The Wildwood Sisters

by Mandy Magro

  ‘Of course not.’ Renee laughed at Tia’s free spirit. Her best mate had never been one to care what anyone else ever thought of her. She reminded her so much of Scarlet. ‘See you soon mate.’

  Half an hour later, Renee opened the door to Tia, who true to her word was dressed in her Paul Frank flannelette pyjamas, her long blonde hair pulled up into a messy ponytail. ‘Looking stylish there, girlfriend,’ she said, smiling.

  Tia grinned wickedly, then playfully modelled her outfit as she walked through the door. ‘As always.’

  Renee gave her a kiss on the cheek, then handed her a steaming cup of extra strong coffee. ‘Wanna hang in the lounge room?’

  ‘Sounds good to me,’ Tia said as she followed Renee down the hallway. Positioning herself carefully on the couch so as to not spill her coffee, she stared at Renee who was busy puffing up the pillows beside her. ‘Well, come on! Don’t keep me hanging, Reni. You’re making me nervous!’

  Renee took a deep breath and prepared herself. Spit it out Renee, you can do it.

  ‘I had a phone call from my pa late last night. My nan has had a massive heart attack.’

  Tia gasped. ‘Oh, honey, I’m so sorry. Is she going to be okay?’

  ‘Pa reckons she’s going to pull through, but I don’t know if he’s just telling me that to keep me from going home.’

  ‘Oh, Reni. Have you had a chance to speak to her yet?’

  ‘No, not yet. I’m going to give her a call at the hospital this morning. Pa said to call after nine.’ Renee sucked in a breath. ‘Tia, I’ve decided to go back to Wildwood Acres for a little while, to help take care of her, and to help Pa out around the place.’

  Tia’s manicured eyebrows shot up to almost level with her hairline. ‘Oh my God, Reni, have you seriously stopped and thought about this? I know you love your nan, but what if the nightmares start again, or it spirals you right back to where you were all those years ago with your panic attacks, or God forbid, what if he’s still there and he comes after you…’

  Renee cut Tia off, determined to try and sound confident about her decision. She didn’t need to be reminded about everything that could go wrong either—she had gone over the possible scenarios all night long. ‘It’s been nine years, honey. Surely it’s safe to go back now—it just has to be. I can’t sit here and do nothing. Mick, Pa’s offsider, broke his fibula last week after flipping the four-wheeler motorbike on top of himself, so he’s out of action for a while, and even though Pa’s not letting on, I know he needs help. It’d be wrong of me not to go back at a time like this.’

  Renee held her breath. Tia knew her background inside out and back to front, so Renee knew she was going to be as apprehensive about her going back to Wildwood Acres as her pa was. But right now, she needed someone to be encouraging about it.

  Tia looked down at her coffee, sighed weightily, and then looked back at Renee. ‘I understand, Reni, I really do, but it worries me, you going back there. I wouldn’t be a very good friend if I said I didn’t mind.’

  ‘I know, Tia, but my nan and pa need me, and besides, I reckon it’s time for me to go back. It’s been years since I left… I can’t avoid the place forever. As much as Melbourne is my base now, Wildwood Acres will always be my real home.’

  There was a moment’s silence before Tia nodded. ‘You’re right, Reni. As much as I hate the thought of you going back there, I will support whatever decision you make. No sense in me trying to talk you out of it because I know once you’ve made your mind up about something, there’s no changing it. And to be honest, it’s not really too much of a surprise. Since Fay passed away, you’ve been talking more and more about how much you miss Wildwood Acres and your nan and pa.’

  ‘Have I really? I hadn’t noticed. It’s just, Fay’s passing has left a huge hole in my life here, and I’m craving having family around me.’ Renee smiled softly, willing herself not to cry. Tia was the most beautiful mate any girl could ask for. ‘You know me too well, honey. Thanks for supporting me, it means the world.’

  ‘You know I’ll always be there for you, through anything, as you’ve always been there for me. It will be good for you to go home for a while. But I have to ask, are you going to go digging around in the past, you know, trying to find out who it was?’

