Beyond Death (The Afterlife Series Book 1)

by Deb McEwan

  The scene below Ron and Claire disappeared and they looked at Gabriella waiting for the explanation.

  ‘See what happens when you’re a bad person.’

  ‘But he’s not a thief or murderer, Gabriella. He was a good mate to me and looked after me by giving me a job.’

  ‘You weren’t the only one he was looking after.’

  Ron was confused at Gabriella’s enigmatic response and Claire thought there must be more to this that they weren’t aware of. Not being one to keep her opinions to herself, she voiced her concern.

  ‘He must have done something terrible that you don’t know about, Ron. What has he done?’

  ‘Very perceptive, Claire. What I need to know is whether you think his evil should be forgiven?’

  ‘Why are you asking me, Gabriella? He hasn’t done anything to me?’

  Ron shook his head. ‘Nor me.’

  ‘You’re both wrong. Claire. Let me show you something first.’

  They watched as the scene below them unfolded. Two girls of indeterminate teenage age were in a taxi with a large man. They didn’t recognize any of them. They were all laughing and joking and discussing the party they were about to attend. The man was promising lots of fun, free booze, food, dancing and anything else they might want. The girls were excited about sneaking out when they should have been in the school, doing their homework. Claire watched with a feeling of unease and her intuition served her well as they saw the car leave the party later on. The girls seemed unnaturally quiet and Claire noticed their faces were very pale and they looked shocked and sad. The big man was still smiling and laughing and the girls appeared upset to Claire, one of them leaning against the side of the car, trying to be as far away from the big man as she could get. When he smiled and told them to cheer up, the other returned his smile, but it was forced and didn’t reach her eyes.

  ‘What’s he done to them and what’s this got to do with me, and Ron’s boss Ken?’

  ‘The large man in the car is known to the criminal fraternity as Big Ed. He uses his considerable charm to groom girls and when they trust him, takes advantage of their naivety to convince them they’ll have a wonderful time at his parties.’

  ‘Oh my God,’ said Ron, ‘he’s using them as teenage prostitutes?’

  Gabriella’s eyes answered the question and Claire’s hands flew to her mouth in horror.

  ‘These girls think they’re going to a free party and instead they’re getting raped?’

  ‘Yes in a nutshell, but it’s not that simple, Claire. Their drinks are spiked and by the time they come round they only know what’s happened by the way they feel. Some of them he uses once – his so called clients like young, fresh girls – the girls who are dependent on drugs are used on a regular basis and he provides them with their hit in return. It doesn’t take long for them to feel worthless and he collects them every week and puts them through the same hell. Even the girls who are only used once are threatened with consequences if they tell anyone what’s happened. Inevitably, they’re too scared to tell anyone.’

  ‘I still don’t understand...’

  ‘Ken worked for Big Ed. Your newly discovered sister was involved but had a bad feeling about the night they were being taken to their first party. She had the presence of mind to insist that the taxi was stopped and she got out. She only tried drugs once by the way and that was enough for her.’

  ‘So Mel and these girls...’ Gabriella put her hand up to silence Claire.

  ‘These girls, Claire are nothing to do with your sister. He has already used her best friends, but won’t be using them again because they’re too damaged by the experience and of no further use to him.’

  For once Claire was lost for words. Ron wasn’t and he banged a fist on the sofa arm in fury.

  ‘So the bastard who I thought was my best mate was knowingly taking young girls to be deflowered! No, raped, and being paid to do so?’

  Gabriella nodded sadly.

  ‘And you want to know whether we should forgive him?’ asked Claire.

  Gabriella nodded again. ‘He’s shown some remorse and the Committee will decide whether he should be given another chance. They want the opinion of some of the people whose lives he’s affected.’

  ‘I say let the bastard suffer...’

  ‘There’s more, Ron.’

  ‘I don’t need to see anything else, my mind’s made up. He deserves all he gets.’

  Claire agreed and inclined her head to show her solidarity with Ron.

