Alice Parker & the Curse of Fate (9 page)

‘
Thanks,’
said Alice sheepishly. ‘It might be best if you leave before
someone hears us talking.’ She stood up to open the window.
‘Oh, no! It’s snowing heavily! You’ll never be
able to fly in this!’

‘
I was going
to run back anyway. It will be faster.’

Alice pulled a face
as she realised she would have to walk through the apartment with
Ralph to let him out.

‘
Fine. But
keep quiet. Please.’

He followed Alice
silently to the door. Carefully she turned the key but paused when
the door creaked as she opened it.

‘
Just go!’

‘
Will I see
you again?’ hissed Ralph from the landing.

‘
I don’t
know. I’m sorry.’ Alice closed the door softly and
leaned against it with a sigh of relief. She liked Ralph. But his
mind reading ... ugh! It made her skin crawl. He could hear all
this too! How could she stop him? Oi, Ralph! Stop listening! He
couldn’t help his ability and he was clearly nothing like Hugh.
But it had stirred up insecurities Alice had tried to forget, and
she had enough to worry about already.

*

‘
Well?’
asked Thomas at breakfast time. ‘How’s Hugh?’

Alice slumped down
next to Grandma at the kitchen table. ‘I haven’t spoken
to him. He’s gone to New Zealand for a month, so he can’t
help even if I
did
want
him to.’

‘
Don’t
worry,’ said Grandma. ‘We’re on the move today.
Brigitte has arranged for us to spend a few days in Detmold with our
old friend, Ingrid. It couldn’t have happened at a better
time.’

‘
Oh. Where
is
Brigitte?’ asked Alice, mid-yawn.

‘
She’s
gone to buy Ingrid a present.’

‘
Good!
Listen, I’ve got some bad news, although it’s a bit late
now, I suppose. Isabella has been watching us ever since we arrived
here. She was actually on our flight. Lucinda told me last night.’

Thomas snorted.
‘You’re joking, right?’

Alice shook her
head.

‘
How did that
happen? I mean, how were we stupid enough not to notice her?’

‘
I don’t
know. But it really was just coincidence. She was on her way to
find Lionel.’

‘
Coincidence
or not, it’s stinking bad luck on our part,’ said
Grandma.

‘
I bet she
couldn’t believe her luck!’ said Thomas. ‘She’s
probably watching this apartment now, or paying that bloke to do it
for her. They’ll follow us to Detmold as well. We’re
trapped in here!’

‘
No, we’re
not,’ replied Grandma. ‘There’s another way out.
In the basement, in the communal laundry room, there’s a small
flight of steps leading to a metal trapdoor.
That
trapdoor opens onto the street at the back of the building.’

‘
You never
said before!’

‘
I didn’t
know until early this morning, when I offered to do Brigitte’s
laundry. If she drives off on her own this afternoon, Isabella won’t
bother to follow her. We’ll be waiting round the back.’

‘
Mmm. I
suppose it’s worth a try,’ replied Thomas. ‘But I
think we’re using playground tactics against a psycho.’

Alice shrugged her
shoulders. ‘Can you think of another option? Unless you want
to kill again, of course.’

‘
ALICE!
That’s not fair. And it’s certainly not an option,’
Grandma warned her.

‘
Why am I
always in the wrong?
You
cause all the trouble, yet
I’m
usually
the one who gets us out of it!’ Thomas banged down his coffee
mug and stormed out of the kitchen.

*

Grandma’s
‘playground tactics’ appeared to work. The Parkers
shared one large holdall by packing minimal clothes. Thomas had
thought it would give the game away if someone saw Brigitte loading
her car with four bags. After making up a feeble excuse about
calling at a shop nearby before leaving, Alice, Thomas and Grandma
slipped out through the basement and waited two streets away.
Grumbling about the inconvenience, Brigitte finally collected them
and they set off for Detmold.

For Alice the four
hour journey was exhausting, as she scrutinized every vehicle
travelling behind them in an attempt to decide if they were being
followed.

‘
Sit down and
turn around!’ growled Brigitte on several occasions. ‘What
is wrong with you, child?’

‘
Yes, what
is
wrong with you, Alice?’ mocked Thomas. ‘Are you missing
Ralph already? Or do you need the toilet? Your constant fidgeting
is really annoying.’

‘
Alice doesn’t
travel well, lately,’ Grandma informed Brigitte. ‘She
gets a bit ... agitated.’

‘
She will have
to learn to calm herself and stop being silly,’ replied
Brigitte in her usual unsympathetic manner.

Thomas smirked as
Alice looked daggers at the back of her aunt’s head.

Having expected an
apartment in town, Alice was pleasantly surprised to learn that
Ingrid owned a farm on the outskirts of Detmold. They would be
staying in an old farmhouse surrounded by fields of cattle. Strange
though it sounded, Alice felt better in open spaces recently. She
had felt trapped in the tall buildings of Berlin and was glad to get
away from the city.

Ingrid’s house
did not disappoint. From her bedroom window Alice had a
breath-taking view across snow-covered countryside, only interrupted
by smoke rising from the chimney of the only other house for miles.
That also belonged to Ingrid and was inhabited by her farm manager
and his family.

‘
Not a bad
place at all!’ Alice said to herself, smiling as she saw two
Border Collies tearing across the yard towards the house.

‘
My thoughts
exactly!’ agreed Grandma, appearing in the doorway. ‘We
should have come to visit Ingrid years ago! I think we’ll be
all right here, don’t you, my love?’

