Waltzing Matilda (Emma Frost Book 11) Page 5

  "Oh, no," she said, crying while he approached her holding the needle up. "Please. Not again. I can't lose any more blood. Please. PLEASE!"

  Part II

  One week later

  Chapter 16

  She was looking at the empty chair in the middle of the classroom. Actually, there were two of them now and it had Maya deeply worried. Not only was Asgar's chair empty, but so was Susan Ludvigsen's. And it had been for over a week now, maybe even more.

  Normally, Maya wouldn’t have noticed if Susan wasn't in school since she was known to skip class a lot with her boyfriend, Caspar, who was in the other class down the hall. The two of them liked to experiment with drugs and alcohol, and everyone knew about it, so no one worried if they went on a bender for a few days. It was almost expected.

  But since Asgar’s death, empty chairs in the classroom had Maya worried.

  She approached Samuel about it between classes, when she met up with him in the hallway to go to the lunchroom.

  "Susan is missing too. Susan Ludvigsen from my class. She’s been gone for at least a week, if not more," she said. "I’m scared something has happened to her."

  The two of them had been talking a lot lately, especially after Samuel had told her everything he knew about Asgar's family. He had told her Asgar had come to him a few weeks before he was found dead and told him he was considering running away. He was scared of his father, he said. He had never told Samuel what it was he was so afraid his father might do or why he was afraid of him since Asgar had told him it didn't matter; the less he knew the better. But now he wished he had asked more about it. Samuel felt so helpless because he felt like he could have prevented his death. Maya told him he probably couldn't have, but she understood his concern.

  "Isn't she that drug-head? The one who hangs out with Casper and does all those mushrooms and stuff?"

  "Yes, and normally I wouldn't assume anything bad had happened, but after what happened to Asgar, I’m more worried."

  "I’m sure she's fine," Samuel said as they walked into the lunchroom and sat at their usual table.

  They opened their lunchboxes. Maya sighed when she saw a note from her mother saying, Remember, I love you and I am here for you when you want to talk. Anytime. Kiss, Mom.

  Samuel chuckled while biting down on his apple. "Another one, huh?"

  "Yes. It’s every day now. She thinks I’m going into some depression or something. She’s so worried about me. She says it all the time. I try to tell her I’m fine."

  Samuel chewed. "Are you fine?"

  Maya sighed. "I don't know. Maybe not."

  He shook his head. "Yeah, me either. I keep expecting Asgar to walk up to our table and say something funny."

  Maya chuckled. "Me too. I really miss him."

  Christina came and sat with them. They got quiet. Maya couldn't help still feeling guilty for hanging out with Samuel, even though Asgar wasn't there anymore. It was silly, she knew that, but she couldn't help herself.

  "What are you two conspiring about?" Christina asked.

  That was when Susan's mother entered the cafeteria.

  Chapter 17

  "You must be Victor, welcome. My name is Hans-Peter, but you can call me HP. Most kids here do."

  The man in front of me had told me he was a doctor, but he didn't look like one. He wasn't wearing a white coat with pens stuck in the front pocket nor did he hold a clipboard or a notepad or wear glasses that he would place on the tip of his nose when you said something wrong.

  This guy was tall and fairly handsome. He was blond and had blue eyes and was wearing a knitted sweater and jeans. He looked mostly like a schoolteacher, which pleased me immensely. I didn't want Victor to feel like a patient.

  Victor didn't look up at him and didn't shake the hand he was holding out in front of him.

  "I'm sorry," I said. "Victor doesn't look at people when they talk to him nor does he like to be touched."

  The doctor removed his hand. "That's perfectly fine. He doesn’t have to. Hey, Victor, what do you say we go and take a look at the classroom?"

  We followed him inside. "Victor used to work with this therapist, Ole Knudsen, maybe you know him? He did some excellent work with him and got really far. Victor loved him, didn't you, buddy?"

