Beyond Death (The Afterlife Series Book 1)

by Deb McEwan

  ‘What is it?’ This was the closest Claire had felt to being hung over since her death.

  ‘About time. What kept you?’ he didn’t wait for a response. ‘We need to get back to Earth ASAP, we’ve got work to do.’

  Claire took in Ron’s sorry state and her curiosity made her forget about her tiredness.

  ‘What’s happened? Are you okay? Who did that to you?’

  Gabriella listened as Ron explained and when she’d heard enough she interrupted. ‘Why don’t you both visit her and see how she’s getting on. You may be surprised when you see what’s been happening while you’ve been resting, Claire.’ She added mysteriously and Claire’s interest was certainly piqued. When she’d established that Ron’s injuries would heal quickly, she was eager to get on.

  ‘Let’s go, I haven’t got all day to hang around this place.’

  Gabriella hid a smile as they disappeared and before long, arrived at Val’s house.

  Chapter 8

  Graham hadn’t told his sons or his estranged wife his new address and refused to answer his phone. After their visit from Claire, Jim and Tony were extremely worried about their father. Even though she was dead they knew their sister wouldn’t let it rest until they’d been to see him. Both were still angry with him but neither wished him ill. The time had come for action and they had coerced his boss into giving them his new address, using emotional blackmail as the lever.

  ‘So,’ said Tony, on the phone to Adrian Walker. ‘We know our father is depressed and if he attempts to take his life and we’ve been unable to contact him because you’ve withheld his address...’

  ‘All right. All right. Just wait a minute.’ He buzzed his secretary and she’d looked up the details on the company database.

  ‘If this goes wrong I’ll deny any knowledge, so don’t tell him you got his address from me.’ Tony thanked him politely and hung up. And now they were outside the front door of their father’s apartment block, both hesitant to knock.

  ‘How do you start to explain how annoyed you are without tipping him over the edge?’ asked Jim and his brother shrugged. They’d have to play it by ear and try not to lose their temper. The aim was to get their father well again. The recriminations could follow once he’d come through the current crisis.

  The twins could hear the noise from the TV inside the flat so knew he must be in. He’d get fed up with the knocking before them so they carried on until they heard a shuffling noise from inside.

  ‘Keep your hair on, I’m coming.’

  The door opened a crack and Graham tried to push it closed as soon as he recognized his sons. He was too slow and Jim had a foot in the door and Tony opened it wider, accidentally banging it into his father.

  ‘Ouch. For Christ’s sake.’ Graham stood there rubbing his arm without inviting his sons inside. They looked at their father trying to hide their shock. He’d always been big but muscular, not fat. Now that muscle had turned to fat and a big belly dangled out from underneath the stained sweatshirt that was too small for him. His tracksuit trousers were also stained in the groin and the legs. There was more grey in his greasy hair and, as he hadn’t bothered shaving, there was an uneven growth on his face. Still no invitation so the twins walked into their father’s home. Graham sank down onto the settee and Tony moved the empty crisp and biscuit packets and sat next to him, trying not to scratch at imagined bugs. Jim took the chair opposite.

  ‘I suppose I should offer you a cup of tea or something?’

  ‘I’ll do it, Dad.’ Tony went to the small kitchen, which was in an even worse state. He walked back into the living room in disgust.

  ‘How the fuck have you let this happen?’ his hands gestured to his father and then to the flat. ‘If it was one of us in this state, you’d go mental.’

  Without saying a word Graham lifted his head and looked at each son in turn. A tear escaped an eye and he didn’t bother wiping it away. It was soon accompanied by another and another and it wasn’t long before he was sobbing like a child. Nobody had seen Graham cry like this before and in perfectly synchronized movements, a son sat either side of him. Jim hugged his father until the sobs subsided. When Graham came up for air, Tony put a reassuring arm around him.

  ‘I’m sorry, Dad. But what’s happened to you?’

  Graham took a deep breath and his whole body shuddered. He calmed himself down and tried to find the words to explain.

