Free Something Only We Know by Kate Long

Nothing.
    I whispered, ‘Hel?’ But she wasn’t for answering. Tonight she’d decided she was off-limits.
    I gave up, stepped across the landing and switched off the light. Along the crack at the bottom edge of Helen’s door I could make out the faintest blue glow, as if from a laptop
screen.

CHAPTER 3
    Under the Gavel – our regular round-up of what’s hot in the antique and auction world
    This month: vintage dolls’ house furniture
    How many of us will have played with a dolls’ house at some time during our childhood? Whether it was a Lundby or a Tri-ang, or something plywood that a family member
knocked together for you, the likelihood is you’ll have spent hours engrossed in furnishing and arranging the rooms.
    But did you know that some vintage miniature furniture is now highly collectible and fetching good prices in the sale rooms? David Roper, of Holyman Auctioneers, gives some top tips on
identifying the real treasures.
    ‘Jen.’ Gerry spoke just behind my chair, making me jump. ‘Are you busy?’
    I clicked save, then swivelled to face him. ‘Not critically, no. Just crafting a gripping piece about toy furniture.’
    ‘Do you want to see something funny?’
    ‘If it’s that YouTube video of a snake eating another snake, then no. Don’t ever show me anything like that again.’
    ‘It’s not YouTube.’
    ‘What, then?’
    ‘This.’ He reached forward and shrank my file away. Then he brought up Google and typed in a name. A black page with flowing white font filled the screen.
    ‘Top Flight Dating . . . because sometimes,’
announced the strap line
, ‘life doesn’t send you what you deserve.’
    ‘Eh?’
    ‘Alan spotted it this morning on Rosa’s machine and he made a note of the name. It’s a singles’ site. But only for your posh, upwardly mobile types. The rest of us can
sod off.’ He began to read aloud in a fake-sincere newscaster voice: ‘“Our mission is to provide a superior romantic networking site, exclusive to professionals. Are you smart,
attractive, discerning? Hold down a high-powered senior position? Been working hard, and now you’re looking to play hard?”’
    ‘Eew, stop that, Gerry. You sound like Joanna Lumley on steroids.’
    ‘“Top Flight Dating offers an efficient, friendly service for the busy executive. We can help you meet like-minded people from your area.” In other words, we sift out the scum
for you. No freeloaders here, no one who licks tomato sauce off their knife or skulks round Primark of a Saturday. Brilliant, isn’t it?’
    ‘Disturbing, more like. You’re not saying Rosa’s a member? She might just have been doing some research.’
    ‘Alan says he tried to view the page she had open, and it’s a restricted area. You can only get in when you’re registered.’ He stepped away smugly.
    ‘Blimey. That’s bizarre. I didn’t know she was interested in the squelchy stuff.’
    ‘Apparently.’
    ‘So beneath that tweedy power suit lurks a trembling girlish heart, ripe for romance.’
    ‘Seems that way. I’m wondering how we can break in, see her profile.’
    ‘Yeah.’ I felt torn. It was fun to mock Rosa behind her back, especially considering how she’d had the cheek to accuse
me
of surfing date sites at work. But at the
same time it felt bad to go rooting through her personal stuff. Even trolls are entitled to a love life.
    Gerry said, ‘We’ve tried “password” and “rosa-heffer” and “messenger” and “cream”. Alan suggested “cheshire-oaks” because
she spends half her life shopping there. Or “grosvenor” because we know she rates their restaurant. I thought you might have some more creative ideas.’
    ‘Hmm. How about “evil-lizard-hearted-boss”?’
    ‘See, I knew I could rely on you to think outside the box.’
    ‘Always.’
    My phone bleeped with a text, and Gerry scratched his chin thoughtfully. ‘You could register on there yourself. Then it’d be access all areas.’
    ‘I have a