Eva and the Hidden Diary Page 8

  When Dad and Joey came back from their fishing trip that evening, Mum and I told them the whole story.

  Dad hugged me. ‘You clever girl,’ he said.

  ‘You’re amazing, Eva!’ said Joey.

  It didn’t seem right to argue with them.

  ‘What’s going to happen to Henry Eades now?’ I asked. ‘It’s looking like he’s the one who stole the chalice. Is he going to get into trouble for it?’

  ‘I don’t think so,’ said Mum. ‘It was so long ago, and most of the potential witnesses are probably dead. And since the chalice was never found, there’s unlikely to be any new evidence.’

  ‘And besides,’ said Dad. ‘Even if the chalice was found, and there was evidence pointing to Henry, he’d never be sent to jail for something that he did while he was suffering from a war-related trauma. Mental illness is better understood these days. The poor man would get help, not punishment.’

  ‘So it’s all good?’ I asked.

  They both smiled at me. ‘Yes,’ said Mum. ‘There’s probably a lot of paperwork to be done somewhere, but I figure that, before too long, Daisy’s dad will get a posthumous pardon.’

  ‘What’s “posthumous”?’ asked Joey. ‘Is it something to do with possums? We learned about them in school – they are totally cool animals.’

  ‘No,’ said Dad, trying not to laugh. ‘Posthumous means after death. I’m afraid a pardon won’t be much good to poor old Jean-Marc, but if Daisy’s still alive, I expect it will mean a lot to her.’

  Just then the door burst open and Kate rushed in. ‘Sorry for not knocking but something incredible has just happened,’ she said in a rush. ‘Zoe’s found Daisy! How totally amazing is that?’

  I followed Kate back to her place and Zoe told us the whole story.

  ‘It was really frustrating me,’ she said. ‘Everywhere I looked for Daisy Lavelle, I came up against a blank wall. I was beginning to fear that she was gone forever. And then I decided to track down some of the girls who were at school in Chicago with her. After a while, I found one who was able to help me. She told me that Daisy got married very young.’

  ‘And changed her surname – that’s why we couldn’t find her,’ added Kate. ‘Daisy Lavelle didn’t exist any more.’

  ‘I managed to access the Chicago marriage records,’ continued Zoe. ‘And this morning I isolated the right one. In 1953, Daisy Lavelle became Daisy Marcheson. Once I knew that, I was able to follow a trail.’

  ‘And where did the trail lead to?’ I asked.

  ‘All kinds of places,’ said Kate. ‘It’s like a very complicated treasure hunt.’

  ‘After her marriage, Daisy went to college,’ said Zoe.

  ‘And?’

  By now Kate was practically jumping up and down with excitement. ‘And she qualified as a children’s nurse in 1955,’ she said. ‘Isn’t that the totally coolest thing ever?’

  ‘So her dream came true in the end,’ I said. ‘That’s so brilliant.’

  ‘Daisy went on to have five children of her own,’ said Zoe. ‘Three girls and two boys. She and her family moved to California in the 1960s.’

  ‘Lucky her,’ sighed Kate’s Dad.

  Zoe rolled her eyes and went on. ‘They lived in Santa Barbara for many years.’

  ‘And is she still …?’

  I didn’t dare to finish my sentence, but Zoe knew what I meant.

  ‘As far as I know,’ she said. ‘I found a recent photograph of her. It was taken at a hospital function for retired nurses and was published in the local paper.’

  ‘When was this?’ I asked weakly.

  ‘Just a few weeks ago,’ said Zoe. ‘Look.’

  I followed her to the computer and watched as a photograph popped up on the screen. It was a woman, holding a huge bunch of flowers, and smiling a big happy smile. The little girl with the curls was gone, but there was no mistaking the huge, dark eyes.

  ‘OMG,’ I sighed. ‘It’s really you, Daisy. At last we’ve found you.’

  Kate’s dad made us a big jug of lemonade, and the four of us sat around the table talking for a long time.

  I was impatient.

  ‘Can we find Daisy’s phone number?’ I asked. ‘Can we ring her now? Does anyone know what time it is in California?’

  Zoe smiled. ‘Maybe we’d better move a bit more slowly,’ she said.

