The Brays

by L. J. Fox

  She knew the only way to really tackle sensitive topics with her mother would be to get her away from the house. Perhaps they could go walking around the neighbourhood or drive down to the beach and walk along the sand. She would find a way. She must.

  She knew her mother still had strong powers as she had felt the connection on a number of occasions. Not many Brays had that ability. Maybe her mother was playing down her powers and had done so all the time she had been here. Layne could not see any evidence that her mother played a significant role in the organisation, or much of a contributing one. It seemed more like a dull acceptance of a situation. Perhaps her mother had found a level of calm and survival in such a dire situation. Maybe her sole contribution had been giving birth to Jason, Dustin’s heir.

  Chapter 72

  It was one morning in the second week of being in Los Angeles, that Layne was jogging around the neighbourhood. She had taken to doing this each morning as she enjoyed the exercise, she could explore the surrounding area, and it gave her a bit of freedom. She had just rounded a bend in the road and come across a look-out with a lovely view of the valley. She stopped to take a breather and admire the scenery. Suddenly she felt something.

  She stood up straighter and concentrated. What was that? It was just a slight niggle at the back of her head. She waited. Nothing happened. Maybe she imagined it. She looked out at the view, slightly misty and almost glimmering a little. Layne turned and did a few stretches to limber up before resuming her jog. She felt it again. Very slight, almost non-existent and some time ago, she would not have even noticed it. Now, she was familiar with a connection and that is what this felt like, a tiny, almost tenuous connection.

  Was it her mother? Surely not. Her mother was strong, and she had felt her connection before. The feeling would have been one thousand times stronger. Was it another Bray in the area? She looked around puzzled. Nothing obvious made itself known to her. Maybe her brother, Jason was reaching out. Was that possible? She frowned and waited but nothing else happened. Eventually, she continued her jog.

  So far, she had not told her mother about Andy. As she jogged back, she contemplated the situation. Why had she not told her mother? Did she not trust her mother? It was a complicated situation as she was still unclear whether her mother was truly part of the Brays now and after all these years, it seemed quite possible, especially with having a son with Dustin. Or whether her mother was still a submissive captive. How would she react to Layne having a normal boyfriend? Would it upset her and bring back memories of what had happened to her when she had a normal boyfriend?

  After her shower, Layne’s mother offered to spend the next afternoon driving Layne north of Santa Monica. She had a favourite place she sometimes went to meditate and relax. Her mother said she had taken the afternoons off for the rest of the week to spend with Layne. Layne saw this as the opportunity to have a good discussion with her mother, or at least attempt to.

  They took the convertible with the roof down and the two of them giggled as their blonde hair flew up behind them as they headed north. The sun was shining and the day was warm. It felt like they were the only ones on earth at that moment to enjoy this day.

  Before long they were on the Pacific Coast Highway and within thirty minutes, her mother parked in a quiet car park with only a handful of cars. Shrubs blocked the view of the beach but after just a short walk through a sandy path, the beautiful sandy coast stretched out before them, the water as blue as she had ever seen it. They both stood staring at the magnificent sight, both in shorts and singlet tops, wearing hats and sunglasses, both with their sandals and a towel in their hands so they could be barefoot in the sand. Layne looked at her mother.

  “Race you to the water.”

  She took off and her mother ran behind her, surprisingly keeping up with the pace through the heavy sand. When she reached the water, she scooped up water from the small waves breaking and splashed at her mother. The two of them giggled and splashed each other.

  “I took you to the Cheviot Beach when you were two years old. I suppose you don’t remember.” Her mother reminisced.

  “I do remember a little. I remember the waves were huge and I was a bit nervous about the water.”

  “Were you aware that the Brays disposed of Harold Holt?” She asked Layne.

  “WHAT? You’re kidding. No. I did not know that.”

  Layne was incredulous. Then she remembered some notes in the journalist, Ed Makin’s notebook had been HH missing. Another jigsaw piece fell into place.

