Call of Water (Madame Tan's Freakshow #1) - Marina Simcoe Page 0,62

had drinks with some guys I know. They slipped something in our drinks, packed us up along with the equipment in a truck while we were unconscious, and drove us to the next fair.”

I gaped at him. The lie slipped from his tongue so easily, so convincingly. Even knowing exactly what actually had happened, I felt inclined to believe him.

“What?” My mom stared straight at Zeph. As he spoke, the look in her eyes changed from suspicious to concerned, even friendly. “Why would someone do that?”

“A practical joke gone too far.” Zeph shrugged, open expression on his face. “The next fair happened to be in the United States. With neither Ivy nor I having our passports on us, we couldn’t cross the border to get back.”

From this point on, how could I ever be sure he told the truth, now that I’d seen how believably he could lie?

Mom’s expression turned contemplative.

“This is insane.” She shook her head, turning to me. “Why didn’t you call? Or email? There’re ways to prove your identity in this situation. If you had just called, we would’ve explained...”

“She was afraid you’d be angry with her,” Zeph inserted, blinking innocently. “Didn’t want to be a bother.”

Well, he got that right. Typically, my parents were at the bottom on the list of people I’d call for help. The biggest reason I’d made the decision to come to Mom’s house this morning was because of its geographical location: it happened to be the closest.

Zeph’s words seemed to calm my mom a little.

“Well, it’s not a bother if you’re really in trouble, Ivy. Though it was very irresponsible of you to drink with people you didn’t know. Haven’t I told you to never leave your drink unattended in public?” She huffed an exasperated sigh. “How about your driver’s license? Don’t you carry it in your wallet?”

Zeph shot me a glance. Was he worried I couldn’t lie as well as he did? He was probably right. Only, I didn’t have to lie.

“I do, but my wallet was in Fleur’s backpack. She took it with her when she left for the bathroom. All I had on me was some Canadian money. Even my cellphone got lost somewhere.”

Well, I almost didn’t have to lie. Radax had crushed my phone under his boot.

“Goodness, Ivy.” She shook her head again, way-too-familiar expression of disappointment spreading on her face, her voice rising. “How can someone your age be this foolish and negligent? Do you know what we’ve been through because of you?”

“I’m sorry, Mom.” I knew from experience that the most effective way to stop her attacks was not to give her any reason to continue. Eventually, she would run out of steam.

The fact that Zeph had to witness me being chastised like that was the most embarrassing part of it. I prayed he wouldn’t intervene this time, because then she would never stop.

“Sorry is not going to suffice for the police, I’m afraid. You’ll have to come with me to the station to close the missing person’s case, pull the report, or whatever it is that needs to be done now.” She huffed again, clearly still very much irritated, with me if no longer with Zeph. “Like I didn’t have enough stuff to deal with every day as it is.”

“I’ll go to the station myself to close the case. You don’t have to worry about it.”

“Right. Like it’s that simple.” She rubbed her forehead. “Okay. Your things are in the boxes in the basement. The landlord wanted them out of your apartment since the rent was unpaid. Wait for Marek to come home this afternoon. You can take his car. No—” she cut herself off, her brow furrowing as if she had suddenly thought of something. “Wait until I come back from work tonight. We will have to press charges against those criminals who drugged you and smuggled you across the border. It’s illegal, and they will have to be held responsible.”

“Um...Wouldn’t the fact that we have crossed the border back on our own make it look bad?”

I saw the familiar flash of energy in my mother’s eyes. The same one she used to have before every court proceeding during the years-long process of divorcing my dad. Mom was looking forward to the battle, getting ready for a fight.

“You had the right to return to your country, Ivy.” She sounded convinced. “I believe you have a very good case. We can sue the fair and the city, too. Zeph and Fleur will have to