The Mute and the Liar (17 page)

“
This
is
ridiculous.
You
can
't
just
steal
people,
”
Nick
states
the
obvious
“
Come
on;
let’s
just
take
her
home
.
We’ll
explain
everything,
and
you’ll
say
how
sorry
you
are,
and
we
can
clear
up
this
whole mess.
”

Hope
seems
to
spark
up
once
more.
Nick
doesn’t
seem
like
a
bad
person,
after
all.
Maybe
he’ll
help
me.
But
obviously
Jayce
doesn’t
seem
to
think
that’s
such
a
good
idea,
and
snarls:
“
If
you
tell
a
nyone
about
this,
I’ll
go
to
the
police and tell them what really happened to Marty.
”

This
seems
a
convincing
enough
threat
because
Nick
quickly
shuts
up.

Great
-
there
goes
my
hope
again.
I
was
so
close
to
being
free
that
time.
What
did
Jayce
mean
by
that?
Why
did
it
silence
Nick
and
make
him
completely
give
up
on
that
idea?

Jayce
knows
my
home
phone
number.
He
knows
I
want
to
be
a
detective.
How
much
exactly
does
he
know
about
me?
He
could
know
about...
no.
Don't
think
about
that.

“
Kaylie
was
really
worried
about
you,
you
know,
”
Nick
pipes
up
again.

“
She
knocked
on
our
door
four
times
today.
I
kept
telling
her
you
weren’t
in,
but
she
wouldn’t
listen,
and
just
came
back
again
a
few
hours
later.
She
said
she
thought
the
police
had
taken
you
away.
”

“
Mmm,
”
is
all Jayce unenthusiastically replies. He
continues
scribbling.

“
Why don’t
you just… just
give
her
a
chance?
She’s
a
lovely
girl-
”

“
She knows
I’m
not
interested.
Girls
aren’t
really
my…
thing.
”
“
Neither
are
boys.
”

“
No,
”
Jayce agrees.

“
Jayce.
What
are
you
doing?
You
can’t
just
take
what
you
want.
What
do
you
actually
want?
What
are
you
hoping
to
gain
from
any
of
this?
It’s
unpredictable
people
like
you
that
end
up
behind
bars.
You
take
what
you
like, and you like
what
you
like,
but
you
don’t
know
what
you like.
”

“
Maybe that’s
because I’ve
never
‘liked’
anything.
”

“
Oh
yeah.
It’s
all
about
the
impulse
with
you,
isn’t
it?
You
just
dive
head
first
into
the
gulf
of
danger.
What
made
you
do
this?
It's
crazy.
You
just don’t
think
.
You’re
just
reckless
and
stupid,
”
Nick
spits,
repulsed.
He
says
all
of
this
so
breathlessly
and
confidently
.
I
t
seems
he
has
been
thinking
up
this
little speech for
a
while.

Jayce
finally
stops writing
and
looks up.

“
You
are
calling
me
reckless
and
stupid? At least
I’m
not a
m
u
-
”
“
J
ayce
!
”

A
deathly
silence
fills
the
air.
Jayce’s
eyes
remain
fixed
to
the
back
of
Nick’s
head,
whilst
Nick
leans
over
the
wheel.
I
can
almost
feel
the
anger
radiating between them.

Curiosity
has
always
been
my
biggest
flaw.
I’m
just
genuinely
interested
in
what’s
happening
and
why.
It’s
one
of
the
reasons
I
like
solving
mysteries.
S
o
this
has
got
me
intrigued.
All
I
know
is
that
whatever
Nick
has
done, whatever he is hiding, Jayce is holding it against him.

I've
got
so
many
questions,
and
they
crash
through
my
mind
like
hailstones.

Nick
continues
driving
in
silence,
his
fists
clenching
the
steering
wheel,
so
hard
that
I
think
he
might
be
making
dents
in
it.
Well,
considering
the
state
the
car
is
already
in,
I
suppose
a
few
dents
in
the steering wheel might
actually
be
an
improvement.

*****

“
Hey,
Alicia.
Wake
up.
Here.
”
Something
is
being
pushed
into
my
hands.
Struggling
slightly,
my
eyes
flicker
open,
and
for
a
moment
my
surroundings
startle
me.
I
establish
I
am
inside
a
car,
although
it
takes
me
a
few
seconds
t
o
register
what
I
am
doing
there
.

And
what
I
am leaning
against.

I
hurtle
awake,
propelling
myself
away
from
him,
almost
clinging
to
the
car
door.

“
It
looked
fun,
so
I
gave
it
a
go.
How
did
I
do?
”
I
look
down,
and
see
he
has
given
me
the
notepad
he
was
writing
in.
He
has
skipped
a
few
pages,
where
he
has
written
some
rough
notes. The
page
at
the
top
is
crammed
with
handwriting
so
messy
it
could
be
mistaken
for
those
scribbles
you
make
when you’re checking
to
see if
a
pen
works.