Diamond Sky (Diamond Sky Trilogy Book 1) (25 page)

‘Just take a look at the kangaroo, that’s all I ask. If you
do that one thing for me, I will gladly take you home.’

Despite her reservations to the contrary, she decided to
humour him, if only to hasten her return home.

The animal was grazing just metres from where the two of
them stood and she slowly walked towards it. When she was almost close enough
to reach out and touch it, the animal hopped away, re-establishing the original
gap between them.

‘This one’s a little shy,’ said Lucas. ‘Don’t give up,
though, I promise that the payoff is going to be worth the effort.’

‘You just keep an eye out for an ambush,’ she told him. ‘I
don’t want to end up like poor Ned, do I?’

‘Don’t worry; I’ve got your back.’

Completely oblivious to her sarcasm, she could see in her
peripheral vision that he actually was looking out for some sort of marsupial
crime syndicate. She approached the animal two more times and each time it
calmly hopped away. Her next approach was more carefully considered and she
feigned a turn away from the animal before quickly spinning on her heel and
jumping back so that she landed directly in front of it. This time when it
hopped away it did not stop, eventually drifting out of sight behind a row of
gum trees.

‘Well, I gave it my best shot,’ she said. ‘I guess that was
not one of your “special” kangaroos.’

‘I don’t think the kangaroo was the problem,’ Lucas told
her.

She was not impressed with his summation and shot him an icy
stare, with her hands planted defiantly on her hips.

‘Are you saying that I am the problem here?’

‘I honestly don’t know. It was like it did not see you, as
if you were invisible to it.’

‘What do you mean? It ran away from me. You cannot get more
visible than that.’

‘It didn’t look at you, though. It was as if it was only
aware of your presence when you disturbed the air around it. This only
reinforces my belief that something strange is going on in this place.’

‘Really?
It looks to me like you
have finally lost your mind. When’s the last time you took a holiday?’

He strode past her and to her
relief,
he was heading in the direction of the pick-up truck.

‘Find your grandfather’s research on this, okay. I gave him
a live specimen and I know that he will have come up with a theory as to why
these things are happening. And keep an eye on your e-mails. I’m going to send
you a video of the chicken incident.’

‘Lucas Black sending e-mails; maybe there is something in
the water. Are you sure it is just a disappearing chicken that you have and not
a flying pig?’

He walked around the front of the pick-up and opened the
passenger door.

‘Just get in, before I decide to let you walk home.’

She duly obliged and despite not taking anything useful from
the brief excursion, it had distracted her from her loss. For that, she was at
least grateful. Lucas dropped her off and once he had gone, she went directly
to her room. After locking the door behind her, she removed the item she had
taken from
Armareth’s
garage. She was sure that Lucas
had not seen her slide it out of the frame. Removing evidence from the property
of a killer would not go down well with her friend, even under the current
circumstances.

The image both taunted and tantalised her. Pops never
mentioned that her mother was close to the mechanic. The pair looked so
different to all other images she had seen of them. Her mother always appeared
sad and melancholy and David
Armareth
was nothing but
a middle aged creep. How could these two people from such different worlds have
been brought together and shared what appeared to be a moment of blissful
happiness? There was so much that she wanted to know. When was the picture
taken? What happened afterwards to make the mechanic so bitter? Where was her
father when this was going on?

Normally, such secrets would be lost to the past, but with
the potential that her research brought with it, she wondered if there might be
a way to bring them into the present. The one man who had the answers was now
dead, but she knew that death was no longer an impenetrable barrier. Lucas did
not entirely waste her time chasing kangaroos. She had learnt who the spectre
she encountered on the evening of the blackout was. She also knew there was a
very strong chance of running into him again should she decide to take another
astral trip.

Chapter 28

Jimmy sat on the wooden bench outside of the Sly Fox
feeding a stray chicken with breadcrumbs. He teased and toyed with the bird,
trying to lead it into thinking that he would throw the food one way, but then
throwing it the other.

