No True Echo (16 page)

I found comfort in Ruby's paint-splattered chaos but I noticed how the painting on the easel was spikier than before. The colours were brighter and had been applied with more force.

‘It's not regret,' I said.

‘No. It's frustration,' she replied. She grinned at me and added, ‘Which, of course, means it's impossible to get right.'

‘Where's Melody?'

‘Over at David's, teetering on the brink of the scientific discovery of the century.'

‘She will change the world,' I said.

‘I have no doubt about that,' replied Ruby. ‘I have never had any doubts about that. Ever since she was a little girl I knew Melody was going to change the world. My only question was whether she would change it for the better or worse.' Ruby raised her eyebrows to show she was trying to be funny.

‘What about him?' I said.

‘David? He's just David. He manages her, which is something.'

‘They think they can control time,' I said. ‘That's what they're doing.'

‘Why would you want to?'

‘To avoid making mistakes, I suppose?' I said.

‘Life is mistakes, Eddie. Take you. You think you were planned? Not likely. But what a fine specimen of a mistake you are.' She held up my chin, colouring it with orange paint. ‘Believe me, everything worthwhile begins life as a mistake.'

‘It would be nice to avoid making the same mistakes,' I said.

‘What's the point? You'll only end up making different ones.'

‘Do you think Melody would avoid having me if she could?'

‘Who knows? But I tell you what I would do. I'd do everything the same.'

‘You're telling me you don't have any regrets?' I didn't try to hide the disbelief in my voice.

‘Of course I have regrets, but I'd do it the same because that's what I'm like. Even if I tried to do things differently, they'd end up the same.'

‘How do you know?'

‘Because I have tried to do things differently. Half my life was spent trying to be a better person but you reach a certain age and you realise you don't have a choice about who you are. All of us are slaves to ourselves.'

‘You'd still have Melody, then?' I asked.

‘Of course. If I didn't have her, I wouldn't have you and, while you're not exactly my first choice of living companion, you are you, and that's something.'

Ruby plucked the brush from the jar, wiped it clean with her fingertips, then dipped it in the paint to continue with the impossible task of finishing her picture of frustration.

Melody didn't come home that evening. As far as I could tell, this wasn't especially unusual. Ruby suggested I call Maguire's number if I was worried, which was written on a pad by the phone. I tried it but there was no answer. Outside, the weather was getting worse. I was feeling anxious because I felt like this world with Melody was going to be taken from me at any time. I considered cycling round but Ruby told me it was too dangerous to go out on such a night, and I knew she was right, so I went upstairs to my room and stared at a blank wall until I fell asleep in my clothes, only to be awoken by my mother's urgent whisper.

‘Eddie. Get up. Now.'

I opened my eyes. Melody loomed over the bed, her panicked face lit by the red glow of my bedside clock.

‘What time is it?' I asked, rubbing my eyes.

‘Late. You need to get up.' She pulled my pillow from under my head.

‘Why? What's going on?'

‘I'll explain on the way. Downstairs in one minute.'

She left my door open and went to her room. I saw the light go on and heard her hurriedly packing. I dressed as fast as I could, then joined her downstairs. As soon as she saw me, she opened the front door, revealing the dark storm that raged outside.

‘Come on,' she said.

I didn't move. ‘Not until I know why.'

‘Please, darling, do as you're told,' she said through gritted teeth.

‘No.'

‘I'm your mother. Do as you're told.'

‘No.'

‘Eddie, my darling, we're in danger. We need to go.'

‘What about Ruby? We can't leave her.'

‘Your grandmother will be fine.'

‘What's happened?'

‘I'll explain in the car.' I realised that Maguire's car was parked outside the front.

‘Is he in there?'

‘No,' she said. ‘I've borrowed his car.'

‘But you don't drive,' I said.

‘I can drive perfectly well. Now, please, get in the car.' When she touched my face I could feel her hand trembling with fear.

I followed her to the car and got in. The engine was already running.

‘I don't think we should be driving in this storm,' I said.

‘We have no choice.' Melody threw her bag into the back seat and pulled out a book. It was her hardback copy of
Frankenstein
. ‘Read what's written at the back,' she said.

‘I know all this,' I said. ‘I know about the random sentence. I don't get why it's fallen on the same night since there are two of you working on it this time, but I know what's written because I've seen all this before.'

Melody started the car. ‘I chose this book for our experiment because you and I were talking about it yesterday. The idea was to test whether the present could be affected by the past.'

It took me a moment to realise that she hadn't listened to a word I said.

‘Yes, I know, and it can,' I said. ‘The sentence appears as if by magic.'

‘Read it,' said Melody, still not listening.

I turned to the last page and read,
Do not trust David Maguire.

‘I don't understand,' I said. ‘Who wrote it?'

‘It's my handwriting.'

‘So you wrote it?'

