‘I think it looks good,’ said April. ‘The Zorro outfit, I mean.’
But then you’d look good in a bin-bag
, she added to herself, quietly admiring Milo.
‘You’re just being kind,’ he said as they arrived at the bar. April had been expecting a table with a few cans and bottles on it, but this was a professionally catered event with a real zinc-topped bar and scantily clad bar-staff.
‘So what can I get you, April?’ he asked.
April gaped at him. ‘How do you know my name?’
Milo laughed. ‘You’re pretty much the only thing anyone’s been talking about for the last week.’
‘Oh God ...’ said April, blushing.
‘Oh no, don’t feel bad,’ said Milo, handing her glass of deep-red-coloured punch. ‘New blood is always welcome at Ravenwood. Most of us have been hanging around together for, like, a hundred years. In fact, that’s no exaggeration in my case; I’ve known Ben and Davina since we were tiny - our parents are friends. Speak of the devil, here’s Davina now.’
Inevitably, Davina had been the only person to break her own dress code: she was wearing a stunning white silk sheath that trailed to the ground, with a white fur stole complimenting her luscious blonde hair. She looked like the White Witch from Narnia as she swept up with her boyfriend Jonathon trailing nervously one step behind her.
‘Darling!’ squealed Davina as she air-kissed April. ‘Wow, look at you,’ she said appreciatively. ‘You look amazing! That must be Chloe? I had one just like it last season.’ She looked over at Milo. ‘And I see you’ve met our host,’ she said. ‘He’s not as geeky as he looks.’
‘Thanks, ’Vina,’ said Milo sarcastically. ‘I’ll see you later, April,’ he said, backing away, his eyes lingering on her.
‘Don’t let him get to you,’ said Davina, shooting daggers at Milo as he disappeared into the throng. ‘He’s a bit of a sleaze, but he has hidden depths. At least, that’s what my mother keeps telling me.’ She turned to Jonathon and waved a regal hand towards April’s drink. ‘Get me one of those, would you, sweetheart?’
‘This is an amazing place,’ said April, when Jonathon had gone.
Davina shrugged. ‘I suppose, I never really thought about it. I’ve been coming here for ever. Works for Halloween though, doesn’t it? And so does
that
!’ she said excitedly as a girl walked past. She was wearing a skin-tight catsuit and impossibly high heels; it took April a moment before she recognised this vision of slinkiness as Ling Po, the shy Chinese girl she had met a few days ago.
‘Oh, doesn’t she look amazing?’ said Davina. ‘We worked all day on this look, didn’t we, Ling? Don’t you think she looks sexy?’
April nodded. ‘It’s an amazing transformation.’
Ling didn’t look quite so sure, putting one hand across her body and rubbing her arm nervously. ‘Are you sure?’ she asked. ‘I’m not used to ... well, showing so much off.’
‘If you’ve got it, flaunt it, baby,’ said Davina enthusiastically. ‘The boys are going to go wild for you tonight.’
‘You think?’ said Ling, looking to April for reassurance.
‘Oh, I think you’re turning heads all right.’ April smiled kindly.
Davina took Ling’s arm. ‘Listen, I must introduce this sex kitten to the others,’ she said over her shoulder. ‘I’ll see you a bit later, yeah?’
April nodded and watched as Davina strutted off confidently, waving and joking with the beautiful people.
She makes it look so effortless
, thought April enviously.
‘Another drink?’
She turned to see Benjamin standing behind her. She had the odd feeling that he had been there for a while.
‘Oh, no, thank you, I’ve just got this one,’ said April.
‘What is it, punch? I think we can do better than that,’ he said, taking her elbow and steering her back to the bar. ‘Megan?’ he called, summoning one of the bartenders. She trotted over like an eager puppy.
‘Ben, how can I help?’
‘My friend here would like an Apple Pearl, could you do that for me?’
‘Sure, no problem,’ said the girl with a sexy smile, but as Ben turned away, April could almost see her eyes glow green with jealousy.
Hey
,
calm down, darling
, she thought,
he’s not interested in me
. She glanced at Ben.
Or is he?
There was certainly something quite compelling about Benjamin Osbourne and it wasn’t just his good looks. Charisma, confidence, poise, all things he shared with his sister, she guessed. And he did seem to have perfect teeth.
‘So, how’s my favourite bad girl?’ he said, one eyebrow raised.
‘Oh, I’m afraid those rumours have been exaggerated. It’s all been wrong place, wrong time.’
‘Don’t disappoint me, April Dunne,’ said Benjamin, leaning in close. ‘I’ve been looking forward to being corrupted by you.’
‘I’m not sure I would know where to start.’
Am I flirting with him?
she thought with excitement. He was certainly bringing out a side of her she hadn’t even known was there; and she was beginning to like the new, more confident April Dunne.
Smiling broadly, Benjamin reached back to the bar and handed her an elegant cocktail glass full of a viscous green liquid. ‘Well, how about we start with this?’
April took a tentative sip of the drink. It was delicious, but she could tell it was also very strong.
‘Umm, what’s in this?’
‘Ask me no questions ...’ drawled Benjamin. ‘It’s not Ribena, that’s all I’m saying.’
April giggled. ‘Aren’t you having one?’
‘Ah! You see? Trying to get me tipsy already.’ He laughed. ‘You
are
trying to drag me down to your level.’
‘The night’s young,’ said April.
God, what’s got into me?
she thought happily.
