Like many teenage girls, Debbie Barnet was swept up constantly in the online world. Her mother, Andrea, had banned her from having her phone at the dinner table. She said she wanted to have conversation and chat about their day. That was bullshit. Andrea didn’t care what Debbie had to say. The only reason she didn’t want her scrolling whilst they ate was so she could tell her all about her day and the things that mattered to her. She was a definite narcissist. The only reason she hadn’t let Debbie go stay with her dad was out of spite. She wanted dad to pay for his daughter. To Andrea, Debbie’s existence was no more than a loan agreement. All she had to do was let Debbie text her friends. Instead she insisted on dinner time be the time where they were forced to sit down and listen to her spout about how wonderful she was, how everything she turned her hand to was a success and every idea she had was golden and had to be followed immediately.

Her new boyfriend, Drew, found it cute, Debbie supposed. He didn’t get much of a word in edgeways. At least he wasn’t as disregarded as Debbie.

There was only one person who truly listened to Debbie. It was an online acquaintance who went by the username PINDROP25. They didn’t dismiss her. They always knew the right thing to say and they never left her on read. They always responded. Debbie would sit at the dinner table trying to digest whatever diet fad Andrea had gotten herself involved in. Her phone would have to be left upstairs in her room so she sat would sit the entire time anxiously wondering what PINDROP25 had wrote to her.

She hadn’t met them in real life. She knew if she tried to explain it to others they would think she was mad. She loved them. At least she loved the idea of them. They told her they were a sixteen year old boy who attended St Alban’s school. That was a lot fancier than The Grange Andrea sent her to.

One night, after trying not to gag at the taste of some new fat burning cabbage soup, Debbie dropped her spoon the minute she could and rushed back upstairs to check her phone. There was some notification from a game she had been playing. Her heart skipped a beat when she read the other.

PINDROP25 HAS SENT YOU A MESSAGE.

HI, HOWZ U? They asked.

Debbie wrote back immediately. I’M GOOD. ANDREA STILL A BITCH 🙁

There was the teasing little chat dots as PINDROP25 composed a reply.

SORRY TO HEAR THAT. DO YOU WANT TO VIDEO CHAT?

Debbie let out a squeal of excitement. They hadn’t offered that before. She had been just dying to ask them to meet in real life but was worried they weren’t all that keen. This was a great next step.

SURE. RIGHT NOW? She asked.

AS GOOD A TIME AS ANY was the reply.

Debbie’s hand trembled as she tapped on the camera and started to call. The ringing seemed to bounce off the walls. Within a few minutes the call was answered.

“I can’t see you,” Debbie said. “Are you going to switch your camera off.”

The voice that returned to her didn’t sound like a sixteen year old boy. It didn’t really sound like anything. There seemed to be some kind of digital disguise over it.

The camera was switched on and that didn’t give much more either. PINDROP25 was masked with the face of a character from a banned cartoon called Cecil Mouse.

“Hello, Debbie,” they said. “I’m sorry I have to be concealed. I have to be careful.”

“What’s your real name?” asked the girl, realising she hadn’t asked that before.

“I really like you,” they maintained. “I want to help you. Andrea is getting too much. I can tell that. I want to help you. If you get rid of her we can chat all the time.”

Debbie wasn’t sure she had heard correctly. “Get rid of her?”

“Trust me, Debbiekins, there is no room in this world for real narcs like her. You would be doing yourself a favour. Don’t you want to keep chatting.”

“Of course I do.”

“Wouldn’t you rather be staying with your dad? We could see each other and chat all the time then.”

Debbie agreed. That was the best case scenario. Her stomach was already gurgling with that damn cabbage soup. She could hear Andrea’s cackling laughter downstairs as she guffawed at her own jokes.

“Can I see your face?” she asked.

“I will in time. Just take care of what you need to first and all will be revealed. I’ll help you …”

The video call closed. Debbie was feeling a little shaken. She was angry. She was frustrated. She was starved for food and affection. She wanted to hurt Andrea and end that cackling laugh. Then her phone bleeped.

PINDROP25 HAS SENT YOU A LINK.

HOMICIDE METHODS THAT REMAIN UNSOLVED.

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COMING SOON

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