Mute

Chapter 31. Drama

Blaze was surprised it was Lady Alice who came up to take over his shift. He thought that keeping watch would have been too menial for her, or more accurately, he thought that she thought that keeping watch would have been too menial for her.

Lady Alice didn't bother with any pleasantries. "Have you seen Lewis or Naomi?"

"Yeah. I saw Naomi, at about one. And Lewis just after that."

Lady Alice looked at her watch, her face pinching into a scowl. "That's three hours ago?"

"Yeah."

"Where did they go?"

"Naomi didn't go nowhere. She came from the church and she went down there." He pointed at the perimeter wall. "Then she came back up again. I think she went into the house."

"You think?"

"Well she got pretty close and then I couldn't see her no more cos of the angle. Like when you're on the top floor of the bus and it stops at the lights and a bike comes up the inside and you can't see it cos you can't see straight down through the window."

Lady Alice didn't let on that she'd never been on a bus. "That's the last you saw of her?"

"Yeah."

"She's not in her room."

"Yeah I guessed that, else you wouldn't be asking me where she'd gone."

"And what about Lewis?"

Blaze gestured with his thumb over his shoulder. "He went up there, into the woods. Where the grass is all worn down."

"Three hours ago."

"Nearly, yeah."

"And you didn't think to tell anyone?"

Blaze's eyes narrowed. "Listen, lady, I was looking out for things coming from outside, like them monsters, I didn't know I was meant to be keeping track of our lot."

Lady Alice rolled her eyes and held up a hand to stop him talking. She pulled a radio from her belt and spoke slowly and clearly. "Lewis took the dog-walk path into the woods soon after one pm. Naomi was seen outside just before that but it is not known where she went. Over." The response was too buried in static for Blaze to make it out, but Lady Alice's ears were obviously better tuned in. "Yes, I will let you know if I see anything. Over and Out."

"How come this is such a big deal?" said Blaze. "They've just gone for a walk."

"You said it yourself, young man. There are monsters out there. Real, live monsters. So yes, it is a big deal as you put it."

Arthur, Ant, Georgie and Frank were downstairs with Douglas. They had all heard what Lady Alice had said on the radio. Frank had been crying and looked like he was about to start again. Georgie had a hand on each of his shoulders, trying to keep his attention while she talked to him. "What exactly did he say?"

"He said 'what's the point of a sugar-daddy when money doesn't matter anymore?'"

"Yes," said Georgie, "you already told us that, but what did he say about where he was going?"

"You see what that means? He's saying I don't serve a purpose anymore."

"Yes, I get it, it's a rotten thing to say. But where did he say he was going?"

Frank looked at the floor. "Just that he was going away from me."

"And when was this exactly?"

"One o'clock."