The Mum Mystery

by Gwyneth Rees

  ‘Esmie, thank goodness! Are you all right?’

  It was Lizzie.

  I stared at her. I couldn’t speak.

  ‘Nevada said you’d be here. We’ve been trying to phone you all day. Matthew went back to the house and got worried when he found your note. Esmie, you can’t just go tearing off to Brighton on your own! What were you thinking?’ She was taking her phone out of her pocket now.

  ‘Are you phoning Matthew?’

  ‘I’m calling your father. He’s very worried about you, but since he’s very busy at work he actually agreed to let me come and find you.’

  ‘Really?’ I was surprised. One of the things that Dad and Lizzie sometimes argue about is the way that Dad can’t seem to totally trust anyone else – not even Lizzie – when it comes to anything important to do with Matty and me. This was the first time he’d delegated such a major task to her.

  ‘Matthew was too scared to phone your dad at first, so he phoned me instead. We contacted Holly and Nevada, thinking you might be with them, and Nevada told us you’d come here.’ She started speaking into the phone now. ‘I’ve found her, John. Don’t worry – she’s fine. She’s on the pier. I’ll bring her straight home.’

  I was dreading that Dad was going to want to speak to me, but he didn’t. Lizzie came off the phone and frowned. ‘You look freezing. And you’ve spilt ice cream all down your coat. How on earth can you eat ice cream on a day like this? Come on. Let’s go and find the car. I was in such a state when I parked it, I just hope I can remember where it is.’

  ‘There was a dog,’ I mumbled, looking around for it as we walked back along the pier together. ‘Did you see it? It was called Rusty. I thought it was a sign.’

  Lizzie looked puzzled. ‘What do you mean?’

  I shook my head, not wanting to answer. The whole thing seemed stupid now. And I suddenly felt so glad that she had come to find me that I burst into tears.

  ‘Oh, Esmie,’ Lizzie murmured, putting her arm round me and hugging me tightly, and I realized that she was on the verge of tears too.

  Needless to say, Dad was really angry with me when I got home, and I had to tell him everything. Apparently all Nevada had said was that I’d told her I was taking the train to Brighton because I wanted to go on the pier.

  ‘But it was Nevada’s idea,’ I said, explaining how she was psychic and how she had told me that my mother’s spirit wanted to meet me there.

  ‘She told you what?’ Dad sounded outraged.

  ‘Look.’ I showed him my mother’s message and told him how Nevada had used her psychic powers to find the secret compartment in the jewellery box.

  ‘Esmie, I can’t believe you were taken in by all this hocus-pocus!’ Dad exclaimed.

  ‘It’s not hocus-pocus!’ I protested. ‘Nevada was right about all the names of the Mysterious Four! And she sensed the secret compartment was there.’

  ‘Yes, well I think we should go and speak to her about this right now,’ Dad said grimly.

  So I had no choice but to go with him to Nevada’s house.

  Carys answered the door.

  ‘We’d like to speak to Nevada, please,’ Dad said, ‘and I think I’d better have a word with your aunt and uncle as well.’

  ‘They’re all out,’ Carys replied. ‘I see you got back OK then, Esmie. I should have realized the two of you were lying when I saw you at the station.’

  ‘The two of you?’ Dad queried, looking at me.

  ‘Nevada was supposed to come too,’ I mumbled.

  ‘Carys, could we come inside and talk about this?’ Dad asked.

  ‘Sure.’ Carys turned and led us into the house. ‘I only found out you were going to Brighton after Lizzie came over here looking for you, Esmie,’ she said to me as she showed us into the living room. ‘Nevada told us you were going to the pier, but she said she didn’t know why. I knew she was holding something back, so after Lizzie left I made her tell me the whole story.’

  ‘I’d be very grateful if you could tell the whole story to me, Carys,’ Dad said. ‘Why on earth would Nevada tell Esmie that her mother’s spirit was going to meet her at the end of the pier?’

  Carys sighed. ‘She was just really desperate to get Esmie to spend some time with her away from Holly. She’d have invented some reason why your mum wasn’t there when you got to the pier, Esmie, and then the two of you would have ended up spending the afternoon together.’

