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Back The Dead Line Save as PDF
Chapters (87)
  1. Cover
  2. By the Same Author
  3. Dedication Page
  4. 1
  5. 2
  6. 3
  7. 4
  8. 5
  9. 6
  10. 7
  11. 8
  12. 9
  13. 10
  14. 11
  15. 12
  16. 13
  17. 14
  18. 15
  19. 16
  20. 17
  21. 18
  22. 19
  23. 20
  24. 21
  25. 22
  26. 23
  27. 24
  28. 25
  29. 26
  30. 27
  31. 28
  32. 29
  33. 30
  34. 31
  35. 32
  36. 33
  37. 34
  38. 35
  39. 36
  40. 37
  41. 38
  42. 39
  43. 40
  44. 41
  45. 42
  46. 43
  47. 44
  48. 45
  49. 46
  50. 47
  51. 48
  52. 49
  53. 50
  54. 51
  55. 52
  56. 53
  57. 54
  58. 55
  59. 56
  60. 57
  61. 58
  62. 59
  63. 60
  64. 61
  65. 62
  66. 63
  67. 64
  68. 65
  69. 66
  70. 67
  71. 68
  72. 69
  73. 70
  74. 71
  75. 72
  76. 73
  77. 74
  78. 75
  79. 76
  80. 77
  81. 78
  82. 79
  83. 80
  84. 81
  85. Acknowledgements
  86. Also Available by Holly Watt
  87. The Hunt and the Kill

‘Maybe.’ Nicky peered down at her list. ‘Yes, there’s something about insurance in the mix. You know how’ – a brief gleam of teeth – ‘these old monster ships always conveniently limp out to the deepest point in the ocean before sinking like a stone. The insurers are getting a bit fed up.’

‘Great,’ said Casey. ‘Could you insert a random list of shipping companies into that piece somewhere? And include the name Portunus Marine in it? And not publish until I say so?’

‘Portunus Marine?’ Nicky pursed her lips. ‘Never heard of them. Should I have?’

‘No,’ said Casey. ‘They’re a minnow. But I want them in an article today.’

‘You’ll have to explain later.’ Nicky turned away with a smile. ‘And it had better be good. Craig gets very precious when we mess around with his copy.’

‘It might be.’ Casey spun away.

‘What are you doing?’ She almost collided with Dash. She knew he had been watching her patrols around the newsroom.

‘I just need to talk to Toby.’ Casey dodged round him. ‘I’ll explain in a moment.’

Toby was sitting near the data team, tapping at his laptop.

‘Toby?’ He looked up at her, although his eyes didn’t really focus.

‘Casey. Hi. I sent you that list of companies.’

‘Thanks. But I need your help on something else.’

She explained what she needed quickly, Toby’s attention sharpening.

‘How long would it take you to build something like that?’

‘Not long.’ Toby’s fingers were moving rapidly already. He looked up. ‘It’s probably illegal though. Data stuff.’

‘Fine.’

‘Give me a few minutes then.’

Casey hurried back towards Dash, spoke fast. Dash rolled his eyes, and nodded.

Casey reappeared beside Toby. ‘He says get on with it.’

It took Toby a few hours to put together his system. The tennis article was published first.

‘It’s ugly, that sentence,’ Arne protested. ‘I don’t like it. And we are hours behind everyone else.’

‘It’s fine,’ Dash cut him off. ‘Publish it.’

Then Hannah’s story on trade union protests in Dhaka went live, Casey inserting a list of garment companies into the copy just before it was posted. A few minutes later, Nicky pressed the button on the shipping insurance story, sending it speeding around the world.

And then Casey and Toby sat by his desk, and its chaos of wires, waiting and watching and hoping.

67

67

Twenty minutes later, Toby looked up.

‘Your toy’s doing its thing.’

The Post published dozens of articles every day, and the data from each story ran into a sophisticated analytics tool. The tool calculated how many people read the article, how they located the article, and then how long they spent interacting with it. Ross glowered at the metrics all day, tweaking headlines and snarling when only a few bored commuters clicked through to an article about a lion escaping from the zoo.