Annika scanned the pantry for lunch box food. “Veronica, did you have a look in the entrance for your shoes?”
“Yes, found them.”
“That’s great. What about you, Anna? Did you find the PE bag where it normally goes when it’s laundered and clean?” Annika said, barely able to contain her laugh.
“Yes, sorry.”
“I’m glad everyone’s found the things they need for school. How about checking that you’ve got everything you need the night before?” Annika suggested.
“Mamma has a point, you guys,” Bill said, his voice as terse as he could muster. “Preparation is key.”
“Yes, we know. We’ll have to try harder, won’t we,” said Katie, ever the diplomat.
“Dad will take Katie to the bus and drop you two at school,” Annika said while making ham and cheese sandwiches for the twins and a quinoa salad topped with leftover roast pork from last night’s dinner for Katie, and finally a piece of home-made ginger cake and some fruit in each lunch box.
Bill normally came home for lunch, it was a full-time job cooking and looking after her busy family of six, but she loved her crazy big lot and wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Time to get going, girls, or we’ll miss the bus,” Bill said, herding the twins towards the door.
“Do we have time for hot chocolate after we drop Katie at the bus?” Veronica asked.
Bill said, “Sure, why not,” but Annika shook her head. He was such a pushover, and he knew it.
“Awesome,” the twins shouted in unison and ran to the car.
Goodbye kisses all around, then the peace set in. Annika looked at her half-eaten toast and made a fresh cup of coffee. As if on cue, as soon as she sat down there was a short sharp bark from the front door. She let Molly and Finn in from their morning scamper around the garden, giving them a little fuss, then putting their breakfast in the usual spot on the porch. As she was stacking the myriad of plates and implements in the dishwasher, Zac sauntered into the kitchen, bleary-eyed and yawning, his hair sticking straight up.
“Morning, I’m just going to grab a piece of toast and get going, I have to be at Uni early today,” he said, scratching his unshaven chin. He looked so much like Bill when he was younger, Annika thought; bright green eyes, olive skin and, by the amount of young women he socialised with, a real charmer.
“Okay darling, just let me know if you’re home for dinner so I know.” Annika playfully tousled his dark glossy hair.
Annika went upstairs and had a quick shower, getting dressed and ready before seven-thirty, not a scrap of makeup on and her long blonde hair tied in a loose bun. By the time she got back downstairs, Zac had already left. She struggled with the concept of their first-born being all grown up.
She loaded the food-scrap bucket and went outside to feed the chickens, going past the front paddock to check on her beloved Gotland sheep on her way. She was happy to have been able to get hold of the breed here on the other side of the world, making her feel connected with her birthplace. The ewes were of medium build, fine-boned, the small horn curling to the back graciously. The dense pelt with its lustrous tight curl ranging in colour from light greys to charcoal, highlighted by their jet black faces with a lighter-coloured muzzle. Their large brown eyes looked at her inquisitively. The single ram was a big boy and was strutting around, puffing his chest out as if he owned the place. His thick and grooved horns twisted around to the front majestically, showing the annual rings like a tree trunk. The ewes felt safe with him around and the small flock gathered along the fence line as she gave each of them some fuss, their sweet and greasy lanolin coating her hands. A happy chorus of bleating immediately reciprocated the affection received. Not raised for meat — Annika used their wool in her artistic endeavours — they were more pets than anything, and were shaved at the beginning of summer to make them more comfortable.
She made sure there was enough water in the trough before she carried on past the hen house to her studio in the old barn, with the airy gallery to the side. She felt very fortunate to be able to pursue her passion. Maggie and Finn followed behind as usual, lying down on the large rug inside the door in the gallery while Annika continued to the studio at the back. She liked to work on large canvases on the floor. Taking out a range of paint pails from the cupboard in the corner, she turned the music up loud and got to work.
