Alex Barclay - Harm's Reach

‘Am I extra ordinary?’ said Ren.

He laughed. ‘Yes, Ren. You’re extraordinary...’

‘Thank you.’

‘Your mood is stable, Ren. But you can’t associate stability with “ordinariness”.’

Ren thought of Conor Gorman sitting on the sofa of The Darned Heart. Conor Gorman is like me. Uncomfortable in ordinariness. Likely to buck against whatever makes him feel that way... stable home, ranch with a bunch of teens he probably feels he has nothing in common with...

Dr Lone continued. ‘It’s a dangerous thought to allow to take root.’

And Jesse Coombes believes God whispers in his ear. He can’t possibly think he’s ordinary.

‘No one wants to feel ordinary,’ said Lone. ‘The problem is that, if you associate that with meds, your first step in trying to feel “extraordinary” is to stop taking them.’

Ren nodded.

In forty-three residents of The Darned Heart, could Conor Gorman and Jesse Coombes have found each other? Who’s going to tell me that? What about the abbey? Could either of the boys have been sent there to help out? As punishment? Would Eleanor Jensen tell me if they were?

‘It’s important to understand that,’ said Lone.

He sat back, his head tilted.

Shit. What?

‘To really take it on board,’ said Lone.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. ‘I know,’ said Ren. ‘Keep taking the meds.’

‘I’m hoping that some of these points will stay with you and help you when you’re alone and faced with certain choices,’ said Dr Lone.

‘Yes,’ said Ren. ‘Thank you.’ She stood up to leave. ‘Just one thing... if triggers bypass meds...’ Then what’s the point of taking meds?

Dr Lone waited.

‘Aw, nothing,’ said Ren.

‘Nothing...’ said Dr Lone.

Ren walked to the door. ‘Triggers are much easier to handle when they’re part of a weapon — not when they’re the weapon itself.’

When she turned back, she could see a stillness in Dr Lone’s face. He just knew. They both did.

The previous hour had been a waste of time for both of them.

Eleanor Jensen welcomed Ren into the abbey library. Ren took out two photos and set them on the table in front of her: the first was Conor Gorman, the second was Jesse Coombes.

‘Ooh,’ said Eleanor.

Define that reaction...

‘What do you want to know?’ said Eleanor.

‘Well, anything you might know about either of these boys,’ said Ren.

Eleanor pointed to Jesse. ‘He’s done some work in the library, just in the last couple of weeks, seems like a nice, respectful young man.’

I bet he does.

‘And I’m not familiar with the other young man,’ said Eleanor.

‘OK,’ said Ren.

Eleanor waited a while before she spoke. ‘There’s something else. Something small. Well, I guess that’s for you to decide...’

Ren nodded.

‘There was a girl who came here from the ranch,’ said Eleanor. ‘She’s gone now, this happened back before Christmas — she said that one of the boys over there was very dark, he read dark books, wore skull rings...’

So far, sounds like my boyfriend...

‘I know lots of teenagers are like that,’ said Eleanor, ‘and I think this girl was a little princess type, so it probably seemed more dramatic to her. She said he showed her a bone one night and told her it was a real finger bone, that kind of thing. He gave her the creeps, but nothing more came of it.’ Eleanor looked at the photos again. ‘It may have been one of these boys, it may not, but I thought I’d let you know. There could be twenty more boys like that over there, it wouldn’t be a great leap.’

‘A bone?’ said Ren. ‘Could that have had anything to do with the cemetery?’

‘No,’ said Eleanor. ‘I asked Detective Kohler had any of the ground been disturbed and he said no, thank God. You heard the cemetery was tidied...’

‘Yes,’ said Ren. ‘Do you have any idea who did that?’

‘No — certainly it wasn’t any of the ladies of the abbey. And we really tried to keep that cemetery a secret from the kids. I don’t know why graves are such a draw to them. They’re the ones with their whole lives ahead of them — death should be the furthest thing from their minds. Not that we expected tidying to be part of what they might do there...’

‘I’d like to get a copy of the map of the abbey, if that’s OK,’ said Ren.

‘That’s not a problem,’ said Eleanor. She got up and went to a drawer underneath a table by the window.

Ren looked down at the photo of Jesse Coombes and thought about his journal, the fixations, the inability to bury his past.

Is that what happens when you’re bombarded with religion from such an early age?

Jesse Coombes’ first obsession was The Lord , so when his parents plucked him out of that world, it must have been a shock, he must have felt alone. And as soon as he went into the real world of high school, he had a new fixation — Dominic Fisher, an outcast, like himself. And maybe, when he was plucked out of his life again and sent to The Darned Heart, he found in Conor Gorman a similar soul.

Could he have developed a fixation on him? Could he have been desperate for Conor not to leave?

Eleanor spread out the map of the abbey on a glass-topped table by the window.

‘Here you are,’ she said. ‘Do you want to take a look?’

Ren got up and joined her. It was the same map Kohler had. She looked at the building outlines on it again: chapel, school, schoolmaster’s lodgings, theater, guest house for visitors. There was something familiar about the theater, about its design. She looked out the library window where she could see the outline of the theater being built on the grounds of the ranch.

‘Is that the same design as the one here on the map?’ said Ren.

Eleanor compared the two. ‘Looks like it is,’ she said. ‘Well, how about that?’

‘Did you give them the plans?’ said Ren.

‘No,’ said Eleanor.

‘Are they online anywhere?’ said Ren.

‘Not that I’m aware of,’ said Eleanor.

‘It’s a little coincidental,’ said Ren.

Eleanor looked like she was waiting for Ren to elaborate.

I have nothing.

‘Anyway, I digress,’ said Ren. ‘There’s another reason I’m here. Did you know that Burt Kendall didn’t, in fact, pay for the bus that was donated to you?’

‘Pardon me?’ said Eleanor.

‘I spoke with Detective Hooks from the Sheriff’s Office... Burt Kendall was sent a cashier’s check from an anonymous donor and asked to pretend the donation was from him.’

‘That’s bizarre,’ said Eleanor. ‘I had no idea. Why would he do that?’

‘Publicity, goodwill,’ said Ren. ‘It was from a bank in Butte and it was postmarked Cheyenne. Do you know anyone in either place who might want to support the abbey?’

‘No,’ said Eleanor. ‘I mean, Lord knows all the connections our residents have, but feel free to talk to everyone. I can send an email around. You just don’t know if someone had a relative who was in poor health and wanted to pass on funds before inheritance tax became an issue... but, it’s the Burt Kendall involvement that makes no sense.’

‘I know,’ said Ren.

‘What date was on the check?’ said Eleanor.

‘March 31st.’

‘And when was it sent?’ said Eleanor.

‘More than likely on April 6th,’ said Ren.

‘April 6th,’ said Eleanor. ‘Why is that date in my head?’ She paused. ‘Oh,’ she said, ‘because Delores Ward organized some protest and that was the day they were coming back.’

‘Where was the protest?’ said Ren.