‘He’s dead, remember?’
‘Aargh, plot spoiler!’
‘I was thinking it’s more likely to be Hercule Poirot.’ She’d loved the re-runs of that ancient detective programme.
‘I wish. You know what, I think I saw a version they filmed it round here.’ Theo wandered to the window. ‘Yes, I recognise that building over there.’
‘We could do with a Belgian sleuth to work out why all this cloak-and-dagger stuff is necessary.’
‘Let’s see what the message says first. It might become obvious.’
‘This way please.’ Miss Fancy Pants was back and waiting to usher them into the senior partner’s room.
‘Don’t you find it odd they don’t use any tech at all?’ Meri whispered to Theo. She had noticed there was no computer at the desk, just a large appointment diary. 'This would be a comp-punk’s idea of hell.'
Theo, by contrast, was in heaven. ‘They promise absolute confidentiality. I guess that means they’re so retro they’re cutting edge, going back to pre-buggable, pre-digital methods of working. They probably have a filing clerk and typists! This is so adorable.’ One of his favourite things to do was watch old spy series set in offices before the 1980s, an era where the top technology was an electric typewriter and they had to dial numbers on huge desktop phones. He collected such memorabilia if it came up dirt cheap in junk shops or online auctions. ‘I wasn’t joking about the Dumbledore thing. I bet they’d use owls to deliver their letter if they could be trained to do so.’
‘Wouldn’t anyone?’
The lady knocked lightly on an open door. ‘Mr Rivers, your guests are here.’
They stepped into the book-lined room with a white-haired gentleman sitting behind a desk writing with an ink pen.
‘Pinch me: we’ve suddenly walked into a Dickens’ mini-series,’ whispered Theo.
Meri bit her lip to stop a giggle. Nerves were making them both misbehave.
Not noticing, or perhaps magisterially ignoring, their laughter, Mr Rivers stood up and came around the desk to greet them. His hair gave the wrong indication of his age; he was actually much younger than it suggested, no more than forty. He had a fragile air, like a manuscript that should only be handled wearing cotton gloves. ‘Miss Marlowe, delighted to meet you at long last. Please accept very belated condolences on the loss of your parents.’
She shook his hand. His palm was very dry and a little warm. ‘Um, thanks.’
‘Mr Woolf? Thank you for accompanying your ward today. Would you mind acting as one of our witnesses?’
‘My pleasure, guv.’
‘Shall we get right to it?’ Mr Rivers was looking at her, Meri realized.
‘Er, OK.’
Mr Rivers rang a little bell on his desk. The receptionist returned with a dull grey metal cashbox. The lawyer dug in his breast pocket and drew out the key. ‘Here. This is yours.’ He passed it to Meri.
She took the key and gripped it hard, letting the cuts in the metal bite into her skin.
‘Now if you would sign that you have received it? The message is in the box, which we have held for you in our storage facility, and that is the only key kept here to open it. Even I haven’t seen the contents since putting them inside fourteen years ago but I can assure you no one has had access to it during that time.’
‘Right, thanks.’ Meri took the ink pen he offered her and signed the document lying ready on the desk.
‘Mr Woolf?’
Theo signed beneath her, then the receptionist added her signature.
‘My instructions were to allow you to read this in a private room. I have set aside the office next door for this purpose. Your parents also suggested that you leave the box here for safe keeping once you have had time to absorb the contents.’
Meri remembered the conversation with Theo about costs. ‘Will that be expensive?’
Theo looked away, his cheeks a little flushed. Oh. Maybe she shouldn’t have been so crass as to raise the issue of money?
Mr Rivers shook his head, the smile in his eyes betraying his amusement. ‘No, Miss Marlowe. It has all been taken care of long ago.’
‘OK then.’ Meri picked up the box. ‘Theo, will you wait for me?’
Theo dropped his Cockney chappie act, expression deadly serious. ‘You don’t want me in there with you, Meri?’
