“I said I would go and pick up James’ things from the office and Rahni has a play date. I’ll drop her off on the way.”
“Would you like some help? I would much rather come with you than visit a hardware store and watch Blair drool over the power tools.” She looked at Blair, he made a pretend hurt face.
“Sure, we can have a coffee afterwards - make a morning out of it. Leave the man to do his work.”
They finished breakfast and headed off - the girls in one direction, Blair in the other. The first stop was just a few blocks down the road where Rahni had her play date. Cate walked her into the house, thanking the girl’s parents for inviting her over. They made arrangements to pick her up in the afternoon. Rahni happily ran upstairs with the girl and out of sight.
Cate drove into town and parked outside James’ office. He was an accounts manager at the First National Credit Union. He’d been there since he had graduated University and moved to the small town. He had worked his way up through the ranks from bank teller to manager in only a few short years. He was good at his job and loved it, most days. He liked being able to help people obtain finance when all other banks had rejected them. It made him feel like he was making a difference to their lives. Which was true in every sense, there were hundreds of people living in the area in their own homes which they were told was an impossible dream. He had a proven track record of knowing when to take a chance on people. There were scarcely any defaults on any of the loans he had written.
James’ good work ethic had made him popular at the bank. People enjoyed working with him because he was a positive person and very much a family man. He would bring Cate and Rahni to every work function and make sure they were introduced to everyone. He was respected by them all for his dedication to everything he did in life. The bank manager even spoke at his funeral he felt so strongly about his colleague. They had to close the bank for two hours so everyone could attend that day.
Cate was welcomed into the office part of the bank by Anne Mathers. She had been his assistant. James met with the clients and ‘sealed the deal’ while Anne helped them complete their application forms. Some wives would have been jealous about their close working relation but not Cate, she had the utmost faith in her husband. It didn’t hurt that she really liked Anne either. They had bonded over babies – they both had their daughters at around the same time. They used to joke that they would drive James into insanity, having to put up with two hormonal and heavily pregnant women at all times of the day.
Charlie sized up Anne, she was probably towards her late twenties, a tall woman with reddish-blonde hair worn back in a loose ponytail. She was attractive, and definitely married by the look of the huge rock on her left hand. You couldn’t miss that wedding ring, her husband must have had good taste.
She led them through the maze of glass offices until they arrived at James’. It was in the far right hand corner of the room, the door was closed tight. Charlie guessed that was how it had been ever since James had his accident. With respect comes privacy - they wouldn’t have wanted to disturb his private place of work.
Anne unlocked the door and allowed them to enter first. She lingered at the doorway.
“Just call if you need anything. I’ll be right outside at my desk,” she closed the door softly and left them to it.
Cate sat in the chair behind the desk. The room couldn’t have been more different than his study at home. The walls were grey, the desk was grey, even the carpets were a shade of grey. It was very clean-lined and sterile. The only part of James in the room was a photo on the windowsill of Cate and Rahni. It was taken when they had been on holiday on the Gold Coast. They were smiling huge grins and posing for the camera. It had probably made James smile every time he looked at it - his two girls being so happy.
Charlie picked up the empty box she had carried in and placed it on the desk in front of her sister.
“Should we start with the desk?”
Cate nodded and opened the top draw. There were vast amounts of stationery in it, highlighters, pens, pencils, a calculator, and a notepad. Nothing in there belonged to James personally. She closed it and opened the next one. Inside were stacks of forms and brochures from the bank. It was obviously his selling material to give to clients when they were signing up. She closed it again and went to the third and final drawer, pulling it open. In this draw contained the personal items that his boss must have been referring to. There was a mug with ‘World’s Best Dad’ printed on it, some receipts, an address book, and a book on international management styles.
Cate picked up the items and gently placed them inside the box. She didn’t examine them in any great detail, she just wanted to be out of there. She emptied the draw and pushed it shut again. She stood up and went to the windowsill where she picked up the one picture. She stared at it for just a moment before placing it inside the box too. She turned around and ran her eye over the bookcase. It was filled with how-to manuals about the bank, there were none of James’ books there.
Charlie picked up a small potted plant from the corner, it had been resting on a shelf that was put up just for it. “Do you want the plant?”
“Rahni gave him that for Father’s Day, she said it would brighten up his office. She had just learnt about the environment at school and explained to him that it would provide more oxygen. He had listened so intently as if it was all news to him that plants provided air.”
“So that’s a ‘yes’ then,” she made room for it in the box, making sure it wouldn’t leak over the other things. “That’s it then?”
“It looks that way. There wasn’t much here, I should have made it more homely for James. I didn’t realize it was so... minimalist.”
“He probably preferred it that way. Work was for working, home was for living. Besides, if it was too comfortable he never would have come home!” Charlie tried to joke, she was afraid Cate was on the edge of tearing up again.
“You’re right. Let’s go get a coffee - I think I need it.” She picked up the box and Charlie opened the door. Anne rushed over straight away, she had been keeping an eye on the door to make sure she was there as soon as she was needed.
“All done?”