  Not wanting to worry Tia, but not wanting to lie either, Renee took her time to answer. ‘Well, I’m not going to go there with guns blazing, but I am going to keep an open mind and if something or someone triggers a gut instinct I’m definitely going to look into it further.’

  Tia reached out and took hold of Renee’s hand, squeezing it gently. ‘Oh mate, I understand your need to find out what happened to Scarlet, I really do, but please promise me you’ll be super careful… Remember, you left there accusing quite a few innocent people of her disappearance. You don’t want to go doing that again.’

  Renee swallowed and gave Tia’s hand a loving squeeze back. ‘I know, and I promise I’ll be very careful.’

  ‘Good, that’s what I need to hear.’ Tia took a sip from her coffee and then wriggled her eyebrows, smirking. ‘So are you going to look up that sexy bloke you always talk about and try to rekindle the flame?’

  Renee sucked in a breath. ‘I don’t always talk about him.’

  Tia nodded fervently. ‘Oh yes you do, you compare every single guy you date to him!’

  ‘It’s been almost ten years. He’s probably got a wife and five kids and a cute little picket fence around his cosy family house by now. So to answer your ludicrous question, no I’m not.’ Renee looked away, her mind in another place for a few brief moments as she stared out at the high-rises. ‘And besides, I doubt he’d want anything to do with me after leaving him the way I did.’

  ‘Hmm, you never know. Time can heal.’ Tia placed her empty cup on the coffee table in front of them. ‘But enough talk about hunky blokes. What are you going to do about work while you’re away? Is Grant going to be okay with you having time off?’

  ‘Yeah, I rang him just before you got here, and he’s being surprisingly understanding—I think the fact I was a blubbering mess at the time might have had something to do with it. I’ve got almost six weeks of holidays up my sleeve, and Grant said to let him know if I need any more time on top of that. I’m not really sure exactly how long I’ll be gone for, maybe a couple of months I’m guessing. It will all depend on how Nan recovers, and how long it takes Mick to be back in the saddle—and also how I feel when I’m back there. Anyway, you’re the nurse—how long do you reckon?’

  Kat decided to join the two women on the couch and jumped up in between them. Tia reached out and gave her a loving rub.

  ‘Well, if it’s a fibula it’s probably going to take Mick at least nine or ten weeks, possibly slightly more, to be fit for work again. And your nan, well, that all depends—everyone’s different and it depends a lot on how fit a person was before their heart attack as to how long it takes to get better.’

  ‘Well, Nan has always been pretty active, so I guess that’s good news.’

  ‘Yeah, she’s a tough old country broad, your nan. She will probably be in hospital for a week, or maybe even two, before she’s allowed home. And then she’ll just have to take it easy and not go doing too much for a while.’

  Renee chuckled. ‘Nan, not doing much? This is definitely going to be a battle.’

  Tia chuckled, too, before sighing. ‘What about me? What am I going to do without my sidekick around? I’ll be lost without you, Reni!’

  ‘I know, I’m going to be lost without you too. But maybe you can come and visit me in the country and play cowgirl for a weekend. Maybe even find yourself that chaps-wearing cowboy. And while I’m away, you can play city apartment owner, rent-free. Just picture it: you can bring your dates home and you won’t have anyone to answer to. They can even sleep over and you won’t have to sneak them in and out of your bedroom window like you do now.’

  ‘So basically, you’d like me to apartment-sit for an unknown amount of time, out
from under my parents’ roof for a while—away from my dad who still thinks I’m his little girl, bless him—and I can finally act my twenty-six years of age, rent-free?’

  ‘You’re spot on. There’s just one catch.’

  ‘Oh?’

  ‘Would you mind looking after Kat for me?’

  ‘Oh my God, you know you don’t even have to ask me that, I love Kat. It’s a deal!’ Tia reached out and hugged Renee to her, the two women crying and laughing as they embraced each other.

  Renee parked her black BMW convertible in the shade of a towering gum tree and then unhurriedly made her way to the back of the churchyard, the sweet scent from the freesias she was holding reminding her of many happy days gone by. Sometimes white or yellow, other times shades of pink and purple, never a day had passed without the beautifully fragrant flowers adorning the centre of her great-aunt Fay’s antique French dining table. Although she’d been a lover of anything that bloomed, freesias had been Fay’s favourite, and Renee always made sure to bring a bunch to her resting place whenever she visited.

