Page 65 of Musical Games
She tiptoed into the bathroom to clean her teeth, then knocked quietly on his door.
Silence.
Without Morag’s snoring, the corridor seemed very quiet. She knocked again, a little louder. Still nothing. She pressed her ear to the door but couldn’t hear anything. She slowly pushed it open. The room was empty, his clothes from last night still on the floor. Was he downstairs?
She walked through the silent house, pausing at the door to the post office. She could hear Morag laughing with a customer on the other side. She went back upstairs to get dressed and put on make-up. She was uneasy and unsure and needed her face on to hide her feelings.
In the kitchen there was no sign Jamie had eaten breakfast. She didn’t have his number so couldn’t ring him. What now? Indecision gnawed at her until she went back to the post office.
‘There’s the wee superstar! How’s your head? Did you sleep alright?’ Morag’s face was open and bright. There was no sign she’d heard them the night before.
Sam forced a smile. ‘Feeling great, thank you. I was just wondering if you’d seen Jamie this morning?’
Morag frowned. ‘No, love. I thought he was still asleep. Give me a moment.’
She finished with her customer, then pulled out her phone and dialled. She looked at it in confusion as it went to voicemail.
‘Hi, son, just wondering where you’ve got to. Give us a ring when you’ve got this, eh? Love you.’
Sam could recognise a fake smile at a dozen paces and Morag’s looked like it had been drawn by a child.
‘He’s probably forgotten to charge his phone, silly boy. I bet he’s nipped out to get you some fancy pastries for breakfast so you can celebrate. He won’t be long.’
Sam went back through the house and out the back door. Jamie’s car was gone. She made herself breakfast and turned on her phone. It vibrated non-stop with messages and notifications. Her stomach sank. She was all over Brad Bauer’s Instagram feed from the concert. This was not the right way to keep a low profile.
A text from Ian Berresford came in, asking how her dying granny was doing.Fucker.She ignored all messages except one from Crystal, Brad’s main assistant.
Her pulse quickened. Brad was serious about wanting their music forBraveheart 2.This changed everything. He wanted them to send him their tracks so he could give them to a string arranger, then book into a studio in London within the next three weeks to record them with an orchestra. He was promising to use at least three of their songs and offering a fee of forty grand for each one. Crystal wanted an answer now and the tracks by the end of the day.
Sam rushed back to the post office. She had to talk to Jamie. Morag was on the phone, her back to Sam. ‘I’ve no idea where he’s got to, love. The last time I saw him was in the pub. What’s going on?’
Sam made a noise and Morag whipped round, her cheeks colouring.
‘Ah, hello, Sam,’ she said loudly. ‘Okay then, Mr Smith,’ she enunciated into the phone. ‘I’ll be sure to telephone you right away if the package turns up. Good day.’ She ended the call with a flourish and raised her eyebrows theatrically. ‘Customers. Can’t live with ’em, can’t live without ’em.’
Sam wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry. Jamie was officially AWOL.
* * *
The water fell,crashing into the pool below where it bubbled and flowed out into stillness. The sight and sound were hypnotic, taking Jamie’s attention away from his empty stomach, his sore muscles and what the fuck he was going to do next.
He’d driven mindlessly for hours before ending up at the start of the track to the waterfall. There were no other cars so he knew he’d be alone. He didn’t check his watch but could tell the time passing with the changing position of the sun. How long could he stay out here? Could he sleep in his car? A stone dropped into the water beside him. Duncan was standing a few feet away.
‘Alright, mate?’ Duncan pulled out his phone, tapped the screen and put it to his ear. ‘Yeah, I’ve got him. You can call off the hounds and stop your mum dragging the loch.’ His face crinkled with a smile. ‘I can’t promise that, but I’ll ring you when we’re on our way home. Okay, love you, sweetheart.’ He put the phone away and sat next to Jamie.
‘I don’t want to talk about it.’
‘Talk about what?’
Jamie’s shoulders hunched higher. ‘Don’t be a dick, Dunc. You know.’
Duncan picked up a stone and skimmed it across the surface of the pool.
‘You’re between a rock and a hard place, Jamie. You can either talk to me or your sister. And as much as I love Fiona to the moon and back, if I were you, I’d talk to me.’
Jamie picked up a stone and threw it angrily into the water. ‘I don’t know what to say.’
‘Then can I ask you a question?’
