by D. S. Butler
I crossed the room to the large American-style fridge freezer and opened the freezer section. Propped up on a shelf, nestled between a bag of frozen peas and a tub of Ben and Jerry’s, was a bottle of vodka. I grinned. That would do nicely.
I poured a small measure into a glass and topped it up with orange juice. I didn’t think I could stomach drinking it neat.
As I sipped my drink, I thought about Janet and Marilyn. They had a right to know about the note I’d found at the health club. They would find out eventually anyway from the police and would be hurt I hadn’t told them. But then again, I didn’t want an argument tonight, and for some reason, Janet saw me as the enemy. She’d never liked me. Did I really have enough energy to engage with her tonight?
By the time I was on my second vodka, I’d decided to call Janet. Yes, I was tired. And yes, it was in my nature to avoid confrontation, but Janet was Nicole’s sister, and she had a right to know. She already believed I was trying to muscle my way into Sienna’s life, and if I didn’t tell Janet or Marilyn what had happened, it would only confirm Janet’s suspicions.
I walked into the sitting room, grabbed my mobile phone and dialled Janet’s number before I could change my mind. As expected, the call didn’t go well. Rather than being glad I’d called to let her know what had happened, she was furious I hadn’t called earlier.
I couldn’t win. Pulling the phone away from my ear so I wasn’t deafened by Janet shouting down the phone, I sighed and curled up on the sofa. Janet didn’t pause for breath for a good five minutes, and when she’d finally finished telling me off, she didn’t even say goodbye but simply hung up.
I was past caring. After putting my phone on the coffee table, I stretched out on the sofa and closed my eyes.
I must have drifted off because the next thing I knew there was a hammering at the front door. Waking up with a start, I sat up and pressed a hand against my chest. With my heart in my mouth, I rushed into the hall. Charlie made it to the door before me.
I heard movement upstairs and guessed Sienna had come to see who was at the door. I didn’t know what the time was, but it was still light outside. Peering through the small spy hole, I saw a furious looking Janet standing on the doorstep.
My shoulders slumped. I should have guessed. Opening the door, I stood back out of the way as she stormed inside.
“Right, you’d better tell me all about this note from the beginning.”
“You told her?” Sienna’s voice sounded shrill, and as I shut the front door, I turned to see her standing on the galleried landing. “You asked me whether I wanted you to tell them and I said no. What was the point of you asking me, Abbie, when you were going to do what you wanted anyway?”
Two red spots burned in her cheeks in her otherwise pale face as she glared down at me. Her outburst took me by surprise. It hadn’t occurred to me that Sienna didn’t want them to find out about the note. I thought she didn’t want them to worry.
I opened my mouth to try and explain, but Janet got there first. “Of course, she should have told us. We are your family. You’re just a child, and it’s our job to protect you.”
Sienna didn’t look at her aunt. She was still glaring furiously at me.
“I didn’t tell them to upset you,” I said feebly. “I just thought they should know what happened. They want to support you, Sienna.”
She scowled, turned on her heel and stalked off to her bedroom.
Great. Now I had Janet and Sienna angry with me. I only hoped Marilyn didn’t turn up in the next five minutes. I wasn’t sure I could deal with three against one.
“You’d better come in,” I said to Janet as I walked towards the sitting room.
“How kind of you to invite me into my sister’s house,” Janet said with barely suppressed fury.
I let out a sigh and sat down on the sofa. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier. You’re quite right. I should have.”
My apology took the wind out of Janet’s sails and for a moment she was speechless. She sat down in the armchair opposite me and crossed her legs.
“I don’t see what right you have to stay here,” she said, finally finding her tongue. “It should be me and Mum looking after Sienna.”
I shrugged. “Steve was doing me a favour. The hotel was using up all my savings, so he invited me to stay here.”
“How convenient.”
“Convenient?” My voice was raised but I couldn’t contain my temper. “What are you talking about?”
“This was your plan all along, wasn’t it? You think just because you were friends with my sister you can come in here and win Sienna over with your sad face and your pathetic ‘I’m only here to help’ act.”
I stared at her. She really thought badly of me.
She leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees, warming to her theme. “Is it about money? Do you think you can replace Nicole, is that it?”
She was nuts. Full on crazy town.
“You’re not making any sense, Janet. I’m here because I want to help, and I’m staying at Yew Tree House because Steve invited me. After all, it is his house.”
She glared at me for a few seconds and then finally stood up. “Your meddling is going to get you into serious trouble.”
She shot me one last venomous glare and stalked out of the room.
Dazed, I followed her, only to have the front door slammed in my face when I reached the end of the hallway.
After Janet left, I was seething. Pacing around the sitting room, I came up with all kinds of intelligent comebacks I should have made, but wasn’t that always the way. In hindsight it was easy to win arguments. Charlie watched me in bewilderment as I walked back and forth.
Janet was just upset and lashing out. Her sister had just been murdered and she was hurting. The logical side of me could see her point of view, but I was sick and tired of the way she treated me. Plus, her theory that I was trying to worm my way into Sienna’s affections was laughable. My goddaughter wasn’t talking to me right now either.
