The House on Findlater Lane

by Helen Goltz

  ‘I think you’re right,’ Juliette suggested. ‘I’ll make contact with the Bellerose family, Astrid, and say I saw the piece on social media and that I’d love to see it while I’m in Paris on business and see what she says. I’ve got some clients in Paris, anyway, so I can drop in and see them while I’m there. If we see the symbol, I’ll try and get a photo, maybe mention that I know the work of the jeweller. See how it plays out.’

  ‘Her reaction would be interesting, but it could get ugly,’ Holly said, sitting back. She noticed that Alexander had lost interest in the discussion and vanished.

  Juliette nodded. ‘So shall we all go?’

  Esther shook her head. ‘No, I don’t think my being there would be advantageous. I think you two should go if you are happy to do so and have time. I’ll fund it, of course.’

  ‘I’m very happy to do so,’ Holly said, ‘if you are happy to make contact, Juliette and, with your company’s trading name, see if we can get a foot in the door.’

  ‘That works for me,’ Juliette said, ‘but you don’t need to finance me, Esther, although thank you for offering. I go over a few times a year anyway, so it can be one of my work trips.’

  Holly covered Juliette’s hand with her own. ‘Thank you for this.’

  Esther reached across the table for both of their hands. She looked weary and it was the first time Holly noticed there really was a little old lady masked behind Esther’s usual energetic front. She suspected that delving into history, no matter how long ago it had been, was draining.

  ‘Thank you both. I never thought I’d get close to seeing it again in my lifetime and now I have some hope,’ Esther said.

  ‘Imagine if we could bring it home,’ Holly said, in awe. ‘Wouldn’t that be a wonderful thing!”

  ‘Well, you are the finder of things,’ Juliette said, ‘so if anyone can, you can!’

  Old friends and enemies

  The bespectacled journalist and his sidekick photographer stopped out the front of Findlater House. They were both panting… the rise up Findlater Lane to the house always separated the fit from the unfit, the soft from the trained! They looked soft, Alexander thought… and young. He sighed.

  ‘They’re back.’

  ‘Who’s back?’ Holly’s voice rose with enthusiasm as she looked up from the table where she had been working on the laptop. ‘Juliette and Lucas?’ she asked, as they were the last to leave the cottage earlier this morning.

  ‘No, the ghost hunters,’ Alexander said. He stood leaning against the window frame, watching them.

  Holly frowned, confused and rose to join him by the window. ‘Do you know them?’

  ‘Yes, Tweedledee and Tweedledum come by every few months to try and get a story. The real estate agent sent them packing last time, so now they drop in occasionally to try and talk the tenants into letting them in. A few have in the past.’

  ‘And what? You didn’t perform?’ Holly asked. ‘How terribly uncooperative of you.’

  ‘Yeah, bad me,’ Alexander said, smirking. ‘I want people to bugger off, not come round like the place is a tourist attraction. Can you get rid of them?’

  ‘I’ll give it my best shot,’ Holly said, with a smile in his direction. ‘Play along.’

  She opened the door before they made their way halfway up the path. They looked surprised to see her… she wasn’t a ghost. Holly suspected they were either fans of the Paranormal genre or the editor had sent them out to fill a gap in their content.

  ‘Ah, Miss, hello,’ the journalist started. He would have been early twenties if he was a day. With one slick movement, he flattened his hair and pushed his thin glasses further up on his nose.

  ‘Hi,’ Holly said. ‘Can I help you?’

  ‘I’m Gerard Clark and this is Nat Stoddart, we’re from the Best of Local News Online. You might have seen our stories?’

  Holly pursed her lips as she thought about it. ‘Can’t say I have, but I will from now on!’

  Nat smiled. ‘Thanks!’ He saw the Lost and Found basket and glanced in.

  ‘Do people just leave stuff here?’ he asked, picking up a woollen glove.

  ‘No, it finds me,’ Holly said, with a shrug, ‘so I put them there in the hope they can be reunited with family.’

  Nat grinned. ‘That’s a good pair of sunnies. What happens if no-one claims them?’

  ‘That’s never happened,’ Holly admitted. ‘But if they are still there at the end of the month, I’ll keep them for you.’

