Faraway Eyes_A fast-paced romantic murder mystery

by Evelyn Harrison

  “Can I help you?” asked the receptionist, in a clear French accent.

  “Yes,” said Sam, stepping forward, “We’re booked in for two nights under the name of ‘Adams’.”

  The receptionist scrutinised her screen. “Yes, here you are, two nights in the name of Adams.” She reached into a drawer. “These are your keys, I hope you enjoy your stay with us. The porter will help you up with your suitcases.”

  A young male rushed forward, loaded up their luggage onto a trolley and led them along the wide corridor to the lift. Arriving at the first floor they disembarked, and in a few strides, arrived at their two-bedded apartment.

  “Wow, this is something,” said Kate, as the porter closed the door behind him. “I didn’t expect it to be so spacious or have a second floor.”

  “I don’t know about you,” began Sam, collapsing on the settee, “but I could do with a shower. Although it would be so easy to close my eyes right now, I think we should try to keep awake until at least six, otherwise we’ll never get used to the time difference.”

  “You’re right. How about taking a walk after our shower? We could look around and find somewhere to eat. I see we’ve a kitchenette, but I certainly don’t feel like cooking.”

  “Nor me.”

  ***

  New Zealand, Thursday 25th May

  They were both oblivious to their phone alarms the following morning. It wasn’t until the tune of her iPad rang out that Kate prised open her eyes.

  “Sam,” she cried, appearing in Sam’s bedroom, “your mum’s trying to FaceTime us.”

  Sitting on the edge of Sam’s bed, they beamed at the screen as Sally and Polly’s faces came into focus.

  “Hi, you’ve got there safely then?” exclaimed Sally. “How was your flight?”

  “Everything went smoothly Mum. We’re only just waking up, can’t believe we’ve been asleep for over twelve hours.”

  “Well, you obviously needed it,” chimed in Polly. “Is the hotel OK?”

  “It’s brilliant.”

  “That’s good.”

  “We took Harry up to the farm earlier,” said Sally “so he could play with your girls, Kate. All the children are absolutely fine so don’t worry. Harry’s already been asleep for an hour – I think we exhausted him. Another time we’ll try and keep him awake. James said he’ll call you later, Kate, as he’s on late shift this week.”

  “OK, thanks. Love to everyone.”

  “Yes, love and kisses to you all. We’d better go mum, we’re only allowed a limited amount of Wi-Fi time,” pointed out Sam.

  As the screen went blank the women looked at each other, reading each other’s thoughts, they didn’t need to say anything. Seeing and hearing about their loved ones had made them both feel homesick.

  Following an enormous breakfast in the hotel dining room, they decided to venture outside and explore the area so they could stretch their legs. After walking for several miles, visiting sights on the way, they found somewhere to have lunch and a sit down.

  “Remember the tram we saw yesterday giving city tours, do you fancy getting tickets?” asked Kate, pouring herself out a glass of water.

  “Yes I’m up for it.”

  Feeling her phone vibrate, Kate removed it from her pocket.

  “It’s James,” she said, looking down at the screen, “I’ll take it outside.”

  Watching her friend from the restaurant window, Sam mused at seeing Kate’s excited face – somehow in her euphoric state, she appeared younger. How she wished she had someone special in her life to tell her how much he loved and missed her. She wondered what Alex was doing. If she ever crossed his mind, because try as she might even with such a distance between them, she was still thinking of him, she couldn’t help herself.

  “James sends his love,” said Kate, pulling out her chair and sitting back down again.

  “Thanks, that’s nice,” replied Sam, staring at her. “I might be wrong, but you look as if you wanted to add to that.”

  “You’re so damn good …” Kate looked down and fiddled with her knife and fork. “James told me Alex has asked him to his stag night.”

  “And?”

  “And he’s going.”

  Sam shrugged her shoulders. “Well, they are colleagues, I guess it’s only natural he would ask him.” She took a long sip of wine and rested her elbow on the table, toying with the glass between her fingers. “Has Alex sent you an invitation to his wedding by any chance?”

