Hana Du Rose Mysteries Boxed Set: Books 1 - 4

by Bowes, K T

  Hana stared in amazement. The box itself suddenly resembled some kind of mathematical net, constructed entirely from one sheet of metal, cut so when properly folded, it became a rectangular container not much bigger than a matchbox. Underneath what served as the lid-part, was glued a huge magnet and another smaller one, was fixed on the front of the flap which locked the lid inside the front panel. Poking the needle through the hole detached the magnet, drawing the pull onto itself and causing it to release the folded flap.

  Hana pulled Jas’s little hand nearer to herself and peered into the box. A tiny green rifle belonging to one of the soldiers stared back at her and a small necktie, which Hana had seen previously on one of the toys, was folded up neatly in the bottom. A couple of beads and a paper clip were the only other contents. Hana sat back and sighed. “Jas,” she asked, keeping her voice conspiratorial and quiet, “what was in it? You know before Action Man moved his stuff in?”

  Jas shrugged. “Papers and a wubber band.”

  Hana tried not to smile as he dropped the ‘r’ in rubber band, spreading her hands out in front of her questioningly. “Where are the papers now, Jas? And the rubber band?”

  “Lofty played wiv them for a bit and then…I don’t know.”

  Lofty was the big ginger cat and Hana tried not to show her exasperation.

  “Do you think we could find them again?” she asked tentatively, but Jas shook his head decisively.

  “Lofty can. But not me.”

  Hana smiled and let the matter go. Bodie would be back to look after Jas soon and she was due at home to admire the new driveway and prepare for work the next day. Although she hadn’t moved very far forward in uncovering what the ‘thing’ was, which was so important to the invisible Mr Laval, she at least discovered where it was, or at least where it was last. It was highly possible it was under Jas’s bed, but Hana had seen down there and wasn’t prepared to do any more scrabbling for one day. Either that or under his cupboard or chest of drawers.

  She decided she would come back another day perhaps bringing Logan to move things for her. Unless it had been binned or vacuumed up, Hana felt sure she would find it.

  Hana Du Rose

  Chapter 24

  The day dawned with a perfect winter Monday. There was a dense fog around Culver’s Cottage, which made it impossible to see beyond the lawned garden, let alone down to the river. But it was a promising start to the day, signifying the mist would be burned off by the hidden sun, allowing a bright day to emerge. The filtered sunlight glistened off the frost on the new driveway which looked smart and less frightening when perched behind the steering wheel. This year, July was proving to be the coldest month but so far, had also been the driest of the winter season and Hana felt she could cope as long as she got to see the sunshine.

  She wasn’t disappointed and crept out of the office at lunchtime to sit on the bench in the sun after the boys went back in. She struggled with the sandwich Logan kindly made her, managing only half of it. She tipped the other half into the bin next to her and leaned back in the seat, her eyes closed enjoying the warmth on her face.

  “I saw that!” came a gentle Scots accent and Angus sat down lightly next to her. Hana sat up straighter and smiled at him. “I tell the boys off for biffing their lunch and then I see you do it.”

  Hana nodded but wasn’t going to enlighten him about the sickness which crept up on her, less frequently now but which still caught her out occasionally.

  “Boris will be leaving soon,” Angus began and Hana whipped round to face him. She had completely forgotten his gap year ended in August, ready for him to resume his studies in September back in Germany. Angus ignored her look of horror and continued, “I thought I might get my secretary to organise a little gathering for him nearer the time. But what might we get him for a leaving gift?”

  Hana floundered. She had no idea. “I’ll ask Logan,” was all she could come up with, feeling incredibly guilty she made so little effort to get alongside Boris recently. Especially in view of what she might have inadvertently stumbled across. Then again, maybe that knowledge was the reason she avoided contact with him. Hana stood to leave, her twenty minute break having come to an end. Angus startled her by standing with her suddenly and leaning in close asked,

  “Did they ever sort out your little mess with the chaps following you? You aren’t looking very well and I wondered if it was the strain or if it was something else.” His red hair fluffed in the breeze and his brown eyes bore into hers.

