by Bowes, K T
“It’s time we left,” Melody said, rising and walking towards the stairs. She turned and looked back at Dane as the phone in his pocket signalled yet another text.
“Sorry.” He dragged it out and pressed buttons. “Edgar’s discovered I didn’t delete his profile. But I did set up two-step verification so every time he tries to log in, I get a text code on Soph’s phone. He can’t log in without it and won’t understand what code it’s asking for.”
“You said you deleted it,” Sophia whispered as they walked down the first few steps. She looked back to see Paul Clancy sitting on the sofa with his head in his hands.
“Yeah, I bluffed but then thought better of it. The messages on Edgar’s provide the evidence. Showing Melody’s to anyone won’t work because Tahlia deleted the messages off that profile.”
“Very clever.” Sophia gripped his hand as they passed over the threshold of the dysfunctional home, following Melody to the gate.
“Wait!” The shout came from behind and Dane turned before Sophia, shielding the women in his care from whatever pursued them. Tahlia Clancy clip clopped behind them, waving like the queen on crack. “Just wait for me; I’ll come with you.”
Melody’s jaw dropped, Dane laughed and Sophia launched herself at the other woman, only held back by his grip on her arm. “You’re insane!” Sophia screamed, bouncing up and down as her boyfriend kept her earthbound. “You’re not coming with us!”
Tahlia flapped her arms and looked around at the quiet tree-lined street. She pouted and acted surprised. “Stop yelling! Edgar will be thrilled to see me.” Her face crumpled as though someone pulled a plug at the back of her head and her features deflated. “I don’t know why I let him believe I was you for so long,” she said, her eyes finding Melody. “You didn’t care about helping him with his CV but I did. He sounded lovely and struggled with all the things going wrong in his life. He wanted a fresh start and I still believe he deserves one. I didn’t mean to fall for him but these things happen. Paul left me without a second thought and Edgar sounded perfect. I’ll tell him the truth and I know he’ll understand; he loves me. I didn’t want to take Paul back, but I got scared and things with Edgar weren’t moving fast enough.” She inhaled a fortifying breath and pointed a red fingernail at Sophia. “Because of her!” Tahlia took a step forward, her attention zeroing in on the teenage girl in her sights. “He promised he’d sell the house before Christmas!” she spat. “Then it was Easter and some other excuse after that. You’re like a millstone round his neck! I couldn’t pay the bills; you’re the reason Paul wormed his way back into my bed.”
Dane pushed Sophia behind him and waited until Melody gathered her safely in her arms and led her towards the gate. Then he stepped into Tahlia’s personal space, a look of menace in his eyes. “Leave us alone,” he snarled. “Leave us alone and leave Edgar alone.”
She lost the bimbo guise and her pretty face became hard, radiating hatred from every pore. “You can’t stop me, little boy. Edgar loves me and we’ll be together if I want.”
Sophia saw Dane’s back stiffen and his fists ball by his sides. He leaned over Tahlia, forcing her to look upwards even in her stilettos. “I’m warning you,” he hissed. “Don’t set foot in Hamilton or you’ll be sorry. I know people.”
“Dane!” Sophia’s shout contained desperation and he turned, covering the mask of hatred with a thin smile.
“Let’s go,” Melody said, all business as she pressed the button to open the gate and bustled the teenagers through. “We’re done here.” Her hand shook as she dangled the car remote from its metal ring and kept her other arm around Sophia. They hustled along the street, a sorry bunch with more questions than they arrived with.
“I need a drink.” Melody drove to a local bar on the outskirts of town and abandoned her swanky vehicle straddling two parking spaces. She tossed the remote to Dane. “You drive home.”
He caught the device and stared at it, his expression perplexed as Melody powered towards the entrance. She stopped to look back at him. “I’ll show you how to start the bloody thing when you need to!” she snapped. Her eyes flicked to a trembling Sophia and she jabbed a finger towards her. “Help Soph and stop being an egg!”