Only ten minutes later, the doorbell rang and I half expected it to be Janet returning for round two. But my anger hadn’t affected my judgement. There was a chance Sienna’s stalker could be hanging around, so I peered through the spy hole as Charlie banged into my legs and was surprised to see the visitor wasn’t Janet.
It was Jason Owens.
I braced my hands against the front door and didn’t open it immediately. Why was he here? To see Sienna? He didn’t know I was staying at Yew Tree House so he couldn’t be here to see me…
I peered through the spy hole again. Everything that had happened since Nicole’s death made me suspicious, but he didn’t look dangerous or threatening. Not long ago, I’d been contemplating going out for a drink with him. What had changed? Nothing. I was just paranoid.
I took a deep breath, plastered a smile on my face and opened the door.
“Hello, Abbie, sorry to come around unannounced.”
He didn’t look surprised to see me here.
“Hi, was it me you wanted to see?”
He nodded. “Yes, I did try to call your mobile, but I think I must have the wrong number.”
Oh, so he had tried to contact me. I smiled. Although he could have left a message for me at the hotel while I was staying there if he’d been really keen.
“Do you want to come in?”
He gave me a charming smile and stepped into the hall.
I fixed us some drinks and then made sure he had my correct mobile number before we settled on the sofa. Sienna hadn’t come downstairs, which surprised me. I thought she’d be curious when she heard someone else at the door.
We chatted for a while, and I told him I’d be staying in the UK for another couple of weeks at least.
“That is good news,” he said smiling again, showing off his impossibly white teeth. “Is Sienna home?”
“Yes, did you want to talk to her?”
“I don’t want to be a bother.”
�
�I’ll ask her to come downstairs.” I put my drink on the coffee table. “Won’t be long.”
But no matter how much I cajoled and begged, Sienna refused to come down. She wouldn’t even open her bedroom door. After a few minutes, I gave up. What did I know about looking after a teenage girl? Sure, I’d been one, but that was some time ago.
Sheepishly, I went back downstairs and admitted I couldn’t coax Sienna out of her room. “It’s not you,” I said quickly. “She’s angry with me for telling Janet something.”
Jason’s eyes lit up with interest. “What did you tell Janet?”
I’d been about to reply but began to feel uncomfortable sharing such information with Jason. He was Sienna’s teacher, nothing more. Maybe he had good intentions, but there was a line between telling people what they needed to know and gossiping. Besides, for all I knew, the police could have wanted to keep the existence of the note secret.
“Oh, nothing important. I just wish I could persuade Sienna I’m on her side.”
“I’m sure she knows that really.”
I rolled my eyes and leaned back with a huff on the sofa.
“I’m serious. She’s angry and confused. It’s only natural, and as you’re the only one on hand at the moment, you get the brunt of it, unfortunately.”
I relaxed against the cushions. “I know you’re right, but I can’t help feeling I’m not doing enough.”
“You’re doing a great job with her. Hang in there.”
I smiled. He really knew how to say the right things. I was starting to feel better.
When I reached for my drink, he said. “Are you free on Friday? I thought we could go and have that drink I promised you.”
“Sounds good,” I said and it did.
I’d have to make sure Steve was back and Sienna wasn’t on her own, of course, but it would be nice to go out and chat and let off some steam.
“So how did you know I was staying here?” I asked him.
He blinked at me. “Oh, from Jess Richardson. She’s in my summer drama class, and she found out from Zach.”
“The next generation of the Finchampstead gossip network!”
He grinned. “Teenagers always know more than they let on. Sometimes it surprises me how much they know.”
“You’re braver than me. I couldn’t work with teenagers.”
“They’re not so bad really. Though, they do sometimes give me sleepless nights. It’s hard not to get caught up emotionally. One of the reasons I wanted to talk to Sienna was to encourage her to come back to drama classes — sort of a way to ease her into things before school starts again in September.”
That was a good idea. Going back to school was going to be extremely difficult. Everyone would know what had happened to Nicole, and even if the children weren’t intentionally cruel, they would be talking about the murder. Sienna would be centre of attention for all the wrong reasons. The drama class could make the transition easier.
“If she’s talking to me tomorrow, I’ll mention it.”
Jason didn’t stay long. After he left, I unloaded the dishwasher then set about making two cups of cocoa, intending to take one up to Sienna as a peace offering. I’d only just started heating the milk when the doorbell rang again.
Charlie scurried out of the kitchen, and I glanced at the clock on the microwave. It was nine p.m. — a bit late for a casual caller. I removed the saucepan from the heat and went to see who it was.
When I got to the front door, Charlie was sniffing the base. I heard a noise behind me and turned in time to see Sienna peek around the wall at the end of the galleried landing and then quickly duck out of sight.
I guessed she’d probably done that with Jason Owens as well. A quick look through the spy hole told me our visitor was Toby Walsh. What was he doing here at this time? Surely, he must have known Steve was away on business. To be honest, I’d expected Toby to be with him in London.
A deep frown furrowed his brow and he looked tense. My hand hesitated over the lock. I had an urge to pull back from the door and pretend there was no one home. Biting down on my lip, my fingers closed around the chrome door catch. It was Toby, Steve’s business partner. The man who’d save me from a painful conversation with my ex and had always been kind to me.