  Kate shuffled uneasily around in her chair. “Sorry I should have told you, but I didn’t want to upset you. It arrived a couple of weeks before we left. You don’t have to worry though, James told him we had already planned to take the girls to France to visit their grandmamma that weekend.”

  “And Beth, did she and Ben get one too?”

  “Yes, she told him she couldn’t get cover for the shop.”

  “Shit, shit, shit.” Sam shook her head. “You shouldn’t be having to lie for me!”

  “Don’t worry, that’s what friends do. Now let’s forget the damn wedding and eat.”

  ***

  After purchasing their tickets from the ticket office in a nearby shopping centre, they waited for the next tram. Clanging its way along its tracks, the red tram moved effortlessly along the crowded streets. Commentary from a knowledgeable Kiwi, giving his passengers a history of the city, made the trip very enjoyable.

  “You could almost think we’re still in England,” remarked Kate glancing out from her window seat. “Look, on the other side of the park there’s even a red London bus.”

  Sam started searching frantically in her handbag for a tissue. “I’m beginning to feel guilty about doing this, Kate. When we get back to the hotel, we must start focusing on our trip tomorrow. I know we’re having some time out, but we’re here for a purpose, it’s not a holiday. As far as I’m concerned, the quicker we can find Daniel, the quicker we can get home and the happier I’ll be.”

  “It was your idea to come to New Zealand, remember?”

  “I know, but that doesn’t mean I’m not missing home.”

  “Me too.” Kate turned away as her tear ducts filled. “Polly did say we should relax today though, but you’re right, we must do a bit of planning.”

  Back at the hotel Sam spread out a map of South Island on the dining room table and ringed their destination. “We’ll have a satnav in the car, but I always like to look at paper maps as well,” she said, pointing to the circle she’d drawn. “It looks a straightforward drive. I reckon it’ll take us about three to four hours, barring any mishaps; we should reach Jacob’s Rest around lunchtime. We’re not booked in anywhere, so we’ll have to find a motel or bed and breakfast and then we should start asking around if anyone’s seen Daniel or knows of his whereabouts.”

  “What if we can’t find anyone who knows anything?”

  “We’ll just bloody well keep asking until someone does.”

  Chapter 12 – Jacob’s Rest

  New Zealand, Friday 26th May

  It was seven o’clock in the morning when they made their planned FaceTime call home. The two women struggled to hold back their emotions at seeing their children’s faces for the first time since they left England. Unsurprisingly, Harry hadn’t a clue what was going on. His head did turn at the sound of his mother’s voice though, and he seemed to recognise her on the screen as she smiled back at him and blew him a kiss. Sam felt some comfort seeing him happy in her mother’s arms; nevertheless, her whole body yearned to hold him. The twins on the other hand were very chatty and held up pictures they’d painted in school. Kate made the appropriate mummy comments and they seemed more than happy with her responses.

  Half an hour later, the friends checked out of their hotel and made their way to the car hire company. Their vehicle, for the duration of their stay, was a very spacious Toyota Highlander, with plenty of room for sleeping, if such a situation was needed. After stopping off at a supermarket for supplies of food and water, they set
up their satnav and were finally ready to roll.

  Heading due west, leaving the bustling city behind, the straight, single-lane highway, loomed large in front of them. Enveloped in a low-lying morning mist, the open fields aligning the road were reasonably flat, however, the view in the far distance was of swathes of snow-capped mountains, which were slowly gaining height and magnitude as they motored towards them. Although it was almost the end of autumn, once the mist dispersed, it was a glorious day with hardly a cloud in the bluest sky they had ever seen. After a couple of hours, they pulled up beside a large aqua-coloured lake and decided, as they were almost halfway, it was a good time to change drivers. Stepping out into the fresh atmosphere, they couldn’t avoid the urge to take a few pictures.

  “It’s so amazing, it’s hard to take it all in,” exclaimed Kate, her teeth chattering slightly, the result of inhaling the cold crisp air. “I just wish we could share this moment with our families.”