Inside the bar they captured a booth and staked their claim, Melody slamming her backside into the seat as another group power walked towards it. “It’s taken,” she said, her voice acerbic. The knot of early afternoon drinkers diffused like steam to another part of the darkened bar room. Unable to contain herself long enough to wait for a server, Melody hot footed herself to the bar and ordered there.
“I feel sick,” Sophia whispered, running a hand across her face. “My stupid father’s got no idea how close he came to being saddled with a manipulative diva and two kids he didn’t even know about!”
Dane shrugged. “He must’ve known about Melody’s boy from the Facebook profile but yeah, he’d sure as hell wonder where the other one popped out from.”
Sophia cringed. “I can never face Edgar again,” she said, her voice small. “He literally kicked me to the curb for that woman.”
Dane scooted around the leather seat and cuddled her into his chest, using both arms to hold her there. “It’s okay,” he promised. “We’re good.”
“No, we’re not,” Sophia wailed into his collar bone. “I’m no better off! We began this to prove Melody wasn’t real. The whole point was to stop Edgar selling the house and moving me four hundred kilometres away and it’s blown up in our faces.”
“How?”
“They talked on the phone at first. That means they can again. She’s not done with him, Dane! Didn’t you hear her? Her husband knows so she could be ringing him right now; it doesn’t need to be secret anymore.”
Dane nodded, his heart heavy. “Yeah, Soph. I heard her. I don’t know what to say.” Sophia’s phone pinged in his pocket again, sending a deep vibration through his leg and into hers. She sat up straight.
“I never checked his profile again,” she said, her eyes downcast.
“Yeah, I know.” Dane smiled and drew her phone from his pocket.
“How?” Sophia looked indignant. “I might’ve taken a sneaky peek when you weren’t looking.”
Dane snorted. “First you’re telling me you didn’t and now you’re telling me you might have?”
“No. I didn’t.” Sophia leaned back against the seat, her body language showing defeat. Dane leaned over and kissed her.
“I know you didn’t because I’ve checked the history a few times.”
“Is that why you kept borrowing my laptop?” She pulled a face and then turned to him in disgust. “You never trusted me.”
“Yeah, I trusted you, but I trusted you more after the first few times when only Edgar’s searches showed. I knew when he’d logged on because I watched him talking to her. You needed to check his profile when he wasn’t on it and there weren’t any other searches.”
Sophia shrugged. “I might’ve deleted them.” She pouted and Dane laughed out loud.
“Keep going, babe. You might convince me eventually.” He almost dropped the phone as it vibrated in his hand.
“Is that Edgar again?” Sophia sat up, her face anxious. “He doesn’t understand what you’ve done.”
“No, he doesn’t. But if he’s this frantic to get onto Facebook, it also means Tahlia didn’t ring him.” Dane peered at the screen and held it out to show Sophia. “He’s generating verification codes at an impressive rate. This must be driving him nuts.”
The phone set up a different vibration, more than just a text. “Is he ringing us now?”
Dane shook his head and winced. “No, it’s Bob.”
“What does he want?” Sophia’s brown eyes widened in horror. “Why’s he ringing you?”
“I don’t know.” Dane stood up and edged his way out of the booth, putting Sophia’s phone to his ear and covering the other with his hand. Unable to hear in the busy bar he walked towards the front door, leaving Sophia sick with w
orry and dread without his companionship.
“Where’s he gone?” Melody thumped a tray on the table and slopped a large glass of red wine onto the napkin underneath.
“Uncle Bob’s ringing him. He’s gone outside to take the call.” Sophia chewed her lower lip and panicked. “Dane told Aunty Ellen we wouldn’t be home last night so maybe it’s about something else.”
“Nope, it was about that.” Dane pushed his way back into the seat, his strong thigh resting against Sophia’s and returning the sense of safety. “I didn’t see Ellen at the house yesterday and it went clean out of my mind to tell her where we were.” He cringed. “She rang Bob.”
“What did you tell him?” Sophia shuddered, her hunger gone. “We’re in so much trouble now.”
Melody chewed her lip. “If I get arrested for kidnapping, I’ll be real angry!” she threatened. “You left the motel and trotted off to sort this out.” She shook her head. “I should’ve insisted on speaking to her myself. Ever since you kids barged into my life, I’ve lost all power of rational thought.”
