Sand Glass (41 page)

I heard
Unpleasant noises. Then a flush. Jared came out and ran cold water
in the bowl.

‘It’s true… I
was not ever going to get the better of him…’ Jared looked at him
self in the mirror.

‘Hanson?’

‘No. Santa’s
chief pixie… Of course him!’

‘We need to
go.’ I pulled Jared by the arm, ‘it’s for your own good. Doctor’s
orders.’

‘Okay… but
David. For pity’s sake will you keep Janey out of trouble
tonight?’

‘Trouble?’

‘Sort of.’

‘Away from
anyone who makes her cross?’

‘Precisely.’

They were all
there. Janey, Marcia, Jules and Violette. Alex and Aiden and Ellen.
Adam came out with a cup of punch and stood looking sad that we
were not staying. Then at once Hanson came through he door, with
quite an entourage. Mr Rice and Miss Kennet and some of the other
filled up the space. Clearly there was some delay on the fireworks
and people were starting to mill round again.

Hanson passed
by us all. His eyes swept across the group with no sign. I thought
that it was going to be alright; until with a slight gesture of his
hand he touched Marcia’s wrist as he passed, and the red headed
woman looked at her with a strange smug smile.

‘Just a
minute!’ said Jared loudly.

All eyes
immediately swivelled towards him. Hanson turned and shrugged.

‘Not today Jay
bird. You’ll have to do better than that if you want her back!’

The Redhead
with a little coquettish movement, cosyied up to Hanson. I saw
Marcia’s face and felt a frizzling tension. Janey stood by Marcia
as if she wanted the ground to open and swallow him whole.

‘You knew all
this time.’ said Janey softly.

I didn’t know
what this had to do with except the nick name Hanson had called
Jared. It was something from before. Something from the old days.
Students together, like Jules.

Come to think
of it they were all looking cross. Even the cool, in control
Violette was radiating disapproval like a thousand kilowatt
bulb.

‘So it finally
it true. You have usurped me!’ Hanson stepped right up to Jared;
‘you are very disappointing Arden, I took you for a loyal worker,
one who understood the rules, and played by them.’

‘I was a dead
man playing by those rules!’ Jared was clearly working himself up.
He clenched his fists at his sides. I was about to step towards him
but Aiden stopped me. ‘You cannot interfere with this…. Let the
game play out Milnes. His pride is a stake here….’

They faced each
other. Several people had gathered around sensing something was
up.

‘I am here!’
shouted Hanson, steeping backwards, ‘there is nothing I wouldn’t do
to succeed in the mission…. And any of you… including your wild cat
and your pale little bride here will try to keep the plates
spinning for you! Does everyone hear?!’

Boy! Did this
guy love an audience! He stepped round Jared. Who remained tense
but motionless.

Hanson grabbed
the woman Lorraine and squeezed her backside; she looked even more
smug.

Marcia was
staring at her in disbelief. ‘You witch!’ Marcia hissed.

‘Better a witch
than a cheap little tart.’ Lorraine said in low seductive tones.
Hanson kissed her roughly and pushed her towards Jared.

‘Would you like
her back now?’ Hanson asked as she stood near to Jared; but he
pushed her away.

‘No? Not to you
taste is it? You prefer my other try outs, don’t you?’ Hanson was
so much enjoying himself.

‘The brunette?
She was good…. Lorraine here was too, until you got tired of the
competition. Oh! And Marcia…. Dear Marcia. You are so easy to get
to you know. So completely without self-control on certain
fronts….’

I glanced at
Jared. Everyone was standing in gobsmacked stillness around this
central group, like the road crash mentality that they all hoped to
avoid themselves.

‘But most of
all Janey…’ he was really sticking the knife in now, ‘She was cool
yet very enthusiastic when the mood took her.’

I looked to
Janey’s face. It was rage… pure and simple. So it was true! The
thing I thought right at the beginning.

‘She was sweet,
and pure and so very, very corruptible,’ Hanson’s voice got softer
and more mocking, ‘she was everything a woman should be… but of
course you know all about that side of her nature don’t you? I’m
sure you enjoyed screwing her too…’

I came, and I’m
sure that Hanson really didn’t think that Jared would do it.

