Chapter Fourteen

 

 

“It’s time to start calling in some debts.” Annie paced the lounge floor, thinking hard. November pressed against the windows, rain, strong wind, cold draughts that even in this rich warm house found their way in to chill the body, or was it Annie’s talk? Martin was, against all common sense, according to Annie, playing golf in the rain, and Adrienne had disappeared to her beauty parlour - keeping back the years, Annie sniffed contemptuously.

Tammy thought Martin was more likely to be propping up the golf club bar, but she said nothing.

“Where do we start?” Tammy didn’t question Annie’s decision, just wanted to know where to go from here.

“With Phil of course. It’s time we started turning the screw just a little. Aunt Phyllis - how did he get to marry someone with the same sort of name? - will be wondering soon what he’s up to round here every other week. So, an anonymous letter might find its way through their letter box, all cut out letters from the paper, you know the sort of thing. And we’ll start on the Giblings too, we’ve been ignoring them. Go order a pizza to be sent to their house, a large one.” Annie directed, her eyes blazing. “Go on let’s start some aggravation there!” She paced again, getting angrier by the moment. Tammy could feel the heat swelling out from her, a huge cloud of red fire. It burned her mind, and she drew back.

“I never asked them to come back to Salldown, did I?” Annie went on, as if there had been no interruption. “They’ve probably not even given us a thought after all these years, eighteen long years! Handed us over, never a thought of what we might have, or be, or become! Did you know that Danny’s a year older than us, just one year. God didn’t waste time getting flat on her back again, did she?”

“What do you think she’s like, our real mother?” Tammy edged closer to the door, knowing at any moment Annie would flare up if she didn’t go order the pizza.

“Don’t know, can’t get a picture of her yet. But I will. Now go call them, make it a large pizza with anchovies - go!”

Tammy hurried out of the room to the kitchen. Annie smiled, and then pulled a pile of old papers toward her and began scissoring out the individual letters, arranging them on the table. She smiled, knowing there was nothing she liked as much as stirring up trouble.

While an anonymous letter proved nothing, it would put Phil on edge, might make Phyllis ask some searching questions might stir him up just a little. He’d become too complacent about the whole thing, coming round here, getting his rocks off beating my sister - no, things had to change.

She paused, scissors raised, as Tammy came back in the room.

“It’ll be there within the half hour.”

“Great. Listen, kiddo, we could go spy on the Giblings, they wouldn’t recognize us because we had such brilliant disguises at the Hallowe’en party, didn;t we?”

“Yes, but you’ve got to do your share of spying!” Tammy objected, looking out at the cold rain. She saw the car sweep into the drive too fast. “Mother;s back.”

“Oh is she?” Annie swept the letters and cuttings into a pile, shut them in a paper and ran for the stairs. I’ll finish this in private.”

In the safety of her room Annie swiftly cut out a mass of letters and began to arrange them on her chest of drawers. She had enough letters to make a note for Phyllis.

ASK PHIL WHAT HE DOES AT THE LAURELS ON FRIDAY NIGHTS and another for the Giblins.

ASK DANNY HOW HE FEELS ABOUT HIS TWIN SISTERS.

She smiled maliciously, thought a mouse into the centre of her room, and then a snake. That ought to do it, first the letters, and then casually strolling by, imagine something horrid in their houses. That would stir things up a little.

But before then - Annie went to her telephone extension and called Niall.

“Find a place for us all to meet Saturday afternoon. get Mark there, we’re having a session.” She put the phone down before he could argue, and smiled again, an evil sadistic smile - she went back to the chest of drawers, found a sheet of paper and began to glue them into place - the letters would finish it off.