Anthony Horowitz

The Power of Five: Evil Star

  The lights were out in the sitting room but the glow of the television was enough to show the way. It also showed the mess that room had become. There were old newspapers scattered across the carpet, overflowing ashtrays, more dirty plates, old socks and underpants. Brian was sitting on a sofa that had looked ugly and second hand the moment tit had left the shop. There was a nasty stain on the nylon cover. Ignoring it, Gwenda sat down next to him.
  The smell, which had been throughout the house, was worse in here. Gwenda ignored that too.
  It seemed to her that everything had gone wrong since Matt had left. She didn't quite know why. It wasn't as if she had actually liked him. On the contrary, she had always known there was something weird about that boy. Hadn't he dreamt that his mother and father were going to die the night before the accident actually happened? She had only taken him in because Brian had persuaded her - and of course, he'd only wanted to get his hand on the money that Matt's parents had left their son. The trouble was, the money had gone all too quickly. And then Matt had gone too, taken by the police as a juvenile delinquent, and all she'd been left with was the blame.
  It wasn't her fault. She'd looked after him. She'd never forget the way the police looked at her, as if she was the one who had committed the crime. She wished now that Matt had never come into her life. Everything had gone wrong because of Matt.
  'And now, on ITV, its time once again to take you chance and spin...the Big Wheel!'
  Gwenda settled back as the Big Wheel theme tune began. Fifty-pound notes twisted and spun across the screen. The audience applauded. And there was Rex McKenna walking down the flashing staircase with a pretty girl holding onto each arm. He was dressed in bright, sequinned jacket, waving and smiling, happy as always to be back.
  'Good evening, everyone' he called out. Who knows who's going to win big-time tonight?' He paused and winked straight at the camera. ' Only the wheel knows!'
  The audience went wild as if they were hearing the words for the first. But of course Rex always began the show the same way. 'Only the wheel knows!' was his catch phrase, although Gwenda wasn't quite sure if it was true. The wheel was just a big piece of wood and plastic. How could it know anything?
  Rex came to a halt and applause died down. Gwenda was staring at he screen in a kind of trance. She had already forgotten her baked beans. Somewhere in he back of her mind, she wondered how it was that the television still worked when the electricity in the house had been turned off two weeks ago because she hadn't paid the bill. But the back of her mind was a very long way away and it didn't really matter. It was a blessing. How would she get through the nights without Big Wheel?
  'Welcome to another show where the spin of the wheel could mean a million pound in your pocket or a return ticket home with absolutely nothing!' Rex began. 'And what a busy week I've had. My wife woke me up at six o'clock yesterday morning to remind me to put the alarm on. The alarm went off at seven and it still hasn't come back!'
  The audience roared with laughter. Gwenda laughed too.
  'But we've got a great show for you tonight. And in a minute we're going to meet the three lucky contestants who are competing for tonight's big prize. But remember. If you want to get your hands on a million quid, what do you have to do?'
  'You have to spin to win!' the audience yelled.
  Brian said nothing. It was beginning to annoy Gwenda, the way he just sat there.
  But before we can get started, Rex went on; 'I want to have a quick word with a very special lady, a real favourite of mine...' He stepped closer to the camera and, as his face filled the screen, it seemed to Gwenda that he was looking directly at her.
  'Hello Gwenda,' he said.
  'Hello, Rex,' Gwenda whispered. It was difficult for her to believe that he was actually talking to her. It always was.
  'And how are you tonight, my love?'
  'I'm all right...' She bit her lips and folded her hands in her lap.
  'Well, listen, my darling. I wonder if you've given any more thought to what we talked about. Matt Freeman. That guttersnipe. That little creep. Have you decided what you're going to do about him?'
  Rex McKenna had started talking to Gwenda two months ago. At the beginning, it had puzzled Gwenda. How could he interrupt the show (Watched by ten million people) just to speak to her? Somehow he even managed to do it in the repeats, and that couldn't be possible because some of them had been recorded years ago. At first it had worried her. When she'd told Brian about it, he'd laughed in her face and said she was going mad. Well, Rex had soon put her straight about Brian. And now she didn't worry about it any more. It was bizarre but it was happening and the truth was, she was flattered. She adored Rex and it seemed he was equally fond of her.
  'Matt Freeman made a fool of you,' Rex went on. ' He came into your house and he ruined you relationship with Brian and then the boy got in trouble and everybody said it was you fault. And look at you! No Money. No Job. You're a mess Gwenda...'
  'Its not my fault,' Gwenda muttered.
  'I know it's not your fault, old love,' Rex replied. For a moment the camera cut away and Brenda could see the studio audience getting restless, waiting for the show to begin. 'You looked after that boy. You treated him like a son. But he's pushed off without so much as a by-your leave. No gratitude of course. Kids these days! He's cock of the walk now and you should hear the things he says about you! I've been thinking about it and I have to say...I believe the boy ought to be punished.'
  'Punished...' Gwenda muttered the word with a sense of dread.
  'Just like you punished Brian for being so rude to you.' Rex shook his head. Maybe it was a trick of the studio lighting but he seemed almost to be reaching out of the television set as if he was about to climb into the room. 'The fact of the matter is that Matt is a very nasty piece of work,' he said. Everywhere he goes, he causes trouble. You remember what happened to his parents.'
  'They died.'
  'It was his fault. He could have saved them. And there are other things you don't know about. He upset some very good friends of mine recently. In fact he more than upset them. He killed them. Can you believe that? He killed all of them. If you ask me, there's no question about it. He needs to be punished very severely indeed.'
  'I don't know where he is,' Gwenda said.
  'I can tell you that. He goes to a school called Forrest Hill. It's in Yorkshire, Just outside of York. That's not so far away.'
  'What do you want me to do?' Gwenda asked. Her mouth was dry. The tin of beans had tilted forward in her hands and cold tomato sauce was dripping into her lap.
  'You like me don't you, Gwenda? The television presenter gave her one of his special smiles. There were little wrinkles in the corner of his eyes. 'You want to help me. You know what has to be done.'
  Gwenda nodded. For some reason she had begun to cry. She wondered if this would be the last time Rex McKenna would talk to her. She would go to York and she wouldn't come back.
  'You go there on the train and you find him and you make sure that he never hurts anyone again. You owe it to yourself. You owe it to everyone.  What do you say?'
  Gwenda couldn't speak. She nodded a second time.  The tears were flowing faster.
  Rex backed away. 'Ladies and gentleman, let's hear it for Gwenda Davis. She's a lovely lady and she deserves a big round of applause.'
  The audience agreed. They clapped and cheered until Gwenda left the room and went upstairs.
  Brian remained where he was sitting on the sofa, his legs slightly apart, his mouth hanging open. He had been like that ever since Gwenda stuck the kitchen knife into his chest. Brian had laughed at her. He had said she was mad. She'd had to teach him a lesson that he wouldn't forget. Rex had told her to do that too.
  A few minutes later, Gwenda left the house. She'd meant to pack, but in the end she hadn't been able to find anything worth taking apart from the axe that she used to chop wood. She'd slipped that into the bag that dangled from her arm.
  Gwenda locked the door behind her and walked away. She knew exactly where she was heading: Forrest Hill, a school in Yorkshire. She was going to see her nephew, Matt Freeman, again.
  He would certainly be surprised.

The Power Of Five: Evil Star © Anthony Horowitz, 2006.  Published by Walker Books.