‘What you need is an X-ray and a brain scan with a team of doctors to check everything is functioning OK. Misty, you were gone for half an hour!’
‘Twenty minutes,’ I grumbled.
Alex raised a brow.
‘Oh all right then! Take me to this completely pointless hospital check-up. I don’t even have insurance.’
‘It’s OK—the FBI is picking up the tab.’ Alex had looked away over the waterfall to the mountain tops, a sure sign he was smiling at my expense.
‘Waste of American taxpayers’ money.’
‘I don’t think that’s true.’
‘Well, I do.’
Alex sat down beside me as the medic strapped the stretcher in place for the ride. ‘Think about your dad. Do you really think he’d be happy with only Xav’s say-so that you’re OK?’
He had a point. Dad probably bracketed Xav with witch doctors in his scale of reliable medical personnel. ‘I’m going, aren’t I?’
Returning from the dead had not sweetened my character a jot. I was still the same little bit grumpy, little bit absurd Misty. It was a relief to discover I hadn’t changed; even my gift felt welcome. I would not be me without it.
Xav poked his head round the door of the ambulance just before it closed. ‘We’ll see you down at the hospital, Lady Lazarus.’ He disappeared and then bobbed back into the frame. ‘I don’t mean that in the depressing Sylvia Plath sense, of course.’ He slammed the door. Given the size of the van, it was a little like sealing me back in a tomb.
‘Sylvia Plath?’ Alex asked.
‘She wrote a dark poem of that name.’ Wow, I knew something Mastermind Alex did not!
‘You like poetry?’
‘I love poetry.’
‘You’ll have to share it with me. I don’t read it very often.’ He must have seen my surprised face. ‘What?’
‘I’m so used to thinking of you as perfect, I’m just taken aback that you have a weakness.’
He grinned, blue eyes twinkling. ‘You think I’m perfect?’
‘No.’
‘Ah.’
‘I
thought
you were perfect and now I know you’re not. It’s a huge relief. Are there any other flaws you wish to share with me to, you know, make me feel better?’ I waggled my eyebrows.
He hummed in thought.
‘That’s another: you hum!’
‘Do not.’
‘You just did.’
‘Oh. OK. I hum. And I don’t like garlic bread.’
‘How can you not like garlic bread! Oh my, that is a serious failing.’ I began to laugh but it hurt my ribs.
‘You could think of it as more for you.’
‘True. But if I eat garlic then I’ll get garlic breath and that’s not fair on you.’
‘Why is it a problem for me?’ he asked innocently.
‘You know.’ I looked at his lips.
He dipped down and kissed me. ‘Yeah, I do. And, Misty, I’ll kiss you even when you have garlic breath, I promise. I’ll just peg my nose.’
I tried laughing again. Ouch.
‘Sir, would you please let the patient rest,’ interrupted the medic.
‘Yes, sorry.’ Alex sat back, trying to look chastised but it was a miserable failure. He was so euphoric that I had survived, nothing could dent his mood.
I reached out so we could keep our hands interlaced. ‘Thank you.’
‘For what?’
‘For keeping hold of me.’
‘I’m never letting go. I’m lost without you, remember?’
The medical experts at the hospital in Eugene, the nearest big city, insisted I be kept in observation overnight. They couldn’t find anything wrong but apparently a prolonged period of being dead could not pass without at least an overnight stay. No visitors apart from my parents were allowed. Alex ignored that. I added rule-breaker to his other imperfections—or maybe it should be in the other column?
Victor Benedict didn’t let regulations bother him either. He arrived for my debriefing at eight in the evening.
‘Misty, I didn’t have time at the chalet to tell you but all I can say is “thank God”.’ He nodded amicably to my dad, who was glaring at him, and kissed my mother on the cheek. ‘How’s she doing, Topaz?’
My mum gave him the rundown of my test results. I think Victor knew these already but was diplomatically giving my parents some control after being helpless for days after my abduction.
‘That’s great. Take all the time you need, Misty.’
I’m ready to leave now, Victor.
Take all the time your father needs,
Victor corrected. ‘So I suppose you might want to hear what happens next?’
‘Exactly.’
‘I’m getting you a temporary passport so you can fly home. Until then, you can stay here or with one of us if you feel you need a little longer.’
‘I think Misty would prefer to recuperate at home,’ my dad said severely.
‘Of course. Her brothers and sisters will be worried until they see her,’ Victor said smoothly.