  Gabriella looked directly at Ron.

  ‘Are you certain you don’t wish to know what else your friend was up to?’

  Ron didn’t have the stomach to view any more footage of the man he thought he knew and Gabriella decided the biggest shock could wait.

  ‘So be it,’ she said. ‘Time to go.’

  ‘But what about those poor girls? What’s going to happen to them?’

  ‘Their physical suffering will soon be over.’ She disappeared into the ether and both Claire and Ron hoped she meant their persecutor would be caught. The alternative was too dreadful to imagine.

  Chapter 9

  After witnessing the dilemma of the poor young girls Ron and Claire were even more determined to catch the thugs who had mugged Val. They felt as if they were on a quest to avenge all victims of crime and it was with this attitude that they arrived in the area where Val had been attacked. Two weeks of constant vigilance followed with zero results. They’d witnessed a few drunken brawls, an argument over a parking space that had turned violent, and an amorous couple who’d been arrested for performing an indecent act in public. Their patience was waning when they reluctantly decided that this would be the final weekend before taking a break from this part of London to see how their respective families and friends were getting on. Claire stopped daydreaming as she saw three hooded youths turn the corner onto the street. One lent against a wall and lit a cigarette and one of the others followed suit. The first took a knife out of his pocket and started pushing it into the concrete on the wall between the gaps. Claire nudged Ron but he’d already seen them and from the look on his face she knew that this was the gang that had attacked Val.

  They watched for a while. A few men had passed the youths and the three hadn’t reacted. Claire rightly assumed that they were cowards, as bullies usually were. Two women walked down the street and the leader of the three nodded to his companions. A crowd of men appeared behind them all wearing t-shirts that bore comments about a certain Gary, a stag party Claire assumed, and the women passed without bother from the youths. Claire contemplated fate as the women would never know what the immediate future could have held for them had the stag party decided to go in a different direction. Ron brought her back to the present when the youths moved away from the street. The spirits followed.

  By the end of that evening Ron and Claire were extremely pleased with themselves. Their patience had paid off and they had memorized the addresses of the three. Within a few days they knew their names, their habits, what they liked to eat and drink and some knowledge of their family members. Claire laughed sadly when Ron told her that the gang leader Mikey, was scared of rats and that his mother woke him up by taking him a cup of tea every morning.

  ‘How can he be so boyish at home and so cruel when he’s out with his friends?’ Neither had the answer and just wanted them all to be brought to justice quickly so that Val could move on with her life.

  *****

  Jim and Tony thought it would be easy to find their new sister without their father’s assistance but they were wrong. It hadn’t occurred to them that she would have a different surname and Graham had refused to share. They had checked all boarding schools in a 300-mile radius via Internet search engines. There were too many to visit and even if they decided to go to each one, the twins would have been uncomfortable having to explain the reason for visiting. They also knew their sister would probably not agree to see them even if they managed to find her this way. They were
contemplating their dilemma when Claire and Ron decided to pay them a visit.

  ‘Do you think I should visit their dreams again?’ Claire asked Ron and Tony looked at his brother.

  ‘Don’t ask me how I know but Claire wants to talk to us.’

  ‘I know.’

  Ron noticed Claire’s surprise when he saw that her mouth was hanging open and her eyes were enlarged like a bush baby’s trying to see in its dark surroundings.

  ‘Tell them you want them to capture Val’s muggers.’ He whispered even though the twins couldn’t hear him.

  ‘What?’

  ‘I don’t know how it works but it appears your brothers know you want to talk. Quickly! Concentrate and tell them.’

  ‘Who’s Val?’ asked Jim, ‘Ah.’ He understood as the thoughts from Claire floated into his mind.

  ‘You want us to capture her muggers, Claire? Is that right?’ Claire smiled and nodded and Ron gritted his teeth in frustration.

  ‘It’s no good nodding and smiling like an idiot. They can’t see you.’

