Tuesday's Child (17 page)

Adeline wrung her hands together. A haunted look filled her eyes, and she shrank in her seat. Her pale skin was almost translucent, and if Nate put any stock in the ‘looks like she’s seen a ghost’ line, that’s how he’d describe her.

“He’s after me,” she managed. “Because I know who he is. He was in my house waiting for me and killed her by mistake. That’s why I’m in protective custody, isn’t it?”

Nate sat on the corner of the desk and put a hand on her shoulder. “Officially, it’s because you know who killed the Prime Minister, but unofficially, yeah. That is the way we’re looking at this now.”

“It’s my fault Jas died, just like it’s my fault the Prime Minister died. I shouldn’t have said anything about the visions. I shouldn’t have gone out. I don’t deserve you protecting me. I should just let him finish the job. Then these people wouldn’t have died for me.”

Grabbing her face, Nate gently held it in place so she didn’t miss anything he said. “No. Don’t ever say that or wish yourself dead.” He let go, copying her signs as he spoke. “It’s not your fault. No one asked Jas to be in your house last night. I don’t know why she had to die. I don’t suppose even Pastor Jack could tell us that. Only God knows why this happened. I know this is hard on all of us, but we have to find this bloke and see justice done. For Jas and all the others.”

He shot Dane a quick glance. “And I’m sure Dane doesn’t blame you, either.”

Adeline turned to face Dane.

“No I don’t,” he managed. “I wish God hadn’t taken her, but it’s not your fault. Pastor Jack came over last night. He said, he said that as much as the girls and I needed Jas, that she had finished her task here on Earth and that God had more need of her. You…” his voice shook, but he didn’t drop his gaze. “…are, and always will be, a dear friend. It wasn’t your fault. You didn’t kill her.”

“OK,” she whispered.

“Why are these things always in the last place you look?” Agent Debone came back with the map. “There is one road named for a plant starting with
N
and four with
O
. I have no idea what they mean, but we have oak, orange, orchid, olive and nettle. Nettle is a given as that’s the only
N
.”

Adeline took a deep breath. “We’ll need an internet connection or medicinal plant or symbolism book. I don’t have either here. The internet is too much of a temptation for Susie to spend all day on social networking sites.”

“You could just block them like they have at work.” Nate winked at her. “Dane was always on there, uploading photos or checking the latest celebrity gossip.”

His partner shot him a half smile. “That’s a tad less destructive than eating at the desk and dropping crumbs and half a mug of coffee on the keyboard.”

“Only ever did it on your keyboard. I’ll ring the Guv. We’ll need to put unmarked cars on all those roads around the clock.” He pulled out his phone and dialed. “Guv it’s Nate. Can you do a search on herb meanings for me? Adeline has no ‘net.” He rolled his eyes at Dane and mimed winding a handle to speed things up. “Unless you want to waste manpower by staking out five roads when you don’t need to? Yes, we worked out the link and know what the Herbalist is doing. We need definitions for the following roads. Oak, orange, orchid, and olive. We’re looking for ones meaning protection, that’s what he’s spelling out.”

Pacing over to the white board, he wiped out the ones they didn’t need. “Right. So those two and nettle. Yeah, Adeline’s right here. Why?” His stomach twisted and skin crawled. Never mind any other form of protection, right now they needed the Lord’s protection.

He turned around and faced the window. “Are you sure?” he barked into the phone. His mind whirled. That possibility hadn’t occurred to him. Was it just coincidence or was there some darker force at work here? Whatever it was, it worried him deeply.

“OK, will do. Yes, a car outside my place and here as well is a sensible precaution. And before you suggest it, no we’re not going to find a new safe house.” He listened for a moment, and then let out a deep breath. “Fine. If that’s what you want. Yeah, see you later.” He closed the phone and slid it into his jacket pocket.

Dane studied the board. “Oak and olive?”

He spun around and nodded. “Yeah, both mean protection, amongst other things. The guv is putting a watch on all three of them until further notice. Adeline, who named this place Datura?”

“Dad did when he founded it. I kept the name when I bought this place and moved the doll hospital here. Why?”

“Datura is an herb. Did you know?”

“Yeah. The doll hospital was originally on Datura Drive, hence its name. Why? What does it mean?”