Did she? It would be easy to cling to him as she had always done but, if the secrecy surrounding this message was any indicator, the information might put him in danger. ‘I think I’d better follow my parents’ instructions until we know what we’re dealing with.’
‘Mr Woolf, you can wait in reception and Sophia will bring you coffee’ suggested Mr Rivers.
‘If that’s what you want?’ Theo held her gaze for a moment.
‘It is.’ Meri clutched the box to her chest and went through the door into the empty office. Mr Rivers shut the door behind her. Theo was going to hate that—being kept on the outside of a secret: he was a terrible gossip, truth be told.
She placed the box in the centre of the bare desk. There was nothing special about it. You could probably get another just like it at any bank or storage facility. She fitted the key in the lock, turned it and paused, not quite ready yet to lift the lid. This gave her time to notice that, though it was quiet in here, she could hear the sounds of people working in the rooms beyond, a faint click-click-click that she finally identified as typewriters at work, the low ringtone of a phone, and the murmur of voices. They probably saw hundreds of clients with family secrets. That was what they did here. Rather than lawyers, they should advertise their firm as secret keepers.
She opened the box. A single sheet of white paper lay inside, folded and sealed with red wax. She broke the seal and spread it out flat.
Darling girl,
If you are reading this, it means that our enemies have caught us. We are so sorry that we couldn’t prevent this. Even if we weren’t there for all those milestones in your life—the first day at school, the first crush, the first kiss, and waving you off to Prom with that boy I would’ve intimidated as he waited for you on the doorstep—please believe that we were with you in our hearts. You are the most precious thing to us both and we love you forever and always.
Meredith blinked away tears. Would they mind that she hadn’t yet got near most of those milestones being so afraid to mix with others? They had imagined an ordinary high school experience for her and she had spent the years in seclusion.
It would have been foolish of us not to consider that disaster could strike anytime and this is why we have prepared these messages for you. Please do not tell anyone what is contained in these letters. You are the last of our kind, the last full blooded one of us. You may meet those with one parent from our people, or a grandparent, but the genetic inheritance gets diluted with every step away from the source and powers weaken. Because you are special, the knowledge of who and what you are is too dangerous to share with anyone, even your most trusted friend. They would also be put at risk or, what may be worse, be tempted to betray you. It is far better to prevent that situation arising by keeping this to yourself.
In this letter we will tell you what you are. In the second, we will tell you about the Perilous. Do not be anxious: they should know nothing about you as there is no child of your name registered where you were born. We lived off record as much as possible, thanks to some sympathizers, and people like Theo, whom we encouraged to think that we were part of a US government witness protection programme. But if our enemies do hear that you've survived, please do not underestimate their ruthlessness. Cut all ties and run—run as hard and far as you can. Above all else, you have to survive.
Meredith rubbed the bridge of her nose. Who were these Perilous? The criminals who assassinated her parents? Why did her father and mother have to be so guarded about telling her all this? Clearly she needed the information right now if her enemies were as dangerous as claimed, not wait for Episode Two like some cliffhanger in a drama serial.
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We may never have had a chance to explain to you that your ability to see differently is not actually something strange, nor is it unnatural. It was an ability common among our kind for generations beyond count. We left instructions with Theo that you should keep your ability quiet and should act as if you had normal vision as far as possible, not because you should be ashamed of it but because it would put you in danger to reveal it.
Your ability evolved through genetic variance. Our ancestors once lived in an isolated community, a large island nation. At some point in their history a genetic mutation was introduced resulting in children with four rather than three cone receptors in the eye. The fourth cone gives you the ability to see into the ultraviolet spectrum, somewhat like a bird. Each cone cell contains a tiny oil deposit that acts like a filter on the lens and this makes you better at differentiating colours and in effect seeing them as brighter than they are to ordinary people.
So that was why she saw differently! If only her parents had still been with her to explain, she could’ve avoided so much embarrassment and confusion.
