Misty Falls (35 page)

‘He won’t hurt her, will he?’ Alex asked Victor, his voice ragged.

‘No, I don’t believe so. You and your mother are the only ones he never contemplated hurting. In a way, with Roger, the three of you are the only real people in Johan’s world. His mind is a mess, large blanks where he refuses to look, emotions stunted.’ Victor sighed. ‘His parents did a number on him, that’s for sure. You know, I usually get some satisfaction from putting the bad guy behind bars but with him I just feel depressed. There’s no justice for the victims—no way back for him.’

Jason and Roger were waiting in the car park. I imagine Roger had no idea what his wife was doing or he wouldn’t be sitting there so quietly. He saw us but his eyes moved away. Jason, however, was out of the car before his father could stop him.

‘Alex, Misty! I didn’t expect to see you here!’ He bounded over to us with puppyish enthusiasm. ‘You feeling OK, Misty? ’Cause you looked rough last time I saw you.’

I gave him a hug. ‘I looked rough because I was dead, you muppet.’ Alex flinched; he didn’t like the reminder even when I made it a joke. ‘But I’m fine now, Jason. How are you?’

‘Oh, you know.’ He shrugged. ‘It’s been a bad couple of days.’

Victor tapped my shoulder. ‘I’ll just go have a word with the doctor in charge while you catch up.’ He swept us all with one of his ‘don’t do anything stupid’ looks before striding away.

Jason gave a pretend shudder as Victor left.

‘I saw that, du Plessis!’ called Victor.

‘Eyes in the back of his head,’ explained Alex.

‘He’s a really scary savant, not like you.’ Jason grinned at his brother. ‘I was wondering, Alex, if we could, you know, keep in touch or something?’

Alex punched him lightly on the shoulder. I could tell he was pleased. ‘Yeah, of course. Your father OK with that?’

‘Our father,’ corrected Jason. He shot a glance at Roger, who was still studiously looking the other way. ‘I think he’s not exactly wild about the idea but Mom says it’s going to be different from now on. We don’t have to hide any longer. Pa’s just got some adjusting to do, according to her.’

He sounded like my dad but much worse. We’d have to make sure the two of them didn’t meet for a long, long time as they’d only reinforce each other’s prejudices.

Funny how we have that in common, isn’t it?
I remarked to Alex, showing him the comparison I was making.

You’re right, but Roger makes your dad look very mild. Jason’s great, isn’t he?

Awesome.
‘So, Jason, are you going to visit Alex and me then?’

‘You live together?’ Jason zeroed in on our weak point.

‘Um … ’

‘Yes, we’ll be together,’ said Alex firmly. ‘I’m going to persuade Cambridge to take me if I can’t get in on merit. I won’t risk letting her get too far from me again; I don’t do well without her.’

I tugged his sleeve. ‘But Alex, that’s cheating—and I’d make you confess.’

He smiled and ruffled my hair. ‘True—you’ll keep me on the straight and narrow.’

‘Anyway, there’ll be no need for underhand tactics. They’ll love you. You’re a debating champion, future leader material, aren’t you?’

Miriam came out of the hospital looking very shaken. Roger leapt from the car and hurried to her side, enfolding her in his arms, talking softly to her. His relief to see her back safely was clear for anyone to read.

Jason smiled, pleased to see his parents returned to a more even keel. ‘I’m sorry you never knew them, Alex. Pa can be crazy about savants but he’s an OK guy about everything else.’

That was a massive character fault in my book, but I held my tongue as Miriam was towing Roger in our direction. I made a move to leave.

Stay
, urged Alex.

Roger won’t want me around.

I want you at my side.

Miriam stopped a little way from Alex. ‘I … ’ she cleared her throat. ‘Oh Alex, there’s so much to say, to explain. I know you must hate me but I truly thought I was doing the only thing I could to keep us all safe.’ She used her wrist to dry her eyes. ‘I’m a pathetic mother—I couldn’t stretch my gift far enough. Maybe I should’ve stayed with you—but then he would’ve got to Roger and Jason. And if I had taken you with us, then Roger would’ve never understood. I didn’t want Roger to make the same mistakes, turn into the cruel man that his father had become. And what would that have done to you?’

