Paying the Price
Page 20
‘No, it isn’t.’
‘You can’t keep-’
‘Yes, I can, George! I can keep running away because it’s in the past, and it doesn’t matter anymore and there’s nothing I can do about it. It’s done, it’s finished and I can carry on pushing it away-’
‘What happens when the past pushes back?’
I had my eyes on the road but even I couldn’t ignore his prison-yard stare. He got me thinking. The whole ride home, he got me thinking.
And I came to a decision.
36
‘First thing’s first: where’s the letter?’
‘I threw it away. Burned it.’
He’d stopped even being disappointed in my responses now. I think he was expecting it.
‘Do you recall anything about it? The writing style? Was it typed? Special paper?’
‘You think I can remember a letter I read half a year ago?’ I snapped.
‘You tell me.’
My jaw set, I ignored him as I carried on rooting through my old boxes and closets. I was looking for something; anything that either mentioned Tommy or Pilar. So far, I’d racked up an impressive 32 cents and found a lone roller skate, but nothing of actual use. It was pointless.
‘There’s nothing here,’ I said flatly.
I couldn’t recall our photo ever being taken. We never wrote each other. We knew where and when to meet. There was no need for any... well, physical evidence.
‘How did you meet?’ George asked.
‘You know how we met. It was a lucy.’
‘Details, Ann.’
God, he sounded like Tess. Still, I thought back to that day, however long ago it was. To be honest, I barely remembered it.
‘I was breaking into a house.’
‘Where?’
‘Um, I don’t know. A couple blocks away, maybe? I think the lucy had something of his in there, or something. Look, this is stupid,’ I frowned. Did he expect me to suddenly remember something after so long? Like, oh yeah, I remembered Tommy dropped his ID card there. Let’s go get it.
‘No, it isn’t,’ he said, watching me coolly. ‘What happened next?’
I sighed long and hard, making sure he knew how difficult and petty this was. He remained unmoved. I have to admit, it kinda unnerved me. I was used to George ignoring facts completely and focusing on feelings. Why the sudden interest in Tommy?
‘There was nobody home, but I broke a window and caught myself on the glass. I cried out loud. Suddenly, Tommy comes around the corner and-’
‘How suddenly?’
‘What?’ I blinked.
‘Suddenly as in a few minutes after you got there, or suddenly as in he’s been waiting for you?’
Okay, he was trying to give me major creeper vibes for some reason. Making out that Tommy was waiting for me in the shadows, instead of accepting that it was a random meet.
‘Like, a few minutes. It was on his beat. It was night-time. He heard a window smash.’
‘That’s a pretty big beat he’s got. From here to halfway into the next city? I’m surprised he couldn’t outrun his fake death.’
‘You’re being an ass.’
He shook his head sadly.
‘No, I’m asking the questions you can’t ask yourself.’
Ouch. Was he right? I guess he was, but he didn’t know Tommy like I did. Like I did. Tommy was a liar. Tommy, the one guy in my life who I thought I could rely on, lied to me.
No, I’m sorry. Does not compute.
Look, you know as well as I do that I am constantly surrounded by liars, AKA lucies. I know when they’re hiding stuff. The point is, I usually can’t do anything about it. But Tommy? No. He was such a simple man, and I mean that in the best way possible. There was no way he was hiding anything. And if he was, then, why? What was the point of it all?
That’s the thing that I was still having trouble with. It’s not like I know any government secrets or anything. Unless...
‘Who knew you were going there that night?’
‘Nobody,’ I replied slowly, as a thought occurred to me. ‘But my dad was home that night.’
Our relationship had been at breaking point. He was yelling at me all the time over lying about lucies, and I was yelling back that they were real, damn it. We were constantly fighting and arguing whenever we saw each other. What if... he hired Tommy?
Hear me out.
‘We were fighting a lot. More than now. He was convinced that I was lying about you guys. What if he asked a friend to befriend me? You know, get to know me until I knew them well enough to admit that I was making it up?’