“Yeah, we’ve got all his personal things. The rest looks like it all belongs to the bank,” Charlie spoke for her sister.
“Ok then. It was nice seeing you again. I don’t think I need to say it because you already know, but, James is missed around here. Our thoughts and prayers are with Rahni and yourself,” Anne ignored Charlie and looked Cate straight in the eyes.
“Thank you so much.”
“Is there anything else I can do for you?”
Cate remembered the day planner she had found the previous night; it had completely slipped her mind. “Actually, can you tell me if there is a Melanie Lucas that works here?”
“Melanie Lucas?” Anne made a face that was lost in thought. “Nope, if there is I haven’t seen her!”
“Do you know if James would have known her? Maybe she was a client or business contact?”
“No, I can honestly say that I’ve never heard the name before. Is there something wrong?”
“No, not at all. I just came across the name and wondered who she was. Never mind, I’m sure I’ll find out.”
Both Cate and Charlie thanked Anne again as she walked them back out into the public area of the bank. From there they crossed over the foyer and exited into the car park. They put the box in the trunk and walked down the street, trying to find a suitable cafe to recover. There weren’t many options. It was either a MacDonald’s or Big Rhonda’s Country Coffee Shop. They took the latter option.
At the counter, they ordered cappuccinos and a slice of cake each before finding a table in the back of the cafe. The place was almost empty, it only took a few minutes for the morning tea to arrive and be placed on the table in front of them.
“This cake looks good,” Charlie exclaimed and picked up the spoon. As she did she thought about the spoon
from the night before and how it had disappeared. She remembered how cold it had been when she eventually found it again. She pushed the memory to the back of her mind.
“It does. No doubt we’ll be wishing we hadn’t indulged in about ten minutes. It looks sickly.”
“It wouldn’t be chocolate mud cake if it wasn’t sickly. Life’s too short to live without cake.”
“Amen to that,” Cate took a bite and made a satisfied sound. “Hmm, this is so good. I’m glad that task is over and done with. We deserve this as our reward.”
“At least you won’t have to do it again. Once it’s done, it’s done.”
“Exactly. I’m a bit confused about this Melanie woman now though. I thought for sure if she was something to do with the bank then Anne would have recognised the name. Now, I’m not sure who she is at all.”
“It’s only a small place. I’m sure it won’t be too hard to track her down. How many women named Melanie Lucas can there be in a town of only a couple of thousand people?”
“You’re right. If I looked in the phone book I would probably find her in an instant.”
“Anne was helpful, did James like her?” Charlie couldn’t remember him mentioning her before.
“Yeah, Anne’s great. He was always raving about what a good assistant she is. She’s got a daughter too - the same age as Rahni. They go to school together.”
“How long has she worked at the bank?“
“She started at the same time that James did.“
“What’s her daughter’s name?”
“Selina. She’s a gorgeous little girl, which you would expect from having two beautiful parents. Anne’s husband is a honey.”
“Cate! You’ve been perving on other people’s husbands. I’ll have to keep my eye on Blair!” She teased.
“I can still appreciate a good looking man. I’m not a Nun... Yet,” Cate blushed ever so slightly.
“So, where to from here?”
“I think I might go to the post office, try and track down this Melanie woman. My curiosity is getting the better of me. Then I’ve got some errands to run, groceries and the whatnot. What are your plans?”
“I should probably go home and see if Blair needs some help with the balcony. You know what he’s like, he’s just as likely to fall off the damn thing and need an ambulance.”
“He’s certainly accident prone. Did he tell you what happened in the hardware store the other day?” Charlie shook her head, no. “I’m not surprised he didn’t confess. We were walking in the aisle that had all the paint brushes and scrapers and stuff. We turned the corner to go around to the next aisle and all of a sudden he just runs smack bang into a cardboard cut-out of the Dulux paint dog.”
Charlie started giggling, Cate could hardly go on with the story. “It was so funny, the cut-out went flying backwards and made the biggest noise when it fell over. He was just standing there, starting to go beet red. People were starting to come and see what the commotion was.”
“What did he do then?”
“He picked up the cut-out and put it back in place. He kept walking down another aisle as if nothing had happened.”
“That’s so Blair. Poor thing, he must have been so embarrassed.” She caught her breath.
“I just don’t know how he didn’t see it. I managed to go around it. You’ve got to look after that boy of yours. I don’t know if my insurance premiums can handle his accidents.”
“More like supervise him... constantly. And we left him to play with power tools on a second storey balcony. I think it’s definitely a good idea to go home and help him. If nothing else but to be around to call the ambulance.”
They finished their morning tea before Cate dropped Charlie back at Sage Manor. Cate was on a mission to find out about the mystery woman her husband had regular appointments with. If there was something she hated most in the world, it was not knowing the answers. It would hound her until she uncovered her identity.
Charlie walked up the driveway, she had insisted it wasn’t necessary to drive her directly to the door. The short walk up to the house would do her good - walk off the chocolate mud cake. Upon reaching the front stoop, she noticed that Blair’s car wasn’t parked in the drive. “Great, home alone. Just what I need right now,” she thought to herself. She scrounged around in her handbag and found the front door keys. She unlocked the door and swung it open.