‘So where’s your friend?’ she asked, steering the conversation into safer waters.
‘Gabriel?’
April pulled a little face, annoyed to find that her heart jumped at the mere mention of his name.
Benjamin raised his eyebrows. ‘He hasn’t annoyed you too, has he? He has that effect on some people.’
‘No, I ... No, I meant the other one, Marcus?’
‘Ah, he’s around somewhere. Not too sociable, our Marcus, as I suppose you’ve noticed.’
‘He doesn’t seem to like me much.’
‘Don’t take it to heart. He’s just slow to warm to people sometimes.’
‘I won’t hold my breath.’
‘Don’t worry - there are plenty of people around here who do like you. Believe me, even he’s intrigued by you. We all are.’
She tried to look away, appear to be scanning the room for friends, but she could feel Benjamin’s dark eyes examining her face curiously.
‘So do you have a girlfriend?’ she blurted out.
Benjamin threw his head back and laughed. ‘You are direct, aren’t you? I like that. I like it a lot.’
‘I notice you haven’t answered the question.’
Benjamin slowly leant towards her.
Is he going to kiss me?
she thought with a subconscious thrill. Despite herself, she suddenly realised she would like that very much. Benjamin brought his lips right up next to her ear, almost brushing her skin. She closed her eyes.
‘The night is young, April Dunne,’ he whispered. ‘The night is young.’
Then she opened her eyes and he was gone.
Where the hell did he
...
?
She quickly turned around, but all she could see was the rest of the crowd.
How did he
...
?
April shivered and took a gulp of her drink.
Jesus
.
April was beginning to regret coming to the party. She only knew a handful of people, and none of them well enough to have a conversation with. She had only seen Davina twice the whole night and the last time was only to pass on some juicy gossip about Gabriel and a girl called Sara. Apparently she’d seen them going into the toilet together. ‘And you know what
that
means,’ she had trilled, watching April’s reaction carefully. April’s stomach was turning, but she wasn’t about to let Davina know that, especially as she wasn’t at all sure why. So she simply shook her head. Had they gone in to do drugs? To have sex? To work out some difficult equations? April had very little idea what was normal to pupils from Ravenwood. So she had spent the evening wandering around the house, trying not to look too lost, hiding away behind the paper umbrellas in a variety of drinks. Not wanting to let Caro down, she had tried opening as many doors as she could, but had only found empty bedrooms or necking couples, nothing even vaguely resembling a giant conspiracy. She had just decided to leave when she bumped into Gabriel coming down the stairs and, hemmed in on all sides, she couldn’t get away.
‘Hello,’ she said frostily.
‘Hello.’
‘Enjoying yourself?’
There must have been something in her tone, because Gabriel frowned. ‘Why do you ask?’
‘Oh, no reason,’ she said, surprised at how bothered she was by Davina’s stirring. ‘Just something I heard.’
‘Really,’ he said, holding her gaze as he walked past her, their bodies brushing against each other. ‘I thought you might be the kind of girl who thinks for herself.’
‘I am.’
He raised his eyebrows.
‘What have you got against me, Gabriel?’ she asked with annoyance.
He shrugged, not meeting her gaze.
‘Why do you think I care one way or the other?’
‘Well, you don’t seem too happy to see me here. Not to mention you telling me to “get out” on my first day in school.’
He looked at her sharply.
‘That wasn’t what I meant,’ he said. ‘I was trying to ... oh, it doesn’t matter.’
April felt herself bristling.
‘Why doesn’t anyone around here say what they mean?’ she snapped.
‘I take it you don’t like my friends?’ said Gabriel with a hint of amusement that irritated her even more.
‘Do you?’
Gabriel ignored her and took a sip of his drink.
‘And what about Isabelle? Was she a friend?’
He turned to look at her, his dark eyes glittering. April held his gaze, her pulse quickening. She felt her skin tingle, as if an electric current was passing between them.
‘Which Isabelle is this?’ he asked.
‘You know exactly who I’m talking about,’ said April, lowering her voice. She still had no idea what had happened in Swain’s Lane that night, but she was sure that Gabriel Swift knew more than he was saying; you didn’t grab someone and shout ‘Run!’ unless you were pretty sure there was some danger. He had to be involved.
As if he was reading her mind, he said, ‘Didn’t DI Reece tell you who called them that night?’
‘Was it you?’
Ignoring her question, he said, ‘Has it occurred to you that I might simply have been in the wrong place at the wrong time, just like you? That maybe I was trying to help her? And maybe I was trying to help you?’
‘So why don’t you just tell me—’ she began, but a tall blonde girl rushed up to Gabriel and, seemingly oblivious to April, threw her arms around his neck.
‘There you are, baby,’ she cooed, ‘I thought you’d forgotten all about me.’
The girl looked up into his face and, seeing he was still observing April, turned towards her.
‘Oh. Not interrupting anything, am I?’
‘Not really,’ said April contemptuously and walked down the last of the steps before pushing her way down the corridor, trying to put as much space between her and Gabriel as she could.
Men!
she
thought. Why do we bother? All they care about is their latest bimbo
. She slipped into a long room with floor-to-ceiling bookcases and took refuge in a tall leather wing-back chair where she couldn’t be seen. Now that she was sitting down, April realised she was a bit drunk. She pulled out her mobile and checked for messages. One from Caro, one from Fiona. Caro’s was predictable:
Don’t forget the mission, Spygirl. Over and out. Xx