Blood Tracks (21 page)

Only Gina’s body had spent the day at school. Her mind was somewhere entirely different. She’d wandered from lesson to lesson on autopilot. In the classrooms, she was unable to absorb a word the teachers were saying, despite being reminded on numerous occasions that this was her exam year and she couldn’t afford to be staring into space.

At lunchtime, Becky and Tanya called her over.

“Come and sit with us, Gina,” Becky said, encouragingly.

Over the last couple of months, Becky had started chatting to her, asking what had happened to make her seem happier, hoping that she was getting over her grief. Gina hadn’t told her anything and she couldn’t talk now. Today, she couldn’t think about anything else, not even Declan; all she could focus on was the scent in that bottle.

“Sorry,” she shouted to Becky. “Can’t right now.”

Gina went to the girls’ toilets and locked herself in a cubicle. She took the aftershave bottle out of her rucksack, opened it and inhaled. The aroma made her feel sick again; it seeped into the very core of her brain, making her head pound, making her doubt her sanity.

That evening, her stomach clenched as she walked into the living room to find Tom with his arm around Danny’s shoulders discussing the fish tank. She took a deep breath.
Get a grip, Gina. You’re being ridiculous
.

“How have you done it?” Danny asked Tom in wonder. “All that green water’s starting to clear.”

“It’s the ultraviolet bulb, see? I attached it to the hood,” Tom said proudly. “I asked a mate of mine and he said that the quickest way to get rid of algae in a fish tank was to use a UV light. Mind you, he did say not to leave it on too long.”

“Why?”

“Oh, it was something about the exposure being bad for the fish. But he was being ultra cautious. We’ll just use it to blast the algae, get the water all lovely and clear again, and then take the bulb out.”

“Great,” beamed Danny. “How much was it, Uncle Tom, because I’ll pay for it? It
is
for my tank.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll put it on my expenses,” he laughed. Danny faked a laugh to be polite, even though he didn’t know what Tom meant. But Gina did and an idea suddenly struck her that sent her hurrying to her bedroom to make a phone call.

“Declan, do you know if Tom keeps a record of his business expenses?” she asked urgently.

“Well, I suppose he has to, doesn’t he, for tax and things,” Declan replied.

“So they might be on the computer. Kylie might know about them.”

“Kylie probably does them. She’s probably got them on one of her amazing spreadsheets.”

“Brilliant! Well, tomorrow, when Tom’s not around, can you get Kylie to look something up for me?”

“What is it?”

“I need you to look up all his expenses for a date – it’s from quite a while ago, though.”

“What date?”

Her voice faltered. “It’s the date my dad died.”

“Why?”

“Just do it for me, please, Declan.” He could hear the anxiety in her voice.

“But, Gina, even if Kylie does have records of his expenses, they’ll be confidential. She won’t let me look at them.”

“She will! Tell her it’s for me. Tell her I won’t ask her any more favours after this. This is important, Declan. I feel like I’m going mad; this might tell me whether I am or not.”

“Gina!” Tom’s voice boomed up the stairs. “How do you fancy a movie and dinner?”

“Declan, I’ve got to go. I’ll speak to you tomorrow,” she said, rushing to end the call.

“No thanks,” she shouted hurriedly to Tom. “I’ve got loads of homework to do.”

But he wasn’t about to take no for an answer. She heard him bound up the stairs and before she had a chance to get to the door he was in her room.

“Come on,” he cajoled, his sky-blue eyes smiling. “All work and no play makes Gina a dull girl.”

“No really, I’ve got a ton of work to do.” She pointed to the pile of books on her dressing table.

She watched him nervously as he loosened his tie, undid the top button of his crisp white shirt and rubbed the back of his neck, his eyes momentarily closed, groaning. “
I’ve
been working hard all day and
you
need a break from all this studying. An evening out will do us the world of good and anyway, your mum will be home in a minute and I don’t want her to have to start cooking.”

