His gaze sharpened. “Are you sure? That window was wide open.”
“I’m sure. I got home not long ago, called the painters and they came right by. I - wait.” Relief showed on her face. “Wait a minute. Henry and his men were checking out the rooms upstairs, they must have opened the window when they were checking the old paint in there and forgotten to shut it.” Relieved, she nodded.
Taking out his phone, Adam dialled.
“What are you doing?”
“Hang on.” He listened to the phone ring, then Henry’s voice answered. “Hi, Henry, it’s Adam.”
“Hey, how you doing?”
“Yeah, good. Listen, I’m at the Declan house. Did you or your men leave a window open in the room with the books, up on the second floor?” When Barbie opened her mouth to object, shaking her head, he held simply looked steadily at her. With a sigh, she closed her mouth.
“Hang on.” Henry called out to whoever was with him at the other end, “Hey! Either of you blokes go up to the library, maybe leave a window open by accident? Cops are asking.” After a few seconds, he came back on. “Yeah, Bruce was checking the paint on the windows and frame as he’s going to start in that room tomorrow. He says he left it open by mistake. Everything all right, Adam?”
“Everything’s fine. Just checking, Henry. Thanks.” He clicked off the phone and slid it back on his belt.
“I told you, my imagination goes a little wild in this house.” Barbie sighed. “That’s why I haven’t phoned the police for every little noise I hear. I’m not wasting valuable resources for foolish call-outs.”
“If you’re genuinely concerned, it’s not a waste of time to call us,” he replied. “And that is exactly why I’ve given you my numbers, because I know you’re not going to call the police.” He cast her a steely look. “Call me. Understand?”
She snapped him a fast salute. “Yes, sir!” Almost immediately, she blushed. “Oh - I…I’m sorry. I didn’t mean-”
“Yeah,” he said quietly, “you did.” And then, amused, he couldn’t help but smile a little.
She glanced away, picking up the broom. “Well, um…”
Hell, she was cute. All quiet, blushing, sweet. And if he didn’t get out of here, he was going to start drifting off into his disturbing head space.
Walking towards the door, he was stopped by the big black and white cat that strolled out of the lounge and sat right in his path. It was either stop or step over him.
The cat looked at him out of big, gold eyes, its one ear flicking forwards.
“Guard cat?” Adam queried.
Coming up beside him, Barbie smiled down at the cat. “This is Fred.” Picking the big cat up, she cradled him to her.
The cat gazed balefully at Adam.
“I’ve been thinking about getting a cat.” Adam studied the cat. “This one is making me wonder, though…”
“Don’t be fooled.” Barbie hugged the cat close. “He’s a snuggly-wuggly puss.”
Adam couldn’t see how the hostile-looking cat could be considered vaguely ‘snuggly-wuggly’, until Fred suddenly went limp in Barbie’s arm, his head slumping onto her generous bosom, his eyes going all dreamy.
Personally, Adam couldn’t blame Fred for being all dreamy-eyed. If he had his head pillowed on those lush breasts, he’d be all dreamy-eyed, too.
Or feasting on them.
Mentally shaking away the vision that brought to his mind, Adam focussed on the cat. Reaching out, he watched as Fred sniffed his fingers before stroking around his one ear gently. Immediately he was rewarded by Fred’s purring.
“What happened to his other ear?” Adam asked.
“When I found him banging around my rubbish bins one night, his ear was badly infected. I took him to the vet the next morning but it was too late. They had to operate and take off the remainder of it.” Barbie dropped a kiss on the big head. “Poor baby. I had him neutered and micro-chipped, and now he’s a big snuggly-wuggly kitty.”
“And this one?” Adam eyed the big tabby who was happily rubbing cat hairs all over the bottom of his trousers.
“Barney. He’s also a stray. I opened the door one evening to bring Fred in, and he’d brought a friend home. Barney was skinny, starving, half grown, and full of attitude. I advertised him, but no one came forward, so off to the vet for a snip and a chip.” She laughed at Adam’s wince. “You men, always uncomfortable at the mention of a snip!”
