by Mary Grand
Juliet found her bag and then walked up to the garage, past the turn-off for the vineyard. She had no intention of going in to see Gabriel but just as she was to walk on by, Maddie came driving out.
‘Juliet, I’m glad I caught you,’ Maddie shouted through the window.
Juliet went over to the car rather hesitantly, wondering if she was about to get reprimanded by Maddie for upsetting her son or lectured about Rosalind.
However, Maddie was all smiles. ‘With everything that happened today I forgot that I wanted to invite your family to come over to the vineyard this Saturday. I am sixty and want to have a small get-together of friends. I would love you all to come, about three in the afternoon.’
‘Thank you, that sounds lovely.’
Maddie maintained a fixed smile. ‘I know me and your mum had a few words today, but I really think of you all as my dearest friends and hope you all, including Rosalind, will come.’
‘Thank you, I will pass on the message,’ said Juliet.
‘Right, I shall look forward to seeing you all on Saturday and of course I will expect you all at the barbeque on Sunday, we shall see a lot of each other this weekend shan’t we.’
‘It certainly appears so,’ said Juliet, wondering how on earth she was going to cope with seeing so much of Gabriel.
As if reading her mind, Maddie said, ‘And that silly tiff between you and Gabriel, you must put that all behind you. Life is too short. So, au revoir for now and I look forward to seeing you all soon.’ With that, Maddie drove away.
Juliet carried on up to the garage and went inside. The little blue car was still waiting patiently. She went straight to her father’s ‘office’. However, she saw immediately there were no keys hanging up at all. She looked around, but she couldn’t see them anywhere. That was odd, she could have sworn they’d been there before. She phoned her mother, who seemed less anxious than her and accepted that they had ‘just got lost’. She told Juliet not to worry, and that she would put a note through the owners’ letter box explaining and, hopefully, they had a spare.
Juliet looked around the garage sadly. The workshop was darker today, autumn was creeping in. She went over to her father’s desk and remembered she had to empty the bins and sort things out soon. Glancing down, she saw the envelope she’d seen before and picked it out of the bin. On the envelope in neat cursive writing was ‘ignition key for VW’ and in the corner the numbers 1-9-9-5. There was also a small green cloth poking out.
Her heart was racing; the ignition key used in Harry’s accident must have been kept with this cloth in this envelope. That was odd, she’d assumed her father had found it buried away and yet the envelope looked very clean, uncreased. It looked much more like something that had been carefully tucked away.
She looked again at the envelope; there was no way that was her father’s scrawl, but she could have sworn she knew that handwriting with its fancy loops… and then she remembered. Gabriel’s handwriting had looked exactly the same. Gabriel had written on this envelope. That could mean Gabriel had handled this key and yet when she’d talked to him about it, he’d acted like he knew nothing.
Juliet looked around the garage and then over on the shelf. She saw a box of drinking chocolate, went and picked it up, examined it. This was a new box, the packing date was this year, and she knew who brought her father posh chocolate like this every birthday, it was Gabriel. She was sure then that Gabriel had brought this to her father on his birthday this year, the day of his accident. He had seen her father and yet he’d denied it. Had he also brought the old key that day?
The big question of course was why he’d had the old ignition key to the car that killed Harry. Her mind raced on. Was it possible Gabriel had anything to do with his brother’s death? But why would he?
She tried to remember the times Gabriel had talked about Harry. What had their relationship really been like? When he’d talked about Harry being a bit of a bully he’d hesitated, was there more? Was it possible Gabriel really hated his brother and had killed him? Had he confessed to her father when he’d brought the old key? Had he said her father couldn’t tell Rosalind about Harry because it would start people talking again about Harry’s death?
Juliet sighed. She was so confused. All she knew was she had to talk to Gabriel. Maybe she’d have a chance to find out more about the night Harry died, find out if Gabriel could have actually gone out. Hadn’t Ed said something about Gabriel being wet?
But the last time she’d seen Gabriel she’d accused him of having an affair with Mira. She had got that completely wrong. Was she going off again in the wrong direction?
Well, she would see Gabriel at the party at the vineyard. It was going to be a difficult conversation. On the one hand she wondered if she needed to give him a grovelling apology for the accusation about him and Mira, but on the other she was going to have to be brave enough to ask him about his visit to her father and the business with the old key. He had to explain why he had kept so much from her.
She put the envelope and cloth in her bag and then shut up the garage. Juliet frowned; she wasn’t looking forward to the next day.
31
At quarter to three on the Saturday afternoon of Maddie’s party, all the sisters and their mother decided to walk together to the vineyard. The day had started with a heavy fog that still hadn’t completely lifted and the air, particularly when they walked along the military road close to the sea, felt damp with sea mist.
Juliet and her mother walked a few paces behind the others.
‘I managed to speak to Rosalind about Maddie,’ her mother said.
‘Oh? How did she take it?’
‘She was okay, she was quite glad to be honest, certainly for the time being. However, I have been thinking about Maddie. I shall gently encourage her to think about Rosalind a bit more. I am sure she’s got so used to not being able to be involved that she might need some time to get used to things being in the open.’ Her mother patted her pocket. ‘I have brought her some lovely photos of Rosalind in the dress she gave her; it will be a good memory for her.’
