The 13th Destiny_Heaven's Deadliest Sign

by Roger David Francis

  And when Abby said innocently; “So it didn’t cost you anything?” Beth knew she was right.

  “Let’s forget it,” she said abruptly.

  “Oh, no, I don’t think so. It’s intriguing and like you said, it’s a twenty pound gamble, count me in.”

  Beth realised she’d been holding her breath, she let it out in a whoosh and laughed, “Okay, I’ll leave you to it then, I’ll go and make us a cup of coffee.”

  Leaving the living room door open a few inches Beth went into the kitchen and switched on the kettle, surprised to see her hands were trembling. She could hear the low murmur of Abby’s voice and an odd thought came into her head. One down, ten to go. Did she even have ten friends? Maybe not, but she had neighbours and family.

  Jason was a Gemini. Fear flooded through her. No, not her son. She would keep him out of this, whatever it was. He would ask to meet his father and she couldn’t allow that. She gave a shaky laugh. Shandra was probably just some old grandmother doing her knitting, having a bit of fun while she earned a few bob. Beth thought maybe she should leave it now, forget it, she had five hundred pounds because she’d brought a scratch card, she didn’t owe the old woman anything.

  She was beginning to smile with relief when there was a loud thud behind her. Beth turned her head just in time to see a blackbird with its beak smashed up against her kitchen window, its legs scrabbling on the glass. Its wings were outspread and it was sliding downwards leaving a trail of thin blood. Beth could see the red lines smearing the glass. She gasped. Its eyes seemed to be staring wildly at her as it disappeared from sight. The poor thing, she thought. She ran out of the kitchen door and stood for a moment confused. The blackbird should have been lying huddled on the ground, possibly bleeding to death, but there was no sign of it. Surely it hadn’t flown away in the few seconds it had taken her to run outside. She looked at her window and was amazed to see it was sparkling clean, no smears on it at all.

  How strange, she thought, going back into the kitchen. She could hear Abby still murmuring and she closed the door. What Abby wished for was none of her business.

  Abby stood in the living room the phone pressed to her ear.

  “Yes, that’s right, I’m a Capricorn.” She had to strain to hear what the woman was saying, the line sounded crackly.

  “My name is Shandra and I can see already that you’re very materialistic, you love objects more than people. There is someone you hate and that hatred is eating away at your soul. You can be very selfish, my dear. It’s all about you and what you want; isn’t it?” The voice paused then whispered, “And you’ll do anything to get what you want, won’t you, my dear?”

  “Oh, God, no, that isn’t right.” Abby felt upset. Why would the woman say that to her? They’d never met, it seemed like a liberty. “You don’t know me or you wouldn’t say that,” Abby said. Strangely her eyes had filled with tears and she swiped at them impatiently.

  “Now, now, my dear, I’m only telling you these things for your own good.”

  Abby clutched the phone. This had been a bad idea. She didn’t need some spiteful old bag telling her off; she had enough of that from Vera.

  “I think I made a ....”

  Shandra interrupted her as if she hadn’t spoken, “Let me see now, Ah, there is a dark presence in your house, does that make sense to you?”

  Cringing, Abby said, “You mean my mother-in-law.”

  “I don’t mean anything, my dear, it’s your interpretation that matters. You need to get rid of it. Sometimes you just have to shut the door on the problem and pretend it isn’t happening, wouldn’t you agree?”

  Abby tried to understand what the woman was saying but her mind wouldn’t go there. This wasn’t what she’d been expecting, wasn’t having your fortune told supposed to be fun?

  “I don’t know,” she stuttered.

  “I think you do. Now, what’s this? It seems your husband Joe is keeping secrets from you. Check his suitcase, my dear, the other one he keeps hidden from you, but a word of warning; you might not like what you find. It will all become clear within twenty four hours.”

  “Oh dear,” Abby was beginning to feel sick. How did the old woman know her husband’s name? Surely Beth hadn’t told her. “Joe’s a good man,” she said.

  “Yes, and good people do bad things all the time, wouldn’t you agree?”

