Seeker (35 page)

Celeste had lived a long time, and she had seen how the blacks had pulled themselves up from slavery, fighting against adversity at almost every turn. As a strong willed woman back in her own day, in a time when women were rarely seen without the company of a man, let alone heard, Celeste understood the strength of character it took to fight against the way of the world. Women had been doing it, gradually, for decades, and so too had those of darker skin. It seemed poetic to her that her new body should be a nice “mocha” colour, as Jasmine had always thought of herself.

When the picture was painted, Frederick had just returned from one of his frequent trips to London, and now Celeste knew the nature of those visits. Keeping tabs on Willem. He had prepared things for almost a decade, believing the human to be the Seeker, not even realising that he was becoming more and more infatuated with Willem. She, too, had not seen it. At least eight years, and not once did she pick up on the signs.

Celeste placed a hand against the wall and took a deep breath. She was still so very tired from the psychic assault, but she could no longer just sit about her chambers and rest. She was Celeste, of the Three, and had to be seen to be doing something.
Especially
now.

Rochelle was making waves, attempting to find out what she could about the investigation into Willem's disappearance; Frederick was off looking for Willem himself, while Theodor and Erwyn were working the problem from other angles. Willem would be found, and once he was they would discover his true role in the prophecy. Was he the Seeker, or the “man of power” of whom the Lost Pages spoke? Or could he really just be an innocent caught up in this because of Frederick's attraction? The last option seemed increasingly unlikely in light of the psychic protection Willem's mind had, which left one of the two other options.

Frederick knew the Book inside out, and if he doubted Willem as the reincarnation of Onuris then she had to accept that as a very real possibility. But she knew little of the Lost Pages. Research was needed.

A prickling at the edge of her mind caused her to pause in her ruminations, and with a smile she realised it was Frederick. This was the first time in a week that he'd initiated a mind-link.

Celeste closed her eyes and saw what Frederick was seeing. He was walking into the same living room they had previously seen through William's eyes, and there was Willem himself. At last, they would get to the bottom of the mystery.

Celeste knew that her sense of joy was not totally her own, but rather she was feeling what Frederick was feeling. She could not hear the words being passed between them, Frederick was keeping that from her, but she could feel what Frederick felt. And more. Frederick was letting his happiness at finding Willem blindside him; he was not seeing the truth of things.

There was anger in Willem's eyes, the blood behind boiling in righteous fury.

“Frederick!” she hissed, a stab of pain forcing its way through her gut. She staggered against the wall and slid to her knees.

Frederick had been attacked. And with the pain of the attack their link was severed.

“My lady!”

Celeste craned her neck up and spotted Nathan on one of the upper gantries overlooking the long passage that ran the length of the factory. She lifted a hand out to him, and frowned. She looked at her hand curiously, as if she had never seen it before. She opened her mouth to speak, but before words could form darkness claimed her.

* * *

Francis looked at his watch. Jake would be in Southend by now. He still wasn't too sure if Jake going had been such a good idea, but Jake seemed certain it was, so he had not objected. Besides which, Francis knew it was something Jake simply had to do. Jake's feelings for his son had always been obvious to Francis, and he was surprised that it had taken Jake so long to heed them.

Ultimately Francis wanted both his son and Jake to be happy. He still remembered when the Caulfields moved in next door, and how quickly the boys had bonded. So much had happened since then; in 1989 Alice Caulfield became a victim of cancer and a couple of years later, Bob Caulfield, no longer able to deal with the constant reminder of seeing his wife in their son, fled back to America. From there Jake became something of a son to both Francis and Sandra, and was around when their marriage collapsed following Sandra's affair with Eon. Even then Francis could see the connection between Jake and Willem. They were teenagers, and experimentation was all the rage. After the marriage was over Francis turned to two things, first there was the drink, but it wasn't long before he realised that drink was not giving him the solace he needed. Then he found God.

