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Chapter 5

Mac and Jen sat in the living room trying to figure out what to do.

"Should we go to the police?" Jen asked... "Ma'am."

"No..no not yet." Mac said. "Maybe we should look for her."

"Well Ma'am where would we start?" Mac closed her eyes hoping that some kind of solution would just come to her. It didn't.

JAGJAGJAGJAGJAG

"You IDIOT!" Mattie screamed.

"I'm so sorry!" Amy squealed.

"Your sorry?...How exactly is that gonna get Harm's car outta the drink?" Max paced up and down trying to think what to do.

"Maybe we could lift it out?" Buzz said scratching his head. They all looked at him incredulously. Buzz was sweet but he maybe should go to school a little more often. He wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed.

"We can't Buzz." Mattie said. "Not without equipment."

"Why?" he asked innocently. "There's five of us." Max finally lost it.

"Because it's too fucking heavy genius...it would have been too heavy dry and now thanks to little Miss Clumsy over there it's now full of fucking water!"

"Oh yeah."

"Sorry." Max said at the hurt look on his friends face. "You too Amz."

"S'ok."Buzz said quietly. Amy had recovered a little from the shock and was now on the defensive.

"It wasn't really my fault...something must have been loose..." Mattie rolled her eyes. She was sure Harm would buy that excuse...

"Ok...none of this is helping." Izzy said. Mattie sat and put her head in her hands. "Can you call someone?" she said to Mattie.

"Yeah.." Mattie said. She really didn't want to but she just hoped Jen could think of a way out of this without telling.

JAGJAGJAGJAGJAG

Mac and Jen looked up as both their cell phones rang at the same time.

"Hello?" Jen said. Mac had caller ID and she winced...Harm. Great. She was gonna have to tell him she not only lost his brand new kid and but his car as well.

"Hi Harm." she said.

"Jen?" Mattie said in a shaky voice.

"Mattie are you ok? Are you hurt?" Mac was silent for a moment when she realised who Jen was talking to. She covered the mouthpiece. Is she ok?" she mouthed. Jen shrugged. Mattie hadn't answered, all she could hear was crying."Mattie talk to me!" Jen said desperately.

"Mac?" Harm said..."Something wrong? Mac?"

"Um...I might need to call you back." Mac said before she hung up, she knew he wouldn't be impressed but she needed to talk to Mattie and find out what was wrong. She took the phone from Jen.

"Mattie honey?" More crying.

"Mattie you need to tell me if your hurt..."

"Not yet..." came the small voice.

"Thank God. Mattie what's happened? We can't help you if you don't tell us." Nothing. "Tell me where you are..." Mac thought she was doing a good job of keeping her emotions under control. She wanted to kill the kid really, but she'd been young once and she knew that she wouldn't get any information out of her if she started yelling.

"I'll text you where we are." Mattie said finally and hung up.

JAGJAGJAGJAGJAG

Why didn't you just explain the directions." Max asked. Mattie shrugged.

"I guess I just lost my nerve."

"They're gonna think I really stuffed up this time."

"Hmm. 'Think' maybe an understatement." He said as he gave her a nudge and a smile to try and cheer her up.

"You don't understand..."

JAGJAGJAGJAGJAG

Mac and Jen were weaving their way down the country road towards the area that Mattie had texted them. Mac's phone rang again.

"Mac?" Harm said before she had a chance to talk. "What the hell's going on? Is it Mattie?"

"Look Harm..Mattie's fine..." she said trying to not actually lie. Mattie's fingers and voice were still working and they were on their way to a lake not a hospital or a police station...so she was ok.

"Ok...sorry...it was just when you hung up and didn't call me back..and you haven't been picking up..."

"I know. Things got...busy."

"A case?" he asked. Jen winced in sympathy as Mac searched for the right words.

"Um yeah... look Harm I'm gonna have to go." she said finally.

"Ok.. good luck with it." I'm gonna need it, she thought. "I have to call Mattie anyway, she should be home from school soon."

"Ok...bye..." Mac said and hung up as soon as possible.

JAGJAGJAGJAGJAG

Max put his arm around Mattie."Really? Do I look like the kind of kid who hasn't met trouble before?"

"It's not the same." she said. "Those are your real folks...they love you."

"Yeah well there's just my Mom...and she has a weird way of showing it sometimes."

"What happened to your Dad?" she asked.

"He has a new family...I guess he kind of got bored with the old one." It was the first time Mattie had heard any real resentment in his voice.

"Sorry."

"S'ok." he said. Mattie's phone rang again for the unpteenth time. Harm again.

"Are you ever gonna answer that?" he asked with a grin.

"Not unless I have to."

JAGJAGJAGJAGJAG

"We're nearly there." Jen said. When the woman on the GPS told them one minute, they looked all around and found nothing but a picnic area.

"They must be around here somewhere." Mac said.

"How do you know it isn't just her?" Mac looked at Jen pointedly.

"No one would drive out here on their own...And if they borrowed a car they'd do it for fun...you don't have much fun on your own."

"You're right. We have to try and think like a kid...where would we go around here if we'd taken a car on a joy ride?" she mused out loud.

"Lake." they both said at once. Mac started the car again and they followed the signs to the various exits to the lake. Finally they saw a bunch of kids sprawled on the grass...and no car.

Mac's eyes followed the kids down to the waters edge and beyond. Her mouth dropped open in shock when she saw a flash of red in the water.

"Harm's car." she said slowly.

"Oh Harm's gonna kill her." Jen said.

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Izzy was the first to see the two uniformed ladies heading towards them.

"Don't look now guys but the coast guards are here and they don't look happy."

"Shit!" Mattie said. She had been trying to come up with a decent excuse but she's come up empty.

"Mattie what were you thinking?" Mac asked.

"That it was too nice a day to stay inside?" she said flippantly. She was feeling less than flippant inside but it was the first thing that came into her head. Mac kept walking towards the waters edge to get a closer look at the damage.

"Funny Mattie." she said "Bet your not going to be laughing when Harm gets a hold of you." She opened her phone.

Mattie looked on nervously as Mac punched numbers into her phone. "She could be calling a tow truck..." Max said helpfully.

"Wouldn't count on it." Jen said. "Honestly Mattie...you don't do things by halves do you?"

"It was an accident." she said in a soft voice. She didn't take her eyes off Mac's phone, it was almost like Harm could see her and she could see him. He was gonna hate her.

"You don't accidentally take someone's car."

"I..." Mattie burst into tears as Mac came back towards her and held out the phone.

TBC