19

ALICE

The roses were glorious; Alice had never seen anything like them. They lined the paved driveway she steered Valkyrie down in neat tall rows, radiant with colour, a handful of petals drifting along the ground. When she parked in front of Elinor’s house and got out of the car, she paused, hands on Valkyrie’s door, and closed her eyes. Earth, flowers, country air, a thousand floral scents. It was the kind of moment you kept and stored. She might never smell this again.

‘It’s lovely, isn’t it? A late season. You’re lucky.’

The woman waiting for Alice on the porch was nervous. She was polite, and she clearly said things like this a lot, likely meaning it every time. But she was clutching at her hands like there were pearls within them, and Alice felt the alert inside her. She checked her instincts, deciding not to take the gun from her car, but she still rolled her ankle to check for the blade in her shoe before she went over to shake the woman’s hand.

‘I’m Violet,’ she said. ‘Elinor’s carer. She’s expecting you.’ She looked towards the door.

Alice said, ‘Did I come at a bad time?’

‘No, no,’ Violet said. ‘I don’t think so.’

Elinor’s house was a cottage out of an English television show: a robin’s-egg blue weatherboard, small and contained, front stairs swept clean. The centre of the front door had a stained-glass panel depicting two vibrant swallows, and Violet pushed it open. Alice heard a voice, deep as thunder, and knew then why Violet was so anxious.

The man in Elinor’s sitting room took up too much space. He crowded over her flowery couch, squeaking loudly in his leather jacket as he turned to her. His cologne rang fake and overpowering after the glorious air outside, and he had close-shorn hair and uncomfortably pink lips. The way he looked at Alice felt too much like he already knew her.

‘Violet!’ Elinor said. ‘And who is this lovely lady?’

Elinor was in her eighties, Alice thought, or possibly older, with long white hair pinned back from her face. Alice introduced herself and took Elinor’s thin, dry hand.

Elinor enfolded Alice’s hand in both of hers and said, ‘Is it true, about Darwin, what they say?’

Alice hesitated, looking at Violet, who was watching the man like she was waiting for something. ‘What did you hear, Elinor?’

‘This man tells me that he died.’

‘I’m sorry,’ Alice said softly. ‘It must be painful to hear. I hope that there has been a lot of love in the memories you’ve been thinking over since you heard.’

Elinor nodded and took her hands away, placing them carefully on her lap. She stared, unblinking, at her other guest.

Alice turned to him, and he smiled at her in a way that was designed to convey anything but goodwill. ‘Eddie Roubicek,’ the man said, and held out his hand, his grip all sweat and crumbs. ‘I’m Darwin’s business partner.’

‘Oh?’ Alice said politely. ‘In which business?’

‘Too many to name,’ he said.

‘That’s all right,’ Alice said. ‘Which one is your favourite?’

The moment was quiet. Violet had left the room, and Elinor watched Alice and Eddie, serene as a pond.

‘I suppose it’s the charity we founded,’ he said finally. ‘With the Golden Pantry Institute, which feeds the homeless. I run the hospitality part of his enterprise, among other things, and part of the profits from our restaurants are paid directly to the Golden Pantry each month. It made both of us very proud.’

Alice knew a fair amount of Darwin’s work, and this, while thin on the ground, was accurate. She knew also that she had seen the name Edward Roubicek somewhere, but she hadn’t seen a picture. ‘What other things do you run?’ she asked.

‘Too many to name,’ Eddie said again. ‘I’m a trusted partner.’

Alice knew she was supposed to be here for Elinor, but the unease he brought made her want to prod at him. ‘I’m sorry. Things might be different now, after your loss.’

Eddie smiled; it was out of place. ‘I can only assume so,’ he said.

Violet returned with a teapot, a cup and a small tray of teabags. Alice made herself a French Earl Grey and turned to Elinor, saying, ‘Your house is very beautiful.’

Elinor’s eyes were watery as she raised her head. ‘It is, isn’t it?’ she said. ‘I am so proud. I cultivated all of these roses myself, you know. I need a little help now, as you see.’ She gestured to Violet, who was sitting on a piano stool, her arms folded around herself.

‘She still does most of it,’ Violet said, with a tight smile. ‘I find it hard to deadhead them in the winter when she asks me to.’

Elinor laughed. ‘You’re too soft on them! They’re just flowers.’

Just flowers, but they had seen a man lose his job and his health when he ran over them. Alice took a sip of the tea, as floral as its surrounds.

‘Sorry,’ Elinor said to Alice, ‘why were you here again?’

Eddie lifted himself up on the couch, his jacket rustling loud again in the quiet, and turned his whole body towards her before settling down again, staring Alice square in the face.

‘Yes, Alice,’ he said, ‘Why are you here?’