“It’s okay.” Dane laid the phone on the table. “He sounded cool. It’s weird right, but he almost sounded too cool. He wanted to know exactly where we were and even after I told him, he seemed relieved.” The teenager reached for his drink and Sophia narrowed her eyes.
“Yeah.” She nodded with deliberate slowness. “And I know why.”
Chapter 42
Devious Means
“Hell no!” Dane looked around him in alarm as Melody sipped her glass of merlot, her amusement obvious.
“No, he hasn’t!” she said with a snort, moving her glass away so the waiter could deliver their food. “You get some ridiculous ideas into your head, Soph.”
Sophia exhaled, her temper rising. “I do, don’t I? Ideas like someone using your profile to catfish my father. That’s really ridiculous.” She felt Dane’s hand seek hers beneath the table and pushed him away. “Don’t do that!” she snapped. “Don’t try to shut me up or show the crazy girl false sympathy. I don’t need it.” She stood and stalked across to the bathrooms, shutting herself into a cubicle and sulking. Blowing her nose into a balled up tissue, she missed the sound of the door opening and footsteps.
“Get out here, woman!” Dane said, his tone casual. Sophia saw his feet beneath the cubicle door.
“It’s the ladies’!” she squeaked and he laughed.
“Hurry then and we won’t get caught.”
“Dane!” Sophia grappled with the lock and hauled the door open, finding him standing on the other side. He leaned a broad shoulder against the partition with a smirk on his face.
“Yep,” he answered as though responding to a roll call.
“You can get arrested for this stuff!” she grumbled, washing her hands and wiping them on her jeans. Motioning Dane to leave the toilets she followed him out, digging him in the back with sharp fingers. “Anyway, I’m not talking to you.”
“You just did.” He grinned and bit his lower lip, trying to contain his humour but failing. He moved with speed and precision, pinning Sophia against the wall and placing his hands either side of her head. “And for the record I don’t do false sympathy.” He leaned to kiss her and she ducked down, attempting to slide out beneath his arm. He caught her again and held on, his arms firm around her waist. “It sounded weird, is all. Private investigators cost a fortune. Bob wouldn’t waste his money.”
“Yeah, he would!” Sophia retorted. “You don’t understand who we live with, do you? It’s how he wins his cases, by always knowing more than the prosecution. They play by the rules and he doesn’t. Sal once told me they call him The Magician in court because he pulls witnesses out of his hat.” She bit her lip. “Sal didn’t say hat though.”
Dane smiled. “I bet she didn’t.” He sighed. “Fine, I believe you. But I saw no one following us.”
“I did.” Sophia’s shoulders slumped. “I just didn’t link his interest with following us. Bob’s got these guys on retainer so they go wherever he sends them. I bet he’s been alternating them.”
Dane shrugged. “I bet he got a helluva shock when we boarded a plane to Palmy. That would’ve left him scratting around for a ticket last minute.”
“Oh, he got one!” Sophia shook her head. “And he sat right in front of us on the right-hand side. Then he followed us in a taxi to bloody Tahlia’s house.”
Dane whistled through his teeth. “Oosh! I wouldn’t want to be paying that expenses claim.” He smiled and nudged Sophia’s arm. “Can I go back to my lunch now? I’m starving.”
Sophia rolled her eyes and let him lead her back to the table. Melody pushed a piece of steak around a plate. “Am I in trouble?” she asked, her expression worried. “If this Bob’s got someone following us, would he get me arrested?”
“He could if he wanted. Like Dane said, he knows exactly where we are. He probably also knows what we’re doing and everything we’ve discovered so far. He’ll store it up in that head of his and use it sometime down the line to string someone up.”
Dane nodded with deliberate slowness. “I wondered why he didn’t pursue it when we got back from Palmy last time. He seemed real angry.”
“He did but he’s distracted by the case in the South Island. He put the guys on us and is tracking us another way too.” Sophia tapped a finger on the table and her eyes strayed to the mobile phone next to Dane’s plate. “Did Uncle Bob touch my phone?” she asked, reaching for it. Dane snatched it up and gave her a sideways look.