  A cold hand seemed to be stroking her back and Abby shuddered. She had no idea what Shandra was talking about but she felt suddenly frightened as if she’d got herself mixed up in something that was just plain wrong. Put the phone down, her mind screamed as she clutched the receiver tighter to her ear.

  “So what is your dearest wish?” The crackly voice asked.

  Abby took a deep breath. “I want my own home just for me and Joe.”

  There was no answer and Abby realised the woman had rung off. No problem, Abby chanted to herself, no problem at all, it’s just a bit of fun. She went into the kitchen.

  “Okay, I’ve done it.” She told Beth. Two spots of colour stained her cheeks. “She was nice,” Abby picked up a biscuit and munched on it, glancing thoughtfully at Beth, “Tim will go for it,” she added.

  Beth nodded. Tim was forty five; he’d worked full time at the coffee shop for three years, a lonely widower, always searching for love on internet dating sites. He would see this as another opportunity to find the perfect woman. It crossed Beth’s mind that Shandra had been referring to him when she’d said a kind thoughtful man fancied her and then she shrugged it off. Tim had never said anything; she shouldn’t go around imagining things on the say so of an old woman.

  “Do you know when his birthday is?” Beth asked.

  Abby nodded, “November 16th. He mentioned going to a Doctor Who convention to celebrate.”

  Scorpio. Another one to cross off her list. Suddenly Beth felt drained. She asked, “Did Shandra tell you when you’d get your wish?”

  Abby looked away, not meeting Beth’s eye. “She said it would all become clear within twenty four hours.”

  “That’s good, isn’t it?”

  “I don’t know. Here, take the twenty pounds.” Abby pulled two notes out of her purse and thrust them at Beth. In a voice that was almost too low to be audible Beth thought she heard her friend say, “It’s blood money.”

  But that didn’t make sense, what was wrong with asking for a bigger house? Beth frowned. There were only two ways Abby could get a bigger house, win the lottery or have a property left to her in a will. Had her friend simply asked for lots of money? All of a sudden it all seemed a bit grubby and self serving and Beth felt ashamed of herself. She was worse than the old woman, giving her friend false hope. Abby had said that Shandra was nice, which surprised her. Her own impression was that the old woman had a sharp mean tongue.

  “You’re not leaving already, are you?” Abby was putting on her coat.

  “I have to get back,” her friend muttered, “Vera will be waiting for her tea.”

  “Tell her to get her own.”

  Abby flushed, “I can’t do that. The house belongs to her. You don’t understand, Beth, she’s doing us a favour letting us live there.”

  “So you and Joe don’t pay rent?”

  “Of course we do. You don’t understand. It’s good of her; the least I can do is look after her.” She paused, “It’s no problem really,” she added.

  Abby’s eyes kept flickering away and Beth felt sorry for her. She’d always assumed Vera had wheedled her way into Abby and Joe’s life but it seemed she was the one doing them a favour. No wonder Abby wanted her own home.

  “Doesn’t she mind you having all your pets?” Beth asked curiously.

  Abby looked shocked. “They’re not mine, Beth, they’re hers. I just look after them for her.”

  Beth watched her friend leave. Funny she’d never known before, but then she’d never asked. So it wasn’t a bigger house Abby wanted just any house to get away from her meddling mother-in-law. Beth hoped she hadn’t gi
ven Abby false hope.

  She put four slices of bread in the toaster and opened a can of beans. She was fortunate her son didn’t have a sophisticated palate; the only time his eyes lit up was when chips and burgers were on the menu. He used to be such a happy child, she reflected, always up to mischief, a lively little rascal. Now he was a morose, moody alien who slouched around the house giving her dagger like looks. In other words, a teenager.

  Becoming a single mother hadn’t been a choice but a necessity. Lawrence, Jason’s father had only known his baby son for three months. She’d told him she didn’t want anything to do with him, he was never to contact her and maybe out of shame and guilt he’d left them alone which suited Beth fine. She never wanted anything to do with him again and she definitely didn’t want him speaking to Jason.

