Down on the jetty Mayor Wilkes performed his busybody routine. He bossed around the man who’d moored the ferry to the jetty when it arrived. Some children from Badsworth Lodge had come to the riverside to wave off their friend. Although most appeared to be there out of morbid curiosity. These children Wilkes chivvied away from the water’s edge with comments like, ‘If you fall in nobody will get you out again. This current is a killer.’ Charming.
The children muttered amongst themselves.
‘Did you hear that Jay has been saying Max’s name?’
‘God, he’s for it.’
‘I wonder what will happen to him?’
‘Whatever it is, I bet he doesn’t make it till the end of the week.’
‘Max’s a bully anyway. He deserves everything he gets.’
Constantly Laura spoke softly to Max. Mainly reassurances that everything would be fine.
Mayor Wilkes prowled the jetty. From his expression you’d have thought he’d bitten a lemon thinking it a strawberry. ‘What the hell are they doing?’ His sour tone intensified as he stared across the water at the mainland. ‘Look at the idiots.’
‘What’s wrong, Mr Mayor?’ Victor enjoyed a brief but satisfying image of pushing Mayor Wilkes into the river.
Wilkes fumed. ‘The ferry should have been here ten minutes ago. It’s still moored to the pier.’
‘Perhaps your committee have cut sailings to save money.’ Victor spoke with an innocent tone, but he knew full well it would irritate Wilkes.
‘That’s utter nonsense, Victor. The crew’ll be sleeping off a hangover.’
Victor glanced at Laura. He’d decided to tell her what she meant to him – as soon as he grabbed an opportunity. Only it wasn’t looking good. Another child was running down the lane calling her name. Nurse Laura Parris wasn’t just popular with the island ranger. Everyone loved her. For a moment, he stood beside Mayor Wilkes as the man grumbled about the tardiness of the ferry. As a breeze whipped tufts of white cloud across the sky part of him planned the day out. He needed to check the shoreline to make sure no deer had snagged themselves again as they grazed on the kelp. Also, he intended to take the children to the castle tower. They loved the climb up the spiral staircase to the very top. He shot another glance back at Laura. Just a minute alone with her, that’s all he needed. His perseverance was rewarded with a smile. From her hand gesture to Max she was telling him to stand there. In a slow sedated way the teenager answered with a nod. At last! Victor’d get his chance to speak to her. He’d already decided to give her the carefully composed note that was in his pocket. Maybe it was a bit schoolboy-ish but it just bore a few words, thanking her for her company, then he’d added his telephone number. Come to think of it, handing her a note on the jetty, would it seem weird? Damn. Regarding the dating game, he was seriously out of practice.
They were within six paces of reaching one another when a boy raced along the jetty shouting, ‘Laura . . . Laura! You’ve got to come to the hostel.’
‘I can’t,’ Laura said. ‘I’m catching the ferry back to the mainland.’
‘You’ve got to. It’s important.’
Her expression became serious. ‘Why? Has something happened?’
‘The manager’s sick. Big sick. All over the stairs.’
‘Go find Lou. I have to take Max back to Badsworth Lodge as soon as possible.’
‘Well, you’re not,’ Mayor Wilkes told her as he pocketed his phone. ‘The ferry’s going nowhere.’ He glared at the vessel as it sat in its dock across the span of water. ‘My guess is the hostel manager has the same as the crew. They’re all sick, too.’
‘We’re stranded here,’ intoned Max, glassy eyed. ‘With Jay.’
I must do something about the bracelet. But what? The question perplexed Archer. There were other dilemmas too. A man and woman ran White Cross Farm. Every morning they rang a gong to announce breakfast was ready. Archer would hurry downstairs, his stomach rolling hungrily as he sniffed grilled bacon. This morning he’d waited until half eight. No gong. No delicious bacon aromas. Just a strange silence. Even though the hunger pangs had started he decided it was important to show the gold bracelet to Laura. He must tell her the circumstances of the find or his head would burst. Laura would listen sympathetically when he described the underground car, and his fight with the mummy creature. For a moment, the eight-year-old stared at the bracelet on his bedside table. Touching it was creepy. Even to look at the dirty gold links made him remember all too clearly those dead features, the mane of black hair, and, worse, the blue eyes. They were beautiful, but they were terrifying, too. The way they blazed out of that mummified head. Archer gulped. His hands turned clammy while his heart thudded hard.
