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Ginny Silver waited on the footpath outside the big house on the hill above Bondi Beach while her client took a call.
‘Hello? No, I’m sorry, we’re closed.’ Sally Brown’s voice held exasperation. She shook her head and rolled her eyes as Ginny stood quietly beside her, anxious to go inside the house and see the promised treasures. Sally had been late for their appointment and she mouthed another apology to Ginny before turning back to her phone.
The faded grey paint of the old mansion softened to a silvery hue in the dying sunlight of a perfect spring afternoon and a wave of nostalgia settled in Ginny’s chest. The house was of a similar vintage to her grandparents’ house on the ridge overlooking the paddocks in central western Queensland. She shut down that line of thought quickly; those happy days were long gone.
‘Sonia is at the coffee shop opposite the beach doing readings, but she only works Mondays and Wednesdays. Yes, Bondi Beach.’
Ginny turned away and watched the surfers catching the waves on the point as Sally continued to answer her caller. She had high hopes for this visit; her shop desperately needed new stock. The last three “collections” in the deceased estates that she’d been invited to view had been disappointing; they had been more appropriate for the tip and had been barely suitable for St Vinnie’s, let alone her upmarket vintage store.
Sally tapped her hand against her hip as she tried to wind up the call. ‘I’m sorry I have to— no, the yoga classes aren’t at the house anymore either. We’re closed for good. The house has been sold. Thank you for your interest. Bye.’
Ginny turned back to her as Sally slipped the phone into her handbag.
‘Sorry about that. And sorry I was late. My husband had a vet emergency with a horse up at Peats Ridge, and then the traffic on the motorway was awful.’ Sally glanced at her watch. ‘And I’m going to have to apologise again, because I only have about ten minutes to show you around. My sister and I have an appointment with the solicitor about the sale of the house at five.’
‘That’s fine. I closed the shop early, because I had another couple of houses to look at, so the wait didn’t matter. You’re my last appointment.’ Ginny looked out over the water. ‘And I was enjoying the view. It’s such a beautiful afternoon.’
The afternoon light was fading to a pearly dusk and the slight westerly wind blew a fine mist of spray above the crest of the waves before they broke in a gentle arc of white foam. The last of the sunlight danced on the waves and Ginny smiled as serenity flooded through her. She could have stayed there watching the waves all afternoon. She took very little time to enjoy Sydney. Her time was spent in the shop or in her tiny apartment scouring the papers, and Gumtree and eBay online, for opportunities to buy stock. She let out a soft sigh; not that you should really see someone’s death as an opportunity.
‘It’s beautiful, isn’t it? I do miss the sound of the ocean since we moved to the country. There’s nothing like the sound of the waves to lull you to sleep at night.’ Sally laughed as she opened the gate and led Ginny towards the front porch of the old house. ‘At the moment, all I hear at Peats Ridge is the mooing of cows and the dogs barking!’
‘That’s a big change. Moving from Bondi to the country.’ Ginny said but didn’t mention that she had done the opposite; no one in Sydney knew of her outback background and she was happy to leave it that way. It was safer for her emotional wellbeing.
She shut down those thoughts as the too-familiar anxiety tugged at her chest. She swallowed and was pleased when Sally kept talking.
‘Yes, it was a change. I’ve always been a city girl, and I’ve lived most of my life close to the beach.’ Sally hoisted her handbag onto her shoulder. ‘My husband has just started a new vet practice up at Peat’s Ridge. We’ve been so busy getting settled I haven’t had time to think to miss the beach or my yoga business yet.’
How wonderful would it be to live in a house overlooking the water? Ginny’s tiny one-bedroom apartment looked over the footpath outside a Vietnamese bakery in Randwick; it was all Ginny had been able to afford when she’d moved to Sydney and she’d put what money she had left into setting up the shop.
One day, she promised herself. One day she’d move to a place near the water, and she’d take the time to smell the salt air. One day, when she made enough money to be independent and leave the past behind for good. Now all her energy and finances were going into her business. A glimmer of guilt ran through her; she really shouldn’t have closed the shop early today. Who knew what sales she’d missed; every cent and every dollar counted towards her goal. Working in the shop alone was the most difficult part of running a business because it meant it was so hard to spare the time to visit properties and source the goods. Even though she preferred nights and weekends for visiting houses, most people wanted to meet during the day. Every hour the shop was closed impacted on her income. Hopefully, soon she’d be able to increase the Jo’s hours. Now, her part-time shop assistant came in two afternoons a week.
‘You’ve sold your house to move?’ Ginny stared up at the front of the elegant mansion and then followed Sally up the steps to the front porch.
‘Long story, but yes the house is on the market. And it looks like it’s finally sold. That’s what this afternoon’s meeting is for.’ Sally nodded as she put the key in the front door and wriggled it. ‘But it’s not my house. It’s complicated. My friends, the owners, are in Hawaii and my sister and I are meeting the solicitor representing Rosie and Taj while the sale goes through.’ Sally rubbed her hand over her very pregnant stomach.
‘So, you think it has been sold?’ Ginny asked as Sally pushed the door. ‘If we are going to work together I’d need to know the time frame for collecting anything that’s suitable. That is if there is anything here that suits.’
‘The house is almost sold, I think. It’s been a long and difficult process.’
Ginny frowned. ‘I thought a house in this location would have been snapped up?’
‘Oh, yes. But none of us wanted to sell it. You know memories, nostalgia, family and all that?’
Ginny nodded even though she had no time for memories or nostalgia. Family, well, she wouldn’t go there either.
