Dangerous Secrets

by Chrissie Loveday

  ‘I’m shattered. I’ll see you in the morning before you go. Night, love.’

  ‘Night, Jules. It’s good seeing you. I’ll keep you posted about Dad’s activities and maybe you can come up again soon.’

  ‘I’ll see. I don’t much like being here anymore. Apart from you, I don’t have any ties. And to be honest, I’d rather see you in Cornwall.’

  ‘You may feel better in time. Drive carefully tomorrow.’

  Neither of them slept well that night. Ryan’s brain was too active, thinking of his sister’s words. Even if she was right, he had to prove to his father that he was normal. Straight. Whatever anyone called it. He’d do his best to get on with this girl who was visiting on Saturday. He had something to prove and by God, he’d do his best. If only he could break this hold his father had but there was no obvious way out of it. He was trapped, possibly forever. He had to make the best of it. At least he had a good home and plenty of money to provide any luxuries he could possibly want. He could probably make his escape to Cornwall from time to time.

  As for Julia, she lay thinking about her brother. She had always adored him from the first moment she saw him lying in the little crib and his eyes, already darker than most babies had at birth, stared back at her with a knowing gaze that was almost unnerving. From that instant, she was dedicated to making sure he was happy. Until his father insisted on public schooling for them both, she had loved and protected the little boy. She dried his eyes when he fell over, mopped up grazed knees and made sure he had the largest share of any chocolate that came their way. Had she spoiled him? Was she responsible for his gentle ways? He’d shared his problems with her after his first term at school. A sensitive thirteen year old, he had suffered from bullying and worse for the whole of his first term. They had both tried to persuade their father to let them go to a local school that didn’t involve boarding.

  ‘This is the opportunity of a lifetime,’ he’d said. ‘Think yourselves lucky to have the best education money can buy. I was never so fortunate.’ Nothing they or their mother could say would stop him and they were driven back to their separate schools each term, eyes brimming with tears they dared not shed. How could anyone be so oblivious to the feelings of children he claimed to love so dearly? For him, showing love meant spending a lot of money. As for their mother, had she ever managed to get her own way over anything? She’d given them the true love of a parent and though she had tried to support their wishes, she’d always had to give in to Gerard. Had she had a happy life? It was uncertain. She usually claimed that she had all she could want and put up with the man’s philandering simply to keep things on an even keel. Clearly, everything was too much for her at the end. Was it really just illness that had caused her to take her own life? Or was there something more? Being back in this house brought back too many memories and too much heartache. She blamed her father. She could wait to go back to her beloved Cornwall.

  Julia and Ryan had an emotional parting after breakfast.

  ‘Are you sure you’ll manage?’

  ‘Don’t worry about me, Sis. I’ve got things to prove and I plan to just that. Don’t worry about me. I’ll keep in touch and let you know what’s happening in my life. Take care of yourself and don’t do anything rash, will you?’

  ‘I’ll be careful. Though what can happen to me in Trengillyn is not exactly dangerous, is it? Dying of boredom is more likely than anything else.’

  ‘I don’t know. If the old Smythe woman was battered to death …’

  ‘She fell, Ryan. Surely, she just fell. At her age, it’s the most likely thing isn’t it?’

  ‘Maybe. Anyway, safe drive.’ He had hugged her as if he could hardly bear to let her go.

  ‘Hey, you’ll come down again soon. Don’t look so sad.’

  Chapter Eight

  The drive to Cornwall seemed interminable. Julia drove into the village and along the lane to the cottage mid-afternoon. It was a narrow track, bordering the sea. Several boats were in the bay and larger ships passing on their way to the wider Atlantic. Once more she took comfort from the perpetual movement of the waves and the seemingly slower passage of time here. The cottage looked inviting with sun lighting the windows and even more flowers blooming in the two days she’d been away. She smiled as she unlocked the door, feeling as if she was home where she wanted to be.

