No Good Reason

by Marg McAlister

  “Can you tell how soon?” Emma’s hand crept to Drew’s and her fingers closed around his. Drew was staring at Georgie with fascination.

  “Soon,” Georgie said. “Very soon.” Her eyes locked with Emma’s and the two of them grinned at each other.

  Ali gasped as realization dawned on her face. “Emma! Drew! Have you been holding back on us?”

  “No,” Drew and Emma said at the same time. They smiled at each other, and Georgie warmed to see how much love there was there.

  “I wasn’t sure,” Emma said. “I was going to go to the chemist tomorrow and pick up a test.” She looked back to Georgie. “But… do you think…?”

  Taking that as permission to say what she thought, Georgie nodded. “Yes, I do think so. Congratulations, you two.”

  At that, everything stopped for the next few minutes while Allie rushed around the table to hug both of them, and started suggesting toasts in Champagne after the reading finished — and then amended it hastily to ‘..but just soft drink for Emma, of course!” while everyone laughed again.

  When the hubbub had died down, Georgie found Chris looking at her with a little more respect and openness, but Drew had gone from the happy-new-dad flush of happiness back to being wary.

  He now had a taste of what she could do. And he was worried.

  “Before we go on,” Emma said, “You said… three? You actually saw three?”

  Georgie glanced back at the crystal ball. It was still revealing nothing: all the information about Emma and Drew’s babies had filtered through what she thought of as a kind of mysterious channel to the universe. Sometimes she pictured all the knowledge in the world, past and future, out there like a big deep well, waiting to flow through to her if she opened up the channels.

  “I didn’t see anything in the crystal ball, if that’s what you mean.” She smoothed her hands over the glass surface again, feeling the odd warmth that always came up when she did a reading and things were flowing. “Lots of things come through the crystal ball – I use it as a way of tapping into possibilities, I guess. But with the baby, I just saw an image in my mind.” She smiled at her again. “That can happen when a client is excited about something, because the emotions are so strong. It doesn’t always happen. In fact, I’d say it more often doesn’t.”

  “But you said three children?” Emma persisted. “Can you tell me anymore?”

  Finally, Drew spoke up. “Do we really want to know everything, Emma? Maybe some surprises would be nice?”

  Emma looked at Drew and then looked at Georgie. Clearly, she was jumping with the urge to know. “Drew… I would kind of like to know, I think. And then if it turns out differently, well, we’ll get a surprise anyway, won’t we?”

  Georgie looked at Drew, her brows raised. He waved his hands haplessly, looked at the ceiling and then nodded. “Fine, go ahead. Tell us whatever you know.”

  “No promises,” Georgie reminded them.

  “Fine, fine.” Emma waved that away. “Just tell me, before I burst.”

  “Two more girls after the first one,” Georgie told her. “And… they were like two peas in a pod. Either you’re going to have two little girls very close together, or you’re going to have twins.”

  Emma squealed with delight, and Allie had to jump up out of her seat and go round and give her another hug.

  Chris and Drew just looked at each other and shook their heads.

  Things settled down again, and Georgie looked around. “Well, does anyone want to go next, or will I just see what comes up?”

  Beside her, Georgie sensed Allie becoming tense. She turned her head and looked at her, and Allie gave a quick nod. Georgie read the nod for what it was: Allie wanted to know more about what lay in the future. More about what had happened to rip their lives apart.

  She hoped she could help them, but at least she knew they were going to have a wonderful little granddaughter to fill their lives.

  “Just see what comes up, then?” she said. “Okay. If anyone does have any questions, just hold them in your mind. That could influence what I see.”

  She turned back to the crystal ball.

  13

  The Mist in the Crystal

  Georgie closed her eyes for a moment, and let her whole body relax. She could tell when she’d entered the zone, as she sometimes thought of it, because she could sense her mind floating away. She wasn’t quite sitting there looking down on herself, it wasn’t an out of body experience, but…it felt different. It was as though the world receded for a moment, and she became aware not so much of the people around her, but a kind of energy field around them.