  The doctor turned around and looked at us, then smiled. "That's good. Good."

  He opened the door to a classroom where four kids were sitting on a carpet, reading. It was nothing like what I had imagined. There were no kids screaming or pulling their hair out, no crazy eyes or pointing fingers. The other kids looked up. The teacher, a woman in her forties, short and slightly chubby, approached us, smiling from ear to ear, reaching out her hand.

  "I'm Victoria Kristensen. I'll be Victor's teacher. Hello there, Victor. You ready to learn? I bet you are. Come with me."

  My heart sank as this woman took my son away. He didn't seem hesitant though, nor did he seem frightened by this place. Maybe Sophia had been right, I thought to myself. Maybe it wasn't so bad after all?

  HP closed the door to the classroom and then turned toward me. He showed me into his office where we sat down on couches. It all seemed very cozy and nice.

  "Now, we don't like to refer to our kids as ill, sick, mentally ill or disturbed, or anything like that. The kids we have here are special. They have some very strong sides to them that we would like to nurture and then help them on the issues where they are not so strong. Like in Victor's case, we need to work on his social skills. He will be in a classroom with very few children because we believe that way it will be less overwhelming for him. He will learn to cooperate with these other children and hopefully communicate with them. Those are our goals. I see in his papers that he suffers from anxiety as well, which is very normal in children who are special like him. It is something we're very used to coping with, using breathing techniques and meditation."

  I was baffled, to say the least. My jaw would have dropped, had I been a cartoon character. I couldn't believe what this man was saying to me, how he was approaching this entire issue. It was all I had ever dreamt of for Victor. Finally, someone understood that my child wasn't sick; he didn’t need to take pills or be locked up because of who he was.

  "So, what do you say?" HP said and threw out his hands.

  "I…I have to say, I am surprised. I had prepared all kinds of strange things to say and ask and to be all defensive because I assumed you would accuse me of not having taken proper care of him and then I would have made a joke about Fishy Pines and something fishy around here, to break the tension, but I don't really need to, do I?"

  HP stared at me. He wasn't blinking. Then he laughed.

  "That was a good one, Fishy…something smells…yes, that would have broken the ice in case there was some, but I don't think we need it. About the name, it’s called Fishy Pines because it was founded back some hundred years ago by a fishing family whose son watched his best friend be taken by the ocean. They were out on his father's boat. The son never was himself again, and one day he hung himself in their backyard. The mother felt so guilty because she felt like she should have helped him more. So, she started this place. To help kids like him. She managed to gather enough money by getting the Dragstedt family to invest, and so this place was built. It’s an old building, you'll have to forgive that; it is in dire need of some renovation, but I’m sure Victor will be just fine here. Actually, I have a feeling he is going to do wonderfully. He looks like a great kid. Now, is there anything else you'd like for me to know about him? Otherwise, we'll take the problems as they come. I can't wait to get to know your special son, Miss Frost. I simply can't wait."

  Chapter 18

  "SUSAN!"

  Susan's mom strode across the cafeteria. All eyes were on her skinny body, each and every one of the spectators wondering if the woman was drunk as usual. She had to be, didn't she? To burst into the school like this and start yelling?

  It was common knowledge that Susan's mother, Charlotte Ludvigsen, had be
en drinking heavily ever since she lost her husband, who ran away with Trine Jensen from the Shell gas station by the harbor, the one with the curly blonde hair and very big breasts. If she was drinking before he left or if he left because she drank, most people didn't know. But they did know that Charlotte Ludvigsen soon lost her job as a nurse and had to go on welfare. She was mostly known to hang out behind Netto, Nordby's biggest downtown grocery store, along with the homeless and the other drunks. There, they could drink beers and smoke cigarettes all day long, while life passed them by.

  "Where are you, Susan?"

  Mrs. Ludvigsen's eyes searched the cafeteria till they fell on the social pariahs' table in the far corner, where a red-eyed Caspar was eating his lunch. He stopped chewing as their eyes met across the room.