‘No, I went to the past and wrote a sentence I found in the book. When I returned, however, this was written there in its place. It's a warning from myself in the future, placed in that same moment in the past for me to read now.'

Melody clicked the windscreen wipers on to full speed but they were losing the battle against the torrential rain.

‘Did Maguire see it too?'

‘He did. He kept trying to tell me it wasn't true, but I'm hardly going to trust him over myself, am I?'

On the more exposed stretches of road I could feel the wind catching the car. It was a dreadful night to be out but there was someone else on the road. Occasionally, I could see the single headlight of a motorbike behind us. I didn't know if Melody had noticed.

‘I need you to be brave, darling,' she said.

‘I'm not scared,' I said. I threw the book onto the back seat and spotted Maguire's shotgun.

‘Why have you got his gun?' I asked.

Melody answered with her silence. For the first time I noticed that her hands were stained with something dark and red.

‘What have you done?'

‘I needed to protect us,' she said

‘What have you done?'

‘Stop it, Eddie. Stop saying that.'

My right hand closed around the packet of Smarties. I pulled it out, flipped open the lid and saw the blue one at the top. I could feel the roar of the engine as Melody pushed her foot down on the accelerator.

‘You know I'd never do anything to harm you, darling,' she said. ‘We're in this together. No matter what, we're in this together, you and me.'

Melody made no attempt to slow down for the corner and, at the speed she was going, the skid was inevitable. Her hands twitched, turning the wheel to regain control of the car. She was gripping it so tightly I could see the blue veins in her hands.

The next corner was even sharper and she was going even faster. We never stood a chance. I didn't try to grab the wheel. Or yell. I simply tipped the packet of sweets into my mouth as we hit the barrier and bit into the blue one. It tasted bitter and everything slowed down. I saw the fear and panic in my mother's eyes. In the rear-view mirror I saw the motorcyclist stop on the road. The items on the back seat flew into the air. I viewed these things with curiosity as the car shot off the road at the corner that one day, in another version of the world, would be named Death Drop Point.

During the trial, Liphook had given a full and frank testimony about that night at the farmhouse and hospital. Once everyone in the courtroom was satisfied with her story, she was sent back to her originating timeline.

But it no longer felt like hers.

Her memories began running away from her. At first she believed it was old age, or some kind of side effect of the echo jump, but it was more than that.

She understood that everything was coming to an end.

She had enjoyed the trip to the museum, not because of the memories it brought back but because of all that time spent with the helpful young man. After the incident back at Maguire's farmhouse, she had left Wellcome Valley for a job in the big city, finally getting all the excitement and danger she had desired. She had the scars and the pain to prove it. She had achieved everything she had set out to do but now, with her police career behind her, she realised that the one thing she had failed to achieve was companionship. Liphook was alone.

She remembered with fondness the arrival of the Sandlings that night at the hospital. Angus's large family had breathed new life into the stagnant waiting room. In spite of the noise, both Liphook and Ruby were grateful for the distraction. Angus's twin brothers were incapable of doing anything other than bicker and wind each other up, but it was preferable to the anxious silence that had filled the room before. Ruby found comfort holding the baby, while Liphook reflected on how a large family brought with it an environment of its own that cushioned those inside from any horrors the world could throw at them.

It was a night of unrelenting atrocities. The news that Angus was very likely to spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair was utterly devastating for the family. Liphook wished she could do something to alleviate their pain.

In contrast to Angus's large family, Ruby was alone in her torture.

At one minute past midnight, a young male doctor who looked as tired as Liphook felt, came into the waiting room. From the expression on his face, it was never going to be good news.

‘Please, have a seat,' he said to Ruby.

‘I'm fine standing,' she replied. Liphook placed her arm around Ruby's shoulder.

He nodded gravely. ‘I'm so very sorry,' he said. ‘Your grandson has passed away.'

Liphook felt all of Ruby's strength vanish. She went limp and would have collapsed to the ground had Liphook not been there to lower her gently onto a seat.

The doctor explained that Eddie had died peacefully in his sleep and, as far as he could tell, had felt no pain, but the words didn't even touch the surface of Ruby's grief. The Sandlings offered kind words of condolence, but all Liphook could offer was an arm and shoulder as Ruby wept for her grandson.

‘They're not for me,' Ruby said eventually. ‘These tears. They're for him. That poor kid got lumped with me his whole life. He got stuck in this valley with me. I thought that if I could get him through this bit of his life then he could go off and do whatever he wanted, but if it's over now, it means he spent his whole life waiting for his life to start. What a waste. What an unforgiveable, disgusting waste.'

‘You can't blame yourself,' said Liphook.

‘I told you, it's not about me. It doesn't matter who I blame. I used to say to him that maybe we would do better in the next life but I never believed that. You only get one go at this. Except that poor lad lying dead on that slab never even got that. Regret is the worst.'

