Lost and Found

Part Sixteen

James looked hunched and uncomfortable as I manoeuvred the big old car down the ramps to the exit of the mutli-story. It was bigger than my own little Corsa and the steering was heavy, but as long as I didn't have to parallel park it was okay. Well that and not finding Mr Tats blocking the way out. Thankfully he was nowhere to be seen and I hoped it would stay that way permanently.

"Did you know my car was why I took your case?" I said, not liking the silence between us, but not wanting the distraction of the radio. Maybe my honesty would be met with a little of his. Well I could hope. "I needed the money to fix it. It's why I was working late that night."

"How much will the repairs be?" James said, voice flat and dull. "I'll pay it and then you can be on your way."

"That is so not happening. Like I said my car is why I took the job, it's not why I'm still here." I braked a little harder than I needed to at the lights and I saw James wince as the seatbelt dug in. I'd not meant to do it and I was worried that he would think I'd done it on purpose. As annoyed as I was at him hurting people just wasn't me, and I hoped it would never be. "I told you on Sunday I'm not walking away from this. If all you see is a shallow kid whose just in it for the money or excitement then you don't understand me at all."

"If that was all I'd seen I would not have hired you or be so very worried for your continued safety. So I..." James stopped, gave me that wide eyed look that said he'd let his mouth run ahead of his brain again. "I mean to say, I...."

"Look I get it," I said, although I realised that in all probably I really didn't. "It's okay to be freaked out, I mean seriously who wouldn't be after that? But this on and off treating me like I'm something more than a guy you've hired for a case is getting old real fast. Maybe if you hadn't decided to lied to be from the start then you've have been in with a chance, but right now you should be lucky I even care enough to make sure that you're alright."

James didn't answer and I wondered if I'd put on the hard guy act a bit too strong. The whole not caring part was so not true it would have been funny if I'd not been silently freaking out about what I'd got myself into. He stayed quiet, maybe trying to thing up another set of lies or working out how best to give me the truth until we were most of the way up Great Horton Road and just a couple of minutes from my house.

"I'm sorry that I led you on," he said sounding genuinely apologetic. "Loneliness is a poor excuse on my part and I unreservedly apologise for it. I should have known better than to make any advances towards you, it was selfish of me. I wish now, that for you safety if nothing else, that I had never met or hired you."

"Well you did," I said irritably. "And I've told you I'm going to see this through and so is Razia. She wants to know what happened to Joe and she's not going to take you cutting her dead any better than I will. And for the record it's not the flirting that I have a problem with, it's the lying. I had enough of that from my ex."

There had also been stealing, cheating, using my old flat to deal weed, followed up even more lying, but I sure as hell wasn't about to go into those kind details wth him.

James didn't answer and under the orange glare of the street lights coming in through the car windows he looked none too clever. Eyes closed, he was sweating and pale, and I wondered if I should ignore any protests and take him straight to A&E. "You would tell me if you'd broken something, right?"

"Merely bruised," he replied with rather less conviction than I would have liked. "I really think that it would be for the best were you to drive me home. I would of course pay for a taxi for your return here."

I turned the car into Perseverance Street and parked outside my house. "A bit late for that now. Come in, sit down and we'll talk about this."

To my surprise James did as I asked without any further complaint. He was also polite enough not to comment on the washing drying over the radiators or the wastepaper bin by the sofa that could done with emptying a pizza box or two back. Since it didn't look like he was going to be the one to start the conversation I said, "Ignoring the fact that you lied to me about being a werewolf for a minute, is there any reason didn't you change and scare him off?"