Nine Letters Long (13 page)

‘You're right.'

‘How come you wanted to know what that word meant?'

The saliva catches in Evie's throat. She pushes it down. ‘I've had more messages from … Caz.'

Poppy sits up. ‘When?'

‘Ages. It pretty much hasn't stopped.'

‘Come up here,' Poppy says, throwing back the doona. ‘What's she said?'

Evie snuggles up next to her. It feels so right to be doing this, she thinks. That's why Victoria was so sure.

‘One of the messages I got, in fact the last one, had the word
curvain it.'

‘Ooh,' Poppy squeals. ‘I've got goose bumps.'

‘Let me tell you, I've had more than goose bumps. It's been pretty full on.'

‘Yeah? Like how?'

Evie gives Poppy the exercise book to read. Poppy's eyes almost grow stalks.

‘Oh my god,' she gasps with each page. ‘This is … oh my god.'

‘So if I've been acting a little weird, well, now you know why.'

‘I think you've been acting very normal,' Poppy tells her. ‘Considering.'

‘You know that lady Victoria, the one that's … like me.' Evie can't work out how to say this. ‘She said she thought, maybe … maybe Caz wanted …'

Poppy's nodding with each word. ‘Wanted … yeah?'

‘Well, like maybe needed my … friends to … to help.'

Poppy's eyes grow wide again. ‘Should we do a séance now?'

‘No,' Evie laughs. The relief is enormous. She can almost see the weight floating away. ‘I got busted by Dad last week.'

‘Doing a séance?'

‘Yeah, I'd just finished one. He wasn't happy because you know I have this deal with them that I'm meant to be all open about it, which of course I'm not.' Evie hugs her knees. ‘Anyway, I promised Dad I wouldn't do anything until I got the okay from Victoria 'cause she knows about this stuff.'

‘So, what are you going to do?'

‘I'm going to Victoria's tomorrow. I'm shitting my pants about it, too,' Evie tells her. ‘We're doing another séance with Caz's mother. That whole family gives me the creeps.'

‘Right,' Poppy chuckles. ‘What are you doing tomorrow? Oh, I'm just going over to a friend's house to do a séance.'

Evie starts laughing, too. Soon the girls are killing themselves. Rolling around on the bed and kicking their legs in the air.

‘Sshh.' Evie clutches her stomach. ‘We'll wake the oldies.'

‘And Caz's mother runs the Penis Abuser. Now that is funny!' Poppy squeals. ‘Hey, I just thought of something you could have asked Roxy about it. Her sister Dana's the receptionist there.'

‘I thought about it, but after the little abuse session with Alex in the bathroom I lost my nerve.'

‘I'll do some research for you. Detective Poppy Kaldor, PI.'

‘It's the sister, Paris, I need to know about. I'm kind of on a major avoidance thing there. There's something about her that freaks me out.'

‘Like what sort of thing?'

‘I'm not sure. Whatever it is has to be tied up with what Caz is trying to tell me.' Evie stares at the bedroom ceiling, thinking about Paris's face the first time she saw her. ‘There's something really dark about that girl.'

‘You mean she's evil or something?'

‘No, not like that. I mean like a sadness, but the deepest, darkest sadness you could ever imagine. I felt it when I saw her. It was really horrible and I just don't want to get that feeling again. Chicken, eh?'

‘I wonder why she makes you feel like that.'

Evie swallows. ‘I don't know.'

‘So she works at the Penis on the weekend?'

‘Yeah, on Saturdays mostly. She's really, I mean seriously, anorexic,' Evie tells her. ‘Do you think you've seen her before?'

‘No way,' Poppy answers. ‘It's Alex who's always had the fascination with that place, not me. I reckon she secretly wants to go there.'

‘And this is the one time I know I can't trust Alex.' Softly, Evie adds, ‘Poor Al. She'll come around but she's going to get badly hurt on the way. I can see it in her eyes.'

 

‘Good luck,' Poppy whispers to Evie the next morning, as she gets out of the car. ‘Thanks for the lift home,' she says to Evie's dad.

‘No worries, Poppy,' he smiles. ‘Say hi to your parents.'

They drive off and the tension seeps back into the front.

‘I'm really not comfortable about Robin being in the dark about this, Evie.' He turns the radio off. ‘I think after today we should tell her. Don't you?'

‘Maybe.'

‘Why don't you want to tell her?'

