The Brays

by L. J. Fox

  Sandra thought for a moment. “There was something a bit strange going on. I don’t know all the details, but he told me that he had reconnected with a school friend, and the school friend and his wife were in some sort of trouble. He said it was a big story and that he was going to meet with them both to get more details.” She shrugged her shoulders.

  “When was that?” asked Andy.

  “Umm … it was a few weeks before his accident. I think they spoke on the phone a few times and they were going to come and see him.”

  “Do you know if they ever did come to see him?” asked Andy.

  “No. I don’t think so. I’m pretty sure they didn’t. He was waiting for the interview before writing his story.”

  The room was silent for a few minutes. Each person lost in their own thoughts.

  Ross cleared his throat. “Sandra, my son and his wife disappeared in May 2002 not far from here. I think they were on their way to see your husband.”

  Sandra stared at him. After a few minutes of silence, she spoke. “You think they were the people who were going to come and see him? You think they are related?”

  Ross nodded. His face grim.

  Sandra sighed and looked down at her coffee cup.

  “The police said that officially it was an accident, that Ed must have lost control of the car and that he was a little bit drunk. But it didn’t feel right. It still doesn’t feel right”

  She looked up at each of them.

  “I saw the look on the face of the two police officers and I know they thought it was not an accident. I think someone ran him off the road that night. I have always thought that.”

  She looked back at her coffee cup. “I know that it is too late for justice, but I would like to know what he died for. Why him? Who did it?”

  Ross put his hand out and patted her hand gently. “I feel the same with my son and his wife. I want to know what happened. I want to know why my granddaughter has grown up without her parents and why my wife must cry in her sleep so often, but it is more urgent for me now. You see … this thing that your husband was working on, this article that involved my son and his wife … it also affects my granddaughter. She is now in danger.”

  He looked directly into Sandra’s eyes so she could see his pain and the honesty of what he was saying. Andy kept still and watched the unseen bond between them and the shared pain. Sandra broke the spell.

  “I still have Ed’s notes. He used to write down everything that was going on, especially if he was on the phone with someone. Maybe they could help you.”

  Ross patted her hand again. “Thank you. That would be very kind of you.”

  Chapter 37

  It was late afternoon when Layne returned to campus. She had only been in her room for a few minutes when Amity knocked briefly and entered. She looked a bit miserable as she slumped on the end of the bed.

  “I missed you today. You weren’t in class. Where were you?” she asked pointedly.

  Layne sat next to her. “Sorry. I was invited on a walk today and didn’t get a chance to let you know. Are you ok?” she asked.

  Amity sniffed. “Who did you go walking with?”

  Layne realised that there was a touch of jealousy there that Layne had other friends and Amity was not included.

  “Well, since I arrived at university, I have re-connected with relatives including some I have never met. They keep inviting me places, and I feel I have to go. You know … even if I don’t want to.”

  She rolled her eyes and smiled at Amity, trying to diffuse the situation. It was actually the truth and also let Amity know that she didn’t necessarily want to go.

  Amity thought for a moment and then grinned.

  “It’s ok. I was just missing you, and … Gregory is not around so much now.”

  She looked out of the corner of her eye at Layne.

  “I … noticed that Andy is not around so much either.” It was a question.

  Layne sighed. She was not ready for this question at the moment.

  “No. I have a lot going on right now with school, and friends, and new relatives. I don’t know if I have time for him as well.”

  It was the closest to the truth she could get in the present situation. She had been trying not to think of Andy and failing miserably. She just couldn’t bear putting him in harm’s way. It all seemed such a hopeless case and she had been thinking it would be better for her to end the relationship now before anything bad happened to him, or things got too serious.

  “How about you and I hit the movies tomorrow after class?” she asked brightly.

  Amity’s face lit up. “Oh yes. That would be great. Just you and me. Awesome! There is that new Stephen King film out I want to see.”

  “Perfect” answered Layne.

  Her thoughts went back to Andy as Amity waffled on about classes and some of the other students. She wondered where Andy was. Did he miss her in class today as well? What was he doing right at this moment?

  Chapter 38

  Ross, Nina and Andy sat around the kitchen table at the farm. A large box sat on the table in front of them. It measured around 50cm x 40cm and had packing tape sealing it closed. All three stared at the box intently. Ross and Andy had agreed not to open it until they could sit quietly and concentrate. Trying to read it on the moving train was fraught with difficulties. They had filled Nina in on their adventure that day and she had been surprised and worried. What if they had been seen by the Brays? What if something had happened to them? She felt it was a big risk to be taking, but she also understood that they had to do something and not leave Layne to the Brays for ever.

  Andy leaned across and pulled the packing tape aside, opening the box. He withdrew an old A4 notebook from the top of the box and peered in at the many dozens of notebooks underneath, the type with small spiral binder and lines on the pages. The one he had picked up looked well-worn with scribbles on the carboard cover that looked like telephone numbers and small notations. Before he opened it, he looked at the Ross and Nina hesitantly.

  You know this could be nothing at all?” he said quietly.

