The Girl Who Tweeted Wolf Read Online Free

was full of brightly coloured geometric shapes, murals of white-and-yellow flowers, TV monitors and a couple of vending machines. It was like a playground area for tall children. Hobson scowled at it all — Choi was grinning widely.
    “Mister Hobson?”
    The receptionist herself was a tiny, cutesy thing with long curly hair — the curveless figure of a cocktail stick and the dress sense of My Little Pony. Hobson didn’t like to rule anyone out at this early stage, but she might not be the killer.
    He paced across the horrible green flooring — fucking Christ, was this fake grass? — and shook her tiny hand in his enormous one. “Hi, John Hobson. Nice to meet you. You’ve seen us on…” Reluctant pause. “On the tweets , I suppose?”
    “I’m Jacqueline Miller — everyone calls me Jacq — yes I saw you on Twitter — I can’t believe what happened to William, you’ll catch the killer won’t you?”
    “No, yeah. Just getting started right now, we’re here to talk to the victim’s colleagues.”
    And oh Lord, Hobson thought, they’ve painted the sun on the blue walls, above the flowers and the actual fucking astroturf. This was the pasture of his nightmares.
    “Of course, so you want to go up to Social Awesome on the third floor.”
    “Social Awesome.” Hobson sighed. “I suppose so. Do I need to sign in somewhere?”
    “Yes, Mister Hobson,” she pulled out a clipboard, “then you can head up to Social Awesome.”
    “Can’t wait .”
    He snatched the pen.
    Without waiting for orders like she should, Choi decided it was her turn to question Jacq. He’d thought she was content staring at the awful murals. “So, um, you knew William Lane?”
    “Not really, I mean, I just work down here at reception,” she said, “but we talked, I suppose, sometimes, about stuff.”
    “And he didn’t, like, say anything to you?” Choi said.
    “He never said much.” Jacq shook her head. “I’m sure he had his own problems, I don’t want to be mean about him when he’s only been dead a couple of days.”
    “What,” Choi said, “problems like drugs? Or running a brothel?”
    Hobson signed his name in a scrawl, then cut in. “What my intern meant to say was: did William Lane seem troubled at all in the last few days?”
    “No, well, he had been leaving sooner after work, but these guys often have to go to parties and stuff, so I just thought, you know, busy. He was about the same as he ever was. He did, um, well…”
    Hobson smacked the guest clipboard over to Choi, almost winding her. “Yes?”
    “He’d been on a date with my friend Emily not that long ago. It didn’t work out, but nothing bad, just didn’t work. Can’t believe he’s gone, she was only talking about him the other day.”
    “I see.”
    “And she also works upstairs, so, y’know, maybe it had been awkward. Still, I can’t believe they would… you know, I just saw him a few days ago.”
    “Bloody hell. Right.”
    Choi finished off the form, and Hobson pointed at the huge double doors off to the right, with man-sized daisies painted on them. “Is thi s the lift?”
    “Yes! Press for the third floor.”
    “Thanks.”
    “No problem! Hope you catch the bad guys!”
    Jacq managed a wide smile, which Hobson and Choi returned awkwardly until the lift closed over their rictus faces.
    “So, Hobson, think she did it?”
    “Will you be asking me this whenever we meet anyone?”
    “Did she, though?”
    “Probably not, but hard to trust anyone that twee, innit?”
    *****
    After a day spent in a tiny office, a dark house and a stinking café where fat stubbly men stared at her and licked their lips, Angelina felt pure joy when she saw the offices of Social Awesome.
    The foyer area was fun enough, with its field motif and cheerful sheep murals. She’d seen Google’s offices in pictures and always liked their primary coloured amazingness. She liked the sound of that working day too: sit on a cylindrical bean bag during meetings,