CLONER : a Sci-Fi Novel about Human Cloning (A Captivating Story about Reproduction Outside the Womb and Identical Humans) (29 page)

‘Hello, Frank.’ Geraldine was tripping down towards the gates. Her long slim legs were displayed almost to her hips but, Lisa noted, her feet were shod in low-heeled, though stylish, leather boots.

‘Morning, Gerry. Yer be smartish on the job.’

‘Bit of a flap on. Three new children this week. Anne asked me to come in early to help out.’ She grinned at Lisa, no doubt to show how indispensable she was to her new employer. Then she turned to Frank. ‘No Landrover this morning?’

‘Keeping fit.’

‘You? Since when?’

‘Got to get started somewhen.’ He waved at her as he started off.

‘Will you be over as usual later? What about the - ?’

‘All taken care on, Gerry,’ Frank interrupted, voice loud, drowning Geraldine’s soprano. ‘No need for
yer
to worry none.’ And he loped off without another word.

It struck Lisa as odd that Frank and Geraldine should be on such familiar terms. Geraldine stared uncertainly after the departing figure, then turned towards the children. ‘Come on, you lot.’ She took the large pushchair over from Lisa, about to push it to the playground. ‘You’re wanted on parade!’

Anne Marsden had taken to having a sort of assembly now that her numbers had grown.

‘Frank says there’s been some horrifying news on television,’ Lisa said, walking beside the girl, watching Geraldine’s expression. ‘The body of a toddler found near Milton.’ She paused, seeing Seb looking up at her.

‘He didn’t have any clothes on,’ Seb said.

Geraldine’s long legs strode on, her face turned away. ‘Uncle Nige rang last night,’ she called back over her shoulder. ‘It sounded really gruesome.’ She continued pushing the pushchair. ‘Hurry up,’ she shouted to the children. ‘You’ll be late!’

Lisa kept up with her, helping Phyllis. ‘In that case I’d have thought you’d have worked out a theory by now, Gerry. You’re always reading those mystery stories.’ Somehow she had to try to find out if anything else had been reported. Geraldine would surely have gathered all the facts together. ‘Slow down a bit,’ she said, determined on an answer. ‘Phyllis is having trouble keeping up.’

Geraldine turned, holding out a hand to Phyllis.

‘Did they mention if there was anything with the child, something which might identify him?’ Lisa went on as casually as she could. Her voice, still somewhat breathy, purred pleasant. ‘Good test of your deductive powers.’

The girl shrugged, apparently not interested. ‘Uncle Nige said there was absolutely nothing at all. Not a stitch of clothing, not even a scrap of anything nearby. A real puzzler.’

Lisa was sifting her impressions, trying to evaluate what she’d been told. Something was very wrong somewhere. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but she could sense it. Reluctantly she waved goodbye, about to leave.

The vigorous assertive barking of a dog made her stop, tense, an odd jolt of memory coming back. That bark. She’d heard that bark before. Instinctively she turned to sprint towards her children. Janus was brandishing his left arm at Duffers. The terrier jumped at it, excited now, the barks turned into snarls becoming high yap yaps. James, Lisa noticed at once, had begun to whimper, and Jeffrey leaned away. But Janus, apparently unafraid, pummelled the dog’s snout with a metal aeroplane clutched in his right hand, lunging at Duffers’ eyes. Lisa drew in her breath as she pitched towards the dog, aware of danger.

‘Sit, Duffers!’ Geraldine shouted, alerted in her turn.

Too late. The dog, provoked by the child, followed Janus’s arm as he pointed it towards the wheels. The terrier jumped, seizing the arm in his flews, his paws on child and pushchair.

Geraldine snatched the dog’s collar as Lisa, plunging forward, galvanised the pushchair into explosive movement. Janus, his left arm grabbed by the terrier’s teeth, swiped with his right. Swirling the metal toy he jabbed again at the terrier’s eyes. The animal, his jaws around the sleeve of the yellow anorak, felt the attack from all sides and began to clamp his teeth, shaking his rear from side to side. He yelped raucous barks in sudden pain as he felt his paw trapped in the turning wheel. He had let go of Janus.

Reluctant memory of Priddy came flooding back to Lisa as she caught flashes of something buff-coloured, light, streaking through the dark spruces. Had Geraldine, and her bull terrier, followed her that day? That was absurd. She really was letting her imagination take over. Geraldine, she knew perfectly well, had been at Anne’s, doing her job. But
someone
had been following her, she was sure of that now. And there had been a dog. The fleeting look she’d caught of the animal meant it could have been a bull terrier. And, of course, they were the sort of dogs who mauled their quarry.

‘Get
down
, Duffers!’ Lisa screamed at him, incensed and outraged. ‘Down!’ She kicked the dog hard to one side and bent to Janus.

‘What’s going on?’ Anne was running towards them. ‘Is Jansy frightened?’ She turned to Geraldine. ‘What’s Duffers doing here? You know you’re not allowed to bring him. Did he snap at one of the triplets?’

