The gloating voice of the lawyer carried up the stairs: “The witch used him as breeding stock. To what end, I can’t imagine, but we’ve got the evidence, haven’t we?”
Then another voice could be heard. It was a woman’s voice, the voice of Lucy who had been one of the nurses. “I’ll say, Bill. My twins are his biological children. That’s how we know. After she died, I got him to agree to give me a blood sample and secretly did a paternity test.” Davinia had treated Lucy at some point – she generously offered free treatment to all her staff. Lucy must have become suspicious and then carried out her own investigation.
They were about to come up the stairs. What could Jack do? He tried desperately to think of what his mother would have told him. He imagined her standing beside him, the sunlight streaming through the window glinting off her fiery hair and shining off her green nose and cheeks. “Remember our defences. I’ve installed a sprinkler system to use against intruders, Bubi. And don’t forget that I’ll always be here for you in some form.”
Of course! If there was a break-in on the ground floor, then there was a button to activate a sprinkler system right here. Long tubes would poke out of the ceiling below and squirt a white, frothy foam on them.
He pressed the button.
The spurting of the sprinkler system below was not loud enough to be heard. The tubes which sprouted from the ceiling would extend and spray the sticky, viscous matter out, but they did so silently.
But they must have done it, because Bill and Lucy could be heard yelling.
“Eurgh! What is this muck?” Yelled Bill.
“Has Jack’s white, sticky stuff come my way again?” cried Lucy.
Maria turned to Jack, curious. “You’ve sprayed them with something, Jack?”
“Your grandmother’s invention,” said Jack. “Talking of which, she invented something else. I hope it works.”
He hurried to the freezer in the back of the room and hauled out a huge wooden trunk. He opened the trunk and there lay a mannequin with a bright green face and long red hair. He flipped a switch and it reared to its feet with jerky, insect like movements. It was dressed in a white garment, that could have been a nightdress or a shroud.
“Oh my God! That thing is so freaky!” squealed Kat as Maria let out a vehement exclamation in Spanish and Kristen drew a slow breath.
“It’s programmed to walk down the stairs and recite a pre-recorded message, that’s all,” said Jack, unable to think of anything more reassuring off the top of his head. The automaton lurched down the stairs and they heard the echoing sound of Davinia’s recorded message: “How dare you disturb my rest! Get out or I won’t let you leave!” He put a hand to his mouth to stifle a laugh. His mom had always had a great sense of mischief and humor.
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Lucy screamed and Jack immediately felt bad. He hadn’t wanted her to be really scared… There came the clicking sound of her running as fast as her high heels would let her and then the voice of Billious Unction; “well there’s no profit to be made here. But I’ll be back.”
Jack turned to his daughters. “The lawyer means what he says.”
“Not much of a lawyer then,” said Kat smirking.
“He did warn me that he would be bringing this to court. A lot of my kids want to know me. I’m glad the three of you do, but all 200,000? What are the odds that they would all be as great as you? Very small.”
“Not even that,” said Kat comfortably. “Even though we were all shot from the same gun barrel.”
“Even so, it would be lovely if they knew… I remember how I felt,” said Maria, biting her lip.
“We know exactly how they feel,” said Kristen. “Doesn’t everyone have a right to know where they’re from?”
“They do, but all this getting out would mean a whole lot of trouble.”
Kristen narrowed her lovely eyes and scratched her freckled nose. “Yeah… that’s fear talking.”
Jack realised he had to placate Maria and Kristen quickly. “We can visit any number of your brothers and sisters in a flash and gauge what their feelings are.”
The girls all agreed. Jack gathered up the file of details and as they left, Kat looked over the automaton Davinia had made. “Like a monument to her? It said what she would have done.”
Jack gently touched its green cheek. “Yes. If only she had left us with instructions. She’d know what to do.”
As the girls were all staring at him, he decided not to hug and kiss the mannequin and instead set out with them to find another of his daughter’s – Margaret “Maggie” Jameson.
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Maggie was a swimming teacher and it just so happened that she was teaching a class of kids who were also Jack’s biological children by sperm donation. Parents who were considering sending their kids to her class were allowed to watch one session. In the swimming pool building they were struck by the smell of chlorine. Kat bought a soda from a vending machine which she proceeded to slurp noisily as they traipsed upstairs to the observation balcony.
Maggie was a fine looking young woman, with clear coffee skin, a chic elfin hairdo and fine features. She called instructions to the kids in her robust voice which carried easily throughout the building. The kids in the pool were all exceptionally cute… it was certain that they were all her half-brothers and sisters. Margaret looked about twenty, so she must have come from one of his early loads. The kids in the pool were all about seven or eight, so they came from a much later load. Davinia had kept him hard at work, spanking to produce the necessary sperm… Nowadays Jack had nowhere to put his loads, and that felt really weird and disconcerting. Margaret continued to call instructions in her strident voice. Jack felt a thrill of foreboding. If Margaret knew about him then her class likely would as well and these events would really snowball…
Kat finished her soda. Only a daughter of his could burp prettily! “I think we’d better talk with her afterwards,” she said, pointing at her black sister by the pool. “She might put two and two together if she saw you.”
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The girls went to greet Maggie by the pool as Jack watched from the balcony high above.
“Oh God, the kids are just like us,” said Kristen, her voice trembling. Maria nodded. The kids were of all complexions – porcelain, freckled, tan, brown and black – and were all perfectly beautiful as they were.
“Y’all wanna know about swimming lessons?” asked Maggie in surprise.
Kat shook her head, her long red hair rippled and bounced. “Not really, sister. We’re also the children of the mysterious Rothman donor, but I suppose you can see that. We’re really stunning, as are you. What would you tell our donor if he were here?” She was carefully avoiding looking up at the balcony, presumably so as not to give Jack away.
“Ya really wanna know?” asked Maggie. “Exactly what I’d say if he were here? I’d say what ya bin at? We all want to know you, so why keep it secret?”
Kat nodded. “You want to take it to court?”
“Uh huh. A lot of us have pooled our money to get a lawyer.”
“Well we know about the lawyer,” said Kat.
“Don’t we just!” Said Kristen.
Maggie shrugged. “A lawyer’s the proper way of doing it. Trying to find out ourselves is a bit sneaky. But some of us have tried.”
“Do you have any clue who it might be?” asked Kat warily.
On the balcony, Jack waited on tenterhooks.