The rest of the afternoon was all a bit of a blur. There were a lot of red and blue flashing lights, a lot of questions fired at me by the police, and a lot of onlookers including WTN News. One of Westport’s more famous reporters had tried to interview me, but it seemed in times of stress I was a bumbling idiot. He quickly moved to Danny who lapped up the limelight, despite not actually having seen what had happened.
We were presently sitting around the table at our parents’ house, and I was devouring one of Mum’s double chocolate cupcakes like there was no tomorrow—which apparently was going to be the case for the petite redhead. According to one onlooker, the second her head hit the road the world had lost her.
Sadness for her family and friends sat heavy in my chest, and a thousand if onlys ran through my mind. If only she hadn’t been there at that moment in time. If only the driver of the car that hit her had been paying more attention. If only I had noticed the license plate of the car.
“Lizzie, no one saw the plate,” snapped Danny, seemingly reading my mind. “According to one lady the car had no plates.”
“It had to have had them,” added our sister Molly, flicking her long dark curls over her shoulder before dabbing a stray crumb from her pink painted lips. As always Molly looked exceptional. Her tight black T-shirt was cut just low enough to show off her double Ds. Her sleek curls shone under the overhead florescent light, and her long eyelashes reflected her inner beauty. “It’s illegal not to.”
Danny shrugged, Mum tutted, and Grandma Mabel swished her false teeth around.
Friday night was usually a time my siblings and I hung out together. However, Sunday dinner with Mum and Dad had been moved forward as they had been invited to Grandma Carol’s. Danny, Molly, and I all preferred to avoid her as much as possible, so we agreed to the date change.
“What’s Westport coming to?” mused Mum, smearing cream onto the tiramisu we were having for dessert.
“Back in my day, the driver would have stopped to help the poor woman,” added Grandma Mabel picking a piece of dropped cake off her sparkly pink shirt. The T-shirt was as loose as her skin, and its color matched her curls.
“Maybe they didn’t see her. No one intentionally runs someone down.” Danny’s partner, Andrew, was seventeen years older than Danny and was always the calming influence on our group.
“Then why didn’t they stop?” I chewed my lip as silence descended.
“That house has bad karma,” said Mum breaking into my thoughts. “You need to stay away from it, Lizzie.” She hit me with a stare that was designed to make me run for cover. Growing up it had worked every time. Apparently, it still worked on me today.
“Don’t be silly, Nelle,” warned Grandma Mabel. “It’s not the house’s fault that someone doesn’t know how to drive.”
And that’s why Grandma Mabel was my favorite.
“I’m not saying it is. I’m just saying there’s bad karma there. Lizzie would be far better off buying one of those new builds behind us.”
It was Molly’s turn to hit me with a glare. Only this glare told me to run from Mum’s idea. “Well, I think Lizzie would be better off looking at the new apartments they’ve built alongside the river. They’re spectacular.”
“And a good ten minutes from here,” Danny whispered under his breath.
“But if she lived behind us, we’d always be there to help her,” added Mum, cream dripping from the spoon as her hand froze over the cake.
“Nelle, Lizzie is thirty-one years old. She’s a grown woman who can take care of herself. Let her live wherever she wants to.” Grandma swished her teeth around one more time before turning her attention to the cupcakes.
Mum once again tutted before swatting Grandma’s hand with the spoon. “No one is going to want to eat their dinner at this rate.”
I couldn’t answer for the others, but I for one intended to at least stay for dessert. It looked delicious.
“Where’s Dad?” I asked, picking at the last of the crumbs on my plate.
“He’s been held up at the Men’s Shed.”
“What?” yelled Grandma. “How? Why didn’t you mention this earlier? Are the police there?”
We all turned to her, the vertical lines between each of our brows identical.
“Grandma, what are you talking about?” asked Danny.
“Nelle just said he was held up!”
“Yes. He’s been held up because Jimmy Tennent needed some help with the lathe. What did you think I meant?”
Grandma’s bottom dentures popped out from behind her lip as her cheeks reddened. “Oh. Well, that’s not very exciting,” she mumbled.
“Why don’t you have a lie-down before dinner?” Mum suggested.
“That might be a good idea. Eunice is coming by later, and we’re going to that new place in town. What’s it called?”
We all shrugged.
“You know the place, Molly. You went there last weekend,” Grandma prompted.
“Do you mean the Scotch Bar?”
“That’s the one. You said the bartender was really cute. Eunice and I thought we’d go and check it out, see if we concur with your opinion.”
“Grandma, it’s Friday night. The place will be packed.”
“Even better. I was going to wear the dress I found at the thrift shop yesterday. It’s almost brand new. Except for the ink stain on the pocket, there’s barely a mark on it. And when I pair it with those new shoes I got from the podiatrist, no one’s going to be looking at my pockets.”
