by Bowes, K T
Sophia rolled her eyes. “Geez, Dane! She told you weeks ago to get it cut. You’ll be suspended.”
Dane rolled a dark curl in his fingers before stuffing it back into his collar. “Na. I’ll go to the barber after I take you to the airport.”
Sophia skipped on the spot and covered her mouth with her fingers. “I can’t believe it; she found the catfish.”
“Who is it?”
“I dunno. She kept yelling how she couldn’t believe it so I figure it’s someone she knows.”
“Had to be.” Dane smirked at her beaming face. “I hate to be the one to burst your bubble, Soph, but if you’re going to the nurse to fake sick, you might wanna wipe that smile off your face.”
Sophia knew the school nurse didn’t believe her for a second as she gripped her stomach in agony and forced out a smattering of tears. “Don’t you think we’re all a bit old for this?” the woman demanded, handing over two round, white tablets and glaring at her patient.
“For what?” Sophia stopped acting and stared at her.
“Faking sick. You’re Year 13 and head girl. Why don’t you just tell me why you really want to go home?”
Sophia cringed and the colour faded from her cheeks. “I’m going to the airport. Someone important is flying up to talk to my father. He’s moving to Palmy without me and she intends to talk him out of it.” Sophia watched as the nurse grew more sympathetic and with a cute, pleading expression, jerked her head towards the computer. “I’ve nowhere else to go if he leaves without me; you can check my file. I went to see the student services lady for help.”
The nurse winced. “I kinda wish you’d lied now. I can’t let you leave the school site without the principal’s permission.”
“But I’m sick!” Sophia resumed her pretence.
“I need to call a parent and ask if it’s okay for you to go home then,” the nurse said, holding a determined stance. She walked back to the computer and tapped in Sophia’s name, pausing to scroll the lengthy file. “Dad or Mum?”
Exasperated, Sophia dropped the act and grumbled, “Dad.” As an afterthought she added, “Tell him it’s period pain. It makes him embarrassed and he won’t ask questions.” Sophia grinned, anticipating Edgar’s discomfort. “Ask the receptionist to say it over the loudspeaker,” she giggled. “She’s quite dumb and will probably do it; he’ll be red faced for a week.”
The nurse raised an eyebrow and made the call, just asking the girl on the front desk to pass on a message to Edgar. “It’s about his daughter, Sophia. She feels unwell and I’m signing her out of school early.”
“Spoilsport,” Sophia remarked under her breath. The nurse turned to face her and put her hands on the ample hips beneath her uniform. Then she raised her voice to a half-shout.
“You can come in now, Mr McArdle!”
Dane tried the door handle and pushed his way in. “There’s nothing wrong with my balls,” he said, looking worried and clutching his pants into a knot at the front. “I’m all good.”
The nurse raised both eyebrows in surprise and then laughed. “That’s for extreme and unexplained stomach pains in young males! And to the best of my knowledge it’s only happened once in this school. Don’t be ridiculous.”
Dane edged sideways nearer to Sophia and hid behind her, still gripping his trousers. “It’s every week!” he squeaked, his voice getting higher with each word. “I know all about it.”
“Do you now?” Tears of mirth filled the nurse’s eyes. “I wish I knew where you boys got these scintillating tales. It’s not the first time I’ve heard it either. For your information, it happened once and not in the last ten years I’ve worked here. Your testicles are completely safe from me.”
Dane pouted in confusion but still kept side-on to Sophia. “Why’d you call me in,” he asked.
“Because I saw you lurking. I’m assuming you’re part of this airport run?”
Dane’s eyes widened. “Er, no.” He looked at Sophia. “Yes? No, maybe? Oh, I don’t bloody know what’s going on.” His expression became grumpy and Sophia smirked.
“He’s coming with me but the principal sent him off site, anyway.”
The nurse stared at Dane’s head. “Nothing to do with that black mop though?”
Dane’s nostrils flared and Sophia snatched his hand in warning. “It’s all under control,” she promised. “We’ll be fine.”
