Perfect Summer

by Karen King

  “And that’s just the ones we know about, Morgan. There are probably others missing too. Who knows what the true figures are?”

  Anyone who could kidnap helpless little children like that was seriously sick. A picture of my little brother flashed across my mind, and I screwed my eyes tight to block it out. Oh Josh, what were they doing to you?

  “Why?” I asked Jamie when I could bring myself to open my eyes and speak again. “Why would someone want to target these poor children? They’re so vulnerable and defenceless.”

  He tugged at his earlobe and grimaced. “I’ve thought about that and I reckon that it’s either someone obsessed with perfection who doesn’t think RADS should integrate into society or someone with a disabled brother or sister who’s got some kind of chip on their shoulder. Maybe their parents never had time for them because they were looking after the brother or sister all the time. You know what it’s like.”

  Yes, I knew what it was like. Mum was so busy with Josh she didn’t have much time to spare for me. I had to admit that I resented it sometimes even though I was old enough to look after myself and Josh needed her more. So I imagined that someone younger than me with a seriously disabled sibling might feel pushed out. But surely that wouldn’t make them resent RADS so much they grew up with an uncontrollable urge to go around kidnapping them? And what did they do with them then? None of the kids had been found, so someone somewhere was holding them. It didn’t make sense. There were too many missing children for it to be the work of one lunatic.

  I pointed that out to Jamie. “How can one person kidnap all these kids? And from all over the country too?”

  “There’s got to be at least two people involved,” he agreed. “A bunch of kids with these kinds of disabilities would be too much for one person to look after.”

  Were they being looked after, I wondered? Or all shoved together in one room, and left to fend for themselves? I thought of Josh dressed so inadequately in his striped tee shirt and blue shorts. Was he kept somewhere warm? Was he being fed? Did he have a bed to sleep on? Was he crying for Bobo? For us? Tears welled in my eyes.

  “Try not to think about it too much or it will send you crazy,” Jamie said softly. “We have to focus on finding Josh and Holly, not dwell on what’s happening to them. Believe me, it’s the only way.”

  “Easier said than done.” I wiped my hand across my eyes.

  “I know.” Our eyes locked in a moment of empathy. “Now how about we touch base every night for a few minutes? See if we’ve had any thoughts during the day. Two minds are better than one, as they say. About nine be okay with you?”

  “Sure. Jamie?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Josh, Holly. The other kids. Do you...do you think they’re still alive?”

  “I don’t know but I’m sure going to find out.”

  ****

  Neither Mum nor I had eaten all day so I rustled up a quick meal of scrambled eggs and toast. I managed to coax Mum to eat most of it. Then Summer popped in on her way home from school. Mum had finally fallen asleep, so we went upstairs and I filled Summer in on finding Jamie’s website and our vid chat.

  “Jamie’s done loads of research. He said that lots of kids have gone missing and the LEF haven’t done anything about it. They aren’t even publicising it. I told Mum and she phoned the LEF about it. They just said Jamie had exaggerated and they were investigating all the disappearances. I don’t believe them though.” I clenched my fists, something I found myself doing a lot. ”I bet it would be a different story if all the children weren’t disabled in some way.”

  Summer reached out and touched my hand. “I’ll tell Dad. He’s pally with the Chief Superintendent, Sir Simon Griffiths. He’ll soon get them to pull their finger out.”

  She told me that Cassie and Jazz, two friends from school, sent their love, as did Brett Davis and Luke Swinton. “The headmaster held a special assembly for Josh too,” she added.

  I was touched but could just imagine what Opal and Tiffany were saying. I didn’t fancy seeing them anytime soon.

  “And you should have seen Opal and Tiffany’s faces when I showed them the signed coaster from Roxy’s. They were green with envy,” Summer gloated.

  I smiled half-heartedly. Roxy’s seemed so long ago, and so trivial when my little brother was out there somewhere going through goodness knows what.

  Summer saw my face and flushed. “I’m sorry. I probably sound shallow when you’re so worried about Josh. But I’m sure he’ll be found soon. I’ll ask Dad to contact Sir Simon. I promise.”