  Even that didn’t really sum it up, but the important thing was that mostly, it worked.

  It was working now. Georgie curved her fingers around the smooth surface of the crystal ball, and let the warmth from it flood into to her hands.

  It was strange, how her abilities kept developing. Once, she had had to exert a lot more effort before messages or impressions would come through. Now, mostly, she just allowed herself to float. She could almost feel the questions hovering around her.

  She was aware that Allie, beside her, was focusing hard on understanding what had happened to them, and what would come out of it. She could feel Chris, wary but still needing to know. Then there was Emma, radiant with pregnancy and simply…happy. She had found out what she wanted to know; now she was simply keen to hear anything more about her yet-to-be-born daughters.

  She could sense Scott beside her, a rock-like presence as always. His warmth and good humor and steady support were always there.

  And then there was Drew. His anxiety loomed over the other emotions she could feel in this room tonight.

  Under her fingers the crystal ball grew warmer still. Slowly, Georgie opened her eyes and drew her fingers away. She knew that there would be something there to see.

  The white mist had given way to dark, boiling clouds and in those clouds she could see vague figures moving. Her brow creasing, she stared harder at the crystal ball, trying to let her eyes see beyond what was visible to everyone else in the room — for a quick glance around showed that they could all see it: every one of them. Quite often it would be only one or two of the group who were able to see what she saw, but not tonight. Every eye was fixed on the crystal ball in front of her, and she was sorry to see that Emma’s joy about her little redheaded daughter was dimming. She wasn’t scared, but she was puzzled – and a little apprehensive.

  Allie’s hand closed over her forearm. “Georgie?” Her voice trembled a little. “Georgie? Those dark clouds – what do they mean?”

  Georgie stole a quick glance sideways, coming out of the deep place she had entered to reassure her. “It’s all right, Allie. This doesn’t necessarily mean anything. There’s nothing to see yet.”

  And it was true, of a sort. The messages she received didn’t have to be what they looked on the surface. She had discovered that often enough.

  She opened her mind again and, almost like flicking a switch, the clouds went from black to grey, the dark figures disappeared, and the crystal ball was full of white mist again. But inside the mist, she could see something.

  Letters were forming.

  Georgie tilted her head to one side while she regarded them. J and B. But each letter appeared twice. “JB, JB,” she said, but nothing came to her. “Could JB stand for Jervis Bay?”

  At her words there was a slight gasp from Chris across the table. Allie glanced up. At the last reading, Chris had said nothing. Now, his brows were drawn together in a slight frown. “JB twice?” he said. “I wonder…”

  Allie gave a snort of laughter that held no humor. “JB-JB. Well, we know who that is, don’t we?”

  A quick glance around the table showed that everyone was nodding. Georgie looked at Chris. “What do you mean? Double JB? Or JB twice? That means something to you?”

  “It means something to all of us,” Drew said, his mouth snapping closed on the last word before he took a breath
and went on. “JB-JB. It stands for Jesse Burns of Jervis Bay. The big man himself. He uses it as a kind of logo. It’s even on some of his business cards, JB twice.”

  Georgie looked at them all interrogatively. “Jesse Burns. I’ve heard that name.”

  “Oh yeah, you’ve heard it all right,” said Chris. “Jesse Burns. The father of that little rat Harrison Burns. Like father, like son.”

  Georgie nodded slowly, looking at the intertwined letters which were still shining clearly within the depths of the crystal. “I don’t know the exact questions all of you have in your minds, but it seems clear that this Jesse Burns has got something to do with what you want to know.” She looked around. “Anyone?”

  “It’s answered my question,” Chris said bitterly. “Which was: ‘Who is responsible for everything I’ve ever worked for falling apart?’” He pointed at the crystal ball. “And to me, that’s a clear enough answer. Jesse Burns. Who else would want revenge for the shame brought upon his family by his son? I never liked the man.”