  I gaped at her. ‘You mean Nevada made it up about my mum?’

  Carys nodded. ‘But don’t think too badly of her. This is the first time she’s ever made such a good friend so quickly after we’ve moved anywhere. She’s a bit obsessed with you, I think. And she’s really jealous of how close you are to Holly.’

  ‘Esmie seems to have got it into her head that your sister is psychic,’ Dad said.

  ‘Dad, she is,’ I protested.

  ‘How can you say that after what you’ve just heard?’ He looked exasperated.

  ‘But, Dad, she must be! How else would she have known all those names and been able to find the secret compartment in my jewellery box?’

  Dad looked at Carys for help.

  ‘There’s something I think you need to see, Esmie,’ she said. ‘Wait here a minute.’ She left the room and we heard her going upstairs.

  When she returned she was carrying a big wooden jewellery box that was almost identical to my mother’s.

  ‘But . . . but . . .’ I stared at it.

  ‘Your mum’s wasn’t the only one of that kind that was made, you know. Our mum had this one when she was a kid. She gave it to me years ago and Nevada knows all about the false bottom. I guess when she saw yours and she realized you didn’t know about it, she saw her chance to impress you.’

  I was stunned as Carys demonstrated how if you pressed in the right place on the base of the box, the secret compartment was revealed. ‘But . . . but how could she have known all those names?’ I burst out. ‘She told me those before we found the message inside.’

  Carys looked thoughtful. ‘Did you leave her alone with the box before you opened up the compartment together?’

  ‘I don’t think so . . . oh!’ I suddenly remembered the day I had first shown Nevada the box. It was the same day she had seen the dwarf in my tea leaves.

  She had instructed me to take my teacup out of the room, thus leaving her alone with the jewellery box. She could easily have opened the secret compartment, read the message (including the names), and put it back to be rediscovered later.

  I shook my head, feeling terrible. ‘Nevada wouldn’t do that to me.’

  ‘A lot of people who claim to be psychics are playing on the neediness of those who’ve lost loved ones, Esmie,’ Dad said gently. ‘You’re not the first person to be fooled.’

  ‘But what about when she showed me that crystal ball?’ I asked shakily. ‘She said she saw a wedding in it.’

  ‘I’m sorry, Esmie,’ Carys said. ‘She must have been making it up. Only our mother can see things in that crystal ball.’

  ‘Well . . . well, what about my tea-leaf reading?’ I blurted. ‘There really was a hearse and a funeral inside my cup because I saw them too.’

  ‘Oh, well you don’t have to be psychic to read tea leaves,’ Carys said, sounding relieved that there was at least one thing her sister had done that she could vouch for. ‘And you don’t have to worry, Esmie, because both of those are good omens. A funeral means that great happiness lies ahead, and a hearse really does mean that there’s going to be a wedding soon.’

  ‘But that’s really weird,’ I pointed out.

  Carys shrugged. ‘The tea leaves just have a good sense of humour, I guess.’

  ‘Or a good sense of how to mislead people,’ Dad put in drily. ‘Carys, do you have any idea when the others will be back tonight?’

  ‘They went to the theatre. It finishes around ten, I think.’

  ‘Well, will you tell them I’ll call round tomorrow to have a talk with them?’


  ‘Sure.’ As she came with us to the front door she added, ‘You know, my mum’s a true psychic and she would never trick anyone. She really does have the gift.’

  ‘Really?’ Dad sounded like he didn’t believe her.

  I felt in a total daze as we crossed the road to go home, but there was still one hope I was clinging to. ‘I know you don’t believe in psychic things, Dad, but I really did see a hearse and a funeral inside my teacup.’

  ‘The power of suggestion is a great thing, Esmie. I expect you’d have seen the entire London Philharmonic Orchestra if Nevada had told you it was there,’ Dad replied briskly.

  I frowned. ‘Well, there was definitely a dog called Rusty at the end of the pier today. And you can’t see a whole dog by the power of suggestion, can you?’

  ‘No, but there’s also the power of coincidence. I mean Rusty isn’t exactly the most unusual name for a dog, is it?’

  I would have continued arguing, but I suddenly remembered something else. ‘Dad, what was it Lizzie wanted to talk to us about? I asked her in the car but she said she wanted you to tell me.’

