Speak No Evil

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

THE SECRETARY TOLD KEN and Amanda that Dr Paley was expecting them. Sure enough, when they entered the inner office, the plump, balding man in the white coat was standing by his desk and smiling.

‘Come in, Amanda. And you must be Ken. Have a seat.’

Amanda surveyed the room, and what she saw was reassuring. It looked like any doctor’s surgery, with an examining table, a cabinet holding medical equipment, a tall weighing scale and an eye chart on the wall. It was all spotlessly clean, even the floor, so she felt OK about dropping her handbag there when she sat down.

‘So, are you kids cutting class?’ the doctor asked jovially.

‘We have excuses,’ Amanda assured him. She didn’t want him thinking she and Ken were the kind of people who were residents of Harmony House. ‘I told the school secretary we had doctors’ appointments.’

‘Which is absolutely true,’ Dr Paley said. He indicated a framed diploma on the wall behind his desk. ‘I am a doctor.’

Amanda had no doubts about that. If Madame trusted this man, he had to be what he said he was. Madame was no fool.

‘Now, tell me what I can do for you.’

Amanda looked at Ken.

‘You go first,’ Ken said.

She faced the doctor. ‘When I saw you yesterday, you said you might be able to help us. And, and we need help.

‘Help with what?’ Dr Paley asked.

Amanda glanced at Ken again. Ken nodded, clearly encouraging her to go on.

‘Help us to get rid of these gifts.’

‘Ah.’ The doctor opened a folder and turned some pages. ‘Now, let me see. Amanda, you’re suffering from Psycho-Transitional Corporeality — you’re a “body-snatcher”, is that correct?’

Amanda grimaced. ‘That makes me sound like a criminal.’

Dr Paley smiled. ‘It’s just the term that’s used for what you’re capable of doing. You can inhabit the consciousness of others.’

‘It started when I was a little kid. I saw a woman begging on a street, and I felt sorry for her. And then, suddenly, I was her.’

‘You didn’t try to become her?’

‘No! Who wants to be some poor, dirty beggar? It just happened, I couldn’t do anything about it. I was looking through her eyes. I could even see myself, staring at her. Me. Whatever.’

Dr Paley regarded her thoughtfully. ‘You were in two places at once?’

‘Not exactly,’ Amanda told him. ‘It wasn’t like I could feel myself being me. But the girl. . She acted like me, she talked like me. She wasn’t like, dead, or a zombie. Every time this happens to me, when I can see myself, I’m acting like me. Does that make sense?’ She looked at Ken for support.

‘It’s sort of like she has a clone,’ Ken offered. ‘Or she’s a robot that’s been programmed to be her.’

‘I see,’ Dr Paley said, making some notes. And you say this has happened other times?’

Amanda nodded. She described the time she became Tracey, back when Tracey was a major nerd and loser. She told him about the young woman she’d met at a seance, who was depressed because her mother had died. She didn’t mention the time she’d become Ken. They never talked about that — it was just too creepy.

‘And this happens because you feel sorry for the people. Can you stop it from happening?’

‘Sometimes,’ Amanda said. ‘If I try really hard, I can think of them as pathetic instead of pitiful.’

Dr Paley understood. ‘You treat them with scorn instead of pity.’

‘I guess. Sort of. Just so I don’t, you know, body-snatch.’

Ken jumped in. ‘That’s how she got her reputation. Some kids call her the Queen of Mean.’

Amanda was taken aback. ‘Where did you hear that?’ she asked him.

‘Nina told me.’

Amanda gritted her teeth. That figured.

‘Does this ever happen if you want to be someone else?’ Dr Paley asked.

‘No, I like being me. Why would I want to be someone pitiful?’ And then she realized she had an opportunity to salvage her reputation for Ken’s sake. ‘Actually, I did do it on purpose yesterday. To save someone.’

‘What happened?’ Ken and the doctor asked simultaneously.

Amanda preened. It was cool, having all this attention and a story to tell that would make her look a really nice person.

She told the story of the hitchhiker. Ken was totally blown away.

‘Wow! You might have saved that girl’s life!’