‘Are you for real, Dad? Like, hello.'

They take the turn-off to the eastern suburbs. ‘How much therapy and reassurance does she have to give you before you … you trust her again? Eh?'

‘Dad, it's not that I don't trust her. She's my mother.' Evie
sighs. ‘I just feel weird about telling her these things. It's still pretty new, remember? I mean, I wish I could be normal for her, but I can't.'

‘Don't you think she knows that?' Nick brakes at the red light, a little too hard. The tyres squeak. ‘Your mother's worked hard on accepting and understanding that you're –'

‘Don't say special, Dad!'

‘Okay, gifted. Is that better?' He looks at her. ‘You know what kills me, Evie? She thinks she's doing so well. She thinks she's made so much progress with you, and it gives her such a buzz. And here we are, driving off to Victoria's while she's at home, thinking we're giving her some peace so she can mark her students' essays.' He speeds off at the green light. ‘I think that's really sad.'

Evie chews at her lip, feeling cranky. Why do they have to talk about this? Why now? Doesn't he know she has other things on her mind? Is this all he cares about?

‘Ring me when you're finished,' Nick says, pulling up outside the block of flats. ‘Are you …'

‘I'm fine.' Evie gets out of the car and slams the door. It's not until she's on the third flight of stairs that she hears him drive away.

 

Victoria's making the obligatory plunger of coffee. Evie leans against the kitchen bench.

‘What's wrong, Evie?'

‘Dad keeps going on about Mum. Mum's fine. She's just going about her business. He doesn't seem to understand that
I can't be instant best-friendsy daughter. Things take time and I'm still not used to it.'

‘Are you trying?'

‘I am a bit preoccupied at the moment,' she grumbles. ‘You'd think Dad'd be aware of that.'

‘Ah, Evie, he's always supported you, unconditionally, in his quest to protect you from something he feels he handed on to you.' She follows Victoria into the living room. ‘But now he wants it to work as a family and you're not used to that. You've always had him to yourself.'

Her words sting because they're true. Evie knows this just from the fact they come from Victoria's mind. A mind that sees the deeper layers, too.

‘Give it time, dear,' Victoria tells her. ‘But try to be a little more open.'

Evie sits at the table, running her finger along the letters on the ouija board. She wants to get off the topic of her mother. It's confusing her, and her mind needs to be clear.

‘So Nora didn't flip out about coming today?'

‘No more than usual. “Oh, I have so much to do; I'm so busy; can't you come to my place? I hope that girl doesn't waste my time again.” Just the standard Nora whinging.' Victoria places the candles on the table. ‘You didn't bring your book, did you?'

‘No way.'

‘Good. I'll give you some paper to write on. That's if she comes.'

‘Who, Nora?' asks Evie.

‘Oh, Nora will come. She bellyaches about everything
but she'll be here,' Victoria replies. ‘It was Caz I was talking about.'

‘Caz will come,' Evie says. ‘Actually, I think she's already here.'

Victoria suddenly stops looking around the room. ‘What do you feel?'

‘It's not what I feel, it's that smell,' Evie explains.

‘It's funny,' Victoria sniffs at the air. ‘I can't smell a thing.'

Evie pulls a face.

‘It seems Caz is reluctant to share anything with an adult. Sometime in her life she must've been very let down by one,' Victoria says. ‘Nora would be my guess. I can't see who else it would be.'

‘It's her mother, for sure.' Evie lights the candles. ‘It's like she has no idea anyone else in the world exists except herself.'

‘That's how she's survived,' Victoria answers.

‘Yeah. She survived,' Evie murmurs. ‘But those around her didn't.'

 

Nora is cold to Evie. She hardly even looks at her.

‘So, we're using this board again, are we?' Her gold bracelets jingle as she flicks her hand towards the board in disdain. ‘I hope my time won't be wasted again. I'm a very busy woman. I have Ingy at home with Paris, helping with my BAS statement.'

Evie's throat clamps tight. She tries to speak but her voice is being strangled inside. She parts her lips but there's no
sound. Instead, a pool of spit dribbles from the corner of her mouth.

Bang! It's Evie's fist on the table. The board jumps and Nora spins around on her chair. ‘What is it, Evie?' Victoria is crouching next to her. ‘Is she here? Is Caz here?'

Evie can only nod. The tears are streaming down her cheeks, and her face feels as though it's about to explode into a thousand pieces as every skerrick of air is squeezed out of her body.