“Then I’ll make tea,” Gina said, heading for the door, but he stepped in front of her, barring her exit.

“Gina, come and sit down.” He gestured to the bed.

“I don’t want to sit down. I’ve got things to do.”

“I think we need a chat.” He corralled Gina towards the bed, where she sat stiffly. She fixed her eyes on the wall of photos.

The bed creaked as he sat down beside her. The smell of his aftershave wafted towards her, making her feel nauseous. He followed her gaze to the photos.

“I know how much you miss Marty. I miss him too, Gina, but you’re letting your dad down,” he said solemnly.

“I am not!” she snapped.

“But you are. Your dad would be grateful that I’m helping and supporting his family. He’d be upset to see how you behave towards me. How you’re determined to stop your mum and Danny being happy again. I love being part of this family. I can’t even imagine my life without you all in it. I understand that you’re ill, Gina, that’s why I’ve been patient, but now it’s time you got better. Am I making myself clear?” He stood up and loomed over her. “You’re not going to get rid of me, so the sooner we start getting along, the easier it will be for you.”

Gina kept her eyes on the photos; her breathing was ragged.

“As soon as your mum gets home we’re all going out. Okay?” It didn’t sound like a question.

Gina gave the tiniest nod, desperate for him to leave.

“Good girl!” Tom said triumphantly.

He strode out of the room, leaving Gina’s insides churning.

Gina had been grateful for the cover of darkness that the cinema had provided. She’d sat as far away from Tom as possible. In brooding silence she’d watched the antics on the massive screen, listening to Tom and Danny guffawing at the gross-out comedy. In the restaurant there was nowhere to hide. She stabbed her fork into her dinner, watching as the food and wine kept coming, noting how Tom’s voice and gesticulations were getting progressively louder and bigger as more alcohol slipped down his throat. He’d left his car outside their house, insisting that he wanted to “make a proper night of it”. Her mum’s cheeks were rosy, her eyes bright, as she and Danny hung on Tom’s every word. He started to draw up plans on a napkin, the outline of a swimming pool.

Danny was agog. “Is it going to be indoors?”

Tom grinned. “Of course, with a sauna and Jacuzzi at the side.”

“Oh my God, my mates will be so jealous. Can they come round with me and use it?”

“Of course they can.” He ruffled Danny’s hair. “And what about you, Gina? What can I do for you? There’s a stable right by the beach. How about I get you some riding lessons at the weekends?”

“No, I don’t want anything,” Gina mumbled, shrinking back into the velvety chair.

Her mum looked at her watch. “Would you look at the time!” she exclaimed. “Tom, I’ve got to get the kids home. It’s a school night and I’m on an early shift in the morning.”

“You only live once, Clare. A few nights out will keep us young and the kids happy.”

“Yes, but you’ve had years of practice at being a party animal. I haven’t. Me and Martin never went out like you do. We couldn’t afford it for a start, but a good film and a curry in front of the TV was always enough for us.” Her mum suddenly sounded wistful.

Gina noted how Tom’s eyes narrowed in annoyance. “Right then, let’s get a couple of taxis,” he said sharply. “By the way, have any of you seen my new aftershave? The one I bought in Paris? I thought I put it in my washbag this morning but when I got home it wasn’t in there.”

Mum flashed Gina a curious look, but Gina shook her head emphatically.

“Danny boy, have you taken it because the girls mobbed you today?” Tom half teased.

“No way! The girls liked it but my mates were saying that I had perfume on,” Danny said indignantly.

“I’ll look for it. It’s bound to be in the house somewhere,” her mum said. “You’re welcome to the sofa bed again, if you don’t want to get a taxi all the way to yours.”

Gina looked alarmed.

“No thanks, Clare,” Tom replied firmly, thinking of his sleepless night in the living room. “I’ll call round in the morning to pick up my car.”

Gina let out a sigh of relief.