  ‘Thanks.’ He brightened.

  Gerard cleared his throat to catch their attention and continued on his ghost thread. ‘We were hoping to talk to you about the rumours that this house was haunted. Are you just visiting?’

  As they spoke, Alexander came out and stood beside Holly, his arms crossed, his expression less than impressed and his form not visible to the two young ghost hunters.

  ‘Oh wow, I just got an increase in the waves,’ Nat said, glancing at the box in his hand. He looked to Holly and explained, ‘It says if there’s a change in atmosphere.’

  ‘Like a ghost had joined us?’ she suggested, and shuddered. Alexander laughed beside her.

  ‘Exactly!’ Nat said. He looked around and Gerard did the same thing.

  Holly responded to the earlier question. ‘No, not visiting, I live here.’

  ‘Here?’ Gerard asked, surprised. ‘So, have you seen anything?’

  ‘Oh, lots of things,’ Holly said. ‘It’s an amazing town and village.’

  Gerard’s face dropped. Nat continued to stare at the radar in his hand, waiting for the dial to move.

  ‘I’m mean here, in the house,’ Gerard said. ‘Have you seen anything… you know, supernatural?’ He looked upstairs to the windows and veranda, and back to the large windows in the living areas on the ground level.

  ‘Like a ghost? No, thank goodness. I’ve heard the Sergeant can be very unwelcoming.’

  Gerard and Nat stared at her. ‘So you know about the Sergeant but you haven’t seen him?’

  ‘No. I heard he was really handsome so I’m a little disappointed,’ Holly said.

  Alexander laughed again.

  ‘If you do see him, can you introduce us? I’ll leave you my card,’ Gerard said, pulling a card from his suit pocket.

  ‘You will be the first people I call… but don’t wait around for a scoop, I heard he’s quite anti-social,’ Holly said. ‘Anyway, I’d best get back to work. Thank you for dropping in.’

  ‘Thanks, Miss –?’ Gerard asked.

  ‘You’re welcome,’ Holly said, not revealing her name. ‘I’ll let you know about those sunglasses, too,’ she said to Nat. She gave them an endearing smile and went back into the house. Holly heard the photographer say, ‘The readings just dropped when she went inside. You don’t think she’s a ghost too, do you?’

  Holly closed the door and groaned. ‘Lord help us, one ghost is well and truly enough for this household.”

  The library was always welcoming and Holly couldn’t explain the excitement that she felt on entering it. She had always been that way, ever since she was a kid. But today, she had some work to do that she didn’t want Alexander seeing. Of course, he could follow her to the library but she knew he was less inclined to do that.

  She saw Abby helping a few library customers and gave her a wave; Abby looked pleased to see her. Holly didn’t need the microfiche today, so she settled herself at a desk with her back to the wall and a view out the window to the street and the passing parade of people and traffic. She unpacked her laptop and turned it on.

  It had appeared this morning – a message on her phone from Andy Davies, Alexander’s friend… the soldier who had had the Sergeant’s back, allegedly. It had only been a few days since Holly took a gamble and messaged him, and she couldn’t believe it when she saw his reply come up on her phone. He had to be in his late seventies and she wasn’t sure how active he was online. She wanted to read it immediately but decided to get out of the house; who knew what
the message might contain?

  She opened it and it contained a few lines. Hello Holly, well Alex, that’s a blast from the past. I’ve emailed you, I can write in more detail there. Cheers, Andy.

  Fantastic, she thought, surprised he’d mastered the social media messaging at his age. So he remembers Alexander and he’s open to talking… well, maybe. She opened her emails and as she waited for them to download, she saw Abby approaching.

  ‘Hi Holly, I knew you couldn’t keep away from us!’

  ‘Hi Abby! You had me at “hello” and “books”, Holly agreed. ‘Hey, thanks for connecting me with Sebastian, he was so helpful.’

  ‘Pleasure! Sebastian Cartwright the Third loves to be of value… I think you made his day more so than the other way around.’ Abby groaned as she saw people heading to the desk again. ‘Never a moment’s reprieve from my checkout stamp,’ she said, and smiled.