Alice nodded. ‘I
hope so.’ They definitely hadn’t been followed; she had
been absolutely sure on the quiet country roads leading to the farm.
At least she could relax a little tonight. She sank down in to the
cushions on the old rocking chair in the corner of her room, and
began to reply to a text message that Sarah had sent that morning.

How’s it
going?
she had asked.

Didn’t
start well but things are looking better
typed
Alice. ‘Fingers crossed, anyway,’ she said aloud.

*

Ingrid certainly
made them feel very welcome. A rotund lady with a ruddy complexion
and cropped grey hair, she must have spent several hours baking
before they arrived. She served plum cake and apple strudel with
coffee that afternoon, along with spiced Spekulatius biscuits.

‘
She’d
make a brilliant Finwip,’ Alice whispered to Grandma.

‘
I thought
you’d like her! I can’t believe so many years have
passed since we last met up. It must be ten years ago, at Brigitte’s
seventieth.’

‘
Well, don’t
leave it so long next time!’

‘
No! Always
you are all welcome!’ Ingrid assured them. ‘I am very
happy you visit!’

‘
Thanks for
organising this, Brigitte,’ said Thomas, helping himself to a
second slice of strudel. ‘It was a great idea.’

‘
Of course it
was. So, tonight we eat and rest, then tomorrow perhaps you will
show Alice and Thomas around the farm?’ Brigitte asked Ingrid.

‘
I would love
that!’ she beamed. ‘Do you like horses? I have three.’

‘
I like all
animals,’ replied Alice, stroking Ingrid’s dogs, who had
not left her side since they met her.

‘
Well, Maxi
and Morritz seem to like you,’ observed Brigitte. ‘I
have never been fond of dogs.’

‘
I knew there
was something strange about her,’ said Alice under her breath.

*

After a wonderful
home-cooked evening meal, Ingrid led them to a living room upstairs.
It was a spacious room with a wood-burning stove, three sofas covered
with knitted blankets and patchwork cushions, and a large television.

‘
I like this!’
declared Thomas, immediately choosing his seat opposite the
television. Maxi and Morritz leaped on to the sofa next to him and
lay down. ‘Oh! Nice of you to join me.’

Ingrid explained
that this was the warmest room in the house in winter, and she would
sit in there with the dogs every evening after dinner.

‘
I’m not
sure I’d like to live alone in the middle of nowhere,’
admitted Grandma.

‘
Oh, I am not
alone! I have my dogs and Heinrich is just over there,’
replied Ingrid, pointing to the house several fields away.

Alice had one last
look out of the window, peering in to the darkness before Ingrid
closed the curtains. She had been glancing outside, searching the
landscape ever since they arrived, but so far she had seen nothing
suspicious.

Thomas could see
that she was still nervous. ‘Try and relax. It’s OK.’

Alice did her best
and stretched out on a sofa, wrapping herself in a blanket. She tried
to concentrate on the film that Ingrid put on for them. Not that she
could hear it, since Grandma, Brigitte and Ingrid were nattering away
throughout, catching up on ten years of gossip. Just before it
finished, a loud bang made everyone jump. Alice screamed.

The television had
gone off and the room was plunged in to darkness. The wood burner
provided the only flickering light.

Alice jumped up from
the sofa and ran to Thomas. ‘It’s happening again, isn’t
it? She’s here!’

‘
Who is here?’
asked Brigitte.

‘
Shh! Don’t
be silly, Alice. It’s just a fault with the television,’
Thomas reassured her. He stood up and switched on the lights. ‘See!
No power cut, the T.V. has gone off, that’s all.’

‘
This
is
annoying,’ groaned Ingrid, looking rather embarrassed. ‘But
the television is quite old. I must go to town and buy a new one
tomorrow.’

‘
I’ll
help you choose one, if you like,’ Thomas offered.

‘
Thank you.
Sorry everyone; no more television tonight!’

‘
What a shame
we are not closer to Berlin,’ said Brigitte. ‘I am sure
Matthias could fix it. He is very good at repairing appliances.’

‘
He’s
had plenty of practice on people’s teeth,’ replied
Thomas.

‘
I’ll go
and make us some tea,’ said Grandma. ‘Will you come and
help, Alice?’

Reluctantly Alice
followed her grandma downstairs. She knew she was going to get told
off for over-reacting. But she couldn’t help it. She was on
edge all the time. She clattered some mugs noisily on to a tray and
searched for the sugar bowl.

‘
Aren’t
you going to say something?’ she asked.

‘
No,
actually,’ said Grandma calmly. ‘I just thought it would
be better if you left the room before Brigitte or Ingrid asked any
more questions.’

‘
Oh.’
Alice kicked herself when she remembered what she had shouted out in
fear. ‘I hope Thomas can think of an excuse if they ask him.’

‘
I’m
sure he will, my love. He has an excuse for everything.’

Chapter 8

A
Flaming Disaster

Luckily for Alice no
one mentioned her little outburst, and after a hot drink she managed
to sleep peacefully through the night. She had Maxi and Morritz to
thank for that. Ingrid allowed them to sleep in Alice’s room
since they clearly adored her, and she felt much safer in their
company.

The following
morning, after a hearty breakfast, Ingrid took everyone on a tour of
the farm. It was a sunny, frosty morning – perfect for a brisk
walk – and Alice was glad of the opportunity to clear her head
in the fresh air. The dogs bounded across the fields in excitement,
as if showing off just how much space they had to run free.