  ‘Claire, are you still there? Claire?’ Her mind had wandered and the messages to her brothers were becoming disjointed.

  ‘Dad’s getting better, and yes we’ll make sure he loses more weight.’

  ‘No we don’t know why he did it.’

  The brothers were playing conversation tag. Fascinating as it was to watch, Ron needed Claire to focus on the main reason for their visit. He elbowed her to get her full attention.

  ‘Can we concentrate on the muggers for a moment, please?’ She looked like a startled rabbit but was listening. ‘Tell them we know where they live and we want them to catch them in the act and hand them into the police.’

  Claire obliged and her brothers were stunned.

  ‘But how are we supposed to do that?’

  ‘Jim’s girlfriend,’ said Ron and Claire was as astonished as her brothers when she relayed the message to them.

  ‘Even she seemed surprised by that request,’ said Tony. ‘Which makes me think she’s not acting on her own here.’

  ‘Claire, who’s with you? Where do these guys live? Claire, Claire?’

  Other questions followed but these were the last ones she heard. The absolute concentration had worn Claire out and she couldn’t stay with it. Ron’s voice was cajoling and she fought the exhaustion for a few more seconds before the darkness and bliss of absolute peace took hold.

  The twins eventually stopped talking to Claire, finally realizing that she was no longer with them.

  ‘Did that really happen?’ they asked each other, flabbergasted by their encounter with their sister but overjoyed that she was back in their lives.

  ‘Okay, so she’s dead but can still speak to us. Does that make us mediums or something?’ Jim had wondered the same and said as much. ‘I’m just happy that it isn’t the end and that she seems to be okay.’ Although this wasn’t their first contact with Claire they still found it unnerving. Both were pale and Jim was shaking from the experience. They sat in silence for a few minutes contemplating the consequences of regular contact with their dead sister. When he’d calmed down enough to stop shaking Jim broke the silence.

  ‘Do you think we should ask Dad more questions?’ Tony shook his head.

  ‘I don’t know what to think,’ he tapped his fingers together in agitation. ‘Actually, I do. I think we shouldn’t tell anyone about our conversations with Claire just yet. They’ll think we’re mad.’

  It was a lot to take in and they would have thought anyone who explained the same experience as totally bonkers.

  ‘But we need to tell Fiona about the plan.’ Said Jim and his brother raised his eyebrows.

  ‘Are you serious? Do you really plan on using Fiona as bait to catch these muggers?’

  Jim didn’t have a chance to respond as Tony continued.

  ‘For one thing it would be far too dangerous and for another, we don’t even know where they hang out.’

  ‘We could ask the woman they mugged.’

  Tony shook his head. ‘And how do we explain the rest?’

  ‘Fair point. We won’t do anything just yet but I’m sure it’s not the last we’ll hear of this.’

  That was the only part of the conversation the twins agreed on. Knowing their sister as they did, they knew it wouldn’t be too long before they heard from her again. And the knowledge that she was in regular contact with them even under the current circumstances was a huge comfort to both men.

  *****

  Nobody was about when Claire woke up after visiting her brothers so she decided to visit her mother.

  It was night time and Val had already gone to bed. They’d had a lovely evening. Marion had cooked one of her delicious stews and they’d had a few glasses of wine later on while watching a soppy movie. They’d both cried, ostensibly because of the film but Marion knew that they were really crying for other reasons. Neither needed to explain. Their feelings were in perfect sync and they drew great comfort from each other. Marion took the glasses to the kitchen deciding not to wash-up until morning. Before her life had disintegrated she had been manically obsessed about all aspects of housework and tidiness and nothing was allowed to be out of place. As she walked up the stairs, Claire realized that her mother’s change in habits and personality were a revelation to her.

  Marion used the bathroom, removed her make-up and cleaned her teeth. She turned on the bedside lamp, turned off the main light and got into bed. She cleared her throat and Claire wondered why her mother was acting as if she was about to give a speech. She didn’t have to ponder for very long.