  ‘It’s the way you wield it,’ Holly teased.

  ‘Yeah, it’s a skill,’ Abby agreed and grinned. She left Holly and returned to the desk.

  Holly checked out her emails. There was the usual bunch of junk mail that she should unsubscribe to or thought she had already; an email from her mother which she’d look forward to reading later – it was a bit of an epic in length; a sale at her favourite store in London… good thing I’m missing that – and there it was, an email from Andy.

  She opened it. It was long and he had written it like a formal letter. Holly began to read.

  Dear Holly, well, what a surprise to hear from you and to hear Alex’s name mentioned again. Some days it feels like yesterday when we were there in the thick of it all; other days it feels like it was a hundred years ago. I guess you younger people don’t get that, but you will one day.

  I’ve thought a lot about Alex over the years… he comes and goes in my head now more than ever, as I have plenty of time to think back over my life. Funny how some of us get to live while others die young… it’s true what they say, you’re a long time dead. Alex was a good man, I was proud to serve with him, and he was great company, but I confess that I never understood why he sat on the fence. Although I suspect his missus had something to do with that, but a mission’s a mission… commit or don’t. Alex wasn’t in or out, he was just there. But that’s irrelevant now, isn’t it? He did his job and he died doing it.

  If you want to come to see me, as suggested, you are welcome, but I’m not sure how much more I can tell you. My memory of that night is not that great. It all happened so quickly and, added to that, it’s been nearly five decades! I can’t remember what I had for lunch yesterday. But if you want to make the trip, I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t enjoy the company and to show off that I have a young lady visiting… Just kidding, I can get in big trouble saying things like that these days, can’t I? I have two kids – both grown men now but one lives in London and the other in Sydney, Australia, so I don’t see them much. They’ve got their own lives and their own families.

  Anyway, I’m in aged care now because I can’t get around so easily and I get a bit forgetful. My wife died five years ago. I’m not saying that for sympathy, just the way it is… so don’t wait too long to get here in case I fall off my perch. Best to make it a morning visit if that works for you, too? I run out of steam pretty easily these days.

  My address follows and just check the website for the facility I live in, because there are some visiting hour restrictions and parking hassles – or so they tell me. Let me know when you’d like to come and we can lock something in. Okay, young lady, will leave it in your hands. My regards, Andy Davies.

  Holly looked up and breathed out. Fantastic! At least he’ll see me. She checked out the website of where Andy lived. It would only take her an hour or so to drive there and they were open of a morning from 9 am to 12 noon before the lunch break. If she left at 9 am, she could be there to have morning tea with him – she’d take a cake from The Cup and Saucer, and get on his good side.

  She thought about Andy. Maybe in the flesh he’d tell her more in detail… get caught up in the story and remember more. She wondered who he thought had killed his Sergeant.

  ‘I’m coming with you,’ Alexander insisted when Holly read the message to him.

  ‘Really? Are you sure you can come that far? And how does that work? Will you travel with me or do you just appear there?’

  ‘Yes, I can travel anywhere I like and I can just appear there, unless you want my scintillating company for the journey?’ Alexander asked with raised eyebrows.

  ‘I think I’ll be all right. I’ll listen to a podcast or put some music on.’

  ‘Podcast? Whatever! So, when do we go?’

  Holly shook her head. ‘Right now, sir.’

  Alexander looked pleased. ‘Really?’

  ‘No, don’t be ridiculous.’ She moved him out of the way of the refrigerator as she grabbed vegetables to prepare a stir-fry meal for herself. Alexander relocated to a seat at the kitchen table.

  Holly continued. ‘I’ve sent him some suggested days and times so I’m waiting on him now. Then I’ve got to look up the route, calculate how long it will take and when I can get away.’

  ‘Well, give me plenty of notice, I’m very busy,’ he said, and Holly laughed.

  ‘Plus,’ she said, ‘I’ve got to work out scenarios – what to ask him, how I’ll play it if he reveals nothing, or if he says he knows who – you know – knocked you off.’

  ‘Hmm,’ Alexander mused. ‘You still think Ronan might have done it?’