It makes sense. After Tommy “died,” my dad wasn’t so mad anymore. He was half-hearted, like he’d lost his will to fight. He was begrudgingly- not accepting, but resigned, maybe? Because I never once told Tommy that lucies weren’t real. I never cracked. I always stood by what I believe and know to be true.
It makes sense.
‘You think he’d do that?’
‘Yes! Think about it,’ I urged him. He seemed unwilling. ‘He’s tried everything. He’s shouted at me, put me in therapy, and grounded me. Threatened to cut off my allowance. He’s done all those things, and I’ve never folded. He must’ve known that I’d never tell him the “truth” as he sees it. So, he asks his friend. And then, after so long, his friend says that I’m sticking to the story, no matter what. So, he gives up the experiment.’
Yeah, it was the only explanation I could think of. I mean, I was obviously upset after Tommy “died.” My dad would’ve noticed, but he never asked about it. That actually seemed weird to me at the time, now that I think about it; but I would’ve been too caught up thinking about Tommy to question it. Now I know why he never asked.
‘I guess,’ George hedged, still sounding unconvinced.
‘No, it’s gotta be my dad. It’s the only possible answer to all this.’
‘Alright. You gonna ask him?’
‘Ask who what?’
‘Your dad,’ he said. ‘About Tommy.’
I pretended to ponder over it, but there was no way in hell I was confronting him.
‘No. He’d only deny it. And then I’d end up looking insane, as per,’ I shrugged.
‘But how will you know for sure?’
‘I know,’ I replied. ‘All the evidence points to my dad.’
He still wasn’t getting it. He thought I needed evidence. And sure, I do when it comes to lucies I don’t know. But I know my father. I know that he’d think nothing of using such an underhanded tactic. I didn’t need to ask him a single thing. I already had my answer.
‘Fine,’ he said.
And then there was silence. I tidied away my boxes and all the mess I’d made. George stayed standing by the door the entire time. Obviously he couldn’t help, but he usually hovers and natters away to me when I do things like that. I’d annoyed him, somehow.
But I knew a way to cheer him up.
Once I was finished and my room was the normal bombsite, I gave him a big beaming smile.
‘What?’ he asked suspiciously.
‘I’ve been thinking.’
‘About Tommy?’
‘What? No, I’m done with that. I’ve been thinking about myself, and what you’ve said. I want to change, George,’ I announced.
He didn’t exactly have the reaction I was expecting.
‘Into pajamas?’
Oh, sure. Like I always make big announcements over changing my clothes.
‘No. I mean, yeah, but not that. I want to help people more. I want to seek out lucies and I want to solve their cases.’
I thought he’d be jumping around for joy, but he seemed to have melded into a statue at some point. He barely raised an eyebrow.
‘You want to help people.’
It wasn’t a question, but I nodded anyway.
‘I do. I really do. You’ve been right all along. I have this gift, or whatever the hell it is, and I need to use it. I’m eighteen soon, and after that, it doe
sn’t matter what my dad threatens me with anymore. I can help everyone, and I will.’
‘What made you change your mind after all this time?’ he asked.
‘I’m not sure. It’s something I’ve been thinking of for a while. It’s gonna be tough. I’ve fought against it for so long, but now I’m ready. I’m gonna do it. We’re gonna do it.’
To my surprise, he started laughing. Like a real deep, throaty chuckle. He was throwing back his head and everything. I didn’t really know what to do, so I waited until he’d finished.
‘You and me, huh? Against the world?’
‘That’s right,’ I smiled.
‘Fighting crime, seeking out injustice. Helping others,’ he said, drawing out the last two words.
‘Absolutely.’
Finally, he moved away from the doorway and joined me on the bed. He seemed to be smiling, too.
‘Alright, Ann. I’ll bite. Let’s see how long you can keep this up.’
He didn’t think I could do it. He thought I’d fall at the first hurdle and go back to my old ways. He didn’t know that I couldn’t do that. I had a hell of lot more resting on this than he realized.
I was going to stick this out to the bitter end, no matter what.
*
Also by Maria Quick
Dolph Malone
The Dead Don't Sleep
Lucies
Body on the Beach
The Forgotten Family
Paying the Price
Nothing, Nowheresville
Standalone
Coral Ridge