They were approaching the house, and Juliet started to feel nervous. How would Gabriel be with her and how was he going to take being asked more questions?
Maddie was dressed smartly as ever in a rust-coloured suit and pearls. She greeted them with a smile saying, ‘How lovely to see you all. Please, ladies, if you would like to put handbags over there, feel free. They can be such a nuisance, can’t they? Right, do come in.’
They followed Maddie into the main living room where the tea was being held. This was certainly more than the ‘small get together’ Juliet had envisaged. There were large bunches of autumn flowers and leaves in enormous vases and a buffet of sandwiches, pastries, some delicious lavender scones, which reminded Juliet of her romantic meal with Gabriel. The centrepiece was a beautiful gateau for the birthday cake.
There were a few other people from the village there already, and once the first person had gone to collect food, everyone else tucked in. Juliet could see Gabriel chatting to Cassie quite intensely. He didn’t come over to greet her.
Juliet saw Barbara and her son Ed talking to her mother and decided it might be a good chance to try and casually find out a little more about the night Harry died. She went over and said hello. There was never any problem getting Barbara to chat but steering her in the right direction might be harder.
Juliet eventually managed to slip in, ‘Nice to see you again Ed.’ She looked around at their mothers. ‘We were chatting in the pub the other day about things that happened years ago and in particular about that night the old oak tree in our garden was struck by lightning. What a day that was.’
Her mother looked slightly thrown by what appeared to be a random subject change but said, ‘Um, yes.’
Juliet turned to Ed. ‘You were saying that even though it was years ago you remember that and all kinds of smaller things because of the tragic thing that happened to Harry.’ She smiled. ‘You
were saying you remember being round here playing Game Boys, was it?’
But Barbara answered first. ‘They could play with those things for hours! Did your girls have them Helena?’
Juliet was worried the conversation could get hijacked but fortunately a person close by grabbed her mother’s arm and started talking to her.
Juliet quickly turned to Ed again. ‘The weather was so bad that night. Did you say Gabriel went out?’
‘He’d been out before I arrived, yes. He was soaking!’
‘And you’d come from the church?’
‘Yes, he always went in those days,’ interrupted Barbara. ‘He’d been confirmed and everything. The vicar then was glad of a youngster to help out. You even helped lead those Bible study groups, didn’t you?’
‘I did! I was telling Juliet I remember going from there to Gabriel’s about eight. It wasn’t only Gabriel who got soaked that night.’
‘Did he have to keep going in and out to check on the vineyards?’ asked Juliet.
Ed paused. ‘No, he didn’t go out again. I remember Maddie saying to stay in, she didn’t want him among the vines in the storm.’
‘So, you and Gabriel were together all the time Harry was out running?’ She waited, knowing there was nothing subtle now about her questioning.
Ed scratched his head. She was expecting impatience, but he screwed up his eyes in concentration. ‘Oh yes. Funny, I remember now. When Harry left, Gabriel said, “Hang on I’ll go and nick Harry’s new Nirvana tapes,” and we listened to them on his cassette player. I’m embarrassed to say we played “air guitar”; we had it on so loud, it was a bit embarrassing when Maddie came in with food for us, but she just laughed and let us carry on. Eventually Mum came for me and then of course the police arrived.’ He paused and then asked, ‘Why are you so interested in that evening?’
Juliet shrugged. ‘Just wondered, so Maddie was in and out?’
‘She was around, cooking in the kitchen. It was always the same there.’
She turned to Barbara. ‘Were you there long before the police came?’ Juliet asked, trying sound casual. She was waiting for Barbara to ask her why she needed to know all this, but, like Ed, Barbara seemed happy to carry on.
‘Now, let me think, I wouldn’t have normally worried about picking Ed up, but the weather was so bad, and I was coming off a late shift from the nursing home I worked in then, so I think it was about half past eleven. I know the police came soon after.’
‘It’s so sad isn’t it, and to think the very next day Harry was meant to be going to France to start a new life. Mind you, like you say, it was odd him going out training that night in the rain if he was intending to leave the next day.’
‘I really don’t know—'
At that moment Gabriel came over. ‘This conversation looks a little intense!’
‘Juliet is asking me about why Harry was training for a marathon if he was going to France.’
Gabriel smiled tightly. ‘What a strange thing to be talking about.’
Juliet shrugged. ‘It was nothing.’ She looked around. ‘This is all very exciting; I was expecting a cup of tea and a biscuit.’
Gabriel laughed. ‘That would not be good enough for Maddie. Now, please come and have something to eat, there is so much food.’
Juliet looked over to the buffet table where Maddie was talking warmly to Mira. She couldn’t sign but she spoke clearly and faced Mira.
‘Do eat up, we have so much food; these prawns are so fresh.’
‘I’m sorry, I can’t eat any seafood. It’s a shame because I love it,’ said Mira.
‘I can’t eat crab, but I can eat prawns, isn’t that odd? It’s like I can eat most herbs and spices but not paprika or mustard, won’t have them in the house. But still there are lots of things here you can eat, and you must, Mira. I know what it’s like to lose your husband, but you have to pick yourself up. You are young, you have your whole life in front of you. I look out at the vineyard and am so proud of what I’ve done here.’
