The Mute and the Liar (22 page)

“
And
then
we’ll
be
sitting
next
to
each
other
in
a
prison
cell.
You
can’t
escape
me. We’re all on the
same side.
”

11:40
PM

I
think
we
have
arrived.
Nick
has
parked
in
front
of
a
large
white
house,
and
I've
got
to
say,
it
looks
beautiful.
It's
about
four
floors
high,
with
huge,
arched
windows,
and
there
are
little
plant
pots
lined
up
in
a
neat
row
in
front.
A
white
picket
fence
boxes
in
the
neatly
trimmed
front
lawn,
and
there
is
a
little
cobblestone
pathway
leading
to
a
bright
blue
front
door.
The
house
is
a
lonely
detached
and
stands
right
in
the
centre
of
nowhere.
We
have
been
driving through
this
woodland
area
for
over
an hour,
with
no
sign
of
any
life.

Nick
stops
the
car
and
immediately
dashes
out
and
knocks
on
the
door.
Jayce
opens
the
car
door
for
me,
and
I
follow
him
hesitantly,
unsure
of
how
to
feel or
what
to
think.

It
doesn't
seem like
a
scary
place.

A
little
bit
tacky,
perhaps,
I
think,
noticing
a
parade
of
grinning
garden
gnomes.
And
certainly
a
bit
overdone,
what
with
the
pink
roses
twirling
around the
fence.

But
this
seems
almost… welcoming.

I
thought
they
were
going
to
take
me
to
some
sort
of
a
prison.
As
I
wonder
what
to
think,
a
beautiful
woman
wearing
a
silky
olive
dress
opens
the
front
door.
Her
angelic,
heart-shaped
face
lights
up
the
moment
she
sees
Nick.

“
Nicky!
”
Her
delicate
arms
hurtle
around
his
neck,
and
her
wispy
brown
hair
brushes
his
face
as
she
dots
both
of
his
cheeks
with
kisses.
“
You
didn't
tell me you were coming!
”

“
Kitty!
I'm
so
happy
to
see
you!
We
wanted
to
surprise
you!
”
And
he
genuinely
does
look
happy
to
see
her.
They
part
and
her
adoring
amber
eyes
meet
his
green
ones.

“
It's
wonderful
to
see
you!
Come
in,
come
in!
”
she
chimes,
and
pulls
him
inside.
She
has
such
a
high,
soft
voice,
as
though
her
throat
is
layered
with
honey.
It's
not
even
talking;
it's
more
like
singing.
Nick
walks
inside,
already
taking off
his
coat,
and
the
woman
turns
to
Jayce.

“
And
Jaycie!
How
you've grown!
”
she cups
his
cheeks,
and
he
beams
up at
her
with wide
eyes.
Erm...
‘Jaycie?’

“
We've
really
missed
you.
How
are
you?
”
'Jayce
asks
her
sweetly,
and
she
pulls
him
into
a
hug,
kisses
both
of
his
cheeks,
and
rushes
through
a
string
of
'Fines.'
They
slowly
part,
and
she
playfully
tugs
a
particularly
sticking-up
strand
of
his
tangled
hair,
and
jokes
about
how he
needs
a
haircut.

It
seems
now
she
has
only
just
noticed
me,
and
she
narrows
her
almond-
shaped
eyes
a
little
and
tilts
her
head.
I
notice
she
has
really
overdone
herself
with
makeup
and
it
looks
like
she
has
smeared
blue
crayons
all
over
her
eyes.
The
thick,
gunky
blue
eyeshadow
climbs
all
the
way
up
to
her
tightly
plucked
eyebrows,
and
her lips
almost glisten
with
garnet lipstick.

“
You're
a
girl!
”
she
exclaims
the obvious,
looking stunned.

Apparently,
after
overcoming
her
initial
shock,
she is pleased with what
she
sees
and
breaks
into
a
smile.

“
Well,
hey
there!
I'm
Kit.
What's
your
name?
”
She
holds
out
her
hand
and looks
at
me eagerly, but
I
really don't
know
what
to do.

Surely
this
isn't
the
person
we
are
going
to
stay
with?
After
everything
bad
that
has
happened
to
me
today,
surely
this seems
too
good
to
be
true?
I
don't
want
to
even
look
away
from
her
in
case
that
she
is
just
some
mad
hallucination
resulting
from
all
this
stress
and
craziness.

Automatically,
my
hand
reels
around
my
throat,
the
way
it
always
does
when
someone
talks
to
me.

“
I
told
you
not
to
strangle
yourself.
It's
not
polite,
”
Jayce
hisses
in
my
ear,
but
then
decides
to
save
me
from
this
situation
and raises his voice
and
addresses
Kit.
“
This
is
my
friend
Alicia. She's
a
little shy.
”