Poinciana Road

by Margaret Way

  Mallory’s mind was reeling. “Kathy, you must stay,” she beseeched, feeling like a traitor for having once believed Kathy promiscuous.

  “It’s okay, Mallory. Truly it is.” Kathy gave Mallory a small, sad smile. “If Jessy turns up I reckon I’ll kill her.”

  There it was again. “You don’t mean that, Kathy.” Even as she spoke she was aghast Kathy could be speaking her mind. How well did she actually know Kathy? Had she been blindsided by pity? Whatever the reason, she was excruciatingly aware of a gathering storm.

  Jason’s voice was a loud bark in her ear. “You hear that?” he yelled. “She’s saying she’s going to kill Jess.”

  “Only if she turns up,” said Kathy, in an entirely reasonable voice.

  Mallory took long, shaky breaths to bring her anxiety down. “Let’s have no more talk of killing, Kathy. Society and your religious beliefs have a major problem with that. It’s a great sin.”

  “You’re as mad as a hatter,” Jason shouted. “You don’t have the guts to face Jess, let alone turn a gun on her. You wouldn’t even know how to fire one.”

  “I never said I’d shoot her. I’d pick up a rock and clobber her.”

  “Oh, do stop, Kathy,” Mallory ordered, wondering if all Kathy’s screws were coming loose, or she was just letting off steam.

  Jason groaned in disgust. “She’d never in a million years get the better of Jess.”

  “It’s been a very upsetting day.” Mallory reached out to grasp Kathy’s hand. “I’m here if you need me, Kathy.”

  “I won’t do anything stupid, Mallory. I promise.”

  “I’ll hold you to it.” Mallory moved to hug the younger woman, rubbing the frail back with her hand. Kathy had grown up with such a sense of worthlessness, it could never be eradicated.

  Jason stood by, nearly apoplectic. “To say the things she’s been saying, she’s certifiable!”

  Kathy gave a little lopsided smile. “I’m not the crazy one. But I’ve got lots of scars.”

  Jason’s mouth worked before he could get his words out. “Forget the scars. All you do is talk a pack of lies.”

  The odd little smile remained on Kathy’s face. “You know a lot about talking lies yourself, Jason. Why don’t we go?” She spoke as if the two of them had a full day’s work ahead of them. She put out a hand to her husband, but Jason violently rejected it as though Kathy, not his twin, was attempting to lead him on the long road to hell.

  Kathy’s small hand fell away.

  * * *

  In the few minutes it took for them to reach the bungalow, Kathy was filled with a heady recklessness the likes of which she had never experienced in her short life. She had come to the end of the line with two opposing emotions in charge: exhilaration and fear. Pathetic little moron that she had always felt herself to be, it was time to fight back. Inside the door she turned to face the cold stranger who was her husband and tormentor. “Go on, say it. Say it,” she erupted. “I can see it in your face. Say what you weren’t game to say in front of Mallory.”

  Jason took a step towards her, towering over her small, slight figure. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, you silly little bitch.”

  “At least I have the courage to face what I am.” A great flood of pent-up emotion was ready for release. “What about you, big man? I’m talking all the insults, the threats, the degradation. Jessica trying to get rid of me by any means she can. I’m sick of the abuse, Jason. You’re such a weakling. Being good looking hid that. I had hoped to love you. I had hoped you would come to love me. We have a child. Instead I’ve grown to loathe you. I’m disgusted with all the things you and your evil twin do. I despise the both of you. You’re sick people, really sick. I haven’t said anything, not to protect you and your bloody vampire of a sister. I’ve kept quiet to protect Ivy.”

  Jason stared back at her stunned. “You open your mouth and God help you,” he threatened. Purple veins were standing out in his temples and in his neck.

  “What will you do, kill me?” Kathy challenged. “You don’t have to. I’m leaving, Jason. Goin’ away. And I’m takin’ Ivy.”

  He shook his head violently in an effort to clear it. “Don’t make me laugh. You’re stupid, Kathy. You couldn’t fend for yourself. You’re like your poor bloody mother. She stuck with a lifetime of abuse. She didn’t protect you kids. But don’t get me wrong. I’d be delighted to see you go, but you’ll never take Ivy. She belongs to me. You’re not fit to be a mother. You’re unstable. You have problems. You even told Mallory you would kill Jess. A rock over the head, wasn’t it? Mallory looked appalled. Jess and I wouldn’t have any trouble convincing a judge you need certifying.”

