“So, your boss, did he like you?”
“Like me?” Garrick wrinkled his brow. Clearly all the neurons in his brain weren’t firing up just yet. Perhaps I should have waited for later to have the conversation.
“Yeah, was he your enemy?” I continued on. I would have asked a million questions if it helped find Chloe’s real killer.
“Amery, what’s this about?” Kyle interjected himself into the conversation.
All three of them stared at me. I would probably get further if I explained what had me so riled up in the middle of the night. “What about if it wasn’t the Originals who framed Garrick? What if we are looking in the wrong place entirely?”
“You think someone else could have framed me?” Finally, he was catching on.
“Yes. Did you have any other enemies? Particularly ones who had access to the building site?” I pretty much could see the cogs turning in his brain as he processed that thought.
“Have you been up all night thinking about this?” Lochie asked. His hair was all tousled and he had a five o’clock shadow. In other words, he was super hot sitting up in his bed. He was the only one who had let his sheet slip a little. I certainly liked what I saw – a perfectly sculpted chest. Damn, he was good looking. I hoped my lust wasn’t written all over my face. Thank goodness they couldn’t read my thoughts or I would have been blushing all over the place.
Focus, Amery.
Garrick finally nodded slightly. “There was this guy I worked with, he didn’t like me much.”
“Did he have access to leave the body for you to find?” My focus was back to business again, all lustful thoughts gone.
“He didn’t have keys.” Damn it. “He probably just hated me. I doubt he had the brains to pull something like this off.”
“What’d you do to him?” Lochie asked. Somehow he managed to put sarcasm, dislike, and skepticism into those five little words.
“Lochie,” Kyle warned. I would have told him off too if I wasn’t so curious to know the answer. It was relevant, after all.
If Garrick had just been himself around his co-worker, then it might not warrant being framed for murder. However, if the guy hated Garrick because, say, he was having a one night stand with his girlfriend, then that was a murder-level grade of hatred.
“What was it, Garrick?” I continued. “It might be relevant to the case.”
He sighed, which only added to my curiosity. “He just hated me from the beginning. I don’t remember doing anything to him, he would just take every opportunity to make my life difficult. He hid my tools, ruined my lunch, set me up to look incompetent in front of everyone. Just stupid stuff like that.”
“Could he have hated you enough to frame you for murder?”
“I don’t know. That’s pretty extreme, even for a loser.” He stared into space for a moment. “But I think you’re right. All our efforts have been focused on the Originals. It might not be them. I think we should tell Krom.”
“I think we should too,” Kyle added. Good, at least they thought there might be something to my theory. It might have been worth the early morning wakeup call. And the horrible nightmare that made me think of it.
After breakfast, Roch arrived to drive us to the leaders’ building. Only Garrick and I went to speak with Krom. We figured it might be a long conversation as we tore apart Garrick’s life to find other suspects. The others wouldn’t be needed.
Krom wasn’t in the best mood when Roch brought him up on the screen in the boardroom for us. I probably woke him up early too, although I had no idea what time it was back home.
After explaining my theory, I sat on the table and listened as Garrick tried to recall everyone in his life. Krom’s assistant took notes in the background of the screen as names were reeled off and background details given.
As it turned out, Garrick had gotten around in the time between me seeing him last and his arrest. He had made new friends and many more acquaintances. Not all of them friendly. Like I suspected, there were quite a few he had rubbed the wrong way. Garrick was like a little porcupine, soft on the inside but prickly on the outside. And he was never afraid of using his quills to keep people at arm’s length.
I learned a lot about Garrick’s life while listening to him pour his heart out to Krom. To his credit, he didn’t seem to hold anything back. I was pretty sure he knew the only way to catch the real murderer was to disclose everything. He held the key to solving his crime, we just needed to find the right one.
As it turned out, Katya wasn’t Garrick’s only one night stand. He’d had two, to be precise, but no more. Both times he had been intoxicated. It was a relief to know he wasn’t sleeping all over the place, even if it wasn’t any of my business.
After that call with Krom, everything went quiet for the longest time. Days passed by without hearing any news and the city was becoming very familiar. We could all find our way around without a guide and Garrick could drive the vehicles pretty well so we had quite a bit of freedom.
I tried to convince both Lola and Lochie to go back to Earth but neither would listen to me. They both pledged to stick it out to the end, teamwork and all that.
I felt terrible keeping Lochie from his summer school. All those arguments we’d had about it and all I needed to keep him with me was take him to another planet. I certainly hadn’t considered that plan at the time.
After two weeks on Trucon, we were all getting a bit stir crazy. So when we awoke to the news that Kyle was taking us somewhere special, we were all disproportionately excited about it. I was jumping out of my skin I was so looking forward to it.
We piled into the vehicle and Kyle let Garrick drive while he gave directions. We had been given no clues about our destination, but if it was outside the city, I didn’t care. Although, it would have been nice to see something other than another volcano. The city was riddled with them.
We travelled across the city to a neighborhood we hadn’t really spent any time in. There didn’t seem to be any class system on Trucon so all the houses were exactly the same except their sizes varied now and then. So once you had seen one neighborhood, you had pretty much seen them all.
