He led Echo around each side of the square, glancing quickly at every shop window as they went. Then they came to a pedestrian precinct where, halfway down, Jason found what he was looking for; a joke shop. In the window display he saw a baseball cap with its own built-in wig of long, dark-brown hair.
“Wait here,” he said, dashing inside the shop.
He bought the hat with hair then hurried back outside. Echo followed as he headed down a passage where he lowered his hood, putting on the hat.
“How do I look?” he said, pushing the false hair back from his shoulders.
“Like a hedge-pig in a hazel bush,” Echo replied.
“Thanks a lot,” said Jason. “Right, let’s get something to eat. We deserve a big late breakfast.”
They found the nearest fast food restaurant and joined the queue inside. When their turn came, Jason ordered a couple of large Dr Peppers and two meals of sausages, bacon, eggs, beans and chips. He handed over the money and put everything on one tray before leading Echo over to a table where they sat down. He tried to teach her about knives and forks but she seemed to have other ideas.
“Fie, what a delicious finger of pig meat,” she said, picking up a sausage and eating it in three bites.
“Don’t say fie,” said Jason. “Say wow.”
Echo took one of the chips, staring at it between her fingers before eating it slowly. She smiled then devoured the rest of the chips.
“Odzookens!” she exclaimed. “How does a person cook such things?”
“Chips?” said Jason. “It’s easy. You just cut a potato into slices then fry them.”
Echo frowned. “What is a potato?”
“You mean you’ve never seen a potato?”
But Echo didn’t answer. Now she was eating her beans – using her spoon. Once she’d finished she took a very long drink of Dr Pepper.
“Wow, it does make my nose tickle!” she said, letting out a loud belch that resounded throughout the whole restaurant. “It is the sweetest thing I have ever tasted.”
Jason looked around, wondering if they might be drawing too much attention to themselves. Using the spoon and her fingers in combination, Echo succeeded in eating the bacon and eggs. For Jason, food had never tasted so good. He finished his meal then gave her a napkin to wipe her hands and face.
“So, do you like it in the twenty-first century?” he asked.
Echo nodded. “For certain, and it is most useful for me to learn your ways. I do think you are enjoying this too. Are we not having a fine adventure?”
“Guess so,” said Jason. “But I can’t help feeling a bit guilty. Lauren’s locked up in that chamber and here we are stuffing our faces.”
“Once we have joined with our allies, it is possible we will have to fight the Cobalts,” Echo told him. “It is not good to fight on an empty stomach.”
“You’re right,” said Jason. “We’ll have ice cream next, but not in here. It’ll be cheaper outside. First, I need the loo.”
Echo followed him to the end of the restaurant where a door led through to a narrow staircase. At the top, Jason pointed to the Gents and Ladies signs.
“One for boys, one for girls,” he explained.
“But we are both girls,” she said.
Jason sighed. “Thanks for reminding me.”
Luckily there were no other people around. They both dashed into the Ladies, seeing a single toilet cubicle and a washbasin. Jason turned on the hot tap.
“This is where you wash your hands afterwards.”
“Wow!” said Echo, her eyes glittering. “A tiny pump, from which water gushes by itself!”
Jason turned it off then they hurried into the cubicle together. Echo stared at the toilet.
“It is a seat, made of white pottery.”
“No, it’s a widdelpit,” said Jason, pulling the chain by way of demonstration. “A twenty-first century widdelpit. I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”
Echo screwed up her nose. “It does smell like a widdelpit in my own time.”
“I’ll take the risk and go to the gents,” Jason said. “See you outside.”
They met up at the top of the stairs a few minutes later. Jason led Echo back down to the restaurant, then outside to the precinct. They headed to the square and an ice cream van where he bought two 99s with double flakes.
“Wow!” Echo said after her first bite. “It is like frozen curds and whey, but rich with honey.” Next she ate one of the flakes. “And what is this delicious brown sweetmeat?”
“Chocolate,” Jason replied. “I knew you’d like it.”
But they still had some time to kill. They wandered around the square, visiting all the market stalls and watching the musicians and street performers. Echo gazed in wonder at a man selling helium balloons.