He hunched his shoulders and kicked a pebble from the doorstep, then suddenly looked up and his piercing eyes appeared to look directly at me. I gasped and took a step back.
“What is it? Who’s there?” Sienna called from upstairs.
I wiped my sweaty palms on my jeans and looked up at her. “Nothing to worry about,” I said cheerfully. “It’s just Toby.”
She scowled at me and slunk off to her room. I exhaled and jumped as Toby rang the doorbell again. What was wrong with me? I was letting Angie and her ideas of evil get to me. I looked down into Charlie’s expectant eyes.
Shaking my head, I opened the door.
Chapter Thirty
“Hi, Toby. Sorry to keep you waiting. I was just in the kitchen tidying up after dinner.” It was a white lie. How could I say I’d been standing on the other side of the door debating whether to let him in?
He didn’t return my smile. “Abbie, I didn’t realise you were here. Is Steve home?”
Without waiting for an answer, he walked into the house.
I closed the door. “No, he’s not been home all day. He’s in London.”
“Christ.” Toby ran a hand through his hair. “I’ve been trying to get hold of him, but he’s not answering his phone. You don’t mind if I wait here for him, do you?”
I put my hands in my pockets and shrugged. “He’s not coming back tonight.”
Toby’s eyebrows lifted. “Why not?”
“I don’t know exactly. He told me he had business to do in London. Didn’t he tell you about it? I thought he would have mentioned it. You are his business partner.”
“It seems he’s forgotten that,” Toby muttered, stalking along the hall and then poking his head into Steve’s study.
Did he think I was lying? Or suspect that Steve was hiding in his home office?
Why was he acting so strangely this evening? I looked up to see if Sienna was peeking out from behind the wall again, but there was no sign of her. Charlie sat by my feet and gave a low whine. I reached down to pet him.
Toby sighed, shook his head and then leaned against the wall. “So, you’re staying here now?”
“For a week or so, yes. Just until I go back to India.”
“Right. Do me a favour. If you see Steve, tell him I’d like to speak to him.”
“Of course.”
His piercing eyes met mine and held my gaze. His eyes had a magnetic quality I hadn’t noticed before. I found it impossible to look away or break eye contact.
“All right then,” he said eventually. “Sorry to interrupt your evening.”
“It’s fine. I hope you manage to track him down,” I said as he walked towards the front door. “Is there a problem between you and Steve? Anything I could help with?”
“I think it’s gone beyond that,” he said. “I’ll probably see you around before you go back, but if not, have a good trip.”
“Thanks,” I said and watched as he left the house, striding across the gravel driveway to his car.
When I shut the door, I leaned back against it, wondering what was going on between him and Steve, and as I did so, I happened to glance up and saw Sienna’s pale, haunted face, followed by a flash of her coppery hair before she disappeared again.
So she had been watching and listening.
Sienna didn’t come out of her room again that night. I’d intended to go to bed early, but after my three visitors, I couldn’t settle.
The storm began just before midnight. I had the light on, but the lightning was so bright I saw the flash in the kitchen. A few seconds later, a crack of thunder made me jump. Charlie whimpered. I petted him and muttered reassuring words.
Normally, storms didn’t bother me. I’d been through so man
y of them, working in India, but thanks to Angie’s fanciful descriptions of each evil lurking around Yew Tree House, I was on edge, and the storm wasn’t helping.
I decided to stay up until the storm retreated to take care of Charlie, who was trembling and trying to get under the table.
After another flash of lightning, I began to count. I didn’t get far. Four seconds later, I heard an even louder clap of thunder. I could feel Charlie shaking as he pressed against my legs. I grabbed his basket from the utility room and shoved it beneath the table. If that was where he felt safe, at least he could be comfortable.
I walked through to the sitting room, pulled the curtains back and looked out at the front driveway.
The yew tree was swaying in the wind, and rain was falling in sheets. A flash of lightning illuminated the tree. Its branches swung dramatically, and it looked like an angry giant, towering over the house. Yew trees were associated with graveyards, superstition and death. Tonight, it was easy to see where it gained that creepy reputation. I shut the curtains and shivered.
Back in the kitchen, I checked on Charlie. He looked a little calmer now, and I wondered if that meant the storm was moving further away. Animals were more sensitive to those sorts of things.
“It’s nearly over,” I said, scratching behind his ears as I crouched beside the table.
I pulled out a chair and sat down, thinking about Toby’s visit earlier. When he’d said Steve hadn’t been answering his phone, it worried me. The man had just lost his wife and been dragged off to the police station for questioning. He was under a lot of stress and people could crack under that kind of pressure.
Unable to stop thinking he’d done something stupid, I called and was surprised when he answered.
I passed on Toby’s message, and Steve shrugged it off, saying he’d get back to him tomorrow. I sensed he was trying to deflect my concerns. For whatever reason, Steve didn’t want to confide in me.
It was more than likely, he’d had a disagreement with Toby over some business problem. Stress levels were running high at the moment, so it wasn’t surprising. They spent a lot of time together and that could lead to frayed nerves.