  Inside, chaos awaited. Chairs had been turned over. Crockery was smashed and strewn round the floor and wet patches, she didn’t even want to investigate, stained the carpet. It was downright vandalism. All the newly purchased items were gone. If there had been somewhere clear enough to flop down and cry, she would have done it. Upstairs had not escaped. Clothes were strewn around the place, many of them ripped. The beds were torn apart and mattresses slashed. Julia stood with her eyes closed for a moment as if not seeing it might make the devastation disappear. But the horror was still there when she opened them again. Peaceful, had she thought, when driving along the lane?

  Sergeant Trekellis arrived looking flustered an hour later. Julia was sitting in the garden, having been instructed not to touch anything. She rose from her seat to greet him.

  ‘So what’s been happening?’ he asked as cheerfully as he could, without appearing unsympathetic.

  ‘Look for yourself. It’s just a mess everywhere. And they’ve taken everything we replaced and more besides. Pure vandalism. I’m afraid you won’t even get your cup of tea.’

  ‘Now that is serious,’ he said lightly. He went inside. ‘Oh my good gracious. They’ve done a proper job here all right. Vandals right enough is what they are. It’s something more than just theft like we had before. This is plain vicious. I’ll have to get some help here. Do you have somewhere to stay? Obviously this is going to take some time to get sorted.’

  ‘I suppose it will have to be the hotel again. I can’t bear it. The bastards. They’ve even trashed my mother’s things. I haven’t felt able to clear them yet. I wanted to keep something of hers just as I remembered it.’ She felt tears rolling down her cheeks, completely uncontrolled.

  ‘There now. Don’t upset yourself. We’ll get whoever did this. I promise you.’

  ‘It’s as if someone’s trying to make me go away. They don’t want me living here.’

  ‘Does feel a bit that way, I’m sure. Now, how about …’

  ‘A nice cup of tea? There’s no kettle and I wouldn’t want to use that kitchen. I’m not sure what they’ve sprayed around the place. I suspect they’ve peed everywhere they could. Foul beasts.’

  ‘Right, well we’ll get the experts in and go over the place and see what we can find in the way of clues. Now let’s see if there’s any sign of break in. Windows, locks and so on.’

  ‘I didn’t notice anything damaged outside.’

  ‘And did you remove all keys from outside? You haven’t got one hidden somewhere, have you?’

  ‘Not anymore. We did have one but we removed it when you told us to, after the last lot of thefts.’

  They walked round the outside of the building but it seemed there was no clue as to how they’d got inside. Nothing broken, no sign of forced entry.

  ‘And you’re sure you set the alarm?’ the sergeant asked.

  ‘Of course. It’s almost as if they knew the code. And that was something we set up ourselves. Nothing to do with whoever put it in.’

  ‘And was the code something easily worked out?’

  ‘Well maybe. If someone knew anything about us.’

  ‘Birthdays for example?’ She looked down. They had indeed selected their birth dates. But someone would have to have known them. Which meant it was someone with private information about the family.

  ‘But who would have known that? Unless it was a person who knew us really well and they’d never have caused this amount of damage would they?’

  ‘Who can tell? Now, you’d better see about getting a booking at the hotel and I’ll call into the Penzance branch and get their scene of crime team out here.’

&nbs
p; ‘How’s Annie doing?’ Julia asked suddenly. Maybe she might have seen someone hanging around.

  ‘Miss Smythe? She’s gone. Moved out yesterday. The place is empty now and the new buyer will take possession in a few weeks. A place came up unexpectedly at that residential place. She just didn’t want to be here on her own anymore.’

  ‘That was quick. But I don’t blame her. Especially with something like this going on. We don’t even know when this happened. I mean, how did they know I was away? It was only a couple of days anyway.’

  ‘We suspect it was very recent. Probably last night or earlier today. The damp patches are just that. Still damp.’

  ‘Goodness. Suppose I’d got back earlier and walked in on them?’

  ‘Don’t bear thinking about do it, my handsome?’

  ‘You’d better have my keys, I suppose. And the code is fourteen sixteen. I’ll change it when this is sorted.’

  ‘Is that your two birthdays by any chance?’ Julia nodded and smiled feebly.