‘Rosie and Taj could have sold it a hundred times over, but one of their conditions of sale was that the house wouldn’t be demolished to make way for a modern apartment block,’ Sally said. ‘So there’ll be no new box of modern apartments on the hill. That was all the interest that was shown by the first buyers interested.’
Satisfaction filled Ginny. ‘That’s good to hear. It would be so sad to see a beautiful home like this demolished. Although I suppose it would be out of the price range for someone just looking for a family home.’
‘Yes. It is a fabulous place to live, and such a gorgeous old house. They thought long and hard about keeping it because of’— Sally cleared her throat — ‘because of Aunt Aggie, but when Sol and I moved, and then my sister and her partner moved out, it was easier for them to sell it. Taj, the owner, is a surfer on the pro circuit and he and Rosie and the kids are based in Hawaii. But they finally found someone who suited. The purchaser is a builder who has agreed to develop apartments within the existing shell, so it was a bit of a compromise.’ Sally looked up at the house and her voice was quiet and her words held a tinge of sadness. ‘It’s so hard to see the house go. I worry about—’ She broke off and shook her head. ‘Come on, let’s show you this Aladdin’s Cave my sister tells me is upstairs. We need to get a move on. I’ve spent too much time yabbering on about the house and us, sorry. Is it okay with you if I show you the rooms where everything is, and then leave you to it?’
Ginny nodded. ‘If you show me how to lock up, that’s fine. It will be dark soon. Is the power still on?’
‘Yes, it is. Stay as long as you need to. I’m just sorry that I can’t show you everything.’ Sally shook her head. ‘Mind you, there’s so much here, I haven’t seen it all myself even though I lived in the house for a few years. Aggie was a hoarder, but I know it’s all quality.’
The heavy door opened with a creak and Ginny followed Sally into a large foyer. A sweeping timber staircase curving to the floor above filled the space. Light filtered in through a large glass pane high above the front door. Dust motes danced in the late afternoon sunlight and the dark wood of the polished bannister shone with a warm glow. Ginny wrinkled her nose and inhaled with pleasure. The smell of beeswax mingled with the sweet fragrance of spring flowers and she looked around expecting to see a vase of freesias or jonquils in the foyer. She frowned as the fragrance disappeared; there was nothing there. No hallstand or table to hold a vase; in fact, there was no furniture at all.
And no flowers in sight. She sniffed again but the fragrance had gone.
‘It’s really sad to see the house like this.’ Sally glanced across at Ginny and gestured towards the stairs. ‘Downstairs has been emptied out. We all took some of the furniture, but most of it went to the second-hand shop. It was old, but not good enough for the antique dealers.’
Ginny frowned. Despite what Sally had said about the clothes being good quality that didn’t bode well for what was upstairs; she hoped she hadn’t wasted an afternoon. But the house was old, and Sally had assured her that there were wardrobes full of old clothes and shoes there. A niggle of excitement settled in her tummy. She never knew what she was going to discover in these old houses of a past Sydney.
The carpet runner in the centre of the stairs muffled their footsteps as they climbed to the first floor. Sally paused on a landing that led to a long wide hallway and at least half a dozen closed doors. The hallway was dark and quiet but as they stood there was a loud thud from the floor above.
‘What was that?’ Ginny asked looking up the stairs. ‘Is there someone else here?’
Sally waved her hand dismissively and shook her head, but there was an evasive note in her voice. ‘No, just the usual creaks and groans of an old house. We’re used to them.’ She set off up the next flight of stairs and then paused on the next landing. Inhaling deeply, she rubbed her stomach again. ‘This baby is getting bigger by the day.’
‘Take it easy. Just point me in the right direction and I’ll be fine. When are you due?’
‘Six weeks to go yet.’ Sally reached over and opened the door to the right of the stairs. ‘Most of the clothes are in the wardrobes on this floor. Behind the other door, there’s a small flight of stairs up to the attic on the top floor—you don’t need to go back to the main staircase— and Sonia told me there’s bags and shoes, and lots of other bits and pieces up there. I’ve never been up there. I’ve got no idea if they’ll be of interest to you, or if they’re only good enough for the tip.’
‘One way to find out,’ Ginny replied. ‘It sounds interesting from what you described to me so far. And if I find anything personal, or anything jewellery that looks valuable I’ll refer it to you immediately.’
‘Thank you. Apparently, Aunt Aggie was a bit of a socialite in her young days. We never knew the whole story but there was some family tragedy and she changed her lifestyle and fostered children for a long time. Rosie was her last foster child.’
Ginny smothered a grin. Sally was talking about the family again; it sounded as though they were very close. She glanced at her watch. ‘It’s almost five. Do you have far to go.’
‘Oh heck, yes. Mr Pepper is over at Bondi Junction. But he’s a dear old soul. He won’t mind if I’m a teensy bit late. He loves Sonia, and they’ll be chatting.’ Sally hurried down the hall and opened the last door. ‘Aunt Aggie lived on the middle floor for most of her life, but she stored all of her clothes up here. Take as long as you like. I’ll leave you to it. I’ll set the latch on the front door when I go and all you’ll have to do is pull it shut behind you when you leave.’
Ginny’s face heated and she turned to Sally. ‘I feel silly asking, but would you mind locking the door while I’m up here?’
‘No problem at all. Probably wise. You never know who’s hanging around these days, and the last thing we need is squatters in the house. Oh, and turn the light out please when you leave. I’ll give you a call to see what you think.’
Sally stood back and ushered Ginny into the room. Ginny nodded, paying scant attention to the other woman. Her eyes widened, and her mouth dropped open as she looked around. ‘Oh my God.’