“Let’s not go there.” Watching Barney spreading the hairs on his trousers reminded Adam that he was on duty. After giving the tabby a brief pat, he headed for the door. Opening it, he cast Barbie a look over his shoulder. “Remember, any weird things happen, call us. Or me.”
“Sure. Okay.”
“I mean it.”
She nodded.
He wasn’t convinced, but all he could do was hope she took notice. He’d check the area now and again, have Brandon drive by and check as well if needed.
Before turning the patrol car onto the highway, he glanced into the rear view mirror to see Barbie still standing on the veranda watching him leave. She cut a lonely figure standing on the veranda of the big, dark house with its faded paint and peeling wall paper.
He’d make sure those security lights went up soon.
Chapter 6
After another restless night at the old house listening for sounds that never happened, Barbie was glad to hear from Bob Winslow. By lunchtime he was out attaching the security lights to the back and front of the house.
Climbing down the ladder after attaching the last security light, he said, “Now, these lights will be triggered by movement, so be aware that a stray cat or sometimes even leaves blowing across them can set them off.” Folding up the ladder, he placed it back in his van before turning back to her. “If you need to turn them off, say if there’s a storm and lights keep going on because of the leaves and branches or anything at all, or you just don’t want them activated for any reason, you just flick those switches right inside your back or front door. Okay?”
“Thanks, Mr Winslow.” She handed him a cheque for the full amount owing.
“Thank you kindly.” Beaming, he scrawled ‘paid’ on her invoice, signed it with a flourish, tore it out of the book and handed it to her. “Now, you have any problems, you call me, understand?’
“I will, thank you.” Smiling, she folded the invoice in half.
Clambering up in the driver’s seat, he shut the door with a bang, leaning his arm on the window as he added, “Just remember, don’t turn off the lights if you don’t have to. You want them to come on as needed. Besides which, your young bloke won’t be impressed if you turn them off.”
Barbie blinked. “Young bloke?”
“Yeah.” He winked and pressed one finger to his mouth before laughing. “Gotta go. See you around, Ms Declan, and don’t forget to call me if you have any issues with the lights.”
Puzzled, Barbie watched the van go down the driveway and pull out onto the highway. Okay, that was weird. What young bloke was he talking about?
Shaking her head, she went back into the house to file the invoice with the other paid bills.
Henry’s two painters were busy in the library stripping back the wallpaper on the walls and scraping off the old paint around the window sill. Henry was outside sanding down the wood of the house. The cats were safely ensconced in her bedroom.
It felt nice to have some company in the house.
Going outside, Barbie walked around to the back to get the clothes off the line. Her gaze fell on the rose buses and she wandered over to them. Having four graves, albeit one empty and one a mystery, near the house was creepy. Not during the day, it seemed eccentric then, a little sad, but at night… Damn those horror movies she loved watching. She certainly hadn’t watched any since arriving at Great Aunt Penny’s old, dark house.
Maybe the roses would look better if she trimmed them up. The bushes were wild, tall and wide, the roses big and beautiful. A few bouquets in the house
would brighten it up.
Unlike the cultivated roses, the wild roses were rich with scent, and by the time she’d cut the flowers off the basket she’d set aside was full. The bushes definitely looked a lot neater, though she had some nasty scratches for her efforts.
Leaving the secateurs on the back veranda to finish off the bushes later, she picked up the basket and took it back into the kitchen.
Retrieving some vases from the cupboard, she trimmed the thorns off the rose stems and arranged the roses into different vases. By the time she’d finished, she had five vases in all, their scent filling the air.
Leaving one on the table, she set one vase on the hall table, another in the lounge room, one in the massage room, and one in the little study.
Coming out of the study, she met Bruce, one of the painters, coming back down the stairs with a big box almost overflowing with wall paper scraps.
“Hello.” He smiled, his eyes friendly, almost appreciate as they swept over her.
“Hi, Bruce.” She gestured to the box. “That’s a lot of wall paper.”