Dad was finding it hard to be angry with us savants when we were all being so nice to him.
‘Alex, your uncle.’
Alex’s face darkened. ‘What about him?’
‘He came round shortly after you left with Misty. His gift is still functioning so he can very easily slip away unless we keep him under restraint.’
‘You won’t let him escape?’ I asked anxiously. I would never feel safe if I knew Johan was at large.
‘No, I promise. I’ve had to deal with difficult prisoners before and we’ve got a system in place. He’ll be tagged so we know where he is even when he does his disappearing thing. No, my biggest problem is that I doubt Johan du Plessis is fit to stand trial.’
‘You mean because he’s as crazy as a loon? I kinda gathered that when I woke up in the forest.’
‘As Misty so succinctly put it: du Plessis is insane. It is likely he will serve his sentence in a psychiatric ward, not a cell.’
‘He did kill those people—and more,’ said Alex quietly. ‘I’m not sure that’s enough.’
‘I know, he has a lethal combination of a high level of organizational ability and severely stunted emotional functions. He killed thirteen people in his obsession to find your family. The psychiatrist’s early assessment is that du Plessis has no understanding of the gravity of what he did and shows no remorse. Other people’s lives aren’t real. I suppose that will be up to the doctors to decide, but I think they’ll recommend he be given a secure placement for his own safety and that of everyone else.’
‘How will you stop him killing more people, Victor?’ My mother rubbed her upper arms, still scared even though I was safe. ‘He only has to touch them.’
‘He’ll have to be isolated, sedated when anyone needs to treat or move him. I can’t see any other option.’
‘That’s worse than a prison sentence,’ said Alex.
‘Good.’ My dad folded his arms. Johan had taken his little girl and he was not feeling very European Human Rights convention at the moment.
‘I think it’s unbearably sad,’ I said. ‘Alex, please, we should at least see him. He was already isolated: this is going to be even worse.’
‘Misty, my uncle killed you.’
‘But I came back. Look, I know he’s killed others but he’s also been rejected all his life. In some twisted way, he cares about you. Don’t add your rejection to the pile. Who knows what that’ll do to him? He’s dangerous enough as it is.’
Alex closed his eyes, then nodded. ‘OK, if you need me to do this, I will. We’ll see him if Victor can arrange it.’
Victor smiled at me, eyes warming a little from their Arctic cool. I realized I had impressed him. ‘I can do that. If you’re sure?’
‘Misty!’ My dad was gearing up for one of his interventions.
My mum put a hand on his. ‘Let her do it, Mark.’
They held each other’s gaze, not needing telepathy to communicate.
‘All right, Topaz. Misty, just be careful.’
‘When am I not?’ I asked brightly.
For some reason, the other four occupants of the room laughed.
Johan had been allocated a single room off a psychiatric ward. It was pleasant, furnished with homely pieces and pictures on the wall of Table Mountain. Someone had been thinking about his needs. The only things that gave away that it was a cell were the bars on the window and the thickness of the locked door. A television burbled in one corner but he didn’t seem to be paying it attention. He was looking outside at the bare tree beyond the pane.
Victor, who was accompanying us on this visit, paused, communicating with Johan telepathically.
‘He has promised to stay in the chair, arm’s length from all of us,’ he reported. ‘I can paralyse him with a mind-strike if he makes any sudden moves. You OK with that?’
Alex nodded but I had a cold sweat running down my back. The terrifying few days as his invisible prisoner rushed back. It was easier to be courageous when Johan wasn’t near.
‘You can stay out here if you like,
bokkie
,’ said Alex.
This had been my idea. ‘No, I’m going in.’
Alex smiled wryly. ‘Sometimes you are too brave for your own good.’
‘Says the guy who walked in on a hostage situation,’ I finished.
Victor gestured to the nurse to open the door.
‘Hello, Johan. I’ve brought you some visitors.’
Johan didn’t look round. ‘I don’t want to talk to any more doctors. I’m perfectly sane. None of you have the wit to understand me.’
‘Uncle, it’s me. And Misty.’ Alex stood a little in front of me, alert and protective.
Johan looked round swiftly, a delighted, almost childish smile on his lips. ‘Alex! How kind of you to come. And Misty. You know, I’m pleased that for once my gift failed. I hadn’t intended to take you out of the picture so soon.’
