by Lauren Algeo
Building walls around her mind was a last resort. Scott had instructed her on what to do. He’d told her that anything unnatural would peak Daniel’s interest so she couldn’t try to block him – after all, she wasn’t meant to know what he was. Instead, she was to push down all of the important, true memories and keep her top-line thoughts as normal and boring as possible so Daniel would simply skim over then leave her alone.
Scott had made it sound easy but now the time to meet the boy was fast approaching, she wasn’t sure what she should think about. Her thoughts were all muddled. She didn’t know if her mind would betray her by noting that the boy’s eyes were too dark, or that she knew he was a hiker. What if he sensed how much his power affected her physically? She couldn’t prevent her body from reacting to him.
Ellen lowered the umbrella and let the drizzle cool her flushed cheeks. She was panicking and she needed to stop. She took several deep breaths until the overwhelming pressure passed then she lifted the umbrella again – it wouldn’t help her professional image if she turned up soaking wet.
‘You can do it,’ she assured herself under her breath.
It had been a long time but she’d managed to cope with the presence of the Master and his children close to her for hours. She could control herself with just one little boy to contend with. If she had to, she could mask the pain by attributing her cramping stomach to a period – that would send Daniel scurrying from her mind.
She just had to remember that she had the element of surprise to protect her. If she was introduced to Daniel after the interview, he was just expecting to meet a new teacher. Another boring person his parents had found to force him to study. He wouldn’t be hunting for anything more. Scott was right – if she kept her wits about her, Daniel would subject her to nothing more than a cursory glance at her thoughts. He was oblivious to their past, and even his own. He didn’t know that he was a hiker or who he was descendant from, and she had no intention of revealing it to him.
Ellen took one more deep lungful of air then marched down the road with renewed determination. She would get through this morning and end the day with a new job teaching an unsuspecting Daniel.
‘It’s lovely to meet you.’ Marie’s smile was warm as she shook Ellen’s hand. ‘Would you like a cup of tea or anything?’
‘No, I’m fine, thank you.’ Ellen didn’t think she could hold a cup without her hands trembling.
Connors shook her hand too then gestured to the two small sofas behind him. ‘Let’s take a seat.’
Ellen perched on one, trying to ignore the hideous décor of the flat. Everything was patterned and extremely dated. She would have loved to redecorate the place to give it a cosy, homely feel – right now it was like being in a museum. Connors and Marie sat down on the other sofa opposite her. Marie looked effortlessly chic in a long, beige cardigan and dark, fitted trousers and Ellen could see why the media loved her – she was beautiful and glamorous.
Ellen could feel the faint pressure in her stomach. It had been there since she’d entered the building, growing stronger as she’d neared the flat door. It told her that Daniel was there somewhere. She shrugged off the nauseating feeling as best she could.
‘Thank you for taking the time to meet with me.’ Ellen took her CV and reference letter out of her handbag and slid them across the coffee table in between the two sofas. She was proud that her voice belied none of the conflicting emotions she was feeling. ‘I’ve brought my credentials and letter of recommendation.’
Connors glanced over it eagerly. ‘Ah yes, from the Senator.’
Marie beamed next to her husband. ‘It sounds like you’ve had an exciting teaching career.’
‘I’ve had some amazing opportunities,’ Ellen nodded. ‘Both here in the UK and in the States.’
‘Tell us a little about your past private tutoring experiences.’ Connors handed the papers to Marie and sat back on the sofa.
His body language was well refined after years in politics. He was leaning back comfortably and inviting her to talk but he still had an air of control – he was in charge of this conversation.
Ellen summarised the fake history that Mitch had put on her website. She had been teaching for years and covered a wealth of topics. To keep a small amount of truth to the story, she told them that she’d worked at a library in Connecticut, taking book groups, and also that she’d recently been tutoring some students in Kent. They didn’t need to know that her favourite student, Tim, was a local village boy rather than a private school pupil.
