9.
As Alice's brother dropped her off over at Mark's the following night he warned her again. "Remember Alice; don't go making waves over nothing. Mom is happy, and I swear to god if you ruin it for her I will kill you!"
"Relax Chad." Alice told him.
"That's easy enough for you to say." Chad muttered. "I saw the look on your face when Mom asked you about babysitting tonight. I've got a good mind to stay here and keep an eye on you."
Alice grinned. "Yeah, but that would mean standing Cloe up wouldn't it?"
He went red, and muttered something she didn't catch.
"Have a nice night at the movies. Make sure you're here to pick me up though!" Alice said. Earlier that afternoon Cloe had rung to see whether they wanted to go to a movie. She'd conveniently forgotten the conversation she had with Alice in school that day about how Alice was babysitting James that night, and when she found out only Chad could go Alice was sure she was pretending to be disappointed. It didn't really bother her-Chad was leaving at the end of the week anyway! The only thing which bothered her was that during school Cloe refused to discuss anything about Mark. She said that Alice was becoming obsessed with the idea, and she didn't want to know about it anymore. Alice fumed for a bit-those words were her brother's!-but got over it.
Mark answered the door ready to leave. "I thought you might be late, so it's good to see you're on time." He said. Alice remembered the first time she had babysat and he had thought that they weren't coming when they were only a few minutes late.
"Where's James?" Alice asked, instead.
"Finishing off his dinner. He's been a little tired and run down the last day or two, so he's going to bed half an hour earlier alright?"
"No problems." Alice replied, thinking that it was a great idea!
An hour later James was in bed, and Alice was free to see whether or not she could find any information. She'd asked James what his Dad had told him about Katy not babysitting anymore. Apparently he had told James that she was too busy, but James declared, he was lying. Alice had looked disbelieving but James assured her that he could tell whenever his Dad was lying. "Like when he talks about Mom. He says she left with no note, no anything. He's lying there too!" Alice had contemplated asking the kid more, but decided that it wasn't fair to do so.
Now she roamed the house restlessly. In the lounge room she spotted a photo of Mark, James and who she assumed was Alicia. She studied the photo thoughtfully. They didn't look unhappy, but she reasoned, photographs weren't meant to look sad were they? And then there was also a photo of Alicia and James together, and she was smiling down at her son proudly. Did she look like the kind of woman who would just leave her husband and son and never return?
The phone began to ring, and Alice hurried to get it, her chest pounding. She knew what she would hear-nothing. Sure enough, there was silence on the other end of the phone. Alice hung it up shaking her head. A thought occurred to her that it was a client of Mark's, maybe not too happy about Mark's work? She shrugged, and started out of the room, but the phone began to ring again.
"Listen areshole!" Alice snapped. "Get a life and stop making stupid prank calls. You don't scare me!"
There was a silence on the end and then "Prank calls? You're getting prank calls?"
Alice could have kicked herself. It was Mark!
"Well I just got one, but it was probably the wrong number." Alice said.
"Maybe." Mark said slowly. "Is James alright?"
"Yes, he's fine." Alice said. "How's the dinner coming along? It doesn't sound very noisy there."
"Oh, I'm outside on my cell phone." Mark replied.
"Oh okay, well everything's fine here. I'm about to sit down and watch television for awhile." Alice lied.
"Okay, have a nice night then." Mark replied.
Alice sighed, and returned to her wanderings. In reality she needed to ask people who knew Alicia. A sudden thought occurred to her and she went to the study and searched for Mark's address book. She found it in the top draw of the desk and flipped through it. There it was; Alicia's parents! She found a scrap piece of paper and copied the phone number down. Tomorrow she would give them a call. Then she went through the local phone book, looking for the name Simmons. There were three in the area, so she copied down the phone numbers of them too. Then a noise startled her, and she got up and walked out towards the hall, listening carefully for a few minutes. There were no other noises, and she inwardly laughed at herself for being such a baby! She decided to watch television after all, and was soon engrossed in a program.
The phone began to ring again, and Alice glanced at her watch. Almost ten thirty, probably Chad letting her know he was on his way over. Or Mark letting her know he was leaving the restaurant and on his way home! She answered it.
"Hello, Wyatt residence."
"Hello Alice. I hope my last call didn't scare you too much." A voice said. It was a male voice, and muffled as if he had a tissue or something over the phone.
"Not at all." Alice said airily. "I just thought it was stupid that's all."
"Just stupid hey?" The man sounded a little annoyed. "Well maybe now you might change your mind. Go and check on the kid..."
"What?" Alice asked, her heart racing.
"Just do it." The man said, and hung up.
Heart in her throat Alice hurried up the stairs and into James' room. James was sleeping comfortably, and she breathed a sigh of relief, but then something caught her eye. On top of his bedding was a kitchen knife. It just lay there, and Alice knew for certain it hadn't been there before. Her knees turned to jelly, and she held onto the chest of draws to stop from falling over. Through the window she saw a beam of light, and then a car was in the driveway. She hurried over to the window and looked down. Thank god, it was Chad! She hurried downstairs to greet him, deciding not to tell Mark nor Chad about what had happened that night, and determined to make some phone calls the next day!