Lisa looked up to see a flash of fury as Geraldine turned to Anne. ‘Jansy trapped his paw in the wheel!’ the girl shouted, gathering the dog into her arms. ‘He wouldn’t begin to hurt one of the children. He’s gentle as a lamb when he’s not hunting.’

‘He’s
bitten
Jansy!’ Lisa exploded, lifting Janus out of the pushchair, holding him to herself protectively, stroking his head.

‘Only because his paw was trapped!’

Anne was already by Lisa’s side. ‘Jansy’s been bitten?’

‘I think the anorak took the brunt of it,’ Lisa said, recovering, examining Janus’s arm. The toddler, she noticed, showed neither fear nor pain. It was almost as though he’d provoked the dog deliberately. She levered the coat off carefully. The sleeve of his jumper showed no blood, but as she pushed it back Janus rubbed his arm. Lisa could see tiny pinpricks of tooth marks on the smooth skin. Her heart sank. His flesh had begun to swell again.

‘I’m sorry, Anne. I’ve got to get him to a doctor. I don’t think it’s serious but he could be infected.’

‘Come in, my dear. Of course. I’ll give the surgery a ring.’ She turned to Geraldine. ‘Lock Duffers away, Gerry. In the scullery. I said he could come if you locked him up. You know that perfectly well he’s to be nowhere near the children!’

Why wasn’t Anne demanding that the dog be sent away for good, Lisa thought angrily? Why was he here in the first place? He’d attacked Janus! And Anne had no right to have a bull terrier anywhere near children in a playschool. Was she kowtowing to the Fitch-Templetons? Because she was running a business?

Something sinister was going on, Lisa was sure of it. She even had the distinct feeling that Frank had tried to push the triplets in front of the lorry earlier on.

Things were getting out of hand. It was much more dangerous than she’d imagined. Janus was being stalked. Overwhelming waves of maternal feeling drowned out rational thought. She had to protect her little boy, had to take Janus away, keep him safe. Her child, she realised with a start, could be in mortal danger. And his triplet brothers were sufficiently like him to be in danger too.

‘It’s no good, Anne. I’m really shattered. I’m taking the children home again.’

She watched Janus’s reaction, saw his eyes gleam their understanding. He knew; he definitely knew that she was about to remove him from the chase.

‘Why not leave the others, Lisa? They’ll be perfectly safe.’

Lisa turned the triple pushchair round and headed towards the gate. ‘I’m not leaving any of them here today,’ she said, as calmly as she could, her voice tremulous. ‘I’m afraid all this has made me very nervous. I’ll give you a ring later.’ She took Seb’s hand. ‘Come along, Seb. No school today.’

And as she walked her children home Lisa thought again of Frank’s strange visit, his oddly threatening attitude to her. Of course the body talked about on the news couldn’t have any connection with her - that child had been found in Milton, several miles away from where she’d been. But something nagged at her, something that Frank had said, something that didn’t quite fit in.

‘You’re going too fast, Mummy!’ Seb said, trotting beside her, trying to keep up.

She slowed her pace, relived again the feeling in the woods. Dark spruces, all identical, brooding overhead. A running dog, the plop of something falling, the snuffling scurrying sound… she brought herself back to her children.

‘Sorry, Seb,’ she sighed at him. ‘We’re almost home.’

How could she convince Alec that she had to keep the children at home again for their own safety? Not all of them, of course. Only Janus. He was the cloner. He was the one they were after, the one who could betray the secret. He was the target. It was Janus she had to safeguard, to keep away from everyone. She knew that now.

CHAPTER 25

Alec had insisted that his mother come to stay for a week. This time Lisa couldn’t find an excuse. She left her mother-in-law in charge while she tried to explain why Janus could not go back to Anne’s school.

‘You want to take them out of playschool?’ Lisa could see Alec staring at her, his mouth dropped open. ‘I thought the whole point was that their going gave you time to yourself.’ He paused for a few seconds. ‘Did Anne say she wouldn’t get rid of Duffers?’

Lisa was feeling desperate. She had to keep Janus at home, but she wouldn’t be able to explain why to Alec - that would just confirm his conviction that she was unstable. The way he was looking at her, his general attitude, convinced Lisa that he was wondering how to persuade her to see a psychiatrist. She had to be careful, to try to sound both reasonable and yet convince Alec that her concern was genuine.

‘She didn’t say one way or the other. She told Geraldine to lock him up, and that she’d deal with it later.’

‘So? Presumably she has.’ His eyes flashed impatience.

‘They’re too much for her.’

‘They? What on earth d’you mean by “they”?’ Impatience was turning to irritation.

‘The boys.’

‘Jansy teased Duffers. Animals taken to playschools have to be prepared to put up with that. What have the others done?’

‘People lump them together.’

‘We hardly need to encourage that,’ Alec said dryly. ‘Anyway, don’t be so absurd. The woman’s looking after twenty children under five. The fact that four of them are ours is neither here nor there. She can either cope with her job, or she can’t.’