  "You!" Mrs. Ludvigsen yelled and walked towards him, pointing her finger at the boy.

  He looked confused. Every student in the lunchroom had stopped eating and was staring.

  "You!” she yelled and closed in on him. "Where is my daughter? Where is Susan?"

  Caspar shook his head. "I…I don't know."

  "Liar! You expect me to believe that? Tell me where she is. I need to talk to her."

  "I…I really don't know where she is."

  "Liar," she repeated. "Where is she? She hasn't been home all week."

  Caspar looked perplexed. Maya's eyes met Samuel's and she felt her heart drop.

  "I don't know. I swear," Caspar said. "I haven't seen her all week. I thought she was at home. She hasn’t answered any of my calls or texts. I thought she was angry with me. I’m the one who should be angry. She just left me there on the beach."

  "She what?" Mrs. Ludvigsen asked.

  "We were on the beach last week. I think it was Thursday? Maybe it was Wednesday? Monday. It was on a Monday…I think. I don't remember, but we were hanging out and having…fun and then she was suddenly gone. I heard her yell that she was going home or something. That she wasn't feeling so well." He shook his head. "I don't know. She was just gone."

  Mrs. Ludvigsen shifted on her feet. "You mean to tell me you don't know where she is? That she hasn't been with you all week? I thought she was hiding out with you at your place doing…whatever it is the two of you do together, which I have a feeling isn't homework."

  Caspar rubbed his forehead. He was sweating, and it wasn't even warm in the cafeteria. Maya felt Samuel's hand in hers, he was squeezing it tightly.

  Chapter 19

  With Victor gone all day, I suddenly had time to get some writing done. I was so happy to have him out of the house and, on top of, it in a place where I believed he would be understood, where they got him and who he was. Maybe they could even teach me something about him and how to better handle him. All I really wanted was for them to teach him how to take care of himself. I wanted him to be independent, to be able to live as ordinary a life as possible.

  I sat down at the computer and started to write. I felt inspired by the finding of Asgar's body and had started to write a little about it, not really knowing where it would take me. But today, I managed to write two more pages of what I hoped might become my next book and I felt really good about myself as the afternoon approached and I had to go bake the bread I knew Victor would crave—no, make that demand—once he got home. I wasn't even supposed to pick him up from the place (I still didn't know what to call it, institution didn't seem right, so I decided on school because that's what I called it when speaking to Victor.) No, they would bring him home as they did with all the other children who only came for the school.

  Just as I had put the bread in the oven, Sophia came over as usual for a cup of coffee before the kids came home from school. Alma was with her today and the girl ran into the living room and played with the Duplos while us big girls had a chat in the kitchen. I told her how excited I was about Fishy Pines, and the doctor, and the kids and she was very happy for me.

  "I have a really good feeling about this place," I said and grabbed the cookie jar and served it to her. She dug in and so did I, feeling like I deserved it after all that I had accomplished lately.

  "And I have started writing again," I said, crumbs dropping from my lips and landing on the counter.

  "Really? That's great news," Sophia said. "I’m happy for you. Looks like things are back on track then? Can we talk about the murder of Asgar Dragstedt, then?"

  I nodded. "Yes. Okay, so here's the deal. Latest news is that they say his entire body was drained of blood."

  "What?"

  "Yes, creepy, right?" I shivered, wondering why anyone would drain a body of blood. It had been the cause of death, the autopsy said. It hadn't reached the news yet, but Morten had told me.

  "Extremely creepy." Sophia looked at her cookie, then put it down like she suddenly felt sick.

  "But that's why the body looked so strange…like it had been in the ground for a very long time, but it hadn't. Just for a few days. Morten told me—even though he's not allowed to, so lips sealed—"

  Sophia signaled that hers were sealed and she threw away the key.