  I didn’t agree. ‘Daisy must be ancient by now,’ I protested, too impatient to do the maths. ‘While we’re faffing around here, she might die or something. If we delay, she might never know the truth about why her dad ended up in jail.’

  Kate’s dad looked at the photo, which was still on the computer screen. ‘She looks healthy enough to me,’ he said. ‘But you don’t want to frighten her.’

  ‘Or raise false hopes,’ said Zoe.

  ‘What do you mean by false hopes?’ asked Kate.

  ‘Well,’ said Zoe. ‘What Georgina told you about George’s statement sounds promising, but we really don’t know what’s going to happen next. Someone somewhere has to do a lot of paperwork before this whole thing is sorted out properly.’

  ‘So we sit here and do nothing?’ I asked. ‘I totally don’t like the sound of that.’

  Zoe laughed. ‘No,’ she said. ‘After all these years, I don’t think doing nothing is an option.’

  ‘So let’s give her a call,’ I said. ‘What are we waiting for?’

  ‘Are you always this impatient, Eva?’ asked Patrick.

  I wondered if he was cross with me. I thought back to when I’d first met him in London. It was after he’d run away from Seacove, and from Kate. I said some fairly bad things to him then. It worked, and he came back, but I still felt kind of guilty when I was around him.

  But then he laughed.

  ‘It’s OK,’ he said. ‘It doesn’t matter if you’re always like this. It seems to work wonders – and no one knows that as much as Kate and I do.’

  He and Kate hugged then, and it was totally soppy, but totally sweet too. I felt sad though. What was the point of Kate and her dad getting on so well, if he was going to pack up and head off to London again with Zoe and Simon? Wasn’t she going to just end up even sadder than before? And what kind of a result was that going to be?

  Zoe interrupted my thoughts. ‘How about I go to the police station in town tomorrow and make a few enquiries?’ she said. ‘Then, if it’s really looking like Jean-Marc is going to be pardoned, I think it’s best if we write to Daisy, and break the news to her gently. How does that sound?’

  ‘It sounds like it’s going to take ages and ages,’ I said, even though I kind of knew she was right.

  Daisy had waited more than sixty years for justice, surely a few more days weren’t going to hurt.

  Chapter Fifteen

  After that, things were kind of weird.

  Zoe sprang into action and showed us how efficient she could be. She made tons of phone calls and had meetings with the police inspector and lots of officials and some of the local councillors. Finally, a few days later, she came home with a huge smile on her face.

  ‘There are a few more formalities to tidy up,’ she said. ‘But basically, everything is sorted. Very soon, Jean-Marc is going to get the pardon he deserves.’

  When Kate and I had finished dancing around the room, we helped Zoe to compose a letter to Daisy in California. Then the three of us walked to the post office together, wheeling Simon in his buggy.

  ‘This is a very special moment, Simon,’ Kate kept saying. ‘This is where we change someone’s life.’

  Each time she said it, Simon made a loud raspberry sound with his lips and we all laughed.

  That night I had a sleepover in Kate’s place. When it got dark, her dad allowed us to lie in the garden for a while, looking at the stars. Kate lay there with a half-smile on her face. I thought back to all the times she and I had watched the same stars hanging in the same velvety blue sky.

  Kate was really, really happy about Daisy, but that hadn’t made her own p
roblems go away. Soon Zoe was going to have to make a big decision – and when she did, she might just break Kate’s heart.

  I didn’t want to spoil the moment, but I knew I had to ask.

  ‘What do you think Zoe’s going to decide about the job in London?’

  ‘I think it’s going to be OK,’ said Kate. ‘I don’t think she’s going to leave.’

  ‘That’s brilliant news!’ I said. ‘When did she tell you that?’

  ‘Well, she didn’t exactly tell me.’

  ‘So why …?’

  She turned to face me in the darkness. ‘You helped Daisy. Even after all those years, you managed to make things right again.’

  ‘It wasn’t just me,’ I said. ‘It was you and Zoe, and Georgina and Rose and the librarian and––’

  ‘It was mostly you,’ said Kate. ‘The rest of us were prepared to accept that Jean-Marc was guilty. If you hadn’t believed in him, none of this would have happened.’

  I was embarrassed and confused.