Chapter 36
The Visitor
Sophia left her car on the driveway and let herself in the front door of her father’s house, abandoning her school uniform and donning jeans and a tee shirt for the trip to the airport. Dane arrived and parked behind her, opening the unlocked front door. He found her in the bathroom spreading water on her hair. “It’s not a fashion parade,” he grumbled, sitting on the side of the bath. “Why didn’t we go back to Bob’s instead?”
“Here’s nearer. We can go straight down the expressway and be there quicker.” Sophia cast around the bathroom at items she’d spent the last week managing without. “I need to come back here and get this stuff; I don’t have time now.”
“A spare pair of undies and you’re all good.”
Sophia laughed. “You mean you’re good with that but I’m not. And I looked a right mess last time I saw Melody. I’d walked miles in painful sandals, accepted a bus ride off a stranger and cried a bit in between. I shudder to think what impression she got.”
“You’re gorgeous.” Dane tapped the back of her calf with his foot and she felt a flush begin at her neck and rise into her cheeks.
“You have to say that.” She gave him a shy smile. “You’re my boyfriend.”
“I don’t have to do anything I don’t want to.” He rose and clasped his arms around her from behind. “You’re beautiful and you’re mine.” Dane kissed her neck and released her. “But you need to get a move on or we won’t make it in time.”
Nervous anticipation filled them both as they approached the airport and Dane ran the car beneath the barrier after taking a ticket. “First half an hour’s free,” he said. “I’m kinda hoping she’s on time because I have no cash.”
“Me neither. I didn’t think about that.” Sophia chewed her bottom lip.
The worry dissipated as they walked through the automatic doors and Sophia saw Melody steaming towards the exit like a military ship. She waved and the woman altered her course enough to meet them. “Hi, Soph. Nice to see you again.” She dropped the handle of her overnight bag and wrapped her arms around the girl, kissing her on the cheek. “Better circumstances this time I hope,” she said. She stuck a manicured hand out to Dane. “Melody Foxhall,” she said.
“Dane.” He shook her hand looking awkward and nodded. Taller than both women by a head, he reddened at Melody’s look of appraisal at his firm handshake.
“Thanks for picking me up,” she said, bending to retrieve her suitcase. “Why don’t I shout you a coffee and something to eat? Then we can talk. I’ve got two hours before my meeting.”
They headed for Te Awa shopping mall, hiding out in a cafe far enough off the beaten track to bump into any staff members from the school. Melody paid for food and drink and they found a corner table to avoid being overheard. She began her tale as soon as their bums hit the chairs. “I did what you suggested.” Melody nodded her head towards Sophia. “My son’s away at school during the week, so I waited until he came home and asked him to check the friends on my profile page. We found your father, but all the friends my son linked me with weren’t there. He found them in a section for people I’d blocked. Only I hadn’t.” She ran a hand across her face. “My bloody mother-in-law was in there. Much as I’d love to block her sometimes, I wouldn’t actually do it. I wouldn’t know how for starters.”
“Ohh!” Dane exclaimed and nodded his head. “That’s clever. If the catfish unfriended them, they’d realise and ask you why. She needed to stop them commenting on anything Edgar might see and blocking them is the best way to do that. It’s like you don’t exist; they
can’t see you and you can’t see them. Facebook doesn’t notify you if someone else blocks you.”
Melody nodded. “That’s right! People kept asking where my profile went and I didn’t know. I bluffed it off by saying I never used it, which I didn’t. It never occurred to me that someone hijacked it and kept it hidden.”
“Dane sorted out the messaging thing too,” Sophia volunteered. “He’s clever with this stuff.”
Dane pursed his lips and nudged her under the table in appreciation, his dimples showing and cheeks blushing pink. “Yeah, I got two friends to message each other and then one of them deleted the conversation. The other person could still see it.” He leaned forward and lowered his voice. “We figured the catfish is someone you know.”
Melody shook her head and waved her hands in front of her face. “I don’t pretend to understand this stuff. My brain is fried with what I’ve learned lately. I promise you when this is over, I’m deleting that profile!”