Years on and still his mind was torn. On the one hand he accepted his son's choices totally. He believed Willem had the right to be who he was, to love whomever he wanted. He also believed that God was a loving Creator and wanted his children to be happy, but he knew his Bible well enough to know that God's view on homosexuality was confusing at best. He had studied it a lot over the years, trying to understand. Many fundamental Christians believed homosexuality to be a sin, but Francis leant more towards the view that Paul's warning to the Romans was directed at heterosexuals engaging in homosexual acts, and thus going against their essential nature. It was one of the very few things that he had an issue with, and still he wasn't totally able to reconcile his son's sexual choices with the teachings of the Bible. There were plenty of passages from which it could be inferred that homosexuality was wrong, but Francis still remained unconvinced.

He contented himself in the knowledge that love was love, and if that meant two men found it in each other, then so be it. It was not for him to judge, even if it did make him a little itchy, and he wanted his boys to be happy. Neither seemed able to hold down a decent relationship for long, and Jake's feelings for Will had been obvious to him since they were teens.

Francis hoped that he would find some peace in that relationship, assuming Willem felt the same way. He didn't know if Willem felt for Jake like that. Perhaps they had been friends for too long? Certainly Will had never pined after Jake. Maybe that would change once Will understood the depth of feeling Jake had for him. Francis truly hoped so. Both deserved to be happy.

“She should be here by now,” Sandra said, cutting in. For a moment Francis was flummoxed, then he remembered. Lawrencia was coming over for a few hours, for no other reason than to just spend some time with her mother. He wasn't sure what was going on, but it did his heart good to see the family coming together over Willem's disappearance.

“I'm sure she'll be here soon, love,” Francis said, reaching out for the teapot that sat on the occasional table. “I'm more surprised by the lack of contact from Eon.”

Sandra let out a breath of contemptuous air. “I'm not. As I'm sure Willem would say if he were here, ‘sod him'.” She smiled at Francis. “Your company is more than enough for me right now.”

Francis patted her hand, and set about pouring her tea. For a short while they sat in silence, watching the latest episode of
Celebrity Face Change
. Occasionally he snuck a quick look at Sandra. Even now she was a stunning woman, despite the way she had been worn down by both age and her marriage to Eon. Her steely grey eyes shone with intelligence and compassion, and her thin lips begged to be kissed. Francis smiled to himself, and was reminded of Jake's assumption earlier that day.

He had not lied to Jake, he really was here to support his ex-wife while Willem's situation still remained a mystery, but deep down he had to be honest with himself. Being with Sandra still felt right.

The quiet was interrupted by the ring of the phone. They looked at each other, both thinking different things. Francis thought it would be Jake, but Sandra expected it'd be Lawrencia cancelling on them.

Francis was the first to find out, though, since it was he who reached for the cordless phone which lay on the small table beside the chair he was sitting in. A table that once served to hold Eon's countless newspapers and magazines.

“Hi, this is Detective Chief Inspector Alyson Rowe. I need to speak to either Mrs. Sandra Adomako or Mr. Francis Townsend, please.”

“This is Mr. Townsend,” Francis said. He had been wondering how long it would take CID to contact them. Ever since Jake had told them about the change in the investigation both he and Sandra had fretted, her more than he. For CID to become involved implied something bad was going on.

“Mr. Townsend, I apologise for the late call, but I'd like to arrange a visit early tomorrow to discuss the investigation into your son's disappearance. As I'm sure you've been informed, I've taken over the investigation, and there's some further information I'm in need of.”

“Really? And just why would CID be interested?” Sandra's eyes widened in concern. Francis held a finger to his lips and offered a smile. The worry on her face told him that a smile was not going to be enough. Willem had twice made an attempt to call people in London, and both times something had interrupted him, and it was clearly enough to spark the interest of CID. In her mind there was definite cause for worry.

“We can discuss this all tomorrow. All I can say is it appears there may be a connection between your son's disappearance and an ongoing case of mine.” There was barely a beat before DCI Rowe continued, her tones clipped and precise. A woman who clearly liked to be in control. “So, shall we say nine o'clock tomorrow?”