  ‘Thanks – but what’s this got to do with Zoe’s job in London anyway?’

  Kate smiled. ‘You can do anything, Eva. You saved Jeremy. You got Dad to move back here. You helped Daisy. You did all those things, so I know you can find a way to make Zoe stay. I just know it.’

  I didn’t say anything.

  How could I explain?

  Some things can’t be fixed.

  Sometimes, no matter what you do, there’s not going to be a happy-ever-after.

  But Kate had turned away again and was gazing up at the stars. ‘Look, Eva,’ she said. ‘Do you remember what I taught you? There’s Lyra, and over there is the Plough, and there’s …’

  But I’d stopped listening.

  How could I look up at the stars when there was a big problem right here on earth?

  Next day, Kate was still in a good mood. That made me kind of nervous, but I didn’t say anything. I didn’t want her to slip back into being the sulky girl I was half-afraid of.

  Mum made us a picnic and we set off for the beach. On the way, we met Cathy and Andrea. I braced myself for more insults – and I didn’t have to wait long.

  Cathy looked at our bag of food. ‘Hope you’ve got lots to share with your imaginary friends from the past,’ she said. ‘By the way, how is that girl, Daisy or Violet, or whatever she was called? Has she made up her mind if she’s a little girl or a wrinkly old hag?’

  I ignored her and kept on walking. Then, as always, Cathy began to pick on Kate.

  ‘That’s a cool top you’re wearing, Kate,’ she said. ‘I remember when that was in fashion. Three years ago, I think, or was it four?’

  Then she and Andrea collapsed into fake loud laughing, while I pushed past them and kept walking towards the beach.

  ‘I can’t believe Lily used to be friends with Cathy,’ I muttered. ‘How could she?’

  Kate shrugged. ‘Lily got sense in the end, and that’s the important thing. You shouldn’t let Cathy get to you, Eva. I don’t.’

  But I knew she was only half telling the truth. Every time Cathy said something nasty to her, I could see Kate’s shoulders hunch a little bit, and I knew she was just trying not to care.

  ‘She says such horrible things about you,’ I said. ‘I wish there was a way we could teach her a lesson.’

  ‘Calm down,’ said Kate. ‘She’s not worth it. Now I’m starving. What did your mum put in those sandwiches?’

  We were just finishing our picnic when Joey and a few of his friends came and found us. ‘You need to come home, Eva and Kate,’ he said. ‘There’s people there and they want to talk to you.’

  ‘Daisy?’ asked Kate, looking at me.

  ‘Couldn’t be,’ I said. ‘The letter will barely have left the post office by now. Daisy doesn’t know anything yet.’

  ‘So who could it be?’ asked Kate.

  Joey shrugged and pulled at my arm. ‘I don’t know, do I? It’s just a man and a woman. All I know is, Eva’s mum said you’re to come home – right this very minute – and don’t delay – the lads and I have an important soccer game to play.’

  Kate and I gathered up our things and followed the boys back to my place.

  I peeped through the kitchen window and saw a man and a woman sitting inside. I knew I’d seen them before, but I couldn’t remember where.

  ‘It’s the reporters from the local newspaper,’ said Kate. ‘They’re the ones who wrote the story about you saving Jeremy.’

  The man smiled at us when we walked in.

  ‘Just in case you’ve forgotten, I’m Terry and this is Karina. Your mother has said we can talk to you about Daisy Lavelle and her family.’

  ‘Oh,’ I said, embarrassed. ‘It’s no big deal. Kate and I were just trying to help.’

  ‘Sounds like a bit more than that,’ said Terry. ‘We hear that you’ve uncovered a very interesting story, and we’d like to write about it for the weekend paper.’

  So Kate and I sat down and took turns to tell the reporters the whole story.

  ‘You two are turning into right little celebrities,’ said Mum, when we were finished. ‘Soon we’ll have to stand in line for your autographs. I hope you don’t end up getting big-headed.’

  ‘These girls are far too nice for that,’ said Terry, and I made a face at Mum, who made a totally weird and embarrassing one back at me.

  Then, just when the reporters were about to leave, they turned around and came back into the kitchen.

  ‘Do you two girls happen to be free tomorrow afternoon?’ asked Karina.

