But Evelyn’s voice returned, and she agreed.
‘Good. We’ll discuss everything,’ Juliet said as firmly as she could manage. ‘I’ll let you know the best time.’ She hung up.
Later that evening, she received a phone call from Nicolas.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
THE INSIDE OF her house was even more impressive than the outside, observed Nick, as Juliet led him into a living room downstairs. There was so much stuff, and all of it so clean and tidy. And of blatant quality. But then he noticed a hole in the wall, near a hallway that led to another room.
‘DIY project?’ he asked sheepishly.
Juliet glanced over at it quickly, then looked back. ‘No; Austin.’
‘Oh.’ Nick imagined Juliet struggling for her life the way Kerra probably had. His shoulders pulled up tense. The evening before, he’d called Juliet and told her about his visions, the missing key, what Tommy had told him, and the blossoms—and how it all pointed to a lodge he stayed in when he was younger. Now here they were, about to discuss a plan of action.
‘You can sit down, Nicolas,’ said Juliet, doing so herself. When Nick was comfortably positioned on an extremely agreeable couch, Juliet said, ‘We’re not telling Tamara or James about this, then?’ She sounded unhappy with the idea.
‘I don’t get a good feeling from James. I think he’d stop us from going if we told him. And so would Tamara.’
‘We don’t know that.’ Juliet pushed her blonde hair over her shoulder. ‘If James wants to keep you safe, then maybe he’d come with us and help.’
‘No. It’s more likely he’d try to sort it out himself, make Austin disappear, and then keep everything from us. He’d only tell us when or if he has clearance to.’
Juliet frowned. ‘I suppose he would, which is no good. I want to speak to Austin myself. But …’ She tilted her head. ‘James might offer some protection. He’s really … tall, and he’s got …’
‘Magic? I know. Or so he says, anyway. But we don’t know how powerful it is. Actually, I probably wouldn’t be in this mess if he’d been able to protect me properly.’
Juliet was dressed plainly, probably aiming for inconspicuous. She was wearing a simple white tee-shirt, skinny black jeans, and casual black pumps. Nick wasn’t sure if she realised, but the simplicity of her outfit made her stand out more; it highlighted her amazing body and … He blinked rapidly. What am I thinking?
‘I don’t like the idea of us going there alone,’ admitted Juliet.
Nick became frustrated. ‘It’s the only way we are going, because I’m not telling them about this.’ He hadn’t meant to sound so antagonising. Every time he saw Juliet, they argued over something, he realised. To his surprise, she let it drop. He moved on to the next issue. ‘So, should we take anything with us?’
‘You mean a weapon?’ Her brow creased.
‘I don’t want to take one, but I also don’t want to make the same mistakes we made before. We went to Grendel Manor unarmed and ended up in danger. Maybe if we take something just for our protection, just to show we’re prepared to defend ourselves.’
‘But if we’re found with a weapon, we’ll look guilty.’
He’d thought of that. ‘That was the reason I didn’t bring one to the factory the other day, and I would have been killed if you hadn’t shown up.’
‘We’re not taking a weapon,’ Juliet said with finality. ‘Our best tactic is to make a deal with Austin. You might not like the sound of this, but I think I should offer him money in exchange for him releasing Kerra’s spirit, returning her body, and leaving us alone.’
Nick considered it for a moment. ‘You’re right; I don’t like it. He murdered my girlfriend, and it’s likely he could have killed other people. He should be locked up. And not just that, we need to know who he’s working for, because it’s that person who wants me dead.’
‘But if Austin ends up in jail, he’ll tell the police what we’re guilty of. You already know that.’
‘So we should let him go free? And give him a load of cash too … for killing my girlfriend?!’
‘Don’t be stupid; I didn’t mean it like that.’ Juliet adjusted her posture and sighed heavily.
‘Well, how did you mean it? We can’t just throw money at the problem,’ he said scornfully.