  Kathy’s face lost all colour, but she didn’t back down. “Here’s a message for you, Jason, old son. Your sister is devoid of all goodness. You’re in Jessica’s power. You can’t break free. You’re not even trying. Mallory is a lovely person. She’s my friend.”

  Jason was silent for a minute before he roared out his grief and shame. “You leave Mallory out of this. She’s a princess, you’re nothing but a skank and a klepto on the side. What was it again, lipsticks and eye cream tucked in the bag and not in the trolley?”

  “That was your sister, not me.”

  “Hush your mouth.” Strange lights in Jason’s blue eyes were flickering.

  “Whatta you goin’ to do, wash it out with soap? Jessie was the one who broke the elephant and blamed Ivy. We all know who you believed. Your evil sister.” Kathy lashed out, her huge sorrowful hazel eyes drowning in tears.

  For a minute Jason stood like a man both physically and emotionally exhausted. Then, in the next second, he threw out his strong hand, slapping her hard across the face. He watched her stagger back. He watched her reach out to an armchair for support. He could see the clear red imprint of his hand on her cheek. There had been great satisfaction in landing a blow; satisfaction, immediately followed by a crushing shame. He had never hit a woman in his life. He knew he was out of control. He couldn’t rein himself in. He hated Kathy. He hated himself more. He wanted to slap her again, take his rage out on her, only she took to her heels, running down the hallway and into the spare bedroom, slamming the door shut.

  He stood reeling for a moment before following her down the hallway calling out vehemently, “You’re an idiot, you know that? You bring things on yourself. Come out, you silly little twit.” He began to bang on the door with the flat of his hand. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hit you, but you can’t say things like that about Jess and me. I won’t have it. No one would believe you anyway. Come on out, or do you want me to break the bloody door down? I can and I will.” He hammered it. “Divorce me if you want to. I don’t want you. But you won’t have Ivy.”

  No sound from inside. In the ensuing silence, he kept up the verbal attack, knowing the damage he was doing to the vulnerable woman he had been forced into marrying. Some part of him knew it was all wrong, but he couldn’t seem to help himself. He was way beyond that. “You’re not fit to be a mother, Kathy,” he finished off, spent. “You’re not fit to be anything much. Jess is sure you’ve been harming our child. She plans on going to the authorities. I’ll go with her. You won’t have Ivy. You’ll never have Ivy.” He thought he heard a sound such as a wounded animal might make if caught in an iron trap. He waited a moment more, not sure if he heard the sound or not. Then he turned away, filled with a deep condemnation of himself, his twin, and his pathetic wife, who stood no chance against them.

  She would calm down. She had no other option.

  Chapter Seven

  After an excellent dinner, they moved into the cool of the loggia, where Blaine sat brooding sombrely while Mallory filled him in.

  “So we’re talking twincest?” he asked, with heavy calm.

  It seemed important to be calm. “It’s hearsay. No actual evidence. That said, incest is found in all countries, all cultures, across the entire social spectrum. There’s a chance Kathy may simply have been making it up. S
he may even have thought she was protecting herself, hitting out at Jessica. Victims do turn on their tormentors.”

  “It must have given you a bad jolt.”

  Mallory stared away across the garden. “I’ll say! My heart rocked. I’ve met with incest in my practice. All of us at the practice have. I feel ill every time. Then there’s the fact I was engaged to Jason, for pity’s sake!”

  “He loved you, correction, loves you. Jason is a badly conflicted man. He’s probably wanted to renounce his sister for years, but he can’t. He doesn’t have the moral strength.”

  “It’s a pathological attachment.”

  “Now we can understand the rift in the Cartwright family. It probably started in childhood. Some sort of play, a way of giving each other pleasure. Progressed over time. One thing led to another until it became a general pattern deeply hidden, even from family. Jessica Cartwright is a walking disaster. She led Jason along the path of perdition. Jason knew it had to stop. He most probably wanted it to stop.”