12
Lexi dropped Gabriel and Samantha at the bus stop and continued into the village to drop Evie off at school. A tight band was setting in around her head, the exhaustion after last night’s terrible sleep catching up. Not a brilliant start to the week. She sighed while massaging her throbbing temples. Avery and Isaac had set off early, well before she’d got up. The harvest was upon them, and Avery spent most of his time tending to the vines, testing the sugar content and working out optimum picking. It would probably be another week, she thought, looking around the old kitchen, breakfast dishes piled up high. It annoyed her that it always was up to her to tidy up. Venting her frustration, she slammed the plates and cutlery as she stacked the dishwasher. The stomping around woke Beau from his slumber, and he raised his head with a startled expression.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you, boy,” she said. Beau stretched and walked over to the bench where she was standing. Much of the irritation drained away, and she bent down to pat him.. “Come on, boy, let’s collect the veges for the shop.” Beau followed her like a shadow as she entered the large greenhouse behind the winery building. A few lazy flies greeted her, the buzzing somehow comforting as the warm earthy air hugged her like a blanket. She filled the cane basket with courgettes, cucumbers, leeks and a couple of bunches of celery. Wiping the dirt off her hands before stepping further in, she picked a few handfuls of perfectly ripe tomatoes. The heavily laden specimens were staked and tied with string to the ceiling, securing the long spreading stems. The moist air mixed with the herbaceous green scent of the fruit brought her back to her childhood in an instant. As a child she used to sit in here for hours, it was her special place of serenity. Taking a bite out of a warm tomato, she walked next door to the farm shop, Beau still close behind.
In the last few years they had expanded the business to making the award-winning syrah cheddar and double cream brie, as well as an aged cheddar, parmesan and a popular super-stretchy mozzarella, all made from milk produced from their own cows, and matured here on the farm. It had long been Lexi’s dream to break into boutique cheese production, and they had installed the commercial kitchen last year. Roger up on the ridge tended the Jerseys, it wasn’t a large herd, but it was more than enough for what they needed. The arrangement was that Roger milked and looked after them, and in return got to keep the milk Lexi didn’t need. It was a mutually beneficial arrangement.
Lexi switched the lights on in the shop, a feeling of happiness washing over her. She’d worked hard for this and was immensely proud. The fridges along the back wall were full of fresh cheeses, all produced by herself and two local women who came in once a week. The day-to-day running of the cheese-making she managed on her own. Lexi went behind the counter, putting today’s float in the till. She caressed the thick slab of solid kauri, left over from the ship-building days in nearby Matheson Bay, and acquired by her grandfather many years ago in a trade. It must have been sitting in the barn for the last fifty years until Avery had put his heart and soul into handcrafting a beautiful shop counter for her.
In the quiet winter months, Lexi would make various textile products such as aprons, pot holders and tote bags she displayed on the tall shelves behind the counter. The latte-sipping crowds from Auckland seemed to like anything rustic, and she assumed it made their expensive kitchens with thick granite benches look homelier.
After setting up for the day, Lexi put the “Back in 5 minutes” sign on the door, got on the quad bike and headed towards the orchard. She didn’t lock the door; no one ever did around here. Most road stalls were unattended and had honesty boxes. It was all part of country l
ife and she loved it.
In the orchard she gathered handfuls of ripe stone fruit and figs, slightly sticky to the touch with a sweet smell of dry earth and scorched sun. The passionfruit vine was out of control on the sun-kissed side of the trellis, a sea of large white-and-purple flowers swaying gently in the breeze, delicate curly tendrils holding the vigorous plant in place. Lexi filled the tray on the bike with as much as she could. She cut a passionfruit in half with her pocketknife, enjoying the sweet fragrance as she squeezed the fruit into her mouth.
Next, the chicken coop. The hens were free-range and could come and go as they pleased, but thankfully mostly laid their eggs in the hen house. The old wicker basket had seen better days, but hadn’t collapsed yet. Lexi gently put the fragile eggs in one by one, laying them on the bunched-up rags to stop them moving around. The two old hens strutting completely ignored her, scratching and pecking around her feet.