  Hana shook her head sadly. “No, we still have to be really careful. That’s what’s wrong.”

  But Angus unsettled her with his question and she dragged her feet back upstairs feeling daunted and miserable. Hana glanced out of the window at the top of the stairs wondering if she was being watched right then, hopelessness and vulnerability washing over her. The half-eaten sandwich felt leaden inside her stomach and Hana rested a hand lightly over her midriff.

  “Hey,” came her husband’s gentle voice, as he emerged from the back door of the office, “I was looking for you. Did you eat your lunch?”

  Hana smiled and nodded, lying as she thanked him and assuring him it was tasty. Logan glanced around them, making sure they couldn’t be seen by boys and then put his arm around her, squeezing her quickly and kissing her temple before letting go. They hadn’t shared much physical contact lately and it made Hana’s heart give a little flip flop of recognition. She missed her husband. Hana felt a peculiar feeling in the lower part of her stomach and her hand moved down in response. Her brow knitted tightly and her face showed confusion. Logan was instantly on alert, gripping her upper arm thinking she was about to faint, peering into her face questioningly.

  The feeling persisted for a couple of seconds and then stopped, leaving Hana feeling emotions which she desperately resisted. “It was the baby,” she whispered. Logan had to lean close to hear her and his eyes widened, betraying his fear. Hana shook her head, upset with herself for distressing him. “No, it’s fine,” she said, “it was moving around, it’s the first time I’ve felt it, that’s all.”

  Logan’s face was filled with paternal wonder and he smiled. His awkwardness returned and he seemed bashful. Hana reached out and squeezed his hand before unlocking the door and going into the office. She sat at her desk, collecting herself and trying to deal with the tumbling emotions the tiny, almost ticklish flutterings, like those of a butterfly low down in her stomach, invoked.

  This is real, reasoned the rational voice in her head, you can’t pretend it’s not happening, so get used to it.

  By the following Monday, Hana figured she was around twelve weeks pregnant or thereabouts and made an appointment at the Ngaruawahia surgery to see a doctor on Friday evening. She rang from work and didn’t tell Logan, thinking she would make an excuse on the night to get some groceries and nip into the township. For some reason she couldn’t fathom, she needed to go alone, keeping it all safely wrapped up within herself. Part of her wondered if she was punishing Logan, pushing him out of the picture, knowing at the same time she was going to make him both sad and cross when he finally found out. Hana worked through the week steadily, now completely back on top of her job, fielding calls about the upcoming Expo and documenting everything in case she suddenly disappeared again.

  A text from Anka both shocked and surprised her, asking if they might meet after work on Thursday. Hana felt greatly inclined to refuse but couldn’t resist the invitation. Anka made no previous attempt to get in touch with her since she came back to Hamilton.

  “I’ll drop you at the cafe,” Logan insisted. “Then you can use me as an excuse if you want to get away quickly. Just send me an empty text or something and I’ll come.”

  Logan dropped his wife at the café on Grey Street called the ‘Gingko Tree’ on account of the enormous tree outside it, which Hana assumed must be a Gingko. Anka was already inside when Hana arrived, sipping a latte from a bowl. “Hi, how are you?” Hana asked as she seated herself oppos
ite and eyed both the drink and its owner suspiciously, although she had only been ill once that week. It was the smell of bleach and not coffee which induced the last bout.

  Anka looked thinner, if that were possible and not quite so chic as she did before. She was dressed casually for her but seemed more relaxed within herself. Hana flicked her coat over the back of the chair, seeing Anka looked pointedly at her stomach. There really wasn’t much to see, although Hana was aware the weight loss caused by the sickness had made her thin and so the thickening around her middle was more noticeable. For the last week, she had been unable to do up the top button on her trousers.

