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© TI MEDIA LIMITED, 2019. ILLUSTRATIONS: JOY GOSNEY Continued overleaf
independent witnesses, the
press would have smelt a
publicity stunt straight away,
and we could even have
been charged with wasting
police time. For the plan to
work, we needed someone
who believed it was all real.’
‘I suppose so,’ Melissa
agreed reluctantly.
‘Rachel was an absolute
gift,’ Tony continued. ‘She’s
so trusting and easy to
manipulate, she believed all
those stories I fed her about
a prowler. She did exactly
what we wanted her to do
every step of the way!’
‘Don’t make fun of her,’
Melissa protested. ‘And
please, promise me that none
of this will impact on her.’
‘Don’t worry, she won’t
be named when the story
breaks. She’s just a bit-part
player in all this: some
anonymous nobody who
got her wires crossed and
thought she’d witnessed an
abduction. The whole thing
has probably been a huge
adventure for her,’ said Tony
dismissively. ‘I bet it’s the
most exciting thing ever to
happen in her ordinary life.’Rachel bit her lip,
simmering with loathing
for him. She could hardly
believe she’d been briefly
taken in by his smooth
veneer of charm.
Her cheeks burnt as she
realised how cleverly she
had been played. Even Tony’s
phone call last night, when
he had sweet talked her into
watching the sunset, had
been a carefully timed part
of the plan. What better
way of making sure she was
looking out of the window
towards the cottage atexactly the right moment?
‘Anyway, it’s working like
a dream,’ Tony was saying
triumphantly. ‘There’s going
to be a major media frenzy
around you by the time you
show up safe and sound!
I’ve made sure the abduction
rumours will appear in all
tomorrow’s papers.’
‘So how long do we spin
it out for?’asked Melissa.‘Just a little longer, to let
the story build momentum,’
Tony cajoled. ‘Then, when
you reappear at the cottage,
we’ll explain that it’s all been
a misunderstanding. You can
do a round of interviews, tell
the story of how you went
AWOL for a couple of days
to clear your head... can
we imply that you lost your
memory, maybe? That would
really add some extra spice!’
‘Um. I don’t know,’ Melissa
sounded increasingly uneasy.
It was clear that none of this
subterfuge came naturally toher. Looks like I’m not the
only one around here who’s
easy to manipulate, thought
Rachel, fuming.
‘I can’t wait to see all
those sensational headlines.
Music Legend’s Kidnap
Drama, imagine that!’ said
Tony grandly. ‘Even though
there wasn’t an actual
kidnap, the media will love
building it up into a bigstory. Now, we need to
focus on what this will do for
you.’ He gripped Melissa’s
shoulders, fired with
enthusiasm. ‘I’ve got TV
producers hammering my
door down, trying to book
you. This is Where our Story
Begins is getting lots of
radio play – and the record
company is talking about
issuing a new album off
the back of this renewed
interest. Maybe even a
nostalgia tour! Trust me,
you’re hot property again.’
Getting to their feet, they
walked into the house.
A movement from above
caught Rachel’s attention.
She looked up and saw
a familiar figure heading
down the stone steps.
‘Luke!’ she hissed,
beckoning him frantically
towards her. ‘Over here!’
‘What’s going on?’ he
whispered, hurrying to
join her. ‘You really think
Melissa’s being held prisoner
in that house?’
‘I did, until a moment ago,’
Rachel replied. ‘But it turns
out it’s more complicated.
Melissa’s so-called abduction
is all a hoax.’
She poured out the story as
concisely as she could. ‘They
were relying on me going
to the police, so the story
could leak out to the public
without any involvement
from them,’ she concluded.
‘Wow.’ Luke shook his
head in disbelief. ‘So, after
all Tony’s fine words about
protecting Melissa and Carl
from drama –’
‘He was deliberately
spinning his own web of
fake drama all the time!’
‘I guess you must be
regretting your night of
passion with him now.’
Rachel stared at him.
‘What night of passion? What
are you talking about?’
‘Ah. So that was yet
another of Tony’s lies,’ Luke
nodded, understanding.
‘I bumped into him in townThis made no sense. If Melissa
could leave the building so easily,
why hadn’t she tried to escape?