‘Do you know where the key is?’
‘No,’ he said too quickly.
‘You’re lying.’
‘No, I’m not.’
‘Yes, you are, Tommy. It’s obvious.’
Tommy turned away, flexing his arms. His bedroom was as untidy as the one he’d turned into a games room: Clothes were flung on the floor, and empty glasses and crumb-covered plates abounded. The most well-kept thing in sight was his multi-gym, as if it were a shrine or something. The walls were covered with tacky posters of half-naked women.
Nick took a conversational detour, hoping it would give his brother space to tell the truth. ‘How’s Chloe?’ As far as he could remember, that was Tommy’s current girlfriend.
‘Yuh ain’t gotta pretend yuh care about my social life, Nick.’ Tommy swung his head back to his brother, frowning. ‘I dumped Chloe ages ago.’
Nick didn’t know what to say. I really haven’t been paying him enough attention. He shifted awkwardly.
‘Uh, fine. I’ll tell you about the key.’ Tommy was scowling. ‘When Tom came over, he left his keys on the table near the front of the house. I couldn’t be asked to talk to him, and it’s not like he went out his way or anythin’ to talk to me, so I took his house key just to piss him off. After he went, I just left it lyin’ about. Ain’t seen it since, so I thought he must’ve come back and found it or summin.’
‘He didn’t; he went straight to Michael’s house after coming here. He’s been staying there since and only realised the key was missing yesterday when I told him I thought someone had been in the house.’
‘What? Like broken in?’
‘Well, it isn’t exactly breaking in if they have the key, is it?’ For a ridiculous moment, Nick wondered if Tommy could have given the key to Austin for any reason … No. He wouldn’t.
‘S’pose not. Have yuh asked Dad if he’s seen it?’
‘Yeah. He hasn’t.’
‘Oh.’ Tommy shrugged his enormous shoulders as high as they would go. I can’t believe how much bigger he’s got in just a few months. ‘I dunno, then.’
‘You don’t know? So nobody else has been to the house or anything? Think about when you took it and left it lying about, and then when you realised it was gone. Anybody come to the house in between?’
Tommy’s eyebrows pinched together slowly. ‘Yeah, actually. This guy did. He was like sayin’ he was one of them gas reader guys, so I let him in, but then he was walkin’ about all suspicious like he didn’t know what he was doin’. I started thinkin’ he was some dodgy man, pretendin’ to be someone he’s not so he could steal somethin’, so I told him to get the fuck out the house. I walked him to the door, but he must have swiped the key when he walked past the table on his way out or summin. I didn’t see, though.’
‘Did you recognise the man? Did he give a name or anything?’
‘Nah.’
‘Nothing?’
Tommy tilted his head, giving Nick an impatient look. ‘Ermm … I found a receipt in the hallway after he left. I thought it might have fell out his pocket or summin, but when I looked at it I saw it was an old one from when we went on holiday once.’
Oh … That’s weird. ‘What holiday?’
‘When we went to that lodge place near Eradon Lake. It wasn’t one of our proper holidays, ’cause we didn’t go abroad or anythin’, but it was good still.’
Trying to remember it, Nick’s mind squirmed over something … What is it? The memories were coming to him, slowly … ‘Yeah, I think I remember it.’
‘Eleanor Lodge Park it was called … or summin.’
Then Nick realised, My vision of the past! In the vision, he had been limited to what his younger eyes focused on, which had mostly been the game he was playing, and his brothers arguing over who would be the goalie in football. He hadn’t seen enough to realise he was in a lodge. ‘I’m starting to remember … Can I see the receipt?’
His brother went stiff at first, seemingly reluctant, but he got up, opened a drawer, and then handed it over.
Nick asked, ‘Why did you keep this when you found it? Instead of just chucking it away?’
‘It was a nice holiday,’ said Tommy, appearing deep in thought, ‘wasn’t it?’
Tommy wasn’t ordinarily the sentimental sort, so his behaviour got Nick to thinking. In his head, he heard the twins bickering over their football game, but then he remembered more of the holiday, and how much fun the twins had had together. His heart plummeted.