  ‘Why?’ asked Kate.

  ‘We’re looking for two girls to do some modelling as part of a summer campaign the newspaper is running,’ she said. ‘There’s going to be a centre-page spread and we’re also sponsoring posters that are going to be displayed locally. Would you be interested in taking part?’

  ‘Tell us more,’ I said, already picturing myself in some totally cool beach-wear.

  So Karina told us everything that was involved – and the more she told us, the happier I got. This was almost too good to be true.

  ‘It’s an excellent cause,’ Karina said in the end. ‘And you’d be doing us a great favour if you’d agree to be part of it. The photographer and the outfits are all set up, but the original models dropped out at the last minute. If we can’t find replacements, it’s going to be very inconvenient for us.’

  ‘That sounds like great fun, Eva,’ said Kate. ‘Let’s do it.’

  She looked surprised when I shook my head.

  ‘But why not?’ she said. ‘It’s not like we have any other plans for tomorrow.’

  ‘I agree,’ I said. ‘It does sound like good fun. But the two of us shouldn’t be greedy. We shouldn’t hog all the attention around here.’

  Now Kate was looking at me like I was crazy, but I ignored her.

  I turned to Karina. ‘Thanks for the offer,’ I said. ‘But Kate and I have to say no.’

  Kate’s face was red and angry. ‘Hang on a sec,’ she said. ‘I think––’ but I cut across her, and spoke to Terry and Karina.

  ‘I think our friends Cathy and Andrea would like to take part in your modelling assignment,’ I said. ‘They’re really good at that kind of thing. Will we get them to call to your office tomorrow afternoon?’

  At last Kate understood what was going on. ‘Cathy and Andrea would be just perfect for the job,’ she said. ‘Much better than Eva and me.’

  ‘We’ll trust you on that,’ said Karina, who clearly had no idea what was happening. ‘Tell your friends to be at my office by three, and we can start right away.’

  ‘You’re totally wicked, Eva,’ said Kate as soon as the reporters were gone.

  ‘I know,’ I grinned. ‘Isn’t it great?’

  Chapter Sixteen

  It wasn’t hard to find Cathy and Andrea who were sitting in their usual spot, fixing their hair and arranging their many jangly bracelets on their perfectly tanned arms.

  Cathy looked at Kate’s brightl
y-coloured top, and made a big show of putting her hands over her eyes. ‘Oh, where are my sunglasses?’ she said. ‘Those colours are hurting my eyes.’

  Even though I’d been practising insults in my room at night, as usual I couldn’t think of any when I really needed one. For once, though, I didn’t care.

  Kate and I sat on the wall near the two girls and we launched into the conversation we’d rehearsed.

  ‘I am soooo disappointed,’ I said loudly. ‘I always dreamed of being a model, and I thought this was going to be my big opportunity.’

  ‘Never mind,’ said Kate, just as loudly. ‘It’s not our fault. I guess they were looking for especially pretty girls for the photo shoot.’

  When they heard the words ‘photo shoot’ Cathy and Andrea stopped pretending not to listen. They leaned closer to us, with their mouths open, like they were terrified of missing a single word.

  ‘But having our picture on posters all over the place,’ I wailed. ‘That would have been so totally cool. I wonder what lucky girls they are going to choose as models instead of us?’

  Now Cathy was practically licking her sparkly, pink-glossed lips. She did a little wriggly shimmy thing until she was sitting right next to us on the wall.

  ‘I couldn’t help overhearing your little conversation,’ she said, in a sweet voice. ‘Who exactly is looking for models?’

  I stared at her. ‘Why should we tell you?’

  She smiled a sickly smile, showing her perfect white teeth. ‘Because I’m your friend, of course,’ she said.

  I thought of saying that if I had friends like Cathy, I would definitely never need enemies, but I bit my tongue. I couldn’t risk spoiling the plan.

  ‘Go on, Eva,’ said Kate encouragingly. ‘We’re out of contention anyway, so we’ve got nothing to lose. You might as well tell them.’

  So I smiled an equally sick smile back at Cathy, and began to talk.

  ‘It’s the local newspaper,’ I said. ‘They need two models. They’re sponsoring a story in the paper and a charity poster campaign.’