My bus card was out of credit, so I bought myself a ticket with cash from Malcolm’s wallet. I figured after breaking my fingers he owed me that much.
The bus driver eyed my war wounds, but he kept his mouth shut. I managed to get a seat to myself at the back amongst the people getting off work early and kids my age heading into town. I sprawled out as the bus pulled away. I didn’t know where I was going, and I didn’t really care. I’d been an idiot, even more than usual. I’d betrayed Ella. Stephanie had played me like a violin, and I’d let her do it. It’d nearly cost me the USB drive, and who knew how much more. She could be feeding Malcolm and his friends information about me right now. I hadn’t told her everything, but I’d told her enough. I couldn’t afford to stick my head out of the trenches now. I had to stay down, stay low, until I could figure out my counterattack.
It hit me that I hadn’t turned my phone back on since calling Stephanie last night. I dug around in my bag until I found it. Eight missed calls: five from my parents, three from Megan. I put the phone down and flicked through Malcolm’s wallet again. There was a hundred dollars and change in cash, a few receipts, assorted cards. No bus pass; I guess he didn’t have to rely on public transport. I was about to examine the credit cards when my phone rang. Megan’s name popped up on the caller ID.
“Spade, where are you?” she said when I picked up.
I put the phone against my left shoulder so I could continue going through Malcolm’s wallet with my good hand. “Around.”
“Everyone’s freaking out. Your parents have been ringing everyone all day. The school’s going nuts. You’ve got to—”
“Calm down,” I said. I pulled out Malcolm’s Visa and turned it back and forth. Maybe I could order some revenge items off the Internet. “I’m fine.”
“Spade, you’ve got to come home. That detective has been around again looking for you, and—”
“Did you get anything on Jeremy?” I asked. If he was connected, maybe I could use him. There was no way I was getting back into Deepest Desires now. I had to follow any lead I had.
“There was nothing to find. I went to his house yesterday and had a look around when he was in the bathroom. He’s practically got a shrine to her in his wardrobe. He’s completely broken up about her death. As soon as I got there he broke down crying. But I couldn’t find anything fishy. Whatever happened to her, I don’t think he had anything to do with it.”
Goddamn it. So much for that idea. I pulled out Malcolm’s student ID card and bent it back and forth in my hand, hoping for the satisfaction of snapping it.
“What’s going on?” she asked. “Please, Spade. Come home.”
“Hang on.” I cut her off and dropped the phone into my lap. Something about the ID card wasn’t quite right. When I bent it backwards, the middle seemed to lift off the surface of the card, like a thin opaque film. I dug my nail under the film and peeled. It came loose without much difficulty. The top surface of the film was an exact duplicate of the ID card beneath. I flipped the film over. On the other side was a string of letters and numbers, divided into four blocks of four characters.
The USB drive prickled in my pocket. My hand shook slightly as I lifted the phone back to my ear. “I have to go.”
“Spade, wait—”
I hung up. I couldn’t stop staring at the numbers. This was it. I needed a computer. I pressed the request stop button and limped to the bus doors.
~~~
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