“That’s just the start.” He hefted it. “Shame it got so tattered and worn.”
“You like wall paper?”
“For old houses like this, yes. Wall paper definitely has its place.”
“Then you must be disappointed that I’m having paint instead of more wallpaper.”
He thought for a second before shaking his head. “Not really. You chose nice, soft paint colours, so it’ll go well with the furniture and the style of the house.”
Barbie started towards the massage room. “I’ve got an antique dealer coming to have a look at the furniture.”
“You’re selling it?” Bruce looked aghast.
She smiled apologetically. “Well, yes.”
“Huh.” He glanced around. “You could keep it in the house, sell it as a package deal. It’d attract people who are into old houses and furniture.”
“Maybe. I thought about it, but it adds so much extra to the cost. Besides, a lot of the furniture is in need of a fair bit of TLC.”
“Maybe you should look at restoring it.” The second painter, Shane, came down the stairs holding another container of stripped wall paper for the big bin outside.
“Not my forte, I’m afraid,” she replied.
He frowned. “Seems a shame to lose so much history.”
“It’s a history I don’t know much about.”
“Really? But wasn’t Ms Declan your Aunt?”
“Great Aunt, but we didn’t have much to do with her.”
“Shame,” he muttered. “Old lady always seemed lonely.”
Hearing a slight note of censure, Barbie cast him a sharp look.
Catching it, he smiled, seemingly embarrassed. “Sorry. Not my business. When you think about it, Ms Declan never really wanted anyone near her place.”
“Some people are like that.” Bruce shrugged and headed outside.
Shane studied Barbie. “Maybe you should find out more about the house, about the land.”
“I guess.”
He nodded and went outside to empty the container.
Going into the massage room, Barbie folded up the washed towels and put them in the big cupboard. Checking the stock of oils, she saw that the number of scented candles was getting low. Knowing that clients liked the scented candles burning, sending out a soft fragrance to relax them, she decided to head into town and see if the supermarket had any, otherwise she’d have to ask Melissa to post some candles to her from the city.
Which reminded her, Laura had been going to post her some sage. Barbie didn’t particularly believe in sage for warding off ghosts, but she wasn’t about to hurt her friend’s feelings and have it returned, besides, it couldn’t hurt to burn it, could it?
Laughing at herself, Barbie rang the local post office to be informed that yes, there was a parcel waiting for her. A card had been left in her letter box informing her that it would be returned if not picked up by a certain date. She just made the date by two days.
Chewing her lip, she wondered if she should go into town. Henry, Bruce and Shane seemed trustworthy, there was really nothing to be taken, the jewellery was distributed between her family and herself, the remainder sold for a tidy sum, the money banked. She had her cards and cash in her handbag. The cats were safe in their room.
Besides, she needed groceries, and the painters were going to be here for quite a few days yet, not to mention carpenters fixing the banisters and a lot of other things, including the broken window frame in the upstairs library.
She’d have to leave the workers here sooner or later. She was on her own, and the shops closed by the time the workers went home.
Making up her mind, she grabbed her small shoulder bag, informed Henry that she was going shopping and ensuring he had her phone number if needed, and went out to the car.
Entering the supermarket, one of the first people she saw was Hallie at her usual position at the checkout. Seeing her, Hallie smiled tentatively. Knowing now that it hadn’t been her fault that Adam had misunderstood everything, Barbie smiled warmly at her and waved. The relief that washed over the teen’s face made her feel guilty.
Stop it, don’t dwell on it. Move on.
Grabbing a shopping trolley, Barbie topped up on perishable items, checking out the aisles for scented candles. Unfortunately, the candles they did sell weren’t the kind she required.
At the checkout, which was deserted, Hallie greeted her happily. “Hi, Barbie. I’m so sorry about the misunderstanding.”
“So am I,” Barbie replied. “Can we be friend again?”
Laughing, Hallie nodded. “I’d like that.” She pulled the bottle of milk through the scanner. “Adam can be a bit over-protective, but he’s an okay guy when you get to know him better.”
