Page 41 of 36 Hours

‘Then they must be here for you not me, Mrs H,’ he teased.

She chuckled before stepping out of the way. ‘Call me if you need me,’ she said with a wink.

‘I surely will,’ he said before turning his attention back to Kim and Bryant.

‘Grandma?’ she asked.

‘Landlady,’ he answered, not inviting them inside.

‘Is there somewhere we can talk?’

He hesitated before nodding for them to come in.

They followed him along a pleasantly decorated hallway to a room at the end. A shadow behind one of the glass doors showed that Mrs H was close by.

Stepping into his room was like entering another house entirely. The first thing she deduced was that this was probably the master bedroom and the space had been used to its capacity. A three-quarter bed was given a lower priority than the desk that dominated two walls. The space was awash with technology: computer screens, cameras, video cameras, lighting, microphone. It was like Currys had vomited all over his desk. One wall behind the desk displayed photo montages, and a neon sign to the far left spelled his name. She guessed it was the backdrop for when he did live videos.

Kim was surprised to see the floor and other surfaces free of clutter.

Jared took a seat in the gaming-style chair, forcing her and Bryant to sit on the bed.

‘So, you’re not related to Mrs H?’ Kim asked, taking a minute to appraise him.

With his black hair stylishly cut and his blue eyes, he was what she considered to be pretty-boy handsome. God had seen fit to arrange his features in a way that would benefit him all his life. He was dressed in jeans and a tee shirt and presented as a totally normal kid in his mid-twenties.

‘We’re not related, but we take care of each other.’

‘How so?’ Bryant asked.

‘Mrs H feels safer with me in the house, and I like her cooking better than my own.’

‘How’d you meet?’ Kim asked, intrigued. Right now she wasn’t sure which one of them was getting the better deal.

‘The old-fashioned way,’ he answered.

‘Card in the newsagent’s window?’ Bryant asked.

Jared frowned as though he had no clue what Bryant was talking about. ‘Err…Craigslist.’

She was sure Bryant was wondering when Craigslist had become the old-fashioned way.

‘We’re here about your hobby, Mr Truss,’ Kim said.

‘Please call me Jared. You’re sitting in my bedroom.’

Kim accepted the premature intimacy and continued.

‘You enjoy spending time on a site called Seekers?’

‘Amongst others, but that one is the best.’

‘You’re quite popular on there,’ she observed.

He shrugged in a way that said he knew it.

‘A lot of people follow your puzzles.’

Again with the shrug, but this time it was accompanied by the beginnings of a smile or a smirk – she couldn’t tell which.