  ‘Not the best choice. Somebody may have known that bit of information. We usually celebrate in the pub here. Right you are then. Now just you get off and leave it all to me. I expect you’ll have insurance forms to claim it all back.’

  ‘My father was supposed to be dealing with that. I’ll have to let him know about this latest mess. I’ll give you my new phone number too. At least I have that with me. Damn it, my laptop’s gone as well. I left it here when I went away. The local shops are doing pretty well out of all this aren’t they?’

  ‘Now there’s a thought. Did you use a local shop last time?’

  ‘Not really. It was one of the chain stores in Penzance. Doubt if anyone there would be involved.’

  ‘No, you’re probably right. I’ll keep you posted.’

  Julia booked into the hotel and called Ryan. She felt angry by this time. No more tears but shaking with rage as she described the mess.

  ‘I’ll come down after work tomorrow night. You’ll need help to get straight.’

  ‘Can you really? I’d be very grateful. Oh Ryan, they’ve made such a mess of everything. I can’t tell you. Even Mum’s stuff. Will you break it to Dad? He’ll have to do yet another insurance claim. Everything electrical has gone. Even my new laptop.’ She described in detail the chaos that had been awaiting her. ‘They somehow managed to get in without damaging anything and even disabled that wonderful alarm we had installed.’

  ‘Is there a clue there?’

  ‘Dunno. The worthy sergeant’s on the case. All without benefit of tea.’

  ‘Don’t tell me, they’d even taken the kettle?’

  ‘Yep. Even that. So cheap, you wonder why they’d bother. Must have known the police force are ineffective without tea.’

  When her call was finished, she went for a walk along the beach in an attempt to clear her head. She left her car, still packed full of her clothes, parked outside the hotel and hoped it was safe there. She passed Bryce’s office but it was closed. She might have enjoyed spending the evening with someone but wouldn’t phone him. She ate her solitary meal in the hotel and then laid on the bed, watching some rubbish on the television. How could her life have become such a mess?

  You got back here much sooner than I was expecting. Nearly caught me at it, didn’t you? Lucky for me, I just got out before you could see me. Spot of genius there, to go back again and make a mess, once I’d got clear with all the electrical stuff.

  ’Cos there were two of us this time, we got the job done very efficiently. Made it more of a pleasure, sharing the fun. I just couldn’t believe the mess we made in such a short time. Must be enough to make you want to get out of the place for good.

  One surprise though, I thought this place was owned by posh folks with a load of dough but you didn’t have anything like the best stuff in there. The clothes for instance. Nothing of any value. I was expecting designer stuff that would fetch a bob or two. Little bonus for us, you understand. Oh, there were one or two designer labels but nothing good enough to be worth bothering with.

  Once you’ve decided to sell up, we’ve only got a couple more places to go along here, then it’s job done. I’ll go off somewhere warm with the money I’ve earned from this little lot. Start somewhere new. Mind you, there’ll be big money when the whole project is completed. Maybe I should stick around awhile longer.

  Right then. I can chuck the key into the sea now it’s job done. No clues left anywhere so I’d better lose it. It was just lucky, or should I say, really clever of me to get a spare key cut from the one you’d left under the stone. People are so stupid. Only got it cut in case it might be needed, what with the place being left empty for so long. Never realised just how useful it was going to be.

  I only ever meant to see what might be nickable in there, way before the boss ever took me on. It’s all easy pickings and no need to break in. Even the alarm was dead simple. Easy to guess you’d use your birthday dates. Knew when they were too. You celebrate them in the pub every year. No brainer.

  So, it’s job done. If you still don’t move out, Julia dear, there’s lots more scare tactics I can manage. I’ve proved how good at it I am. Maybe I should hang on to the key after all, just in case.

  Chapter Nine

  Julia went to Bryce’s office next morning. Knowing he had cleaners for the holiday lets, she wanted to ask him if she could employ them to clean up the devastation at Crofters. He was more than willing to offer help and suggested a couple of his people who could go round as soon as the police investigation was completed.

  ‘I’ll have to replace everything yet again, though I’m beginning to think it may not be worth it. I’ll have to get some basics though.’