The vehicle went through the streets and continued on, further than we had gone before. The boxes disappeared and the ashen landscapes of the countryside started to surround us. Everything was still grey, including the sky, but it was a darker shade on the ground – almost like the ash was thicker out there.
The road suddenly went down a steep descent and I gripped the side of the vehicle to stop myself from sliding across the floor. Lochie placed an arm around my waist to keep me in place. Everyone held on as we travelled right down to the bottom of the hill.
Moving around one more corner, we all gasped. Except Kyle, who had the biggest smile on his face I had ever seen. “This, ladies and gentleman, is Lake Mazer.”
A gigantic body of water filled the area between the hills and mountains. The water was a shade of blue similar to the sky back home. It was light and beautiful, far removed from all the grey everywhere else.
“This is amazing,” Lola gushed. We all readily agreed with our own mutterings of awe.
“Pull up here, Garrick,” Kyle directed. “I used to come here all the time when I was a kid. We’d spend all day swimming in the water and then have a family lunch together on the edge. It hasn’t changed a bit.”
The glazed, happy look on Kyle’s face reminded me that this was his home once. None of it was foreign to him like it was to us. He had memories here, times he wanted to remember. He made the decision of coming to Earth to watch over the project members sound easy, but I’m sure it wasn’t. It had to be one of the hardest things he had ever done.
“We can swim here?” Lochie asked. He was already itching to get into the water.
“Swim away,” Kyle replied. Lochie and Garrick wasted no time in peeling off their shirts and running for the water. When Kyle told us to wear clothes that could get wet, I hadn’t imagined we would be swimm
ing in such a beautiful place. A swamp I would have believed, but this was magical.
Lola and I exchanged a glance before following them. We stripped down to our bra and panties and ran into the water before anyone could see us. At least, that’s what I hoped. It wasn’t like I took a bikini or two with me when I left Earth.
The water was warm, despite the sun not shining directly on the planet. It was like taking a refreshing bath in the beautiful blue water. I could almost pretend I was on a tropical island instead of another planet.
We swam around and let the water unwind our frazzled bodies. It was the most relaxed I had felt in weeks. We could almost feel like regular teenagers just having some fun at the lake on a summer weekend. Of course, our reality was far from it, but it didn’t matter for a few hours.
I eventually crawled up on the lake’s bank and sat watching the others. Lola soon joined me as the boys continued their swim. By that time, it didn’t really even seem to matter that we were in our underwear. Everything that needed covering was covered and we were among friends.
“This place is awesome,” I exclaimed. Fumes from the lunch Kyle was cooking on a fire he had made started wafting along on the breeze. My stomach grumbled with anticipation.
“Totally,” Lola agreed. Her gaze was focused on the boys as they messed around on the lake. Apparently their mutual dislike was put aside for a little while. I think everyone was just so glad to be out of the city for a few hours. “Garrick is really hot.”
I looked at her, unsure if I had heard correctly. “What did you just say?”
She shrugged. “Garrick, he’s hot. I never noticed before.” I wasn’t going to deny he was good looking. Garrick was well built, with a chest that would make an Ancient Greek statue jealous.
“Is there something you want to tell me, Lola? Or confess?” I pushed her playfully.
“I didn’t mean it like that. He’s still Grumpy Garrick,” she laughed. “But I can appreciate a good looking guy, right?”
“Right.”
“I think Lochie’s hot too if that makes you feel any better.”
I pushed her again. “Eyes off, he’s taken.”
She pretended to shake off something disgusting. “Ugh, what am I saying? It must be the hot water, it’s doing something to my head.”
Now I was definitely laughing. “You’re probably missing Asher.”
“That’s probably it. Anything starts to look good after a few weeks of no smooching.”
“I wouldn’t know,” I teased. She pushed me back – much harder than I had done to her. “Okay, okay, I’m sorry.”
She stopped harassing me enough to stare out at the lake again. “Seriously though, I’m not surprised Garrick was out there picking up girls all over the place before the… incident. Girls probably fall all over him before they realize how abrasive his personality is.”
“It was only twice.”
“That he confessed to. Did you know he was sleeping around?” Her gaze shot back to me, searching for my reaction.
“Who Garrick sleeps with is no business of mine,” I replied defensively. I wasn’t sure what she was getting at exactly.
“But you’re close.”
“We were close. I hadn’t spoken to him since he left Portview. I didn’t even know he got a job.”
She wrinkled her brows like I should have more of an opinion on the subject. But it really wasn’t any of my business what Garrick did in his life. I had my chance with him and I didn’t choose to take it. Was I a bit jealous he had been hooking up with other girls? Yeah, of course, it was a natural reaction. But did I have a right to pass judgment? No, I didn’t. I had Lochie, Garrick wasn’t my boyfriend, therefore my opinion should not have mattered.
I was about to reply as much when all of a sudden a wave of water splashed right over us. We were completely drenched again in less than two seconds flat.
After blinking the water out of my eyes, I caught a glimpse of Lochie as he swam off, laughing. Damn him.