‘Laura,’ he told himself. ‘She’ll know what to do.’ Archer carefully slipped the bracelet into the pocket of his shorts then went to Laura’s room. After knocking he looked inside. Alarmingly, it was empty. What’s more she’d taken her clothes. Panic jolted him. ‘She’s left without us!’ Where now? Jay’s room? No, Jay might start repeating his name. Or announce he was taking him for a little walk again. No, thank you. He’d had enough of Jay’s ‘little walks’ to last a lifetime.
Archer hurried downstairs in the hope he’d find Laura at the breakfast table. ‘Bloody Laura,’ he said loudly to the empty room. ‘Bloody hell. You’re not allowed to go. You can’t leave us.’ His scared voice echoed back from the farmhouse kitchen walls. ‘Bad Laura.’ He flinched at how babyish he sounded. ‘I’m going to be brave. I’ve been given some jewellery. It’s important.’ When he spoke the words aloud, he realized that the gold chain was vitally important. It had to be. That dead woman with the blue eyes had come back to life to give it to him. She’d fought to push it into his hand so he wouldn’t let go of it. She needed him to take it, to keep it safe, then to give it to someone. But why? And who should he give it to? Archer sat by the table. Nothing was cooking on the hob. However, the cereal bowls were already out. In the middle of the table were boxes of Frosties and cornflakes. The notion of there being no one there to make breakfast troubled him almost as much as knowing that gruesome corpse had come back to life. He glanced at the window, suddenly fearful that the monster face would be staring in. A pair of eyes did watch him. He cried out before he realized it was only the fat old Siamese cat that lived in the barn. Archer decided to fend for himself. He switched on the radio which was perched atop the refrigerator. A DJ announced cheerfully that it would be breezy today with sunshine. Then he played a sad song about being alone.
‘I’m OK, I’m brave,’ Archer insisted to his reflection in the spoon he’d picked up. ‘I’ve been given an important job.’ He continued to address his distorted reflection in the spoon. ‘The woman knew I’m big enough to keep the jewellery safe.’ He took a deep breath. ‘I’m going to tell Laura about the underground car, too.’ He recalled the detective shows he’d seen. ‘Something’s not right. The car’s been deliberately hidden.’ He chose the box of Frosties. ‘The woman was hidden in the car. Back seat. Blanket over.’ Chuckling, he relished the role of brainy policeman. ‘Clues. They tell me . . .’ He froze in surprise at his deduction. ‘Murder. The woman was murdered.’ He poured a stream of cereal into the bowl. ‘The woman was brew-tally murdered . . . the gunge stuck to the car’s carpet is –’ he spoke with relish – ‘blood. Dried blood. All poured out from the wound, as she lay screaming. Bleeding. Bosh, bosh.’ He brought the spoon down on the tiger’s face on the box like he was beating it to death. ‘Bashed out her brains. Bosh!’ Hysteria grabbed hold. ‘Bosh, bosh, bosh, brains and blood, and—’
‘I’m sorry.’ A woman with wild hair lurched forward. Her hands slammed palm-down on to the tabletop. ‘Uh . . . I feel like death.’
The corpse-woman’s back for the bracelet! Archer screamed.
With an effort, the woman straightened. ‘I’m sorry, Archer. I didn’t mean to frighten you. I’m . . . uph . . . I planned to . . . tell you that Laura had to leave for . . . ferry .
. .’ The woman grimaced. ‘Lou’s supposed to be here . . . I don’t know . . . sorry about breakfast. Only I can’t face . . . cooking.’ Shuddering, she pulled her dressing-gown collar up toward her throat. ‘We’re both down with a bug. Graham can’t get out of bed. You know my brother . . .’ She rocked unsteadily. He stared, not knowing what to say or do. ‘Victor. You know Victor?’ She gulped. ‘I need the bathroom.’ As she fled the kitchen she managed to say, ‘Archer. Tell Victor. Ask him to—’ The rest of the sentence disintegrated as she rushed to the toilet.