  It was the least she could do after the six years she’d spent living with Fay in her quirky two-bedroom cottage in Melbourne’s swish suburb of Hawksburn—the same cottage Fay had left her in her will, with a firm request for Renee to sell it if it became a burden. But Renee couldn’t bring herself to sell it. It was a piece of Fay that she just couldn’t bring herself to part with. Instead she had decided to rent it out to an elderly retired couple, for now. Maybe one day it would feel right to put it on the market, if the need ever arose.

  Fay had always made her feel welcome, the rarely complaining, often eccentric, always smiling sixty-six-year-old woman never making her feel as though she was in the way of her posh lifestyle. Although they were sisters, Fay was the polar opposite of Renee’s country-loving nan, Pearl. Fay was a single free spirit with no children and no desire to ever settle down and get married. An urban-lover from early childhood, thanks to her childhood and teenage years growing up in the city, Fay had happily taken Renee under her diamond-studded wings, never batting an eyelid at Renee’s initially laid-back, and sometimes unkempt, country ways. She had instead gently taught her about city life, and how to hold herself in the company of the swanky, her world-travelled wisdom always amazing and intriguing Renee.

  It was Fay’s own experience as a top-notch real estate agent and her connections to the real estate kingpins that had inspired Renee to follow the, at first, extremely challenging path of becoming a real estate agent in a very tight market, and it had eventually paid off, big time, when two years ago she had stepped up from being a suburban realtor to only selling the homes of the affluent—which meant much bigger commissions.

  So much of who she was, was thanks to Fay, and she missed her exuberant go-get-’em personality immensely. Life in Melbourne was certainly less fascinating without her around, and the large void Fay had left was one of the big reasons Renee had found herself thinking more and more about Wildwood Acres and the life she had had there before Scarlet had gone missing.

  Wiping the tears from her cheeks, she knelt down and popped the freesias in the vase embedded in Fay’s grave, and then began to give the marble headstone a wipe with a cloth she always brought along, mouthing the inscribed words as she did every time:

  In Loving Memory of

  Fay Mary Elizabeth Johnston

  A Devoted Daughter, Sister, Aunt and Friend

  16/3/1947 – 18/4/2014

  A smile for all, a heart of gold

  One of the best this world could hold

  Never selfish, always kind

  A beautiful memory left behind

  It had been just over a year since Fay had lost her battle with ovarian cancer, but the ache in Renee’s heart was still as strong as it was the day she had passed away. Fay had fought long and hard, until the pain had got too much and she’d needed large doses of morphine to help her cope. She’d then refused to eat, the once vibrant woman fading away to skin and bones in a matter of weeks, her feisty spirit long gone before she was. Renee had sat and held her hand when she’d taken her final breath, and continued to sit by her side for hours, not wanting to say the ultimate heartbreaking goodbye. The only peace she got with Fay’s passing was that her great-aunt was no longer in pain, her spirit now free to fly with all the rest of the angels Renee already knew were in heaven.

  Sitting down on the grass, Renee pulled a tissue from her bag and wiped her eyes. ‘Hi Fay. I got some big news to tell you. I’m finally going back to Wildwood Acres.’ She sighed loudly, wishing she could hear Fay’s reply, although, she knew it would be one filled with apprehension. ‘You see, Nan has had a heart attack and I want to be there to help her and Pa. They’ve both been there for me my entire life, and now it’s my turn to be there for them.

  ‘And on top of that, I really need to try to find out what happened to Scarlet, because as much as I’ve tried to get on with my life down here, the fact we never found out who took her from us will haunt me every day until whoever it was is caught and brought to justice.’ Renee’s lips began to quiver. ‘And I really need to try to find her, Fay, so we can give her the burial she deserves. I feel selfish going on about my days when Scarlet’s body is lying out there somewhere. I’m going to make it a priority, besides taking care of Nan of course, to try and unravel the truth while I’m there. I don’t know if I’ll get all the answers I need, but I’m going to at least give it my best shot.’