Francis had no choice but to agree. Once he put the phone down Sandra hit him with a barrage of questions, but he had no answers to give, save to tell her about tomorrow's visit. “Then we'll get to the bottom of this.”

Sandra shook her head. “Francis, I'm worried. What has Will got himself into?”

“I honestly have no idea.” He reached for the phone again. “I'm going to call Jake, see how he's getting on, and let him know what's happening.” He checked the number Jake had left them, and pressed the buttons. The phone rang for a few moments, and then Jake answered with a “hey.” In the distance Francis could hear the sound of running water. “Hi, son, how's Southend?”

“What I've seen of it, it's okay. Although I'm in Leigh, which, although part of the unitary district of Southend-on-Sea, is not strictly Southend itself.”

Francis laughed. “Gone local, have you?”

“Yeah, sorry, guess that'll be Charlie's influence. He talks a lot over food.”

Francis noted a small amount of discomfort in Jake's voice when he mentioned Charlie, but he let it pass. “Then you lads will be off canvassing soon, right?” Jake said they would. “Good. Well, before you go I've got a little bit of news for you. And don't worry, it's not bad news, or good, really. Just
new
news.”

* * *

Lawrencia was glad Curtis was in his bedroom, and more that he was keeping quiet. He was still fully dressed; all set for a visit to see his nana, unfortunately Jimmy had arrived home before she could leave with her son. And, once again, he was not in a good mood.

She stood in the corner of the pokey kitchen, the sink just to the side of her below the window, with the cooker on the other side of her. Jimmy stood in the doorway, raging about the deal that had fallen around him.

Lawrencia let him carry on. There was nothing she could say that would make it better. Already he was on his favourite subject, apportioning the blame. In this case it was lying squarely on Willem's shoulders; if he had returned when he said he would then they would not be in the trouble they were now. Owed money would have been paid, leaving the door open for Jimmy to get more gear which he could have peddled out for a nice tidy profit. Instead, her brother had decided to dump them in the shit, and look what had happened. At this point Jimmy had begun to wave his broken arm around, which, Lawrencia noted with a touch of satisfaction, was still covered in a clean fibre glass cast, free of any messages or jokes from friends. For that Jimmy would need actual friends.

Lawrencia glanced down, and made an effort to stop rubbing her own broken finger. Thanks to the metal splint the finger would heal fine, it would remain weak for a long while, but it would be fine. In the meantime it was a constant reminder of how things had escalated since Willem had gone missing.

Her own anger towards Will had gone, replaced by common sense. She had to thank Amy for that; Jake was a lucky man to have found someone like Amy. She had talked much sense to Lawrencia, told her about her own upbringing. How her mother had been in an abusive relationship, and how she never managed to get out of it. Amy had explained what it was like growing up in such an environment, she had been lucky to have her brother around, but Curtis had no such peer support. At first Lawrencia hadn't wanted to hear it, but she saw the truth in Amy's eyes, and she knew the woman was right.

As she stood there, not really listening to Jimmy, she knew she had to get out. For both her sake and Curtis's. But she needed help; she needed her big brother.

“No.”

Jimmy stopped abruptly, looking like he'd been slapped.

Lawrencia shook her head, and repeated herself more firmly. “No. You're always blaming everyone else, but it's you. You did all this to us, because you're weak.” Now she had said it Lawrencia felt stronger, buoyed by the truth of her words. Jimmy
was
weak, he was an addict, and he didn't have the balls to try and get help. She opened her mouth to speak more, careful not to allow her nerves to get the better of her. “You did this,” she said, raising her finger, “no one else! It's you who's making my son into a gibbering wreck. He's barely three, he shouldn't have to put up with this shit.”

Lawrencia stood up straight, enjoying the look of surprise on Jimmy's face. She knew it wouldn't last, so she had to make the best of it. Keeping her head held high, hiding the fear, she made to leave the kitchen, keeping her eyes on Jimmy. All she had to do was get passed him, grab Curtis and leave. It was so simple, she could do it.