  “I know what you mean, it’s breath-taking. I don’t think there could be a better view anywhere else.” Treading cautiously over uneven ground, taking them to the water’s edge, Sam stooped down and swirled her hand around in the icy liquid. “We should come across another town in about five miles, I could do with a coffee and the loo.”

  Returning to their vehicle, Kate sat in the driving seat and studied the satnav.

  “We seem to be making good time, we should reach Jacob’s Rest well before two o’clock.”

  Putting the car into drive, she pulled away from the lakeside and re-joined the road. An hour later, after a coffee break and a top up with fuel from the one pump garage, they started on the last leg of their journey. The scenery, if it was at all possible, was getting more picturesque as they progressed, they couldn’t help continue to marvel at its beauty.

  ***

  Jacob’s Rest lay tens of miles from the base of the mountains. Parking the car in the middle of the high street, Sam took a swig from her water bottle.

  “So, here we are,” she exclaimed, unclipping her seat belt. “It seems odd, I’ve been thinking of this town for weeks. Picturing finding Daniel propping up a bar somewhere, wondering what all the fuss is about. It doesn’t appear a very busy place does it? I’m guessing it’s more of a stopping off point before the mountains.”

  Kate wound down her window and peered out.

  “As stunning as the landscape is, I couldn’t live here, it’s too far from civilisation. I suppose though, if this is where you were born, you’d be used to living away from everything.”

  “We’re just used to seeing more life around us, that’s all. Right, our first task is to find a café …”

  “For lunch?”

  “You’re getting as bad as Beth, always thinking of food,” Sam grinned. “Lunch eventually, but I want to see if we can find the café where Julie Arnold works, if she in fact exists. I’m assuming Stanley Drummond took a statement from her over the phone, as the lying shit didn’t actually come out here. I didn’t notice a café, only a tavern, when we drove in, so we can either drive a bit further on or get out and walk, your choice.”

  “I say we walk for a bit, it’ll give us a chance to have a proper look around.”

  Zipping up their jackets, they secured the car and started strolling down the left-hand side of the street, peering into the unique shops as they progressed. Coming to a halt in front of Arnold’s Café, Sam nudged Kate.

  “Couldn’t have a clearer clue than that could we? Shall we go in? I’ll do the talking.”

  Arnold’s Café was surprisingly cavernous inside; consequently, they didn’t have too much trouble finding a table. Studying the menu, Kate leaned forward.

  “We might as well order something, there might not be anywhere else in the town to eat.”

  “I’m sure there will be, but as we’re already here … the waitress is coming over.”

  The waitress, an exceptionally tall woman, whose dark hair, streaked with grey, was pulled back tight off her face, stood alongside their table, note book and pencil in hand.

  “Are you ready to order?” she asked.

  “Yes, thank you,” replied Sam looking quickly at the menu, “I’ll have a coffee, burger and chips please with a green salad.”

  “I’ll have the same,” added Kate.

  “Before you go,” began Sam as the waitress turned to leave, “does Julie Arnold work here?”

  The waitress folded her arms. “Mrs Arnold retired three years ago, somebody else runs the café now.”

  “I see, it’s just that Mrs. Arnold spoke to a gentleman from England about a Daniel Brennan. The name doesn’t ring a bell with you by any chance?”

  “No, sorry I’ve only worked in this town for a couple of months.”

  “Do you know if Mrs. Arnold still lives around here?”

  “No she doesn’t, she moved to Wellington to live with her sister. If you’ve no more questions I’ll go and get your order sorted.”

  “Yes sorry, I do have a couple more.” The waitress placed her pencil behind her ear and let out a sigh. “We need a place to stay for a few days – are there any hotels or bed and breakfasts nearby? The other thing is my friend wants to get her hair cut, can you recommend anywhere?”

  Shifting her weight from side to side, seemingly agitated by the continuing questions, the waitress spoke very quickly.

  “There’s several bed and breakfasts as you’re going out of town and a motel another mile further on. There’s only one hairdresser, Barnet Fayre, it’s off the main street up Brighton Road. I go there, they’re quite good.”

