Ashes to Ashes

by Campbell, Jamie

  “I think I remember something about that, Mum might have mentioned it.”

  “She’s right here; we did take care of her move from Avalon. It was a long time ago though; I don’t know how much help this will be to you.” The printer whirled in the background.

  “I know it’s a long shot but I’ve got to try, for Mum.”

  Alison took the single page from the printer and handed it over to Jasmine. She had hesitated for just a moment. Normally it was their policy to not reveal any information about their clients but this move happened thirteen years ago. There was no way she was still living in the same house. More likely than not, she was long gone.

  “Thank you so much, you don’t know how happy this will make Mum.” She took the page and left before Alison changed her mind.

  Jasmine could not believe her luck. Finally something was easy for a change. She didn’t even look at the piece of paper until she was safely home. She had visions of the office assistant chasing after her saying it was a mistake and she needed the address back.

  As soon as she was through her front door, she opened the page.

  The address was for a 578 Magnolia Lane, Sunnybrook. Jasmine tried to think back to her year eight geography class and place Sunnybrook on the map. She had heard of it before but couldn’t quite place it. She grabbed her street directory from the bookcase and thumbed through the pages to the state map. She located Sunnybrook. It was definitely North like the tennis club lady had said. So far North that it was almost off the map.

  So if Gladys Reynolds had been so distraught that she had to move two thousand kilometres away, she either knew her husband was definitely not coming back or she knew exactly where he was. Either way, Jasmine was sure that she would have the answers she was looking for.

  She walked to the phone hanging on the wall and dialled Caleb’s number. He picked up after only a few rings.

  “Caleb, it’s Jaz. I don’t think we need to go to Oyster Cove anymore.”

  “Why? What’s happened?” He sounded tired, like he’d had a long day.

  “I think I’ve found Mrs Reynolds. She moved to Sunnybrook. I have a feeling that if we find her, she’ll lead us to the mayor.”

  “Sunnybrook? Isn’t that in the top end? Why would she move there?”

  “I suspect it’s because that was where her husband was. Think about it, she moved out of town only a few months after he went missing. Someone that is clinging to hope that your loved one would return is not going to move even next door, let alone a couple of thousand kilometres away.”

  “I guess not. So, I should probably book some flights then?”

  “I think that has to be our next step.”

  “Okay, set your alarm clock for early Saturday. I’ll email you through the flight details.” They hung up. Jasmine went straight to her computer and logged on. Google was her homepage, so it appeared automatically after she had connected. She typed in ‘Sunnybrook’ and waited for the results.

  The first website was sponsored by the tourism board of Sunnybrook, so it looked promising. She clicked into it. Sunnybrook looked to be a welcoming place, ideal for tourists who wanted a holiday that meant lying on a beach for two weeks. They offered numerous water sports, had a fun park and the dining was ‘Five star cuisine’. It certainly looked like a nice place to hide.

  She printed off a map of the town centre and logged off.

  * * *

  Caleb was not joking about getting up early on Saturday. By 4:00am he was parked outside of Jasmine’s apartment, ready to get to the airport for their 5:30am flight. She was ready to go immediately and they sped off into the non-existent traffic. The airport was located in Cliffton, not far from Lucy’s work place. It was only a regional airport; it was very unlikely to see any seven-four-sevens parked there.

  The plane was on time for once and they were walking out of Sunnybrook airport only four hours later. The weather there was warm and humid, the sun creeping up towards the sky in all its glory.

  They hired a car from a little booth just outside the airport exit and drove into town. Jasmine felt like she was on holidays in midsummer.

  Even in the early morning there were families walking the streets, all dressed in bright floral patterned clothes and sporting caps. Some carried towels, as if they were headed for the beach, others carried buckets and spades. Some carried picnic baskets and cricket stumps. It felt like they had landed in Hawaii.

  “Where to, boss?” Caleb spoke in a voice like a gangster from an old movie.