Lola must have been having the same thought. “He is not getting away with that.”
“No way,” I agreed. We ran into the water and caught up with him, putting everything we had into splashing as much water on him as possible. He splashed us back, water flying everywhere in all directions.
I got water up my nose, in my ears, down my lungs. We were all akin to drowning rats by the time we conceded there would be no winner in that fight.
“Truce, truce,” Lochie called out. We stopped immediately, tired and worn out from the splashing. I had to tread water to catch my breath for a few minutes before I could function again.
“You are terrible, Mercury,” I said.
“It’s just a bit of water, Jones.” He cocked his head to one side as a thought occurred to him. “Hey, is your surname really Jones?” That’s what he was thinking about? It seemed a bit random. But, then again, Lochie was a bit random.
“I guess officially it’s Sington.” I hadn’t really given it much thought. I had no intention of changing my name. Jones wasn’t even really my name, it was assigned to my adoptive parents and I when we entered the project. Their real last name was Derby. Amery Derby? Amery Sington? Nah, it had to Amery Jones.
“Are you going to change it?” Lochie asked.
I shook my head, still treading water to stay afloat. Lola had made it back to the shore and was trying to dry off again. Garrick was doing laps. “Nope. I like Jones.”
“I like Jones too. Although…”
“What?” He had that mischievous sparkle to his eyes, one that told me his thoughts were probably considering all sorts of trouble. “Tell me.” I splashed a little water his way as a threat.
“Maybe it will be Mercury one day,” he finally replied. Instantly, my face flushed with embarrassment. Did he seriously just suggest that we would be married one day? My heart fluttered at the thought, even though that day would have to be far into the future for either of us to seriously consider it. We were way too young for that. I had no intention of being a teenage bride.
“Maybe. If you play your cards right,” I said suggestively. I didn’t want to take him too seriously because a lot could happen in our lives between now and then.
I splashed him again and started swimming away. I was not ready to have that kind of a serious conversation with Lochie. Too much was happening to start getting deep.
I looked up and saw Kyle standing on the banks as he waved us in. He had probably been doing that for a while before he got our attention. We swam back in and emerged from the water like inelegant mermaids getting used to their land legs.
We sat around the edge of the lake and ate lunch. The food, which I couldn’t exactly identify, was actually delicious. Whatever Kyle had done to the usual stuff was a thousand times better when cooked on the open fire. If we stuck around for too much longer, we were going to have to start a fire pit at the house. Danger of the open flame be damned.
After the food was gone, we all lazed around. Nobody was in a hurry to get back to the house. It was too nice being outside the city and in the open air. Just seeing another color besides grey and white was a nice change. When we returned to Earth, it was going to seem so bright there.
We eventually had to leave so we piled into the vehicle and followed the road back into the city. Garrick drove again, finding his way around the streets without much help from Kyle. With all the roads so straight, it was pretty easy to find the street we needed.
As we arrived home, Lochie slid an arm around my waist from behind and pulled me to his chest, leaning down to whisper in my ear. “Let’s go for a walk, just the two of us.” There was something in his tone that sent a shiver of nervousness down my spine.
However, before I could reply, Garrick spoke. “Hey, Ame, can I talk to you?”
I nodded and heard Lochie sigh behind me. He released me from his grip. It was almost chilly without his body warmth pressed up against me. Garrick sat on the step of the vehicle with his legs on the paveme
nt. I took the seat beside him as everyone else went inside – including Lochie.
“What’s up?” I asked, keeping my voice happy despite having a feeling that he wouldn’t want to talk about anything remotely happy.
“It’s been almost two weeks since we heard from Krom,” he blurted out.
“Everything takes time. Just because we haven’t heard from him, doesn’t mean nothing is happening.”
He let out the breath he was holding. “I’m worried. Today was nice and all, but I’m anxious. We can’t stay here forever.”
“It’s not like the humans can come looking for you,” I joked. Although, it was true. Nobody on Earth had the technology to get to Trucon – not unless they had a hundred years to spare anyway.
Garrick actually smiled for just a moment before pointing to the sky. “Yeah, the asteroid will get us before the humans.” Oh right, the asteroid. We wouldn’t be able to stay on Trucon forever, but surely we wouldn’t need that long.
I grew serious. I didn’t want Garrick to think his anxiety was something to be laughed off. It wasn’t funny, but it was something that had the potential to eat him up if left to linger for too long. “If you’re really concerned, maybe you should call Krom and check in with him? I’m sure he wouldn’t mind after so long.”
“Maybe I should.” He thought it through for a few moments in silence. “Actually, I will. Tomorrow, first thing.”
“That’s a good idea,” I agreed. He seemed to brighten a little now he had a plan.
He thanked me for the chat and we went inside to join the others. The walk I was supposed to take with Lochie was long forgotten. Everyone was in a lazy mood after spending the day swimming. We waited around until dinner before eating and then going to bed. Our moods were a lot brighter than they had been that morning.
As much as I wanted to sleep, it wasn’t a happening thing. I stared into the darkness and willed my eyes to close but they weren’t listening to me.
Project Integrate Series Boxed Set Page 84