Dark Companion (40 page)

“It’s artistic license!”

I closed my eyes and, as I listened to their cheerful bickering, I felt an unfamiliar sense of relaxation and peace, something that had been missing in my life since Hosea had died. Because I
belonged
. I’d believed belonging meant being exactly like everyone around you, but I was wrong. Belonging was trusting others so much that I could finally be myself.

“I think you have had your share of the sunshine and the pleasures of the earth, and that you should spend your few remaining days in repenting your sins and trying to make atonement for the young lives that have been sacrificed to your love of life.”

Mary Elizabeth Braddon,
Good Lady Ducayne
(1896)

Chapter 36

Hattie arrived at the Holidays’ at a quarter to three. She hugged me for a long time before letting go. “I’m so glad that you’re okay.”

I leaned against her as we went to her car.

On the ride to the Radcliffes’, Hattie was blasting some punk. “What is this?” I shouted.

“Bikini Kill, ‘Don’t Need You,’” she shouted back. “My mother hates my music.” She pulled over to the curb, and we listened until the song ended. She lowered the volume and pulled back onto the street. “Jack told me what happened. I’m so sad for BB. I’d hoped that she’d run off with someone who loved her, because that’s what she really wanted, love. If she’d stayed with Lucky and later married, her husband would always come second.”

“Is that the way it always is with the Companions?”

“Not always. My father and his Companion have been long-distance friends for forever now. She’s raising a family and doing real estate. But the Radcliffe men are egomaniacs—except for Jack.”

I sighed. “Last night when I was watching the Radcliffes together, I thought, that’s what family is, people who care for each other no matter what the circumstances, people who forgive each other.”

“Jack says I’m supposed to tell you that we aren’t really dating.”

“Why did you pretend you were?”

“Because it made Lucky insane. Stupid, spoiled, selfish Lucky. He can go coitus himself, which he would if he could. Good luck to you with him.”

“I’m not going through with the initiation, Hattie.”

Her mouth dropped open. “Really? But why?”

“Because I don’t want to put Lucky Radcliffe’s needs ahead of my own.”

“Well, it’s about time!”

Hattie parked in the Radcliffes’ drive behind a Crown Victoria with a police antenna and the black Mercedes. She helped me to the front door. “Time to face the firing squad.” We bumped fists and said, “Grrl power,” then she let out a breath and rang the doorbell.

Tobias Radcliffe, more worn out than ever, opened the door. “We’re all here. Please join us. Hattie, you can wait in the family room.”

“I’m coming to the meeting.”

“It’s not appropriate,” he said listlessly.

“Mr. Radcliffe, you have some nerve trying to tell me what’s appropriate.” Then she tossed her head and marched into the living room.

Mrs. Radcliffe and her sons sat on one sofa. She was perfectly groomed and the only indication of a crisis was the tension in her jaw.

Jack smiled at us and I felt confident and hopeful. He was wearing a black t-shirt and clean jeans. He’d shaved so I could see all the wonderful lines of his face.

Lucky said “Hey” to me and gave a pleading look to Hattie, who remained near the doorway.

Ian Ducharme, the Council Director, wore an impeccable black suit and sat in a leather chair set back in the corner of the room. When he saw me watching him, he raised an eyebrow, once again giving me that in-on-a-joke-together feeling.

A man and a woman in business clothes stood by the fireplace. Mr. Radcliffe helped me to a chair and called the couple over. “Jane, this is Detective Fox and Officer Bateson, from the Evergreen Police Department. They’re following up on the accident last night.”

The woman, Detective Fox, said, “Miss Williams, we’re grateful you weren’t badly hurt. It’s tragic that Mrs. Mason didn’t make it out.”

I waited for Mr. Radcliffe to say something, but he was preoccupied with staring at the carpet. “It’s difficult for her friends to lose her twice.”

Detective Fox nodded. “We have the fire chief’s initial report, and we need your statement because there was a death. We know your memory may be hazy. People in crises have trouble recalling incidents.”

I knew that she was providing me with cover. “Mrs. Mason desperately wanted to press the reset button and go on as if her recent loss and breakdown had never happened. That’s why she was staying late in the lab to set up an experiment, because she used to help her husband all the time. The cloth chart caught fire and then the chemical supplies combusted. The rest happened so fast it’s all a blur.”

