Beyond Death (17 page)

Graham had heard enough. He stood up and approached The Head, putting both hands on her desk he leaned forward. ‘Now look, Mrs Chappleton-Myers. If our daughter said something happened to her friends then something happened. Did it not occur to you that the girls might be too frightened of the repercussions if they tell the truth?’

‘Sit down, Mr Sylvester.’

Her tone took him back to his school days and Graham obeyed without question, despite the fact that he’d left school over thirty years before.

‘Of course that occurred to me. But I’ve spoken to all concerned and the balance of probabilities leads me to believe that Melanie has at least exaggerated on this occasion. I’ve decided not to punish her this time but will be keeping a close eye on her behaviour in future. I’ve also asked her teachers to ensure that she’s looked after and gets plenty of attention.’

‘We need to speak to her,’ said Carol turning to Graham. ‘I’m worried.’ It was the most civil she had been to him since their split and he would have smiled had it not been for the shared worry over their daughter.

‘Melanie said she didn’t want to see either of you,’ she put up a hand to silence their protests, ‘but I agree, you need to talk to your daughter. I’ll take you to her.’

They walked along a quiet corridor in a section of the school not usually frequented by students, Graham assumed. The Head knocked and opened the door and they entered. The room was furnished with comfortable chairs, a sofa, television and a refreshment area. Mel sat on the sofa chewing a nail. She looked frightened and forgetting about her daughter’s animosity Carol held her arms out to her. Seeing her parents made Mel realize how much she’d missed them and she ran to her mother and they hugged. When they broke she looked at her father and he gave a tentative smile and opened his arms. Mel had by no means forgiven him but hugged him anyway. She felt a lot better now that her parents had arrived and addressed them both.

‘I didn’t lie, honestly.’

‘Mr Moore.’ said The Head, ‘if you would, please.’ She held the door open and followed Mr Moore through it, closing it quietly behind them.

They sat down and before her parents had a chance to ask any questions, Mel blurted out the whole story, including her decision to leave the taxi.

‘I know you’ll be annoyed and I shouldn’t have got into it in the first place, but I wanted to show you I could do anything I wanted after what you two did to me.’

‘Oh, sweetheart,’ said Graham, ‘I’m so sorry and I know I can’t make it up to you but I thought,’ he looked at Carol. ‘We both thought that it would be better if you didn’t know until you were older.’

‘Well you were wrong.’ Mel looked at her parents and temporarily forgot about her own situation for the moment. Seeing their expressions made her feel more like the adult than the child.

‘I have to ask you this, Mel. But are you telling us the absolute truth?’

Back to being a teenager she rolled her eyes then gave both parents a look filled with attitude. ‘I knew you wouldn’t believe me.’ She folded her arms and looked out of the window.

‘I’m not saying that we don’t believe you.’ Said Carol and her daughter looked directly at her.

‘It’s the whole truth. I obviously don’t know exactly what happened at the so called party but I do know what Drew told me and that she’s had nightmares ever since.’

They made some drinks and talked for a while longer.

‘What happens now?’ asked Mel.

‘Well. We tell The Head that we know for a fact you’re not lying. There’s not a lot she can do though,’ said Graham. ‘If the police have already carried out an investigation and your friends won’t tell the truth.’

‘We’ll take you home.’ Said Carol.

‘But I don’t want to go home, Mum. I haven’t done anything wrong. And anyway, I don’t want to get behind in my studies.’

What she’d said made sense but they were both worried about her. ‘Are you sure about this?’ Mel nodded at her father. There was only two weeks to half term and then they would see their daughter again.

‘Would you like to come and stay with me for a few days at half-term?’ he was desperate to put things right, ‘then I can explain everything to you properly.’

‘Can’t you come and stay with us, Dad?’

‘That’s not a very good idea at the moment, Mel.’ Said Carol.

‘Please, Mum. After all this I need you both.’ She knew she could still get around both of them and so Carol reluctantly agreed that Graham could stay with them when Mel was home from school. She was sure she wouldn’t need to explain that he would be in the spare room.

They hugged goodbye and The Head was along the corridor talking to Mr Moore when Carol opened the door. She made her way back to the room followed by Mel’s Form Tutor. The visit was completed and The Head agreed that Mel shouldn’t be taken out of school until the half-term break.