No matter how much he tried, his ploy never worked. The bird
could always second guess him and quite often it would catch the food directly
in its beak. Footsteps were approaching, but he was much too engrossed in his
game to notice them.

‘Do what, Jimmy?’ a voice called from over his shoulder.

The words were enough to get his attention. He turned to see
the Carlton brothers; Sam and Joey, walking towards him. He was unable to
discern if they had deliberately sought him out or if they were merely on their
way to the pub when they noticed him sitting there.

‘Hi, Sam, were you talking to me?’

‘What money?’ Sam snapped in reply.

The pair stopped walking, but neither of them turned to face
Jimmy. They both stared directly ahead and Sam’s words were seemingly aimed at
nothingness.

‘Is everything okay with you guys?’ Jimmy asked, standing as
he did so.

‘We’re
gonna
kill you unless you
give us your winnings from last night?’

The threat was clear, but Jimmy thought Sam’s tone was more
inquisitive as opposed to aggressive, as if he was asking whether or not he
would kill him rather than actually saying that he would do it.

‘I don’t think you should do that,’ said Jimmy, who was
starting to feel a little scared by the way the boys were acting.

‘Don’t mess us around, Jimmy,’ said Sam. ‘We’ve not seen you
since last Thursday when one of your friends dobbed us in to Lucas.’

‘I know,’ replied Jimmy. ‘Lucas told me to stay away from
you guys.’

‘Doing what?’ asked Sam, whose tone was getting angrier by
the second.

‘Let’s just leave him, Sam,’ said Joey. ‘He’s clearly crazy.
You know what people have been saying about him.’

‘I don’t want any trouble with you guys,’ said Jimmy.

‘You’re calling us crazy?’ shouted Sam.

The older of the brothers took a step forward and grasped at
thin air before pushing his hands forward into the empty space in front of him.
Joey nodded approvingly from beside his brother, somehow under the
misconception that Sam’s bizarre actions were fitting to the occasion.

‘Do you know what happens to people who call me crazy?’
asked Sam.

The bully then took a swing with his right fist, missing
Jimmy’s face by almost three feet. The aimless momentum sent him falling
forward and he smashed his face on the pavement. Joey went to his brother’s aid
and as he helped him back to his feet, Sam shouted ‘we’re
gonna
get you, Jimmy!’ at the empty road that led back up Main Street. He then dusted
himself off and the pair of them walked through the door of the pub in brazen
defiance of Lucas’ public order notice.

Jimmy shook his head with disbelief. The chicken had now
gone so he decided to just walk home and forget about the strange episode with
the Carlton brothers. As he started to walk up Main Street he saw two figures
approach. It was Sam and Joey Carlton.

‘How did you guys do that?’ he asked.

‘Do what, Jimmy?’ replied Sam.

‘You just went in the bar; I saw you. It’s not funny trying
to mess with me like this. That money is mine and I won’t let you intimidate
me.’

‘What money?’ snapped
Sam.

‘The money from the poker final last
night.
You said that you would kill me if I didn’t give it to you.’

‘We’re
gonna
kill you unless you
give us your winnings from last night?’

‘Yes, that’s what you said just a moment ago.’

Sam was starting to become agitated.

‘Don’t mess us around, Jimmy. We’ve not seen you since last
Thursday when one of your friends dobbed us in to Lucas.’

The words were eerily familiar, but this time the aggression
seemed more real. This time Sam was looking into Jimmy’s eyes as he spoke.

‘Why are you guys doing this?’ asked Jimmy.

‘Doing what?’ replied Sam.

‘Let’s just leave him, Sam,’ said Joey. ‘He’s clearly crazy.
You know what people have been saying about him.’

‘From where I’m standing, you guys are the crazy ones,’ said
Jimmy.

‘You’re calling us crazy?’

Sam was now seething with anger and he took a step forward
and grabbed hold of Jimmy’s shirt before pushing him roughly away.