  “Thanks. I don’t have much faith in the LEF, but I’m going to do everything I can to find Josh. Will you help me?”

  “Of course I will. I’ll talk to Dad tonight, see if he has any ideas. And I’ll come around straight after school tomorrow.”

  Just after she left, Jamie squilbed me to go online.

  “I’ve got some news. I’ve found a link between four of the disappearances. A blue Mila van was spotted in the area when Holly and three of the other kids went missing. I’ve told the LEF but the officer just brushed it off, saying there are hundreds of Mila vans on the road.”

  “I don’t suppose anyone noted the van registration?” I asked.

  “Nope. All I know is that it was dark blue with blacked out windows. Nothing that would attract attention. It’s not much to go on, but at least it’s a start.”

  He was right. There were loads of similar vans around. The Ministry used them all the time, as did engineers and property maintenance specialists. No one would take any notice if they saw one parked in the street.

  “I reckon it could be important, though. It’s too much of a coincidence to me. And if it’s the same van it shows that the kidnappings were planned,” he said. “Did you notice one hanging around the day Josh disappeared?”

  “I wasn’t home. I stayed overnight at a friend’s house.” I felt so guilty about that. If I hadn’t been out enjoying myself, I would have been able to stop whoever it was from taking Josh.

  My feelings must have shown in my face. “Don’t beat yourself up about that,” Jamie said softly. “I was out when Holly was taken too. For ages I felt that it was all my fault. That if I’d been there, I could have done something. But it isn’t our fault. It’s the fault of the sicko who’s taken them.”

  I knew he was right, but it didn’t make the guilt go away.

  “Thanks,” I said. “I’m real pleased I saw your website and contacted you. It’s so good to have someone to talk things through with.”

  “I’m glad you did too.” As he looked at me, I saw the loneliness and despair in his eyes. He’d lost his Mum and now his little sister was missing. That was tough.

  Dad phoned later that night to talk to Mum. I went into the kitchen to make a coffee and give them some privacy, and so that she couldn’t ask me if I wanted to speak to him. I was still mad at him for losing his temper. Thankfully, she didn’t.

  “Dad’s coming home Friday,” Mum told me when I brought her coffee in. They’d finished talking and she looked a lot happier.

  “Are you two okay now then?” I asked.

  “I think so.” She took the cup. “But I guess none of us really will be okay until we get Josh back home.”

  Then, for the first time since Josh had gone, Mum and I sat and talked. About how we felt, how we were scared for Josh. Then we both cried a bit. I felt heaps better after that.

  “We’re going to find Josh, Mum,” I said as we hugged each other.

  “You bet we are.” She smiled through her tears. “We’re going to bring him home safe and sound.”

  Chapter Five

  Summer popped in after school the next day and I told her about my conversation with Jamie. “The Mila van has to be connected to all the disappearances,” I said. “It’s a bit too much of a coincidence.”

  She nodded. “I think you’re right. Are you talking to Jamie tonight? I’d love to meet him.”

  “We’ve arranged to talk
again at nine. I thought we could drive over to Bilsmill first and hi-wave a few people there. I want to spread the word about Josh’s disappearance and all those other missing children.”

  Summer looked guilty. “Sorry, I’ve a hair appointment at six but we can drive over there tomorrow night.”

  “So having your hair done is much more important than trying to find my little brother!” I snapped.

  I felt bad when I saw her flinch.

  “I’m sorry, honest. But I’m going to a launch party with Tamara tomorrow and, well, you know, I’ve got to look my best. I’ll come to your house straight afterwards and we’ll plan what we’re going to do next,” she promised.

  “Thanks.” I knew I was being unfair. After all it wasn’t her kid brother who’d gone missing. Why should she put her life on hold? And she’d helped me a lot already.