  ‘I do,’ Holly said, ‘but you don’t. What will you do if Andy says he does know who did it? I’m not taking you with me if you get violent. You have to promise to stay in the background, or I won’t go.’

  Alexander scowled at her. ‘Fine, bossy boots. Anyway, vengeance is not my role and it’s not allowed.’

  She turned from stirring the vegetables in the large wok. ‘Promise you’ll stay out of sight?’

  ‘Yeah, yeah, I promise,’ he said, impatiently.

  Holly smiled at him. ‘So, you’re not allowed to punish, hmm? There’s an insight you let slip! But I still get my one question in return for new info.’

  Alexander began to fade.

  ‘Don’t you dare!’ She waved the wooden spoon at him and he laughed and reappeared in full strength.

  ‘Go on then, ask away.’

  ‘Why aren’t you in uniform? You’re in jeans and a T-shirt, but if you died as a soldier or died in a hospital bed, then why aren’t you in your uniform or a hospital gown? Do you get to choose what you wear even when you are a ghost?’ She turned to face him, waiting for the answer.

  ‘Ah, very perceptive, Ms Hanlon,’ Alexander nodded. ‘I can wear whatever is in my imagination, and I figured jeans and a T-shirt transcends all decades and generations. Do you want to see me in uniform?’ he asked, with a hint of teasing shading his tone.

  She squinted at him as she thought. ‘No, I think I might find that a bit sad.’

  He nodded. Then, lightening the mood, he said, ‘I could appear in my birthday suit.’ He raised his hands as if he was about to click and action the thought.

  “No!” Holly yelled.

  Alexander laughed.

  ‘You’ve answered the question, thanks. Leave your gear on,’ she said.

  She could hear him laughing after he had faded from sight.

  The heart of Paris

  Holly belted up, took a deep breath and said a silent prayer. The wheels of the plane clunked into place and the piped air always made her feel slightly claustrophobic.

  Juliette studied her. ‘Seriously, you’re not scared, are you? Do you know how safe we are, compared to, well, driving a car?’

  ‘I’m not scared, but it doesn’t hurt just to put in a good word above for a safe flight,’ she said, gazing up to the roof of the plane to indicate the heavens. ‘Falling from a great height is not really the way I want to go – I’d like to die in my sleep or have a heart attack and keel over dead instantly.’<
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  ‘Yeah, well, who wouldn’t? So, a good word as in a prayer?’ Juliette asked. ‘Wow, I didn’t realise you were that connected.’

  Holly smiled. ‘My great-aunt was a nun, she was my favourite aunty. When I was a kid, any time I travelled with her, she would say a prayer to Our Lady of the Way that we would get there safely. It was probably more a reflection on my mother’s driving skills, but hey, we always got there. So thank you, Our Lady of the Way and please work your magic again for this journey.’

  Juliette looked over Holly’s shoulder as the plane began to level out after its ascent into the sky. Holly had the window seat, Juliette preferred the aisle. Esther had insisted Holly fly business class and Juliette had enough points to happily agree and accompany her.

  ‘We could have gone by train. Or would you still have said a prayer?’

  ‘Yeah, most likely.’ Holly breathed out as the plane levelled off. ‘I could so get used to business class. Esther was really generous.’

  ‘Perks of the job,’ Juliette agreed, and stretched her legs out in front of her. ‘Look at all the room.’ She continued: ‘You know, I read somewhere that the odds of dying in a plane crash are like one in 200,000, but it’s one in 1000 for drowning and one in 100 for a car crash.’

  ‘That’s not really great odds, but I’ll take them,’ Holly said, and brightened as the flight attendant approached to offer them a drink.

  They requested champagne – they were going to Paris, after all – and sat back with their glasses of bubbly to talk strategy during the one-hour flight.

  ‘I’m relieved Astrid is open to meeting us but I’m not expecting she’ll acknowledge the necklace’s heritage at this meeting, even if we mention the designer. But we do need to toe the line about you just being a collector keen to see beautiful pieces, rather than being a spy,’ Holly said.

  Juliette grimaced. ‘I know. I have to be careful not to misrepresent myself, or my name in the industry – and it’s a small one – will be mud. But I’ve basically told her the truth.’