Chapter Sixteen | A Chance

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Lacey's parents were dubious when they found her in her own bed as opposed to sleeping over at Jude's the next morning. Lacey quickly formulated an elaborate story about Jude being ill the day prior and Lacey herself feeling ill, so Jude's cousin had given her a lift home and it was too late to worry about waking her parents and no, they did not need to call Jude's mother to apologise for the trouble. Lacey managed to call Jude when her parents were elsewhere in the house to quickly relay the story so their alibis didn't get confused, and Jude had agreed on it. Jude tried to ask how it had gone the night before, but Lacey cut her off by saying her dad was coming downstairs and hung up with a rushed reply. She didn't really want to talk about it right now.

Her dad had made pancakes for breakfast, since he had the day off. Customarily, the TV was on local news. She watched it passively as she drizzled syrup over her pancakes.

"... Local police are saying they have two suspects on the recent Smith & Son robbery, though the estimated thousand dollar gentleman's pocket watch that was stolen has not yet been uncovered. We went out into the community to ask what they think about the way the police are handling the situation."

"We haven't come up with anything," herdad commented.

She glanced up and swallowed hermouthful. "Nothing?"

"Not on any of them." He shook his head. "You're still carrying around that pepper spray, aren't you?"

"Of course." Lacey turned herattention back to the TV, where the mayor was smiling through gritted teeth and trying to assure viewers that everything was under control.

"In other news, a ghostly Spanish galleon has reportedly been washed ashore in last week's storm. The recent sea fog and it's remote location contributed to its late discovery. Authorities are warning people not to go near it, as it may be unsafe. The area will be cordoned off once the tide retreats. A local historian has suggested that the galleon may be the fabled Inferno, the pirate ship which was unearthed just five years ago in Astoria but was unfortunately lost to the sea."

"Close your mouth," herdad joked.

"A-a pirate ship?" she gasped.

Her dad shook his head and smiled. "Sound's like it. You're the history student - do you think it's from the Armada time?"

"Later," she said faintly. "Seventeenth century."

"See? You know more than I could ever know," he said wonderingly. "That brain of yours is going to take you places."

Lacey smiled wanly. "Thanks, dad. I'm feeling a lot better now, I think it was a 24-hour virus. I'm going to go for a cycle and get some fresh air."

He nodded. "Sure, sweetheart. Just remember the rules."

***

Lacey stood apprehensively outside the Walsh's house, looking up at its neat white slatting and the red flowers that grew in the windowboxes.

She wondered briefly if this was a good idea, then pushed past her doubts and unlatched the gate from the inside. This could be their only chance.

She took the stairs two at a time and rapped her fist on the wood frame of the door. Shifting from foot to foot, she watched Brand pause on the way to open it, seeing her through the screen door.

"Hi," she said, before he could tell her to go away. "I've got news-"

"This isn't a good time," he interrupted.

His hand reached for the door to close it on her and she stuck her foot out, holding it open.

"Well it's going to have to be," Lacey said firmly. "Because if you want to take this opportunity we need to go now. I know I promised to stay away, but-"

"Brand, who is it?" Andy said, coming into the front room in her pyjamas. She saw Lacey and smiled, but there was an underlying hint of worry to her expression. "Is everything okay?"

"It's fine," Brand replied.

"Have you explained?" Andy asked.

"Not yet."

"Then let me." Andy stepped in front of Brand. "Look, Lacey, someone graffiti-ed all Chunk's petty wrongdoings on the side of his house this morning, he's a wreck. Obviously it's nothing serious, but he's embarrassed, and they're taunting us."

"The last thing we need is Mouth going off on one because you decided to show up," Brand added, crossing his arms.

Lacey resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "A shipwreck washed up on the beach a few miles north. A Spanish Galleon." She paused to let that sink in. They both looked at her blankly. "I think it might be the Inferno."

"The Inferno?" Andy questioned.

"Yeah, One-Eyed Willy's ship."

Blink.

Blink.

"Are you sure?" Andy finally said.

Lacey shrugged. "No. But it's worth a look, right? Can I come in?"

Brand looked fit to stop her but Andy stepped back to allow her through and she squeezed past.

"So where's everyone else?" Lacey asked, sitting down on the sofa. She figured it would be easier to convince them to let her stay if she made myself physically immovable.

"Upstairs. You ready for this?"

Lacey sighed. "As ready as I can be."

From the door there was a groan of "For god's sakes," and Lacey looked up sharply.

"What happened to 'on my life'?" Mouth asked, walking up to the table.

"I'll tell you in a moment. Where are the others?"

Mouth's brows twitched downwards as he turned back to the door. "Hurry up, you slowpokes!"

They filed down one by one, and Lacey decided to politely ignore Chunk's red eyes.

"Don't sit down," said Lacey. "We need to get moving as quickly as possible. Brand, have you got a chart of the tide times?" she asked, knowing he was the most likely of the group to own one.

"Yeah, I'll go grab it."

"He hasn't used it since he realised he couldn't surf," Mikey said.

"I heard that!"


WORD COUNT: 995

PUBLISHED: 07/08/19

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