It is an amazing privilege to see as you do and comes with other abilities which you’ll understand as you grow into them. Use them wisely.
Finally, we should explain why we said you were the last of our kind. We mentioned that this ability developed among the population of a large island nation. Just as Darwin observed different beak formations among finches living on neighbouring islands, we developed differently from those peoples closest to us. It spelled disaster as difference is always punished. We have been relentlessly hunted and persecuted to the point that we are close to extinction.
This genocide has been a secret tragedy of the last few centuries. We don’t know where we originated—our archeologists think it might have been in the Mediterranean—but our forebears borrowed a myth that summed up our plight. In exile we called ourselves the people from Atlantis, after the fabled land wiped out by a giant wave. In our case this wave of destruction has been our fellow islanders, the ones we call the Perilous. We have always hoped that more of us survive in hidden pockets but at the time of writing we believe the three of us are the last alive.
And now we too might be gone. As the last of a lost civilization, you are the bearer of our hope that one element of us will survive into the future, mixed in with the population at large. Keep yourself safe and keep our secret.
Love
Dad and Mom
Meri refolded the letter and put it back in the box. On second thought, she spread it out and took a photo of the contents with her phone so she could read it at home. There was too much to take in now. She locked it back inside the box and pressed the key to her lips. So her parents’ death wasn’t the result of some kind of mafia-style vendetta as Theo thought, but a bizarre centuries old struggle for survival. Why did a simple difference in the anatomy of the eye mean so much hatred was poured upon their kind? She didn’t understand people who could act like that. It was racism, pure and simple.
There came a knock on the door. Theo put his head round the edge. ‘Everything OK?’
She would have to say something or he would burst with curiosity. ‘Fine. I mean, sort of fine as it is a kind of farewell note from my parents explaining that my vision is, you know, naturally different?’ Some things weren’t to be spoken aloud even in the office of professional secret keepers. ‘Oh, and they thanked you for looking after me.’
Theo smiled sadly. ‘Oh, OK then. That’s kind of them. So, no earth shattering revelations?’
She tucked the box under her arm. ‘No, Theo, I’m not the heir to a fortune somewhere or an alien beamed in like Super Man.’
He stepped back as Meri left the room. ‘I think he arrived on a spaceship.’
‘Whatever: beamed, crash-landed, neither was in my past.’
‘Good to know. What are you going to do with that?’ He pointed to the box.
‘Leave it here as Mr Rivers suggested.’
‘And did your parents say if you still need to hide?’
‘Yes, and yes.’
‘Why?’
‘It’s complicated and I haven’t got the whole story. But they were clear that we’re to carry on as we always have. You’ve done a good job so far.’
Theo took the hint. ‘Fine, Miss Mystery, keep your secrets. You missed something yourself though: they served real coffee!’
‘What’s that like?’ She didn’t think for one minute that he’d stopped trying to wheedle the entire contents of the message out of her but he’d given up for now.
‘Real coffee? Nectar of the caffeinated gods.’
They said their farewells to the receptionist and Meri handed over the box for safe-keeping.
‘Mr Rivers is seeing another client but he said he would be in touch when the second package arrives,’ said the receptionist.
‘Thank you.’
Theo leaned against her desk. ‘Don’t forget, Sophia love: concert at the Barbican next week if you like.’
The receptionist shuffled her neat pile of papers. ‘I like.’
‘Good. I’ll meet you here at six-thirty.’
Meri waited until they reached the lift before whispering. ‘Theo, really!’
He shrugged. ‘She’s hot.’
‘She doesn’t smile.’
‘That’s the challenge.’
Meri shook her head. ‘I don’t want to know.’
‘And she has a supply of real coffee.’
‘Mercenary or what?’
Theo chuckled. ‘I liked her with or without the coffee.’
Meri tried to imagine what the uptight lady saw in her trendy guardian with his ear-spike and artsy clothes. A walk on the wild side maybe? The ingredients that went into attraction were always a puzzle. ‘I’d better get to school. Try not to pick up any more dates between now and this evening.’
