Thanks to a bit of warmth and a clear sky, Vince and Melanie sat outside to eat lunch. Robbie played close by, making them both laugh at his brave exploration of some bushes, where he hid and then pounced out at their feet.
Vince had dug up a small table and two chairs from a shed, given them a clean and placed them in a sheltered spot out of any wind. He couldn’t remember the last time these had seen the light of day, but they would do the job. Mel brought Robbie’s lunch out in a bowl so he wouldn’t miss out.
‘Why isn’t there much grass, Grandad?’
‘It gets hot here in summer and dries out.’
‘But there’s been a lot of rain. Shouldn’t it be green, like at my house?’ Melanie took a bite of her sandwich, her eyes curious. ‘Daddy was always complaining about having to mow the garden.’
That tiny piece of lawn?
Vince gazed around, trying to see things through her eyes. They were on the side of the cottage facing Lyndall’s driveway, not far from Apple’s paddock. Against the cottage were the small bushes where the kitten played but they were hardy little things that nothing could kill. The ground was hard. Grass, yes, but it struggled to grow and was sporadic. The pony paddock had a couple of nice big trees as did other parts of the property, but there was precious little around here. Almost barren.
‘You have a point, Melly. Not much to be done in the middle of winter, but come springtime, what if you help me come up with some ideas to make this look nicer? Your mum and I even planted some fruits trees a long time ago and I have no idea if they are even still growing.’
Mel jumped up. ‘Let’s find them.’
‘They’re further up the ridge. How about we do that tomorrow, as long as the weather is nice?’
‘I guess.’ She sat again. ‘And I can bring Robbie.’
‘Sure thing.’
Robbie decided he’d had enough of playing on his own and meowed at Mel. She scooped him up onto her lap, her lunch finished. Soon she’d want to go inside and the chance to ask her would disappear again.
But how do I not frighten her?
He took a deep breath. ‘Melanie? You don’t need to answer me, but I have to ask a question. Okay?’
She was tickling Robbie and nodded.
‘I accidentally overheard you talking to Robbie last night.’
Melanie glanced up.
‘He’s a good listener. I wondered if you would feel comfortable telling me about Uncle Brad being cross with your Dad?’
Her eyes widened and she cuddled Robbie against her chest.
‘I guess you know Uncle Brad was here last night? He was cross with me but I’m safe. And you are safe, sweetie.’
Her voice wavered. ‘And… Robbie?’
‘Especially Robbie.’ Vince reached over and stroked the kitten’s back. It was softer than he expected. Been years since he’d had a small animal in his life. ‘Do you remember what Uncle Brad and your Dad were talking about?’
She nibbled on her lip.
‘Are we seeing Doctor Raju today?’
‘Yes, Mel. In a couple of hours. Would you prefer to speak to him about it?’
‘Maybe.’
‘Well, maybe is fine. Now, has Robbie run around out here long enough?’ Vince got to his feet and collected their plates. ‘I wouldn’t mind taking a shower before we go.’
‘I’ll wash up then.’ Melanie tried to pick up their empty glasses.
‘You have your hands full of kitten.’ Vince added the glasses to the plates. ‘We’ll need to leave Robbie at home when we go out, so how about you go and play with him for a while so he is nice and tired and will sleep the afternoon away?’
‘I wonder if he’ll like the feathered wand.’
‘One way to find out.’
She was smiling again. Well, at least, she wasn’t frowning.
Liz met Vince in the café on the ground floor.
‘You look like crap, Vince.’
‘Can always count on you to be honest. Not looking too flash yourself.’
‘We think Malcolm Hardy struck again. Was a long night. And longer day.’
‘Who’s dead? Don’t have the news on when Mel’s around.’
‘Jerry Black. Worked for Richard Roscoe.’
That flutter of interest stirred again in Vince’s gut. He’d loved to have worked on this case, once upon a time. Hardy was playing with the police which made him as intriguing as he was dangerous.
Liz laughed. ‘I can see it in your eyes. This is right up your alley so tell me again why you never became a detective?’
‘Too much risk considering I had Susie to consider. You know, Hardy has a reputation for sending nasty messages to people who aren’t co-operating. But you’d already have worked that bit out so tell me, who is he sending the messages to?’
‘When Ginny was murdered we figured he thought she’d said too much to us. And to be honest… Pete and I chatted to Jerry in a public place the other day. Possibly as simple as warning off any of his other contacts who might put his freedom at risk, but still.’
