by P. R. Black
‘Sound system looks great, too,’ Inspector Bell said, indicating the porous speaker holes integrated into a white panel set into the wall. ‘You’d barely notice the speakers. This house feels like a dream.’
‘We’ve put a lot into it. I remember everything I’ve ever seen on house renovation shows – don’t put too much effort into decorations, fixtures and what have you – stick to the basics. But once we got started, we couldn’t help ourselves.’
‘You’re selling it?’
‘Nope. This is the dream house.’ She shrugged, almost by way of apology.
‘I’m just being nosy. Sorry, I’ll get to the point – there was one. I happened to see the newspaper article the other day, about the car being found on your property.’
‘Oh yeah. A Datsun, wasn’t it? I’m not big into cars, but it got a few folk excited.’
‘I’ll bet. I think there was a movie about that, wasn’t there? Woody Allen?’
Vonny shook her head. ‘Before my time. Sorry!’
‘Sleeper, it was called.’ Bell didn’t really do uncomfortable; he was smooth and professional, and made no attempt to explain the reference. ‘I’m really just asking a couple of questions about the car itself. How you came to find it, first of all?’
‘Now, that’s the strange thing. The reporter only mentioned a couple of clues in her story, didn’t she?’
‘That’s right.’ His grey eyes widened a little, and he sat forward. ‘That was a bit of a tease, wasn’t it? I imagined there was some mad treasure hunt, or something out of Indiana Jones. Pirate treasure, X marks the spot!’
‘You’re not wrong,’ Vonny said wryly. ‘We found these co-ordinates in this grungy old shed out in the woods.’
‘A shed, you say?’ Bell scratched some notes on a shorthand pad.
‘Yeah – it was almost totally obscured by hawthorn trees and nettles. My first thought was “it’s a witch’s cottage”. There’ll be a trail of breadcrumbs leading up to it. The chief builder found it, when he was carrying out a deep survey of the place.’
‘I might take a look at that, if you don’t mind.’
‘Sorry – it’s in pieces.’
‘Pieces?’
‘Yeah – we had the builders demolish it. It’s going to be a bonfire soon. Sorry.’
‘Never mind. So – after that…?’
‘When we went out, there was a map behind a dartboard inside the old shed, taking these co-ordinates using what was scored on the board.’
‘The actual dartboard? With darts in the board?’
‘Yeah, I know. It’s bizarre, but… We got the bug, and we went out. The reporter was there with us. We pieced it together, realised it was co-ordinates. I’m not sure who twigged first. There were cryptic clues. So we followed the co-ordinates and it led us to the car, covered under tarp. It was in great condition – didn’t look like it had been out there very long, not much sign of rust. Must have been someone’s pride and joy, just left out there.’
‘Did you attempt to get in touch with the estate?’
‘Well… We were told by our solicitor that Dan Grainger had no living heirs. Distant relatives came up with the idea of the raffle. And, with the contract signed, we were advised that everything we discovered on the land was ours. Legally and technically.’ She spoke these last words far too quickly and defensively. Bell glanced at her, just for a moment, but continued writing in his pad.
‘Legally and technically – that’s correct. Can I ask, were you there throughout?’
‘For what? The sale?’
‘The treasure hunt.’
‘Oh! Absolutely. Me, my other half, Seth, and the girl from the paper.’
‘Yes, she’s next on my list.’ He grinned. ‘And was there anything else you discovered in the course of this wee adventure?’
‘No, the car was astonishing enough for one day. We knew it was a classic car. Plus, we ended up getting cash for the car. There’s a collector based not far away. His eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw the pictures. I get the impression we were ripped off, just a little bit, but it all worked out nicely.’
‘Someone went to a lot of trouble to hide it, wouldn’t you say?’
‘I suppose so.’
‘You’ll have had a good look around the car?’
‘Totally. Wouldn’t want to pass on any bodies in the boot to the new owner. I’m guessing that would be an insurance issue.’
‘Some of the bangers I’ve owned in my time – you’d be surprised.’ He spoke with the world-weariness of a much older man, which struck Vonny as almost cute. It was a little bit like seeing a child wearing a flat cap or a tweed jacket. ‘So you found nothing at all of any interest in the car?’