Amanda smiled modestly. ‘Yes, that’s what Jenna said.’

But Dr Paley didn’t look very impressed. ‘And you might have found yourself being abducted in the hitchhiker’s place.’

Amanda stopped smiling. ‘I didn’t think of that,’ she admitted.

‘Your gift has dangerous implications,’ Dr Paley noted. ‘Ken, what about your gift? How do you feel about it?’

‘It’s mainly annoying,’ Ken said. He explained to the doctor how it all began, when he collided with his best friend Jack on the playing field. ‘It wasn’t so bad when it was just Jack contacting me. But then I started hearing from all these other dead people. Some of them just wanted to talk, but a lot of them asked me to do favours for them.’

‘And did you do these favours?’

‘Once in a while,’ Ken said. ‘Like, I’ve been watching a soap opera so I can tell this old lady what’s happening on it. But sometimes, people want me to get involved in their lives. This one guy, he wanted me to contact his granddaughter and tell her that her boyfriend was no good. I said no.’ He paused. ‘I kind of felt bad about it though.’

‘So your gift doesn’t bring you any pleasure,’ Dr Paley commented.

Ken shook his head. Amanda noticed he didn’t mention the time he was able to save a young boy’s impoverished family by talking to the boy’s late father and finding out where the man had left a winning lottery ticket. She couldn’t blame him for not telling the doctor. One decent experience didn’t make up for a zillion obnoxious ones.

‘Your gift could be dangerous too,’ Dr Paley told Ken.

‘How?’ Ken asked.

‘You might feel very sympathetic to someone’s plight, and get involved in something that could harm you.’

Ken considered this. ‘Yeah, I guess that could happen.’

Dr Paley gazed at them both seriously. ‘I can see that your gifts cause both of you a lot of problems. And I agree, your lives would be easier without them.’

‘Is it possible?’ Amanda asked. ‘Is there any way we can get rid of our gifts?’

‘It’s. . possible,’ Dr Paley said slowly. ‘There’s research going on now, and there are indications that a type of brain surgery could erase this kind of ability.’

Amanda made a face. ‘Brain surgery? That sounds pretty scary.’

‘Actually, it’s not as dramatic as it sounds,’ the doctor told her. ‘It’s a totally non-invasive procedure.’

‘What does that mean?’ Ken asked.

‘Special scans identify the brain element that’s responsible for the gift. The area is treated with a laser beam, no cuts or incisions are made. The patient wouldn’t even need an anaesthetic.’

Amanda still didn’t feel comfortable with the idea. ‘Would they have to shave your head?’

Dr Paley smiled. ‘No, that wouldn’t be necessary.’

‘Does it cost a lot?’ Ken wanted to know.

‘Actually, it’s all experimental at this point. The patients who have received the treatments were all volunteers, part of a research study. So there was no charge.’ After a moment, he added, ‘I’m a member of this research team.’

Amanda drew in her breath. ‘So does that mean you could do this laser thing to us?’

‘I would have to consult with the other members of the team, of course. But, yes, it is possible that the procedure could take place right here in this office.’

Amanda didn’t know what to say. Ken was speechless too.

‘Now, as I said, this is all experimental,’ Dr Paley went on. ‘There are no guarantees. But no one has been injured by the procedure yet.’

The word ‘yet’ hung in the air. Amanda tried to ignore it.

‘How come Madame never told us about this?’ Ken wanted to know.

‘Madame doesn’t know about it,’ the doctor said. ‘Very few people do. Let me ask you something. Do you tell many people about your gift?’

‘No, of course not,’ Ken said. ‘No one would believe it.’

‘And if they did,’ Amanda added, ‘they’d think we were weird.’

‘Exactly,’ Dr Paley said. ‘Most people don’t believe that these abilities exist. And most people aren’t intellectually or emotionally capable of dealing with such knowledge. Therefore, procedures to correct the problem have also been kept highly confidential. And that’s why you must not tell anyone about this procedure.’

‘Not even Madame?’ Ken asked.