Alex let her speak, neither forgiving nor condemning.

‘So … so I took the idea from the story of Moses in the bullrushes, letting someone else care for you so you could grow up and be the man you should be. Did I do the right thing?’ She shook her head, annoyed with herself. ‘No, that’s stupid. There wasn’t a right thing—only two wrongs to choose between. Do you forgive me?’ She held out her hands in a beseeching gesture.

On the surface calm, Alex was experiencing an emotional blizzard inside. He turned to me.
What do I say?

Say what’s in your heart.

OK, then.
‘I think I understand, Miriam. You had an impossible choice. You didn’t spare yourself pain, did you? You could’ve kept me and let others suffer. I guess that took courage so, yes, if it matters to you, I forgive you.’ Alex looked across to his father, wondering—hoping—that a similar appeal was forthcoming. Roger glanced away. I could feel the sadness well inside Alex.

You have me and Jason and now your mother
, I told him.
Try to make that enough
.

Miriam noted her husband’s stiff-backed stance, her expression reflecting her disappointment. ‘I don’t ask for you to think of me as your mother but I’d like for us to build something between us.’

I could feel a truth within Alex that he couldn’t express himself—it was buried too deep. ‘But, Mrs du Plessis, Alex needs you to be a mother as much as you need him to be a son.’

‘Misty …’ Alex began to disagree.

‘No, it’s there in you; it’s the truth.’

He closed his mouth—possibly another first for Alex, to be rendered speechless by someone else.

‘Then I’d like that,’ Miriam sniffed, ‘I’d like to begin again.’

‘OK.’ Alex’s face broke into one of his gorgeous smiles. ‘Mom.’

Christmas at our house was always a fantastic mess of family, presents, and food. I had warned Alex to be prepared for an attack on his senses: amazing decorations made by Hazel and Willow, helped along by my sisters, Gale, Felicity, and Peace; the shrieks of Brand, Tempest, and Sunny in the little boys’ bedroom, ankle-deep with Lego and animal toys; Dad’s superb cooking making taste buds zing; the smells of the fir tree in the living room and roast goose in the kitchen. Alex and I had vetoed turkey after Thanksgiving.

‘You forgot the sense of touch,’ Alex told me, an appreciative little smile curving his mouth. He ran his fingers down my neck to play with the necklace he had given me on our one-month anniversary—two interlocking hearts. I hadn’t yet opened my one for Christmas but it was small and ring box-shaped. I was guessing it would match.

I shivered, feeling his caress all the way to my toes. ‘I think we’ve got that sense covered.’

‘We certainly do.’

Our kiss in the conservatory was broken up by a loud cough from Sky and a laugh from Zed.

‘Hey, Misty, do you want us to go?’ she asked, eyes sparkling with mischief. Zed and Sky were spending Christmas with her parents in Richmond so we were all sharing lunch together.

Uriel and Tarryn appeared behind them, carrying a huge stack of presents.

‘She can’t reply,’ said Tarryn, ‘because the truth would be rude.’

Alex hid my blush against his chest. ‘Remind me why I wished for more family?’

‘Because you love us,’ said Crystal, emerging with a plate of mince pies from the kitchen.

Xav followed with a tray of steaming spiced apple juice. ‘When you’re not wishing to strangle us,’ he concluded. ‘Misty, have a drink, then you can blame your red cheeks on the fruit punch.’

We helped ourselves to the glasses sitting in little filigree metal holders, a present from Alex’s family in Oregon. There weren’t enough chairs for us all in the conservatory so we had to double up, girls on boys’ knees, though Crystal did try arguing with Xav that he should sit on her. He won. The living room was given over to the children disembowelling their gifts. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Pest batting Brand over the head with an inflatable Rudolf and Brand lion-roaring back, but as the encounter appeared to agree with both of them, I decided not to intervene. Sunny’s hair was looking suspiciously short at the sides. The younger girls had their heads together plotting something but I wasn’t sure what. As Felicity and Peace were showing a gift for getting into mischief (after all, I had set them a very good example in that department), I anticipated the afternoon would turn interesting at about five o’clock when their plans matured. Gale had an anticipatory smile as she sat back and let them plot. Mum, Dad, Auntie Opal, and Uncle Milo were oblivious to the trouble ahead, singing away to Christmas carols in the kitchen as their team prepared the feast.