It was as if he’d slapped her in the face. Her teeth clenched, and she glared at him. ‘Thanks, Nicolas. I’m trying to help you out here, and you’ve completely taken it the wrong way. You didn’t need to spurn my offer like that. It’s not my girlfriend who’s suffering, and it’s not me this person wants dead. I don’t have to help you at all if I don’t want to. But I do.’
‘Why? Why do you want to help?’ After the last time, he still doubted her motives.
‘Because I do.’ There was a grim determination in her eyes.
Worried, Nick watched her for a while. He asked, ‘What’s happened?’
She stood up like she was ready to go, and averted her eyes. ‘Yesterday I found out my gran, who I’d been separated from for twelve years, has been hiding things from me. Not only that; she has cancer. My parents lied, my gran lied, Tamara lied, and so did Austin.’ Her voice became hard, unwavering. ‘I’m not looking for sympathy; I just plan on piecing everything back together. I’ll deal with my family—in fact, I’m already sorting them out, but now … Now we’re going to deal with Austin.’ If she had a gun, Nick imagined she’d have cocked it right about now.
‘Well,’ he began, feeling awkward, ‘I wasn’t expecting a pep talk.’ Juliet ignored his attempt to lighten the situation. Out of courtesy, he said, ‘This is your gran who Austin attacked, right? Is she okay?’
Juliet quickly explained her gran’s condition to Nick, and at the end her voice became weak. She turned away and brought a hand up to her face. Nick went to her, putting a palm on her back, and felt how much heat she radiated. Kerra came to mind. Why’s everything so screwed up? He remembered when Juliet first kissed him, in his car, the feel of her lips. I can’t think of that now; I shouldn’t think of that now.
‘Sorry,’ said Juliet, her voice strong again. ‘You shouldn’t see me like this. I don’t get upset in front of people often.’
Nick huffed miserably. ‘I’m the last person you need to apologise to for that reason.’
She gave some justification anyway. Towards the end of it she said, ‘I’ve come to realise that if I’m too afraid to face a problem, or I can’t handle it, I just run away. Block it out. Like the spirits.’ She was half mumbling now, as if talking to herself more than Nick.
Nick waited silently. After a moment, he took his hand off her back.
‘I shouldn’t have told you all of that.’ Juliet put iron in her voice and turned to face him. ‘Let’s get on with this already.’
‘Okay. So, we need to get Austin to talk to us, and I don’t think he’s going to do that willingly.’
‘Should I take my personal alarm?’
He thought on it. ‘Yeah, but don’t actually use it. We can’t draw attention to ourselves. Just threaten him with it if he tries anything, but that’s if he’ll even fall for that again.’
‘I don’t think he will.’
‘Hmmm. It’s better than nothing still. But what’s our actual plan if he tries to attack us?’
‘I’ve taught myself basic self-defence since Grendel Manor. I should be okay. But if he comes at us with that knife of his, I think we should run. Hopefully we can talk to him without any aggression, though.’
Agreeing to run away didn’t feel right, but Nick supposed it was their best survival tactic, considering they were going unarmed. ‘Fine. But what about Kerra? She was strong, like superhuman strong …’
Nick felt so uncomfortable, the two of them standing in the living room, close to each other but at the same time not close at all. He watched her face as she came up with an answer. ‘If she attacks us, I’ll try to do the opposite of what Austin’s done to her: I’ll force her spirit out of her body.’
With a breath heaved in, Nick nodded. ‘So it’s a plan. Let’s go.’
‘Wait … I just need to go to the bathroom.’ She hurried off.
Nick dawdled about the room while he waited. He saw a picture above the fireplace and moved closer to take a look at it. There was an elderly woman in the frame, smiling warmly, with grey hair to her shoulders. Juliet’s gran. A sadness weighed him down momentarily as he contemplated the health of the lady he stared at.