He punched him
twice. Stomach and face. As he folded backwards Jared was on him
like a tornado. I guess the rest of us reacted almost
instantaneously. Jules and I grabbed Jared’s arms and pulled him
backwards. Aiden got between them. From the right there was some
disturbance. And where was Alex?

‘Not a pretty
sight.’ said another, ‘but now we know the little trick does
work.’

We all saw Mr
Rimmington step into the little open circle of the two opponents.
Hanson sat on the floor rubbing his jaw.

‘Yes. Yes..’ he
said stepping between them, ‘that was very well done. Very well
done indeed.’

‘It was a
trick?’ asked Janey.

‘No my dear… a
simple idea that was already there, just needed to be embedded a
little more firmly. You really need to pay attention.’

Janey fell back
silent. I began to wonder if I’d got it right here. Jared sank
downwards under the combined weight of me and Jules. None of us
would be able to sustain that amount of energetic output for any
longer. Too much had already gone out, and not been put back in
during recent weeks. Jared’s head was bowing forwards. We loosened
out hold on him.

A group of
staff surged in then: I thought I recognised one of them as the man
who had served us coffee earlier. They formed a barrier between our
lot and Hanson, Rimmington and the Lorraine woman. The general
crowd of startled drunken onlookers backed off when this
happened.

‘Extraneous….’
Someone whispered.

I felt a
burning in my left wrist. I felt it burning through all of me.
Jared looked up at me and pulled himself up as I winced. Janey and
Marcia gathered close to us.

A gap opened up
in the crowd and Aiden led us all out. There was not sound. I
turned as we left through the door. It was a strange tableau. All
those people frozen to the spot. I realised with a start they were
not moving at all. Not even a little bit. They were not merely
standing still; they were completely unyielding! Frozen in
Time.

And there,
holding the door open to the land rover was Alex…. I think I was so
glad to see him I must have stumbled into him.

‘Whoa there
lad! Just climb in!’

I got in the
back, to find Adam was already in the front. Violette and Jules got
in the back with us, Janey followed. Aiden stuck his head around
the door. ‘Jared is going to be looked after at our house.’ He
said.

I looked out
the side window to see Marcia and Jared already in the car. Ellen
and Aiden got in and locked all the doors. They were zooming away a
second later. The land rover roared into life and was searching out
the country road in front of us. The night was clear and the stars
had come out.

‘Coats are all
there.’ said Alex, ‘Kindly put them on.’

As we reached
the main road, there was a sudden shift in the wind as if it had
just started blowing again. And behind us fireworks burst into the
sky.

We huddled
together for extra warmth, wrapping our coats tightly around us.
Violette in particular was shivering rather a lot. Janey pushed
herself under my arm and clung to me. Later she was very quiet for
a long time. The past is another country Alex had once said to me.
And so I took it was that. All that was past. And whatever we did.
Whatever we were, we now knew we could run faster than the speed of
light.

Back at
George’s house everyone sat around in a shocked silence. Alex
refused to let the strange events of the night affect him. He was
up early the next morning making breakfast for everyone.

And who was
Rimmington? Jules thinks that he is a figment of our collective
deranged imagination. I have not heard from Flora Kennet, so I
could not check if he had been on the guest list or not.

We all went
home then….back to our lives; at least for the time being. I saw
Jared the next week, sober, calm, accepting. He walked in to
George’s house looking like he had some colour in his cheeks.
Marcia followed. Janey stopped avoiding me; although she seemed
convinced that it was I who was avoiding her. I couldn’t say I
understood what I wasn’t doing, but we had lunch at her house and
she started to teach me how to make some origami models.

Jules and
Violette were getting on famously. And nothing was heard from the
project, or from any of the staff who still had something to do
with Base or even from the University. According to Jean, Hanson is
back in the sociology department. But nothing else has happened. I
am still watching for the strange sister of Mr Rice to get in
touch. Mr Rice sent a memo to all the staff. We were thanked for
our patience and understanding. But unfortunately the party will
now be rescheduled for some time in the New Year; etc. etc. Alex
just laughed, and folded it into a paper aeroplane.