‘Back to your class, Melanie, please.’

After she’d disappeared Graham and Carol insisted to The Head that their daughter had told the truth.

‘I’ve explained my thoughts on the matter, Mr Sylvester, Mrs Dawkins. I think we should now focus on looking after Melanie so that she can concentrate on her studies.’

Neither parent pushed the matter further though Graham found it difficult to keep quiet. They didn’t want to disrupt their daughter at such a crucial time in her education and she’d had enough upset due to their split. The visit was concluded and their thanks to The Head was luke warm as they left and made their way back to the car park.

‘What if she’s in danger and what about her friends’ parents? Do you think we should talk to them...’ Carol was thinking out loud and firing the questions like a machine gun on automatic.

‘Hang on, hang on.’ Graham had considered the circumstances on the walk to the car park and although their concerns were the same, thought he’d come up with a few answers. ‘Firstly, we both know how secure the school is. The Head has confirmed that Mel’s confined to school grounds until half term. Secondly, the other parents believe their girls and not Mel. I think that if we talk to them it’ll only make the situation worse. I’m hoping that they’ll notice a change in their behaviour when they’re home at half-term.’

Carol pulled at her bottom lip with her index finger and thumb as she tried to make sense of the situation.

‘Okay, the school’s safe and so is Mel for the time being. I would worry more if she were with you or me because we can’t watch her for twenty-four hours every day. But when the truth does eventually come out, and I’m convinced that it will, none of them will be safe.’

‘But the police will be involved then, Carol and they’ll help. All this is really frustrating because they must know that she’s telling the truth, especially if the guy involved has already got a criminal record.’

For the first time in ages they were able to talk without shouting at each other and they agreed the best way forward was to visit the police station and talk to someone in authority about their concerns.

*****

Claire had been busy following Fiona’s movements and had missed her father’s visit to her sister’s school. She was currently in the cafe section on the fourth floor of a large department store. She looked around the trendy room approving of Fiona’s taste. It had a black and white theme and offered designer sandwiches, beautifully presented tiny cakes and more varieties of coffee than the European Union had MEPs. The window table where Fiona sat had a stunning view of the city’s panorama. Fiona was admiring the view when a voice turned her head.

‘Kayleigh!’ They hugged and Kayleigh joined her friend at the table. Ten minutes later with a tall, decaf cappuccino and latte in front of them, Fiona’s strawberry concoction and Kayleigh’s chocolate delight, they caught up with events since they’d last seen each other.

Claire was initially fascinated listening to their chatter about daily life. When the fascination turned to boredom she travelled around the cafe looking at some of the other clients and wondering what everyone was eating and drinking. When she’d been alive, shopping with Tash had been one of her favourite non-Jay experiences. Her time in the department store brought back many pleasant memories of when they’d been totally exhausted by the sheer effort of shopping for clothes and had flopped down gratefully in a cafe, surrounded by shopping bags and gagging for a cup of coffee. She floated along the queue of people waiting to be served and was disconcerted when a middle-aged woman in a navy blue business suit winked at her. Claire and Ron had always assumed that nobody could see them and were still shocked when the odd person was able to detect their presence. Gabriella had told them that although there were a lot of charlatans around who were happy to prey on people when they were at their most vulnerable, there were also a few people who could contact the spirit world and some who could see them but not talk to them. These were in addition to the angels sent to Earth by the Committee. Contrary to some beliefs there were far too many people for everyone to have their own guardian angel, but the angels did their best to help out when they could. She smiled shyly at the woman in acknowledgement and returned to Fiona’s table.

As if on cue, Kayleigh put down her coffee mug and leaned in closer to her friend.

‘So what’s troubling you, Fi? Is it Jim?’

Fiona nodded. Kayleigh knew her so well and there was no point in denying it. ‘Yes it is, but not in the way you think?’

‘Sounds interesting.’

‘Unbelievable and I know you’re going to take the mickey, but please don’t.’

Intrigued now, Kayleigh could hardly contain herself. ‘For God’s sake, Fi. What’s happened?’