‘Yuh played Pokémon for like the whole time we were there,’ Tommy went on in a deep voice drenched in reminiscence, ‘and me and To—’ He stopped, went quiet. After a while he huffed. ‘Never mind.’
Looking at the receipt, Nick saw how unspoiled it was, no creases nor crumples nor smudges. He further inspected it. ‘Erm … Tommy? You didn’t look at the date on here, did you?’
‘What do yuh mean?’
‘Well, it’s only dated last week … We went on that holiday years ago. Don’t you think the receipt would be more worn than this if it were that old?’ It shocked him that these simple observations hadn’t occurred to his brother. Maybe seeing the name of the lodge printed on the receipt had brought back the fond memories to Tommy, making him want to believe it was from all those years ago.
‘Well,’ Tommy began angrily, ‘just fuckin’ bin it, then. Whatever.’
‘What’s the matter, Tommy?’
‘Nuffin.’
‘Well, that’s obviously not true.’
‘Yeah, well, apparently everythin’s obvious to you, but I can’t even spot the date on a receipt.’
Nick knew his brother was wound up when he pronounced ‘you’ properly. ‘It’s easy to miss,’ he said in an attempt to pacify him.
‘No, it’s not. Yuh think I’m thicker than you, always have, and—’
‘Tommy. What is the matter? I was only pointing out the date to say that the receipt must have fallen out of that guy’s pocket, meaning he’s most likely staying at the lodge. You’re not stupid; you’ve just helped me find out who might have rummaged through my house.’ You’ve helped me more than that, he thought, but I can’t tell you … Ah, blossoms! That was it. Juliet had seen pink petals on Austin’s van, and there had been something significant about that. The memories came flooding back: The exact lodge Nick’s family had stayed in was right next to a large cherry blossom tree. It overhung the most convenient place to park a car. The tree would be in bloom at this time of the year.
‘Yeah, well it’s my fault the key went missin’, ain’t it?’
‘Sorry, what?’ Nick pulled himself back to the present. ‘No … That doesn’t matter anyway. Will you just tell me what’s the matter, please? I didn’t come here just to ask about the key. I wanted to see how you are … and find out what all the tension is between you and Tom. Is it that you have a problem with him being—’
‘No,’ Tommy barked, his voice compressed. He shook his head as if Nick would never understand. ‘I’m not a homophobe or anythin’. It’s …’
‘Just say it.’
‘It’s you. I don’t care that Tom’s gay; I’m pissed off ’cause he’s as bad as you are. Hidin’ stuff from me, not trustin’ me with his secrets. I shoulda been the first person he told.’
Blindsided, Nick said, ‘I … What do you mean? Hiding stuff?’
‘I might be stupid, but I know that stuff don’t add up. Like when we went to Aldrich’s. Why didn’t his mind power work on you?’
Tom had asked the same question but had been content with Nick’s answer, which was a lie: He’d told him he didn’t know. ‘I don’t know, Tommy,’ he repeated the untruth now.
‘Now you’re lying. And it’s obvious.’
‘Well, you tell me something,’ snapped Nick. ‘Did you really kill Aldrich on purpose?’
The room went silent. Nick hoped his dad hadn’t come upstairs, that he wasn’t overhearing any of this. Eventually, Tommy mumbled, ‘I don’t know … I wanted to kill
him.’
‘But did you?’
‘Well I pushed the knife in, didn’t I?’
‘On purpose?’
Tommy stood up, paced back and forth, his hands balled into fists. Patiently, Nick waited until his brother sat back down and closed his eyes. ‘I could feel what he was feelin’ inside my head. It was like he hated himself. And I hated him too. When he came back to me and Tom, he was cryin’ like a baby. All that hate was makin’ me not think straight.’ He opened his eyes, gave them to Nick. ‘I don’t know if I killed him, or if he made me do it.’
Nick went to put a hand on his brother’s shoulder, but Tommy whacked it away. ‘Don’t bother, Nick,’ he growled.
That hurt. Not physically, but emotionally. ‘I’m trying to clear things up between us, Tommy.’
