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fully covered my mouth and just when I was thinking this is it, someone turned off the pump and the tank stopped filling.’
    ‘Who? Who stopped it?’
    ‘A girl.’
    ‘A girl?! What?’
    ‘Her name’s Winter Frey. She says Vulkan Sligo’s her guardian …’ I could see Boges growing suspicious, fast. ‘Apparently he used to work for her dad, I don’t know how long ago. Her parents were pretty cashed-up but they both died in some sort of accident, and she’s been in the care of the Slug ever since.’
    ‘So if she’s with him, why did she save you?’ Boges wanted to know.
    ‘I don’t know.’ I wanted to know the answer to that question too. ‘Maybe she just couldn’t sit back knowing I was about to die. She must have been watching it happen from a hiding place. I think she relies on him to get by,’ I continued, ‘but I don’t think she’s into his big crim lifestyle—you know, drowning teenagers and stuff. She reckons he’s on a serious mission to become acceptable—some sort of pillar of society.’
    Boges looked like he was about to choke after my ‘pillar of society’ comment.
    ‘I know,’ I continued, ‘what kind of pillar of society kills people … but Winter says Sligo believes the Ormond Singularity will make him famous. If he can work it out. I turned out to be a less-than-helpful source of information for him, but at least I know now that there are two criminal gangs chasing this thing. Winter says she’s willing to help me but I think she may be doing it to collect favours. Get people in debt toher so that she can call on them when she needs something.’
    Boges sat back quietly and listened as I explained the break-in to get Winter’s locket, and the claims she made in the park about recognising my dad’s angel drawings.
    ‘Do you believe her? That she knows where the Angel is?’ he asked.
    I remembered her shining face; that sort of thing can’t be faked.
    ‘I’m convinced of it. She really came alive when she saw the drawings,’ I said. ‘She promised she’d take me to see it.’
    Boges had made himself comfortable on the floor near the wall, his round face serious again. ‘But she has an agenda of her own, wanting to know why the Angel is important to you.’
    ‘She saved my life, Boges. So I’m willing to take some risk on her—even though she’s one weird girl. She’s nothing like any of the girls we know, but I kind of like that about her. And, anyway, as we’ve said before, the Angel is important. Dad drew him twice, so I think she’s our best chance at the moment.’
    ‘She hot?’
    ‘What?’
    ‘Winter. She’s hot, isn’t she?’
    ‘She’s OK,’ I said, awkwardly. Normally I’d be pretty open with Boges about girls, but something made me want to keep that part of Winter to myself.
    Boges gave me a look. ‘Right. If she starts working things out we could be in real trouble. Be on your guard, dude. We don’t want another rival, or enemy, after the same thing. Especially not someone connected to that lunatic Sligo. You’ve already got two very dangerous enemies.’
    At least , I thought to myself.
    ‘Try her number again,’ said Boges.
    The mobile you have dialled is switched off. Please try again later.
    Boges opened his laptop. ‘No-one knows about this either. Someone chucked it out because it had stopped working, but it only needed a new power box,’ he said. ‘The motherboard was fine. But, before we start busting our brains on those drawings again, let’s get your profile underway.’
    ‘I already have a profile,’ I said gloomily. ‘At every cop shop.’
    ‘I think you should start a blog,’ he said. ‘An appeal to the public could be helpful.’
    ‘A blog? Like MySpace?’
    ‘Yeah. A place where you can try and get across your side of the story, and shut down allthe crazy stuff the media’s saying about you. Nobody has to see you or know where you are. They can just read what you have to say and judge for