“They are like pigs’ bladders,” she said. “But how does he keep them up in the air?”
By now, Jason’s mind was on other things.
“We need to stock up,” he said.
They hurried back to the precinct where Echo followed him inside a sweet shop. Her mouth fell open as she stared at the colourful displays of confectionery. Jason grabbed two cans of Coke and six packs of Cheesy Wotsits.
“Does this place have any of that flavoursome brown sweetmeat?” Echo asked.
Jason jerked his head towards the rows of chocolate bars. “There.”
“And the people let you take these things?”
“I’m not exactly taking them,” said Jason. “I have to pay. It’s called shopping.” He watched as Echo’s eager hands took hold of a huge bar of Galaxy. “Didn’t take you long to get the idea.”
At the till, the shop assistant put everything inside a carrier bag. Jason returned to the precinct, Echo a step behind. He was certain he’d got her hooked on the twenty-first century now. He checked his watch; almost a quarter past two.
“Time we headed to the sports field,” he said, feeling suddenly nervous. “And it’s not going to be easy. This is what your mother wanted us to do, but now everything depends on Kate and Ben - and whether they believe us.”
– CHAPTER ELEVEN –
Karmic Sometimes
Jason would’ve liked to sprint away from the town centre but knew he had to go carefully, to guide Echo across the busy streets. They followed the signs to the sports field, arriving ten minutes later, passing a white fish and chips van when halfway across. At the far side of the field, in front of the brick-built pavilion, a wooden stage had been set up for the band. At least a hundred young people were gathered in a semi-circle, waiting for the show to start. As Jason walked past them he was sure he recognised a red-haired woman at the edge of the crowd. Yes, it was Amber Clarke - the brash but glamorous friend of Ben who’d stopped to speak when he and Nikki put up the poster.
Jason and Echo came closer to the stage. They saw six people up there, making some final adjustments to the sound equipment. One of them was a blond young man in jeans, a dark shirt and a white jacket. He stood at the front of the stage next to a woman with coiled, light-brown hair. She too was in jeans, her tee-shirt printed with the word Greenpeace and a picture of a tree.
“It is Kate and Ben,” Echo said.
Jason nodded. “This is our chance.”
Echo followed him to the edge of the stage where they looked up. Jason was so nervous that his voice caught in his throat, making it easier to sound like a girl.
“Are you Kate Megginson and Ben Wild?”
“Depends who’s asking,” Ben replied as he set up a microphone on a stand. Then he smiled. “Only kidding. Sorry, girls, but right now we’re sorting out a couple of technical hitches. If it’s a signed CD you’re after, we’ll be doing that at the end of the show.”
“But we need to talk to you right now,” Jason persisted.
Kate picked up an electric violin from a nearby stand and began to pluck at the strings. Ben strained an ear, checking that the instrument was in tune.
“Are we busy?” he said to J
ason. “Or are we busy?”
“Not a good time,” said Kate. “The gig’s about to start.”
Echo took Jason by the arm. “Methinks it is better to speak to them when they wish to listen.”
“Guess you’re right,” Jason said with a sigh. “Maybe we’ll wait till they’re signing CDs at the end of the gig.”
Without asking what a CD was, Echo let go of him and returned to the edge of the crowd. Jason joined her and they waited for the show to begin. By now Ben was standing with an electric guitar, and he tapped the microphone in front of him. At his side was another guitarist, a man in sunglasses, his long dark hair cascading down from his broad-brimmed hat. Echo closed her eyes and pointed across to him.
“That minstrel’s name is Matt Blackthorn,” she said.
She turned her attention to the third man on stage. He was stockier in build, his black hair spiked in a punk rock style. Next to him was a slim young woman with an electric bass guitar. She wore jeans, a white tee-shirt and a brown leather jacket, her hair blonde and chin-length.
“They are Guy Destry and Deena Fox,” said Echo. “They are sweethearts, and both are great fighters.”
