Take Your Final Bow

Chapter 9 - Emily Winchell

Saturday 10th June 9:15pm

After dinner, I tell my parents I'm going to Noah's house to study. Downright lie, I know, but I doubt I'll come out of this case squeaky clean. I'm fifteen, for goodness sake! I'm meant to have done some risky stuff by this age. Noah and I meet at the bottom of our driveway at 9:15 precisely, as we agreed.
'Emily, are you absolutely sure about this?' he says, once again, 'you know, as young teenagers, we're going to be very vulnerable on our own in Ffrances' passage at night.'
'You're right,' I nod, and Noah looks surprised.
'So it's off, then?'
'You wish. Nope, we're taking Grace's car.' I pull her car keys out of my pocket and jangle them in his face.
'WHAAAAT?! For God's sake Emily, are you mad?'
'Probably a little bit. But if Mrs. McHamish spots us and makes a run for it, at least we'll be faster at chasing her.'
'Emily you can't drive.'
'I watched a YouTube tutorial on it just before dinner. It's easy. You just press the clutch to put it in first gear, and then slowly lift the clutch to the biting point and then at the same time press the accelerator to give it more gas. First gear gets you going and then as you get faster you press the clutch again to change to a higher gear and go faster. Third gear gets you up hills and second gear is best for turning corners. Hit the brake pedal to slow down, and the brake and clutch together to stop. See? Easy peasy lemon squeezy.'
Noah goes pale. 'Do you like being alive?' He stares at the little red Mini parked in the garage, dwarfed by my parents' posh silver Range Rover. I have to admit, Grace's car doesn't look like the ideal getaway vehicle. But the Range Rover will be harder to manoeuvre, I'm pretty sure.

* * *

We drive out to Longcaster's back alley network with just a few gear crunches and false starts. Noah clenches his teeth and goes as white as a sheet. He holds onto his seat for the entire journey – as if that's gonna save him in a crash. 'There's Ffrances passage!' he calls out, and I swerve into the entrance, stopping a few yards away from the cluster of Callum's gang. 'Emily get down!' Noah whispers, pushing me under the dashboard by the shoulders, 'they might spot us.' 'Shhh! Listen!'We hear muffled voices from inside the car. We push the front seats right back as far as they go and we crouch with our heads just peeping out the windscreen. I immediately recognise Callum when he speaks but then there's another familiar voice that I can't quite place my finger on. Is that Nick Lockhart? I didn't know he was in the same gang as Callum!! 'Okay,' said a harsh voice that I figured was probably the gang leader, 'do we need to review this gang's loyalty code? Cos I heard there's a gay in one of these backstreet gangs. That's not okay. Are we clear?'The gang nods in unison. Noah and I stifle our gasps. I didn't know the gangs were homophobic! Oh my God what the frick? There are no gay people! I stare at Noah wide eyed but he seems focused and distant from me.
'Guys, it's 9:43! Dara will be here any moment.'
'Wasn't she involved with the Jack Belden crime?'
'Yeah. Just give her the drugs and act normal.'
'She still owes us from last time.'
'Shut up! She's here.'
And sure enough, a battered grey Fiat pulls up at the other end of the alleyway. A dark hooded figure emerges from the driver's seat, and I can barely make out Mrs McHamish's face in the dim lighting, but then I hear her distinct Scottish accent and I know it's her.
'Just gimme the bag,' she grunts in her low husky voice.
'You didn't pay us last time.'
'Bug off!' and then, before my brain is able to process what's happening, Mrs McHamish is back in her car and she's reversing out of Ffrances passage at 50 miles an hour.
'I've always wanted to say this,' I grin at Noah, 'follow that car!'
We race out of Longcaster, the wheels screeching as we swerve round hairpin bends too fast, the engine rumbling as we try to mount a hill in the wrong gear. We break the speed limit most of the time and slide precariously around the road. And yet Mrs McHamish just keeps getting further and further away. How does she drive that fast?
'Crap! Emily, we just turned down a one-way street the wrong way!' Noah glances at me, his eyes as big as dinner plates.
He needn't have told me, because a couple of milliseconds later, we almost collide with another car coming towards us. The driver beeps his horn angrily and signals for us to turn round.
'Curse Longcaster's one-way system!' I grumble to myself. But we can't turn back now! The one-way street just gave us a vital shortcut and Mrs. McHamish is in sight now. We can almost reach her...!

Almost...
                           Almost...
                                                        Almost...

We would've caught her if I hadn't lost control of the car... and swerved into a bush on the side of the road. Mrs McHamish gets away – with her drugs.
'Damn!' I swear loudly, thumping the steering wheel in frustration, anger and confusion. What had I just done? I had almost killed two people! Was I even Emily anymore?
'Noah. Noah, are you alright?'
 'I'm fine. Your sister's car isn't though.' 
'The most important thing is you.'
'And you,' he pauses for a moment, 'my mum died in a car accident when I was three. That's why I only live with my dad.'
'Crap! I'm so so so so so so sorry. I didn't know what I was doing. I don't know what's happened to me.'
A tear rolls out of his eye and I pull him into a hug, even though the car is half stuck in a bush in the middle of nowhere.
'You got too obsessed with the case.'
'I did. And you tried to stop me but I wouldn't listen to you. I'm sorry. I can't tell you how sorry I am.'
Noah looks me in the eye. 'I know how sorry you are.'
'I feel terrible.'
'Let's go home. Does Grace's car still run?'
I turn the keys in the ignition and the engine gives a rumble of relief. We reverse out of the hedge, with several minor scratches on the bonnet, and head back to Longcaster. We drive at 2 miles per hour all the way home. I drop Noah off at his apartment and get back to my house by 10:30. I find an old bottle of scratch removal product in the shed and attempt to erase the scratches on Grace's bonnet. Then I park carefully in the garage next to my parents' car – exactly where it was when we left.
When I get in, I replace Grace's keys on the hook next to the front door and climb into bed. My parents don't know a thing. They still believe I went to study at Noah's house. I text Noah:
Safe detecting from now on! I promise xx