“Thank you. I have everything for my report. It’s quite remarkable that you got out of the room and down the stairs.” Detective Fox stepped toward Mrs. Radcliffe. “Headmistress, please give me a call if you need anything.”

“I will, Katie.”

The detective turned back to me. “Miss Williams, I know this has been traumatic, but I’m sure you’re going to have a very successful life. I’m a Birch Grove alumna myself.” When she shook my hand, I saw the gold and garnet ring shining on her finger.

After they had left, Mrs. Radcliffe said calmly, “What happened was a dreadful shock to all of us, Jane. We never expected that Claire Mason was alive and would try to hurt you.”

“But you must have suspected that she killed her own parents.” Her impassive face told me everything. “You
knew
someone had killed Breneeta Browning.”

“We knew nothing of the sort. We assumed she left the school, which was her legal right as an emancipated minor.”

“You helped us get out of the foster system to suit your own purposes.” Although my throat was still sore, I didn’t bother to hide my anger. “Without the protection of social workers, you could do whatever you liked without interference.”

“That attitude is uncalled for, Jane!” she said, sitting up even straighter.

“
Your
attitude is uncalled for. You or Mr. Radcliffe found BB’s body in the amphitheater. You fabricated a story to conceal her absence, and you’ve lied and told everyone that she’s been in contact with you.”

Ian Ducharme watched with interest as Mrs. Radcliffe’s expression froze.

Mr. Radcliffe scowled at his wife. “I
told
you I didn’t kill BB, but you wouldn’t believe me.”

The headmistress’s face became paler than usual. “Accidents happen, Tobias. I only thought that you’d been overzealous because of her young blood. It would have been your right to take on another Companion…” Mrs. Radcliffe tugged so hard at her pearl necklace that it broke and pearls scattered all over the thick carpet and rolled across the hardwood floor.

Right then, Lucky understood what had happened. He glared at his father and shouted, “BB was
mine
! She was supposed to be mine!” Then he turned to his mother. “It’s
your
fault.
You
wanted to get rid of Aunt Claire.”

“Her behavior was increasingly erratic, Lucky, and she didn’t want to retire,” his mother said imploringly. “We tried to get her into treatment and relocated.”

Lucky’s face went red. “
This
was her home! She was our family! Family is supposed to be everything.”

Jack put his arm around Lucky. Lucky leaned his golden head against his brother’s dark head, and the room was so silent that I could hear the wind outside and the trees brushing against the windows.

Mr. Radcliffe ran both hands through his hair. “I can’t deal with this anymore. Nothing’s right since Claire … and I need a drink.” He bolted from the room and we all waited for Mrs. Radcliffe to follow him.

But she had regained her composure. “Jane, this incident has nothing to do with the way we feel about you. We’re postponing the initiation, and we’re happy to do whatever we can to reassure you.”

“I’ve decided that I don’t want to be a Companion.”

“Don’t make a serious decision in your condition. You need to rest. You already have the week off, and you and Lucky can go somewhere, anywhere. We have a ski lodge, and autumn is beautiful in the mountains, or if you’d enjoy being by the ocean, we can arrange that. Why not see Paris, Jane?”

“A vacation won’t change my mind and I’ve got to study for midterms.”

“Lucky,” Hattie began.

Mrs. Radcliffe turned her focus to Hattie, who stood in the doorway. “Harriet, you’re not a part of this discussion.”

“Yes, I am.” Hattie moved to stand in front of Lucky. “Lucky, I’m giving you one last chance. Decide if you want to be a self-indulgent boy who spends his life partying and going through Companions or if you want to be a Family leader who is respected and trusted.”

Lucky lowered his forehead and glowered. “I don’t have to make this decision right now. I told you so in the grove the night you had that sleepover. There’s no hurry and I’m entitled to my own Companion.”

“Maybe someday, but not the way you want now—taking her blood and treating her like a serf. I have plans and I’m not going to waste my life hoping that you might grow up.” Hattie reached for his hands, clasping them. “You know that I have always loved you. There’s so much good in you, Lucky … please don’t let that slip away.”

