Eighteen Kisses (5 page)

I was starting to get scared. I think Ger noticed.

‘These are very rare though,’ he went on. ‘Because if any information about the curse is revealed, like the reason for its existence, the curser will also incur torturous pain. I don’t mean to frighten you, Jacki, but it’s good to be aware of these things. One way to protect yourself is to imagine a white light round you, shielding every part of your body. Other means of protection are described in the book – you should read it.’

‘I will,’ I said. ‘Every page.’

‘And it might be a good idea to ask for something that belonged to Kayla, a piece of jewellery perhaps, to keep with you. It will help you to connect with her.’

‘OK, cool,’ I said. ‘Is there anything else?’

Ger hesitated for a moment, but then looked straight at me. ‘This might sound pessimistic,’ he said, ‘but don’t trust everyone you meet through this kind of work. Remember that people will do anything to protect themselves, and to protect the ones they love. Always remember to take care of yourself first. Other than that, just use your ability. You are meant to do this, Jacki. Remember that, and you’ll be OK.’

‘Thanks,’ I said. ‘I really needed to hear that.’

‘You’ll do great,’ he said. ‘You can come up here any time; you know you’re more than welcome. But I’m certain that you’ll be able to do this by yourself – it’s why you were chosen.’

Before last summer, before any of this had happened, I never thought that our paths might be laid out for us, that what we are meant to do with our lives is already decided, and I suppose I still wasn’t entirely sure. After all, didn’t we also have a choice? But Ger had known this would happen, he’d seen what was in store for me. I wanted to help these women; if I’d been chosen to do this then I wouldn’t let them down. Ger and I sat in silence for a few more minutes, enjoying the magnificent view. I would have liked to stay longer.

‘I’d better get going. I’m heading to Dublin in an hour.’ I put the file back in my bag and stood up to leave.

‘Have a safe trip,’ said Ger with a smile and he stood up too.

‘Thanks so much for everything,’ I said, shaking his hand.

‘Best of luck, Jacki,’ he said. ‘But you won’t need it.’

‘How long are you going away for? Three months, is it?’ said Des when he saw the amount of stuff I’d just put into the boot of the car. ‘Are you sure it’s all going to fit in your gran’s house?’

‘Very funny,’ I replied, then turned my attention to trying to pack it all in. There was a slight problem – my music equipment practically took up all of the space. I tried to squeeze in my suitcase of clothes, but finally decided I’d have to put it on the back seat instead.

‘Where’s your mum?’ asked Des.

‘I think she’s in the bathroom,’ I said. ‘Morning sickness …’

‘I wish I could have it instead of her,’ he said, rushing into the house. I rolled my eyes. Sometimes Des and Mum were so disgustingly in love that it almost made me sick myself.
I never thought I’d have a little brother or sister, not after my dad died. I’d found it difficult to accept Des and Mum’s relationship at first, but I was really happy for them now – at least when they weren’t being super cringey. Des is very nice and would do anything for Mum, and come to think of it, he does a lot for me too. One night I was playing a gig in Galway, but the hostel I was staying in was absolutely rank. I’d got the slot at the last minute, and it was around New Year so there was nowhere else available, at least not anywhere that I could afford. At 2 a.m. I just couldn’t stick it any more, and although I felt bad for waking him, I caved and rang Des. He drove the whole way to pick me up in the middle of the night. He’d jumped into the car the minute he got the call, and hadn’t even stopped to change out of his pyjamas (which was totally mortifying, especially when we went to the McDonald’s drive-thru on the way back, but I couldn’t really give out to him). Even after that experience, I still go gigging practically every weekend. Sometimes I wonder if it’ll be worth it, playing in all these random places, hardly ever getting paid, often singing to no more than a handful of people. But then I remember that I love singing and playing music – they’re my passions – and I’ve always wanted to make them my career. Although I did seem to be taking an entirely different direction at the moment – I never imagined I’d be working with the police. Maybe my other, more unusual skills would take over.

‘Jacki, Jacki!’ I could hear Colin shouting before I saw him.

‘Oh, I’m glad you’re still here.’ He ran up the driveway and bent over the car, trying to catch his breath.

‘You OK, Colin?’ I said, throwing my make-up bag in on top of my suitcase.

‘You know how you’re going up to Dublin, fighting crime and stuff – will you be back by Thursday?’