After some time, he began to pace, tapping his leg, tapping and tapping and tapping. What’s taking her so long? He figured it would be rude to ask her that when she finally returned.
Together they left the house. Nick peered up. Above loomed a dark cloud that looked too heavy to be in the sky. It’s going to rain, he thought, becoming pensive and lost in the depth of the brooding blanket. He walked in an aimless manner, though he found the way to his car.
With the two of them buckled in, he drove towards Aberfin River, where he would cross and follow around Eradon Lake, finding himself between Nova River and Forney Forest, which bordered Etherby and also neighboured Eleanor Lodge Park.
He’d realised the evening before, after seeing the receipt for the lodge’s shop, that it would have been easy enough for Austin to drive from West Edge Country House to Eleanor Lodge Park without being seen or caught on camera.
Even with the dour sky, it was mild outside, making the car warm up easily. Nick opened the window on his side, then remembered something Juliet had yet to tell him. ‘That woman who fell to her death where you were meant to, Rowena Howard her name was, wasn’t it? You told me she appeared to you, that she didn’t blame us. What happened?’
‘Apparently she was waiting in the upper grounds at the top of the wall, and then she heard noises. From what she described, I think she heard the sounds of the car crash, and then some kind of invisible force threw her over the edge.’
So it was my fault. He felt guilt setting in. ‘Changing fate appears to have consequences.’ He thought about Mora and her stomach pains where she was supposed to get injured. She’s lucky those cramps passed …
‘You couldn’t have known that would happen to Rowena.’
‘I know. But I still feel responsible.’
‘So do I. It should have been me. But when Rowena appeared as a spirit, she said everything was as it should be. She seemed to know things she hadn’t in life. She also …’
‘What?’
‘It’s … not the best time to tell you.’
‘We’re supposed to be telling each other everything now. If we have to keep lying to everyone else, like James wants us to, then let’s at least tell each other everything.’
Juliet was clearly reluctant. ‘She … she said … that you and I belong together.’
In his periphery, Nick saw her turn away and keep her gaze out the window. He felt suddenly drained. Well, this is awkward. Thanks for that, Rowena. ‘Erm ...’ What should I say, what should I say? ‘Well, as we both know, nothing’s set in stone. I’ve changed what was meant to happen before.’ He saw Juliet straighten up stiffly beside him. Oh, crap. That was the wrong thing to say. But what should he have said? It didn’t matter how attracted he was to Juliet—no romance could develop between them any time soon.
‘As we both know,’ she agreed.
Nearing the destination, Nick half-jokingly said, ‘Any quick self-defence tips you can bestow upon me for the battle ahead?’
Surprisingly, Juliet laughed a little. She began to explain basic blocking techniques, and Nick glanced sideways to learn what he could while driving safely. She described how to break free from simple wrist grabs and the like.
‘Okay,’ he said, with some assurance, ‘so if he grabs my wrist, I should twist it towards the direction his thumb points in and pull away at the same time?’
‘Yes.’
‘Cool. Right, we’re almost there.’
Juliet gave a sweeping gaze. To one side was Forney Forest, and to the other there were fields and houses, a caravan park, and not too far was Eradon Lake. ‘Are we allowed to drive in and out of the lodge park if we’re not staying there?’
‘I think so,’ said Nick. ‘They probably only close the gates at night. But it will be like a caravan park; the entrances will be left open in the day, because guests would want to explore the area, wouldn’t they? It will be mostly off-islanders staying there, I imagine.’
‘You’ve been there before, you said. Do you remember what it’s like?’
‘Erm … I don’t remember much. I think it’s a big place, like there’s a lot to do, and the lodges are quite private. But I was younger then. Everything seems bigger when you’re younger.’
‘Hopefully they won’t have cameras on the entrances,’ said Juliet, as if Nick had overlooked the possibility.
‘We’ll just have to see.’