  ‘Hi, Claire,’ said Marion. ‘Well, today’s been a pretty uneventful day. The man in the shop on the corner tried to sell me potatoes that were almost sprouting. I soon put him in his place. We’re all well down here but I can’t say it’s getting any easier. Your bastard father is still sponging off your brothers as far as I’m aware and your brothers have been behaving quite strangely just lately. I don’t mean their normal weird twin behaviour. By the way I’ve done a bit of research about that and it’s common amongst twins but almost unheard of for a non-twin sibling to be involved in their telepathy. What do you think of that then? Anyway as I was saying. They sorted your room at the house without being asked. I was happy to let them do it but got the feeling that they were up to something. We shall see.’

  ‘Now that I don’t have you all to worry about I’ve decided to concentrate on Val and help her to get her life back on track. It’ll be easier when they catch the scum who attacked her and I hope the police get their act together and do that quickly, Claire. You know we’re not going away with the charity this time but I’m hoping she’s going to be in the right frame of mind to go in the summer.’ Marion stopped talking and looked around the room. Telling her daughter all about the day’s events and her innermost thoughts had made her feel a lot closer to her. Tonight however, Marion sensed a presence and felt a connection that she hadn’t felt since the day her daughter died.

  ‘You’re here aren’t you? I know, Claire.’

  ‘Yes, Mum I am. I can hear you.’ Claire shouted in excitement, thinking that her mother might be able to see her. ‘Over here.’ She waved.

  It was the first time since her daughter’s death that Marion was convinced that she could actually sense her presence. She looked around the room but Claire knew that her mother couldn’t see her and she concentrated hard and doubled her efforts.

  ‘I’m fine, Mum. Please don’t worry about me. I’m watching over all of you.’

  In Marion’s thoughts her daughter’s voice was as clear as day. She gasped as she sat bolt upright in her bed and looked around the room. She didn’t see anything but still sensed Claire’s presence. Tears were streaming uncontrollably down her face as she tried to breathe properly so she could speak.

  ‘I love you my darling daughter. I always have and I always will.’ The sobbing was now under control and Marion smiled at various spots around the room hoping that her
daughter could see her. ‘Tonight you’ve given me the strength I need to get on with my life and I’m going to make you proud. It’s such a comfort knowing that you’re watching out for us. I miss you so much, Claire.’

  ‘I miss you too, Mum.’ Her mother didn’t acknowledge this last message and Claire concentrated and doubled her efforts trying to get the message to her mother.

  As quickly as she’d sensed her daughter’s presence it disappeared and Marion knew she’d gone. She lay back on the bed. Although Claire’s message was a massive comfort it also heightened her loss and the tears came, as they had done every night since her daughter’s passing.

  Claire was crying too. Her family weren’t particularly demonstrative and she could count on one hand the number of times her mother had said she loved her. In their home love had been shown in deeds rather than words and although she knew she was loved, it was very rarely talked about. She was so grateful for that small contact and knew that her mother would take comfort from it, even though she’d been sobbing her heart out when she’d left her. Claire laughed when she realized that her mother had talked to her every night and vowed to visit more so that she could catch up on all of her news. Having left her mother Claire wanted to go and visit Jay. She knew that he was now well but had an overwhelming urge to be close to him.

  After resting awhile she was pleased to see that Jay was putting his life back together and had started work as an assistant chef in the hotel managed by his uncle. It was a large concern and there were plenty of staff. The kitchen staff and waiters were finishing up the nightshift and Claire had witnessed a few of the females flirting with Jay. She felt jealous. Although she’d been the love of his life and wanted him to move on, actually seeing him laugh and joke with other girls unsettled her. Claire was in this frame of mind when Ron and Gabriella found her. They sensed straight away that something was wrong and she told them about both her visits and explained the reasons for her melancholy. They were pleased to hear the news about her mother and Gabriella told her it was common for bereaved parents to talk to their dead children.