Jason didn’t need to be told the name of the final band member. He recognised Nikki Wheeler, at her electronic keyboard, though today she was wearing a large pentagram pendant and a long, black, Romany-style dress. Guy Destry took his place behind the drum kit, the band had a quick tune up then Ben spoke into his microphone.
“Hi there, we’re Karmic Sometimes,” he announced. “There’s gonna be some rockin’ in Hazelby this afternoon. Let’s go!”
With this, the band launched into its first song. Jason recognised it straightaway, a well-known number called The Time Warp. Echo covered her ears.
“Fie! Their lutes are too loud!”
But Jason didn’t care about the noise. His mind was on the conversation he’d just had with Kate and Ben. Would they believe him, at the end of the gig? He felt less confident about that now. His thoughts turned to Lauren, and he told himself over and over that this plan just had to work. Though he found it difficult to concentrate, he did his best to watch the concert. The next three songs were written by Ben himself, as he proudly announced when introducing each one. He and Kate shared the vocals, and both were pretty good singers. In some of the songs Kate took centre stage for a violin solo. In others, Matt played lead guitar. Nikki’s skills on the keyboard were almost perfect, and Guy pounded his drums like a madman.
But something wasn’t quite right. Every so often someone would make a mistake, playing the wrong note. Whenever this happened Ben turned around to glare at Deena. Clearly the bass player was the culprit, but the crowd didn’t seem to mind. As the band reached its seventh song many people were dancing, although Echo’s hands were still over her ears. Finally, after two encores, the performance came to an end amid wild applause.
Ben, Matt and Deena unstrapped their guitars as Guy stepped out from behind the drum kit. Kate put her violin back on its stand then jumped down from the stage with Nikki. The others did the same. Ben opened a cardboard box, full of CDs, as a dozen fans gathered around. By the time Jason and Echo arrived an argument had broken out between Ben and two of his band members.
“What’s your problem exactly?” Deena was saying.
“You!” Ben replied. “Playing out of time and hitting bum notes.”
“Hey, watch it,” said Guy. “Deena did her best – some of these songs ain’t easy.”
“Exactly,” said Ben. “That’s why she should practise. A naff bass player brings the whole band down.”
Deena scowled. “Who are you calling naff?”
“Everything’s got to be just perfect with you, hasn’t it?” Guy argued, his hands curling into fists. “It’s a good job we’re friends. Anyone else talking to Deena like that would get…”
“Always your answer, isn’t it?” Ben interrupted. “Kick-boxing, that’s all you two are interested in. You don’t care about the band. We’ll never be rock stars unless all of us give it a hundred per cent.”
“Hey, cool it, everyone,” said Kate. “What do you think it looks like, arguing in front of all these people?”
“Don’t worry about that,” said Guy, taking Deena’s hand. “We’re quitting the band. Nothing’s ever right for you, Ben. Find yourself another drummer and bass player.”
Though Matt and Nikki tried to dissuade them, Guy and Deena had made up their minds. They stormed away, leaving the remaining band members to face the fans.
“Sorry about that, folks,” said Ben with a smile. “Musical differences. Okay, everybody, form a line.”
Jason and Echo joined the queue at the back.
“I’ll carry on doing the talking,” Jason said. “Just go along with everything I say.”
He’d already decided on the best approach. He was going to claim that Echo was psychic, and quickly he explained to her what that meant. Kate and the others chatted to their fans, selling and signing CDs, but soon Jason and Echo were the only ones left in the queue. Ben was holding a CD in one hand, a pen in the other.
“So, girls, is there any special message you want us to write?”
“We haven’t come to buy your CD,” Jason told him. “We want to talk to you about George Megginson.”
Kate stared in surprise. “Hang on, what is this?”
“We want to help you, Kate,” said Jason. “We can prove that Ravenstone Manor really belongs to you. We know Scott Cobalt forced Old George into signing a false will.”
A look of suspicion crossed Ben’s face. “Who put you up to this? If it’s a joke, it ain’t funny.”
Matt grimaced. “God knows what’s going on here, but it’s time we sorted the stage gear.”