Mira smiled. ‘You should be. It looks set to be a bumper harvest.’
Juliet saw them walk over to the window, and Maddie was telling Mira about the growing of the vines in detail. Juliet then saw Gabriel go over to them.
‘Maddie, this is your birthday, enough of work.’ He laughed, putting his arm around her. ‘Come on, time for your cake I think.’
Before the candles were lit, Maddie said, ‘Thank you so much for coming everyone, and thank you, my wonderful son Gabriel, for organising this party. I am forever grateful for everything you do. Of course, tomorrow night is the biggest event in our calendar. It is our harvest barbeque. Gabriel and I would love to invite you and everyone from the village. It is a wonderful opportunity to thank everyone who works so hard and share our good fortune with you all. I am looking forward to seeing you all there.’
The candles were lit on the enormous chocolate gateau and everyone started to sing happy birthday.
Juliet watched Gabriel and Maddie smiling at each other, both so proud of one another and everything they had achieved. They were celebrating years of hard work. Her mind went back to Harry and Gabriel’s protests about him leaving. Didn’t Cassie say the land had been left to him? Yes, Gabriel had said he was going to sell his share. Of course, if he’d stayed, it might have been a very different story.
Her eye caught Gabriel looking over at her. His face was serious, it was as if he was trying to read her mind.
She was aware of the envelope, the questions about his visit and suddenly she felt overwhelmed by it all. Could she really face another confrontation?
Juliet went and picked out her bag from the small pile and then backed away to leave, walking quickly out of the house. The sea mist hung heavy over the vines. It looked very different to when she’d stood here the morning after the meal. She remembered having visions of the South of France, the scent of lavender and geranium heavy in the air, no idea that Rhys was lying dead at the church. It seemed an innocent time from long ago.
‘Something up?’
Gabriel’s voice startled her as he came up behind her.
‘No, nothing,’ she said quickly.
‘I think there is. What’s going on?’ said Gabriel.
She swallowed and stepped back. ‘Look, first I should apologise. I spoke to Mira.’
She saw his shoulders relax.
‘I got it all wrong, and I think you have been a good friend to her, so thank you.’
Wrongfooted, he smiled shyly. ‘It was nothing. I like Mira and I know she’s going through a hard time, but you shouldn’t have leaped to that conclusion. It’s not flattering, you know, the habit you have of thinking the worst of people.’
‘I don’t think I exactly do that,’ she mumbled.
She saw Gabriel’s shoulders hunch up, his face harden. ‘Why were you asking about Harry going to France?’ His voice was quiet but cold.
‘I don’t know. I remembered Barbara saying about Harry training that night, it seemed odd if he was leaving.’
‘But he was definitely going. I’ve told you that already.’
‘But you’ve not told me everything, have you? I went to Dad’s garage and saw the chocolate I think you took him on his birthday.’
He went to speak but stood with his mouth open long enough for her to know she was right.
‘Why didn’t you tell me you went to see him?’
‘I don’t know, I didn’t want to upset you.’
‘Why would it do that? You know how worried I am about his state of mind that day, you could have told me how he was.' She pulled the envelope and cloth from her bag. ‘I also found these. I think that the old car key that was used in Harry’s accident, the one my dad found, was in this envelope and I am pretty sure this is your handwriting.’
He scowled. ‘What are you implying?’
‘I don’t know. I just want you to be honest with me.’
He stepped closer to her. ‘What is really going on in your h
ead? What are you conjuring up now? First I was having an affair with your sister, now what?’
‘Things don’t add up,’ she stammered.
‘I’ve had enough of all this. I will explain everything, follow me.’
He took her hand rather roughly and walked quickly into the house, up the stairs, the noise from the guests a white noise in the background. They went into his bedroom and he slammed the door. His room was much plainer, neater, and more functional than Maddie’s, but there were similar photos on his walls of the vineyards in France, as well as books on management and accountancy. On the windowsill, a bowl of shells and stones from the beach. He opened a drawer in a large chest and took out a box that he put on the bed.
‘Right, proof that Harry was going away. Exhibit A.’ He took out a hand written letter from Zac, the secretary of the running club.
Juliet read.
21 August 1995
Dear Harry,
Thank you for your call last evening. I hadn’t realised you were going to France so soon. You will be a huge loss to us at the club and the running community here on the Island. I do hope you carry on running in France. I wish you all the best. Do let us know when you are popping home and we will organise a proper goodbye at the club.
I know this letter will arrive after you’ve gone, but I am sure Maddie will post it onto you.
Wishing you all the best,
Zac
She re-read it. The line which said, ‘after you’ve gone’ disturbed her, but then she got distracted by the stamp on the envelope. It was one of the less interesting ones, the ‘boring grey’ one her father had tried to persuade her was special. Her mind went to the years of sitting with her dad, looking through his stamps and collections and that nagging sense of loss that never left her, took a grip of her heart.
She was blinking back tears when Gabriel interrupted her thoughts, ‘You see? It proves he was going.’