Free The Mute and the Liar by Victoria Best Page A

the Spring Musical. Oh, and he filled in for his friend Jory’s keyboardist when he was ill last month. ”
    “ That’s great! Keep up with your music, Jayce. Obviously I’m a bit biased in telling you that because I’m the one who taught you piano, but you're so good at it . But of course, the hotel thing sounds fun too. How’s the boxing going, Nick? ”
    Nick's eyes flicker up to Jayce, whose lips curl into a taunting sneer. “ Oh... Erm... ” he stammers, a slight wispiness in his distant voice. “ I... I quit a few months ago. It just... Wasn't for me. ”
    “ Oh, I'm sorry. I’m sure it was for the best. But you were doing so well! Was it second you placed in the- ”
    “ Eleventh Southeastern Amateur Boxing Regionals. I came second, yeah. ” “ He lost out to Marty Wilson. Right legend he was. Right, Nick? ” Jayce’s mad sneer only stretches even wider. Nick looks down, refusing to meet his gaze. Hmm. What's all that about? There’s something going on here. I’ll have to make a note of this and come back to it.
    “ It doesn’t matter. I'm sure it was for the best. I was always so worried about you. I couldn’t stand the thought of you getting hurt. ” She puts a comforting hand on his shoulder and he thanks her and gives her a weak smile. “ What are you doing now? ”
    “ Got myself some construction work back in Elmview. It’s not too bad. ”
    “ Good! That’s what I like to hear: people getting back on their feet and persevering. I wish you the best of luck with that. ”
    There is a pause. They share a wordless, tender moment. When Kit finally looks away, she turns to me. “ And what are you thinking of doing, Sweetie? ”
    Panicking, my hand reels around my throat once more. Luckily, Jayce quickly cuts through the silence.
    “ Alicia wants to be a detective. ”
    “ Oh really? That's amazing! I love watching Poirot. So you're interested in all those crimes and stuff? ”
    “ She's brilliant at solving difficult crimes, you know, like murders. But she has trouble solving the simple ones. Like kidnappings, for example. ” He flashes me an angelic smile.
    “ The simpler ones might be the hardest to solve. ”
    “ I think the difficulty of the mystery depends on the intelligence of the criminal. ”
    He can't be any more obvious, can he? He might as well have “ evil mastermind ” printed in bold capital letters on his forehead. However, Kit doesn't   pick   up   on this and instead nods in agreement.
    “ You're probably right there. ”
    Eventually, after a comfortable silence only broken by the sound of the oven, a bowl of pasta is placed in front of us. Kit takes the final seat at the table and we begin eating.
    As the bowl of hot pasta glimmers in front of us, I suddenly realise just how hungry I am. I wolf the food down, shovelling as much of it in my mouth as is humanly possible, and momentarily forget the existence of manners. I lean over my bowl, elbows pushed on the table, creating a cage in case one of the others was planning on taking it from me. I finish the bowl in seven forkfuls, and look up with a sense of satisfaction, to see that the others are staring at me, shocked, mouths slightly parted. After an unnerving silence in which they are obviously comparing my table manners and eating habits to that of a rabid puppy, Kit addresses Jayce.
    “ So how long are you planning to stay? ”
    “ We have a deadline of 3 rd March at midnight. ” Jayce murmurs, watching me. So that's a message for me then. Father is supposed to have killed Lauren by that time.
    “ What was that? ” Kit turns to him, but he goes back to being Smiling- Philanthropic-Eco-Friendly-and-Homeless-Animal-Saviour-Jayce and gives her a sickly smile and reassures her in a honey voice: “ don’t worry, we’ll be out of your hair in three days, if that’s all right. ”
    “ Of course it’s all right! Stay as long as you like. This is wonderful! I get so lonely up here in the middle of these