Amanda answered before Dr Paley could. ‘Especially not Madame. She’d try to talk us out of it. Remember, she told us we’ve been blessed.’

‘Madame is a very fine person,’ Dr Paley said, ‘but she is not gifted. No matter how much she cares for you all, she can’t really understand you.’

Amanda thought of another reason. ‘And don’t forget, if there weren’t any so-called gifted students to teach, she wouldn’t have a job.’

‘Are there other students in your class who’d be interested in losing their gifts?’ Dr Paley asked.

Ken and Amanda looked at each other. ‘Sarah,’ they said in unison.

Dr Paley looked at his notes and frowned. ‘Sarah. . I don’t think Madame has mentioned her.’

‘She’s got the most powerful gift of all,’ Ken told him. ‘She can make anyone do anything.’

‘But she never does,’ Amanda said. ‘Well, maybe once or twice. She stopped a man from getting his hands on a gun. But I’ve never seen her do anything really big.’

‘Interesting,’ Dr Paley murmured. He made a note. ‘Well, I give you permission to tell Sarah about the procedure. And if she’s interested, you can bring her along on Friday.’

‘Friday,’ Ken repeated. ‘You mean — tomorrow?’

Dr Paley nodded. ‘I’m going to talk to my colleagues today, and if all goes well, we should be able to perform the procedure tomorrow. Leave me your mobile numbers and I’ll send you text messages later.’

Amanda was stunned. She had no idea everything could happen this fast. ‘Don’t we need to get our parents’ permission?’

‘Do your parents know about your gifts?’ Dr Paley asked.

Amanda and Ken both shook their heads.

‘Do you want to tell them about your gifts?’

They looked at each other, and then both of them shook their heads again.

‘Well, then. .’

They gave the doctor their phone numbers, Amanda picked up her bag, and they left the office. Walking back through the building, she still felt like she was in a state of shock. Ken finally broke the silence.

‘Wow.’

And Amanda responded: ‘Yeah.’

They entered the reception area, but before they could reach the door, a voice called out. ‘Well, hello again!’

Amanda turned. That good-looking police officer from the day before, Jack Something, approached her with a smile. Somehow, even though she was feeling dazed, she managed to smile back.

‘Hello. This is my friend, Ken.’

‘Hi, Ken, I’m Jack Fisher. What are you guys doing here?’

Amanda thought rapidly. ‘Um, I thought maybe I could try again. You know, to see Carter. We have to get back to school now.’ She tugged at Ken’s arm.

‘You’re at Meadowbrook Middle, right? I’m going in that direction, I’ll give you a lift.’

They walked outside together. ‘Hey, this is cool,’ Ken said. ‘I hope people see us getting out of a police car at school.’

Jack started the car. ‘Your friends will think you guys are the new Bonnie and Clyde.’

‘Who?’ Amanda asked.

‘They were a couple of bank robbers in the 1930s,’ Jack told her.

‘Oh. I wasn’t born then.’

Jack laughed. ‘Neither was I.’ Just then, there was a loud buzzing sound, and a voice came out over the car radio.

‘All cars in the vicinity of Dover and Crane, proceed to incident in the 500 block. I repeat. .’

Immediately, Jack made a U-turn and took off at high speed. The intersection of Dover and Crane was less than a minute away. When they reached the scene, just outside a tall office building, they saw an ambulance. Another cop came over to the car, and Jack rolled down the window.

‘What’s going on?’ he asked.

‘Suicide,’ the other cop said. ‘Guy who was just fired from his job jumped from the top of the building.’

‘Oh, that’s bad,’ Jack murmured.

‘Gets worse,’ the cop said. ‘He left a note. It says he left a bomb in the building and it’s set to go off in fifteen minutes. We’re trying to evacuate all the buildings on the street, but I don’t know if we can get everyone out on time. And we have no idea where in the building the bomb is located.’ His face was grim. ‘Fifteen storeys, Jack.’

Jack jumped out of the car and opened the back door. ‘Sorry, you two, I won’t be able to give you a lift. And I need you to leave the area immediately.’