“Datura, like all the rest of these plants, means several things. But one of the meanings is protection.” He took in the shock on the faces around him. “So as well as having Agent Debone or myself around all the time, there will be a car out at the front of the building. You’re also going back to my place, right now. No argument. I’m going to ring Cassie and get her to bring Vianne home. Would you mind keeping an eye on her until I get back?”

Agent Debone looked at him. “My car’s outside. Tell me where to go and I’ll collect Vianne on the way back to your place.”

“Thank you. She’s at the manse. Adeline knows where that is. I’ll let Cassie know you’re coming.”

****

Adeline stood at the sink in Nate’s kitchen, peeling potatoes and carrots for dinner. She was actually looking forward to the baby-sitting.

Vianne wasn’t a bother and was old enough to get on with stuff without help. Take now, for example. Vianne sat at the table going through the pack of crazy bands she had bought on the way home from school.

Agent Debone sat reading the paper. He seemed the type of man who expected meals to appear and dishes to clean themselves, before neatly piling themselves back in the cupboard again.

Ben nudged Adeline’s leg, and she glanced down at him before looking over at the table.

Vianne smiled at her. “How long are you staying here for?”

“I don’t know. Just a few days I hope. It depends when the police say I can have my house back.”

“OK.” She tugged the dappy hat down further over her ears and looked at Agent Debone. “Is there something wrong with your house, too?”

“Something wrong with my house?”

“Yeah.”

“Why?” He put the paper down and tilted his head at her.

“Cos you’re living here, too.” She pointed to his ring. “Did you have a fight with your wife?”

“Oh. Nothing’s wrong, just staying here for a few days.”

“Why?”

“Because Miss Monroe is staying here.”

“You’re not her boyfriend because you’re married, so it must be something else. Why?”

“Because your daddy asked me to stay.”

“I don’t have a daddy. This is Uncle Nate’s house. Why did he ask you?”

Agent Debone heaved a huge sigh, his shoulders shaking. “You ask too many questions.”

“That’s because I’m a cop’s niece.”

Adeline laughed as much at Vianne’s response as the look of outrage on the MI5 agent’s face. “That you are. Who told you that?”

“Miss Pringle at school. She says I’d make a good cop ‘cos I never know when to shut up.”

“That’s not a very nice thing to say.” Agent Debone turned back to his paper.

Vianne tugged at her hat again. “She hates me. They all do.”

“I’m sure they don’t hate you.” Adeline added the potatoes to the pan of water.

“Yes, they do.”

Adeline tilted her head. “Why’s that?”

“‘Cos I’m weird.” Vianne flicked the pile of bands across the table.

Adeline put the knife down and sat next to her. “Who says that?”

“They all do.”

“Just the kids?” Adeline helped pick up all the bands.

“Not just them, the teachers, too. It’s because of my hats. They say I have no right to be there. That I should be in a special school for weird kids.”

“I used to be called weird too, because I wasn’t like them. I couldn’t hear, therefore couldn’t do music and movement, or sing or play with them in the playground. But I happen to like your hats. Especially this one, it’s bright yellow, and that’s my favorite color. It’s quirky.”

Vianne tilted her head at her. “What’s that mean?”

“It means original or individual. Something special only to you.”

“So, a good thing?”

“Yes, Vianne.” Adeline smiled. “A very good thing. Tell me something. Does Jodie think you’re weird?”

“No. She’s my friend. She was sad today ‘cos her mummy died.” Vianne started crying. “I didn’t know what to say to make her feel better.”

Adeline hugged her. “Sometimes you don’t need to say anything. Just being there or giving her a hug will do. She’s going to need her friends. Especially one like you.”

“Is that ‘cos I don’t have a mummy, either?”

“Yes, you know how she’s feeling.”

“I can show her that people still love her and that it’s OK to cry. Plus she still has her daddy and her sister.”

“And you have Uncle Nate.”

“Who do you have?” Vianne gazed at Adeline intently.

“I have my brother. He’s in the army. And my mum and dad. They’re on holiday on a big cruise ship at the moment.” She straightened Vianne’s hat. “Why do you wear the hats?”

“The hat keeps me safe.”

“Doesn’t Uncle Nate keep you safe?”

Vianne pulled the hat crooked again. “Yeah, I guess so.”