  ‘Your sister. I could cope with everything else, but your sister.’ He shook his head and took another few breaths, desperately fighting back more tears and needing his sons to know how he’d ended up in his current condition.

  ‘Can you walk or are you physically ill?’ asked Jim and Graham said that he could move, but didn’t have the inclination or willpower to do anything.

  ‘Right, this is what we’re going to do. We’re going to get you packed and you’re coming to stay with us for a while.’

  Graham started to shake his head in protest. The twins ignored him.

  ‘We’ll get someone in to sort the flat out so that it’s clean and tidy when you come back.’ Said Tony and Graham knew he was beaten.

  ‘At least someone still cares.’

  ‘You can tell us all about your other little family and our half-sister later.’ Said Tony and Graham knew he had a difficult time ahead. He didn’t have an excuse for what he’d done and wasn’t sure whether it would be more difficult to explain about his other family, or to get back to his previous good health.

  *****

  Three weeks had passed since the mugging and the attack had aged Val. Not normally a nervy person, she was now anxious and jumpy and worried about everything. Marion had made a brief visit to Yorkshire to finalise the house sale and Libby had stayed with her mother until she’d returned to London. They all agreed that Marion and Val would be great company for each other and Val didn’t know how she would have got through the post mugging weeks without the support and company of her new friend.

  ‘Today’s the day then.’ Said Val and Marion nodded. They were waiting for a call from the charity to tell them whether there would be a place for them both on the Zambia trip. Marion knew that even if they were offered a place, Val was in no fit state to go. She was happy to give up her place on this occasion and until Val was more like her old self.

  ‘You know I can’t go don’t you?’ Val was squeezing her hands. A habit she’d picked up since the attack.

  ‘Of course you can’t, it’s far too soon.’

  ‘You know I’ll never be the same person don’t you?’

  ‘Val, time’s a great healer and you will get through this, otherwise they’ve won.’

  Val said nothing and the phone rang. She looked at Marion who answered and it was the call they’d been waiting for. Marion put it onto loudspeaker as they listened to the news that they’d been selected to go to Zambia. Marion declined on behalf of them both. Gail knew about the attack and understood.

  ‘The next trip is in the summer. Would you like to be considered for that one?’

  ‘Yes please for both of us,’ Marion ignored Val’s look, ‘we’ve already discussed this.’ After a few niceties they hung up with Gail promising that she would be in touch.

  ‘Why did you lie to her?’

  ‘Because the summer will give you something to aim for. I know what happened was horrendous, Val, but you have to move on with your life.’

  ‘Maybe if they’d been caught I could. But knowing that they’re still out there probably attacking other people makes it almost impossible.

  Marion understood and thought she would feel the same. If only there was something that could be done to catch the swines, Val would be able to move on with her life a lot easier.

  *****

  ‘Val needs our help. We have to do something and, sooner rather than later.’ Ron was drumming his fingers, impatience getting the better of him.

  ‘Hmm.’ Claire was preoccupied. So her mother had moved in with Val and seemed to have had
a personality transplant. She considered her mother’s performance, as that’s what she thought it was. In a crisis Claire’s father had always taken charge and she hadn’t thought her mother had it in her to be so strong and supportive.

  ‘I suppose you have to be strong if you have three kids. We probably just didn’t notice when we were young.’

  Ron didn’t have a clue what Claire was talking about and told her so. She explained herself and he was exasperated.

  ‘That’s all very well, Claire and I’m so glad that you’re impressed by your mother.’ She missed the sarcasm. ‘But, we need to come up with a plan to get the muggers caught so that my wife can get better.’

  ‘But I thought you didn’t want her to go and work for the charity?’

  ‘I want her to be well and happy and if that means she spreads her wings, well so be it. And anyway, your mother and my wife will look after each other, I can sense it,’ he winked at Claire. ‘So down to the business in hand. Catching the muggers.’