“So tell us what happened!” Sophia jiggled in her seat with anticipation. “I want to know.”
They pushed in closer to the table, three heads almost touching as Melody told her tale. “You phoned and asked me to check the friends in my profile. I must admit it irritated me at first.” She touched Sophia’s hand. “I didn’t want to think about it and know I was rude to you. I apologise.” Melody closed her eyes and steeled herself. “My son’s justified his private education that’s for sure. Kid’s a genius at this stuff. He showed me his profile which he set up at the same time as mine. We should’ve shared the same friends but he couldn’t find them. Instead, random people I didn’t know and your father, showed up in my thingy.”
Dane hid his smile at Melody’s unfortunate terminology, biting his lower lip. Sophia leaned forward in perfect understanding. “I call it all thingies too,” she admitted. “It’s great the friends’ thingy helped. I felt sure Edgar would be there. I kicked myself for not looking at the time, but too much other stuff filled my head right then.”
Dane slid his hand under the table and found Sophia’s thigh, his fingers offering a squeeze of comfort and communicating his guilt. She linked hers through them and her smile salved his conscience.
“Oh, that’s only the start of it!” Melody leaned across and glared at the man behind the counter as though it might hurry their food along. “Looking in the friends’ part opened up a whole other can of worms!”
Sophia winced at the analogy but Dane concentrated harder on the answer to the problem of the catfish. “What did you find?”
“I found the catfish. She’d liked her own profile from mine. I’m the last person on the planet who’d be friends with her in any capacity, let alone on Facebook. I didn’t do that, so it had to be her.” Melody stopped at Dane’s slow whistle of appreciation and then continued. “I should tell you the whole story. Well, in the middle of last year I employed one of my acquaintances to do some administration work at the garage. Her husband left her and I know how it feels to grieve for what you’ve lost. Apart from that, she and her kids didn’t have a pot to pee in, let alone pay bills.” Melody rolled her eyes. “It ended up as one of my least smart decisions and only lasted for six months. I knew her through my son’s school and pity shouldn’t drive business as my husband used to say.” She smiled, her expression wistful. “She stole some petty cash and I knew her financial circumstances weren’t good so I warned her and let her stay. Then she borrowed a car for the evening without permission which meant it wasn’t covered on insurance. Nobody could account for damage to the side panel of a brand new Mercedes, so my sales manager checked the cameras and found the evidence of her taking it. I couldn’t afford to keep someone with no intention of following the rules and we parted company although she later damaged my business through her remarks about our garage around town.” Melody sighed. “She wrote something on the thingy of my Facebook page and everyone saw it. Riley deleted it, but after that, I didn’t go on again.”
Dane shook his head. “She wrote it on your wall, by the sounds of it. This woman’s the catfish?”
Melody nodded. “Yes. She worked for me during the time my son set up the profile. In my stupidity, I allowed her to help me one lunchtime when he sent a photo and then text bombed me until I looked. I couldn’t find it and it turned out to be hidden in a little box near the bottom.” She flapped her hand towards the table. “Down there somewhere. Tahlia asked for my password and I gave it to her. I thought she needed it to open the photo and it went out of my mind once I saw what it was.”
“What was it?” Sophia leaned forward and Melody pursed her lips.
“His mate wedged his finger into the socket of a Bunsen burner. They thought it hilarious, but the school didn’t.” Her eyes moved to Dane’s face. “Fourteen-year-old boys are idiots. I bet you’ve led your mother a merry dance.”
Dane’s wooden smile gave nothing away and Sophia ached for him. At fourteen he raised two tiny children by himself, offering continuity of care in their violent world. His lips twitched and she squeezed his fingers. Dane shrugged. “I think I’ve been okay,” he said, his face expressionless.
Oblivious, Melody continued. “That’s how she got my password, anyway. It makes me livid. After she left the garage, the techs changed passwords, key codes, even the padlock on the front gate. It never occurred to me to look at my Facebook page.” Melody shook her head and stared at Sophia. “What is she trying to do? Why pretend to be someone you hate?”