I’d seen the shoes and knew she was one hundred percent correct about that.
“Sounds nice,” I commented, noting the way both Danny and Molly recoiled at the idea of purchasing preloved clothing. “What’s the dress like?”
“Oh, Lizzie, it’s glorious. It’s bright yellow with green llamas all over it and a lovely trim of tulle popping out showing off my knees.”
“You’re not going out in that?” Mum’s mouth formed an O as her eyes widened. I wasn’t sure if she was more frightened by the fact that Grandma and her bestie were spending the evening at the hottest club in town or by the fact she was wearing the dress.
“I sure am. I’ve got great knees, and they deserve to be shown off. Wait till Eunice sees me. She’s going to be green with envy.”
I was almost certain Mum whispered something along the lines of, “She’ll be green all right,” But I could have misheard as when I glanced at Mum, her lips were clamped shut.
Grandma stood and moved to her purple wheelie walker, pushing it ahead of her as she shuffled her way to her bedroom.
Once upon a time Grandma had lived independently, but after she set the oven on fire, my mum and dad decided it was best she live with them.
I’d like to say it was an arrangement made in heaven, but more honestly, it was an experiment in tolerance. Grandma and Mum were like chalk and cheese. Grandma was the fiery wild one, while Mum was the sensible stable one. The upside to the arrangement was that Mum baked when she was stressed, and I loved cake. So, if you asked my opinion on their living arrangement, I leaned toward the heaven camp, whereas I was sure Dad leaned more toward the hell camp. But it was working. Kind of.
“You have to stop her,” Mum hissed to Molly once Grandma was out of earshot.
“Why?”
“Because it was your fault she even heard of the Scotch Bar.”
“She would have heard of it without me. I’ve dropped her at Bingo, and I know how quickly news spreads in that place.”
Mum’s shoulders sagged as she stood and collected a container of un-iced cupcakes.
“Why me?” she whispered, as she placed the chocolate delights on the table. I noted her silently counting them before her lips pursed and her gaze swept the table.
You see, there had been twelve cakes, but I may have eaten one. Okay, I’d eaten two, but let’s not point that out. They were supposed to be for us to take home later, and I knew Molly would complain if she didn’t get her share.
“So, the house auction is on Monday…” I said to Mum, hurriedly moving the conversation in a different direction. Only as a tick started under her eye, and her gaze fell to me, I wasn’t sure if this was the direction I wanted to head.
After dinner, I kissed my family, bid my good nights, and then headed to Molly’s. I no longer had a place to call home as the second I had told my friend Aimee I was moving out, she had sublet my room to one of her university friends, and he needed the room ASAP. It hadn’t bothered me too much except for the fact that my worldly possessions were now stacked in Dad’s garage, and I had no idea where my hair straightener was. Like I said, it didn’t bother me too much.
Molly had left ahead of me, needing to stop at a fuel station before heading home. That gave me some time to myself, and it didn’t take long for me to point my little Mini Cooper in the direction of the old house on May Street. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. It filled my soul with a desire I had never encountered before, and I was determined to be the new owner.
Making my way across town, I noted the large jacarandas had dropped their leaves, their bare branches stretching up into the darkness as the streetlights flashed over my windshield. Westport wasn’t the largest town on the east coast. The last census said it had a population of thirty thousand. It had one large hospital, one cemetery and one shopping center. It was everything I needed, and a warm fuzzy feeling sat low in my belly with the knowledge I was moving home.
I smiled, blissfully aware of how quiet the streets were. Blinds had been lowered, curtains were pulled, and I wound my window down to enjoy the evening scent of winter filling the air.
Pulling up to the curb at number three, I stopped behind a silver four-wheel drive advertising Westport Property Sales and killed the motor. The only sign of the earlier accident were the lines drawn on the road by the police. A cold breeze surrounded me, and I shuddered as I leaned forward, my gaze moving to the house. A light burned bright in one of the upstairs windows.
Hmmm, was Bob doing a private viewing for someone? If so, maybe I could sneak in for a second look. I did want to measure the master bedroom to see if my king-size bed would fit after all, and this would give me the opportunity before the auction on Monday.
Without a second thought, I hurriedly pushed the car door open and jogged toward the house, hoping to catch Bob before he locked up.
A chill ran down my spine as I negotiated the dark driveway, causing me to pull my jacket tightly around me. Westport’s winters were never fierce, but as the westerly winds whipped, I was grateful spring was only a few weeks away.
Bob’s voice boomed from the open door as I negotiated the path. Suddenly, the overgrown bushes under the front window rustled, and a woman tumbled out of them. My heart rate spiked.
“This danged house!” she cursed, rolling onto her side, and I immediately recognized Hazel, the nosy neighbor.