Lucky gawked at Hattie with all the adoration that I’d once hoped he’d have for me.

“Don’t cheat yourself out of your birthright, Lucky,” Mrs. Radcliffe said. “You can do better than Harriet Tyler.”

Lucky snorted derisively. “You’re crazy, Mom. There’s
no one
better than Hattie. She’s smarter than I am, she’s nicer than I am, she’s beautiful, and she’s the most amazing girl I’ll ever know. If she’s willing to put up with me, then I’d be an idiot to let her go.” He stood and put his arm around Hattie’s waist. “Let’s get out of here.” Her face was radiant as they walked out of the room. We heard the front door slam a moment later.

Mrs. Radcliffe crossed her ankles gracefully, but her voice wavered when she spoke. “He’ll change his mind, Jane. Lucian’s always been impulsive, but he won’t break an important custom.”

I saw how she was trying to control her feelings, the same way I’d always tried to control mine. “Mrs. Radcliffe, I don’t think you’re monsters because you have a genetic anomaly, but I do think you’ve behaved monstrously. Your wealth does not give you the right to exploit the desperate. Hiding the bodies does not make you any nicer or cleaner than any common street thug.”

Mrs. Radcliffe sat straight. “How very rude and ignorant—”

“Oh, give it up, darling,” said Ian Ducharme in a low, languid voice.

“But—”

“Do you really want to argue with me, Hyacinth?” Even his smile seemed dangerous. “I’m suspending Birch Grove’s Companion program indefinitely. Now, go give comfort to your husband so he doesn’t have to seek it in a bottle. I’d like to talk to Jane.”

Mr. Ducharme gave the headmistress a look, and she got up stiffly and left the room, crushing pearls in her steps.

Jack said, “I’m staying.”

When the Council Director moved to the sofa with Jack, the resemblance I’d noticed before was more striking. They noticed it, too, studying each other for many seconds before Mr. Ducharme turned to me. “Well, Jane, you hardly gave me a chance to leave before you proved me right.”

“Why did you tell them I’d be a satisfactory Companion?”

His eyes shone with amusement. “This branch needed a shakeup and I thought you might bring that.”

“Where is Breneeta Browning’s body?” I asked him.

“The dead are gone, their ashes scattered to the wind. However, we will try to locate Claire Mason and see that she does no more harm. We’ve increased security throughout this community. I suspect she won’t appear here soon.”

“Claire Mason is mentally ill. She needs care.”

“We’re cognizant of the circumstances surrounding her parents’ death. The world is a better place without them. However, Claire Mason killed a Companion candidate and intended to murder a Family member, both extremely serious crimes. The Council will determine the appropriate action when she is apprehended.”

He relaxed back against the sofa. “Let’s move on to more pleasant matters. Since Lucky declines the privilege of a Companion, I don’t think we have a problem. You’ll be compensated for your trouble. What would you like?”

I knew immediately. “The chemistry lab at my old school is being reconstructed. I’d like you to upgrade it with state-of-the-art equipment in honor of a friend of mine, Hosea Sabatier. And I have a friend who needs treatment for drug addiction and counseling for abuse, and she might not want to go. She
does
want to go to beauty school, so I’d like that set up, too, and she’ll need a safe house.”

I had no idea how much these things would cost, but Mr. Ducharme didn’t seem bothered. “Those are reasonable requests, although I’d asked what
you
wanted, Jane.”

“I want to help others.”

Jack looked from me to Mr. Ducharme. “Jane saved my brother’s life and Albert Mason’s life, and she could have died. She was promised a Birch Grove education, as well as funding through graduate school, including all living expenses, so she should get that in addition to the scholarship.”

“You’re her advocate?”

“The Halfling’s usual legal counsel only comes out in moonlight.”

“Ah, I thought I was the only one who noticed that in her, something not of this world,” Mr. Ducharme said with a sly grin. “Yes, that would be fine. Jane, after you’ve completed your studies, we can revisit your relationship with the Family. We are not all as conformist as this particular branch, and we can always find a position for a trustworthy, intelligent ally, especially one with such composure in a crisis.”