Dane shrugged. “Maybe she’s jealous and wishes she could be you. You’re successful and sometimes that’s enough.”
Melody shook her head. “I’m not sure. Sophia, you said she made your father put the house up for sale which means it’s about money. But wouldn’t he arrive at my garage with a pocketful of cash, expecting a job and partnership? Why send him my way and not her own?” Melody chewed on her bottom lip. “Do you think she’s setting me up to look like the bad guy?”
“Haven’t you asked her?” Sophia leaned forward, surprise on her face. “You said you called the cops.”
Melody snorted. “Yeah, I did. I received a call just as the gate opened for my flight. They don’t have the manpower to investigate internet frauds. They recommended I report the matter to Facebook in the interim because money hasn’t fraudulently changed hands yet. Idiots! Aren’t they meant to stop crime before it happens?” She shook her head and slapped the table with an open palm, just as the food arrived. “I swear the man on the phone didn’t listen properly. He took her name five times and then asked if I could be mistaken.”
“What can we do?” Sophia asked, staring at her plate of quiche with an ashen face. “She’s still talking to Edgar. Shut it down? Delete the page?”
Melody shook her head. “I thought so at first but now I think shock might be the best plan. Eat up, we’re going somewhere We need to stop this thing at its source.”
Chapter 37
Broken Dreams
Edgar looked up from his lonely bowl of soup as Sophia clattered into the kitchen. She blinked back her surprise at his rumpled state and the dejected look about him. He leaned across the counter eating, not bothering to sit and Sophia wrinkled her nose and suppressed the pity. His face looked hopeful at the sight of his daughter, but the expression faded from his eyes as she ignored him, snatching up her favourite jacket from the back of the sofa. “I didn’t hear you come in,” he said, slurping his soup. “Hey, guess what, one of our utes got a speeding ticket in the post this morning.” His eyes followed her around the room. “For the Saturday before last. But it never left the forecourt. What’s that about? Bloody cops must be blind.” He cocked his head. “Unless someone nicked the plates and then put them back.” He shrugged, still speaking to himself. “Na, thieves don’t put them back, do they? The boss put cameras in but they’re expensive to fix and the one on that side’s having problems.” His anxiety levels increased as Sophia ignored him and he fidgeted with an unused fork on the counter. “Why are you home from schoo
l? Free period?”
“I got sick,” she answered. “The school nurse left you a message earlier.”
Edgar shook his head with the spoon half-way to his lips. “Nobody told me. Come back home, Soph. I’m sorry for our argument last week. You didn’t give me time to tell you about Melody properly. She’s amazing; you’ll love her. I’m glad things are good with you and Sal but don’t forget I’m here for you too.”
“Don’t pretend you care,” Sophia snorted, feeling her anger rise. She’d lived at Bob’s for a week and Edgar didn’t even realise. She stuffed her jacket into the overnight bag she’d spent the last half an hour packing and pushed it outside into the hall. Edgar looked at the bag in horror, her intentions dawning on him. He put the bowl of soup on the counter.
“Are you mad because I didn’t hear you come in?” he stuttered. “I wanted to talk to you but I’m not chasing you to Sal’s. I didn’t mean for you to move out yet. It’s not the same here without you. Just stay with me until everything’s finalised.”
Sophia shook her head. “I was probably already here when you came home. And it’s always on your terms, isn’t it Edgar? You can’t stand to be alone so you’ll keep me here as long as it suits you. Then when your fantastic new life is organised, you can jettison me without a second thought.”
“I’m your father; call me Dad! And you know it’s not like that.” Edgar tried to block her route back to the bag as she bent to get it. A shout from the stairs made him jump.
“You ready, Soph?” Dane called through the open front door.
“Nearly.” She spotted her sunglasses on top of the bureau and walked back to get them. “You were quick.”
Dane followed her voice, skirting Edgar like he might a skunk. Edgar put his hands on his hips. “Dane, I want to speak to Sophia alone, please,” he demanded. “We’ve things to sort out.” He jabbed a finger at the bag by the door. “And there’s no way in hell my daughter’s moving in with you.”
