Finders Keepers

CHAPTER SIX

EVERYONE’S EYES WERE CLOSED — except Amanda’s. She didn’t want to miss a thing.

Ken had obeyed the medium’s instructions, which was fortunate for Amanda, because he wouldn’t be able to see how she was staring at him. He really was so good-looking. And even though he didn’t play soccer any more, he still looked like an athlete. She’d been after him for ages, and now they could be on the verge of a real relationship! A happy little thrill rushed through her. Even the prospect of a hospital stay and an operation didn’t upset her as much now.

The medium spoke.

‘We have come together to seek advice from those who have left us behind,’ she intoned.

Amanda envisioned herself sitting up in bed wearing her new lacy pale blue nightgown, her hair pulled back with a matching headband, smiling as Ken walked into her room. Bearing armfuls of flowers, of course. Maybe a box of chocolates. She didn’t mind giving up her tonsils at all if it meant getting a relationship with Ken started.

As for this seance thing, she wasn’t sure what she thought about it. The medium looked spooky, but she spoke nicely to everyone. That Dahlia woman, with her crazy clothes and make-up, was seriously goofy. Margaret. she was just plain sad. And not just because her mother had recently died. She looked terrible, in a bulky grey jumper that was too big for her. It hung over a long, wrinkled, faded black skirt. You couldn’t even tell what kind of figure she had. And that hair — had the woman ever been to a salon? OK, maybe not lately, because she was mourning her mother. but that hair looked like it had never been touched by professional hands. And those glasses she wore were absolutely gross. Nobody wore tortoiseshell frames any more.

The medium was still talking. ‘We know there is a world beyond our own, a world of mystical mystery and energy which we can never understand. And in this spirit world, there is great wisdom.’

Amanda tuned out again. What about that kid, Stevie? She had serious doubts about him. He might look young and innocent, but that story of his was just too crazy to be true.

Cassandra continued, in a soft monotone. ‘We seek you, oh spirits who dwell beyond our comprehension. We bid you come closer to accept our pleas.’

Yeah, whatever, Amanda thought. She was still more interested in scoping out Stevie. What was his deal? Why would he make up a story like that? She couldn’t think of a reason. Unless, maybe, he was hoping someone somewhere had lost a winning lottery ticket, and some dead person would tell Cassandra where it was. It seemed like a far-fetched scheme though.

Cassandra’s voice rose. ‘I am being contacted! A spirit from the world beyond wishes to connect with one of our group.’

Dahlia let out a little squeal. ‘Is he on a horse?’

‘No. and it’s not a “he”, it’s a female spirit.’

Amanda caught the flash of disappointment on Stevie’s face.

‘Maybe it’s my former mother-in-law,’ Dahlia mused. ‘Is she wearing a hoop skirt? It was during the Civil War. I was a Yankee from up north married to a southern boy, and his mother just hated me. It would be just like her to start haunting me now.’

‘No,’ the medium said, and her voice was a little sharper this time. ‘It’s not your mother-in-law. Please, I must have quiet. We could frighten her away. She will not come closer and identify herself unless we remain silent.’

Silence reigned at the table. Amanda wondered if Cassandra was really making contact with a dead person. She wished she knew what Ken was thinking. She’d have to wait till they left before she found out if he believed the medium was for real or not.

‘She is coming closer!’ the medium exclaimed softly. ‘She is speaking to me. ’ She gasped. ‘It’s your mother, Margaret.’

‘Mama?’ the woman murmured.

‘Yes, yes, she is here, Margaret. What would you like to tell her?’

‘I miss you, Mama. Oh, why did you leave me?’

Amanda could hear the pain in her voice. She couldn’t imagine how she’d feel if her own mother died.

Cassandra spoke. ‘She says it was not her choice to leave you, Margaret.’

‘You were the only person I could trust, the only person I loved.’ Now Margaret was weeping. ‘I can’t bear this! I want to be with you.’

Amanda drew in her breath. This was so hard to hear. The poor woman — she was so sad!

‘Your mother says, don’t think like that. You mustn’t die — this is not your time. You must live, and keep her memory alive.’

‘But I’m all alone,’ Margaret wept. ‘You were the only person who cared about me, the only one who loved me. I ’m so lonely now. ’

There was a lump in Amanda’s throat, and for a moment she thought she was going to burst into tears herself. And she wasn’t even thinking about how badly dressed Margaret was. This woman had absolutely nothing going for her. She was suffering, she was utterly despondent. Her words, her tears — they’d brought a cloud of sadness into the room and it was descending on Amanda. Wait — she recognized this feeling. She’d had it before.