Lisa looked directly at Alec, her face the bland mask she’d cultivated now for almost two years - ever since the ‘birth’ of James. ‘Even if
she
can, I can’t cope with the strain. Janus is getting aggressive again, belligerent. As soon as he spotted Duffers he enticed the dog to him, tricked him into grabbing at his arm. Then he thumped him, deliberately pushed the metal toy into the dog’s eye. Geraldine knows that, and she’ll tell Anne.’

‘You’re being utterly ridiculous, Lisa. There was a small accident. Unfortunate, but simply an accident. Jansy came to very little harm, and Duffers wasn’t seriously hurt. Just bad luck that his paw got caught.’

Lisa tried out a different tack. ‘Jansy could have been badly bitten. That’s a bull terrier, you know. Those dogs can be quite fierce. Extraordinary that such a young child is capable of handling him.’ She couldn’t help a smile of pride in her brave son. ‘Jansy’s incredibly strong and daring. Geraldine was quite shaken up.’

Alec was frowning. ‘Duffers will have to go. I quite agree he shouldn’t have been allowed at the school in the first place.’

‘Of course he’ll have to go! That’s not the point. Anne knows what Jansy intended. She’s always made allowances for him, she thinks the world of him, but I don’t think she’s up to handling him. You know exactly what I’m talking about, you’ve seen it all before, Alec. The boy’s getting back into his combative phase. This time he took it out on Duffers. I’m worried about what he’ll get up to next.’

‘He’s a small child, Lisa, pig-headed, stubborn, not a sadist out to get innocent people or animals. You’ve said it often enough yourself, that dog can be quite mean. Perhaps he started it.’

‘Jansy gauged it exactly right. He may be small − ’ She stopped, considering this. ‘Well, relatively small. He’s incredibly strong for his age, and he’s retaining fluid again.’

‘You haven’t put the gold earring back?’

‘I’ve left that one on Jeffers. That isn’t the problem,’ Lisa reminded him. ‘What really matters is the way he can work things out. He’s only twenty months, and he’s way ahead of most people.’

‘You’ll tell me next he’s superman,’ Alec said crossly. ‘Honestly, darling, you’re carrying this too far. It’s got to stop.’ Alec was pacing up and down the room, his face away from hers. ‘I’ve asked you to have a word with Gilmore...’

‘Do me a favour, Alec - Gilmore! What on earth d’you think
he
can do?’

‘For a start he could give you a mild sedative. What I’d like to see him do is refer you to a psychiatrist.’ He walked towards her, stretching out his arms. ‘You’re in trouble, darling, truly. You need help!’

She backed away from him. How was she to handle this? He was reacting to her again, rather than to the situation with Janus. ‘Oh, Alec. You think it’s all me, but it isn’t, you know.’ Her distress was evident in her trembling voice. She took a deep breath, determined to sound sensible. ‘Just think why we decided to get in touch with Morgenstein in the first place. Then remember what happened about the dog. Janus did trap Duffers’ paw in the wheels, you know. And what about the way he managed to sabotage Anne’s eggs?’

Janus had stolen into the kitchen and pulled the weekly supply of eggs to the floor. Not satisfied with that, he’d stamped on them, trampled them into smithereens.

Alec tried to approach her, to put his arms around her, to try and hold her to him, she supposed. She had to get her point across, not be side-tracked away from it. She moved away towards the window and started pulling the curtains shut.

‘He didn’t sabotage them, Lisa. All he did was pull the trays down from the kitchen table.’

‘Intentionally. He knows the kitchen’s out of bounds.’

‘It isn’t going to be dark for a couple of hours. Why are we closing out the light?’

Did he have to analyse everything she did? ‘I’m just getting the curtains to hang straight.’ She shook the heavy material impatiently.

A cloud of dust brought on a fit of sneezing for Alec. He blew his nose. ‘The business with the eggs was something that could easily have happened with any of the children. I’d say it was more Anne’s fault than Jansy’s. She has no right to let them be unsupervised anywhere, let alone get into the kitchen on their own.’

‘That’s exactly what I’ve been trying to tell you, Alec. She isn’t up to looking after Janus.’ Sweet reason wasn’t going to work; she might as well sound as obsessive as he thought she was. ‘I’m keeping him at home,’ she announced, abrupt and with finality. She swished the curtains apart and crashed open the sash window. ‘The others can continue to go to school. I’ll look after Jansy myself. Then I’ll
know
there won’t be any more problems.’

He looked hard at her, shrugged. ‘But there is one thing you might be right about,’ she heard Alec say.

‘You think I might be right about something?’

‘Do stop being so hostile, Lisa. I’m only trying to do my bit. I wish you wouldn’t exclude me so.’ He smiled at her, tentatively putting out his hands again. She stood rigid by the window. ‘What I mean is, Janus
is
puffing up again, rather quickly at that. Perhaps he’s allergic to the platinum as well. I told you we ought to leave him without an earring.’

‘My fault again!’