  “I think we should go straight for her last known address. You never know, we might get lucky. Maybe the great Mayor Reynolds will answer the door in his dressing gown and slippers.” She smiled at the thought. Caleb followed her direction until they were parked a few houses away from their target. The street was empty, except for the occasional car driving through.

  They left the car and headed for house number five hundred and seventy eight. The curtains were open so Jasmine could see there was furniture inside. She was relieved to see it was at least occupied. The door was a cream colour. It didn’t have a spy hole but it did have an oversized knocker securely planted to the middle of it. Caleb used it to knock twice. After a few seconds, they heard light footsteps approaching from the other side.

  The door opened and a middle-aged woman stood there peering from around it. She looked a little annoyed at the interruption. The woman was too young to be Gladys Reynolds.

  “Can I help you?”

  Jasmine spoke first. “Hello, I’m so sorry to bother you. I have been looking for my grandmother and this was her last known address. I’m wondering if Gladys Reynolds lives here?”

  “Gladys Reynolds? She doesn’t live here but the name rings a bell.” The woman looked like she was tossing the name about in her head, trying to make the connection. “I think I might have rented this house to her years ago. Was she a fairly round woman? Short blonde hair and liked poodles?”

  Jasmine looked at Caleb. She never thought to actually get a picture of Gladys, so she was relying on memory alone. She tried to think back to the parties she had attended as a little girl at the mayor’s house. Mrs Reynolds had hardly spoken to the kids, she preferred the company of the adults. She remembered the poodles in great detail though; they had been small ones – teacup breeds. “That sounds like her. Do you know where she moved to?”

  “No, sorry, I evicted her when I wanted to move in here myself. I was only renting it while I was overseas.” Jasmine thanked her and they walked back to the car.

  “At least we know she was here,” Caleb consoled. “Where would you like to go next?”

  “I don’t know. How about we try the marina? It’s been good to us so far. It wouldn’t hurt.”

  The marina was only a five-minute journey away from Magnolia Lane. It was much bigger than the one at Tilbruk. For a Saturday morning, Jasmine expected it to be alive with activity but there were few people around. They showed Mayor Reynolds’ smiling picture to everyone they saw, however no one acknowledged recognising him. If they did, they hid it very well.

  After a few hours of scouting across town, both Caleb and Jasmine were tired of asking the same questions and getting the same responses. Everyone claimed to have never seen him before in their lives. They took a rest at a corner café and ordered a coffee each.

  “Well, this is a waste of time. Maybe they moved out of town when they were evicted,” Caleb offered.

  “Hmm. If they’re not here, then I just have no idea where the next place to look is.” They sipped their coffee in silence, thinking desperately for places to look or ideas to spur them further. An idea came to Jasmine. “Maybe we’re going about this the wrong way. We’re just asking people at random, I think we should narrow it down to a select group. Think, who would either Winston or Gladys come into direct contact with? Someone who would have built a relationship with them, yet not necessarily have known them on a personal level.”

  “Like a doctor? Or, a pharmacist
! Humans are creatures of habit, they will generally stick with who they know and feel comfortable with, especially if it’s something personal.”

  Jasmine looked across the street to what had inspired her train of thought. “I think we should look towards someone who is a bit looser with their information.” She pointed and Caleb followed the line of her finger. Over the road was Bessie’s Hairdressing Salon. Caleb nodded and a grin spread across his face.

  “Looks like it’s open, let’s go.” They paid for their coffees and crossed the street. The salon didn’t look like they were too busy. There were only a handful of customers inside, staff outnumbered them easily.

  “Follow my lead. When you can, get onto the computer and look for Gladys,” Jasmine said quietly as she put on her sunglasses and stood herself up to her full height. They entered the salon and caught the attention of one of the hairdressers. Jasmine guessed that she must have been the apprentice; she looked only sixteen years old.

  “Good morning, may I help you?”

  She put on a posh voice and tried to sound as confident as possible. There would be no sad relative story now; this was a time to capture their imaginations. “Yes, I think so. We’re looking at filming a movie here in Sunnybrook and need a hairdressing salon as a set. Today we’re looking at all the salons in the area and trying to find a suitable one. I need to speak with someone who would be interested in renting us the set for a few days.”