Back at the shop she cleaned the eggs, putting them into cartons of six with a best-before date of four weeks from today. After finishing her chores, she went back to the house. Waiting for the jug to boil, her mind wandered to yesterday’s drama. The room suddenly went gloomy, as if mirroring her state of mind, the ragged edges of the ominous thick, dark-grey cumulus blocking the sun completely, its outer edges glowing softly against the darkened sky. Beau sensed her discomfort and buried his wet nose in her palm. She poured the tea, grabbed the biscuit tin and sat down at the kitchen table. Beau gazed up at her, forever hopeful of a piece of biscuit to share.
“You’ve just had breakfast, boy,” Lexi said firmly, but quickly gave in, breaking the shortbread in half.
It was only ten o’clock; she had a ton of paperwork to get through for the accountant, but was in no mood to tackle it. The concentration was just not there. Perhaps she should call one of her old colleagues who now worked in the School of Psychology at the University of Auckland. He sometimes did profiling for the police. Perhaps he could shed some light on what kind of nutcase they were dealing with. One thing was for certain, none of this was anywhere near normal.
13
At Matakana Police Station, Bill was going over the information from yesterday’s crime scene. They didn’t have much and there were still so many question marks. Niko had called all the hospitals north as far as Kaitaia and south as far as Taupo to see if anyone missing a left hand had presented. Having no luck with the hospitals he had tried the morgues, but no luck there either.
“It’s a bit of a mystery for sure,” Niko said looking through his notes. “The Special Search Group went through the farm and the area surrounding it yesterday and found nothing of interest.”
“I spoke to Rudd just before,” Bill said. “They should have a preliminary answer, perhaps by the end of the day, on how long since the hand was severed.” He was grateful that Orewa felt so inclined, as to keep them in the loop. “It’s lunchtime. Let’s head over to Matakana Valley Wines for another look. We can grab a sandwich on the way.”
Avery and Isaac had finished their chores and the inspection of the vines and continued to the paddock up the hill to check on the cows. Even though Roger milked them, Avery still had the primary responsibility for their welfare. They refilled the drinking water in the trough and got a couple of salt stones out of storage in the milking shed, as the old ones were just about gone. A few of the fence posts needed straightening so Avery decided to return after lunch to fix them.
The gentle ride downhill and back to the homestead took only a few minutes. Isaac parked the quad bike next to Avery’s before going inside. “You should have become a farmer. It suits you,” Avery said, knowing how much Isaac enjoyed riding the farm bikes.
Isaac smiled. “Perhaps I should have. It would have saved a lot of crap in my life, and would be a pleasant change from wearing a suit every day. I much prefer shorts, singlets and gumboots.”
“You’re just in time. There’s frittata and salad on the table for you,” Lexi said. The smell made Avery realise how hungry he was. They chatted like old times, Isaac telling them about some of his more demanding clients. He was finally relaxing.
Then he became serious. “We’ve had a terrible couple of years, rounds of IVF, the hormone treatment for Petra with its horrible side effects. I was merely a passenger. It was her body and mind that copped the full brunt of the ordeal. I could have been more sensitive to what she was going through.”
Lexi touched his hand. “These things take time to heal. Just let her know you are there for her, no matter what.”
“It was tough to lose the baby for me as well, but I chose to bury myself in work, leaving Petra to cope with the grief on her own. That wasn’t fair on her.” The look in Isaac’s eyes said it all.
“You should call Petra,” Lexi said. “Let her know you are there for her.”
“We are here for you both, you know that,” Avery said.
“When is the Matakana Film Festival on again?” Avery said, changing the subject.
“Opening night is tomorrow. The first movie is The Dark Horse.” Lexi turned to Isaac. “Would you like to come along?”
“Sure, but isn’t it a few years old?”
“Yes, but they’re showcasing the best of New Zealand film over the next week. Annika is in charge so it will be a fabulous event.”
“Talking about doing well, how is James?” Isaac asked.
Avery rubbed his stubbly chin before answering. “I saw him down at the pub last week. He said a quick hello before he took off in a hurry.”