  "—that Asgar had a fight with his parents just before they were supposed to leave for the skiing trip and decided he wasn't going to go this year, even though it has been a tradition ever since he was a young boy. But this year, he didn't want to go, so they left without him."

  Sophia's eyes grew wide. "So, he was home alone when it happened?"

  "Yes. The parents didn't hear from him all week, but they assumed he was angry with them after their little dispute. So, that's why they didn't report him missing. They didn't know."

  Sophia bit down on a cookie. She looked speculative. "That's a little fishy if you ask me."

  "Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe they were afraid to appear weak, you know how rich folks like that are, plus the boy was seventeen. He was almost a grown man."

  "Still," Sophia said. "If it were Maya, you wouldn't just leave her. And even if you did, you would have been very worried when you called her and she didn't answer her phone. You would have done everything to find her, to talk to her, even if she was upset, wouldn't you?"

  I nodded. Sophia made a good a point. "I sure would. But not all parents are the same."

  Chapter 20

  Fishy Pines had a small minivan that they used to transport the children back to their homes. I waited outside as it drove up in front of my house, my heart in my throat. The tip of my nose was turning into a Popsicle and my fingertips were hurting from the cold. I spotted Victor as the doors hissed open. He walked down the steps, then right past me.

  "Have him ready at seven-forty tomorrow morning," the bus driver yelled at me before closing the doors and taking off.

  "Okay," I yelled back, then hurried after Victor, who was already in the hallway. "Hey! Wait up, buddy."

  I closed the door behind me and felt the warmth embrace me. Victor had thrown his backpack down and was already sitting in the kitchen, still wearing his winter suit.

  "You're not taking that off?" I asked.

  "It's time for afternoon tea," he said, looking down at his plate. "It's past three o'clock. Where is Maya? She should be here. She's always here when we have afternoon tea."

  I looked at the clock on the oven. Victor was right. Maya was running late.

  "Where is my bread?" Victor said.

  "Coming right up," I said and cut two pieces of my warm freshly baked bread, then put strawberry jam on both of them and placed them in front of him. He started to eat.

  "So, how was it?" I asked, excited yet slightly nervous.

  He didn't answer. He ate.

  "Come on, Victor. How was the new school?"

  He shrugged.

  "Did you like the teacher?"

  He nodded.

  "And the other kids, were they nice?"

  He nodded again.

  "What did you do?"

  Victor rose to his feet and headed for the door.

  "Hey," I said.

  He stopped, hand still on the door handle. He di
dn't turn around, just stood there like he was frozen.

  "Where are you going?"

  "To the backyard," he said. "To be with Skye."

  I smiled. He was really into this girl. Even if she was imaginary—like most of his friends were—it was the first time he had hung out with a girl. I wondered if it was part of the fact that he was growing older and would soon be hitting puberty. Was he practicing being around girls this way?

  I'd have to talk to HP about it. He had told me they would like to spend the first week evaluating Victor and letting him settle before they would call me in for a talk about setting goals for him and how to best approach him. I liked that they didn't rush into things. They took their time and that was good for Victor.

  "Can I go now?"

  I smiled. "Of course, sweetie. Go, have fun."

  Chapter 21

  I watched Victor in the yard for a little bit, while drinking my coffee and eating my bread, since Maya hadn't returned yet. I was getting slightly worried about her. Not something I would usually be, since she and her friends often would go downtown and have a bite to eat before coming home, but since finding Asgar in the dunes, I was a little uneasy at the thought of her running around on her own.

  I texted her while sitting on the couch in my living room, asking her where she was, trying to sound all cheerful and not at all like the worried mom I was in reality.

  She didn't text me back and now my heart was pounding. Could something have happened to her? I walked to the kitchen and looked outside into the street. It got dark early this time of year, and she knew she had to be home before then if she didn’t want me to completely freak out.

  I poured myself another cup of coffee, then decided I needed to calm down. I sat down with the local newspaper that was filled with the story of Asgar's death and how the police still had no new clues.