‘Nope. Just dust. Nothing in the glove box. Nothing indicating ownership, either. The weird thing was, according to the licensing agency, the car with those plates was scrapped thirty-two years ago. It had been in a crash, and written off.’
‘Now that is interesting,’ Bell said. He stared at his own notes for a moment, chewing the side of his mouth. ‘Seems strange to go to all that bother to hide a car, wouldn’t you say?’
‘I wouldn’t know what to say.’ Vonny fidgeted with the edge of the armrest, realised it made her look nervous, and stopped. ‘You’d have to ask the previous owner about that. Though I understand that’s difficult.’
‘That’s for sure. I knew Mr Grainger, you could say. Quite an interesting character.’
‘So I believe.’
‘Who led you to believe it?’
‘Neighbours. Mrs Fulton across the road. The boy who lives on the next farm.’
‘What boy is this?’
‘Ah, I only recently met him. Truth be told I can’t even remember his name. He loves birdwatching. Comes onto the farm to take a look.’
Bell arched an eyebrow. ‘Banned, surely?’
‘Banned? Birdwatching?’
‘No, I mean, people. Trespassers. There’s a right of way at the back of the estate, but not in the main plot or the woods. That’s as I understand it. Private land, in other words.’
‘Oh, I think he knows that, but I don’t mind him coming into the woods. Seems harmless. Quite a good kid.’
‘Nevertheless, I’d advise you to be cautious. It doesn’t happen too often, but sometimes people target big houses in rural settings. Sometimes in the city there’s safety in numbers, but that gets diluted when you move to the countryside. There have been a few horrendous cases… What’s your security set-up like?’
‘Watertight, I’d say. The camera at the gate works; and the builders set off the alarms to test them. No one’s getting in here without us knowing it.’
‘What’s your security system? A Tanner?’
‘It is a Tanner, in fact. Top-of-the-range one. Burst our budget a little bit to get one, but well worth it.’
Bell nodded. ‘I have a Tanner myself. Cop, you know? Can’t be too careful.’
Vonny nodded. ‘I can imagine.’
‘And your other half – Seth, is that right? He around?’
‘No, he’s out doing Christmas shopping.’
‘And you said he’s in music?’
‘Yes. Show business, I guess.’ She gestured helplessly.
He grinned. ‘This is interesting. Tell me a bit more about the music, if you would.’
‘He’s a producer. Started off as a DJ, but he got tired of the lifestyle. He felt it was obscuring the work.’ Vonny made a dismissive gesture. ‘Load of wank, really, but he was always dedicated to it. He produced DJ Ninjakata – it was at number one for a week.’
‘My God, really? He produced that?’
‘Yeah – if you speak to him, don’t remind him. His ego’s big enough as it is.’
‘Well, that’s amazing. I’ve got a twelve-year-old daughter. She’d be impressed if she found out I’d spoken to him.’
‘He’s set up a recording studio in the basement – soundproofed, please note. And he did get his belo
ved soundproofed listening station downstairs. I got the artist’s studio; he got the racket room.’
Bell nodded. ‘I am officially jealous. Three kids… I don’t get time to do things like that. Listening to music, I mean, not making it. Seth – can I double-check, you said he came with you to the treasure hunt where you found the car?’
‘Yeah, he was front and centre. I was…’ She had been going to say she was reluctant, but on instinct she moved away from that. ‘I was involved, in the hunt if you like. He got into it, though, and pushed through and found the car.’
‘Did he find anything in the car?’
That question, again. She was tired of it, and didn’t want this to come through in the tone of her response. ‘Same thing as me,’ she said, shaking her head. ‘Fluff and dust.’
He nodded. ‘Where is Seth from, can I ask?’
‘Croydon.’
‘Know it well. Lively.’
If Vonny was supposed to augment this remark or question it, she wasn’t tempted. ‘You were saying, about finding the car?’
‘Yes. There’s a reason I ask who was involved and what you found exactly. As you’ll be aware, Vonny, the previous owners of this estate were what you would call murky individuals.’