Just as well I’d organized for Alex and I to meet up with Summer and Angel about then to go for a walk along the Thames. It was one of our traditions ever since we found out that Angel could do really cool things to the river water—a little fountain show to round off the festivities. It also got Summer out of her less-than-happy home.

‘I have to thank you,’ Tarryn said, tapping my knee to gain my attention.

‘Me? What for?’

‘For teaching me that my gift could be used to save lives, not just predict their end. Uri and I have realized that together we can bring some soulfinders back from the brink. On some rare occasions, if they haven’t completely passed on, we can lay a trail home.’ She grimaced. ‘We can also combine our gifts to see how someone died, which is very useful to Uri and Victor in their work—not that I’m so thrilled about that part of my gift.’

‘You will be when you get justice for those who’ve been the victim of crime,’ said Uriel gently.

‘And you might stop the wrong person being convicted. Think what that would mean to someone’s life,’ added Zed.

Tarryn shrugged in surrender. ‘See, there’s more to my gift, as you predicted. Thank you, Misty, for starting me down this track.’

‘Just a shame you had to die to do it.’ Xav winked at me.

Alex opened his mouth to tell Xav he didn’t find that crack very funny, but I put my finger against his lips.

‘I’m not intending to repeat the experiment, but I’m glad it worked out well for you both,’ I told Tarryn and Uriel.

Sky giggled. ‘That’s so sweet.’

‘What’s sweet?’

‘The way you get Alex to shut up. When I first met him, I thought no one would dare stop him as every word he speaks is so …’ she wriggled on Zed’s lap, ‘
mesmerizing
.’

‘Watch it,’ growled Zed, ‘or I’ll have to have words of my own with him outside.’

‘Power down those macho boosters, bro,’ broke in Xav. ‘Haven’t you noticed that when he’s with Misty—which is nearly all the time as far as I can make out—he is as foot-in-the-mouth as the rest of us.’

‘Unless they get their gifts together, combining truth and persuasion, then we are all doomed to do what they say,’ added Sky.

Alex laced his fingers with mine.
So we are an unstoppable combination?

Too right, partner.

You make me humble; I make you … ?

Happy.

Good one. I make you happy. And together we can rule the world.
The last was said with a cheeky smile as it wasn’t quite a lie.

Just as well I have no ambition to rule.

Aw, spoilsport.
Alex pushed me up from his knee. ‘Talking about facing your doom, I believe you owe me a game.’ He gestured to our family ping-pong table set up on the veranda undercover.

‘Cool!’ Sky jumped up. ‘I’ll play!’

‘I’ll take you on next,’ I promised, ‘but Alex and I have something of a grudge match to settle. I thrashed him in Cape Town and he’s been waiting to get his revenge.’

‘Thrashed? Hah, hardly,’ Alex scoffed.

‘Grudge match?’ Xav rubbed his hands. ‘Nice.’

‘I’ll umpire,’ offered Crystal.

‘I’m keeping well out of it,’ said Tarryn swiftly. ‘Uri, if you value your life, stay put.’

‘Prepare to have your excellent butt well and truly kicked!’ I warned Alex, tying back my hair, readying for table-tennis battle.

‘You’re on.’ He picked up the bat and ball resting on the table at the far end, rolling his shoulders to loosen up. Oh my, it was hard to concentrate: he looked so gorgeous—and he was all mine.

The first serve whistled by me.

‘Oh, weren’t you ready?’ he asked with that smile that told me he knew exactly what I was thinking.

‘I am now,’ I replied, getting serious.

‘Don’t get mad, get even,’ counselled Zed.

‘I’m on it. Stand back everyone: this is about to get bloody.’

And the result of the match?

In the end, it didn’t matter as the prize to the victor was a kiss.