Ohmigod, Ohmigod, oh no, oh no, this can’t be happening, not here, not now. She closed her eyes and concentrated fiercely. I don’t care about Margaret, she means nothing to me, I feel nothing for her.

But it was no use. She could feel it happening. And when she opened her eyes, she could feel a fringe tickling her forehead and she was looking through thick tortoiseshell frames. She was looking through someone else’s eyes. Margaret’s eyes.

Nobody else had noticed. Their eyes were still closed, but it wouldn’t have mattered if they’d been watching her. This had happened before and no one had been aware, except her.

Actually, there was one other person whose eyes were open. The person who looked like Amanda. Who wasn’t even really a person, just some sort of automatic fake-Amanda, programmed to act like her. Flesh and blood, but more like a robot than a human being.

‘Your mother has to go now, Margaret,’ the medium said. ‘But she’ll come back another time to talk to you again. Do you have anything to say before she leaves?’

There was a silence. It took Amanda a few seconds before she realized she had to respond for Margaret.

‘Uh. bye.’

‘She is gone,’ Cassandra said.‘And I’m afraid there are no other spirits waiting to speak with us tonight. But do not despair. This is just the beginning. The spirits have been called, and they will respond. We will meet again on Monday evening.’

Amanda-Margaret rose quickly. She had to let Ken know what had happened to her. But that woman Dahlia clamped a hand on her arm.

‘You poor dear, I feel so sorry for you. Why don’t we go out and have a nice cocktail together?’

‘Sorry, no — I can’t,’Amanda said, pulling free with some effort. She turned — and saw Ken with Other-Amanda, walking out the door. She took off after them, and ran out of the apartment. only to see the lift doors closing behind them. Frantically, she looked for the stairs. She flew down the four flights, but when she arrived at the hallway she was greeted by an open lift, with no one inside.

She went outside, with absolutely no idea where she was going. Her heart — Margaret’s heart — was pounding furiously, and she took deep breaths to keep her rising panic under control. She heard voices behind her and hurried around to the side of the apartment building, where no one would see her. She had to collect her thoughts, work out what she was going to do.

She found a bench and sat down. That was when she realized that Margaret’s handbag was still slung across her chest. She opened it and found a wallet. Inside the wallet there was a driver’s licence. In the dark the photo wasn’t clear, but she could make out a name — Margaret Robinson — and an address. There were keys in the bag too. So Margaret probably came here in a car. but there were more than a dozen cars parked on either side of this street. How would she know which one was Margaret’s?

And what did it matter even if she could identify Margaret’s car? Amanda didn’t know how to drive.

She explored the pockets in the wallet. Well, that was a relief — there had to be at least fifty dollars in it. She had an address, keys, and money for a taxi. So at least she could get home.

She walked down to the first major street and flagged down a taxi. Giving the driver the address she’d found, she leaned back in the seat and considered her situation. So, now she had become a depressed and badly dressed woman living a sad and lonely life. Why couldn’t she ever snatch the body of someone cool?

At least Margaret didn’t live in a dump. The taxi pulled up in front of a modern building in a decent part of town. Amanda paid the driver and got out. One of the keys unlocked the front door, and she found the name Robinson on one of the postboxes in the hall. Noting the apartment number, she took the lift up to the third floor.

In the seance, Margaret had talked about being so alone. That meant she probably didn’t have flatmates. That was good — Amanda wouldn’t have to start communicating like Margaret straight away. Another key opened the apartment door. Feeling along the wall, she located a light switch and pushed it.

She was pleasantly surprised by what she saw. She’d imagined Margaret living in a place that looked as depressing as she did. But this apartment was very nice. It wasn’t a grand, fancy place, but it was modern, well-furnished, and even trendy. There were hanging plants, a colourful rug on the floor, pictures on the walls. A big framed poster from a rock concert hung over the sofa. Funny — Margaret hadn’t seemed like the kind of person who went to rock concerts. There was a framed photograph on an end table, showing five good-looking people in their twenties on what looked like a tropical beach. Friends of Margaret’s? But then why was she so lonely?