  “Yes. Apparently, he was onto them. Found out too much so they eliminated him.”

  “Hmmm. They are good at that.”

  They walked up to a nearby sand hill that overlooked the beach and spread their towels out. Sitting down and relaxing, they were peas in a pod. Both stared out at the ocean in front of them, lost in thought. The silence was natural and welcoming. Layne was the one to break the silence.

  “Mum, I need to talk to you.”

  Her mother was quiet for a few seconds. “I know.”

  They turned to look at each, seeing their other’s eyes through the opaque sunglasses. Layne wasn’t sure where to start or what her mother already knew.

  “I don’t want to be a Bray.”

  She just blurted it out. She could tip toe around the subject but at the end of the day, she simply did not want to be part of the organisation. Her other reached across and took her hand.

  “I have a normal boyfriend that I am deeply in love with. I want to be with him and lead a normal life but I know that can never happen, especially now that Warren knows what I can do. I wouldn’t be surprised if moves are underway to eliminate me.”

  Her mother spun to look at her startled. “Eliminate you?”

  “… and my boyfriend, Andy. He knows about me. He knows about them.”

  “Why would they want to eliminate you? What has happened?”

  Layne went on to tell her mother the whole story, starting from knowing a car was following her from when she was eighteen years old, but later finding out it was ever since she was a little girl. She detailed how she had found out about the Brays when Gregory first arrived at university, meeting Warren and seeing the film clips of her growing up, meeting Miriam, Carmel and the Bray school. Every now and again her mother would nod, deep in thought and tell her to go on with the story.

  She left nothing out, telling her mother about the rapist and the attacks, how she had mixed her blood with Andy’s and the changes to Andy since that event. Layne explained how she had learned to become more powerful after meeting Narelle and how her power increased so dramatically, including with normal people on trams.

  It was when she was telling her mother about her meeting with John and Warren, when she found out the truth about what happened to both her mother and father and attending her father’s funeral that she was aware that her mother was getting emotional. She could hear little muffled sniffs, the type when people are trying not to cry. Layne stopped and looked at her mother.

  “I am sorry. I know this must be painful for you to hear. I didn’t want to leave anything out.”

  She reached across and they hugged. “It’s ok. I want to know. I want to hear it.” Her mother produced a tissue from a pocket and wiped at her eyes.

  “Now I want to show you what happened. Do you want to know?”

  Layne knew she was talking about the death of her father. Did she want to know? Could she face it? She needed to know. She nodded.

  “Ok. Look at me and concentrate on me.”

  Layne turned to face her mother and her mother took both her hands and clasped them with hers. She saw her mother close her eyes, so Layne also closed her eyes and concentrated on her mother. She had felt the mind connection with her mother before, especially when first arriving in Los Angeles, so she knew how to accept the invitation.

  When the connection came, it was so strong and powerful that Layne almost felt she was going to fall over backwards. It was mesmerising,
like a blur of colours and feelings had just hit her like an icy blast and she felt her mind opening up. There was no pain, just a strange feeling that she was inside her mother’s mind and was seeing through her eyes. She could see memories as if she were experiencing them herself. With pinging normal people, she received split second black and white flashes of traumatic times in their lives, but this was not flashes but full colour scenarios.

  She saw her father and her mother kiss as they were announced man and wife. She knew the clothing from the photo in the frame that she had grown up with and the background from the farm. She saw the two of them cooking dinner together, laughing and joking, a picture of domestic bliss. She saw herself as a baby in a bassinette being tickled and kissed by her father with her mother watching from behind. She saw herself walking as a toddler and trying to kick a football to her father. She saw a visit to the farm where her grandparents looked so much younger than what they did now.

  Layne knew where this was leading. She braced herself for the misery and horror about to be shown to her.

  Chapter 73

  WHOOP! WHOOP!