‘No, you’re not. You’re probably just tellin’ more lies. Like, what was everythin’ with Juliet about? Just showin’ up and tellin’ yuh she knew summin about Mum going missing, and then it turns out she knew that Ryan guy. Maybe she knew Aldrich too. Maybe she had summin to do with Mum being killed, and that’s why she was so quick to dump yuh afterwards.’
‘Dump me? We weren’t going out.’
‘Whatever,’ he shouted, a vein bulging in his neck.
Then it really hit Nick how deeply these lies were affecting his brother. He remembered Austin’s harsh words about his relationship with Kerra: You know why she cheated on you? Because you were self-obsessed. Lost in your own sad little life … She wanted to be happy with you. But you didn’t let her in. You pushed her away …
As his energy drained, he thought, I was selfish then, and I’m being selfish now.
‘So are you going to tell me everythin’?’ said Tommy angrily.
‘I …’ he began, but then he heard James’s deep voice and saw his miserable, gaunt face. You can’t, under any circumstances, tell anyone about any of this … When it comes to humans, my kind are extremely secretive … and willing to guard their secrets. You must remember this. ‘I …’
Tommy’s face turned hard. He cut off his brother with, ‘I’m not being funny, Nick, but just fuck off.’
Stunned wordless, Nick stood up and obeyed his brother. As he walked out of the room and closed the door, he realised he’d made a choice. I could have told him the truth. I should have, but now I’ve drawn an even thicker line between us.
He made his way out of the house, weakly calling goodbye to his dad.
Now he knew exactly where Austin was staying, it was time to pay him a visit.
CHAPTER TWENTY
‘SANDRA, CAN I speak with you in the office?’ said Juliet, a few minutes before Chanton Hillview was about to open.
In her brassy voice, Sandra replied, ‘Of course you can, love.’ Sandra was a broad-shouldered lady, about a head shorter than Juliet, and had short, roughly styled hair. She was approaching forty, and her face was hard, with tough skin that made her look older than she was, as if she’d seen many hard years. But when she was in a good mood she had a big and imposing grin to go with her big and imposing voice, a combination that allowed people to overlook her inset hardship.
Juliet turned to Ashleigh and Roy and gave them a little nod to make sure they understood what was happening. She headed to the office with Sandra. Charlie Robson wasn’t in today, but Juliet reckoned her employees had all gossiped about this impending meeting. Addressing the issue as soon as possible would be best, and this was Sandra’s first day back from being ill.
She’s a strong woman. She won’t take it personally. She’ll understand, make adjustments, and then get on with the job like she always does. After the previous day’s events, Juliet just wanted to tackle this manageable task and get on with the day. At least it wasn’t elves or witches or necromancers or the walking dead—all of which she tried to shove to the back of her mind.
This? This was something she could handle.
Sandra and she were both sitting down. She opened her mouth to say, ‘It’s nothing to worry about, I just need to speak with you regarding the way you sometimes come across to the rest of the staff team,’ but Sandra beat her to the punch.
‘I know what you’re going to say, Juliet,’ Sandra admitted tiredly. ‘But let me give you this first.’ She revealed a piece of paper and handed it over.
Juliet knew what it was without looking, but out of shock she asked, ‘What is this?’
‘My notice.’
Now the conversation (that hadn’t really begun) had flipped completely. Juliet found herself no longer wanting to reprimand the joint stand-in manager, but mentally conjuring reasons to make her stay instead. ‘You’re leaving?’
‘I’m afraid so.’
‘Can I ask why?’ Her mind floundered, chucked in the deep end by the last thing she’d expected. ‘Is there anything I can do to make conditions better for you here?’
Sandra had worked at Chanton Hillview for almost four years now, having been given the job after her husband’s company went into debt. Preferring to hire positive and hardworking people, Juliet snatched up Sandra right away, sensing her diligent side. It was the positive trait she’d taken a gamble on, unable to detect the authenticity of Sandra’s cheerfulness. Confidence and a wide grin can mask negativity, but it’s nonetheless there, and it will put cracks in that mask, seeping through every time the strain becomes too much. Eventually the mask will shatter completely, and you’ll have to face that negativity … and change it if you can. Juliet had learnt that from her own habit of denial.