Archer realized the woman wasn’t the corpse-monster from the car after all. It was Victor’s sister. Only she looked a lot different from yesterday. He thought hard. ‘Dishevelled.’ That’s it. Dishevelled. First things first. He’d eat his Frosties, then he’d go find Victor. Archer was pleased. He’d been given another very important job to do. It made the eight-year-old feel grown-up. As he spooned cereal into his mouth he sensed the pressure of the bracelet in his pocket against his thigh. He recalled the words inscribed on the bracelet. Ghorlan~Victor. Might that be the same Victor as Victor Brodman? Had he known the dead woman in the car? Were they family? Or did he murder her? This made Archer freeze mid-chew. If Victor bashed out the woman’s brains, will he do the same to me? The gold bracelet had changed now. Before it had been valuable, something of importance. Now it had become a curse. It made his skin crawl. Like a metallic parasite, it seemed as if it wanted to bore into his leg. If I’m not careful I might wind up dead in the car, too. Dead men tell no tales . . . the same goes for little boys, too.
Fourteen
‘Congratulations.’ Mayor Wilkes addressed Laura Parris in his best officious weasel voice. ‘Your children have managed to infect half the island.’
‘I beg your pardon?’
The others on the jetty saw her anger. They watched in anticipation, wondering how she’d respond to such an accusation.
‘Whatever those kids brought with them,’ Wilkes snapped, ‘they’ve passed it on to our people.’
‘If they have, then it’s no fault of theirs.’ Laura’s eyes blazed. ‘How dare you say things like that, as if they’re unclean! Is that how you see them? Lepers!’
Wilkes snarled, ‘I’ve just heard that the ferry won’t be sailing for at least two days. That means we’re confined to the island. Do you understand? We’re marooned.’
Max groaned. ‘I want to go home.’ Tranquillizers gave his voice a leaden quality. ‘I don’t want to stay here. Jay’s going to hurt me.’
‘What a mess,’ Wilkes fumed. ‘What a bloody awful mess.’ He took another phone call. During this he fired out what amounted to news bulletins for everyone’s benefit on the jetty. ‘It’s our GP. He says that fifty people are infected . . . vomiting, cramps, fever. Great, just great.’ He finished the call. ‘Nurse Parris. I’ll be making a formal complaint. This is the last time those . . . people . . . from Badsworth Lodge set foot on this island.’ Sheer loathing slurred his words. ‘You’re not managing an orphanage. It’s a bloody zoo.’ He shot a look of disgust at Max.
Laura ripped into Mayor Wilkes. ‘I can’t believe how crass you are. Badsworth Lodge isn’t an orphanage. We are carers. We’re attempting to rebuild lives.’
‘In the most squalid, unhygienic surroundings. Nurse Parris, you and your horde will be off this island within forty-eight hours. For good. And if I had my way—’
‘Wilkes. Shut up.’ Victor had heard enough. ‘It doesn’t matter if the bug had come from these children. But do I have to remind you that the school party earlier this week came down with the same symptoms? Vomiting, fever. They were sick before anyone from Badsworth Lodge set foot on Siluria. Give these children a break.’
Laura nodded a thank you to Victor, though she hadn’t finished with Mayor Wilkes. ‘I don’t know what you did with your soul, you arrogant bastard. But you’ve lost it somewhere along the way. I’ve never known such an uncharitable, uncaring little shit in my life.’
Max groaned. The raised voices unsettled him.
Victor stepped in again. ‘OK, so we’ve lost the ferry for a while. What we must do now is return to our usual routine. Otherwise the children will get upset.’
‘Exactly,’ Laura agreed. ‘I’ll check if any of our children have symptoms. I’ll need to speak to the GP, too.’
‘Don’t you listen, Nurse Parris? He’s busy. There’s an epidemic.’
‘You, yourself, used my title. Nurse. If the island’s hit as badly as you say by this bug I’m qualified to help out.’
Mayor Wilkes, sour faced, marched from the jetty in the direction of the village. Laura started to usher the other children back to the houses where they were staying. ‘I’ll be round shortly to tell you the plans for this afternoon. The castle, isn’t it, Victor?’
‘We’ll be climbing the tower.’ He smiled to reassure them. ‘You’ll enjoy it.’