  Allie sat forward and reached across the table to grab Chris’s hand. “Chris, this isn’t any kind of proof. Please, don’t do anything.”

  He looked at her bleakly. “What exactly do you think I could do, Allie? Jesse Burns holds all the power around here. He’s on the school board, he’s got a wide and influential old-boy network from his private school in Sydney — he’s on I don’t know how many boards down there as well, for heaven’s sake.”

  There was silence in the room for a moment, then Chris’s face changed, as though he’d just heard the significance of his own words echoing in the room. “That’s it. First one of my own staff members brings in drugs and gives them to that that boy. That’s the start of it all.” The bitterness in his voice was palpable. “Then the school throws Harrison out and it’s the hot topic around here. He blackens the family name and Jesse Burns blames me. So he finishes me off, for no good reason other than he needs revenge.” He sat back in his chair and closed his eyes. “That’s why I haven’t had the schools confirming contracts in the New Year. It’s Jesse Burns and his old boy network. I should have known it was more than just the schools themselves.”

  “Dad.” Drew put an arm around his father, looking visibly upset. “He might have the power, but you’re the one with the good name around here. Ask anyone, and you’ll hear the same: you’re the one they hold in high esteem, not Jesse Burns. Nobody around here cares about his money.”

  Chris slumped, looking defeated. “They might not care about money,” he said, “and they might not care about Jesse Burns. But can’t you see, that it doesn’t matter? He just doesn’t matter anymore. My reputation is ruined, and there is nothing I can do. Nothing.” He turned and looked Drew full in the face. “And don’t think I don’t appreciate all you’re trying to do for me, mate. I do. But it’s gone – it’s all too late.” He shook his head again, and pushed back his chair. “Sorry. I’ve got to —” he got up and walked swiftly out of the room.

  Georgie looked back at the crystal ball. The logo had disappeared, and instead, she could see a new image. She stared at it, and then wrinkled her forehead. “I know that face.”

  “Me too.” Scott’s voice came from beside her.

  Drew leaned forward and stared until he could see what Georgie was looking at. His gaze flew up to meet hers. “That’s Chad Royston.”

  Georgie nodded. “Royston, that’s his surname? Yes, Chad. Scott and I checked out his place yesterday, and guess who we saw stopping in to see him?” She turned to look at Allie, and then across to Drew. “Could Chad Royston and Jason be in it together?”

  “I wouldn’t put it past Jason Hoy,” Chris said, still looking shell-shocked. “As I told you, I had to let him go. As for Chad, I don’t know.” He looked at Drew. “You worked out with him for a while. What do you think?”

  Drew shrugged and looked away. “It’s possible. I know Chad and Jason were friends as kids.”

  Looking at the downcast faces of the family who had had their life ruined, Georgie sighed. “I don’t know how helpful any of this is been.”

  Allie’s voice came hesitantly, quietly. “But what about those black clouds, Georgie? Do they mean anything now that you’ve seen the rest?”

  The answer came to Georgie instantly, but she didn’t want to say it. She glanced across at Drew to find that he was staring at her, with the same question in his eyes. She remembered what he had said earlier: “If you knew something bad, would you tell us?”

  She owed it to him to say something. “Yes,” she said reluctantly. She looked at Allie, and then at Drew. “I feel… I strongly feel that this isn’t over yet. You must all be careful. I think both Harrison Burns and his father can be quite dangerous. Please… don’t do anything rash.”

  14

  Allie’s Idea

  Allie found that was no consoling Chris that night.

  They tried: after Georgie and Scott left, she opened a bottle of Champagne left over from Christmas and they toasted the new baby — all except Emma, because she was now swearing off alcohol for a while. Although she hadn’t had the test yet, everyone was certain that Georgie was right. Allie felt a huge, warm glow of satisfaction roll through her at the thought of a tiny little girl with tumbling red curls, and what Georgie had said when she was staring into the crystal ball, her soft brown eyes warm and her lips curving with laughter: “…more energy than a barrel full of monkeys.”