Amanda moved into what she thought would be a bedroom. She was right, and once again, it was a stylish room. There was a bright blue and white duvet on the big four-poster bed, big fluffy pillows, and a large white dressing table with a matching chest of drawers. A huge full-length mirror was on the wall, and there was a big walk-in wardrobe. That got Amanda’s full attention. She went inside, switched on the light and gasped. Margaret had clothes, and lots of them. On a wall were shelves covered with shoes. Checking things out, Amanda could see that the clothes and shoes weren’t the best brands. Most were from discount stores that sold cheaper versions of the hot new looks, but the things she found were a lot better looking than the awful baggy sweater and wrinkled skirt she had on now.

Why was Margaret wearing this? Just because she was in mourning for her mother? It seemed to Amanda that you didn’t have to dress like an old bag lady just to show you were sad about your mother’s death.

She wandered over to the mirror and examined herself. Taking off the glasses, she found her reflection disturbing. Not just because Margaret was so drab — it was something else. That pasty skin — it didn’t look natural. She rubbed Margaret’s cheek, and then looked at her hand. It was stained with white powdery stuff. Peering closer at her reflection, she saw a spot of normal-looking skin on the cheek.

Hurrying into the bathroom, she took a washcloth and scrubbed her face. More powder came off, and more real skin was visible. It wasn’t just ordinary skin either. Margaret had a nice golden tan! Why had she covered it? Maybe she thought it would look wrong to have a tan so soon after her mother’s death.

It wasn’t just puzzlement that made Amanda scratch her head. It had been itching for a while now, and after scratching harder, she realized why. Margaret was wearing a wig.

This was getting weirder and weirder. When Amanda lifted the wig off, Margaret’s own hair turned out to be a much nicer shade of light brown with some blonde streaks — the kind that must have been put in by a good hairdresser. The hair had been flattened down by the wig, but once Amanda poked at it with a comb for a while, she could see that Margaret had a cute laye red bob. And when she took off the baggy skirt and sweater, she discovered that Margaret had a good figure too.

Rummaging in Margaret’s chest of drawers, she found skinny jeans and a tight-fitting top. A box on top of the dressing table contained lots of makeup, all good brands. She applied eyeliner, mascara, a little blusher and a rose-pink lipstick. Then she stepped back from the mirror and examined herself again.

Margaret was cute! If she’d looked like this at the seance Amanda would never have felt so sorry for her, not even with her sad story. Well, OK, she might have felt a little sorry for her because her mother had died, but not so much that she’d do a body-snatch.

She went back into the living room and looked at the photo on the end table again. Now she recognized Margaret as one of the attractive young people on the beach. That was probably where she’d got her tan. She took the wallet out of Margaret’s bag and examined the driver’s licence again. She could see the photo clearly now, and Margaret looked pretty much like Amanda had just made her look. So Amanda hadn’t given her a makeover — this was how Margaret normally dressed. Exploring further, she found a couple of credit cards in the wallet too.

It dawned on her that it might not be so awful being Margaret Robinson for a little while. She wouldn’t mind living in this apartment. And she was twenty-five years old! She could go to clubs and hang out in places that would never let a fourteen-year-old in.

And there was something else — if she remained in this body up to Monday, robot-Amanda would have the operation in her place! Yes, there was a lot about this situation that could work to her advantage.

A phone rang. It sounded like a mobile, so she dived back into Margaret’s handbag.

‘Hello?’

‘Hi, Margie, it’s me.’ The voice was a woman’s.

Amanda tried to sound casual. ‘Oh, hi. How are you?’

‘Fine. Well, burning up, actually. It’s ninety-nine degrees here, and our air conditioner’s broken.’

Amanda didn’t know what the temperature was outside, but she was very sure it wasn’t anywhere near ninety-nine degrees. It had been cool when she left the seance.

‘Where are you?’ she asked.

The woman sounded amused. ‘Where do you think I am? Miami, of course. You’ll be coming down to visit next month, won’t you?’

‘Um, I guess. I’ll try.’

‘You must come,’ the woman said. ‘It’s been too long. We’ll send you money for a flight. Daddy and I want to see you. Wait, he wants to say hello.’

A man spoke. ‘Margie, listen to your mother. We’ll expect you in December.’

‘OK. I have to go now. Bye.’

‘Here, say goodbye to your mother.’

‘Bye, Margie!’ the woman chirped.

Amanda swallowed. ‘Bye. Mom.’

They were disconnected. Amanda just stood there for a minute, still holding the phone. Daddy. Mom.

What was going on here?