  I sat in my room thinking for a while after Summer had gone, remembering how Mum hated me and Summer talking about having body enhancement surgery or laser peels. She always complained about how obsessed society had got with physical perfection. She said it had all started when she was a teenager. According to her, lots of women actually starved themselves way back then to look beautiful. I’d seen some vids from that time and some people were so thin you could see their bones sticking out, but others were real fat. Gross.

  You’d have no chance of doing that now, even if you were stupid enough to want to. Everyone’s weight was carefully monitored by the E-centre in their homes. If anyone’s weight fluctuated too much above or below the Ministry ideal, an email was sent to the doctor at the local medical centre who then emailed back a recommended diet sheet and exercises. If you failed to comply, or your weight didn’t improve, you were summoned to the surgery. That’s how Mum had finally realised she was pregnant with Josh, she’d had to go to the doctor’s because her weight had increased.

  When I finally went downstairs, I found Mum on the phone, her face set in that kind of way she had when she didn’t like what she was hearing.

  “I’m just trying to establish what exactly you’re doing to find my little boy, sergeant,” she said, her voice wobbling. There was a pause while the sergeant replied then Mum said, “Yes, well please, please keep looking. I want my son back. He’s only three-years-old. He’s just a baby. I want him home safe.” Tears flowed down her cheeks and she gulped, unable to continue talking.

  I felt a surge of anger flood through me and grabbed the phone off her. “Why won’t you put this on the E-news?” I shouted. “Why won’t you let the public know what’s going on?”

  “We’ll keep investigating and let you know as soon as we hear anything, Miss,” the sergeant said, and then the line went dead.

  Mum crumbled in the chair, and sobbed into her hands. “Oh, Summer. Where is he? He’s so little. So helpless. Who’s got him? What are they doing to him?” Her shoulders shook as she wept uncontrollably.

  “We’ll find him, Mum.” I bent down and gave her a hug. “Dad’s driving around the country looking for him. We’re all emailing everyone we know and me and Summer have sent loads of hi-wave messages out. We’ll find him.”

  I hugged her, tears streaming down my cheeks, as I thought of my missing little brother, so young and vulnerable. Then I pulled myself together and went into the kitchen to make a cup of tea. Mum didn’t usually take sugar but I felt like she needed it. She was so thin and pale. The worry, lack of sleep and not eating properly had taken its toll on her. So I put in two spoonfuls and gave it a stir.

  I was hungry, and guessed that Mum hadn’t eaten all day either, so checked the cupboards for something to eat. They were pretty bare but there was a loaf in the freezer and a block of cheese in the cooler, so I made cheese on toast.

  Mum had stopped crying when I took the snack in to her. She was sitting back in the chair, staring blankly ahead.

  “I’ve made you a cup of tea and something to eat, Mum.” I put the tray on table besides her. “You’ve got to keep your strength up.”

  “Thanks, love.” She picked up the tea and took a sip. “You’re right,” she said, sounding more like her usual self. “I’ve got to pull myself together and be strong. Sitting here crying isn’t helping Josh. Someone’s got him and I’m going to find him.”

  “You bet we will, Mum. If the LEF won’t look for Josh then we will!”

  The cheese on toast was a mistake. It was Josh’s favourite meal. As I cut my toast in half, I remembered how Josh loved Mum to make a face with red sauce on it, how he picked it up and bit into it whole, eating first the eyes, then the nose, then the mouth. I could barely bring myself to eat it and saw that Mum was struggling to finish hers too.

  Oh, Josh. Where are you?

  ****

  Summer and I spoke to Jamie later that evening. She’d come around straight from the hairdresser’s. Her long blonde hair was layered around her face and she looked fantastic. I expected Jamie to go a bit goo-goo when he saw her as lads usually did but he just mumbled, “Hi Summer,” then listened attentively while I told him about our hi-wave messaging. “No one has replied though so we don’t know if people are passing the message on. We need a better way to let everyone know, something more visual than emails and webalerts. Something that hits people in the face.”

  “We could use a PLS,” suggested Jamie. “I don’t know why I didn’t think of that before.”

  “A what?” I wasn’t techno-minded.