‘Do you know what happens to people who call me crazy?’

Jimmy thought back and re-ran the previous encounter through
his head. That exchange led to Sam lashing out only to find himself falling
flat on his face.

‘Absolutely nothing,’ said Jimmy. ‘You’re more likely to
head butt the pavement than hit me.’

He knew exactly when and where the punch was coming from,
which enabled him to easily sidestep out of its way. He capitalised on the
dodge by shoving Sam in the back, adding to the other man’s momentum just
enough to send him crashing to the floor where he landed on his face. Knowing
that they would not give chase, Jimmy ran as fast as he could up Main Street to
get away from them. As he did so, the words ‘we’re
gonna
get you, Jimmy!’ echoed behind.

***

Lucas had completed the journey so many times that it was
all too easy for him to drift into autopilot and let his mind wander. It
disappointed him that the one person whom he thought would take his theory
seriously had dismissed it as a cruel practical joke. He wondered if he had
done something wrong in the field; if there was some kind of trigger to the
animal’s behaviour that he had overlooked.

As the town rose up from the desert in front of him, it
looked the same as it always had; peaceful, dull, but most importantly; safe.
If only that really were the case, he thought. Val was much too discreet to let
slip any details of the double murder and suicide, and Libby was still in
shock. If rumours were to start, and they would, it would probably begin with
Mindy at the pub. A captivated audience is also a thirsty audience; a fact the
landlady knew all too well. At least he could keep the news of Professor Fox’s
demise out of public knowledge for a little while longer.

He decided to reach the station by way of Main Street
instead of taking the back roads into town. It would give him a chance to see
if the news had reached the streets and if so; show the residents that he was
still a presence within the town. To his relief, the streets were clear and
panic had not yet gripped the population of Jackson’s Hill. He relaxed back
into his seat.

His eyes could not have been off the road for more than a
second, but a second was sometimes all it took. He slammed his foot down on the
brake pedal, bringing the pick-up to rest mere inches from the pedestrian that
had run into the road.

‘Are you okay?’ he asked, as he stepped out of the vehicle
to check on the person he could very easily have killed.

‘I’m fine,’
came
the reply. ‘I knew
you weren’t going to hit me. I would have seen it coming.’

It was Jimmy. This was the last person Lucas wanted to see.

Or was it?

Emmy
had not believed him about
the kangaroos, but even she would not be able to dispute that Jimmy’s recent
behaviour was far from natural.

‘You still think that you can see the future, do you?’ asked
Lucas.

‘I can’t help it,’ replied Jimmy. ‘It happened again, just a
few minutes ago. Sam and Joey were going to beat me up, but I knew it was
coming, so they couldn’t. It doesn’t happen all of the time; usually when I am
not expecting it. Am I in trouble, officer?’

‘I cannot imagine you ever getting into trouble. Well, of a
legal kind at least. Right now though, you could really help me out. I think I
may have a way to explain what is happening to you, but first you will have to
come with me to see the doctor.’

Lucas paused for a moment and studied Jimmy’s expression
carefully.

‘Did you already know I was going to ask you to come to the
doctor’s with me?’

Jimmy shook his head.

‘Like I said; it doesn’t happen all of the time.’

Lucas believed him.

‘Hop in. I’ll give you a lift.’

It was only a one minute drive to the doctor’s surgery and
when Lucas got there he was shocked to see the queue of patient’s extended well
into the street. The people waiting did not look sick. At least they did not
appear to show any physical symptoms of illness. There was, however, an air of
anxiousness emanating from the crowd. Some of the people looked to be shielding
their eyes, whilst others looked around, focusing blindly on the random spaces
between objects.

‘Follow me,’ he said to Jimmy.

He used his badge to jump straight to the front of the
queue. Nobody objected, but he did receive a few strange looks from people. It
was like they did not quite recognise him and were looking at him for the first
time. People he had known all of his life were staring at him like he was a
stranger.

