‘There are, of course, no skeletons in this attic!’ the estate agent said with a wink, as she threw open the door with a flourish and ushered her clients into the loft space.
‘Wow!’ said Mike Diamond.
‘Wow!’ his wife Julie echoed.
‘It sure has the wow factor, wouldn’t you say, Mr and Mrs Diamond?’
‘It sure has,’ Mike replied.
And it sure did.
The young couple stared around in wonder as they entered the high-ceilinged room. Painted all in white, it covered almost the entire top-floor area of the brand-new house, and was flooded with light from gable windows at each end. The view to the north was across the long, newly turfed garden ending at the lake, the fields and the hill that rose beyond, and to the south across the partially completed housing estate and down to the village of Cold Hill, half a mile below them. There was a rich smell of fresh paint and timber.
‘I can tell you, this is a far superior property to the show house, which was sold in the first hour it was on sale. Far superior.’ The agent pointed out the four Sonos speakers and the voice-activated electric blinds, then showed them the equally teched-up en suite bathroom. ‘This would make a great master bedroom, or an office,’ she enthused. ‘It’s rare to find a room so well equipped, even in a modern home, you’d have to agree.’
Mike and Julie looked at each other. He pulled a face and his wife grinned at the signal. This estate agent was already irritating them, and they’d only been in the house for a few minutes. An elegant woman in her thirties, with short, dark hair, power-dressed in a black suit, white blouse and court shoes, she marched in front of them, brandishing the particulars as if she was about to present them with a certificate. Future Owners Extraordinaire of Lake House, No. 47 Lakeview Drive!
They followed her back down the spiral staircase to the first floor and along a short landing, where she opened another door with an equal flourish, onto a small bedroom. ‘This will make a great room for your baby,’ she said.
Again, the couple shot another secret glance at each other. Mike frowning and Julie frowning back a What? Her pregnancy had only been confirmed yesterday by their doctor, and there was no possible way it could be showing yet.
They followed the agent into two further small bedrooms – perfect spare rooms for guests, she enthused, or maybe one of them a den? Then into the master bedroom. ‘You’d have to admit, this is pretty much a wow room, too!’ She strode confidently across it, unlocked French windows and opened them onto a wide Juliet balcony.
‘Can you imagine, on a fine day like today, Mrs Diamond? The two of you sitting out here, having an early morning coffee, looking across the lake?’
‘It’s north-facing,’ Mike said. ‘So, no morning sunlight.’
‘Who wants morning sunlight in a bedroom?’ the agent said. ‘Not me! But of course, if that’s a concern, then you could make the upstairs space your bedroom.’ She gave them a conspiratorial look. ‘I tell you, if it was me – and I could afford a house this beautiful – I’d make that loft space my master bedroom. It would make anyone feel they were masters of the universe, just like you two truly are – I can tell!’ She glanced at her watch. ‘I’m so sorry, we’ll have to hurry, I have viewings of this place every twenty minutes today. It won’t be staying on the market for long, that’s for sure. Not with the shortage of quality new-build stock there is today, believe you me.’
She hurried them through the downstairs: the open-plan kitchen and family room, stacked with smart-gadgets, including the memory fridge; the dining room; the small office; the spacious hall; and then the pièce de résistance – the large, luxuriously carpeted living room with a photochromic-glass conservatory at the rear, overlooking the wide lawn running down to the lake. ‘Of course, it would be easy to fence off the lawn part way down, to make it safe for your baby.’
The Diamonds looked at each other. How does she know about the baby?
Then, profusely apologetic, she ushered them to the front door. Her next clients were due any moment. If they wished to make an offer, she most strongly advised them to do it sooner rather than later. This was the first day of viewings and this property, priced to sell, would not be hanging around on the market for long.
As she opened the door she said, ‘Mr and Mrs Diamond, I can so see you living here – in your forever home! And your baby son – what a wonderful environment for him to grow up in. But please, I urge you, don’t think about it for too long.’
As they stepped out into the bright, mid-morning sunlight, and the front door closed behind them, Mike and Julie Diamond stood on the path, with the newly turfed lawn on either side, as a car came along the road. They looked at each other. The same look.
What the fuck?
Our ‘son’?
A Mini emblazoned with the logo of RICHWARDS ESTATE AGENTS pulled up behind their parked Mercedes. A tubby, smiling man in his forties, in a flamboyant suit, clambered out and hurried across to them, holding a bunch of keys like a gaoler.
‘Mr and Mrs Diamond?’
‘Yes,’ Mike said, hesitantly.
‘Paul Jordan, I do apologize for being late – I had a viewing of another property that ran over.’ He shook hands with each of them, once again apologizing profusely. ‘You are going to love this house, I promise you. It is really quite special. On the whole of the Cold Hill Park development, this is my very favourite, by a country mile.’
As he rummaged through his keys, Julie Diamond said, ‘Yes, it is very lovely.’
‘Wait until you view the inside! And let me show you the technology – wow!’
‘We’ve actually just seen it,’ Mike Diamond said.
Jordan looked at both of them, puzzled. ‘Seen it?’
‘Your colleague just showed us around.’
‘Colleague?’
‘Yes.’
The agent frowned. ‘I’m sorry – we are the sole agents for this development, and none of my associates are here today.’ He looked hesitant. ‘Someone showed you around?’
‘Yes,’ Julie replied. ‘A lady, she said she had viewings back to back all day and could only allocate twenty minutes to us.’
‘It isn’t possible,’ Jordan said. ‘I – I don’t understand. What was her name?’
The couple looked at each other, then Mike shrugged. ‘Well, she didn’t give us her name. To be honest, she was a bit odd.’
‘Can you excuse me?’ Jordan asked. ‘Please, just a couple of minutes?’
Reluctantly, the couple nodded.
He let himself into the house, walked through the hallway and called out, ‘Hello! Hello! It’s Paul Jordan – hello!’
He went into each of the downstairs rooms, then up to the first floor, checking each of the rooms there. Then up to the loft, being sure to check the bathroom.
There was no one.
Frowning, he hurried back downstairs and out the front door. And caught a glimpse of the Diamonds’ Mercedes, already several hundred yards away.