  They both nodded.

  Andy turned each page slowly scanning as he went. The handwriting was very tiny, mostly in blue pen with lots of underlines and circles around words. Some notes were just initials or shorthand. On the edges of the pages were notes scrawled vertically as if jotted down while on the phone. There must have been over 100 pages of notes. He saw a few headings such as Toddler mauled in park and Coles Gets Go Ahead. There were paragraphs written under some of these headings. Ed Makin obviously liked to handwrite his articles rather than use a computer. He was also a copious note taker. It looked like he constantly wrote notes as his day happened. There would be a few paragraphs about the toddler being mauled in the park by a dog, then suddenly there was an underlined sentence Don’t forget the fwy stats report. Then the next few paragraphs would be a continuation of the toddler item.

  Andy turned to the back of the book to find the last page that had been written. It contained more handwritten items but the handwriting appeared to be a little messy and there were some smudges and dirty marks on the paper. Written sideways on the page were a few words. Andy turned the notepad around to read them better. These words had been circled.

  Royal Mail NOW

  Andy read it out to the other. They all looked at each other but the words meant nothing. No one knew what Royal Mail NOW was. Ross and Andy felt a bit deflated that there was nothing obvious in the notebook to help them. They also realised what a remote chance there was that there would be anything useful.

  Andy closed the notebook and placed it back in the box. He looked up at Ross and Nina.

  “If it ok with you, I will take the box with me and go through it page by page. It is going to take some time to get through all this.”

  Ross nodded agreeably. “Yes. You are better to do it than me. You can always look up that Google thing.”

  He waved his hand in the air signalling h
e had really no idea what Google was, or didn’t want to know.

  Ross drove Andy back to the Katunga railway station for his trip back to Melbourne. They said their goodbyes and Ross held Andy’s eyes with a pleading look. He didn’t need to say it. Andy knew what the look meant. Please look after my granddaughter.

  Chapter 39

  Layne continued to see Narelle a few times a week and was gradually building up a bit of knowledge on the Brays and how they worked. She asked questions wherever she could, determine to have a good understanding of the organisation and their beliefs.

  A few interesting things she had found out recently were that:

  * The Brays never gave blood. When she tried to question Narelle about it, Narelle just said that they did not share their blood or organs with anyone else. Layne wasn’t sure whether this meant there was a physical difference in their make-up that could be identified by a doctor or scientist, or whether the Brays felt too superior to want to help the mere human race in any way, or was it possible that transferring the Bray blood or organs could turn a normal person into a Bray?

  * The Brays were all cremated when they died. They did not consent to post-mortems and if it became necessary, then one of their own performed the procedure. Layne imagined over the years the Brays would not be immune to the occasional murder or illness that required a port-mortem. The cremation was to prevent anyone from ever exhuming one of them. Again, it made her wonder what was in their make-up that needed to be hidden.

  * A good number of scientists, specialist and general practitioners were Brays. Most of them worked with normal people as well as Brays, but a few of them only worked with Brays. None of the Brays ever visited normal doctors or surgeons. Layne guessed that applied to dentists as well. She mused that she had never been to a doctor, but not for the same reasons. Her grandparents certainly would have taken her had she been ill or needed medical attention. She had visited a dentist every six months and he had just commended her on how healthy and clean her teeth were.

  * It was clear that the Brays did admire some normal people who were highly intelligent or had contributed to art, history, education or the medical world. They had no time for the average person and treated them with disdain.

  * A number of Brays were even famous athletes and Layne was shocked to find out two of her favourite football players were Brays.

  * Layne had asked Narelle about illness or impairment with the Brays. Narelle told her that accidents happened of course, where a Bray may be injured and left with a disability after an accident or an attack. Just last week a Bray was involved in a home invasion and as there were ten intruders, they overpowered the man and injured him with a hammer. The Brays were all waiting to see if he would be left with any permanent injuries. Layne wondered what would happen to an impaired Bray. Did they have rehabilitation hospitals or care homes for impaired Brays?

  * When Layne asked about Bray children being born with any defects, she noted a sudden wariness in Narelle. Her voice stiffened a little and she replied that the Brays did not have any birth defects. “Never?” Layne asked. Narelle replied that there may have been some problems years ago due to the closeness of the families but that it no longer happened as families were mapped out. Layne pictured a person in front of two huge handwritten family trees trying to identify common ancestors.

  * Narelle explained that each country had a leader that controlled the operation within that country. Warren van der Linde was the head of Australia. Under him, there were a panel of ten people consisting of males and females who helped govern. The panel met every three months and spoke on the phone or via video conference regularly. She also explained that the executive of the Brays lived in the United States and was named Dustin Meyer. He had his own panel of ten people and they made the worldwide decisions for the Brays. The country heads flew to the US each year for a conference with Dustin and the executive panel.

  Layne found this fascinating. This was the type of information that she wanted to know the most. Who controlled the Brays? How were they structured? Lying in bed at night thinking, she imagined herself asking the leaders if she could be excused from being a Bray so she could lead a normal human life. It was the only thing she could come up with and she had a feeling it would not be well received.