‘No. It’s not something you can change.’ Sandra sounded solemn, like she’d thought about her decision a lot. ‘I’m just ready to do my own thing. You know, when you had all that time off, it got me thinking. I’m nearly double your age … I should be the one with an up-and-running business, taking as long as I like off and knowing the money’s still coming in.’
Unsure if Sandra was being spiteful or not, Juliet waited for further explanation. She at least knew her employee was exaggerating. She’s not nearly double my age … I think she’s just let the stress get to her. She’s being rash.
‘I’m not saying you don’t deserve it, love,’ Sandra added. ‘You do. Your parents might have set you up in terms of money, but you’ve worked hard to make this café what it is.’
Again Juliet waited, detecting a hint of resentment in Sandra’s words. She didn’t need to mention that my parents bought me the café; she could have easily dropped that and made the compliment sound whole.
‘I’ve always admired you, Juliet, and still do, but the truth is … I also envy the position you’re in. I want this kind of business for myself. When you gave me this job, you knew how much of a save it was for me … but lately I’m growing bitter. And I don’t want that.’
It was hard for Juliet to find any words. Sandra might have envied her position, but she didn’t know everything else that was happening. She also didn’t know Juliet accepting the café (and her home) from her parents came with the unspoken condition that she act the obedient daughter. A condition she’d broken.
‘Sandra. I don’t want to patronise you, but I’d like to make sure you’re making the right decision here. I shouldn’t have taken so long off, and if me doing that has put you under pressure, then it is my failure as a manager. I won’t have you driven away by that.’
Sandra grinned, her eyes lighting up her face. ‘When have I ever not been able to handle the tasks you’ve set me?’ She laughed loudly. ‘You give me a job, and I’ll have it done just like that, you know that. But it’s the pressure I’m putting on myself that’s gotten to me. I can do better in my life, and I can have more for it, too. There’s no doubt I could stay here until my working days are over. But I won’t.’
There’s nothing I can do, then. Juliet gave a genuine smile to her employee. ‘I understand.’ She also respected Sandra’s choice and wouldn’t dream of holding anyone back from their aspirations. ‘So,’ she said, in a tone that hinted at a future full of promise, ‘what will y
ou do now?’
Instantly, Sandra’s demeanour brightened a thousandfold. She pushed up her broad shoulders and leaned towards Juliet enthusiastically. ‘It’s something I’ve thought of before: being a virtual assistant. I’ll essentially be self-employed, as I’ll choose my clients and do all the work myself. I won’t have the benefit you have, of being able to leave others to run the business without me, but I’ve got the admin skills, and I already know some clients who might be interested in hiring me. I’ve also bought a good book on how to set up, so I’ll be following that step by step.’
Juliet could imagine her doing the job, and a mental picture was forming in her mind already. With some more thought, she became suspicious that the real reason Sandra had been ‘sick’ off work recently was to devote that time to her new business idea. But Juliet didn’t want to turn the mood sour. Out of interest, she asked, ‘What does Lawrence think of it all?’
‘He’s been very supportive.’ Sandra turned her face hard in a comical manner and said in her brazen voice, ‘And if he wants to keep me sweet, he’ll stay supportive.’
Laughing, Juliet said, ‘Your poor husband.’
‘Ahhh, don’t feel sorry for him.’ Sandra cackled away for a while, but then swiftly turned serious. ‘Oh! Roy told me your grandmother had an accident the other day … She’s such a lovely woman. How is she?’
After Juliet explained Lillian’s condition, Sandra asked for her well wishes to be passed on, and then she slapped her thighs suddenly and stood up. ‘Well, I best make use of myself while I’m still here.’ And with that, she returned to the café floor.
Juliet was alone in her office. It was a simple room, filled by an oak desk with a stained glass lamp on top, shelves and cabinets for files and general storage, an extremely comfortable ergonomic office chair on one side of the desk, and some foldable seats for staff meetings. But really, Juliet liked to think of it as her own space. She’d given the room a homely feel, and in the past she’d spent evenings here studying and reading and listening to music, even when the café was closed. I miss doing that.
A Body Displaced (Lansin Island 2) Page 26