  Claire listened intently while Ron explained his plan.

  ‘So, let me get this right. Because we can’t catch them ourselves, you want me to contact my brothers and ask Jim to use his girlfriend as bait so that they can catch the muggers?’

  ‘In a nutshell, yes.’ Said Ron.

  ‘Have you totally lost it?’

  ‘Look. We have to do a bit first and track them down. You don’t need to contact the twins before then.’

  Even though Claire couldn’t believe what she was hearing, she knew that she’d go along with Ron’s plan and help him as much as she could. She hated the fact that the people who’d attacked Val were still at large and that other women could also be in danger.

  ‘They’re bloody cowards, Ron and I’ll help if I can,’ seeing his smile was all the response that Claire needed. ‘But before we go looking for the baddies, can we go and visit my father to see how he’s getting on?’

  Although impatient to find the muggers, Ron knew that he wouldn’t have Claire’s full attention until she’d seen her father. Having no choice, he agreed reluctantly and they soon found themselves in the twins’ apartment.

  The three men were in the lounge having just finished their Chinese takeaway. Claire was pleased to see that her father was in clean clothes and that some colour had returned to his cheeks. He was still overweight but looked as if he’d lost a little and didn’t have that desperate look about him.

  Graham still hadn’t explained how his second family had come about. He was on the mend and the twins judged that the time was right. Jim nodded to his brother without his father seeing.

  ‘So what’s our sister like then, Dad?’ asked Tony and Graham smiled.

  ‘Fifteen and impulsive.’

  ‘Like Claire.’ Said the boys and Graham laughed at their response.

  ‘Very much so. She looks like Claire too, but taller and her hair’s light and straight,’ he paused for a second, considering. ‘They share the same sense of humour, although Mel can be more serious.’

  Claire was curious and looking forward to seeing Mel. The twins liked the picture their father was painting and were anxious to meet her.

  ‘I don’t know when I’ll be able to arrange that.’ Graham explained that Mel had been furious when he’d told her about them and had refused to speak to him since.

  ‘Understandable I suppose.’

  ‘So they didn’t know about us either?’ asked Jim.

  ‘Carol did. But we never got around to telling Mel. Then after Claire went.’ He took a moment to compose himself again, finding it difficult with every mention of his late daughter’s name.

  ‘I was sick of living a lie and your sister’s passing made me realize what a bastard I’d been to everyone.’ He waited for his sons to disagree but they said nothing.

  ‘The day your mother threw me out was the day I was going to come clean and explain everything to her.’

  The twins looked sceptical.

  ‘Honestly, it’s the truth. But I can understand why you wouldn’t believe it after everything else that’s happened. You can imagine how amazed I was when I discovered that your mother had known about Carol and Mel for some time.’

  Their mother had been evasive when explaining the situation to them and the twins had suspected she knew more than she’d let on. They nodded, encouraging their father to continue.

  ‘Mel’s furious with both of us and even refuses to see her mother at weekends. Carol’s spoken to the mother of one of Mel’s friends and allowed her to stay there.’

  The twins looked confused so Graham added. ‘She’s at boarding school you see.’

  It made sense now. ‘So she’s at school during the week and stays with a friend at weekends. She must feel as if nobody wants her.’ Said Tony and Graham protested.

  ‘It’s not like that, son. She knows that I adore her but I’m trying to do what she wants and to give her some space.’

  They weren’t convinced. They remembered what Claire had been like as a teenager - stroppy and pretending to be confident to hide all of the real insecurities that she’d felt. Both thought that what their half-sister needed was to know that her parents loved her.

  ‘Can you give us the school details so we can arrange to meet her?’ Jim took out his phone ready to Google the details.

  ‘Um, that’s not such a good idea.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Because Carol told me that Mel is to have nothing to do with any of us. That includes me, you two, and your mother.’

  ‘But, Dad,’ Jim was trying to contain his anger. ‘She’s our half-sister whether Carol likes it or not and she may want to meet us. Surely it has to be Mel’s choice?’

