c
CHAPTER NINETEEN
‘I think you’ve got to accept the possibility that you’re dealing with someone dangerous here. I think it’s time you told the police what’s been happening.’
The notion appalled her. ‘The police! You’ve got to be kidding! And tell them what? I had a phone call from my dead brother. Then he tried to assault me with a statue. They’ll have me carted off to the funny farm.’
‘You have to tell someone. It’s not fair, carrying this on your own.’
‘Not my parents,’ she said, imagining the scene – telling her mother, watching her face light up with hope. Derek was alive! Then crumple into despair again. Worse despair when the truth dawned. No, she couldn’t put her through that. ‘I couldn’t do that, Cam. Mum’s on the verge of a nervous breakdown. I heard Dad say that to Father Matthew. This could send her right over the edge. And my dad too, if it goes on much longer. He’ll go and not come back, just like Derek.’
‘I thought you didn’t care about them.’
He must be able to see the tears in her eyes. She wouldn’t let him see her cry. She sniffed them away.
‘You know, Maxine,’ he went on in a surprised tone, ‘you really are a nice person.’
‘Are you trying to be funny?’ she snapped.
Cam took a step back. ‘It was meant to be a compliment. It surprises me as much as it surprises you.’
‘You really are the most horrible person I’ve ever come across!’
‘And you are the strangest little girl I’ve ever met.’
He was staring at her as if she was an alien species in a laboratory. That was it. An alien species. ‘Don’t you dare call me a little girl! I’m almost fourteen.’
‘And you act it.’
That was the last straw. She stomped away from him angrily. He really knew how to get her back up. ‘I don’t know why I keep talking to you.’
She ran all the way home, until she reached her own tree-lined street. There, she slowed down and realised with a shiver how dark the night was. If Cam was right, someone meant her harm. Someone who seemed to know her every move.
The only sound as she hurried up the street was her own footsteps. She jumped at the plaintive hoot of an owl and every rustle in the trees made her start.
No one suddenly stepped out from behind a tree. No one leapt at her from the bushes. But all the way she could feel eyes watching her. Her imagination? No. She wouldn’t believe that any more. Too much had happened. Someone was watching her. She paused at the front door and looked up and down the street. It was empty. Only a cat scurrying across the road disturbed the quiet. Yet she was was sure. Someone was out there, watching.
Over the next few days it grew increasingly difficult to avoid Miss Ross. She would try to catch up with her in corridors or wait for her on the playground. Maxine watched for her all the time, and managed to miss her.
One she didn’t miss was Sweeney. She was peering out of a corridor window, watching for Miss Ross at the school gates, when she was suddenly pushed from behind.
‘Here, it’s wee Maxie.’ She turned to find him standing in front of her. His ugly grey face was sneering at her as usual. ‘And getting weer every time I see ’er.’ He laughed at his feeble joke. So did his cronies. They would be terrified not to.
‘At least I’ll grow. But you’re ugly and there’s no chance of you growing out of that.’
He brought his face down close to hers. ‘I can always get plastic surgery.’
Maxine sneered back. ‘There ain’t that much plastic in the world, pal.’
Sweeney stood straight. His face reddened. He couldn’t think of an answer and knew that little Maxine Moody had won a round. He didn’t like that one bit.
‘You’re getting a bit too cheeky for your own good,’ he spat at her. ‘Maybe it’s time you got some of what your brother got.’
‘Or maybe I’m getting it already,’ she snapped at him. ‘It’s you that’s behind this. You’re trying to frighten me, aren’t you? Well, you won’t. I won’t let you.’ She didn’t wait for an answer. ‘I’m not scared of you, Sweeney.’ The truth was she was terrified of him. But at that moment her anger overcame any fear she might have. ‘You never gave my brother any peace when he was alive. But now he’s dead, you better let him rest.’
Just then, Cam appeared from nowhere. He grabbed Maxine and pushed her in front of him down the corridor away from Sweeney.