  It sounded like just what the family needed. New life and a new focus.

  In the end, Chris had gone to bed early, and Drew and Emma had headed off home. Allie could tell, looking at Drew, that he blamed himself for introducing Jason Hoy to the family, and all the trouble that followed. Her heart went out to her boy. He was a good son, and didn’t deserve to have the actions of people like Jason Hoy and Harrison Burns reflecting on him. He’d only been trying to do Jason a favor, pointing him in the direction of a little bit of work. He wasn’t to know that Jason would bring drugs into the school program. She had pulled him aside and told him as much, but he had just shaken his head and looked away, but not before she had seen the bleakness in his eyes. He was doing his best to help his father, to resurrect the business, but none of it was going to do any good.

  Chris was lost. This latest news about the possible involvement of Jesse Burns seem to be the nail in his coffin.

  A shudder went through her at the phrase. A nail in his coffin. It was almost as though the death of his business had been the death of everything Chris lived for as well.

  No, there was more to life that that! New baby, she reminded herself.

  She busied herself for a while going through the arrangements for the first seasonal markets. This would be a big thing for the Basin: traders coming together from small towns and hamlets all around St Georges basin. And Sussex Inlet needed it: a sprawling, vibrant riverside market that would bring people from miles around. Chris could advertise there, too…

  She sighed. It was going to be difficult to get Chris to agree to anything.

  Jesse Burns. Her heart burned with anger at the thought of the man: one of those privileged people who didn’t care about trampling on others if necessary to get what he wanted or to preserve his reputation. The moment Chris had looked at Georgie and said: “Jesse Burns is behind all this,” she had known, somewhere deep within, that he was right.

  She flipped over some of the papers in her folder about the markets, and stared at the hated logo. Jesse Burns was one of the major sponsors for the whole thing. He was providing prizes and signage. He’d even agreed to participate in an ad for the local TV station, talking to some of the local producers for the farmers market, visiting local artisans to promote their work.

  How were they going to undo the damage that Jesse Burns had done? He was untouchable. If only they had some way of exerting pressure on him, some way of making him acknowledge the harm he had done to one local business.

  If it IS him, a small voice inside her warned.

&
nbsp; Allie stared into space. She was a live-and-let-live kind of person. She didn’t believe in revenge, or trampling the little people, or lining your pockets at the expense of someone else — but that was exactly the kind of thing Jesse Burns did. Now, thanks to Georgie, she was pretty certain that he was behind their troubles, too.

  All at once, the the germ of an idea formed in her mind.

  Jesse Burns. Markets. Georgie.

  Allie flipped through the folder of applicants and stall owners for the markets. Plenty of craft stalls; jewelry, soaps, wooden signs, wooden toys. Plenty of food tents, too. They were looking at making that a feature: international food. The usual jumping castle for the kids, pony rides, and a lot of local produce for the farmers’ market.

  Allie felt a jump of excitement. What they didn’t have was a tarot reader or fortune teller. The usual tarot reader was overseas, visiting her family.

  The idea grew and took form in her mind. Yes. It could be a way…

  She reached for her phone and called Georgie.

  Georgie answered right away. “Allie?” There was a thread of anxiety in her voice. “Is Chris all right?” Clearly, she was worried at what the night had revealed.

  Not that she could have prevented them all from seeing what was in the crystal ball anyway. That logo: two JBs intertwined…

  “He’s fine, Georgie,” Allie said briskly. “Well, he’s depressed, but he’s been like that for months now. But Georgie, I have an idea. I was thinking… if you were to actually talk to Jesse Burns, organize a reading for him, do you think you might be able to find out something we could use?”

  There was a silence for a moment, and when she spoke again, Georgie’s voice was wary. “Allie, you know I can’t guarantee anything. There have been cases where I haven’t been able to pick up anything at all. But…even if it were possible to get him to agree to a reading, I’m not quite sure what you were intending to do with anything I might find out.”