  ‘You could always come and stay at my place. I have plenty of room. You’ll probably want to reconsider selling the cottage. I should think you are quite put off the place with the recent events.’

  ‘It is upsetting but I wouldn’t think of selling. It was my mother’s place and she left it to us. My brother and me. But, thanks for the offer of somewhere to stay. Ryan’s coming down again this evening so we hope to get it straight together over the weekend.’

  ‘I see. Well, if you ever change your mind, make sure you let me know first, won’t you?’

  ‘I won’t. Change my mind, I mean. I’ll see you on Monday for work. I’ll go and see how the police are getting on.’

  ‘My offer of accommodation stands should you need it at any time.’

  ‘Thanks, Bryce. That’s kind of you.’

  She went out of the office, wondering what precisely he was offering. He was nice enough but not really her type, whatever that might be. He seemed very keen to buy their place. Could it be him behind the drive to get her out of the cottage? He’d already bought the Smythe place as soon as it was available. Probably put pressure on Annie. She had no proof so she mustn’t say anything to the friendly sergeant yet. Was this also Bryce’s reason for trying to be nice to her? She walked along the lane to the cottage, deciding that her car may be safer at the hotel than at the cottage. Her phone rang. It was the sergeant himself.

  ‘Hello, Miss Renton. Julia. We’ve done what we can at the cottage so you can come back when you like.’

  ‘Thanks, Sergeant. I’m actually on my way there now. Be with you in a few minutes.’

  She noticed a few early holidaymakers on the beach. It would soon be Easter and Cornwall’s annual influx of visitors would start in earnest. The weather had been very mild so far and people had been out on the beach for a few days. She glanced at those properties nearest the cottage and wondered if any of the owners had seen anything. But surely the sergeant would have checked that.

  She sighed. Even if they’d seen people coming and going, she doubted anybody would think anything of it. Nobody would challenge anyone these days for fear of unpleasant consequences. All the same, they might be wondering about the frequent presence of police cars parked outside.

  Sergeant Trekellis was waiting outside the front door.
The stout little man, with his friendly smile and slightly receding hairline, didn’t look much like a policeman and out of uniform one would never have guessed his occupation.

  ‘Bad business all this. Not like my patch to be kept so busy. And such a bad thing for Trengillyn. Not used to these intrusions, let alone the untimely deaths. Now, what are you going to do about this mess inside? We’ve taken fingerprints. Need yours and your brother’s, by the way, but I doubt they’ll be much use. Oh and you’ve no need to worry about contamination … from the wet patches everywhere, I mean. It’s harmless, we checked. Beer and ginger ale for the most part so it’s just a sticky mess. Should have known from the smell really. I dare say they wanted us to think it was piss. Sorry Miss, I should have said urine. That would of course have provided us with DNA samples. Whoever is responsible, well, they know what they’re doing all right.’

  ‘Thanks, Sergeant. I’m planning to get some help cleaning up and my brother will be down this evening to start helping me sort stuff out. I suspect it’s going to be a job for a skip.’

  ‘You poor, dear girl. Not been a happy start to your holiday, has it?’

  ‘It’s not a holiday. I’m moving down here permanently. Got a job and everything.’

  ‘Well I never. We’ll be seeing more of each other then. I hope it’s under happier circumstances. Now, you can make a start clearing up, the scene of crime people say. But, do you need your insurance people to come round first?’

  ‘Haven’t a clue. I’ll call Ryan and see what he thinks. All the documents are at my father’s office. My father’s out of the country at present and he usually sorts all that out. Though I suspect it will down to me in future. Right, well I’ll go and take a look at the chaos. Sorry I can’t make you any tea.’

  ‘Certainly a bit of a rum deal when you don’t even have a kettle to boil, isn’t it?’

  ‘Certainly is. I don’t know how I’ll cope,’ she said, tongue firmly in cheek. He gave her a wave as he drove up the lane, up the steep hill from the cottage in the other direction away from the village. Not coping? That was a classic understatement, she realised. There was fingerprint dusting powder all over the place and everything had been turned over, presumably as they looked for clues.