  ‘Oh, yes. Apparently the couple who agreed to rent her flat still want to buy it, and they’ve upped their offer. So she’s thinking of selling, but that means she’d have to find a home for all her furniture. So she wants to know if we’re up for changing the house round a bit to accommodate some of it. She wants to have some of her own things around her if she’s going to move in properly and she was worried about how you and Matty might react to that. After all, you’ve both been acting rather oddly lately.’

  ‘I haven’t been acting oddly,’ I protested. ‘I want Lizzie to move in with us.’

  ‘Yes, well, I think in your case she’s more worried that if she tells you she’s selling her flat you’ll think that means she’s going to marry me tomorrow.’ He paused. ‘It’s not that we definitely won’t ever be getting married, Esmie – it’s just that we want to do things gradually. I’d like you to understand that and be a bit more patient, OK?’

  I frowned, because I’m not very good at being patient. ‘Does Matty know that she wants to sell her flat?’

  ‘I told him while you and Lizzie were on your way back from Brighton.’

  ‘What did he say?’

  ‘Well, he was a bit concerned that Lizzie might want to replace our leather sofa with her flowery one, but basically he said it was cool.’

  I nodded. ‘It is cool.’ And even though Dad had asked me to be patient, I couldn’t help grinning to myself as I saw the bridesmaid’s dress I wanted getting just a little bit closer.

  The next day Dad said he wanted to go and speak to Nevada’s aunt and uncle alone. He was over there for ages, and when he eventually came back, Nevada was with him.

  ‘Nevada has some things she wants to say to you, Esmie,’ Dad said, and he left us in the living room with the door open (so I knew for a fact he was listening in).

  Nevada looked like she had been crying. ‘I’m sorry I lied to you,’ she said. ‘I just wanted you to be my friend – that’s all.’

  I listened while she told me how she had done it – and the stuff with the jewellery box was just as I’d thought. The whole thing had been a trick.

  ‘What about the tea leaves?’ I asked hoarsely.

  ‘Mum’s taught me a lot of the symbols and what they mean. I . . . I looked for those things – but you did see them too, Esmie, so it’s not like they weren’t there.’

  ‘A friend in whom you trusted will prove false,’ I said. ‘You meant me to think that was Holly, didn’t you?’

  ‘I’m sorry.’

  ‘Don’t be – that reading was completely right. It was talking about you.’

  ‘I only did it because I wanted to be your friend so badly,’ she murmured.

  ‘I’d have been your friend anyway,’ I protested. ‘I won’t now though, and neither will Holly when I tell her what you did!’

  She sniffed. ‘It doesn’t matter. I’m leaving next week.’

  ‘Leaving?’

  ‘I’m going to Saudi Arabia to be with Mum and Dad.’

  ‘What . . . for good, you mean?’

  She gave a bitter smile. ‘It’s never for good. That’s why Carys is staying here with Aunt Ruth and Uncle Frank. She’s desperate to settle down somewhere. So am I, but I just miss Mum and Dad too much.’ Her voice was trembly as she said, ‘Esmie, I know you miss your mum too. I’m so sorry I made you think I could put you in touch with her.’

  I felt my eyes fill with tears and I quickly blinked them back. ‘Don’t worry,’ I said harshly. ‘I never really believed you anyway. My mother’s dead – and dead people can’t come back.’

  ‘Esmie, I really wish I did have psychic powers,’ she blurted. ‘If I did, I promise I’d use them to help you.’ She started to cry then. ‘I know what I did was wrong but I just wanted you to need me as much as I needed you.’

  And that’s when Dad came back into the room and suggested it was time Nevada left.

  I went with her to the door, and she was still crying as she stepped outside.

  ‘I guess I’ll see you in school,’ I mumbled, starting to feel a tiny bit sorry for her.

  She shook her head. ‘Aunt Ruth says I don’t have to go back. I’ll be too busy getting ready to leave.’

  I watched her walk down our drive and, as she stepped on to the pavement, I called out, ‘There was a dog called Rusty at the end of the pier.’

  She turned round. ‘Really?’

  ‘Yes.’

