4.

That night Alice's Mom had a good report from Mark. "James loved you! He asked Mark could you be his regular babysitter?" She told her daughter, as they ate their dinner.

"Did he?" Alice replied not sure what to say.

"Of course I told him I'd have to check with you, but it's a bit of extra money for you." Her Mom said.

Alice played with her chicken. It wasn't that she didn't like James, and it wasn't that she didn't like babysitting, it was simply that she really believed that there was something strange about Mark-even if other people told her that she was just imagining it! And what Cloe's Mom had said-that Alicia was devoted to her son, it made Alice wonder whether there was more to the story.

"Alice?" Her Mom asked.

"How often will regular be?" Alice asked.

"I don't know, maybe once a week or so?" Alice's Mom replied.

"Hmmm..well I guess it couldn't hurt could it?" Alice decided.

"James will be delighted."

**********

"I'm going to be running late for school in the morning-I've got something to do." Alice said later that night on the phone to Cloe.

"To do? Like what?" Cloe demanded.

"Just stuff.." Alice hedged.

"Spill it!" Cloe said, and Alice grinned.

"I want to go the local library and look up the papers from three years ago." Alice admitted.

"The papers? Why?" Cloe asked, and then she realised. "Let me guess: something to do with Mark."

"I just cant understand why nobody wonders where she is!" Alice said with a sigh. "And besides, if I am going to be his son's regular babysitter if there is something strange going on I should know right?"

"Strange how?" Cloe asked.

"I don't know. Like maybe he told her to leave and not come back?" Alice suggested. "Maybe he threatened her with something if she came near James, or tried to contact him?"

"Well that's not going to be in the newspapers is it?" Cloe asked.

"I just want to see what they say about it!" Alice insisted.

"Well I'll come with you then. Two minds are better than one right?" Cloe decided.

Alice smiled. "Right, so we'll meet out the front at eight thirty then?"

"Sure. See you in the morning." Cloe agreed.

**********

The next morning was chilly, and Alice stood on the library steps shivering, wondering how much longer Cloe was going to be? She'd been thinking about what Cloe said, about how the papers weren't exactly going to say that Mark threw his wife out, especially with everyone in town who knew about it thinking that his wife had left him. But what she wanted to know, was whether the police had tried to find her, or anything like that?

Cloe arrived then, shivering as well. "Geez it's cold. Let's get in there!"



The room where the newspapers were kept was in the back, and there were a few tables in the middle. Alice scanned the dates on the shelves. They kept the last four years papers, but any further back than that was on microfiche. Alice sighed, and took some of the papers from the stack three years ago. With a sigh also Cloe took some and followed Alice to the tables.

For awhile they worked silently, and then Cloe looked up. "Here you go! There's only a small article mind you-I'll read it to you. 'Mark Wyatt, prominent barrister, reported to the police yesterday morning that his wife had left him. She took her car, some of her clothes, and her money. He produced a note which she left, which claimed that she didn't want to continue in an unhappy marriage, and that she had never wanted to have a child so young, and that she wanted to go and become famous!' And that's all it says."

"Really? Is there any in the next few papers?" Alice asked, surprised.

"No, there doesn't appear to be.." Cloe said.

"So she just disappears and-"

"-she didn't disappear, she ran away and left them!" Cloe corrected. "It happens all the time, although I believe it is usually the men who leave, not the women!"

"It just seems too strange to me." Alice sighed.

"I don't know why!" Cloe said, packing up the papers. "Just because for some reason you don't like him-"

"-it's not that!" Alice insisted. "My liking him has nothing to do with whether or not I think the guy is fishy!"

"Let's get to school." Cloe said, changing the subject.

Alice frowned slightly, but they went to school.

**********

That night Mark called up and asked whether Alice could baby-sit tomorrow afternoon. "If you could pick him up from school and then go home? I'll give him a key, and I'll be home as soon as my meeting finishes. He normally goes to after-school care, but he's been asking whether you could look after him. I told him you could, but not every day since that would be asking a bit much!" Mark explained.

"Sure, I could do that." Alice agreed.

Later that night her brother called. "Are you still hating Mom's new man?"

"I don't hate him, I just think there is something strange about him Chad!" Alice argued. And then she told him about Mark's wife just leaving and not being heard from in three years, not even to speak to her son! And how apparantly she was so devoted to the kid!

"Maybe it was all a bunch of lies, and she wasn't happy and she wasn't devoted?" Chad suggested.

"I don't know. Maybe there is something deeper-what if he is like a psycho and-"

"-whatever. Anyway I'll be able to work out for myself soon enough." Chad replied.

"What do you mean?" Alice demanded.

"I'm coming over for a week or so." Chad explained.

"You are? That's great! Does Mom know?" Alice asked.

"Not yet-I was kind of thinking of making it a surprise for her!" Chad explained. "That's if you've learnt to keep secrets yet?"

"I can keep a secret fine." Alice replied indignantly.

"Can you just? What about Nana's surprise birthday a few years back? Who let the cat out of the bag then?" Chad asked.

Alice blushed. "Well I was only a kid then!" she protested.

"Well whatever the case I'll be arriving on Friday afternoon. I guess I can get a taxi or something and get to your place hopefully just before Mom gets home from work." Chad said.

"That sounds great. It will be great to see you again!" Alice replied. She didn't add that she also wanted an ally against Mark. She was sure her brother would see the same strange thing in him as she did herself!