‘But still, what?’ Vince asked.
‘No point warning people not to speak to us but making no move to leave the city.’
‘Maybe the answer is in the reason why he’s still here then.’
Liz gazed at him. He could almost see her mind ticking over.
He checked his watch.
‘How is she?’ Liz asked.
‘She overheard Pickering having a go at David, but she doesn’t want to talk about it, at least, not with me. Or not yet. Hoping she will with the shrink. But that server at the restaurant said they know nothing?’
‘He did. But Vince, what reason would Pickering have to harm his own business partner? It was probably just a disagreement. Unless you know something more?’
Nothing I want to share yet.
‘You said you had some info about those plates.’
Liz took out her phone. ‘I do. But you can’t do your own investigation. I mean it, Vince. Promise me you won’t chase this up.’
‘I had a visit from Bradley Pickering last night. Wants to adopt Melanie.’
‘Yeah, well, I bet that went well.’
‘He handed me a stack of photographs made to look like my place. There were a few taken of the property, but the majority were from god-knows-where and make me look like an alcoholic-rabbit murdering-monster. And there’s more. A letter signed by someone pretending to be Susie with a list of my transgressions.’
Liz groaned. ‘Oh, Vince.’
‘Idiot left them all with me, so I want to get them authenticated. Just in case.’
‘Did he say he’ll use them because if this is a blackmail attempt—’
‘He wants David’s share of the company, but he knows he’s poked the dragon now. I need to go back upstairs.’
Liz came with him. They didn’t speak again until in the elevator.
‘Vince? I’d like to talk with Melanie about that night.’
‘Yeah. Nah.’
It didn’t matter that Vince would have wanted exactly the same thing under different circumstances. This was his grandchild.
‘Didn’t you just say she doesn’t want Bradley in your home?’ Liz pressed.
‘I’ll think about it.’ He felt his fingers curling into balls.
‘It could shed some—’
‘You heard me, Liz.’
The elevator doors opened, and Vince stepped out. Liz held the door open to speak. ‘The plates? Car belongs to a private investigator. He’s done some work for PickerPack Holdings a few years ago. If you find anything, Vince, anything… you call me.’
The doors closed.
Sure Lizzie. You’ll be first to know.
Halfway home, Melanie began to talk. She’d been quiet since leaving Doctor Raju’s—or at least since saying goodbye to him. The doctor had smiled and raised a hand in acknowledgement to Vince but there’d been no summons to his office.
‘Do you think Robbie missed us? He’s never been left alone before,’ said Melanie.
‘I imagine he curled up in that fancy bed you got him and has been asleep. You’ll need to spend some time playing with him and burn off some energy.’
She nodded. ‘He will want to play a lot!’
‘You are doing a good job with him, Mel.’
‘Doctor Raju says Robbie sounds like a nice cat. I told him he is a nice kitten. And Doctor Raju laughed and said I was right.’
All those visits were doing some good, then.
‘Grandad?’
‘Melanie.’
‘I was feeling a bit funny this morning. When I got up and you were asleep, I went and did some drawings to take to school. I like my art teacher a lot and she likes seeing what I draw over the holidays. Anyway, I drew the cottage. And Robbie. And Apple.’
That was a surprise.
‘You drew Apple?’
‘Uh huh. But then I felt like I didn’t want to go back to school.’
Vince glanced over. Melanie was looking out the window like she did when something upset her.
‘Do you know why you felt that way?’
‘Not then. But Doctor Raju helped. He always helps.’
‘Anything you’d like to share?’
Now, she turned to stare at him. Her eyes were huge. ‘Mummy always came to school. She helped out there every week and… I feel funny about it all. Sad. But Doctor Raju said it is okay to feel sad and funny about school because my heart is remembering, and it will take a while to um... something about getting used to?’
‘Adjust?’
‘Adjust. And that Mummy and Daddy are always here in my mind and heart.’
‘Doctor Raju is very wise.’
‘And he makes me laugh.’
She told him a bit more about her session, all stuff that sounded sensible and helpful. They arrived home and he parked, expecting her to dive out to see Robbie, but she gave him an earnest look.
‘Grandad? Mummy taught me never to read other people’s mail without permission. I wanted to help tidy up.’
Relief flooded him.
‘And you did a great job, Mel. Thank you. Shall we go let that kitten of yours out for a play?’