It was nearly midnight by the time the taxi pulled up outside their house. Danny bounded into the hallway, intoxicated by thoughts of swimming pools. Her tipsy mum was laughing, trying to restrain him as if he was an overexcited puppy, but joining in the fun was the last thing Gina felt like doing.

“You two, bed!” Her mum giggled. “Don’t forget to clean your teeth and, Danny…
don’t
sleep in your clothes!”

Her mum followed them upstairs and within ten minutes the house was silent. Danny fell asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow but, as the night ticked by, he became restless, his eyeballs flitting behind his eyelids, until, suddenly, he was sitting bolt upright, gasping.

It was a dream,
Danny thought with relief
. The fish are fine; they’re not dead, floating on the surface of the water, frazzled by the ultraviolet bulb…but they could be!

Panic rose in him again and he scrambled out of bed. The only light in his room was a gloomy orange glow from the street lamp outside.

I shouldn’t have forgotten. I meant to check them. Uncle Tom’s mate said they shouldn’t be exposed to it for too long. How many hours has it been on?
He pressed the button to illuminate his Homer Simpson clock:
4:18. Oh, God, I haven’t looked at them since we went out.

He stepped out onto the silent landing and felt his way down the stairs. He pushed open the living room door and approached the tank. A broad smile spread across his sleepy face as he saw his fish, darting through the now clear water like shimmering rainbows under the stark light of the ultraviolet bulb. Danny crouched down to the socket on the skirting board and switched off the light. As he began to rise, something in the darkened waters made him do a double take.

“What?” He was on his knees, his nose pressed against the glass.

He tried leaning back to see if gaining perspective would alter what he saw, but no, there on the floor of the tank, dotted amongst the blue stones, plants and pirate ship, were five incredible glowing beacons. They shone out of the darkness like red-hot embers.

He turned his head away, blinking several times before looking back at the tank again. The blood-red stones seemed to pulsate. He wasn’t dreaming.

“Wow! What the hell…?”

Just a moment ago, all those stones looked the same as usual, didn’t they? There were no red ones – nothing was glowing – I would have noticed! Maybe it’s something to do with the light? It’s never happened when I’ve turned the normal light off.

Danny scampered up the stairs and into Gina’s room. If his mum had been like all the other mums and let him have a mobile phone he could have taken a photo of it himself but, as it was, he needed a witness. Say they’d stopped glowing in the morning? No one would believe him. They’d say he’d been sleepwalking or just making it up. He needed Gina to see them, now!

He shook the duvet-covered mound. “Gina, wake up. You’ve got to come and look at this,” he said in a loud whisper.

“What?” she groaned.

“Come downstairs. I want to show you something; it’s amazing.”

A disembodied hand emerged from the duvet, swatting him away like a fly. “Get lost, will you? I’m asleep.”

“Please, Gina. You’ll love this.”

“I’ll see it in the morning,” she murmured.

“No, it might not be the same in the morning. You need to look now. Come on, Gina. It’s so cool!” he proclaimed, whisking the duvet off the bed and revealing her in foetal position.

“Danny, I hate you!” she said, swaying groggily as she sat up. “This had better not be just a boy kind of cool, as in
rubbish
!”

Taking her hand, Danny led the zombie-like Gina downstairs and into the living room.

He felt pleased with himself as he watched her expression. “Wow! They look amazing? When did you put
them
in?”

“I haven’t put anything in. They’re the normal blue stones that have always been there. I came down to turn the light off and everything looked normal but when I turned the bulb off, those stones started to glow.”

“Weird, but you’re right, that is cool. Why would they suddenly start doing that?”

“I reckon it must be the UV bulb Uncle Tom put in. It’s the only thing that’s changed. Can we look it up on the computer?” he asked eagerly.

“Not now, Danny.” Gina yawned. “We’ll do it in the morning, hey?”

“But say they stop glowing. Say they never glow again! No one will believe us.”

“Don’t be such a drama queen, of course they’ll believe us and if it
is
something to do with that light then it’ll happen again. Now, get up to bed, please,” she begged.