  Brad looked in the rear-view mirror at the flashing blue lights and looked across at Beverley. Their eyes held for a few seconds. His eyes questioned her.

  “I’ll have to pull over.” He said reluctantly.

  Beverley took a deep breath and looked back toward the road. She could not detect any Brays nearby but what bad luck to be pulled over by police right at this time when time was so critical. Obviously the two of them, in their stress and rush, had strayed over the speed limit or been guilty of some other minor road fraction.

  Brad indicated and slowed down guiding the car to the side of the road. Beverley glanced out the window at the bare countryside with vast paddocks of open pasture and fences, not a house in sight. She imagined this area would be a dust bowl in the dry of mid-summer. She glanced at her watch again, 10.30am. Hopefully this would not take long.

  Brad stopped the car and would down his side window, waiting for the police officer to approach. He had seen in the rear-view mirror that it was just the one person in the police car. He sighed and hoped this would not take too long. They were so close to where they would be meeting Ed, surely only another thirty minutes.

  He could hear the footsteps as the police officer approached the car. Suddenly he felt something press against the side of his temple. Before his brain could compute the sensation, Beverley spun around to him, her mouth open in a silent scream.

  “NOOOOOO” Her cry resonated through him and he tried to turn his head to view the police officer.

  “Don’t move.” The male voice said sternly. “I’ll shoot him.” The voice addressed Beverley.

  “John please …” Beverley pleaded, her soft voice breaking with emotion.

  “We have your little one, your girl.”

  “Nooooooo.” Beverley broke into sobs, her breathing coming in bursts for air.

  The voice was still addressing Beverley. “You try anything and I shoot this one.” His head nodded slightly toward Brad. “You won’t see your daughter again. You understand?”

  Beverley looked across at her husband’s face through the tears and could see him staring straight ahead. She knew him and she knew what must be going through his mind right at that moment. His greatest fear had just been realised. The Brays not only had the two of them captured but had also taken Layne. His world just turned upside down, and he would be thinking of how he could overpower this assailant and rescue his wife and daughter. Beverley knew that any struggle or resistance on Brad’s part would be a suicide mission.

  She reached out and took his hand in hers, squeezing tight to reach him, to make him understand. She addressed the assailant dressed in police clothing in a calm voice while continuing to squeeze Brad’s hand to keep him focussed on what she was saying.

  “We understand. John. Please put the gun down. Layne is our priority and we would not do anything that would jeopardise her safety.”

  She saw Brad blink and gulp. He was trying very hard to not move, and not look threatening in any way. Suddenly she was aware of more Brays in the vicinity. Here comes the calvary, she thought to herself as a black car pulled up in front of them and two men in suits stepped out. She looked back at John with the gun to Brad’s head. Could she do anything? How quick could she overpower John’s mind, quick enough to stop him from pulling that trigger? What if his reflexes were fast enough that he did pull that trigger? She would be guilty of causing the death of her husband. She could see John was totally focussed on her. His eyes did not leave her once, and she was aware that every muscle in John’s body was taut and ready to react at the slightest provocation. She couldn’t risk it.

  Her mind went to Layne. They had her. That meant they had ventured to the farm and physically kidnapped her. The thought of it was almost too much to bear. What about Brad’s parents? What had happened to them? If the Brays had Layne, then she guessed Brad’s parents were no longer alive. What would they do with Layne? This had been her constant worry ever since Layne was born. What would the Bray organisation do with a half-breed? They would kidnap her and keep her alive in order to threaten and cajole Beverley into doing their will, but ultimately, they would not want the little girl. Beverley had to behave, not try to overpower them or upset them. Keep everyone calm and steady, not rock the boat. It was the only way she could be in a position to save her little girl.

  One of the men in suits came around and opened Beverley’s door. He stood back waiting for her to exit the car. She looked across at Brad, unwilling to exit the car until she could see what was happening with Brad. The other suit opened Brad’s door and between John and the suit, they signalled for Brad to get out, continuing to hold the gun to his head as a way of letting him know not to try anything. Once Brad was standing outside the car, she stepped out and walked around to the same side as her husband. She stood next to him and held his hand, the two of them joined in shock and desperation.