Amanda didn’t need any encouragement. She climbed out of the back seat, and Ken followed her. More police cars were arriving, and they hurried to get out of the way.

‘Omigod, I can’t believe this,’ Amanda exclaimed. ‘There has to be hundreds of people in all those buildings. Maybe thousands! This is terrible!’

When Ken didn’t respond, she turned to look at him. He’d stopped running, and he was several metres behind her. ‘Ken! Hurry up!’

‘Wait,’ he said.

‘Are you crazy?’ she shrieked. ‘Wait for what? For the bomb to go off?’

Ken held up his hand, like he was telling her to stop talking. She knew the expression on his face. One of his dead correspondents had just checked in.

‘Ken, tell the soap opera lady you’ll call her back!’ she wailed.

‘OK,’ Ken whispered. But Amanda didn’t think he was speaking to her. Then he blinked.

‘Amanda, I have to find Jack. You go on without me.’

How many shocks could a girl take in one day? Amanda watched Ken move in the direction of the building. People were pouring out of it now and there was panic in the air. She knew she should get as far away as she could, as fast as she could. But she just stood there, watching Ken walk closer and closer to the danger. And then she ran after him.

When she caught up with him, he’d just spotted Jack. The police officer saw him, and he looked angry. ‘What are you kids doing? I told you to get out of here!’

‘I know where the bomb is,’ Ken said.

Jack stared at him. ‘What?’

‘I know where the bomb is. It’s in the men’s toilets on the tenth floor.’

Jack’s eyes narrowed. ‘How could you possibly know this?’

‘I can’t — I can’t explain it now. There’s still time — you can find the bomb and dismantle it. It’s a simple timing device, you just have to switch it off.’

Jack frowned. ‘Look, if you’re playing some kind of game—’

‘I’m not, I’m telling the truth, you gotta believe me!’ Ken pleaded.

Jack grabbed the arm of another cop passing by. ‘Put these two in a car,’ he ordered. And he took off.

The cop grabbed Ken’s arm with one hand and Amanda’s arm with the other.

‘Hey, that hurts!’ Amanda cried in outrage.

The cop ignored her. He opened the back door of a police car and pushed them both in. Then he slammed the door. Amanda had seen enough police shows on TV to know they wouldn’t be able to get out on their own.

She was pretty sure she knew what had just happened. She turned to Ken. ‘Did the suicide guy contact you?’

He nodded. ‘He was really upset about losing his job, but it wasn’t just that. He was having a rough time in lots of ways. And he was angry at all his co-workers for something, I don’t know what. So he planted the bomb and then he jumped out of the window. But now he feels bad about it. He doesn’t really want to hurt anyone.’

Ken sank back in his seat and started rubbing his forehead. Instinctively, Amanda reached out and took his other hand. Maybe she was being pushy, but for once she didn’t care. This felt like the right thing to do.

They sat there together in silence. From the window, Amanda could see a couple of guys in what looked like spacesuits go into the building. She didn’t know how much more time passed — it felt like an eternity, but when she looked at her watch, she realized it had only been twenty minutes since they left Dr Paley’s office.

Suddenly, the back door of their car opened. A very weary-looking Jack Fisher stood there. ‘OK, you can get out.’

‘Did you find the bomb?’ Ken asked.

‘Yes. It’s been dismantled.’

Ken let out his breath. ‘OK.’

Jack’s eyes bore into him. ‘What I need to find out now is how you knew where the bomb was.’

Ken scratched the side of his head. ‘It’s — it’s kind of hard to explain.’

‘You’re coming to headquarters with me,’ Jack said flatly. ‘You can explain it to me there.’ He turned to Amanda. ‘You go back to school. I’ll have someone take you.’

‘Can’t I stay with Ken?’ she asked.

Ken shot her an appreciative look. ‘You go on,’ he said. ‘Tell Madame what happened.’

Jack beckoned to another cop and told him to take Amanda to Meadowbrook Middle School. She’d turned to go off with him when Ken called to her.

‘Amanda. . just tell Madame what happened here. You know what I mean.’

She did. She had no intention of telling Madame what they’d discussed with Dr Paley.