As Alice's brother dropped her off over at Mark's the following night he warned her again. "Remember Alice; don't go making waves over nothing. Mom is happy, and I swear to god if you ruin it for her I will kill you!"
"Relax Chad." Alice told him.
"That's easy enough for you to say." Chad muttered. "I saw the look on your face when Mom asked you about babysitting tonight. I've got a good mind to stay here and keep an eye on you."
Alice grinned. "Yeah, but that would mean standing Cloe up wouldn't it?"
He went red, and muttered something she didn't catch.
"Have a nice night at the movies. Make sure you're here to pick me up though!" Alice said. Earlier that afternoon Cloe had rung to see whether they wanted to go to a movie. She'd conveniently forgotten the conversation she had with Alice in school that day about how Alice was babysitting James that night, and when she found out only Chad could go Alice was sure she was pretending to be disappointed. It didn't really bother her-Chad was leaving at the end of the week anyway! The only thing which bothered her was that during school Cloe refused to discuss anything about Mark. She said that Alice was becoming obsessed with the idea, and she didn't want to know about it anymore. Alice fumed for a bit-those words were her brother's!-but got over it.
Mark answered the door ready to leave. "I thought you might be late, so it's good to see you're on time." He said. Alice remembered the first time she had babysat and he had thought that they weren't coming when they were only a few minutes late.
"Where's James?" Alice asked, instead.
"Finishing off his dinner. He's been a little tired and run down the last day or two, so he's going to bed half an hour earlier alright?"
"No problems." Alice replied, thinking that it was a great idea!
An hour later James was in bed, and Alice was free to see whether or not she could find any information. She'd asked James what his Dad had told him about Katy not babysitting anymore. Apparently he had told James that she was too busy, but James declared, he was lying. Alice had looked disbelieving but James assured her that he could tell whenever his Dad was lying. "Like when he talks about Mom. He says she left with no note, no anything. He's lying there too!" Alice had contemplated asking the kid more, but decided that it wasn't fair to do so.
Now she roamed the house restlessly. In the lounge room she spotted a photo of Mark, James and who she assumed was Alicia. She studied the photo thoughtfully. They didn't look unhappy, but she reasoned, photographs weren't meant to look sad were they? And then there was also a photo of Alicia and James together, and she was smiling down at her son proudly. Did she look like the kind of woman who would just leave her husband and son and never return?
The phone began to ring, and Alice hurried to get it, her chest pounding. She knew what she would hear-nothing. Sure enough, there was silence on the other end of the phone. Alice hung it up shaking her head. A thought occurred to her that it was a client of Mark's, maybe not too happy about Mark's work? She shrugged, and started out of the room, but the phone began to ring again.
"Listen areshole!" Alice snapped. "Get a life and stop making stupid prank calls. You don't scare me!"
There was a silence on the end and then "Prank calls? You're getting prank calls?"
Alice could have kicked herself. It was Mark!
"Well I just got one, but it was probably the wrong number." Alice said.
"Maybe." Mark said slowly. "Is James alright?"
"Yes, he's fine." Alice said. "How's the dinner coming along? It doesn't sound very noisy there."
"Oh, I'm outside on my cell phone." Mark replied.
"Oh okay, well everything's fine here. I'm about to sit down and watch television for awhile." Alice lied.
"Okay, have a nice night then." Mark replied.
Alice sighed, and returned to her wanderings. In reality she needed to ask people who knew Alicia. A sudden thought occurred to her and she went to the study and searched for Mark's address book. She found it in the top draw of the desk and flipped through it. There it was; Alicia's parents! She found a scrap piece of paper and copied the phone number down. Tomorrow she would give them a call. Then she went through the local phone book, looking for the name Simmons. There were three in the area, so she copied down the phone numbers of them too. Then a noise startled her, and she got up and walked out towards the hall, listening carefully for a few minutes. There were no other noises, and she inwardly laughed at herself for being such a baby! She decided to watch television after all, and was soon engrossed in a program.
The phone began to ring again, and Alice glanced at her watch. Almost ten thirty, probably Chad letting her know he was on his way over. Or Mark letting her know he was leaving the restaurant and on his way home! She answered it.
"Hello, Wyatt residence."
"Hello Alice. I hope my last call didn't scare you too much." A voice said. It was a male voice, and muffled as if he had a tissue or something over the phone.
"Not at all." Alice said airily. "I just thought it was stupid that's all."
"Just stupid hey?" The man sounded a little annoyed. "Well maybe now you might change your mind. Go and check on the kid..."
"What?" Alice asked, her heart racing.
"Just do it." The man said, and hung up.
Heart in her throat Alice hurried up the stairs and into James' room. James was sleeping comfortably, and she breathed a sigh of relief, but then something caught her eye. On top of his bedding was a kitchen knife. It just lay there, and Alice knew for certain it hadn't been there before. Her knees turned to jelly, and she held onto the chest of draws to stop from falling over. Through the window she saw a beam of light, and then a car was in the driveway. She hurried over to the window and looked down. Thank god, it was Chad! She hurried downstairs to greet him, deciding not to tell Mark nor Chad about what had happened that night, and determined to make some phone calls the next day!