Sweeney did nothing to stop him, afraid that Cam might let go with another karate kick. He shouted after him, ‘Aye, get her away from me. She’ll be sorry one of these days! And as for you, China boy, I’ll get around to you soon.’
Cam ignored him. ‘Are you so stupid, Maxine? You’re taunting him.’ He mimicked her. ‘“There ain’t that much plastic in the world.” Imagine saying something like that to Sweeney.’ Then he laughed. He actually laughed! ‘It was a good one, though.’
‘It’s because of him all this has happened, Cam. Everything that’s happened to Derek, to my family, is his fault. It all began with him. I wish I could do something to pay him back!’
‘Don’t let him bother you,’ Cam said slowly. ‘It’s the best way to pay him back. He can’t handle that. Sweeney’s nothing, Maxine. And he’s never going to be anything. Forget him.’
Something was stirring in her memory. What was it? Cam saw her puzzled expression. ‘Is anything wrong, Maxine?’
Right at that second it hit her, and the memory made her shiver. ‘Did you hear what he called me, Cam? Sweeney called me Maxie. No one ever called me Maxie but Derek. It must be Sweeney that’s behind this, Cam. It has to be!’
c
CHAPTER TWENTY
Mum was on a high when Maxine went home. Obviously she’d had another session with Luella Oribine.
She had a ‘no one is going to take this feeling away from me’ kind of look about her. Defiant. Daring Maxine or Dad to say a word. Dad picked at his dinner, pushing food around the plate with his fork.
Just watching the two of them convinced Maxine she was right. She couldn’t tell them anything.
She lay in bed that night, fingering Derek’s chain. Was Cam right? Had someone stolen it from him? And was that the someone who was terrorising her now? Or was it really Sweeney? Had he stolen the chain from Derek before Derek had gone? She wished she could remember if he was wearing it that day. I bet this chain could solve the whole mystery if it could only speak, she thought.
The bedroom door opened and Mum came in. Maxine thrust the chain under her pillow hurriedly. Mum mustn’t see it.
‘I came in to say goodnight and to apologise.’ She sat on the edge of the bed and stroked Maxine’s hair. It had been so long since she’d done anything like that, it took Maxine by surprise. She shrank back.
‘I understand, Maxine. No wonder you don’t trust me. I’ve neglected you. I’ve been so wrapped up in my own problems, I’ve not thought about yours.’
Maxine was sure her mouth was hanging open. Couldn’t help it. What had brought on this sudden concern? Mum’s next words told her.
‘Derek said I’ve to take care of you.’
Maxine shivered.
‘I know you find it hard to understand, but it comforts me. Makes me feel better.’ Her mother ruffled her hair. ‘If you all just give me time, I’m going to be better.’
You’re going to be better, Mum, Maxine thought, as she watched her leave the room. But you’re not going to let Derek go, ever.
She began to get angry. What right had Derek to come back from wherever he was and interfere in their lives? He should have enough to do learning to play a harp! She had a good mind to go and tell that fortune teller off. And that was when it struck her: if Derek was passing messages back and forth like the Royal Mail, why couldn’t he pass one
on to her? Why couldn’t he tell her exactly what was happening? She was going to see Mrs Luella Oribine. She was going to ask Derek himself.
At three thirty next day, instead of going home, Maxine turned in the direction of Mrs Oribine’s house. Mum kept her address handy, stuck on the fridge door. Luella Oribine lived on one of the new estates on the edge of town. A neat expanse of bungalows and tidy gardens. Mrs Oribine’s was easy to spot. It looked exactly like her. The garden was a mass of vibrant colours, yellow marigolds, red tulips, tall lilac lupins. Maxine rang the doorbell and waited on the steps for the front door to be opened. Finally it was answered by Mrs Oribine herself.
Did this woman never try to look the part, Maxine wondered? Had she no pride? She was a fortune teller, for goodness sake, yet there wasn’t a gold earring in sight. Instead, she stood there, her unruly hair tied up in a multicoloured scarf, a cigarette dangling from her lips. She was clutching a tin of polish and a yellow duster.