Laura caught his eye. ‘Thanks for taking my side. You know, I could cheerfully strangle that man.’
‘You’ll have to join a very long queue,’ Victor told her with a grin.
Archer had almost completed the ten-minute walk to the village. In his pocket he carried the Ghorlan~Victor bracelet. He would tell Laura everything as soon as he could. When he entered the village he paused. It all looked very strange to him. Even though it was mid-morning, with the sun shining down, a lot of houses had curtains drawn shut. He passed some people in gardens who sat on benches with their heads in their hands. The way they were so droopy reminded him of how Victor’s sister had been as she’d staggered to the bathroom. A woman in yellow rubber gloves tipped water from a plastic bowl on to a garden path. Her expression wasn’t a happy one. She called back through her door. ‘Tammy. You sit there with the bucket. Don’t move away from it. OK?’
Archer scurried down Main Street. This morning the river shone silver in the sunlight. Gulls rode the breeze, screeching their heads off like gulls do. Then he saw Laura with Max. The teenager moved in a zombie shuffle. Archer knew it was pills. He’d seen kids like it before at the Lodge.
With his heart leaping with joy at seeing Laura he ran toward her. ‘Laura!’
She waved, ‘Hi, Archer.’
‘I’ve got something to show you.’
‘In a minute, I’ve got to get everyone back to the houses.’
‘It’s important.’
‘Archer. Patience please.’
‘No, look at this. Someone gave me it. It’s really important.’ He dug down into his pocket to retrieve the bracelet. It had become tangled up in the threads of cotton. He struggled to free it. Only it just wouldn’t come.
‘Archer. I’m sorry, sunshine. But I’m busy.’
‘Why don’t you show it to me?’
Archer started back. It was Victor, the island ranger. Instantly images of both the Ghorlan~Victor bracelet and the living corpse in the car sped through his head. The woman had been murdered. It might have been Victor who’d murdered her. He glanced at Victor’s hands. Big hands like that could easily bash your brains out.
‘What is it, son?’ Victor asked. ‘I might be able to help.’
‘Nothing.’
‘Nothing?’
‘I haven’t got anything.’ Suddenly the once friendly man became a looming, ominous figure. Archer backed away.
‘Are you all right?’ Victor asked. ‘Nothing’s bothering you, is it?’
Archer stuttered, ‘No . . . I’ve been sent. Mr and Mrs Knowles are poorly.’
‘Thanks for letting me know, Archer.’ He turned to Laura. ‘Archer’s just told me that my sister and her husband are down with the bug. I’d best check on them.’
‘Everyone’s probably got the same. Drop by the GP’s surgery first. If he’s identified what it is he’ll have printed out an information sheet on dos and don’ts.’
Victor smiled at Archer. ‘We’ll need help feeding the animals. Do you want to walk back to the farm with me?’
Archer shuddered.
Laura
said, ‘It’s best he sticks with me. All this excitement might get too much for him.’
Victor headed in the direction of the farm. Archer didn’t like the look of his hands. Skull breaking hands, they were. Laura had been walking with her arm protectively around Max’s shoulders. But Kate and Tina were bickering, so she had had to go do her peacekeeper thing. Archer took the opportunity to talk to Max.
‘It was rotten what you did to me, Max. It really hurt when you kept nipping my neck. But I don’t want you to die.’
Max just stared.
‘I know Jay was saying your name.’ Archer gave him an appraising glance. ‘Has anything bad happened to you yet?’
Max said nothing, but he started swallowing.
Archer started to back off. ‘After it happens to you, you won’t come back to Badsworth Lodge, will you? I saw Maureen after the accident. She came into my room. Her face was all . . .’ He gulped. ‘I don’t want to see you when you’re dead, Max. Promise to stay away.’
A growl, starting in Max’s throat, morphed into a howl of terror. ‘Jay!’
Archer followed Max’s line of sight. Jay walked along Main Street, face expressionless, arms hanging limp by his sides. Even from here, Archer could see that he mouthed a word over and over. Laura ran back to Max. However, the teenager had already fled. He raced down the hill to the jetty. He didn’t stop when he reached the end. Legs still running frantically through God’s own sweet air he flew off the end of the boards. A second later he vanished into the river with an almighty splash.