November Read Online Free Page B

not exactly sure, but I feel like something’s up with Sligo. I mean, something’s up in the way he’s acting with me. He looks at me differently, and I’m scared he’s onto me, that he suspects something.’
    ‘What makes you say that?’ asked Boges.
    ‘A couple of times I’ve looked up to find him scrutinising me. Then he looks away really fast, pretending he wasn’t doing it. Maybe he’s seen me snooping in his office or in the car yard. I think I know all the security cameras to avoid, but maybe there are hidden ones that I don’t know about. I might be imagining the whole thing, you know, because I feel so guilty when I’m snooping through Sligo’s stuff.’
    ‘Guilty?’ I asked. ‘What do you have to feel guilty about? He forged your dad’s will, remember ? And you would never have found that out without your snooping.’
    ‘I know, I know,’ she said. ‘How could I forget? It hasn’t left my mind since I found his phoney signature. I don’t think “guilty” is the right wordto describe how I feel. Sligo’s just extremely edgy lately. Everything that went on at his banquet has really spooked him. He’s always been paranoid , but now …’
    ‘Winter,’ I said, holding her hand. ‘Just promise me you’ll be really, really careful in future. I’m here for you. Always.’
    Winter squeezed my hand.
    ‘Don’t rush anything, OK?’ I said. ‘If you can hold out just a little bit longer, we’ll both be able to help you sort everything out.’
    ‘That’s right,’ added Boges. ‘We’re both here for you. Sligo is one dangerous dude. I really think you should let me design something for you—something in the line of personal self-defence.’
    ‘Nothing that requires detonation,’ I said, hastily.
    ‘I was thinking some kind of skunk gas, actually. It could be—’
    ‘Forget it!’ Winter interrupted.
    Something suddenly popped into my head. ‘Kelvin dobbed Oriana in over Gabbi’s kidnapping , right? Remember the footage we saw of her going ballistic on TV? Why is she still around?’
    ‘Allegations are one thing,’ said Boges. ‘Getting enough evidence against someone is a different matter. The police need evidence. At the moment , it’s just Kelvin’s word against Oriana’s—andwho’s going to believe him against a hotshot lawyer?’
    ‘Unless he does have some physical evidence against her,’ I said. ‘Like DNA or video footage showing her with Gabbi.’
    ‘Who knows,’ said Boges. ‘Hey, want to write anything on your blog while I have my laptop out?’
    ‘I guess … It’s been a while.’ I grunted. I had a bad feeling. I wasn’t sure why. Maybe Winter’s paranoia had rubbed off on me. While waiting for Boges to access my blog, I stood up and went to the window, lifting the curtain and looking outside.
    Boges gasped.
    I let the curtain fall and turned back. ‘What is it?’
    My stomach started churning when I saw the alarmed expression on Boges’s face as he stared at the screen.
    ‘What’s that?’ cried Winter, who’d crept behind him to peer over his shoulder at the screen.
    ‘What’s what ?’ I asked, nervously approaching the laptop.
    Something seriously weird was happening. Pages and pages of repeated numbers and words were scrolling over the screen. I focused my eyes to try and catch what it said.

    ‘Is something stuck?’ I said. ‘What’s with that text?’
    ‘It’s nothing to do with my machine,’ said Boges, looking flustered and hitting combinations of keys. ‘It’s just doing it by itself! Someone’s hacked your blog!’
    ‘Hacked my blog? But how?’
    ‘I don’t know!’ said Boges.
    ‘What’s going to happen on the eleventh of November?’ asked Winter.
    The three of us looked at each other. We were all blank.
    ‘That date doesn’t mean anything to any of us?’ I asked.
    ‘No, dude.’
    Winter shook her head. ‘Nothing.’
    ‘It has to mean something for someone to have hacked my blog to make it known,’ I said.