‘Murky how?’
The humour dropped from his features. ‘Gangsters, in a word. Dan Grainger and his sons ended up dead… Dan killed his son, then set fire to the whole estate, then himself. Somewhere along the way, his younger son killed himself, somewhere else on the estate. Dan and number-one son had fallen out over a business transaction, which showed that Mark wanted to take over all his dad’s business affairs. Trouble is, no one told Dan. There are rumours that there are a lot of things buried on the property. Not just fancy cars – but other stuff, as well.’
He allowed a silence to gather pace, before Vonny broke it. ‘Other stuff, like…?’
‘I’m sure you can imagine. Drugs. Guns. Bodies, maybe.’
She laughed, but there was a timid edge to it. ‘Surely they’d have searched the entire property for that?’
‘Entire property? I’m sure you would know more than most how much land there is out here, Vonny. Down to the square inch, I imagine. It would take millions upon millions of pounds to search it all, carry out proper surveys, dig up likely spots… They’d maybe do it if they were dealing with a serial killer, and so far as we’re aware, Dan Grainger hadn’t quite gone that far. I want to tell you that there may be some material on your property that belonged to Dan. The proceeds of crime, cash, drugs for example. If you find them – you’ll give me a call, won’t you?’
He handed her a card with his name and a mobile number printed on it. ‘Of course I will,’ Vonny said. ‘Jesus, I’d call you right away. I have to say I didn’t know… I mean, we didn’t know…’
‘Guess they didn’t make it very clear on the auction site.’ He smiled again, disarming her. ‘Not to worry. This isn’t even the site of the old house, where it all happened… That’s up in the clearing in the woods. Not much of the old place left, or the stables. They’ve done a good job with the place. You’ve got a good home here, Vonny. Thanks so much for your time.’
He waved at the camera as she buzzed him through the gate. Then she put on the kettle, her phone poised in her hand. I didn’t mention the builders. She couldn’t have explained why, either. She’d wanted to keep that back. She didn’t want anything criminal associated with her house, even obliquely.
The house felt stained, now. Murder. Death. Suicide. Hanging… Now every corner seemed dark, every shadow wanted to bloat. She didn’t want to be alone. She rang Seth. And listened to it ring and divert to answerphone.
Vonny locked every door, made sure the windows were closed – even as the white fairy lights blinked on and off, close enough to her skin to sting.
25
Seth scraped up the last of his lasagne, then laid down the fork, with a tinny clash that ricocheted off the walls of the dining area. ‘Bit echoey, isn’t it?’ he said.
Vonny frowned. ‘What is?’
‘The kitchen. You reckon maybe we should get something in to neutralise it?’
‘I don’t want to listen to some music, if that’s what you’re asking me.’
He sighed. ‘No, that’s not what I was asking you. It’s fine. I didn’t think I would get used to living in shoeboxes with police sirens all night on a weekend, but there it is. I dunno if it’s trauma.’
‘You’re… not complaining about a big house, are you?’
‘No,’ he said, a little defensively. ‘Just that I’m institutionalised, I suppose. Not used to the wide open space. Same with the great big bedroom upstairs.’
‘But you did enjoy christening it.’ She had a mischievous little smirk that she knew Seth liked, and deployed it perfectly. But he didn’t pay any attention to it.
‘Sure. But I meant… having a house that looks onto the woods is going to be weird. You know. No living thing in sight. I wonder if I’ll start to think that someone’s out there.’
‘You’ve seen too many films, I guess.’ She didn’t even convince herself. She remembered how the woods had seemed threatening – a frown, gathering on the horizon – after her interview with Inspector Bell. ‘And… First of all, there’s that security system we paid a lot of money for – your idea, mostly. And remember, it’s possible there might be people out there, because there’s a public right of way at the back of the house.’
‘Granted.’
‘Plus… this isn’t exactly the crime capital of the country.’
‘According to Fulton across the road and his wife, it might well be. Bloody gangsters! Trust us to move out of south London and into some villain’s old manor.’
