the right, looking across the curve of the cul-de-sac towards the house where the little girl lived. Dan’s stomach twisted as soon as he followed the man’s gaze. And there was the girl standing on her driveway beside her friend. The two girls stood talking together, huddled around a brightly coloured magazine.

  Mark followed Dan’s eyes and found Ronson watching. “Uh oh.”

  “Please don’t be a sicko, Mr Ronson,” said Dan. “I’d rather you stayed delusional. A poor deluded loner who pays up front, I can live with that. But getting hired by a man who obsesses over a little girl… well, that’s something that has to be dealt with.”

  “You know, there could be another explanation,” said Mark, adding a shrug.

  “Like what?” said Dan.

  “I don’t know. But there might be.”

  “You’re clutching, kid,” said Dan.

  Mark looked back at his screen. ASMR was easier to deal with.

  “Hey. This is interesting. I’ve found something else. It’s still on Jennifer Soul’s YouTube channel. but this movie here looks nothing like the others. Look at the freezeframe they’ve used here.”