  If Anka expected the relationship to simply resume where it left off, she was very much mistaken. Her affair with Tama detonated not only her own family and his, but had far reaching effects on Hana’s too. Had Tama not been trying to find Anka that day, he would never have lost his temper and taken it out on Logan, destroying their brief honeymoon weekend and subjecting his uncle to major surgery and his new wife to hours of anxiety.

  Anka beckoned the waitress over with an elegant wave and Hana ordered herself a smoothie. Anka looked surprised. “Gosh, no coffee? Marriage must be good for you.”

  Hana looked her full in the face, her own expressionless and waited for Anka to reveal her reason for the summons. An awkward silence descended but Hana was determined not to make it quite so easy for her old friend. She glanced around the café at the smart neutral brown tones and the subtle lighting which successfully created a peaceful ambience. But the illusion of peace failed to translate into reality for the women and Hana sensed it was a mistake to come. She waited, but still Anka didn’t begin and she toyed with the idea of leaving and texting Logan from outside. He had nipped to the hardware store for something, but was aware the exchange may not go well.

  Just as the silence became painful, Hana’s smoothie arrived; a blast of red berries topped with a splodge of cream. Hana gratefully laid into it with her straw, glad of a distraction.

  Finally, Anka spoke, her voice trembling with emotion, “I wanted to meet you…to say I am so sorry…for everything.”

  Hana was surprised. It wasn’t at all what she was expecting and feeling she needed to acknowledge the apology without diminishing the misery she experienced through Anka’s selfishness, she said, “Thank you,” and went on with her drink.

  Anka took a sip of her latte and continued, her voice faltering, “Ivan and I are back together. He has… well, he has forgiven me…and we’re trying to put our lives back how it was…well, not how it was, obviously.”

  Hana raised her eyebrows and nodded. “Charlotte told me. Weeks ago.”

  Anka’s face changed with understanding, immediately seeing one of the reasons for Hana’s pique. She carried on, tripping over her words, which was unusual for her. “I can’t offer any excuse really, I look back and I…well, I find it hard to believe it was me… I left Ivan and the children and…took off like that.”

  Anka’s voice trembled and tears welled up in her eyes. Hana found it difficult to stay cross in the face of such genuine remorse and began to soften. “You didn’t seem like yourself really,” she offered, trying to be helpful and mentally detach her friend from the severe woman Hana met before her wedding. “You were…different somehow.” Hana looked up at her, “I didn’t think I liked you very much anymore.”

  The little puddle of tears at the bottom of Anka’s eyes grew, flooding over the edge and down her cheeks like a sudden lahar. Hana was instantly sorry but already decided before she came, to stand her ground for once and tell the truth. Anka nodded her head as she reached for a napkin, causing the tears to jump from her face and sprinkle onto the table. “You know, I didn’t like myself very much either or much since actually. I don’t know if I ever will again. I don’t think I’m a nice person really.”

  “I don’t think any of us are though,” countered Hana wisely, “I know I often think, if that person honestly knew me, they would see how faulty I am. We’re all pretty much damned from the start aren’t we?”

  Anka nodded and without intending to, the women found common ground.

  “How is Ivan?” Hana dared to ask, “He rang me in an awful state after you left. He held me responsible for not telling him. I haven’t seen him since. I honestly didn’t know what to tell him.”

  “I am so very sorry,” Anka blurted out, reaching for Hana’s hand on the table and holding it until the circulation began to struggle. Hana knew she would have to forgive her just to get her hand back.

  “It’s ok,” she answered graciously, rubbing the red spot on her hand as Anka let go to grab more napkins for her flooding eyes and nose. “I guess it’s all over now.”

  The last sentence was as much a question as a statement and Anka nodded furiously. “Heck yes! Tama followed me up north as you realised and started throwing his weight around where I was working. I had to leave. I ended up going to this little motel at Mangawhai Heads, where Ivan and I shared the nicest weekend once when his mother came over from South Africa and looked after the children. I sat for a day and cried my eyes out and then when I felt I couldn’t go on, Ivan checked in. I couldn’t believe it. He won’t tell me how he found me. Tama turned up there as well, so drunk I’m amazed he made it. Says he followed me, but he must have gone off to a bar not long after arriving because he was out of this world.”