  Lawrence didn’t deserve to know his son, he’d betrayed him in the most terrible way imaginable and she’d managed to shut all thoughts of him out of her mind for fifteen years. At first there’d been a couple of times he’d tried to phone her, begging her for news of his baby boy but she’d stuck to her guns and refused to speak to him. He didn’t deserve photographs of his son, his first smile, his first tooth, it was right that he was denied those small pleasures in life. He’d almost destroyed her and she intended to make sure he never got a chance to make contact with his son. It was a meeting Beth had no intention of allowing to take place ever. She fully intended to tell Jason the truth about his father, he had a right to know, she accepted that, but not just yet.

  Get on with your miserable life, you bastard, Beth thought, just leave us alone.

  Jason stood huddled by the kitchen door, a look of abject misery on his face.

  “What?” Beth asked.

  “Liam wants me to go camping overnight.” He scuffed his trainer against the back of the door and Beth thought he was going to cry. His eyes were wet and glistening.

  “And you don’t want to go, is that it? You want me to make up an excuse for you to Liam’s mum?”

  “Of course not. I’m not a kid.” Jason whined. “It’s just that my battery on my laptop only works for half an hour, what will I do for the rest of the night?”

  “Ah, I see.” And she did. No ging gang goolie for her boy, no sir, he wanted a computer friendly tent, somewhere to plug his gadgets into. Forget sausages cooking on open fire, where was the nearest pizza hut? She said, “So I’ll pop round to Liam’s mum and tell her you’ve got a stomach bug, shall I?”

  “If you like.” He turned and slouched off back to his bedroom and Beth sighed.

  Since Jason had become best buddies with Liam, Beth had been meaning to call in and meet the wonder mother, Fiona. She’d have to tidy herself up a bit first though; put a bit of lippy on, she didn’t want to show Jason up. She had no idea how old Fiona was but as four of her five children were already grown up and left home Beth imagined she’d be in her fifties. I bet she looks twenty, fit as a fiddle and when I call in she’ll be lifting dumb bells wearing a slinky black leotard. Beth smiled suddenly, hadn’t Liam told her that his sister, Bella had been shipped off to live with her grandmother in Ireland because apparently Fiona had been unable to cope with her tantrums? Either Bella was very bad indeed or Fiona’s halo was slipping just ever so slightly.

  Fiona’s husband, Rod, always struck Beth as a bit sinister. She’d spoken to him a couple of times when he’d knocked her door and asked if she’d got any odd jobs she wanted doing. It was unfortunate that one of his eyes had a life of its own, unable to focus, the eyeball rolled randomly around the socket, while the other one seemed to stare into her soul. She supposed she ought to sympathise but he gave her the creeps.

  A thought crossed her mind. Would Fiona be open to taking a chance on Shandra? Beth turned off the overcooked beans in the saucepan; the liquid almost burnt off, and headed for the door.

  Fiona only lived at the bottom of the road and a few minutes later she was knocking on the door. There was no answer but she could hear voices coming from the back garden so she made her way around the side of the house.

  The first thing that struck her was the tent. She hadn’t realised when Jason had said camping that he’d meant in Liam’s back garden. It was a small two man tent and Liam’s feet were poking out of it. He was another tall gangly youth like her son but unlike Jason he’d got a lot to say for himself. It was probably his voice she’d head on his mobile trying to persuade her son to change his mind.

  “Is there a problem?”

  Beth swung round and came face to face with Rod. Looking at him more closely she could see he was an older man in his early sixties. Before, when he’d turned up on her doorstep he’d been wearing a cap pulled down over his forehead, now she could see the lines on his face and his thinning hair. He was podgy and Beth felt surprised that Fiona the wonder woman was married to him. Maybe he had hidden talents, was a swashbuckling stud in the bedroom. He was carrying a large four pronged garden fork. She thought he was smiling at her but it was hard to tell; his mouth seemed to be perpetually curled up in a sneer.

  “I wanted a word with Fiona,” she said. “Jason has a sore throat so he won’t be camping tonight.”

  “So?”

  What an obnoxious man, Beth thought.

  “So I’m just letting you know.”

  “Fine.” His uncontrollable eye swivelled around the garden and he jiggled the fork in front of him. “I’ve got work to do,” he said, “Fiona’s in the kitchen.” His good eye looked her up and down. “She’s busy,” he added.