‘No, I don’t think so,’ I said, pushing the suitcase further in so that I could fit my laptop beside it.

‘Jacki, it’s my second date with James on Thursday. You know that second dates are make or break! I need you to help me prepare. I need to come over here beforehand and you need to tell me what to wear and what to say and how to –’

‘Colin,’ I said. ‘You don’t need me. You’ll be fine.’ Their first date had gone really well. I’d heard every single detail multiple times. He and James had gone bowling, and then for dinner in an Italian restaurant in Sligo. James had walked him to the bus stop, and then they’d kissed. (Colin reckons it lasted about four seconds, but he can’t be sure.) He thinks James had fun, but he can’t be sure about that either, even though James texted him that night saying,
I had lots of fun today, we should do it again next week
. Immediately after he’d got that text Colin had run all the way up to my house, just like he’d done now. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him look that happy. Except maybe the time we’d visited the Hoshino Yukinobu manga exhibition.

‘Maybe I should come to Dublin with you,’ he said. ‘I don’t like the thought of you doing this by yourself.’

‘I’ll be OK,’ I said with a smile.

‘Ring me if you need anything.’

‘I will,’ I said, just managing to close the car door. ‘You should come up to Dublin for Hannah’s play on Friday.’

‘Yeah, she texted me about it,’ said Colin. ‘I can’t wait.’

I liked that my Dublin friends had got to know my Avarna ones, and how we sometimes did things together. Hannah and Colin got on particularly well – they’d bonded over their mutual love of horror movies and their mutual dislike of boys who wore really tight skinny jeans. But then again, everybody loves Colin.

He hugged me. ‘Some sidekick I am.’

‘Don’t say that,’ I said. ‘You’re the best.’ My phone beeped with a text. I took it out of my pocket and saw that it was from Sergeant Lawlor.

Kayla’s sister Libby will be home this afternoon. I told her you’d call by. Address is in the file. M

‘Ready to go?’ said Mum from the doorway. She was wearing a pink dress and looked beautiful as always.

‘Yep,’ I said. ‘I’m ready.’

I said goodbye to Colin, then turned round. In less than three hours I was going to be in Dublin – working at the magazine that I had always dreamed would discover my music, and using and learning even more about my supernatural abilities.

I couldn’t wait.

Kayla’s road was only a short bus ride away from Gran’s and I found it pretty easily. It was lined with sycamore trees, their leaves in full bloom, shading the parked cars from the afternoon sun. There were two-storey, red-brick houses on either side of the road; some had ivy growing up their walls, others had potted plants on their porches. They all had wooden sash windows, gorgeous mature gardens and cobblestoned driveways. I saw the one I was looking for, number 25, and crossed the street.

Ivy was wrapped round its red-brick pillars and the black iron gate was open. I walked slowly across the driveway and up the steps to the front door. It was painted a pretty lilac colour, almost the same shade as my skirt. I tried not to look anxious; I really didn’t know what I was letting myself in for. I took a deep breath and rang the bell.

I waited a few moments, fidgeting with the buckle on my satchel, until a girl opened the door. She wore a loose grey T-shirt, jeans and pink ballet pumps. She had long shiny brown hair and tanned skin, artificially so, but beautiful nonetheless. I guessed she was in her early twenties.

‘Hey,’ she said. ‘You’re Jacki, right? Sergeant Lawlor said you’d call by.’

‘Yes,’ I replied.

‘Come in.’ She smiled, which made me feel a lot better.

‘Thank you,’ I said, as I stepped inside. The interior of the house was just as impressive as the outside. The hallway ceiling was high, and sunlight flooded in through the window.

‘I’m Libby,’ she explained. ‘Kayla’s sister. Well, half-sister, to be precise.’

‘Nice to meet you,’ I said. Were those the right words to use? It wasn’t like they were nice circumstances and it wasn’t like she really had a choice in the matter.

‘You too,’ Libby said, not seeming to analyse it as much as me. ‘Sorry about the mess,’ she added as she led me into the huge kitchen. ‘Dad and Anna are away on holiday, so we’ve kind of let the place go a bit … I would have tidied up, but I have an exam tomorrow and I’m frantically trying to revise.’

‘It’s OK,’ I said. ‘I’m sorry for disturbing you.’

‘No problem at all. I always have exams, nothing new.’

‘You mentioned Anna …’ I said. ‘Is that Kayla’s mum?’

