Chapter 97

Blake turned to look at the woman.

She was standing in front of the ground unit closest to Penny’s house. He went in through the low gate and up to Sarah. The others followed. The thin woman was bent over, holding onto a walking frame.

“Ma’am, I’m Blake Brown. I was Frank Stone’s cousin. Francis’s mother was arrested this afternoon, and she agreed to give me custody of Francis. This lady is Zara James. She is an attorney and can verify my claim.”

Sarah looked at Blake and then at the four people with him. She chuckled ruefully as she stepped further into the porch light and pointed at Zeke.

“I told that silly cow that the boy would see who she truly was and see through her lies.”

“Sarah Thistle!” gasped Patricia before Zeke or Blake could respond. “I thought you were going back to Earth. I’d have come and visited if I knew you were still on Mars. You should have called me.”

“I was,” Sarah sighed. “But the Doc said no. Too much zero-gee mining in my youth. I have the bones of an eighty-year-old, and I’m only forty-six. I can set my house at seventy percent gees, and I do okay. I didn’t tell ya all, ‘cause of Frank building next door.”

“I don’t like Francis being here too often ‘cause it’s not good for a little girl. But her darn mother dumps her here. Penny, don’t even ask, no more. Poor kid. So, why isn’t Frank here to get Francis if Penny is in the clink? Did she kill him like I dreamed?”

Zara looked around and then said, “Ms Thistle, it might be better if we took this inside. What we have to tell you may be upsetting.”

Sarah chuckled, “It won’t matter much, but okay. Watch your step as you come in.”

Sarah led them into her house.

They were soon seated while Sarah bustled about making coffee.

“Where is Francis?” Blake asked.

“In her room upstairs. I made Frank install a special gravity unit in there for under her bed. It affects the air pressure in the house every time she opens the door, but we get by. So, what happened to Frank and Penny?”

By the time Sarah had coffee on the table and they had half-drunk it, she had the gist of the story. She wasn’t particularly surprised by any of it. She told them that she had tried to help Penny when she realised she was a kept woman.

It wasn’t until after she retired five years ago, that she released everything out of Penny’s mouth was a lie. Frank had begged her to keep Francis safe. He paid Sarah when he could. But it wasn’t easy hiding money from Patricia. After Patricia found out about Penny and had Mildred take over his finances, it became easier.

Sarah had started getting worried about Frank’s health after she had a series of strange dreams. The poisoned teeth now made sense as to why his teeth glowed silver, and he clutched his heart in the dream.

“Sarah, have you had other premonitions?” Zeke asked.

She chuckled, “All the time. But I never seem to get one that wins me money. I did have an odd dream about me waving around a little wand and cleaning Penny’s house the other night.”

Sarah jumped in surprise when Zeke’s satchel appeared.

As he reached into it, he said, “This is a novice Psychic’s bag; that’s why it’s yellow,” Zeke explained as he handed it to her.

He then pulled out an orange bag and handed it to Blake, and then a blue bag and gave it to Zara. Lastly, he pulled out a red bag and gave it to Wayne. He gave them all the spiel about what becoming a novice mage meant and had them recite the pledge.

They had put on their head chains and Pedz and were looking in the bags when a little girl’s voice asked, “Where’s mine?”

“Come here, Francis,” Zeke said and beckoned her to him. He placed his hand on her forehead.

A moment later, he smiled at her. “I’m sorry, honey, but you have to wait until you are fifteen. I can give you a single-gem novice’s bag then. You also have to be good and do everything your daddy says.”

“Okay,” she replied happily.

She then went to Blake and got him to pick her up and put her on his lap. She cuddled into him.

“Daddy, can Sarah come live with us now Zeke has fixed her up?”

They all looked at her in shock.

She smiled, “I may only be seven, but I’m not stupid. I listened to you talk. Some of the things Mummy said when she argued with herself now make sense. She wasn’t a good mummy, I prefer Sarah.”

Zeke looked thoughtful, “Actually, I need a new mine manager. It may take a month for your bones to fully recover, but a Psychic Mage with Earth as her second skill would make a great manager of a mine. Plus, you have all the other skills. Frank missed you when you had to take medical retirement.”

“Yeah, I miss my job, too. Forty was too young to retire, but I couldn’t hack the broken bones. Doing my hip was torture. Is there a place in the Mars Mineral Corp. dome I can live in?”

“This place eats up all my pension, and I prefer to live closer to work. I only moved here because I had to be closer to the doctors. It was a lot cheaper eight years ago.”

“No, Sarah. If you’re my new mummy, you have to live with Daddy and me.”