“You promised! Get off.”
Sophia huffed and puffed like a five-year-old. “It doesn’t matter now, does it? The damage is done!”
“I don’t want you to see the messages.” Dane lifted the device above his head and Melody sighed. He glanced at her and lowered his voice. “I can’t get rid of them in case I need them for evidence if Tahlia tries to contact Edgar again. Melody might need to go to the cops and there’re no messages on her profile, remember? I just don’t want you to see them!”
“Then I won’t look! Give me the damn phone.” Sophia knelt up on the chair and snatched it out of his fingers, banging her elbow on the table as she sat down. Melody’s wine slopped again and she shook her head and drained the glass.
“Never work with children and animals,” she muttered.
Sophia turned her back on Dane and tapped in her code to unlock the screen. Nothing happened. “You changed the code?” Her eyes accused him and he shrugged.
“Course I changed the bloody code. You think I came down in the last shower?”
“Open it!” Sophia pushed it into his chest and Dane’s fingers moved across the keyboard at speed. She grabbed it back and opened her settings icon, scrolling through a list. “Fantastic!” she exclaimed, her tone filled with sarcasm. “He’s put that app on my phone which lets you track someone. How could you let him do that?”
Dane shook his head in disbelief. “He’s an old dude! He can’t even work the microwave; I didn’t anticipate him turning into James Bond!”
“Well, more fool you,” Sophia grumbled, pushing her plate away with a groan. “He’s been tracking us the whole time.”
Dane’s eyes widened in horror. “No, he’s been tracking me. Shit!”
“What? What did you do?”
“Pray, do tell.” Melody sounded bored and somewhat over it all.
Dane swallowed. “That phone was in my pocket when I went to Edgar’s garage and messed with the reggo plates. Twice.”
Sophia snorted. “Serves you right!” she snapped, looking pleased. “That’s why he sat waiting for you when we got back from Palmy the first time. His private eye told him all about it. I bet he lounged on the sofa in his slippers and watched you trot up Te Rapa as a fat yellow line on a road map.” She tossed her hair behind her shoulders and pouted in victory. “I want my phone back. I also hope dear old Bob grounds you for the rest of your life.”
Chapter 43
Hamilton
They spent the nigh
t at Melody’s and she drove them to the airport the next day for an early flight back to Hamilton. They hugged at the departures gate and she squeezed them both. “Gonna miss you pair of miscreants,” she mused, her face sad. “Hey, if you fancy moving south after you finish school, hit me up. I could find you work and somewhere to live.” She said it with hope as though genuine about her offer. They thanked her and walked through the gate to their plane. Sophia glanced back once and waved at the forlorn blonde standing alone before spotting Bob’s spy running to the counter to snag a last minute ticket. Dane followed her gaze and shook his head.
“You’re mean,” he said with a look of fake disapproval. “I bet he sat in his flash hotel tucking into bacon and eggs and now you’ve made him run like a sissy.”
“Good!” Sophia retorted. “I’m not turning the app on again either.”
Dane walked back to the barrier and picked out the man at the end of a very long queue of travellers. The non-descript private detective tapped his foot on the floor with impatience and watched the sign for the Hamilton bound flight change from boarding to gate closed. Dane snorted. “Naw, you made him miss the plane.”
Sophia sighed with relief and Dane clasped her hand in his. He carried his rucksack on his shoulder and pulled her suitcase behind him. “What now?” he asked.
“I don’t know.” She walked for a second with her eyes closed against the misery. “We stopped Edgar being ripped off by a catfish or parting with any money, but he still sold me out without a second thought. I don’t think I want to go back and live with him.”
“Stay where you are,” Dane suggested. “Carl and Maria said I could live with them. It might settle Maisie down; she’s seeing a psychologist.”
“Can we not talk about what happens to me?” She gripped his hand as they filed out onto the tarmac and feigned sleep on the plane. Dane seemed calmer second time around and didn’t puke. At Hamilton airport they retrieved his car and drove north to Awatere Avenue and Bob’s imposing two-storey house.