  “A movie, are you serious?” The young girl looked amazed, as if she had been offered some exclusive news. “I’ll just get my boss.”

  They waited as the girl scurried away, returning with a curious looking woman a few minutes later. Her hair was striped like a tiger’s; Jasmine had to stop herself from laughing.

  “Hello, I’m Amanda Johnson, I own this business. You’re making a movie?” She extended her hand and both Jasmine and Caleb shook it in turn.

  “Lovely to meet you,” replied Jasmine. “My name is Marla and this is Sven. Look, I was hoping to have a look around to see if this place is suitable for filming conditions. Check lighting, space, facilities, you know, all the things that would give us the greatest shoot.”

  “Yes of course, I will show you around myself. Is there anyone famous starring in the movie?”

  “Nicole Kidman, she’s already signed up and Russell Crowe of course, he loves Aussie movies.” They started walking towards the back of the salon where there was a curtain that separated the staff areas from the public. As she had hoped, the other hairdressers couldn’t resist the urge to hear about the movie and all the famous people that were coming to Sunnybrook. They followed Jasmine and Amanda, staying close to ensure everything was heard.

  “What’s the story about? I bet it’s a period drama, I know Nicole loves those.”

  Jasmine walked behind the curtain and kept talking, anything to keep their attention. “Actually it’s a romance. Nicole will be playing a poor hairdresser, while Russell is a rich businessman who falls in love with her. Except...” She paused for dramatic effect. “They can’t possibly be together because she’s pregnant with another man’s baby.”

  As soon as Caleb saw that all the salon staff had abandoned their customers, and that the few customers that occupied the seats were busy reading their gossip magazines, he stepped behind the reception counter. Sitting on top was a computer with the screensaver on. He moved the mouse to reveal a screen full of dropdown and search boxes.

  He relaxed a little when he saw the screen; he had been praying they didn’t have a password on the screensaver to ensure this very thing didn’t happen. There was a search box for customer name. He typed in ‘Gladys Reynolds’ and got no responses. He tried again with ‘Winston Reynolds’ and the same error message popped up. He tried just ‘Gladys’ and five names appeared, he quickly jotted these down on the notepad, conveniently left by the keyboard. Once he had those, he typed in just ‘Winston’, no responses again.

  By now, Jasmine had received the full tour of the salon. There was a supply room and a small office that was brimming with paperwork. She shuddered at how their accountant could possibly make sense of it when trying to prepare their tax returns. All up, it wasn’t a long tour and she hoped she had given Caleb enough time to check the computer. She made sure that she was the one to pull the curtain back, just in case she had to stall a few minutes more.

  The coast was clear. As soon as Caleb saw the curtain move, he jumped back in front of the counter and made sure he was looking as bored as an assistant could be when waiting for their boss to return.

  Caleb gave her a subtle nod. “Thank you very much. I will be sure to consider you when making my final decision. Sven, where to next?” They left the salon and walked down the street in the direction of the hire car.

  “What did you get? Were they in there?”

  “I couldn’t find an exact match. The name Winston wasn’t in there at all and they had a total of five customers with the name Gladys. I wrote them all down with their addresses. I wondered if she has changed her surname.” He handed her the list. “A lot of women revert back to their maiden names when they move. That way they’re technically not lying when they give their name out.”

  Caleb took his mobile phone out and hit the speed dial. “I know a guy at the Births, Deaths and Marriages Office.” He started talking after only a few seconds. “Hey buddy, how are you? Good, good. Hey, I was ringing to ask you a favour. Could you look someone up for me? ... Excellent, it’s a Gladys Reynolds, could you find out her maiden name? ... yeah, married in Avalon.” He looked at Jasmine to confirm this detail, she nodded. “Gee, that’s original, thanks buddy, I owe you one. I’ll let you get back to your donuts.” He hung the phone up. “Our Gladys Reynolds was once a Miss Gladys Smith.”