“Okay,” said Kate. “You two make a start - leave this to me and Ben.”
Matt and Nikki climbed back onto the stage where they began to unplug leads and take down the equipment. Kate returned her attention to Jason.
“That business about Uncle George’s will was looked into at the time,” she said. “By some solicitors, and the police, but it all came to nothing.”
“We know about the secret drawer as well,” Jason went on. “In the fireplace, in the chamber at the manor.”
“So do we,” Kate told him. “Uncle George used to show it to us when we were kids. We were always at the manor.”
Ben reached forward, using the pen to flick at Jason’s fake hair. “This has to be a wind up. The kid’s even wearing a wig!”
“It’s not a joke,” said Jason, pushing the pen away. “How do you think we know about the secret drawer?” He put a hand on Echo’s shoulder. “I’ll tell you how. My friend’s psychic. She sees things, visions of the past. In one of them she saw Old George being threatened by the Cobalts into signing a fake will. Without the Cobalts knowing, George recorded the whole thing on a cassette recorder then hid it in the secret drawer.”
Ben laughed. “What cassette recorder?”
“You know which one,” Jason said. “George used it to record piano music, and you two with your violin and guitar. When he recorded the Cobalts, he used the same tape.”
Ben was about to say something else when Kate interrupted him.
“Hang on,” she said. “This is a bit weird, the way these kids seem to know about that old tape recorder – and the hidden drawer.”
“I’ve already told you, my friend’s psychic,” said Jason. “Give us two minutes and we’ll prove it.”
“Oh yeah?” said Ben. “How?”
“It’s easy,” Jason replied, pointing away from the stage to the place where the crowd had been standing. “You go over there and write something on a piece of paper. When you come back we’ll tell you exactly what you put.”
“Two minutes?” said Ben. “Guess that can’t do any harm – but if your friend gets it wrong then we’ll know it’s a wind up.”
He put the CD down but kept hold of the pen. From his pocket he found an old receipt. He and
Kate walked twenty metres away where they stopped with their backs turned.
“We’ll wait till they’ve finished,” Jason whispered. “Then we’ll do a quick gewita.”
After a few moments, Kate and Ben came out of their huddle and began to walk back. Echo took Jason’s hand. He closed his eyes, seeing a swirling white mist. His palms tingled as, slowly, he travelled back a minute or two in time. When he looked again he’d left his physical self. His astral body followed Echo’s, and she in turn followed Kate and Ben as they walked away. They came to a halt and Jason hurried to step in front of them, leaning over to see what Ben was writing.
“What about that old rhyme we did when we were kids?” Kate muttered.
“Okay,” said Ben.
Jason remembered that Echo couldn’t read. He watched as Ben scrawled on the back of the receipt; One fine day in the middle of the night, two dead men got up to fight. PS The red-haired girl is no more psychic than I am.
Jason read this out to Echo, telling her to remember it word-for-word. Then the world flashed in front of his eyes as he came out of the gewita, he and Echo returning to their physical bodies and the present time. Kate and Ben continued to walk back.
“So,” said Ben, waving a fist as he arrived. “I’ve screwed the receipt up, and it’s in here. Go on, amaze me.”
“These are the words you wrote,” said Echo. “One fine day in the middle of the night, two dead men got up to fight. PS The red-haired girl is no more psychic than I am.”
Ben’s face was a picture of startled disbelief. Kate had turned deathly pale and looked like she was about to choke.
“I’ve just gone cold all over,” she said, her voice shaky and higher than usual. “How did you do that?”
“It wasn’t a trick,” said Jason. “My friend is psychic. Ben, we know your mum used to be George’s nurse. When she came to Ravenstone Manor, on the morning he died, he tried to tell her everything. Seek… piano… violin… Kate… Ben… Cronin’s Hornpipe…” Jason paused. “For the next bit, you thought he’d said Fur Elise, but really he was trying to say fleur-de-lis. He meant the secret drawer, with the fleur-de-lis on the front. Then he said tell Kate… tell Ben. Well, I’m telling you now.”
Echo McCool, Outlaw Through Time Page 14