“Blair? You here?” She called out to the empty house. When there was no answer she walked into the kitchen and put her bag on the table. Hanging her keys up on the rack, she turned around and returned to the foyer.
“Blair? I’m home.” Still no answer.
The house was eerily quiet. There were no sounds coming from inside or out. Charlie decided that she needed some background noise. She crossed the foyer into the living room and stopped dead in her tracks at the archway.
Her eyes scanned every piece of the room, she couldn’t comprehend what she was seeing. The walls were completely empty. The surfaces of the furniture had nothing on them. Where there used to hang photos and pictures, there was nothing. Where there used to sit ornaments and knick-knacks on the sideboard, there was nothing. She looked down at the floor, it was covered in tiny shards of broken glass and ceramic.
Inquisitively, she took a step further into the room to take a closer look. She saw one of the family pictures lying on the floor, it hadn’t just fallen off the wall and cracked. Instead, the glass had shattered into thousands of pieces, the wooden frame was still intact. She followed the line of the wall up to where it should have been hanging, trying to work out why it had fallen. The picture hook that had been holding it up was still sitting securely hammered into the plaster. She looked across the wall and sure enough, every hook was still in place. The pictures hadn’t just fallen, they would have had to have been dropped, not by a faulty hook but by a person.
The realisation that a human being had done the damage hit Charlie with full force. She panicked that the perpetrator may still be in the house. If they didn’t mind destroying someone’s possessions, then it wouldn’t be a giant leap to hurt a person either. She ran back into the kitchen and grabbed her handbag. Next she raced out the front door and down the driveway. Her legs didn’t stop until she reached the letterbox. She rested underneath a large willow tree in the shade and tried to catch her breath. Her heart was racing, causing her head to start pounding with a sharp pain. She took some deep breaths and sat on the thick green lawn.
Opening her handbag, she pulled out her mobile phone and dialled 000 emergency. It was answered after only one ring.
“What service do you need?”
“Police, please,” she was still panting, trying to get enough oxygen into her system. The operator put her straight through.
“Police. What’s your emergency?” A male voice came on the line, he spoke very matter-of-factly.
“I think someone has broken into my sister’s house. They might still be inside.”
“We’ll despatch a vehicle immediately. What’s the address?”
“It’s Sage Manor, 7 Trilby Lane, Pickerton.”
“Someone’s on their way. Are you still in the house?”
“No, I’m outside on the front lawn.”
“Are you in a safe place? You might want to stay with a neighbour until we arrive.”
Charlie managed a chuckle, she looked around - there wasn’t another house in the immediate vicinity. “I’m okay here. They just need to hurry. The people that did this have caused a lot of damage inside.”
“And you came home to find it like this? Is there anybody else in the house?”
“There’s no-one else home. I just arrived, we weren’t gone very long. They couldn’t have been here very long either, an hour or two at the most. Maybe they were watching the house? Oh no, they might have been waiting for us to leave.” The thought of being watched sent a chill down her spine.
“It’s possible. The officers will take all these details from you. It will be
okay. We’ll do our best to find the people that have done this. Try not to get too upset until we determine the facts.”
Charlie saw a police vehicle driving up the road. She stood. “They’re here. Thank you for your help.”
“My pleasure. Thank you for calling.” He hung up and the phone line beeped. She replaced the phone back in her bag and waved to the police car. They pulled into the driveway and both policemen hurried to get out of the car.
“Miss? You reported an intruder?” The first policeman was young with light blonde hair and green eyes. He pulled out his notebook as he started to talk.
“I did, thank you for coming so quickly. I think there might be somebody inside.”
“Ok. Tell me what happened.” The other officer was older, probably in his thirties. He was tall, much taller than his partner, with brown hair. He didn’t bother with a notepad, instead he pulled the gun from his holster.
“I came home and went inside. Everything looked normal until I got to the living room. Everything is just smashed. All the photos and ornaments, there is glass everywhere.”
“What made you think that the intruder might still be inside?”
Charlie was starting to feel a little foolish, like maybe she had overreacted. When she thought about it, there had been nothing to make her think there might still be someone inside. She wasn‘t going to admit it to the policemen though. “It’s a big house and they did a lot of damage. I thought they might have moved on to upstairs. Plus, we haven’t been gone long - they wouldn’t have had much time to finish going over the house.”
“You’d be surprised to see how quickly these guys can go over a place, even one this size. Is there anyone else here with you?”
“No, everyone else is out.”
“There’s no possibility that someone you know is in the house then?”
“No. My sister dropped me off here and left. My boyfriend’s car isn’t here. Besides my niece, who is at a friend’s house, no-one else lives here.”
“Okay. Stay here while we go and have a look. If you see someone, don’t do anything but call for us. Okay?” Officer Number One looked down at her to make sure his point was made. Charlie nodded, she had no plans on going anywhere until they had cleared it. She watched the two uniformed policemen walk up to the house and disappear inside. She stood staring at the house, her eyes darting to every little movement she thought she saw come from inside.
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