  Renee gently rested her hand on the grass that covered Fay’s resting place, imagining she was in fact resting her hand over Fay’s. ‘I know if you were here you’d be worried sick about me going back, but I’m hoping that because you’re in spirit now, you can be beside me while I’m there. You know, keeping me safe.’

  Brushing her fingers over her lips and then placing her kiss upon Fay’s headstone, Renee lay back on the impeccably manicured grass with her hands tucked behind her head, watching the clouds as they floated listlessly in the azure blue sky. The fruity scent of orange blossom floated in on the soft breeze, stirring vivid memories of her and Fay sitting in the garden with a cup of herbal tea, enjoying the morning sunshine as they caught up on their hectic lives. She imagined Fay, above the clouds, and smiled. It was a peaceful world up there, beyond the challenges, trials and tribulations of this earth. And knowing Fay, she’d be keeping all the souls in heaven on their toes, in a good way. She wondered if her mum and dad and Scarlet were up there with Fay, looking down upon her. She had to believe they were. It gave her the strength to take the big step she’d been avoiding for the past nine years.

  She thought back to the second phone call she’d made this morning, after Tia had left to go home and sleep. Her pa had been extremely hesitant when she had called to tell him she was coming back. He had tried to talk her out of it once again, but she’d firmly told him he couldn’t change her mind. And after telling him she’d hitchhike to Wildwood Acres if need be, he’d grouchily agreed to pick her up from Cairns airport, at the same time reminding her how stubborn she could be.

  Pfft. He could talk. She didn’t have a hope in hell of being anything else with him as her role model growing up. Stubbornness was a Wildwood trait.

  Closing her eyes, Renee enjoyed the warm sunshine touching her skin as questions began to flood her mind once again. Would returning to Opals Ridge finally cure her, or would her long-buried fears emerge into a nightmarish reality? Did the man that had stolen her heart all those years ago still live there, and could she expect him to forgive her if he was? And would new information come to light that would expose her sister’s killer and lead her to her sister’s remains? There was only one way to find out, and tomorrow she would step onto a plane bound for Far North Queensland, with no chance of turning back.

  CHAPTER

  4

  The flight attendant’s robotic-sounding voice woke Renee from her light slumber, the young stewardess advising all passengers to close their tray tables, put their seats in the upright
position, open all window shades, stow bags beneath the seat in front and make sure seatbelts were fastened, then finally announcing it was four pm and a balmy thirty degrees in Cairns.

  Renee yawned, her mind lagging as she did what was requested. When the bloke behind her pushed his knee into the back of her seat yet again, she bit her tongue, determined not to make a scene. Normally she would shrug it off, but today her nerves were on tenterhooks. He’d being wriggling the entire flight, pulling her hair whenever he got up to go to the toilet, and burping loud enough to mimic a foghorn. The only reprieve from the constant jabs in the back and utter rudeness was to fall into a restless sleep. She understood that there was limited room on an aircraft, but this guy was pushing beyond the boundaries of acceptable. She couldn’t wait to get off the plane and away from him before she lost her cool.

  Sitting up in her seat, she stretched out her aching neck and then pushed open her window shade, momentarily blinded by the sunlight pouring through like a sea of molten gold. Allowing herself to be taken away by Mother Nature’s beauty, she stared in awe as her focus came to rest on the crystal clear aqua-blue water beneath. The bird’s eye view allowed her to grasp the Great Barrier Reef’s unimaginable scale and beauty in a way that was impossible from the ground.

  Tourist boats sped through the sea, on the way home from the reef or the islands, leaving white frothy trails in their wake. Exquisite palm-fringed golden-sand beaches hugged the lush green coastline, while towering mountains sat off in the distance, winding roads leading through the rainforest and up to the Atherton Tablelands where Wildwood Acres was. After so many years away she had forgotten just how amazingly beautiful Tropical North Queensland was. Her stomach did a backflip, and then another, the butterflies in her belly more like mammoth moths. She was finally here. Back to where it had all happened. Home. She pondered with equal measures of anxiety and curiosity what lay ahead for her.