The doctor was with a patient, but Lucas did not wish to
wait. He was about to rap on the door when it suddenly opened as if recoiling
from his touch. The doctor was sat behind his desk whilst Sally Ritchie, a
local shop girl, stood holding the door.

‘I was just about to knock. How did you...’

His voice trailed away when he looked the girl in the eyes.
There was a strange familiarity contained within. Her expression was not
altogether unlike that of Jimmy. He glanced over to the doctor who was shaking
his head with a mixture of alarm and disbelief.

‘She said that you were here,’ the doctor said. ‘I don’t
know how she knew, but she did. She just stood up and said “that’s Lucas, I
better let him in” and there you were.’

There was only one window in the doctor’s office and it
looked out onto a garden and then the back of a house. The road could not be
seen from this side of the surgery and Lucas had not called ahead or given any
warning that he was coming.

‘Can we talk in private?’ he asked. ‘I came here to see you
about Jimmy, but I now realise that whatever is happening here is spreading
faster than I thought. Am I right that all of these people are experiencing
visions of some sort?’

The doctor laughed, nervously.

‘Perhaps you better go, Sally. I will call round to check on
you later.’

‘No, you won’t,’ she replied, but left without complaint.

The doctor closed the door behind her and once it was
secured he turned to face Lucas.

‘This is a lot worse than just a few hallucinations,’ he
said. ‘If that was all we were dealing with I could have put it down to sun
stroke. This is a whole lot weirder. I’ve had a patient in here that could
actually read my mind. They weren’t using trickery either; they could do it. In
forty years I have never seen such unexplained neurological changes taking
place. It is like the population has evolved overnight.’

‘You think this is neurological?’ asked Lucas.

‘What else can explain it? So far I have encountered no
physical changes in any of my patients. The only thing affected by whatever is
going on here is brain function.’

‘I was thinking that the explanation may be a chemical one.
Is it possible that poison in the town’s water supply could cause this?’

‘What sort of poison do you have in mind?’

‘I don’t know. Do we know how many people have been affected
so far?’

The doctor briefly glanced at a notepad on his desk.

‘So far I’ve seen seven patients exhibiting symptoms of
altered brain activity. How many are outside.’

‘I’m not sure; twelve, maybe thirteen.’

‘Sixteen,’ corrected Jimmy, much to the other men’s unease.

‘That makes twenty three,’ said the doctor. ‘That’s roughly
fifteen percent of the population. Of course the real figure is likely to be
much higher. There could be many more that are afraid to come or do not even
know that they are suffering from anything.’

‘Have you taken any blood samples? I want to get one from
Jimmy too. I think he was the first to become affected. Hopefully, the guys at
the observatory can find something for us.’

‘Have you consulted with the professor already?’

Lucas winced at the mention of the late scientist.

‘The professor will not be able to help on this one. He died
this morning. The military have shut me out completely. From what I gathered,
there was some kind of an argument between him and David
Armareth
.
The latter fled the scene and was shot by one of the soldiers. They wouldn’t
even let me see the bodies.’

The doctor held his head in his hands and sat down at his
desk, no longer able to support himself on his feet.

‘This is a tragedy,’ he said. ‘And
Davo
is dead too?’

Lucas nodded.

‘Such a waste,’ said the doctor. ‘He had his problems, but
I
never for a moment thought that something like this could
happen. Who pronounced the deaths?’

Lucas shrugged. His closeness to the professor had caused
him to overlook a great many details about the death.

‘Do you know why this happened?’

‘No, but it may be connected to what is happening in the
town. If there is a way to tie the killings up at the observatory with the
Coppersmith murders, do you think that you could get custody of the bodies?’

‘If there is a link, it may be possible. I was the
registered surgeon for all of the deceased. We do need something more concrete
to go on, though.’

‘In that case, let’s hurry up and get a sample of Jimmy’s
blood. If there is anything unusual that matches with a sample from Wally; that
may be the evidence we need.’