‘Speaking of London… Have you spoken to your mum or dad?’
Seth shook his head. ‘No. Leaving it for now. There’s nothing else to do, there.’
‘How about the demos?’
Seth sat back. ‘I’ve farmed them out here and there. Might be something brewing with Morten, at Feisty Duck.’
‘I can… pretend to understand that.’
‘It’s as niche as it sounds, but he’s put me in touch with some great singers. And I had a file through from some real throwbacks – early nineties rock, surfers, long hair. Crunchy guitars. About seventeen years old, on average. Something about them. Might go back for another listen. There’s always work.’
‘Have you decided what you’re going to do about Jake?’
Seth’s jaw tensed. ‘Here’s the thing. I had thought about bringing him down here for a bit – get him away from it. Show him something else. He wasn’t wearing that. I didn’t think he would. Wants to go back to his “manor”.’ Seth put his face in his hands. ‘God help him.’
Vonny got up and placed her hands on his shoulder. ‘Let it calm down. That’s the best thing to do. It’ll calm down eventually. Keep him away from his mates, the places he usually goes. Once it settles, he can move on, then we can move your mum and dad somewhere else. That’s the best thing to do, isn’t it?’
Possibly she was right. But Seth knew there was another thing to do, something he had discussed with a friend who still had contacts in a different kind of business, even while he’d gone shopping for gifts. And with that one gesture, a little pressure on his shoulder, Seth almost cracked and told her everything. About what he’d found. About his plan.
Except that the buzzer sounded, startling them both.
Seth glanced at his watch. ‘We expecting anyone?’
Vonny shook her head. ‘I hope it’s not the police, again. Inspector Bell said he wanted a chat.’
She crossed to the screen, with Seth glancing over her shoulder. There, cast in night vision by the gates, were Clive and Prill Fulton. Clive’s eyes filled the fish-eye-effect lens, a Lovecraftian terror for a moment or two, before he brought up a bottle of wine.
Prill did the talking for him. ‘Hi, Vonny, it’s only us – from across the way. We couldn’t help but s
ee the lights on the past couple of nights, and… Why don’t we come over and toast your new home?’
*
Vonny watched the two men get drunk. Seth, slouched in one of the easy chairs up on the balcony level that the guests had laughed at – a bit too much for Vonny’s liking – likening them to egg boxes. Which Seth had found particularly amusing, she noticed.
‘Thing is,’ Prill said, nursing a generous glass of Chablis that threatened to overflow onto her salt-and-pepper trousers, ‘I think it’s just marvellous.’
‘What is? Sorry, I was listening to my husband trying to pretend he knows about racehorses.’
‘Oh, never mind them, my love.’ Prill patted Vonny’s knee. ‘I was just saying, this house, this whole project… Isn’t it a triumph? It’s like something from the space age. And it tells you something, or it tells other people something. It tells you that anyone from any background can build their own house, absolutely from scratch, follow their dreams, and get the palace that lives in their minds. Isn’t that something?’
‘Well, we had a very big slice of luck, let’s be honest,’ Vonny said absently.
Prill wasn’t quite sober enough to be deflected. ‘I believe that lucky things happen to good people. You might scoff, but I’ve always found it to be true. People can try to bring you down, but if you’re good, and whole-hearted, then I truly believe good things will happen to you. You’re young. Young people can be cynical. What’s the word? Nihilistic? But as I’ve got older I’ve found that good things happen to good people, and the bad never turn out. Though I say this, as I watch my husband attempting to light a cigar.’
‘You what? Oh.’ Vonny had taken her eyes off Seth for what seemed like mere seconds. Like a toddler, he’d found something incorrigible to do. He was lighting the good cigars his uncle had given them last year as a present, using the tea light candle flames. He didn’t seem to be doing too well with this task, and the flickering flames seemed to writhe in mirth as he inhaled at the end of the ridiculously long cigar.
Finally, red taper flames followed their curves along the folds of the tobacco at its tip. ‘As Sigmund Freud said, sometimes,’ Seth said, trying not to cough, ‘a cigar is just… a pain in the arse to light.’