Connors and Marie nodded along during her spiel and asked the occasional question. Ellen could see from their positive expressions that they liked what they were hearing. If Connors went on to call the ‘Senator’s’ number on the letter then Mitch would cement the deal for her.
‘That all sounds great,’ Marie smiled. ‘I was wondering if I could ask – as you travel around so much, do you have a family?’
Connors shot his wife a sharp glare to show that he disapproved of her question. Clearly he didn’t find it tactful, but she ignored him and kept her eyes on Ellen. The personal question surprised her and she took a moment before deciding to answer with most of the truth.
‘No, I don’t,’ she said. ‘I lost my daughter when she was young, and her father and I separated.’
‘Oh, I’m so sorry.’ Marie leaned forward sympathetically.
‘I’m very sorry for your loss,’ Connors added.
From his tense jaw, Ellen assumed that he would be having words with Marie about her question later. She didn’t have any problem with it – Marie wanted to know more about the woman who would potentially be spending a lot of time with her son. She was just curious.
In an awful way, it had worked in Ellen’s favour. They would now see her as a woman who had lost her own daughter and dedicated her life to helping other people’s children. It would appeal to their hearts. She knew they’d tried for their own baby before going on to adopt Daniel.
Marie opened her mouth then decided to let her husband do the rest of the talking. Ellen could see that the other woman wanted to ask her about Lucy but that would have been too nosy and only earned her more glares from Connors. His face had softened since he’d learnt of her loss though.
He cleared his throat. ‘Is there anything you’d like to ask us about the role, or Daniel?’
They had covered some of his learning levels over the phone and Ellen feigned interest in hearing about them in more detail. He was excelling in maths and English but needed some more help with science and history. They knew her strength was English but Mitch had generously exaggerated her qualifications on the other subjects.
She highly doubted that Daniel needed help with any of them – he would be extremely intelligent and must be masking it to seem like a normal child. There would be too much attention if he showed himself to be a young genius who didn’t need any help with school work.
She prattled on about teaching methods, which she and Scott had researched over the last few days, and the importance of communication. She liked to challenge her pupils yet never overwhelm them. Connors and Marie responded as enthusiastically as she’d hoped. She couldn’t help but notice the way their faces lit up when they talked about their son and their hopes for his future.
‘I would like to meet him if possible?’ Ellen was surprised to find herself asking.
She had calmed down a lot since her earlier hysteria and resigned herself to the fact that she would get this job and have to work in close proximity to Daniel. She might as well get it out of the way now, rather than spend the next few days stressing about coming face-to-face with him. A short encounter was far less daunting than a couple of hours of lessons.
‘Of course, he’s in his room.’ Marie sprang to her feet. ‘I’ll go and get him.’
‘He really is a remarkable young man,’ Connors smiled proudly.
Ellen forced her lips into a thin smile back. He was remarkable all right, just not in the way Connors
thought. What would he do if he found out that his son was really a sadistic murderer? One who Ellen had come to try and kill.
She stood up in anticipation of the boy entering the room. She could hear Marie chatting to him as they approached but the conversation was very one-sided. The stabbing pain in her stomach preceded his appearance and she bent to move her handbag to mask the grimace on her face.
‘Here he is.’ Connors got to his feet as well. ‘Daniel, we’d like to introduce you to Ellen MacIntosh.’
Daniel came forward obediently and Ellen straightened up to get her first real look at him. He was exactly as she’d imagined in the flesh – small, neat and innocent looking. He was dressed in a smart navy jumper and black jeans, even though the family weren’t going anywhere. He had white and navy trainers on his feet that looked as though they’d never seen the outside world.
‘It’s nice to meet you, Ms MacIntosh.’ He extended his hand towards her and she was glad that she’d stood up, otherwise his dark eyes would have loomed over her. They were almost hypnotic.
‘Lovely to meet you, Daniel.’ Her heart gave a warning thud as her hand connected with his.