Alice looked out at Valkyrie in the driveway. ‘I was asked to come see you on my journey today,’ she said quietly.

‘What journey?’ Elinor asked.

‘Eddie,’ Alice said, ‘could you give us a moment?’

‘You’re not telling me anything I don’t already know,’ he said. ‘Who do you think found out first?’

‘I’m just concerned about NDAs and—’

‘And who do you think organised all this?’

‘I just had no prior knowledge you would be part of this journey,’ Alice said.

He twitched for an almost unnoticeable moment, and Alice thought she knew then what had happened: he did know Darwin was dead, but he was not supposed to be here. So then, she thought, why was he?

‘This is just good timing,’ he said, smiling with his teeth again.

‘What journey?’ Elinor asked again, frustrated this time.

Violet went to stand next to her.

Alice thought: Elinor said Eddie had been the one to tell her Darwin had died, but surely somebody else must have done that. ‘I’m with the funeral home,’ she said to Elinor. ‘I’m taking Darwin to his final resting place. He specified that on the way he wanted to visit Toby and you.’

‘Toby? I’m sorry,’ Elinor said, confused, ‘you’re saying Darwin’s here?’

Violet put a hand on her shoulder.

‘But that man said he died,’ Elinor said, pointing again at Eddie.

‘I’m sorry you found out that way,’ Alice said.

‘He said it too loud,’ Elinor told her. Her face was changing before Alice, the furrows deepening, the realisation that her grandson was dead washing over her slowly and profoundly.

‘Sorry about that,’ Eddie said, and he looked a touch guilty then.

‘So he’s here,’ Elinor said deliberately, ‘but he’s dead.’

‘Yes,’ Alice said. ‘I drive a hearse. His coffin is beautiful, and there are lovely dried flowers on top. Would you like to see? It’s all right if you don’t want to.’

It was a voice she used for Cherry sometimes. Elinor bit her lip in a way not dissimilar to Cherry, and said, ‘I think I might like to see it.’

All four of them went back outside, Eddie crowding the doorway to get through first. Violet hung back to help Elinor, but Alice left them when she saw Eddie pulling at the rear doors.

‘It’s locked,’ she said to him. ‘Also, I’m the only one who touches the car, or the coffin.’

He snorted. ‘Who do you think’s bankrolling all this?’

‘Darwin,’ she said, ‘and he had very specific instructions about how this trip was going to go, and you are not on it.’

‘Aw, are you going to kick me out?’

‘I’m not going to make that woman’s day any harder,’ Alice said quietly. ‘But you better back the fuck off.’

‘Or what?’

‘Or I’ll shoot you,’ Violet said from behind her.

Eddie, looking over Alice’s shoulder, raised his hands. Alice turned slowly, and saw Violet up on the porch, holding a revolver pointed squarely at Eddie’s chest. She no longer looked nervous.

‘My goodness,’ Elinor said, looking at Violet with mild interest. ‘Is that my Beretta? I use it sometimes to kill possums if they come near my roses.’

Well, Alice thought, I suppose Darwin had to get his ruthlessness from somewhere.

‘I think it’s time you left,’ Violet said.

‘Honestly,’ Elinor said, ‘I knew that nice young girl was coming – it’s why we had biscuits ready. But then he ate them all! So there weren’t even any for you. I’m very sorry,’ she added, looking at Alice in a forlorn way.

‘It’s fine,’ Alice said, feeling quite calm, considering. Probably because the gun was pointing away from her, and Eddie was outnumbered – not that she thought Elinor would beat him in a fistfight. Elinor herself was now looking through a small chest on her front porch. She pulled out gardening gloves and a pair of secateurs before she got what she was looking for: another Beretta.

‘Oh!’ she said in surprise. ‘I suppose you brought your own.’

‘That I did,’ Violet said.

Elinor pointed her gun at Eddie, and Alice took another step away.

‘I’ll leave,’ he said. ‘I’m leaving.’

He moved cautiously down the driveway, one step at a time, hands still up. When he was about six feet from Alice, a shot rang out.

Alice dropped to the ground. A rose bush behind Eddie’s head had erupted in a spray of pale-yellow petals that were drifting slowly onto the gravel as Alice took stock of what was happening: Violet had not moved, but her gun was now pointed towards the ground; Elinor was gazing beatifically at where Eddie had been, finger still on the compressed trigger.

‘Thought I saw a possum,’ she said.

Eddie was on the ground, too. Alice could see his fingers pushing between the gravel stones. His arms were shaking as they held him upright.

‘I’m going,’ he croaked.

Alice stood as Eddie got noisily into his car – a pearlescent Lexus parked on the road outside – and started it. He looked smaller now behind the wheel, and Alice watched him, making sure he wasn’t reaching for anything – a weapon, a phone. Violet had moved up beside her, the gun unwavering on the window. He spun the tyres, kicking rocks into Elinor’s garden, but it was all right, Alice thought, if he was gone.