  Mallory bit her lip. “Those two should have been in therapy. I think Margery had her intuitions the relationship wasn’t normal. She did separate them, sending Jason off to boarding school.”

  “So Jessica was programmed to be insanely jealous of any woman who tried to usurp her.”

  “Without a doubt!” Mallory gave a shudder. “Jason complies with everything she wants, which doesn’t mean they have crossed the Rubicon.”

  “You think they’ve only reached halfway?” Blaine asked with black humour.

  Mallory sat in silence for a moment, her mind ranging over some distressing cases she had known of. “I don’t have a romantic view of the world, Blaine. I’ve seen with my own eyes glimpses of the netherworld. It’s taboo in all societies but it’s not uncommon. Human beings are wired for sexual choice along the lines of proximity and similarity. Then you have those two fatales.”

  “So where does all this sexual mayhem take place?” Blaine asked, not hiding his disgust. “There’s a child on the scene. If Kathy is telling the truth, they have to go. They can’t live that life here.”

  “Only innocent until proven guilty, right? It could be something extremely provocative Kathy threw into the mix. Jason looked horrified.”

  “Horrified you found out, you mean.” Blaine offered his blunt assessment.

  She knew it was probably true, but she wanted so much not to believe it. “This is a very serious allegation and if Kathy’s right, they’re all heading for disaster. Kathy has issues, maybe more serious than we think. She spoke about wanting to kill Jessica. It’s just wild talk, I know.”

  “You don’t know, that’s the thing, Mallory. The world is full of people with the potential to kill. I suppose we could all kill if our life or the lives of those we love are threatened. Shouting in the heat of the moment ‘I could kill you’ is not a declaration of intent. It’s a safety valve. If anyone was going to kill anyone, I’d put my money on Jessica.”

  Mallory’s laugh was a little too high pitched. “The name did pop into my head. Only people aren’t always what they appear to be. Kathy hates Jessica. Not that anyone could blame her.”

  “You’re seriously questioning what lies behind Kathy’s helpless façade?”

  “I must. Her lot is not a happy one.”

  “Then she’s way cleverer than I can believe. Kathy wants Jessica out? She wants you to dismiss her? She has now concocted a compelling reason. Sorry, but I don’t buy it. I don’t wish to be unkind. I just can’t see Kathy having the wit to think it out. What I do believe is she has witnessed something deeply troubling between the twins. If you pressed her maybe she would tell you the whole story.”

  Nausea rose in Mallory’s throat. “I don’t know if I could bear to hear it. Too close to home.”

  Blaine saw how deeply the whole business distressed her. “I can find someone to replace Jason tomorrow,” he said crisply.

  She leaned towards him, her expression very serious. “God, oh, God, Blaine! Why ever did Uncle Robert take Jason on? It was a horrendous decision.”

  “There wasn’t a shred of evidence the twins were in any taboo relationship. I have to say it never crossed my mind.”

  “Nor mine.” Mallory’s breath caught in her throat.

  “If Jason and Kathy split up, which seems inevitable, we support Kathy. I’d like to know how much Jason loves his little daughter. I had thought he did. At least from what I’ve seen.”

  “Ivy’s mystery illnesses are the top priority.” Mallory’s tone was grave. “Kathy could benefit from a psychological analysis. I’ve been feeling so sorry for her maybe I’ve got it all wrong. The strangest things happen in life. Think how guilty I’d feel if it came to be established Ivy is in peril from her own mother.”

  “So you do have legitimate fears?” Blaine saw the worry on her face.

  “I have fears, certainly, only my intuition, which is far from being a science, tells me it’s not Kathy harming her daughter. Not unless she’s a truly great actress.”

  “That I cannot see.” Blaine’s answer was bone dry. “Look, why don’t we go for a walk along the promontory? It’ll clear the mind. We’ll get to the bottom of this, and then we can do whatever needs to be done.”

  * * *

  There was a flurry of cooling breezes out in the garden. Heady perfumes rose like incense: frangipani, oleanders. The snowy white flowers of the gardenia glowed in the moonlight, wonderfully fragrant. The deadly daturas, the locals called devil’s trumpets, dangled their highly scented eight-inch flowers. The night was surprisingly temperate for that time of year. The Wagnerian bank-up of storm clouds of late afternoon had yielded nothing, as was so often the case.