They shook briefly then Ellen stepped back. Daniel had merely glanced at her then turned back to his father. She hadn’t felt him try to access her mind at all. Had he been too light for her to detect or had he simply not bothered? She knew the sensation of intrusion well, and all the tell tale signs to announce it was about to happen, but there had been nothing. Daniel hadn’t entered her mind yet.
‘Ellen?’ Marie touched her arm gently.
‘Sorry, what did you say?’ Ellen gave a tight laugh and forced herself to focus on what else was going on in the room.
‘Are you free on Friday afternoon?’ Marie repeated.
‘We’d like you to give Daniel a trial lesson, if you’re available?’ Connors cut in. ‘Just to make sure you work well together.’
‘Of course,’ Ellen nodded vigorously to overcompensate for her spaced out moment. ‘That sounds perfect.’
She fumbled for her bag to get her diary. Her mind was frantically trying to detect any hint of Daniel but the boy wasn’t paying her any attention. She risked a glance at his face as she took out her diary and he was staring at his mother with a bored expression.
‘That sound good to you, champ?’ Connors stepped closer to Daniel and put a hand on his shoulder.
‘Yes.’ Daniel’s eyes met hers again. ‘I look forward to picking up where John left off.’
Ellen’s blood ran cold at his words – they sounded so hard and detached. Connors simply patted his son’s shoulder and watched as Ellen made a note in her diary for Friday.
‘Is early afternoon ok?’ she asked.
‘About 2pm would be perfect,’ Marie nodded. ‘Jack will be out at a lunch meeting but I’ll be here.’
‘Great. That’s great.’ Ellen struggled to regain her composure. She wriggled her diary back into her handbag.
‘Can I go back to my room?’ Daniel asked his father.
‘Of course.’ Connors took a step back. ‘We just wanted you to meet Ellen.’
Daniel’s gaze flicked briefly to her again. ‘It was nice to meet you, Ms MacIntosh. I’ll see you on Friday.’
He was heading for the door before she had time to open her mouth to reply.
‘Goodbye Daniel,’ she called as he disappeared from sight.
Marie toyed with her cardigan uncomfortably. ‘Sorry about that,’ she apologised. ‘He’s been quite upset since John died. We didn’t take him to the funeral on Monday in the end. We thought it would be too much, you know, coming so soon after Peter’s, although I think that might have been a mistake. Maybe he needed the closure… sorry, I’m rambling away.’
‘No need to apologise, I understand,’ Ellen said. ‘It’s been a very difficult time for him.’
She hadn’t particularly registered any of his behaviour as rude – she’d been too grateful that he wasn’t interested in her. If Daniel’s mind was occupied with larger things then their lessons would be far easier. She could formulate a plan to kill him quicker if she wasn’t constantly trying to block her mind from him.
It was a relief but there was a niggle of worry residing underneath. He hadn’t even tried to read her so she didn’t have any idea how powerful his presence would be. She’d been brave enough to ask for a meeting so she could get over her apprehension but that fear was still there, and would remain until she came back on Friday afternoon. Daniel may have been distracted today, by whatever he was up to in his room, however on Friday, he might give her his undivided attention. There would be no one for her to hide behind.
‘Thank you for coming up to see us.’ Connors was saying over the hum of thoughts in her mind. ‘We’ll see how it goes in the trial but everything looks promising.’
‘Thank you for seeing me,’ Ellen smiled back. She had a feeling she would look even more promising after Connors called the number on the bottom of Mitch’s letter.
‘It was a pleasure to meet you.’ Marie shook her hand energetically.
There was something needy about the woman but Ellen couldn’t quite put her finger on it. Perhaps she didn’t have many female friends and wanted another woman around Downing Street.
Ellen kept her composure as she left the flat and took the lift back downstairs – Scott had told her that there were CCTV cameras inside. It was only when she reached the privacy of a downstairs toilet that she let go of the tension she’d been holding in. Her fingers were trembling with adrenaline and she gasped in several long breaths. She splashed some cold water onto her pale face and leant against the sink.