“Oh! You scared me,” I called, placing my hand on my heart. “Are you all right?”
“Of course I’m all right,” she snapped, getting to her feet before I could offer a hand.
“What were you doing?”
“Oh, well I… umm… just wanted to check on something.”
“In the bushes?”
“What? No! I just… never mind. It’s none of your business what I was doing.”
Bob’s loud voice startled me once again.
“Lizzie? What are you doing here?” His dark brow furrowed, as he held his phone in his hand.
“Oh, hi, Bob.” I gave him a two-finger wave. “I was just driving past and saw the light on. I was hoping to have a quick look around.”
He stood back and motioned for me to enter the foyer. “I’ll just be a minute,” he said before returning to his call. “Sorry for the interruption. You were saying?”
A deep, sexy voice echoed from the speaker, and my mind jumped to the man I’d seen in the garden earlier that day. “I’d love to bid on the house, but I’ve been called out of town for work, and now I can’t make the auction on Monday.” The rich baritone of the caller’s voice caused goosebumps to break-dance over my skin, and a delicious involuntary shiver rippled down my spine. I’d never been one to listen to meditation apps, but if that caller was the voice on the other end of my headphones, I’d be more Zen than the Dalai Lama.
Bob hummed and ahhed a few times before saying, “I’m so sorry that you won’t be able to make the auction, but we will accept a phone bid if that would work for you.”
A long sigh echoed through the speaker. “I won’t have any phone signal.”
“Then you could get someone to bid on your behalf.”
I gasped at the idea of another bidder, causing Bob to narrow his eyes in my direction before turning his back to me.
“Maybe. I’ll talk to my dad, and see if he’s able to make it,” the caller replied. “Are you sure the vendor won’t accept a prior offer?”
“Sorry, Riley, but that’s a definite no. Believe you me, I’ve asked.”
“Okay. Thanks, Bob. I’ll see what I can work out.”
Hmmm, that didn’t bode well for me. My budget was limited, and I needed cash to do the renovations, which meant I needed to get the house at the cheapest price possible. The more bidders, the higher the price. I said a silent prayer that the owner of the sexy voice wouldn’t be able to get anyone to do his bidding for him.
Bob gave the obligatory goodbyes before ending the call and turning to me.
“If I had a dollar for every person who wanted to make an offer prior to auction, I’d be a rich man.” He ran his hand through his hair, and the dismal overhead lighting accentuated the dark rings under his eyes.
“I didn’t expect you to be here at this time,” I commented. Even though I was very happy that he was.
“No. Well, I shouldn’t be here, but I had a prospective buyer adamant that she needed a viewing before Monday’s auction.” His eyes rolled to the ceiling at the sound of high heels clicking against a timber floor. “I explained that the house will be open for inspection for an hour prior to auction, but apparently she couldn’t wait until then. Now, may I ask what I can do for you?”
“Oh, well, I too was hoping to have a sneaky look.” I grinned as Bob released a self-suffering sigh. “I mean, the house is open, and I will only be a minute. I just wanted to measure up for the bed.”
Judging by the glee that pushed Bob’s frustration aside, I figured he liked the idea of a bidding war. “If you must,” he replied, his hand sweeping toward the stairs.
I stifled an excited squeal and headed upward, as Bob answered another call. It seemed the life of a real estate agent was never quiet. “Hello. Oh! What do you want?... Look I’ve already told you…”
His voice drifted into background noise as the boards creaked and groaned with every step I took. Three-quarters of the way up, the tread gave way and slipped out from under me. I screamed, threw my hands out in an effort to slow my fall, and landed with a clunk, my nose hitting the black patent leather of a gorgeous pair of Louboutins.
“Bugger!” I cursed, scrambling to sit up, rubbing my nose in the process.
“Are you kidding me?” The owner of the shoes was an elegant blonde woman. And she didn’t look impressed with my nose print on her shoes.
“Sorry. So sorry.” I reached out and used my sleeve to wipe the shiny shoes clean.
The blonde snatched her foot away and glared at me. Shaking her head, she marched down the stairs without even a backward glance to see if I was okay.
I sighed, even more determined to win the auction.
Regaining my composure, I made my way across the landing. The old Victorian house plan was pretty simple. Downstairs there was a main hallway with the staircase off the front door. To the right of the stairs was the lounge room and to the left was the kitchen. It was the same on the second floor, only to the right was the master bedroom and to the left was the bathroom. Off the landing was a second set of stairs leading to the attic.
I ducked past those and headed for the master bedroom as the voices of Bob and the blonde drifted up toward me. She was professing the benefits of bulldozing the house, and Bob was agreeing with everything she said.
Thankfully, inside the master bedroom, sounds faded to silence. Stillness surrounded me, and I pulled my jacket tighter across my body as the air pressure changed and a sadness hit me hard.