“I can’t believe it’s still dragging on. I thought you said you’d talk to him before Christmas.”
“I tried. I drove up to his house with a basket of goodies from the farm shop. No wine — I didn’t want to inflame the situation further. Instead, I put in a single malt, one I know he likes. I just wanted to apologise for my part of the upset, offer him my hand and sort it out.”
“What did he have to say?”
“James was in a terrible space, completely crushed. Tina had just left him and taken the two boys with her.”
“I knew they were having a few issues, but it would have been tough on him that she just up and left like that. Did you manage a truce?”
“I guess we did, of some sort. We agreed that there had been a misunderstanding at the International Wine Show, and that our tempers had got the worst of both of us. Even though he admitted he didn’t think I cheated when I submitted my wine, it seemed like he wasn’t thinking we deserved winning the syrah gold.”
Isaac frowned. “Serious accusations.”
“Absolutely, and completely without merit, James admitted he was going through a crappy time when it happened. I reacted like anyone would when accused of cheating.”
“I guess you have to feel sorry for the poor bloke, he must have gone through hell these last couple of months,” Isaac said. “We should call him, see if he wants to catch up over a cold beer.”
“Yes, why not? I’ll call him later, but first let’s get the fence fixed up before we have some escapees.”
Bill and Niko pulled up in front of the homestead just as Avery and Isaac came down the steps.
Bill stretched out his hand. “Isaac, it wasn’t yesterday that I saw you, mate.”
“Great to see you too.”
“I suppose Avery has filled you in on recent events?”
Isaac nodded.
“Would you mind if we have another look around the place, Avery?”
“Yes, no worries. I haven’t noticed anything else out of the ordinary, but you never know.”
“Great. We’ll start with the outbuildings and work our way around the property if you don’t mind.”
“All good. If you want to use the quad bikes, I park mine over there and Gabriel’s is parked in the barn, the green one,” Lexi said. “Key’s in the ignition.”
Bill pointed to the sleek Aston Martin. “You wouldn’t be able to leave the keys in this beauty.”
“No, mate. I’m sure it would go quickly, es
pecially in Auckland,” Isaac said, making them all laugh.
Avery got on the motorbike. “Isaac and I have to head up to the corner paddock and tend to the fence. We’ll catch up with you later.”
Lexi took the men into the outbuildings where everything looked fine until they got into the back of the winery where Avery had his office. “Bloody hell!” Lexi cried out. The small windowless office looked as though a tornado had gone through it. The desk drawers had been pulled out and left overturned on the floor; books from the wall unit were all in a jumbled mess, thrown everywhere in a rage. The metal filing cabinet was the same, although the heavy drawers were still in place, the files dumped and scattered all over the desk. “Avery can be a messy bugger, but not like this!”
“Touch nothing,” Niko said as she reached for the files on the desk.
“Can you please call Avery and get him to come back,” Bill said as he stepped cautiously between the piles of debris on the floor.
Lexi tried his mobile, but it went straight to voice mail. “Typical when we need to get hold of him. He’s hopeless with his phone. Half the time it’s turned off. I’ll try Isaac.”
The signal rang twice before she heard Isaac’s voice. “Hi Lexi, are you all right?”
“Yes, but can you send Avery back to the winery? We just need to check something.”
“Sure. He’ll be there in a few minutes.”
Bill and Niko carefully worked their way around the room. Lexi felt uneasy and leant against the wall for support.
Bill picked up on her worried demeanour. “Don’t worry,” he said and put his arms around her shoulders. “We’ll sort this out.” Bill was like a big brother to her, and had always looked out for her since they were kids. She knew she could trust him.
Avery walked through the door with Isaac in tow and stopped in his tracks when he saw the mess in the office. “What the fuck is this?” He was visibly shaken. “It was fine when I left the office on Saturday afternoon. Well, perhaps a little untidy, but nothing like this.” His normally straight back and shoulders sagged; the air had completely gone out of him.
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