  Jasmine scanned the list of names and sure enough, a Gladys Smith was a customer of Bessie’s Hairdressing Salon. “It’s here! I can’t believe it’s here!”

  “Must be our lucky day. What’s the address? Let’s go!”

  “It’s 48 Sunshine Way, Sunnybrook.” She opened the glove box, remembering the hire car guy had told her it contained a local map for their convenience. She scanned through the index and found Sunshine Way, it was across town. Caleb started up the car and followed Jasmine’s directions.

  Before long, they were parked in the leafy street, sitting a few houses down from their target again. The street was very wide and it was obvious it was the wealthier part of town, due to the oversized double storey houses lining both sides. Planted in a neat row down the middle of the road were large jacaranda trees, not quite in bloom.

  They sat in the car and watched for signs of life inside any of the houses. They didn’t want to attract any attention to themselves, so they kept the street directory out in full view. If anyone thought it was strange, they would see the street directory and consider them lost tourists.

  After discussing their next plan of action, they had decided to wait for as long as it took until they actually sighted either the mayor or his wife. If they could make a positive ID, then they would decide whether to confront them or not. From here on in the stakes were raised. If they took the wrong tactic then they might scare them off and face nothing but a brick wall. However, if they could somehow work out a way to win them over and be non-threatening, then they figured they would get more out of them. Jasmine was not sure what outcome she wanted. She could be facing the man who had something to do with her parents’ death. On the other hand, they may just be facing a woman who lost her husband thirteen years ago. Either way, it wouldn’t resolve any of the bigger questions she had.

  They sat in the car, conducting their stakeout until eight in the evening. Other residents had come and gone, but number forty-eight stayed silent. Their hunger got the better of them and they hit the car’s ignition. They drove back into town and stopped off at a McDonald’s. They sat in the restaurant with their backs against the wall. They had chosen a booth outside that overlooked the street, hoping the Reynolds would just
casually walk by.

  They didn’t. So when they had eaten their hamburger meal and placed the rubbish in the bin, they walked around the town centre.

  The streets were crowded with tourists, the restaurants overflowing with people having a good time. Both Jasmine and Caleb were grateful for the walk, after being cooped up in the car for the better part of the day.

  They returned to the parking lot and started out into the main street. Their task now was to find a hotel for the night. They hadn’t expected the town to be so over-run with tourists. Every hotel had a ‘No Vacancy’ sign up next to their main sign. The further they drove, the seedier the hotels got. The decline in standards was significantly noticeable. Obviously, Sunnybrook catered for the wealthy and the budget travellers.

  Eventually, on the very outskirts of town, they found a motel with a vacancy. It was a rundown motel that was once painted a lairy pink, now faded to a dull colour. The sign outside declared it was ‘The Beach Villa Motel’. ‘They must have some imagination,’ Jasmine thought to herself, the beach was on the other side of town.

  Even with the questionable standards of the motel, there was still only one room vacant. The clerk handed over the key and they headed up to the second floor. The room was located at the very end of the walkway. They turned the key and toured the room. It was small with a bathroom, double bed and television set. Hanging on the wall above the bed was an old faded picture of a field of flowers. The walls were painted off-white and the bed was covered in an old-fashioned velour bedspread, but it was clean so they were relieved.

  “I’ll take the floor.” Caleb grabbed one of the pillows and placed it on the floor near the closet.

  “Don’t be silly, we’re adults. I’m sure we can share a bed.” Jasmine opened her backpack, took out her wash bag and pyjamas, and headed towards the bathroom.

  “Are you sure? I wouldn’t want you to think I’d take advantage of you.” Caleb smiled and replaced the pillow on the bed.

  “I’m sure you can keep your hands to yourself.” She closed the bathroom door and Caleb turned the TV on. The late news was on nearly every station except one, which was airing a movie from the eighties. He perched on the edge of the bed and caught the headlines of the day. It must have been a slow day news-wise; the main headline was the prime minister being unexpectedly hugged while he was on his morning jog.