  Beth almost turned and walked out of the garden but then she caught sight of a woman through the kitchen window waving to her, beckoning her inside.

  “I’ll make us a cup of tea,” Fiona fussed as Beth sat down at the small kitchen table. “Take no notice of my husband; he can be a grumpy old sod. He’s in a bad mood because I asked his father to lend us some money and he refused.” She paused, her hand hovering over the teapot, “It’s my own fault, Rod told me to keep my mouth shut but we’re getting into debt and Rod’s about to be made redundant.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that.” Beth could see where a new bruise was turning into a purple mass on Fiona’s upper arm. This wasn’t what she’d expected. Where was the sexy lady in the slinky black leotard?

  The thin agitated little housewife fussing about the kitchen wearing a stained flowered apron was nothing like she’d imagined. She wore her hair in a tight bun pulled severely back from a high forehead. There was a permanent expression of worry on her face.

  “I don’t know how we’re going to manage.” Fiona was saying. “I can’t imagine how hard it must be for you on your own.” She sat down opposite Beth looking flustered.

  There were quite a few grey hairs showing through her mousy brown hair. Her eyebrows were unflatteringly long and straggly; it was obvious that she didn’t give a moment’s thought to her image. The previous images Beth had conjured up of Fiona prancing around showing off her body was fading rapidly. She doubted this woman sitting opposite even knew what a leotard was. She wore no make-up and Beth could see the deep pitted ridges on her brow. There was only one way to describe her, gaunt, her hollow cheekbones almost jutting out. Beth felt sorry for her.

  “What did you call round for?” Fiona was asking.

  “Just to let you know that Jason won’t be camping with Liam tonight”

  Fiona looked puzzled. “I didn’t know he was.” She sighed. “I never know what Liam is getting up to.”

  “Have you had a leaflet in the post today?” Beth asked.

  “What sort of leaflet, only we get lots, you know, people wanting to put fences up, mend our driveway, fix our guttering, they all go in the bin, Rod does all our maintenance.” She put a mug in front of Beth. “Do you want a ginger biscuit?”

  “No, thank you.” Beth pulled Shandra’s leaflet out of her pocket and passed it to Fiona.

  “I haven’t got my glasses on, tell me what it says.”

  Beth read out the words on the paper,
when she looked up Fiona was staring at her.

  “Why are you telling me this?” she asked.

  “I rang the number and told the woman Shandra I wanted five hundred pounds. She told me to buy a scratch card.” Beth was beginning to flounder under the sharp gaze of the woman sitting opposite her. Dear God, Beth thought, if it’s this difficult to get one person on board how am I ever going to find another ten? Could I even sound more stupid? Trust me, I’m a stranger, give me twenty pounds, seriously? If she was Fiona she’d send herself packing. Valiantly, feeling the warmth creeping into her cheeks, she carried on, “So I did and I won.” She scrabbled in her pocket and pulled out the receipt.

  Fiona peered at it and her bushy eyebrows rose. “You lucky thing,” she said, the envy clear in her voice. “I’ve just lost my job at the nursing home, they said they were overstaffed but I think they just wanted to get rid of me.” She stared at Beth with tired eyes. “They’re taking younger girls on, cheaper and they work faster, I suppose you can’t blame them.”

  “Surely experience is what counts,” Beth said trying to make her feel better.

  “No, it doesn’t take a brain surgeon to mop up sick and wipe bottoms, does it?”

  “I suppose not,” Beth said, at a loss.

  Fiona’s face brightened. “I wish I could come into some money.”

  “Well, that’s the thing; if you’d be prepared to risk twenty pounds you might be as lucky as me. I know it’s a gamble but I’ve got a good feeling about it.” Why was she lying? Beth felt a cold lump of shame settle in her stomach; it was obvious Fiona couldn’t afford to gamble twenty pounds. She said, “Yes, a really good feeling, what do you say?”

  Fiona turned watery eyes on Beth. “I’ll try anything,” she whispered. “Don’t tell Rod but I’ve fallen behind with my payments to a loan company, they’re threatening me with Bailiffs if I don’t pay them in the next forty eight hours.”