Chapter 25
Chance Ryzcek lived in Haringey. Pure Pulse Productions was fifteen miles away in Romford.
A twenty-minute car journey in Cumbria, but at least an hour in London.
Even if they got lucky with trains and cabs, the earliest they could get there was seven p.m. Poe decided to find a hotel for the night and tackle Pure Pulse Productions in the morning.
The extra time also allowed Bradshaw to do a deep dive into the porn company.
Poe suspected they would be unwilling to part with their photographs.
They’d quote data protection, but the real reason was that they were in the business of selling women.
If Poe wanted the photographs, he’d have to pay.
And there was no way he was giving as much as a single groat to the porn industry. He would need to force their hand.
But for once, Bradshaw couldn’t produce the goods.
They checked into a semi-decent hotel – Bradshaw wanted to get a twin room, but Poe reminded her that they were adults – then went out to buy toiletries and underwear.
Later, over dinner, she told him that although she’d been able to access the cloud storage the company used, the lighting photographs weren’t on it.
‘Just some horrid films they’d recently uploaded to a file-sharing pornographic website,’ she said. ‘If they’ve still got the photographs, they must be on an air-gapped computer.’
‘They probably worry about their movies being stolen.’
Bradshaw nodded. ‘That’s what I think too. The clips they’ve filmed but haven’t yet uploaded must be safe somewhere.’
‘We need to convince them that giving us access to their air-gapped computer is better than not giving us access.’
‘How will we do that, Poe?’
‘Don’t know yet.’
‘That’s not like you.’
‘I’ll think of something, Tilly.’
Bradshaw gave him a look. ‘OK, we can discuss it later,’ she said. ‘And if you still can’t think of something, we can do a jigsaw. That usually clears your mind.’
‘What is it with you and jigsaws? You’re always getting me to do bloody jigsaws.’
‘I like jigsaws.’
‘I don’t know why,’ Poe said. ‘You’re rubbish at them. I end up doing them on my own.’
‘It’s the time we spend together that’s important, Poe.’
Poe sighed. Whenever Bradshaw made him do something he didn’t want to do, she said it was so they could spend time together. Guilted him into it. ‘And please don’t tell me you brought a jigsaw with you.’
‘Of course I did. I think you’ll like this one – it’s a dog.’
‘A real dog? Not that robot one from Doctor Who that we did?’
‘Yes, a real dog. Like Edgar.’
Poe was spared more jigsaw-related sparring by the waiter bringing their main courses. Ribeye steak for Poe; pasta for Bradshaw. They ate in companionable silence for five minutes. Poe was adding more peppercorn sauce to his steak when Bradshaw put down her fork. ‘Do you think I’m weird, Poe?’
‘I don’t know anyone weirder.’ He smiled at her. ‘What’s up? You want to keep talking about jigsaws?’
‘It’s something Esmerée Blue said. She asked if I had a boyfriend. And when I asked her why on earth I would want one, she said, “Companionship. Sex. Not being lonely.”’
‘Do we need a birds-and-bees discussion, Tilly?’
‘Jeez, Poe, I know how babies are made. And even if I didn’t, I’ve been watching pornographic films all evening – I know what sex is.
’ She frowned. Picked up her fork and ate a mouthful of her fusilli.
After she’d finished chewing, she said, ‘I think that if I wanted to have sex, I would know. Is that what you think, Poe?’
‘It is, Tilly. Your body will send you signals.’
‘And it hasn’t. So I don’t feel as though I’m missing out on anything. And I don’t feel lonely. I used to before I met you, but I don’t any more. I like being on my own, thinking about things, and I also like being with my friends. With you and Edgar and Estelle.’
‘Same with me. My circle of friends is the same as your circle of friends.’
‘Yes, it is. We don’t need lots of friends, Poe, because the ones we have are good friends. And we’re never lonely, because we enjoy our own company.’
‘But?’
‘But what, Poe?’
‘There’s always a but with you, Tilly.’
‘But what if Esmerée Blue is right? What if I do want to have sex and haven’t realised? Maybe I’ve been mistaking my sex drive for a vitamin B12 deficiency.’
Poe flushed red. Picked up his knife and fork and cut a thick strip of meat. Made sure there was some fat on it. ‘I don’t think that’s how it works.’
‘But you don’t know for sure. Perhaps I should have sex. Just the once. As an experiment. That way I’ll know for sure what a sex drive feels like.’
‘Er … who are you going to have sex with?’
‘I don’t know, Poe. I’m only hypothesising. But in principle, do you think it’s a good idea? I can check my bloodwork before and after. See if my oestrogen levels change.’
‘The heart wants what the heart wants, I suppose.’
‘Are you making fun of me?’
‘I’m not, Tilly,’ Poe said. ‘You’ve just caught me unawares. But if you want my advice …’
‘I do.’
‘… you should think very carefully before you do anything. Don’t rush into it.
I also think you should have this conversation with Estelle.
She’s a doctor and she loves you, so you know her advice will be well considered, and she’ll only have your best interests at heart.
Also, I think she’d really enjoy that conversation. ’
‘You do?’
Poe nodded. ‘Definitely.’
‘OK, I’ll do that.’
‘And in future, don’t listen to fifteen-year-olds when it comes to sex. They’re basically a boiling bag of hormones.’
Which reminded him what Chance Ryzcek had said about Traci Lords. He said she’d lied about her age. That it had cost the porn industry hundreds of millions of dollars. People had been prosecuted for underage sex. For distributing indecent images of children. People had gone to prison …
He smiled.
He had a plan.