I noted he hadn’t said that he never intended to kill me, just that it was too early. ‘Yes, I’m OK, as you can see.’
‘But, Alex, you have to persuade these people to let me go. I’m fine. I don’t need drugs or doctors.’
‘But you killed at least thirteen people we know about,’ Alex said quietly.
Johan waved that away. ‘It’s not so much killing as stopping—yes, stopping. They were all pointless people. The world doesn’t miss them.’
‘I think the parents of Mia Gordon, Jody Gaspard, and eleven other victims wouldn’t agree,’ said Victor.
‘Mia who?’ Johan looked puzzled.
‘The last girl you killed.’
‘Oh yes. She’d served her purpose; I couldn’t keep her alive after that. She didn’t feel a thing, I assure you. I put her away.’
‘You dumped her in the Thames.’
Johan’s blankness was outrageous. I wanted to shake him—make him feel something for his victims—but it was hopeless. He just did not understand. He certainly wasn’t interested in going over his crimes. ‘So Alex, you see, you have to tell them to let me go,’ he said earnestly.
‘I can’t do that, Uncle. You’re not well. You can’t be trusted to respect life, so you have to stay here for our safety and for yours.’ Alex was using his gift to push the message home.
‘You want me to stay here?’
‘I do. It’s a good place. They’ll look after you.’
‘You’ll come and see me?’ Johan appeared so hopeful that Alex couldn’t refuse.
‘Yes, I’ll return.’
The door opened again and Miriam du Plessis walked in. ‘You won’t be the only visitor, Alex. I’ll keep an eye on Johan too.’ She brushed a lock of hair away from her face, the gesture betraying her weariness. My first thought was that she was the last person I’d expect to visit, but then I realized that she wouldn’t be able to stay away. ‘He’s always been my responsibility.’
‘Miriam!’ Johan looked from Alex to his mother. ‘This is another unexpected pleasure. How’s Roger?’ His expression turned malicious.
‘He’s … he’s upset.’ Miriam touched my arm, conveying silent thanks to see me up and around.
Johan chuckled. ‘Excellent. Why don’t you tell him to visit me? I have something for him.’ He laced his fingers together and bent them back, cracking his knuckles.
‘Johan!’ warned Victor.
‘I was just joking.’ The lie made the breath hiss between my teeth.
‘There is no way you’ll persuade Roger through that door,’ said Miriam, ‘but I’ll come if you promise to behave. No more kills, Johan. You’re done.’
‘Done?’ Johan suddenly looked lost and confused. She must have touched him with telepathy to reinforce the message and the impact had shaken him. ‘Why did you reject me, Miriam?’
Her eyes were anguished. ‘Because I couldn’t reach you. You were too far gone.’
‘But I’m here.’ He pounded his chest. ‘I’m here.’
‘No, you’re not—and that’s the saddest thing. You killed the person you could’ve been before you started on the others. I’m sorry, soulfinder.’
Johan began to sob. The sight was shocking; he’d always been so sure of himself, his sufficiency without Miriam. ‘I’m nothing,’ he whispered. ‘That’s what my father said—and he was right.’
I could feel his resolve building in the face of that truth.
Alex, do something. He’s going to turn his gift on himself.
‘You’re not nothing, Uncle. You’re a man whose life was twisted out of shape by the people who should’ve loved him as he was. You need help. Miriam and I—we’re here for you. Hold on to that.’
‘But you don’t love me—neither does she.’ Johan was swallowed up in black clouds of despair. No grief or regret for his victims, only for himself, but somehow that made him even more pitiable.
‘We both cared enough to come this afternoon,’ argued Alex. I lent my power to his words to break through the clouds. ‘You can make something of the rest of your life if you decide to do so. No one is stopping you now.’
‘I don’t know, Alex; I don’t know.’ Johan rocked himself to and fro.
‘Misty’s here so you know I’m not lying. You’ve just got to trust in us. In family.’
‘What am I? What have I done?’ Johan brought his knees up to his chest, looking like a little boy hiding in a corner. I had a sudden vision of him as a child curling up against the blows and the hatred. I wept inside for his victims—and for him.
I weep too
, whispered Alex.
Before any of us could stop her, Miriam crossed the distance and put her hand on Johan’s shoulder. She turned pain-filled eyes to us. ‘Leave us, please. He’s mine—he’s always been mine.’
Obeying the authority in her tone, we retreated. Once out in the corridor, I turned into Alex’s hug.