The room was just the way I remembered it from earlier in the day, only now the dim overhead bulb cast eerie shadows against the walls. The musty smell of damp cloyed my senses, and a draft from the open window whipped up.
The bedroom door blew closed with a slam.
I screamed—“What the…?”—and nearly jumped out of my skin, making a mental note that when I got to bed tonight, I was going to do my pelvic floor exercises.
Once I had my heartrate under control, I laughed at my silly overreaction and stepped across to the window, ready to pull it closed. I stopped short, taking a moment to enjoy the spectacular view. Westport spread out in front of me twinkling like fairy lights in an enchanted forest. The trees swayed in the breeze as the streetlights cast warm shadows against the pavement, and a deep contented sigh rattled my ribs pushing the sadness away.
Taking a deep breath and sucking the cool air deep into my lungs, I looked down at the street noting the dark outline of a man standing alongside my car. Head bowed, his face was in darkness. A long coat covered his large frame as he lifted my windshield wiper and used it to secure something to my vehicle before he turned to face the house. The night protected his identity, but he looked straight up. He saluted me, the wind whipping his maniacal cackle upwards.
I gulped and slammed the window shut.
“Bob! Bob!” Taking the stairs two at a time, I knew I was being silly. The lone man could have been leaving me a welcome note for all I knew. Yet the whole incident left me cold, and even though I hardly knew Bob, the presence of another human being would make me feel a whole lot safer.
Upon reaching the ground floor, I saw the blonde had left as I scanned the hallway for signs of them. Bob’s phone was lying on the floor behind the now closed door, yet he was nowhere to be seen. I moved into the lounge room, but Bob wasn’t there either. A backdoor led off the kitchen—maybe he’d wandered outside.
The only sounds coming from within the house were my muffled footsteps on the boards and the occasional creak from the house as the wind whipped its walls.
“Bob! Are you there?”
Every scary movie I’d ever seen ran through my mind, and my pulse beat fast at my throat leaving me breathless.
“Stop it, Lizzie! You’re being an idiot.” I chastised myself, yet I was secretly happy to hear the sound of my voice filling the silence.
I smiled when I turned into the kitchen. The back door was indeed open. In a hurry, I stepped out onto the porch and tripped over something in the dark, stumbled and fell into the large, hard body of a stranger.
“Whoa!” he called, a hint of laughter in his tone as he helped steady me. His hold was firm, a little too firm, but I guessed he was just making sure that I was okay.
“I’m so sorry.” I attempted to step away, yet the man kept his hold on me. “I didn’t see that, that… what is that lying in the doorway?”
“It’s my briefcase. I shouldn’t have left it there. I apologize.”
“No, I should have been looking where I was going. Instead, I was looking for the agent, Bob. Have you run into him?” I tried to pull my arm away as I peered into the darkness.
“He had to leave. I’m his replacement, Elijah.” He released his hold on my arm and instead held his hand out for mine. The gesture was friendly, yet the slicked back hair and creepy smile did nothing to reassure me.
“Leave?”
“Yes. Urgent matter. I’m taking over the listing on the property from now on.”
“But I was only going to be a few more minutes, and then I was going. Couldn’t Bob have waited that long?” I shook my head, this making no sense to me. “And isn’t that his phone inside the door?”
My gaze flipped from his face to his hand, wanting to slow my thoughts and get a grip on the situation. But the stranger near my car and the sudden disappearance of Bob accelerated my breathing and caused my thoughts to scatter. I felt wrong-footed.
“No, no. It’s mine.” Elijah dropped his hand, his smile frozen.
“But, but you’re holding yours,” I added, rubbing my chest to ease the tightness.
“Oh no. This is my private phone. The one you saw is my work phone.” He shrugged like it was no big deal.
“Is Bob okay?” Feeling in my jacket pocket, I clasped onto my own phone and held it tight.
“Of course.”
“Okay. Great. Well, I should get going too. My sister is waiting in the car for me.”
“Is that your red Mini out the front? It’s very cute.” Elijah’s eyes bored into mine as if he could see straight through my lie. “Before you go, Lizzie, I just need to get your phone number. Bob failed to take your details.”
“Oh, of course.” I rattled off my number, all the while searching my pockets for my car keys. When I left here, I wanted to do it quickly. “Umm, how did you know my name?” The cold air crept through my jacket as I shuffled from one foot to the other.
Elijah’s jaw tensed. “Bob told me you were still upstairs.”
That made sense. So why was the hair on the back of my neck tingling?
I said a quick goodbye and almost jogged to my car. Once inside I locked the doors, turned the radio to the happiest song I could find and sped away from the curb.
It was only as I turned off of May Street that I remembered the note from the stranger was still tucked under my windshield wiper.