“But…?” Adeline grinned at her.

“He’s not always here. He works a lot.”

“He’s a policeman. He works to keep you safe.”

Vianne sighed. “He gets hurt sometimes. Like his nose or he gets bruises. He got shot once in the arm. Then he was in hospital and I had to go stay with Nanny. That was no fun.”

Adeline thought for a moment, praying for the right words. “Being a policeman can be dangerous, but you know what? Jesus looks after him while he’s at work. All the time. Keeps him safe and if something really bad did happen, Jesus would be right there with him. Just like He was with Auntie Jas. So being scared is OK because we’re never alone.”

“That’s good. I love Uncle Nate lots.”

“He loves you lots, too.”

“Like Jesus does?”

“Just like that. And because Uncle Nate has to work over the summer holidays he’s asked me to look after you. So if you like, you can come to work with me during the week. Help take care of the dolls.”

“Can I be Nurse Vianne? And have a uniform and everything?”

“That is a brilliant idea. How about we text Uncle Nate and ask him to pick one up on his way home? The party store in the precinct should have one. Can you pass me the phone?”

Vianne beamed and passed over the phone. “Cool.”

Adeline texted Nate. Not a normal phone, all she could do on this was text. But it would do as a temporary replacement. “Now we need to finish dinner, or it won’t be ready.”

“Is
he
coming to the doll hospital, too?”

“Agent Debone? Yes, he is.”

Vianne scrunched up her nose in thought. “What’s he going to be? Because if you’re the doctor and I’m the nurse, he needs a job, too.”

Adeline looked at Agent Debone. “He does. That’s a very good question. What job could we give him?”

He kept a straight face. “I’m going to be the chair leg.”

Vianne laughed, holding her sides, her face wide with delight. “That’s silly.”

Agent Debone did his best not to smile. “I always said I’d be a chair leg when I grew up. This is my chance.”

“People can’t be chair legs. You could be the man who pushes the patients to x-ray.” Vianne giggled.

“A porter?” The horrified expression on his face was priceless.

Adeline wished she had a camera.

“Yeah.” Vianne agreed. “A porter.”

Adeline laughed. “Sounds good to me.”

He folded his arms and frowned. “Wait till they hear about this back at the office. I’d rather be a chair leg.”

11

Nate sat on the bed next to Vianne as she finished saying her prayers. Leaning forward, he kissed her forehead. “Night, pumpkin. See you in the morning.”

He was almost at the door when she spoke again. “Uncle Nate, are you going to die like Auntie Jasmine did?”

Shock resonated though him. He sat beside her. “No, honey, nothing is going to happen to me.”

“But you can’t be sure of that. You chase bad guys every day. One of them may have a gun or a knife or you could get in a car crash when you go really fast.”

He pulled her to sit on his knees and wrapped his arms around her. “I promise to be careful. God willing, nothing is going to happen to me for a very, very long time.” He moved a hand though her hair as she clung to him, not saying anything. “What happened to Auntie Jasmine was horrible. But it doesn’t mean it’ll happen to me.”

“It happened to Mummy and Daddy. And they were on a plane and meant to be safe.”

Nate closed his eyes tightly. “Yes, it did.” He struggled to find the words to comfort her.
Even though I still miss Pete
,
and Jas died in such a horrible way. Lord, help me explain to her so that she’ll understand.

Calmness and peace filled his spirit and he opened his eyes. “You remember the story in the Bible about the sparrows and how God loves them and that He knows every single one of them by name?”

She nodded. “Yes.”

“Well, He loves us way, way more than the sparrows. He knows how many days He wants you to live here on Earth, before He calls you home to heaven to live with Him. I don’t know when that will be for you or for me, but it won’t happen a minute before God wants it.”

“Even in a bad way?” Vianne whispered.

He hugged her securely. “We can’t choose how we die, but in that instant, we’re not alone. And the second it happens, we’re with Jesus in heaven. I miss your Daddy, but I know he’s home, and I’ll see him again one day. He’s just living in a different country now.”

“Like Australia? That’s a long, long way away and they have to live upside down. Do they even have electricity there?”

Nate’s grin turned into a chuckle. “Yes, they have electricity in Australia. They don’t need it in heaven, though.”