Borderliners (27 page)

My heart was weary, so I slept.

I can only have been out for a few minutes, but when I woke up I felt as if I had fallen into a deep, black pit and dropped out of the world for a brief period. I got up feeling entranced, dragged along by instinct which pushed me back into the house, dripping wet and cold. I walked through the living room to the dining room where I greeted the sideboard like an old friend, running my wet hands along the wood before resting them on the lock.

I paused before crawling across to the piano and pushing my right hand underneath its heavy, wheeled base. Dust had gathered on the laminate flooring beneath, causing me to cough as I groped about. Eventually my hand closed on a small metal object which I pulled out. Returning to the sideboard, I inserted the key in its lock and opened the door to reveal, not cutlery, glasses or plates, but files. I pulled out a black file box labelled ‘Patients’ records’ – the title itself a red herring – and straightened up to put the box on my knee. Checking its contents quickly, I nodded and got up to march straight to the front door with the box under my arm. I was making for Julia and Iain’s evening prayer group, instinct telling me they’d be there.

In the meeting hall Julia was standing at the front of a small congregation. Motionless, her arms were raised, her eyes closed and her face lifted. From my position at the back by the door, I could guess at the drill. The assembled group bent their heads downwards and I imagined them peering into the darkness of their own private universes as they waited for Julia to begin speaking.

In a low but clear voice, she began: ‘We are mere mortals. We know that many of us in our community are sick and infirm but we are not the Healer. That is a divine right.’ She paused, opened her eyes and looked straight over at the back of the assembled crowd, where I was standing, before continuing. ‘We don’t know why so many of our brothers and sisters of the village have died before their time over the years, but we do know this: that we must have a genuine desire to be at one with the divine forces of the world. Many of our kin did not.’

In the silence that ensued, Julia remained with her eyes closed, face aloft and hands outstretched. This was the moment and I plunged straight in, my voice bouncing off the walls and my eyes reflecting the faces of surprise which greeted me, their communal shock rising to greet me like a tidal wave.

The silence tensed.

‘Julia,’ I said. ‘You say that only the divine can heal, but frankly, that’s irresponsible. But let’s say you’re right. What happened to your so-called brothers and sisters wasn’t due to a lack of healing. Instead, they were pushed over the edge by something else. Take Linda, for example,’ I looked round to see that all the people around me now had their eyes open. Most of them were looking at Julia. ‘Linda is very unwell.’

Julia stared over. Iain had come down from the pulpit to join her and they stood shoulder to shoulder, at the front of their congregation who stared unblinkingly over at them like rabbits in headlights.

‘Today, fate brought you to this community, Elena,’ Julia replied, and the people collectively let out a breath and a great sigh rippled around the room.

‘I have no interest in joining this community.’

There was a pause in which Iain stroked his top lip and a woman at the back dropped her umbrella. Weak sunlight filtered through the modest windows, and the whole set up seemed fake, second rate, nothing like the grand, stain-glassed, Gothic churches of my childhood.

‘I call on the Spirit to call out your demons!’ Julia cried and threw herself to the floor babbling, sobbing and wailing, grasping at her chest as she did so. Iain threw himself down shortly afterwards, as did several members of the congregation, until soon the whole room was alive with writhing form and motion. Once the tension in the room had reached fever pitch, Julia ran over to me and grasped at my dress, which I wrenched back from her.

‘She colludes with demons!’ A breath in, and she continued whilst the collective babble dimmed to a mutter. ‘She will not send them to us! She thinks she can heal them alone! Little does she know. Little does she understand. For we cannot exist without each other, we cannot be healed without the holistic therapy of our Charismatic Community!’

I looked around, aghast. Why had I come here alone? The still faces of the villagers watched, waiting to see what my next move would be. I opened my mouth to say something, but stopped as the door swung open to reveal Vince and Emma, followed by Paul, Giles and several other members of the village council. As people stole looks towards the commotion at the entrance, the room came alive with rustling, small coughs and whispers as they took advantage of the break in the tension. Julia had her hands on her hips and was staring across at the group who were now standing, arms crossed, by the door, assessing their options.

