Six of Hearts(89)
“Okay, I don’t think you should follow him.”
“Why not? It’s the only way I’m going to find out.”
“Eh, how about asking him?” she suggests, and I decide to let her sarcasm slide.
“Because, that would require me to be a mature adult, and it would also require me to admit to snooping on his phone. I’m not prepared for any of that. At least if I follow him, I’ll know for certain. If it’s a booty call, I can be all, We are over, sir! I said, good day! And then flounce off to nurse my wounded pride. If it’s something normal, like he’s meeting up with an old friend for tea and crumpets, I can nod approvingly to myself and scurry home happy that all is well with the world. Jay will be none the wiser of this highly bunny boiler activity that’s going on with me right now.”
Michelle groans. “Oh, God, Matilda. Please don’t follow him. It’s only going to end in tears.”
“Saying stuff like that only makes me want to follow him more. It makes me want to know why there will be tears.”
“Can’t you just take my word for it?”
“I will consider my options. My bus is coming now, so I need to go. I’ll talk to you later.”
“You’re going to do it. I can tell.”
“’Bye!”
I hang up before she has the chance to dissuade me further. I’m doing this. I’m going to live up to the nickname Jay gave me, and I’m going to do some sleuthing. If anything, it’s his own fault for coming up with the nickname in the first place.
After dinner Dad offers to wash up, and I go to catch some soaps on the television. Jay saunters in and drops down beside me, too close, considering Dad could walk in at any moment. And yes, I’m quite aware of the fact that I’m an adult. It’s just that Jay is such an obviously sexual person, which means if I tell Dad we’re together, he’ll know we’re doing sexual things together. Just the thought of it makes me feel like crawling out of my own skin.
Yes, when it comes down to it, I’m a baby. A big, stupid, embarrassed baby.
Jay sits there all casual for a minute before randomly leaning in and licking me on the face. I laugh and wipe at my skin.
“What was that for?”
“Just felt like it.”
“Okay.”
“I have to go out for a little while soon,” he says, his voice lowering a notch. “Can I come visit you later?”
“You mean like how you visited me last night?” I ask, one eyebrow raised, a half smirk on the go.
“Kind of like that. Perhaps there’ll be a little more activity this time.”
Well, I don’t need to be a sex addict to know what that means. This is good news. If he’s planning to “pay me a visit” later, then it’s likely that the mysterious meetup isn’t a booty call. Shivers break out on my skin when he leisurely runs a finger down my arm.
“Maybe you can visit me then,” I tell him quietly.
Dad walks into the room at that moment, and Jay quickly draws away. Dad doesn’t notice a thing, sitting down in his armchair and flicking through the channels with the remote. Later on, I put on some dark clothes and find an old knitted hat to wear on my detective adventures. You know, so that I’m inconspicuous and all that. I have a taxi idling by the curb just as Jay leaves. I follow soon after him and hop into the taxi, telling the driver to follow Jay’s car.
The driver is a nosy one.
“Well,” he declares, “isn’t this all very mysterious.” If I’m not mistaken, there’s a touch of dry humour in his tone.
I scoff. “You don’t get out much, do you” — I crane my neck to look at his I.D. stuck to the dash — “Mr Paul Donnelly?”
He eyes me through the mirror and goes quiet then. I’m satisfied that I won the sarcasm war. The journey isn’t long. Jay drives out toward the docklands, finally turning into an old abandoned building site left over from the Celtic Tiger days. When the recession hit, there were a bunch of building projects that got left half-finished, effectively creating a sort of spooky ghost-town vibe.
“You can let me out here,” I say, handing the driver some money.
He gives me a concerned look. “Are you sure? There can be a lot of dodgy types out here, love.”
“I’ll be okay,” I assure him, and he finally takes the money, not without a few grumbles under his breath, though.
The cold air hits me as soon as I exit the vehicle. It was a warm day today, but the temperature always drops at night, and it’s even worse out here so close to the sea. I sneak around the corner of a building and watch as Jay parks his car and gets out. I quietly follow him as he walks across to another building, down the side, and around to a secluded corner. I hover by the other end of the building, and that’s when I see the men. There are about four of them, but only one steps forward to greet Jay. The others hang back, their postures belying some sort of security or bodyguard work.