  “You know, those thin screens that you can roll up like a sheet of paper. You’ve seen them, haven’t you? Plasma Lite Screens?”

  “Nope, have you?” I looked at Summer who shook her head. “What do you do with them?” I asked.

  “They’re interactive, like the boards in school. So we can make a video of Holly and Josh, with some info about the other missing kids, load it in our M-pads, then put the screen up on a wall and run the vid so everyone can see it. What do you think?”

  “How do we stick them onto the walls?” asked Summer. “We need to be able to take them back down or we’ll have the LEF after us.”

  “Magna-blocks, they stick to anything. When enough people have seen the vid we can take the screen off the wall, roll it up, slip the blocks into our pockets and go off to the next place.”

  It sounded fantastic to me. “Where do you get a PLS from?” I asked.

  “Any E-store, but I’ve got a couple. Have you got time to start working on the vid now?”

  “I have. What about you?” I asked Summer.

  “Sure,” she agreed. “I want to be in on this too.”

  So Jamie opened a screen in Animate-Works, and we all logged in. Then I uploaded a photo of Josh and Jamie uploaded one of Holly. We played around with different graphics whilst Summer wrote the text. It took a couple of hours but when we’d finished we were all pleased with it.

  “You’re a genius,” I told Jamie as Summer and I downloaded the vid onto our M-pads.

  “Thanks.” He flushed a bit. I guessed he wasn’t used to praise. “Now it takes at least two of us to put up the screen. They’re pretty big. I think the city centre’s the best place to put them, that way they’ll get some major attention. So how about we meet at the speedrail? 8.30? Catch everyone on their way to work?” he suggested.

  Cars were banned from the city centre, you had to park outside it and catch a commcab or the speedrail in. It would be pretty packed at 8.30 in the morning with everyone making their way to work. But it would mean an early start. I looked at Summer. “We’ll have to leave about 7:00. Can you make it?”

  “No problem. The launch party doesn’t start until 5:00 p.m. I’ll pick you up at seven on the dot and leave my eco at the station. I’ll wait outside so as not to disturb your mum.”

  “It’ll mean missing school again,” I reminded her. “What if your folks find out?”

  Leo and Tamara were pretty easy going in a lot of ways but appearances were everything to them because they had such prominent public positions. They were dead strict about Summer and Kyle
working hard at school and getting good grades. And about them obeying the law. I wasn’t sure what we were going to do was strictly legal.

  “I won’t tell them but if they do find out, I think they’ll understand that we’re doing it for Josh, and all the other missing children,” replied Summer.

  “I think my folks will be okay about it. We’re all so desperate to find Josh. But what about your dad?” I asked Jamie. I got the impression his dad was pretty strict.

  Jamie shrugged. “He couldn’t care less what I do. He only ever cared about Mum. Since she died, he hasn’t bothered with Holly…or me. He hired a nurse to look after Holly and is hardly every home.”

  “It’s a wonder he didn’t put your sister in a RLC when your mum died, isn’t it? It would have been a lot less bother. And cheaper too.” Summer said bluntly.

  She could be so tactless sometimes. But I saw her point. RLC’s were funded by the Ministry, another little ploy to encourage people to use them. So it would have saved Jamie’s dad the expense of paying for a nurse.

  “Yeah, well that’s only ’cos Mum made him swear on her deathbed that he would never put Holly in care. He’d have put her in a RLC as soon as she was born if he’d had his way.” Even over the webphone I heard the bitterness in Jamie’s voice.

  I thought of poor little Holly, with only a big brother to love her. No wonder Jamie had gone to so much trouble to try to find his little sister. He evidently adored her and he was all she had. Where was she now? Was she with Josh? Were all the children being kept together?

  “Do you think whoever’s taken the children is keeping them all together?” I asked. I couldn’t stand the thought of Josh being alone. At least if there were other children with him, he might not be afraid.

  “I reckon so. The kidnappers must have some kind of plan and as there’s so many children involved it makes sense to keep them all in the same place. It’ll be easier to look after them that way.”