  “Ivan gave him a black eye, didn’t he?” Hana asked and Anka nodded.

  “Yes, he didn’t want to hit him but Tama was spoiling for a fight once he realised he was there. He got this bar thing out of his passenger door and went for Ivan with it.”

  Hana visibly shuddered, wishing Liza let her call the police when Tama produced the crowbar and hit Logan. Clearly that was his chosen method of attack.

  “Tama didn’t realise Ivan was a black belt and got more than he bargained for. Ivan hardly touched him. Tama was bloody lucky really. Ivan probably wanted to kill him.”

  Hana shook her head with disbelief, inwardly thinking more like Tama wanted to kill him. But she kept the thought to herself. She finished the smoothie and started to feel uncomfortable and a little bilious, shifting around on her chair in discomfort. Eventually, she asked Anka, “Would it be ok if we went for a walk?”

  Anka nodded and retrieved her jacket, also grabbing the bill for the drinks before Hana could reach for her purse. “Least I can do,” she muttered as Hana went to the toilet and then texted Logan quickly to let him know what she was doing. He replied with a smiley face that was impressive for him, seeing as he usually didn’t reply at all.

  Anka looked hard at Hana as she held the door open for her and they stepped out into the wintery air. “You look so happy,” she said wistfully and Hana blanched under the inaccuracy of her comment. She was far from it, but no longer knew how to get back to happy. Happy had ended the day after her wedding.

  Logan picked Hana up from Wellington Street Beach where Anka parked her car earlier. They walked and chatted and seemed to be on a better footing. Hana elected not to tell Anka about her pregnancy. A year ago she definitely would have, but right then she realised she had lost trust in her friend. Anka sadly slipped into the category of ‘others’ that would be told once the necessary tests were safely over and the respective families informed. Hana realised she was not looking forward to that one bit.

  Logan made no comment as Anka hugged his wife warmly. His scar had ached badly all day and it irked him she was inadvertently involved in that incident. He had started going back to the school gym at lunch times and running before tea at night. He needed to get fit although the soccer season was almost half-way through and it was unlikely he would be able to get a position in any of the local teams at this late stage. It was a fact that annoyed him greatly. He tried out for the Rovers at their muster and got a good slot in the back three. They understandably filled the position and Logan hadn’t been able to bear going to watch them since.

  “See ya.” He waved cordially to Anka and gave
her a smile which didn’t reach his eyes. She was going to have to work jolly hard with him, after sending Hana out into the dark to be followed by thugs a few nights before their wedding. Hana settled into the Honda and Logan automatically reached over for a kiss. Her lips were freezing cold and he turned up the heat on the blower for her. “All good?” he asked and Hana nodded, grateful he didn’t press her or demand information. She thought about how she often pushed into his world, stomping around and poking her nose in, understanding how he must dread it. Logan’s left hand was across his thigh and Hana reached out and took it in her cold fingers, feeling his warm ones close around them gently. Again she felt the butterfly flutterings in her stomach and for the journey home, felt both grateful and content. Perhaps happy wasn’t all that far away after all.

  Gentle lights flowed out of Culver’s Cottage as the lamps, which were set on timers, flicked themselves on as it grew darker. Hana loved coming to the top of the rise and seeing the beautiful masterpiece in front of her. Logan drove the Honda down the slope and under the opening garage door so they could get out and not have to brave the sharp wind blowing outside.

  He skipped up the stairs ahead of Hana and she heard his feet going over the boards upstairs to turn the burglar alarm off near the front door. Then he went off into the kitchen and she heard the kettle flick on. Hana went more slowly up the stairs, watching her footing in the yellow glow from the overhead bulb. Her trousers cut into her waist and she felt desperate to get into her jamas, early as it was. Going past the door out onto the roof garden, she glanced outside into the semi-darkness and something caught her eye near the bottom of the door.