I walked in
spring sunshine. I was on my way to meet Janey. My route took me by
the university. Out of an odd curiosity I went in through the glass
entrance and the internal double doors.

The time of day
was different but I stood there and studied the reflections. I
tried to remember that day a few months ago. It had all disappeared
you see. No records, no notes, no nothing. Jean said that we just
need to be careful and shred anything we have left. I didn’t of
course. Perhaps she knew that already.

I walked back
though, into the mild sunshine outside. And there sat on a bench
was Michael Elland! I went over to him…

‘Hello?’

‘Hello.’ He’s
looking up at me, curious. Mildly irritated perhaps, but clearly
not knowing anything about me, ‘Can I help you?’

‘I just
wondered if you’ve ever been on a special project for the
University?’

‘I’ve got that
kind of face,’ he said, ‘it happens a lot.’ He took off his glasses
and looked at me again. Nothing doing.

‘Sorry to have
bothered you.’ I said.

‘That’s Okay…’
I saw a flicker of something. Like a fleeting thought. ‘What is
your name?’

‘Davey
Milnes.’

‘Michael
Elland.’

We shook hands.
And I was still staring at him.

‘Just in case
you ever do,’ I said, ‘and you ever feel the need to fight an evil
monster… well, go for it. You might save a life.’

‘Who’s life?’
he asked me. Perhaps he thought this was all a student prank.

‘Jared Jay
Arden.’ I said.

‘Do I know this
person?’ he said smiling. He clearly thought it was a prank and I
was a harmless idiot.

‘No. I guess
not…. Sorry.’ I turned away.

‘Just a
minute…. I have heard that name before. He was on another course.
Tall guy… dark hair and beard. Very odd manner. An artist I think?
It was a marketing seminar.’

‘Yes. That’s
him.’

‘Right,’ he
smiled, ‘well tell him I say hello. I’ll be sure to remember him
now if our paths do cross again. And you were….’

‘Davey
Milnes.’

‘Okay… well.
See you.’

‘Yeah, bye. I
turned away. Elland went back to his newspaper.

I visited Jared
at his studio. It was one of those places that could be totally
depressing, or totally uplifting depending on the light, the
season, or more to the point the mood of the person inside it.

I see the
canvases stacked up. There were some very dark and moody pieces
from before. But now he’s working on a set of scenes for a new
exhibition later in the year.

‘I saw Elland
today.’ I said.

‘Yes.’ Jared
springs the brush again his hand testing it, ‘Good… now where is
the new tube of yellow?’

‘Is it this bag
over here?’

‘No. that’s my
lunch.’

‘Are you
working right through?’

‘No…. I’m going
to meet Marcia. She’s working a split today.’

‘What’s
that?’

‘A split shift.
Do an early then a late. Absolute killer if your boyfriend works
regular hours.’ He grinned at me.

‘Are you
officially the one with the normal job now then?’

‘Marcia says
so. And I’ll work round her.’ He picked up the yellow, ‘so I’ll see
you at yours later?’

‘Yes,’ I said,
‘the dinner I promised. I’m glad someone remembered to call in the
favour.’

‘I’ll bring
popcorn for Jules. Salty or sweet?’ he asked, taking the top off
now and squeezing some into a pallet.

‘Both
actually.’

‘Fine. Later.’
He turned back to the canvas.

I’m wondering
what to do now Alex has announced he’s turning up with “a rather
tasty treat”. I wonder what on earth he might mean by that. Is it
food or a woman?

I opened the
door to the rustling of something that sounds like crisps packets.
But it’s actually a huge bouquet.

‘Don’t just
stand there!’ Alex shoves a bag in my hand, ‘I need to put these in
water!’

‘What’s all
that in aid of?’

‘A thank you
for Violette. She saved your ass. And I know this. Perhaps you
should not delve too deep into that!’ he added seeing that look on
my face.

Alex dumped all
the stuff and then told me to go upstairs. I trotted obediently up,
wondering if he was going to show me something that Violette might
disapprove of. Oddly he was looking really serious.

‘You know that
stretch of coast?’