  In the near distance they could see the twinkling lights from the Cartwright bungalow, partly sheltered from view by a grove of palms. No sounds carried on the wind. Only Jason and Kathy were at home. Ivy was overnight in hospital. Jessica was in her bat cave.

  Are you absolutely sure?

  They walked along the cliff front, filling their lungs with fresh salty air. The Coral Sea shimmered as far as the eye could see. She remembered as a bereft child thinking she could launch herself across it to the stars, her feeling of dependence on her mother was so profound. “How beautiful it is here,” she murmured, as Blaine tucked her to him.

  Bad things can happen in beautiful places.

  She shivered at the thought.

  “Cold?” Blaine asked. The night wind off the water did have a slight nip to it.

  “No, just a thought. The bad ones I usually keep to myself.”

  “I’m here to share, Mallory. Sharing is good.”

  “I keep thinking bad things can happen in beautiful places,” she confessed.

  “A cliff is the perfect place to push someone off,” he remarked very dryly.

  “Can you imagine the sensation of falling?” She shuddered. “A doctor friend once told me if it’s from a considerable height you’re dead before you hit the ground.”

  “I don’t think I’ll test it out.”

  “It’s a wonder no one through the years has fallen off Moonglade’s cliff,” she said.

  He looked down at her. “Robert never told you?”

  “Told me what?”

  “Someone did. But that was nearly a century ago. A ten-year-old girl by the name of Gabriella de Campo, the daughter of the Italian family working the sugar farm. The story goes she and a group of children were playing a game, apparently unsupervised. A lot of running around, I suppose. During the game, Gabriella found herself too near the edge of the cliff, took fright, and fell off.”

  “How terrible!” Mallory had no difficulty visualizing the scene.

  “Robert probably didn’t tell you because he thought it would upset you.”

  She accepted that. “The tragedies fate metes out to the undeserving when so many of the bad guys get away. It could well be Gabriella’s thin cries I hear in the night. I couldn’t count the number of times over the years I’ve heard
cries on the wind that sound human.”

  “Birds,” Blaine said. “You’ve got too much imagination, Dr. James.”

  “A vivid imagination is normal for me, Blaine. According to one of my great heroes, Albert Einstein, the true sign of intelligence is not knowledge, it’s imagination. ‘Logic will take you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.’ Except into the void.”

  “And the void is?” he asked quietly, putting his arm around her shoulder.

  “Where we’re all heading.”

  “First we have to live the life we’ve got, as fully as we can. Life is a miracle.”

  “I know,” she said softly. “I love it here at Moonglade.”

  “It’s yours now,” he said. “Wouldn’t you find it hard to leave?”

  It would be a thousand times harder to leave him. She was ready to admit it. “Here with you, I have a feeling I’m becoming more of myself or more the person I was meant to be. Belonging was what I’ve always longed for. What I’ve lived with is an inescapable aloneness for all Uncle Robert was wonderful to me. Security is very important to a child. I grew up a displaced person.”

  Blaine turned her to him, staring down into her upturned starlit face. His hand moved to grasp a handful of her wonderful thick hair. He tugged gently, tilting her head back, exposing her long neck. “I ache for you,” he said.

  * * *

  Under the cover of the casuarinas, with their whorls of minute foliage and pendulous branches, Jason squatted in great discomfort. The darkness around him was absolute. Even in the moon’s radiance it would have been hard to spot him. He was wearing dark clothing with a hoodie pulled down over his blond head. Hadn’t he known if he stayed long enough he would witness something like this? He had seen Forrester’s Range Rover come up the drive around seven p.m. Hours later, when he had checked, it was still there. Was the bastard staying the night?

  There was only one way to find out. He had to set up a vigil. Now his constant checking had paid off, except he wanted to yell and scream abuse. He knew he was cracking up but he couldn’t seem to help it. He had told himself over and over that in time things would get better, his screwed-up life would improve. That didn’t happen. Life was getting too much for him to handle. God, he wasn’t yet thirty and he was about ready to pack it in.