  John stepped back, removing the gun from Brad’s head, though he kept the gun aimed on Brad. Beverley could see the extra length on the gun indicating a silencer was attached. Beverley squeezed Brad’s hand tightly. He looked down at her. His face full of love and worry, for her and for their daughter. She knew he was powerless to do anything to retrieve their situation, just as she was. They were completely at the mercy of these people. Now that the gun was not pressed against Brad’s temple, the risk of the gun going off and killing Brad, was minimised. Beverley contemplated whether to use her mind to overpower these three Brays. She knew she could do it quite easily. She could have them quiet and submissive within a few minutes.

  As if John knew what she was thinking, he addressed her. “Beverley, Layne will be executed immediately if we do not contact certain people at specific times. We do not know where she is being held, so you can’t pick our brains.” He smiled arrogantly at her.

  “Did you think we would come here today and pull this off unprepared? You are to come with us now. Your father would like to speak to you.”

  Chapter 74

  “Beverley, why have you done this to us, to me?”

  Warren van der Linde paced the large room. His handsome face was distorted with anger and betrayal. She watched this man, uttering his grievances against her, sometimes in staccato. This man who had never shown her love, or support and had always treated her as his most prized possession. His anger was not directed as a father’s anger to a daughter who had run off the rails, but more as if she were an expensive item that had failed to meet expectations and embarrassed him to the organisation.

  She listened as he ranted. He had talked her up to his superiors, and the organisation had such high hopes for her. They had invested so much time and energy into her, and she had let them down to such an extent, that he didn’t know how things would recover. What were they to do with her?

  Brad had tried to interject at one stage and one of the suits who had been standing to Brad’s right, had
punched him hard in the stomach, his strong meaty fist finding its soft target. Brad had doubled over with the wind knocked out of him. It had happened so fast that Beverley had not seen it coming. In anger, she let her mind strike out and the suit cried out in pain and fell to his knees holding his face in his hands.

  “ENOUGH!” shouted Warren.

  Another person grabbed the suit and helped him stand up. He removed his hands and drops of blood seeped out of the corner of his eyes. He left the room and another suit stood in his place. Brad stood straight again, face wincing with the effort to hide his discomfort. He glanced at Beverley to let her know that he was fine. The Brays would not speak to Brad or acknowledge his presence other than to silence him if he tried to speak.

  Beverley did not want to cry in front of her father or these people. It was important to stay strong and not give in or act weak in any way. She knew that the lives of Layne and Brad were hanging in the balance and that she had to find a way of diffusing the situation.

  “Tell me what you want. I am sure we can work something out.” She told her father.

  She was not sure what he would say but she assumed he would want her to resume her position in the organisation as she once had. Due to her indiscretion, they may delay her becoming the country head but she expected that this is what would be required of her. The thought of going back to that life was a depressing thought, and one that would cause her misery and pain, but she couldn’t see that she had any options. The safety of Layne and Brad was paramount.

  If Warren wanted her cooperation and future in the organisation, then it wouldn’t make sense for them to harm Brad or Layne. She would never cooperate with them if they harmed her family. She started to think she could negotiate to keep them safe. She imagined a compromise where Brad could raise Layne as a single parent, perhaps at the farm and then they would be safe. Brad and Beverley would not be together of course, which filled her with a heavy heart, but Layne could still have a happy childhood filled with love and people who loved her. As country head, she would be in a position to elicit change in the organisation. She could manipulate people and rules, and if she played her cards right, she may be able to have visitations with Layne, or even better, bring Brad and Layne to live with her one day. She breathed out, feeling lighter and a spark of hope ignited, motivated by the fact that a solution was at hand, one that would suit everyone under the circumstances.