In her opinion, she had sailed through the interview and been able to confront Daniel without being overwhelmed by the painful pressure in her gut. She was as strong as she’d hoped. If she could endure that, and shake his hand, then she should be fine to sit across from him during a lesson. Her only worry was that he hadn’t been inside her mind yet although she didn’t want to dwell on that fear when she’d done so well.
Ellen dabbed her face dry with some toilet paper then gathered up her bag and umbrella. Scott was somewhere in the building and she didn’t want to risk bumping into him while he was with his team. They might inadvertently give something away if they saw each other. She would wait until she was safely down the street before messaging him. She hoped he would be proud of her success and less worried about what the plan entailed. She knew Mitch would be. She could call him that evening to see if Connors had phoned to verify the reference letter.
Slowly but surely, everything was falling into place. Now she just needed to make a fake lesson plan for Friday and swot up on her history and science to make sure she aced that too. Ellen smiled confidently as she left the toilet and headed for the exit, pushing down the icy fear that was squirming in her stomach.
Chapter 26
‘Knock, knock.’
Daniel heard his father’s voice at his bedroom door and turned in time to see his head appear through the swiftly widening crack. With one discreet click, Daniel hid what he’d been looking at on the computer screen.
‘How’s the studying going?’ His father asked as he walked into the room uninvited. ‘Do you need any help?’
‘No thanks, it’s going well.’ Daniel gestured to the mock test questions that had been hidden behind the webpage he’d really been looking at. ‘Just trying to get ahead on my biology.’
Connors peered closely at the screen, seemingly relieved that his son was looking at homework. ‘I’m sure Ellen will be able to help you out in the trial lesson on Friday. What did you think of her?’
‘She seemed nice.’ Daniel hadn’t been the least bit interested in the woman who’d come to the flat that morning. He had his own research to conduct and lessons with her would just slow it down. He only had Thursday to look through everything he wanted before he was dragged away from it again.
He could suss this Ellen woman out properly on Friday but she’d loo
ked pretty boring – a fairly attractive face, clothes that weren’t particularly expensive, no wedding ring on her finger. He’d guess that she lived alone and spent a lot of time reading – that was all John had done.
He had more important things to worry about than some middle-aged spinster. It was three weeks until the NATO summit and he had a precise timeline of events to map out.
‘I’m glad you liked her.’ His father was still loitering beside his chair and hindering his progress. ‘I spoke to a US Senator this afternoon and he was very complimentary of her teaching style. I think she’ll be a good fit. Apparently she worked wonders with his son… not that you aren’t doing amazingly well already,’ he added quickly. ‘We just want the best for you.’
‘I know,’ Daniel smiled sweetly. ‘I’m going to finish this page then go to bed.’
‘Good boy.’ Connors ruffled his hair. ‘We’re very proud of you.’
Daniel kept the smile plastered on his face until his father had left the bedroom and closed the door then it disappeared instantly. He smoothed his hair back down, ignoring the goose bumps that crawled across his skin. He hated being touched. His parents were always hugging and tugging at him and he had to endure the loathsome behaviour. In their eyes, it was only affection, their way of expressing their love – Daniel saw it as invasive and infuriating. No one should have the gall to touch him.
He reopened the webpage he’d been reading before he’d been so rudely interrupted. There was a list of all the countries that were part of NATO and the leaders who would be coming to London for the summit – currently about 60 important people from 28 countries. Daniel turned to a blank page in his notepad and began to make a list of which leaders he wanted to get close to while they were here. The president of the United States was a high priority, as well as the Chancellor of Germany and president of France.
There were only predictions of the meetings and dinner schedules online so he would need to use his father’s mind to get more details. He wanted to know where everyone would be and precisely when. There was a national security meeting towards the end of the summit, which he was very keen to get close to. The leaders and ministers who attended that meeting would have a wealth of valuable information stored in their minds.