She stared at Maxine, obviously not recognising her. Then she took a step past her and looked up and down the street. Maxine followed her gaze, up and down, wondering what she was looking for.
Finally, Luella Oribine said in a sharp voice, ‘Don’t want any.’
The woman was dotty, Maxine decided.
‘Want any what?’ Maxine asked her. Already, Mrs Oribine was back inside the house getting ready to close the door in Maxine’s face. ‘I’m not selling anything.’ Then she added quickly, keeping a wary eye on that closing door, ‘Don’t you recognise me, Mrs Oribine?’
The fortune teller peered closer. Maxine couldn’t take her eyes off that cigarette ash, amazed it still hadn’t dropped to the ground.
‘Of course, you’re the wee lassie, Moody, aren’t you? I thought you were one of them kids selling macaroons.’ She looked suddenly concerned. ‘How’s your mother?’
Almost as dotty as you, Mrs Oribine, Maxine could have answered. Instead she simply shrugged.
‘What brings you here?’ She could speak with the cigarette still in her mouth, and the ash still attached precariously. Maxine was fascinated.
‘Mum gets messages. That’s all she talks about.’ As Maxine spoke, a guilty flush passed over Mrs Oribine’s face.
‘Oh, dear,’ she said.
‘I want a message too,’ Maxine said, getting to the point straight away. ‘I want to talk to him.’
At last Mrs Oribine took the cigarette from her mouth. ‘I hoped this wouldn’t happen.’
‘Don’t tell me I’m too young to get a message.’ Maxine was determined not to be put off. ‘It’s important. I must. You’ve got to let me talk to him.’
If she said ‘oh, dear’ again, Maxine was sure she would scream.
‘I think you’d better come in, hen,’ she said. ‘There’s something I think I should tell you.’
c
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Mrs Oribine’s kitchen was sparkling clean and very modern. However, it looked as if she’d had three different designers in to put it all together. All white and chrome on one side, panelled wood on another and bright red worktops on a third.
She ushered Maxine to a seat at the table. ‘Do you want something to drink, hen?’
Maxine shook her head. ‘What did you mean? There’s something you should have told me?’
Mrs Oribine sat down across from Maxine and immediately began to light up another cigarette. Maxine coughed theatrically, but she didn’t seem to notice. In fact, the first thing she did was blow smoke right into Maxine’s face.
‘When I came to your house that first time, hen, I could see how desperate your mother was. She wanted so much to hear from her son. Some kind of message, anything. And I thought ... where was the harm if it was going to comfort her?’
Maxine shot to her feet. ‘You mean you didn’t receive any message from Derek?’
‘Nothing. Not even the feeling he was trying to get through.’
‘That’s disgusting. You lied!’ Maxine couldn’t keep the anger out of her voice.
Luella Oribine pulled her back into the chair. ‘I want you to know I’ve never done anything like that before. I’m a very reputable medium. It’s against every principle I have.’ She took a long pull at her cigarette. ‘I did it with the best intentions. You must believe that.’
‘No message at all?’
She was shaking her head. ‘I never had any psychic connection with your brother.’
‘You’re a ... phoney?’
Mrs Oribine almost swallowed her cigarette, and now she shot to her feet and began pacing up and down the kitchen. ‘Me? A phoney! I’ll have you know, young lady, I am a respected medium, renowned the length and breadth of the country.’ At this point she banged the table with her fist. ‘Not just this country. Internationally! Why, I’ve just been invited to Japan. An international seminar!’
‘I’m sorry.’ Maxine apologised. ‘But you said ...’
Mrs Oribine sat down again. ‘I know I shouldn’t have done it. It was wrong. But I thought I would do it just once. To set her mind at ease. She was so troubled.’ She smiled at Maxine then. ‘And I could feel such sadness in your house ... and all around you, hen. I could see you were going through a trauma.’
A trauma. Maxine wasn’t a hundred per cent sure what it meant, but she liked the sound of it.
‘And something else. I can see it now. It’s all around you like an aura. Something is happening in your life. Something scary and it’s all connected with your brother.’ Maxine shivered, remembering now the puzzled look that had passed over Luella’s face the night of the seance. Maybe she really did have a gift. ‘I just felt if I could get your mother to move on, I might be helping you too.’