Fiona outlined the conversation she’d had with Jim and Tony in Tony’s bedroom, and Kayleigh looked thoughtful. ‘Hmm, it is hard to believe isn’t it?’

‘That’s what I thought, until Tony mentioned the colour of my underwear and then I freaked.’

‘So they’re telling you that their dead sister is sending them messages?’

‘Yup, and when I was listening outside the room, they were saying something about catching muggers and me helping.’

‘Oh, I don’t like the sound of that either.’ Kayleigh saw the look on Fiona’s face. ‘Oh no, you’re going to get involved aren’t you? I can see it would be right up your street. Don’t do it Fi.’

‘The way I look at it, they were both very close to their sister and maybe this is their way of coping with her loss. I don’t know about the other stuff but you know how I feel about Jim, and if he needs my help, well, what can I do?’ She opened her hands, palms upwards, and shrugged, as if she had no say in the matter.

‘The fact that you’re an adrenaline junkie who craves excitement has got nothing to do with it of course?’

Fiona took a sip of coffee but the twinkle in her eyes was obvious to Kayleigh. ‘So what are you going to do next?’

‘I’ll play it cool and wait for them to broach the subject. And as for the stuff with their sister, I’ll try not to let it freak me out. I’m sure as time goes by that it’ll happen less and less. I just have to remember that sometimes identical twins can be a bit weird.’

‘But what if she’s really visiting them and giving them messages,’ said Kayleigh. ‘Ooooh, the ghost of Claire Sylvester is watching you.’ Kayleigh raised her arms and made ghostly noises and the two women burst into fits of laughter.

Bloody cheek thought Claire concentrating on one of the plates. She was as amazed as the two women when the chocolate delight plate crashed to the floor. Their laughter stopped abruptly and they looked around before gathering their bags and leaving the table, intent on more shopping but both spooked by the experience.

Chapter 11

Big Ed was not a happy man. He’d covered his tracks well and the police didn’t have anything on him this time, but he knew what they were like. Only a stupid man would carry on with the venture and think he wouldn’t be caught, and he certainly wasn’t stupid. The parties had been a nice little earner and he’d lose face as well as money when he explained to the clients that they couldn’t go on any longer. He could have sworn that the two girls wouldn’t squeal, and this was confirmed when he’d contacted Alice and had a chat with her about her little brother. She’d caved in and eventually told him that it was the one who’d got out of the taxi. He recalled that her name was Mel, and she’d been to see her Head Teacher and that’s what caused his current problems. Alice had insisted that she and Drew had not told Mel what they remembered from party and Big Ed believed her, for now. The girl Mel would need to learn that nobody messed with him. He’d have to be careful but would teach her a lesson she’d never forget.

*****

During the time she had followed her Claire had gathered plenty of information to prove to Fiona that she wasn’t a figment of her brothers’ imagination. It was a work night and Fiona was at the flat having dinner with the twins before Tony went out to give them a bit of privacy.

‘Very tasty, Fi.’ She’d made a quick pork stir-fry meal with egg noodles and it was absolutely delicious. They were chatting away about nothing in particular when Tony commented.

‘Oh no.’

Fiona could see by the look on Jim’s face that something weird was going on and she put down her fork.

‘Is it your sister again?’

‘It is and she says she smashed the plate. Does that mean anything to you?’

Fiona paled and Jim reached for her hand. ‘Are you all right, sweetheart? You look like you’re going to faint or something.’

‘I’m fine, I’m fine.’

‘She also said... I don’t believe that I’ve got to tell you this,’ said Tony cringing, ‘but Claire said to tell you that a pink lipstick would suit you better than the dark red one you bought from Boots.’

Claire was satisfied to see that the look of disbelief on Fiona’s face had now turned to one of resignation and acceptance.

Seeing that the twins weren’t frightened by the strange presence gave Fiona confidence.

‘Tell her I said she’s a cheeky cow and that I’ll help.’ She smiled and now it was the twins’ turn to be shocked.

‘I heard some of your conversation last time she visited and it doesn’t take a brain surgeon to work out that you need my help. This is still too freaky for me so I’m going to leave you to umm, talk to your sister or whatever it is that you do, then you can let me know what it is you need my help with.’