  Narelle and Layne were walking through parkland not far from the university as they spoke. The day was overcast and the first touches of winter were being felt. Layne continued her questioning:-

  “How was Warren chosen to be the country head?” She asked.

  “He has the most power of everyone in Australia”.

  Narelle answered smoothly as if that was the most obvious thing in the world.

  “But … how is that determined? Who decides that?”

  “Well … Bray children are assessed, and it is identified very early on if they will be powerful or not. The powerful ones have leadership training and before the country head retires, the panel choose the replacement. Of course, it has to be authorised and endorsed by Dustin.”

  “Are the panel the most powerful as well?” Layne asked.

  “Yes. They are.”

  “So, the future country head is probably one of the people on the current panel?”

  Narelle looked at Layne and smiled. “Yes. As Warren is reaching retirement age, I guess the panel will be making a decision on the next country head soon.”

  “Do you know who the most powerful one is on the panel at the moment?” She asked wondering if she was crossing the line with her questions.

  Narelle thought for a moment. “I would think it is probably going to be Ben Jackson. You have met him, at Warren’s for dinner on the first night.”

  “Oh yes. The Minister for Education. I remember him.”

  Layne remembered the confident man who looked perhaps forty years old, with greying hair that would once have been black. He never spoke directly to Layne that night but had raised a toast to her joining them. She had also seen him interviewed on television a number of times, and he came across as intelligent and confident. She wondered what his powers were like.

  Narelle interrupted her chain of thought. “You know, your mother was always the favourite for being the next country head.”

  Layne spun around to stare at Narelle. “What?”

  Narelle smiled at the shocked look on Layne’s face. She turned back to keep walking.

  “Beverley was the most powerful person any of us had met. She was due to sit on the panel after her studies. We all assumed she would take over from her father one day, but … that was not to be.”

  Narelle’s voice became quieter and more subdued.

  They walked on as Layne absorbed this information.

  Chapter 40

  The foyer of the cinema was reasonably crowded for a weekday afternoon. Most of the audience were university students and young people. Stephen King’s brand of horror attracts the younger crowd and the new version of IT had an eager crowd waiting in anticipation.

  Amity was one of the excited ones and a big fan of IT and Stephen King in general. She was almost bouncing up and down in her eagerness for the film to begin. Layne had seen the first IT and though entertained, she found it a bit gruesome and too horrific to enjoy it.

  Amity said you either were a horror fan or you were not. Layne guessed she was not. She was happy though to see the film and spend time with Amity, feeling a bit guilty at being a neglectful friend. They had enjoyed a coffee and panini at the café just outside the cinema and it was a relaxing and fun lunch. Amity was so bubbly to be around that Layne quite lost herself in the fun of the moment, forgetting her problems with the Brays.

  Amity did admit that she was not feeling confident with her grades in classes. She thought perhaps she had been a bit distracted by Gregory and had not been studying as much as she should have. She told Layne how she would need to concentrate on study for the rest of the semester. Her parents wouldn’t be very happy with her if she didn’t do well. It was a struggle for h
er parents to afford to send her to university so she felt guilty at not doing well.

  “On the bright side, I am fitter than I have ever been.”

  She said brightly, referring to her countless hours at the gym and jogging in the hope of running into Gregory. She did look great, Layne mused, athletic and sun-tanned.

  As they walked into the cinema and sat in their nominated seats, Layne looked around at the other patrons. The only way she was going to be able to concentrate and watch the film with all these people around, would be to try to turn off her sense of smell. Otherwise, the smell of stinky feet, perspiration, popcorn, perfume and other odours would permeate and distract her. Turning off the senses was becoming easier the more she practiced. She just breathed a little shallower and focused her mind on other things.

  At the end of the film, she could not really say she loved it. It was entertaining and nail-biting, but she had to admit to Amity that horror was not her forte. She couldn’t stand the suspense build up. She needed the happy outcome immediately after each scary event. Amity could not believe that Layne wasn’t into horror like she was.

  Another of her senses she had been forced to try to tone down was her hearing. She could actually hear people’s hearts racing at certain parts of the film. With trying to focus so hard on the film, sometimes Amity spoke to her and Layne was totally unaware. Amity would tap her arm before Layne realised.

  After the film ended and they were walking out behind a queue of people, Layne allowed herself to relax and let her senses take everything in again. Immediately, she was aware of a smell of more perspiration than there had been before the film. Someone had also had a bit of an accident in their underwear. Layne turned away thinking of the joys of horror films. She could hear lots of giggling and excited whispering, as people talked with each other about the movie.

  They had just reached the exit door when Layne stopped dead in her tracks. The person queued behind her almost ran into the back of her. She froze, concentrating and dilating her nostrils to inhale the smells. Amity realising Layne was no longer next to her, turned around to see Layne standing strangely staring into space. She stepped back towards Layne and registering the strange expression on her face, wondered if Layne was having a medical episode.