  Their father refused to budge and the twins didn’t want to push him, for fear of a lapse into his former state of depression.

  ‘Beer anyone?’ Tony passed them each a bottle and they settled down to watch the match. The discussion about their half-sister was over for the moment but Tony was already figuring out how he could interrogate a number of computer programmes and people he knew to get the details they needed about their sister. They would find her and visit her. Their mother wouldn’t be happy but they knew she was preoccupied looking after her new friend, so didn’t plan on telling her for now.

  Graham had a feeling that his sons would use their own means to find Mel and he was secretly glad. He knew that he was being cowardly but had kept to his part of the bargain as far as Carol was concerned, so at least his conscience was clear on that small detail.

  *****

  Claire considered what she’d heard but wasn’t entirely satisfied.

  ‘Why didn’t they ask him why he wanted an affair in the first place and what made him and Carol decide to have a child? What went wrong with my parents’ marriage? Why didn’t they ask him that? Didn’t he think my mother would find out? Why didn’t he just tell her and ask for a divorce? What about both of them deceiving us, only his is the worst? Why...’

  ‘Enough!’ shouted Ron, ‘I don’t know why they didn’t ask those questions. Perhaps your father wouldn’t have answered them or perhaps they think what’s done is done and it doesn’t matter now...’

  ‘But of course it matters. I have a sister that I’m never going to meet. And their marriage has been a lie for at least fifteen years and they should have told us.’ She angrily wiped away a tear and folded her arms. ‘So much of my life was a lie Ron and they should have bloody well told us.’

  ‘I’m sorry, Claire,’ He took one of her hands and held it. ‘I can understand you being annoyed, but you can’t change the past. People have to live their own lives and make their own mistakes, Claire and, hopefully, learn from them.’

  ‘I know you’re right but it doesn’t make it any easier to bear. I seem to have been constantly angry since we’ve been here, Ron and I wonder if any of the people I loved when I was alive were totally honest with me.’

  ‘Your mother was trying to protect you, Claire. I know that because I’m
a parent and that’s what we do, so don’t be angry with her. Although it takes two to make a marriage, your mother didn’t deserve to be treated the way your father treated her, and she doesn’t deserve your anger now.’

  Claire knew that made sense. ‘And my brothers always looked out for me. I so hope I don’t find out that they’re gangsters or spies or something.’

  Ron laughed and Claire gave him a look. ‘I’m serious you know.’

  ‘Stop being such a drama queen and let’s go and find these muggers.’

  They were both surprised that instead of arriving on Earth they found themselves on the cream sofa, Gabriella sitting waiting for them with a folder in her hands.

  ‘I have something to show you.’ She said looking down and Claire and Ron followed her direction.

  *****

  Ken was breathing again but knew straight away that he wasn’t in a human body. He tried to take a breath but even that felt strange. Suddenly, he was able to look around him and discovered that he was in a water world packed tightly with silvery fish. One or two near him changed direction and Ken felt himself move with them. Okay, so he was part of the shoal. As the shoal moved one way then another Ken saw a number of large shadows. He kept moving with the other fish and noticed it was getting brighter above the water. He wondered what was happening and felt himself being pushed tightly into the fish nearest him. He didn’t have to swim, the momentum of the others took him forward and gave him time to have a proper look around. He saw a number of dolphins moving back and forth and the realization dawned that his shoal was being herded into shallow waters. He knew how clever dolphins were and hoped that they’d recognize him as a former human and not eat him. He didn’t have time to think further as they were now in shallow water and a few dolphins had started beating their tails on the silty seabed. A ring of mud appeared and he was startled by the panicked fish around him who were jumping into the air to avoid the mud ring. Unable to help himself his body took off, and the last thing he saw was the open-mouthed dolphin smiling happily at him. Ken tried shouting that it was a mistake and that he used to be human. The pretty mammal took no notice and halved his body before swallowing it in a few gulps.