He burned down the road and out of sight. Alice let out a long breath. Violet holstered her gun.

‘I think I need some stronger tea,’ she said.

‘I’ll get the whisky,’ Elinor called, dropping her gun back in the chest.

‘Fucking hell,’ Alice breathed.

‘I’m glad you came,’ Violet said. ‘They said you would be good at this.’

‘Me?’ Alice said. ‘I didn’t do a damn thing. You didn’t need me.’

‘I think we did,’ Violet said, as they walked towards the house.

‘Maybe as bait,’ Alice said.

Violet smiled, packing the gloves and secateurs back into the chest carefully. ‘Well,’ she said, ‘you were very good bait.’

~

Alice did not usually drink on the job, but she held her teacup out for a glug of whisky anyway. In a house like Elinor’s, all gilt-edged crockery and soft furnishings, it felt more traditional to settle your nerves with something like this.

‘I didn’t like him at all,’ Elinor said. ‘Who tells an old woman her grandson is dead the way he did?’

‘I really hate that he was the one who told you,’ Alice said.

‘Oh, I already knew,’ Elinor said. ‘But sometimes I forget, I think. I think my brain is working hard to look after me. Though Violet is very much enough.’

‘You don’t need me,’ Violet said.

‘Of course I do,’ Elinor said. ‘I can’t reach the top shelves without you.’

There was a lot of affection between Violet and Elinor that Alice had not noticed when she first came in. Eddie really had been a distraction, and Alice had gone into this house with the wrong impression. Violet was nervous because Eddie was too much for two women when one of them was in her eighties and might need defending; when Alice was there, the odds fell into their favour. They were lighter, now, even as Elinor spoke of Darwin.

‘He was a smart child. Too smart by far. When my husband, Jack, was alive, he would constantly find himself with empty pockets. Darwin could talk you out of your money and make you feel like you had done it on purpose.’

‘Was he greedy?’ Violet asked.

‘I don’t think so,’ Elinor said. ‘That was the funny thing. He didn’t even spend his money that much. He just seemed to like having it. He would give it back to you – he’d buy me roses at the supermarket all the time, or leave five dollars in twenty-cent coins in the car if you said that petrol prices had gone up. Generous and greedy, all in one. A different kind of child. Oh,’ she said, with real sorrow, ‘I will miss him.’

‘When did he last visit?’ Alice asked.

‘It’s been a few months,’ she said. ‘He had been nearby for work and he stopped in. Spent the night, took me to the RSL. Gave me a hundred dollars to spend at the pokies! Well, I got through that in a hot minute. It’s much more fun to spend somebody else’s money.’

She had more to tell: Darwin at fourteen, who would steal people’s bikes and return them to claim the reward, and how he had confessed it to her, plagued with guilt at twenty-four. How he started a free sandwich stand in his high school for kids who couldn’t afford lunch. How he had given a pregnant waitress such a big tip once that she gave the baby his name.

Alice stood to leave when the two women were on their third round of hard tea.

Elinor looked up at her with wide eyes and said, ‘Before, you said I might like to see the flowers. But do you think I could see him?’

Alice hesitated. There had been nothing in her notes to say she couldn’t open the coffin. She made her voice warm and said, ‘Of course.’

The three of them went back outside, stepping over the destroyed rose petals on their way. She opened Valkyrie’s rear doors, hooked her fingers under the coffin’s lid, whispered an apology, and pulled.

The lid did not move.

She leaned in, ran her fingers over the wood, and checked the other end. It was nailed shut.

‘I’m sorry,’ she said, and Elinor nodded.

The three of them stood by Valkyrie’s open door. Alice held her hands behind her back and bowed her head. Violet stood close to Elinor’s side. The wind rustled the roses, their sweet smell sweeping by.

Elinor stepped back and kicked the gravel flat over the marks Eddie’s fingers had made. Alice asked, ‘Would you like me to stay longer?’

‘Do you think he’ll come back?’ Elinor asked.

‘I don’t think so,’ Alice said. ‘I think it was Darwin he wanted.’

‘Why?’

‘I don’t know,’ she said. ‘Maybe he hadn’t had an opportunity to see him.’

‘They’re not doing a funeral,’ Violet said. ‘They will do a memorial, I think, back in Melbourne.’

‘I didn’t know that.’

‘You’re taking him to the family home now, correct? I’m part of the team that manages the estate.’

‘By managing me,’ Elinor said.

‘I just make sure she doesn’t shoot anybody who doesn’t deserve it,’ Violet said.

‘You shoot a lot of people?’ Alice said mildly.

Elinor smiled.

‘Not successfully,’ she said.