‘Echo freefalling can occur for a number of reasons but is most often the result of the death of an individual in the originating version. This leaves your conscious self untethered and lost. If this should happen to you, you will find yourself pinballing forwards and backwards through time, criss-crossing versions of reality. In this event, it is vital that you stay calm and remain in the background of each host mind. The further forward you push yourself, the more difficult it will be for our experts to extract you.'

I didn't know who was speaking, only that it was a calm voice that reminded me of a safety announcement. The next thing I heard was my own voice.

‘You're sure you won't have a dessert? It's on me,' The voice sounded deeper but I knew it was mine because I heard it from inside my head.

Looking out of my eyes I saw I was sitting in a fancy restaurant. Angus was opposite me. His hairline was further back and there were lines around his eyes and mouth. Apart from that, he was just the same.

‘Why me?' he said. ‘I don't understand why you're asking me, Eddie.'

‘Because I know you like dessert and they've got a great selection here.'

He gave me a withering look.

‘Because you're my friend, Angus,' I said. Apparently I knew what he was referring to. ‘And because you're not involved in all this and because I trust you. There aren't many people I do now.'

Watching this from the back of my head, I was a spectator to my own thoughts as they crossed my mind.

‘I can't be bought,' said Angus. ‘I'm not for sale.'

‘I'm not trying to buy you. I'm asking you for help and offering what I can in return.'

‘Do you remember the project?' said Angus. ‘The ten tallest trees in the valley?'

I felt the contractions in my cheeks as I smiled. ‘I never even liked climbing trees. I only did it because you did.'

‘I knew that,' said Angus. ‘I was grateful. It was always more fun with you.'

A waitress placed cups of coffee in front of us. Angus thanked her and took a sip but I didn't say anything. I poured milk from a small jug into my cup and watched it colour the coffee.

‘Do we have to go through all this again?' I recognised the tightening sensation in my chest as guilt, although I didn't understand what I felt guilty about.

‘Isn't that what you're asking me to do? Go over things again?' he said.

I leaned forward and spoke quietly. ‘Things have changed. The technology has moved on. It's now possible for you to go back and start again. You can live your life over. You can do things differently.'

‘I thought all jump cords had to be cut.'

‘There are ways round that. I could arrange it for you.'

‘Thanks, but I'm happy with my life.'

I snorted into my coffee in disbelief. I hated myself for doing it.

‘I know I'm not rich like you,' said Angus, ‘but I am happy, Eddie. I never blamed you for what happened. I knew it was my own fault, but when Melody made all that money and you left the valley and stopped calling, it wasn't that I resented you for going. It was just  … ' He trailed off for a moment. ‘When I was lying there, waiting to be found, unable to move, in all kinds of agony, I wished so much you were there. Not to go get help, not because you'd probably have stopped me climbing so high, but because I knew you'd be able to make me laugh. It's been years since I laughed like we used to.'

‘Things aren't as funny these days,' I said.

‘Last call for anywhere but here,' said Angus.

‘I'm not here for a trip down memory lane,' I said harshly.

‘I thought that was exactly why you asked me here.'

‘You know what I mean. I need your help to stop Maguire before he wipes her from history.'

‘I don't even understand half of this. I've never had any interest in that echo stuff.'

‘I know, which means they won't suspect you. The ETA is in Maguire's pocket. We're running out of time.'

‘The ETA?' Angus nodded knowingly. I could tell this annoyed me but I wasn't clear why.

I could feel a hundred different emotions wrestling inside of me.

‘How is she?' asked Angus.

‘Tenacious,' I said. I didn't know what the word meant but I understood we were talking about Scarlett.

‘I'm sorry things didn't work out with you two,' said Angus. ‘I liked her.'

‘It's history,' I said dismissively, but from the turmoil in my head I doubted this was true.

‘What isn't history these days?' said Angus.

This brought my anger and frustration into focus. ‘Will you do it? It's not hard, what I'm asking. You'll receive full instructions that will help us stop the ETA from meddling and letting Maguire clear his name.'

‘By
us
, you mean you and Melody?'

‘I need to protect her.'

‘I'll do it, but for you. Not for her,' said Angus.

‘Thank you.'

‘I'm agreeing to help because we used to be friends and that still means something to me.'

‘I hope we're still friends,' I said.

‘Listen, Eddie, thanks for lunch. It wasn't quite Thursday meatballs but it was nice.'

‘I'll send someone to pick you up in the morning,' I said.

Angus placed his hands on the table and pushed. I was expecting him to stand and was surprised when he slid back. I watched him navigate his wheelchair through the crowded restaurant. He never once looked back.

I felt the weight of every dark thought in my head. I witnessed my own fear and determination. I was using Angus. I was sending him to do something I was too scared to do myself. I watched myself dismiss this guilt. I had promised Melody I would carry out her plan. I had to protect my mother. That was all that mattered to me.