‘What do you want, Vince?’ asked Julia in a hushed tone which intimidated the congregation into complete silence once more. ‘If you’re here to make trouble, you aren’t welcome here.’ She glared at Emma who wore a wide smile, unperturbed by the threatening tone.

‘Well, it’s not a social call, I’ll give you that,’ retorted Vince, moving in to the centre of the hall whilst Emma stayed by the door with the other council members. ‘You might think you own this village and all the people in it,’ he gestured around him. ‘But there are those of us who have been here longer than you. And we don’t buy this. Any of it.’

He turned to speak directly to the congregation, but Julia had shut her eyes and had begun to pray again, wailing in a relentless monotone with her face thrown back and her palms facing upwards. Vince raised his voice above the din. ‘I know what’s going on here, and if you think about it, so do most of you.’ He paused to take a quick look around. ‘Let’s not pretend. Nobody talks about it but you all know about the people who have taken their own lives, don’t you?’

Several sets of eyes bounced from Vince to Julia to Iain and then back to Vince again. ‘Anyone here suffering from depression, feeling down or lonely? Or worse? Maybe you got on the wrong side of
her
?’ He turned to stare at Julia. ‘Maybe you refused to pay into her community fund or did something she didn’t like? Or you committed the cardinal sin of talking to outsiders. I don’t like the New Age shop any more than any of you, but I wouldn’t actively stop anyone from going there. But she does, doesn’t she? She stops you from talking to people she thinks are a bad influence, keeps you from mixing with people who won’t join the community. Do you know why? Because she wants to keep you under her control.’ He paused to look around the room before lowering his voice to a growl. ‘And the more people she has under her control, the more of this-’ He raised his hand and rubbed his forefinger and thumb together, ‘-she has. And she likes the power too.’ He turned to look at Iain, raising his voice once more. ‘In fact, they
both
love the power. Don’t you mate?’

He scanned the room again. Iain was on the move, striding round from the front of the assembled group to Vince’s position at the back. He put his hand on Vince’s arm. ‘Look. I’m going to have to ask you to leave.’

Vince threw him a look of disdain. ‘Not until you hear me out. And if you know what’s good for you, you will.’ He shook Iain off and raised his voice to block out the sound of Julia’s low key, insistent chanting. ‘Dr Lewis has been having trouble for some time. Your leaders here certainly know how to make a person’s life difficult. And there’s nobody whose life they want to make a misery more than someone who could potentially expose them for the charlatans that they are.’ He looked at Iain and then at Julia, who had finally stopped chanting to stare over at him with renewed vigour.

‘Yes, that’s right. You heard right. You are nothing but a bunch of charlatans. You prey on people who are vulnerable, who are unwell. I don’t like what goes on here but until recently I thought anybody stupid enough to buy the rubbish you peddle got what was coming to them. But now? Now you are causing irreversible damage to the entire village. People committing suicide? Strange rituals in the woods? Oh yes, don’t worry, we all know about your little secrets! But you’re getting greedy now aren’t you. Over half the village inhabitants must be members - how much money does that earn you, I wonder? I bet it’s a pretty penny. But the way you’re going, soon there’ll be nothing left of this village. People who have no money will have even less. Others will fall ill. These people don’t have your best interests at heart, they don’t care about you.’ Vince was looking directly at Julia now. A couple of women in the middle of the room had sat back down on their chairs. Another was crying quietly whilst the woman next to her had put on her coat and was pulling her towards the door.

‘You are upsetting my people,’ replied Julia, her voice hard and her eyes glinting. ‘As is
she
,’ she said, pointing at me. ‘You are merely envious of my community, of the joy we spread. All you can do is drag people from the path! That is not your right and you will surely be punished for this.’

Emma coughed at the back whilst Vince shook his head. His shoulders were taut and his green eyes still as they took in every member of the congregation.

I cleared my throat. ‘All you’re doing is spreading fear. I’ve seen people make themselves ill, frightened out of their wits. I’ve seen you bully those you don’t agree with, like the people who run the New Age shop, for example.’