‘Oh yeah, I should have explained. She’s my stepmum,’ said Libby.

She tidied up the chemistry books on the table into a pile and I looked around. There were lots of photos on the walls. Most were of Kayla and Libby and another girl with black hair, who I recognized from the video. The kitchen wasn’t even that messy; there were a couple of empty bottles beside the fridge and a stack of dirty dishes
in the sink. It looked a lot like my house when Mum and Des left me alone for a night, which unfortunately was hardly ever.

‘Would you like tea or coffee?’

‘Tea, please,’ I said. I was relieved Libby was being so friendly. I’d wondered what her reaction would be like. It must be hard to have people interfering in your life all the time, to have to answer the same questions over and over again.

‘It’s good to see the Gardai are still working hard on the case,’ she said. ‘Still trying to find her. You’re like … psychic, right?’ She flicked on the kettle.

‘Well … sort of. I can sense things. And I can see things that nobody else can. It’s a gift I have … it’s kind of difficult to explain.’

‘Whatever it takes to find her,’ said Libby, opening a cupboard and taking out two pale pink mugs. ‘We had this other psychic guy offer us help last year; he said he knew where Kayla was. Turned out to be a complete wacko though.’

‘Yeah, well, I didn’t exactly offer to help – the Gardai contacted me,’ I said, perhaps a bit too defensively.

‘Oh yeah, I know. You look totally normal. Thanks so much for doing this; we really just want Kayla to come home.’

I nodded, kind of regretting my reaction now.

‘So, Kayla is your stepsister?’ I asked as Libby handed me my cup of tea.

‘Yep, Dad married Kayla’s mum, Anna, three years ago, a year before Kayla went missing. We moved in here with
them because Anna didn’t want to leave. Our house was so much nicer, but we got over it.’

I couldn’t imagine a nicer house than this one. It was beautiful without being too flashy. Mum would love it, especially the antique dresser in the corner. She was always on the lookout for interesting stuff for our house, even though it had been finished for months.

Libby offered me the milk jug and I poured some into my cup.

‘I knew Kayla before we were sisters though,’ she said. ‘We were in the same year in school and we used to hang around with some of the same people. She gets on really well with my big sister Hazel too – they have the same taste in music and stuff.’ It was weird hearing her talk about Kayla like that, like she was still here. I seemed to be the only person who knew for sure that Kayla was dead. I had to remember that her friends and family were still clinging to the hope that she was alive. It was difficult, but I needed to believe that what I was doing would eventually give them closure. Besides, Kayla wanted to move on, she wanted peace, that’s why I was here.

‘Anyway,’ said Libby, ‘I’m rambling. Is there anything in particular you’d like to know?’

‘Could you tell me about the night of her disappearance?’ I asked. ‘You had a party here, right?’

‘Yeah, we had a small marquee out the back; there were loads of people here. It was a great night, up until … well … up until we realized she was gone. Everyone was having a good time; there was no drama.’ I could tell that from watching the video. There didn’t seem to be anything weird
going on, at least not on the surface. It just looked like a normal eighteenth birthday party.

‘When was the last time you saw her?’ I asked. Libby took another sip from her tea before she spoke.

‘It was around midnight. I was over at the patio door, having a cigarette, and I heard her and Amy talking about going to the shop. They got it into their heads that they wanted to toast marshmallows. They’re always doing stuff like that: they think of something and then suddenly they have to have it. They’re really, I don’t know … spontaneous? They said they were going to the shop and that they’d be back in a few minutes. Andrew, Amy’s boyfriend at the time, went with them. I wasn’t even involved in the conversation, I just overheard it. It was about half one when I noticed that I hadn’t seen them in ages. I just assumed she and Amy were off taking photos of stars or something … they’re really into photography. But by two a.m. I started to get seriously worried. I called her mobile, but it rang out.’

‘So her mobile was still turned on at that time?’ According to the file, its last recorded location was in this area. It was possible that she’d dropped it in a struggle, but it had never been found.

‘Yeah, she just wasn’t answering it. I tried Amy’s phone too, then Kayla again, but neither of them would answer. Calum said he could have sworn he saw them come back, so then I thought maybe they were around somewhere and I just hadn’t seen them. I looked in every room in the house, went around calling her name, but I couldn’t find her. I asked Calum where he’d seen her, but he was really drunk and wasn’t making any sense.’