  “Thanks, you’ve been very helpful.”

  “Since when did I need a haircut?” whispered Kate, the minute the waitress scurried away.

  “Since we needed to speak to Lorraine Clark, Stanley Drummond said she was a hairdresser. Now we know there’s no chance we’re going to be able to chat to Julie Arnold, we definitely need to find Lorraine. On the positive side, at least we found out Julie Arnold does at least exist.”

  ***

  It only took them a few minutes to locate Barnet Fayre by car. Entering the premises, it was immediately evident there was only one stylist working.

  “Be with you in a minute, just have to put my lady under the dryer,” said the middle-aged woman, whose layered, highlighted hair, rested stiffly on her head. “Please, take a seat.” Dutifully they sat down and picked up two glossy hairdressing magazines from the small glass table. “Sorry about that,” she said, minutes later, slightly breathless from her exertion. “I’m short staffed today. Can I help you ladies?”

  “Yes, I would like to book a cut and blow dry with Lorraine,” said Kate.

  “Lorraine’s not in today, hence why I’m rushed off my feet!” They both sensed tension in her voice. “When would you like her to cut your hair?”

  “Will she be in tomorrow?”

  “I hope so, but you never know with her.” She opened the appointment book. “Would nine-thirty suit you?”

  “Yes nine-thirty will be fine. I wouldn’t like to be in Lorraine’s shoes when she comes in tomorrow,” grinned Kate, as they got back into the car. “Shall we go and find a bed and breakfast now? It’s getting late.”

  ***

  Seeing a vacancy sign outside on the front lawn of The Balmoral, which happened to be the first bed and breakfast they came to, they stopped their car and rang the bell. It was a four-bedded bungalow, run by a widow who went by the name of Mrs. Manning. Mrs. Manning was a woman of a certain age, who on first acquaintance, seemed to dress to impress. Her eyebrow pencil however, appeared to have missed the mark slightly having drawn a line higher than her actual eyebrow, giving her quite a startled appearance.

  “How long will you require the room?” she asked.

  “We’re not exactly sure,” began Sam. “It could be a couple of days or longer. Would that be a problem?”

  “No, no problem, it’s quiet at the moment. As soon as it snows significantly of course, the skiers arrive, then
it would be. Are you on holiday?”

  “No, no we’re not, we actually came here looking for someone, a friend’s relative.” Sam extracted Daniel’s photo from her bag. “His name’s Daniel Brennan, do you recognise him?” asked Sam, studying Mrs. Manning’s face for a reaction.

  Mrs. Manning grasped the picture, took a quick glance, shook her head and returned the photo to Sam.

  “No, sorry, I’ve never seen him before.”

  “Are you absolutely sure?” queried Sam, sensing Daniel’s photo had actually upset her. “It would have been quite a while ago. He’d have arrived with a young girl called Nancy Baxter, I believe she lives in the town.”

  The smile on Mrs. Manning’s face turned notably sour and her whole body stiffened. “I’ve never seen him before, like I said. As for Nancy Baxter, she moved away some time ago. Good riddance I say.” She lowered her voice. “Can I give you ladies a bit of advice? Don’t go around town asking questions about the Baxters, it won’t go down very well with the locals.”

  Why did Mrs. Manning feel the need to be warning them about the Baxters? She was definitely holding something back. Nevertheless, Sam decided not to pursue it any further for the time being, threw a weak smile her way, picked up a pen and began to sign the register.

  “I have relatives who live in Scotland,” said Mrs. Manning, her mood returning to a lighter air, “in Inverness. Do you know it?”

  “No,” replied Kate, still feeling unsettled by Mrs. Manning’s outburst, “I can’t say I’ve ever been, but I’m sure it’s a lovely place.”

  “I’m sure it is, I don’t expect I’ll ever go there myself of course … There’s tea and coffee making facilities in your room. I can do you a plate of sandwiches if you’re hungry.”

  “That would be nice, thanks,” responded Kate. “What time is breakfast by the way?”