‘Stand back,' Victoria calls. ‘You're too close. Move away, Caz. Stand back. Back to your space.'

A high-pitched whistle hisses from Evie's throat. She begins to cough and splutter. ‘Uggh uggh. Agha agha. Haah haah.' Victoria throws a cloth over her mouth. Evie grabs it, frantically wiping away the tears and spit. ‘She, she, uggh, uggh, wants to speak,' Evie gasps. ‘Now. Right now.'

Victoria holds the pen, saying quickly, ‘Our beloved Caz. Speak to us with faith and good will. Your mother is here today, in the name of love.'

Evie's finger rests on the pointer. Nora's hands hold the edge of the table.

The planchette skids over to the letter I. ‘I,' Victoria repeats, jotting it down on the paper. ‘I-G-I-V-E-Y-O-UN-O-R-A.'

‘I give you Nora,' Victoria reads.

‘Yes, darling,' Nora cries. ‘Mamma's here. Speak to me, darling.'

Evie's finger jerks onto the word ‘YES'.

‘Yes, darling. Yes, my darling,' Nora says over and over.

The pointer circles the board before spelling the word ‘Nora' again. Nora still mutters, ‘Yes, my darling. Yes, my darling.'

‘G-E-N-U-I-N-E-I-N-F-O-R-M-A-T-I-O-N-N-O-R-A-Y-E-S.'

For the second time, Evie feels the breath squeezing out of her. One hand creeps up towards her throat while the other is led around with the pointer.

Gradually, the spelling speeds up, faster and faster, so that the planchette is hitting the letters at such a pace Victoria can hardly keep up. Her writing scrawls all over the page as she shouts each letter Caz gives them.

‘I-M-M-O-R-A-L-N-A-S-T-Y-G-U-E-S-S-Y-E-S.'

The pointer reverses its cycle, spinning backwards on itself. It skids around the board towards Nora. Nora screams, throwing herself back in her chair. Victoria is still shouting, ‘I-N-N-O-C-E-N-T-G-I-R-L-Y-E-L-L-S-N-O-W-N-O-W-N-O-W-N-N-O-WNOWNOWNOW.'

Nora jumps up. The planchette flies off the table, hitting her on the leg. She falls back against the wall and starts to scream. ‘You are not reading my daughter! You are a fake.' She regains her balance and lunges at Evie. Victoria tries to hold her back but her arms lash out and her legs kick. ‘You know nothing about my daughter. Nothing! Who are you? Who are you?
Fire-ai al dracului
!
Fire-ai al dracului
!'

Evie runs to the bathroom and locks the door behind her. She sits on the floor, her chest heaving up and down as she tries to find some air. Outside, she can hear Victoria trying to calm Nora down. Muffled voices mixed with the odd shout drift beneath the bathroom door. Evie catches snippets.

‘She's wasted my time again!'

‘Nora, calm down.'

‘Don't tell me to calm down. I'm not giving you a penny for that, that rubbish girl and her –'

‘Nora, I don't want any money.'

‘What do you want, then? You must want something.'

‘Do you want me to call Ingy to pick you up?'

‘You're not getting my money!' Evie hears Nora's stiletto heels click along the floorboards. ‘I don't want you to do anything for me …' The front door opens then closes with a slam. Amidst the vibration, a silence descends upon the flat.

‘She's gone,' Victoria calls.

Evie walks out. One foot in front of the other takes all the energy she has.

‘You look exhausted,' Victoria says, bringing over a glass of water.

Evie gulps it down.

‘Do you want me to call Nick?'

‘In a minute,' nods Evie. ‘What did she say?'

‘I thought you would've heard it all, she was screaming so loud. She completely –' Victoria begins.

‘Not Nora, Caz. What did Caz say? I don't care about Nora.' Evie folds herself onto the couch. ‘I couldn't keep up with the letters. It's a big blur.'

Victoria takes the paper out from under the board. ‘Again, it's pretty cryptic.' She begins to read the messages to Evie.

‘“I give you Nora. Genuine Information Nora Yes. Immoral Nasty Guess Yes. Innocent Girl Yells Now Now” and then it was now, now over and over again.'

Evie scans the paper, searching for a clue. ‘What does it mean?'

‘I have no idea. But I'll tell you what – Nora knows. It makes me …' Victoria stops. Evie feels her eyes settle on her. She looks up at Victoria. ‘What?'