Theo’s blue eyes’ twinkled. ‘One at a time, Meri, that’s my rule. See you later at home.’
3
Under instructions to discover more about his classmate, Kel found Meri sitting on her own in a corner of the cafeteria. She was ignoring her meal and gazing at her phone as if it contained the secret to the universe.
‘Hi. Missed you on the bus this morning.’ He put his tray next to hers.
She stuffed the mobile in her pocket. ‘I had a doctor’s appointment.’
‘Everything OK?’
‘Yep.’
‘Right. So, Meri, what are you going to do in Art this afternoon?’ Digging in his jeans’ pocket, he handed over the money. ‘Now you can get yourself a new canvas.’
‘You’re a life-saver.’ She tucked it away without counting. ‘I guess I’ll have another go at my painting, make up some influence guff to keep Miss happy.’
He stuck a straw in his carton of raspberry and pear juice. ‘Tell her it’s after the school of nineteenth century Japanese artists.’
‘Sounds classy but what do you mean?’
Getting out his phone, he called up a picture of the Hokusai print. ‘Seen that before?’
‘Well, yes, I guess.’ She took the phone from him to get a closer look.
‘I’ve got reproductions of these on my bedroom wall. I was thinking yesterday that it’s the same curve as yours, though yours was abstract. Tell her it is a reinterpretation and keep the colours a little more defined: that should keep her off your back.’
She touched the little image lightly with her fingertip. ‘I love it.’
He felt a strong urge to tidy back the lock of hair that had dropped forward and was playing over the screen. There always seemed to be something slightly wayward, heading for out of control, about Meri. ‘We could, you know, go see some more of his work if you like? I think they have some originals at the British Museum.’ Did that sound lame, or what?
Meri didn’t seem to notice his cringeworthy play for a date. ‘They do? Then yes, I’d like that.’
‘How about Saturday—if you’re not already busy?’
&nb
sp; She hummed noncommittally.
‘Or Sunday?’ Kel worried he sounded too eager. He wasn’t doing this solely because Ade had asked him to get to know her but it was a fuzzy line he was walking.
‘No, Saturday is fine. It’s just that it’s my birthday.’
‘You must’ve made plans already.’
‘Only for the evening. I’m going to see Tee Park at the Hammersmith Odeon.’
‘Hey, so am I!’
‘I think half the sixth form are from the gossip I’ve picked up.’ She handed back the phone. ‘Would you like to upgrade to a VIP ticket? Theo gets them as freebies with his job.’
Kel had to make a quick calculation. He was supposed to be going with Ade but if he passed the ticket on to Lee, he could get the night off from bodyguard duty. Ade would back him if he thought it would further his agenda to get to know the mystery girl. ‘Thanks. That would be great.’
‘Only downside is you’ll have to spend the night with Theo and his friends.’ She had a sweet little smile now as if this really wasn’t much of a downside.
‘I think I’d enjoy that.’
‘Don’t say I didn’t warn you.’
‘I’m intrigued.’
‘I don’t want to scare you off.’
‘So this must be your eighteenth?’
‘Well, duh.’
He grinned. ‘Cool. Mine was a few weeks ago. I didn’t get to go on a date for that though.’
‘This is a date?’ She pretended interest in her yoghurt, stirring in the strawberry that had reached the surface.
‘Do you want it to be?’ He had a sudden ego-puncturing notion that the attraction was all one-sided.
‘Why not?’ She pushed the tray from her and squared her shoulders as she faced him. ‘Yes, thank you. I’d like to go out with you on my birthday, Kel.’
They chatted some more about their subjects, moving from their rather stilted exchanges to something more relaxed. Meri owned up to needing practice at small talk, admitting she had spent many years being very shy and barely talking to people outside her home. Now she dropped her guard a little, he learned that she was studying English and History as well as Art.