  I watched her face brighten up just a little bit – and that was the last time I saw her.

  After that, things in our house got back to normal – well, sort of.

  I phoned Holly and told her the whole story, and when I confided in her that I actually felt a little bit sorry for Nevada, she snorted dismissively. ‘Esmie, she used your dead mother to manipulate you into being friends with her. You should have told her that that’s the way to make enemies, not friends. If you ask me, she turned out to be a true Moriarty after all.’

  So after that I didn’t mention Nevada to Holly again.

  We did talk about Nevada at home though – mostly instigated by Lizzie, who thinks it’s healthier to talk about stressful things rather than just pretend they never happened (which is more Dad’s way of thinking).

  Of course, Dad had given both Matty and me a really stern talking-to about the whole Brighton incident – me for going off like that and Matty for leaving me in the house on my own.

  ‘It wasn’t Matty’s fault, Dad,’ I’d protested when he’d finished spelling out all the terrible things that might have happened to me.

  ‘Matty disobeyed me,’ Dad said firmly. ‘And so did you. I’m very disappointed in you both.’

  ‘I’m really sorry, Dad,’ my brother said, hanging his head.

  ‘So you should be. You’re old enough to know better.’

  Dad seemed to forgive us both fairly quickly though, and the fact that Matty seemed to be trying for some sort of perfect-son award after that certainly helped. My brother seemed loads happier in general and he was acting very differently towards Dad. He was less cheeky, he listened more to what Dad told him and he hadn’t been late home once since he’d stopped being grounded. His relationship with Jennifer was still a bit rocky, so there were days when he was in a bad mood about that – but instead of shutting himself in his room sulking, he had started hanging out downstairs with us and actually allowing us to try and cheer him up.

  I asked Lizzie what she thought had caused the change in him, and she said she reckoned it had something to do with Dad believing him about that police car. ‘I think it did Matty a lot of good to see that your dad had faith in him after all.’

  As for me – Dad seemed more concerned about my emotional state after my trip to Brighton than the fact that I’d disobeyed him, and he even offered to take me to the doctor’s to see the practice counsellor if I wanted.

  ‘I’d rather just talk it over with
you and Lizzie,’ I told him. And I found myself asking if he was absolutely sure that there’s no way a dead person can live on in spirit form.

  ‘Well, I’m not at all religious, Esmie, you know that, so I believe that the dead can only live on in our memories.’

  ‘But I don’t have any memories of my mum,’ I said, frowning.

  ‘Well, perhaps what I mean is that they live on in our thoughts,’ he said.

  ‘Oh,’ I said, liking the sound of that much better.

  ‘Of course, a lot of people believe in heaven too,’ Dad added.

  I nodded. ‘I’ve always believed my mum’s in heaven.’

  ‘I know – and that’s fine. I just don’t think it’s fine to think that the spirits of the dead are all around us and can actually send us messages.’

  ‘But what about Nevada’s mum? She’s a real psychic, isn’t she?’

  ‘Esmie, you know what I think about Nevada’s mum.’

  I did know, and I couldn’t help feeling sad – like I’d had something really important in my grasp and lost it.

  Dad came over and gave me a hug. ‘You know, if you want to think about your mother, you should think about the real her and not some ghostlike fantasy.’

  ‘But I didn’t know the real her,’ I pointed out impatiently.

  ‘I realize that – so when your grandma comes over at Christmas we’ll make a point of telling you everything we can remember about her and seeing if we can’t bring her to life for you a bit better. How’s that?’

  I really liked the sound of that, but at the same time I was worried about something. ‘Won’t Lizzie mind?’

  He shook his head. ‘It was Lizzie’s idea.’

  ‘Really?’ I smiled. ‘Lizzie’s brilliant, isn’t she, Dad?’

  ‘I think so, yes.’

  And it might have been my imagination, but I could almost swear Dad knew at that point that he definitely did want Lizzie to marry him.

  Grandma phoned the following week and it turned out that she’d just heard back from Kirsten. Apparently Kirsten and Amanda’s mother was still living at her last address, and she had passed Grandma’s letter on to Kirsten, who had written answering Grandma’s questions about the Mysterious Four Club.