Sleight of Hand [Show 'em Who's Boss #1]

26: Ballistophobia

     “James Morrisby?”

     “Ebony Williams,” replied the familiar voice through the payphone. I had escaped the warehouse through a window and found the nearest telephone box so that I could enact the next part of my plan. “You were on the news earlier. Apparently you’ve been kidnapped.”

     I rolled my eyes.

     “Listen, there’s not much time and I have a lot to explain. I really need your help with something and there’s no one else I can turn to.”

    “What about Jakob? Has something happened to him?”

     Raindrops slid down the glass walls that surrounded me and I watched them as I decided how to explain the whole story to James without taking all day. He didn’t need to know the details, only the specifics, and I needed to get back to the warehouse before someone noticed that I’d vanished.

     The sky grew darker. There wasn’t enough time to explain.

     “I’ll tell you everything later, providing that you agree to get back into town as soon as possible,” I promised. “And there will be something in it for you; two things actually. The chance to be reunited with your family and a cash reward.”

     There was silence on the other end of the line for a minute. I wondered if he’d heard enough and had abandoned the mobile phone I’d provided him with. Just as I was questioning whether there was anyone left I could trust I heard a rustling sound, as though he’d picked up the phone again.

     “Alright, I can probably be there by half six this evening. Is that okay?”

     “That’s perfect. I shall meet you at seven outside the corner shop at the end of the high street. Do you know where that is?” He confirmed that he does. “I’ll be the one wearing a red hoodie and hiding my face from everyone who passes.”

      He laughed. “So were you really kidnapped, or was it a plot to get away from your father?”

      “I’ll tell you later. Now I need to go before anyone realises that I’m gone.”

      We said a quick goodbye and then he hung up the phone. I took an anxious glance out into the downpour, pulled my hood up and stepped out into the unknown.

***

     Twenty lost games of Patience later, Jakob walked into my room in the warehouse with a panicked look painted on his face. He automatically began pacing whilst murmuring to himself and for a second I was genuinely concerned about his sanity.

     “Jakob Darke, get a grip,” I mumbled from my favourite spot on the floor.

     He looked up in confusion, as though he had forgotten that I was there. I expected him to quickly recover and then shoot a comeback at me but instead his eyes darted to my T-shirt.

     “Why are you covered in dots of water?” he asked in a state of distraction.

     My heart skipped a beat in dismay and my brain stumbled over words to find a reasonable, believable excuse. Jakob couldn’t know that I’d been outside. After a second’s hesitation I found my alibi.

     “It’s stifling in here, so I stuck my head out of the window and caught raindrops on my tongue. That’s just about as exciting as my day gets in this place.”

     Jakob collapsed on the floor in front of me. My twenty-first game of Patience scattered.

     “I don’t trust him.”