“I’m sure,” Barbie murmured.
“As for Mrs Hubble,” Hallie continued, “she doesn’t mean any harm. Once you get to know her, she’s a nice lady. Always bakes for sales and things.” The eggs went across the scanner, followed by cheese and bread. “So, how are things going up at the old house?”
“Coming along.” Barbie was glad to change the subject. “Henry and his painters are stripping the wallpaper on the inside and sanding down the wood on the outside.”
“Oh, Henry does a great job.” Ham went across the scanner. “I hear you’ve been getting some massage jobs.”
Wow, wasn’t Hallie the font of all knowledge? Barbie found it hard to resist laughing. “It’s doing okay. Which reminds me, do you know anywhere I can buy scented candles?”
“I’m guessing the ones we have aren’t what you need?”
Barbie pulled a face. “Sorry, no.”
“In that case, you can ask Mrs Swanson. She makes her own candles, soaps and things.”
“Think she’d be willing to sell some?”
“Absolutely. She sells them to anyone who wants to buy, only they’re a little pricey because, you know, it’s all natural and stuff.”
“Sound just fine. Do you have her phone number?”
“She owns the restaurant and is always there this time of the day getting ready for the evening rush.”
Barbie wasn’t sure about the rush part, Peeron being so small and quiet, but she nodded as if she totally agreed.
Parting ways with a happy Hallie, Barbie stored the groceries in the boot of the car before walking to the restaurant, opening the door and entering to find a woman with tight grey curls sitting at a table reading a magazine and sipping coffee.
Upon seeing Barbie, she stood up and smiled, coming forward. “My, my, Barbie Declan. How nice to meet you again. Can I get you something? We do lovely takeaways, too. Our menu is right there.” She gestured to the menu above the bar.
“Thank you, no. I’m actually here because Hallie said you make scented candles?”
Enthusiasm gleamed in Mrs Swanson’s eyes. “I do. Come out the back and I’ll show you what I have.”
Delighted th
at Mrs Swanson actually had some on the premises, Barbie followed her out the back, down a small passage, and right into a lounge room. That’s when she realised that the restaurant was built at the front of the Swanson’s private home.
Mrs Swanson led her into another room, where the smell of spices, herbs and perfumes was strong. There were tubs of homemade soaps on the floor, as well as packets of candles both short and fat, and long and thin, but what caught Barbie’s attention were the thick, tall ones sitting on a bench.
Bending down, she sniffed, closing her eyes as the scents played through her. Geranium, rose, lavender, violets, sandalwood, and so many other scents. “I’m in heaven!”
That won her Mrs Swanson’s stamp of approval, and the amount of candles she bought almost got her a standing ovation. The candles were boxed, a receipt given, and then Mrs Swanson was ready for a nice, long chat. It took all Barbie’s skill to get away without a long chat and without hurting Mrs Swanson’s feelings. She managed it by pleading the workers at the house, and that she’d be sure to come back and check out the homemade soaps.
She’d just gotten back in the car when Ali leaned in the window. “Nice to see you back.”
“Nice to be back.” Surprisingly, it was partly true. Huh, fancy that.
“Listen, how about coming to the pub for a drink tomorrow night, just a friendly get-together?”
Genuinely liking Ali, and not averse to an evening of fun, Barbie nodded. “Sounds all right.”
“We usually have a few drinks, chat, a bit of dancing.”
“I’m in.”
“Great. See you around six.” Ali walked away, her high heels clicking on the footpath.
Stopping at the post office, Barbie picked up the parcel that Laura had sent her. That reminded her of exactly what it was for, and biting her lip, she wondered if it was fair to leave Fred and Barney alone in the house for several hours in the evening.
What if the place really was haunted and it wasn’t her imagination? Her Great Aunt had apparently seen and heard things. But then, she’d also lived there until the day she died, she hadn’t left a screaming mess, so it had to be safe.
One way to find out for sure.
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