A few people scoffed, but Emma cut them dead. ‘Is anyone here wondering how that young girl is right now?’ she said. Nobody moved. ‘Or maybe some of you already know? Maybe you were there the night they sent her completely barking?’

‘Well, maybe it was Dr Lewis who sent her “barking”?’ said a woman from the congregation. ‘She was there. As was your brother.’

Vince laughed without mirth. ‘Oh really? Where would that be?’

‘In the woods after the ball,’ replied the woman. She was the kind I wouldn’t normally mess with, but Vince was unperturbed. ‘You were there as well, weren’t you? With your friend, the quack.’

‘Well, since you mention it,’ Vince caught my eye. ‘We know exactly who was in the woods that night. And what they were doing.’

‘Prove it,’ said the woman.

Vince answered her. ‘Don’t you worry. We will.’

People had started moving towards the door. I noticed that some were covering their faces. Vince turned to block their way. ‘Hold on a second,’ he said to them.

I pulled the box file out of my bag and marched over to Vince, holding it above my head, before turning to face the crowd. ‘In this file I have details of all the people who have gone missing from this village over the last twenty-five years. I know who they are, and I’m going to find out what happened to them. Then, I’m going to go the police. I will ask them to reopen those cases and I will ask them to look into your finances. Let’s see how much money you’ve got in you coffers, and how much of it was given to you willingly. I’ve got reason to believe not all of it was.’

To an extent I was calling their bluff, as the file contained the four clippings left within the
‘Man Myth and Magic’
volume together with some bits and pieces I’d managed to put together after the clippings had been stolen back, but when I caught sight of Julia in the opposite corner, her eyes seemed darker than ever, like two bullets aimed at my soul. A white-out-of-black image, like a photo negative, flashed up in front of my eyes as I faced the door to leave. This was the Julia of the dream diary, white out of black, a skull, all faceless eyes and soulless being.

‘Liar,’ she called after me, her voice echoing across the room. I was aware that I could no longer breathe, and still clutching the file, I lunged towards the door.

‘You’ve got no case against us,’ said a rasping voice somewhere behind me. ‘You’ll never prove it.’

I kept moving, away from Iain’s grasp and I felt the air behind me change as Emma and Giles moved in to block him.

‘Why don’t we stay here and continue our chat for a while longer?’ I thought I heard one of them say.

‘Oh no you don’t. You leave her be.’ White fire danced in front of my eyes burning a path to my exit as I stumbled outside, reeling. A hand caught me as I fell.

‘I thought I told you to stay home today, and look after yourself,’ said a voice, low and keen in my ear. I kept my eyes shut for a moment before stirring myself back to life.

‘Yeah? Well I’m going home now.’

‘I’m coming with you. Whilst they are in there, we might have a little look at something.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Come on.’

‘What about them?’

‘Leave them to Emma and Giles. They can handle them for a few more minutes. I think we’ve managed to spook some of those people. I hope so, anyway.’

He helped me up and we hurried over to my car. Whilst I opened it up he slung the box file into the back and lowered himself into the passenger seat. Getting in on the driver’s side, I started the engine and drove us the short distance across the village to my house.

Once there, we got out of the car and went inside.

‘Open up,’ said Vince striding over to the French doors at the back of the house. ‘I think it’s about time we found some of this “evidence”.’

I did as I was asked and followed him out into my back garden. Shortly afterwards we jumped the fence between my property and Julia and Iain’s. Unwilling to break our flow, I continued to follow without asking questions and watched with fascination as Vince picked the lock on one of the side doors.

‘Sometimes have to do this as an estate agent,’ he said, even though I felt this was a dubious explanation at best.

There was no sign of the dog as we went in, although it occurred to me I had not heard it barking recently. The back door clicked open and we shut it quickly behind us, moving forwards through the kitchen to the hall. I led the way up the stairway to the little office at the top of the landing. On finding the door to this room locked as well, Vince performed his party trick again and opened the door. It took a little longer this time, but the lock eventually gave way and we felt our way through the darkness of the box room.