‘But it was like ... opening a door, and my mum won’t let it shut again.’
Mrs Oribine seemed impressed by that idea. ‘Yes,’ she said, ‘that’s it. She won’t let the door shut. I tried to do the right thing. I really did. I could see what you and your dad were going through. I tried to tell her that Derek wouldn’t come through again. That he just wanted her to get on with her life. To look after the family she had left.’ Mrs Oribine sighed. ‘I hoped in time she’d come to terms with his loss. People do. And then they’re ready to move on. I refused to sit with her again, you know.’
That surprised Maxine. ‘But I thought she was seeing you often.’
‘Not me. But she went to other mediums. They might be doing the same thing for all I know. Just trying to help her. But there are a lot of charlatans in this business. I only hope she hasn’t got in tow with any of them.’
Charlatans? Luella Oribine knew some lovely words.
‘However, I’m ready now to go and see your mother and explain everything, if that’s what you want.’
Was that what she wanted? Would it help her mother to know it had all been a lie? Or would that knowledge only make things worse?
‘Why do you think you didn’t get a message from Derek?’ Maxine asked after a lot of thought.
‘Who knows?’ Luella Oribine noticed a spot on her table and began spraying polish on it. ‘Perhaps he’s content wherever he is. Doesn’t want to come through. I did try everything.’ She went on, ‘I held many of your brother’s belongings to try to make contact, and still nothing. Maybe if I’d had something he was wearing when he went missing –’
Maxine interrupted her excitedly. ‘What difference would that make?’
Luella knocked her ash into the ashtray. ‘A person’s energy remains in their belongings for a long time. Sometimes it’s so strong you can almost feel them beside you. But, of course, perhaps your brother had been gone for so long, all that energy had gone with him.’
Maxine put her hand in her pocket and touched the medal. ‘Do you mean, if I had something Derek was wearing when he went missing ... you might be
able to contact him?’
‘Possibly. Why?’
Maxine drew the chain from her pocket and laid it out on the table in front of her. ‘This was Derek’s,’ she said.
Mrs. Oribine was obviously puzzled. How much could she tell her? This woman was used to strange stories. She’d believe anything. And yet ...
‘I bought this for him,’ Maxine explained. ‘His last birthday before he left. He never took it off.’
She let that statement hang in the air. He never took it off, so he must have been wearing it when he died. She prayed the medium wouldn’t ask how she got it.
Mrs Oribine reached out for the chain. ‘It’s lovely,’ she said. She held it in her hands, entwining it around her fingers, turning the medal to read the inscription. ‘Derek Moody.’ Her face creased into a frown.
‘Is something wrong?’ Maxine watched her closely. Mrs Oribine closed her hands around the medal and clutched it to her. As she did so, she gasped. The colour seemed to drain from her face. Her breathing became faster. Maxine stood up and approached her. It was as if Luella Oribine wasn’t there any more. Her eyes glazed over. She let out a little moan and held the chain closer against her. ‘Such strong feelings!’ she murmured. ‘Where did you get this?’
She didn’t wait for an answer. Beads of sweat were appearing on her brow. ‘Such pain. Such fear. No ... Terror! Running away. Someone’s after him. He’s so scared. I can feel his terror. He doesn’t know what else to do. He has to run.’ Suddenly she threw the chain from her. It clattered across the table and slid to the floor.
Maxine picked up the chain and held it in her hand, exactly as Luella Oribine had done. Nothing. She could feel nothing. It was still warm from Luella Oribine’s grasp, but it was only a St Christopher medal on a golden chain.
Mrs Oribine’s hands were shaking as she came to. She pulled another cigarette from her packet and lit it nervously. She didn’t say a word until she’d taken one long pull. Only then did she speak, in a voice that sounded almost afraid. ‘Thank goodness that didn’t happen in front of your mother.’ She looked at Maxine and there were tears in her eyes. She shook her head.
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