He drove under a bridge and followed a tall perimeter fence until he found the opening. No CCTV so far. If I owned a lodge park near Etherby, there’d be more cameras than lodges. Driving in, he spotted a camera on the exterior of the reception building, positioned to monitor people walking in and out, but not the cars. To the other side was a general store with the park’s logo on its banner … The shop the receipt came from.
He drove on. Nobody stopped them. They needed no passcode. The entire place seemed almost desolate. They passed fairly small cabins, dotted between trees, and then a children’s play area. Further in they saw a football pitch, hemmed in by a metal frame with holes. Then they drove near a more wooded area with a walkpath leading from the park and out into Forney Forest.
The name of the forest was often twisted into various nicknames, earned from the acts people got up to among the trees. Forney Forest became Horny Forest, Fornication Forest, Foursome Forest, and Foreplay Forest, just to mention a few Nick had heard. With Beltane recently passed, the poor woodland would have seen a lot of a-Maying.
Nick approached where he suspected Austin’s lodge to be. ‘I don’t want to drive right up to it, in case he recognises my car from all the stalking he’s done.’ Being here started to jog his memories. ‘If I remember correctly, the lodge is over a little bridge crossing a stream, like it’s on its own little island.’
‘Where do you want to park?’
‘I’ve seen parking spots here and there. Let’s just find a quiet one.’ He figured that wouldn’t be hard, because everywhere he looked was quiet, with only the occasional person walking in one direction or another. He thought it strange how the atmosphere was both tranquil and unsettling: the calm and natural feel of the greenery and the earth and the trees and the wooden lodges … but then the element of danger, associated with the many horror stories set in cabins.
In minimal time, he found a space partly hidden by a copse. He parked and got out. Leading Juliet, he used his tenuous links of recollection to guide the way. This I remember, he thought with some relief, coming up to a metal bridge over a stream.
The bridge was a rusty colour, blending with the surroundings, and wide enough for cars to cross. Juliet had picked up her pace, now marching in line with Nick, and the two of them made their way over the crossing together. Cla-clunk, cla-clunk, cla-clunk, resonated with their steps.
Concerned, Nick thought, Austin might have heard that. He’ll know people are coming. But there was nothing he could do about it. Nearest to the stream, the trees were many, but soon thinned out. On a sunny day it would have been a beautiful sight, the wooded area suddenly parting to reveal an impressive lodge, built on the tip of mound, a cherry blossom tree arched over at its side.
Today it looked ominous. The perfect postcard picture of the lodge and cherry blossom tree was offset by the overhanging black cloud that was everything bad and sad and evil rolled up, ready to descend upon them at any moment. Nick half expected a fork of lightening to strike down.
The lodge itself was lovely, one of the higher-end luxurious choices. It may even have been the best in the park, considering
its private island-like area circled off by the stream.
‘You stayed here?’ asked Juliet, sounding impressed rather than spooked by the ambience.
Nick realised what she was thinking. ‘Oh. Yeah … We weren’t that badly off when I was younger. Mum and Dad both had good jobs. We went on a lot of holidays.’ He turned to her; she gave him an anxious smile.
Closer, closer. He saw no movement from inside, heard zilch. But a flicker of something on top of the lodge caught his awareness. A blackbird, throwing its yellow beak side to side, watching with little eyes. Seriously? … Everywhere I go? ‘Are you and your friends stalking me?’ he muttered up to it.
‘Huh?’ Juliet flicked her eyes from him to the animal. ‘Are you talking to that bird?’ Amusement inflected the end of her sentence.
‘Yeah. They follow me everywhere,’ he exaggerated. Juliet shook her head as if his observation was ridiculous and mildly funny. Fine, he thought, and decided to forget the bird.
To the right of the lodge was a white van, parked in the only flattened ground not occupied by the actual lodge. It was quite an inconvenient spot, really, as it happened to be under the cherry blossom tree. Nick eyed the vehicle and saw the name of the company it was hired from. Nebulous memories fogged the back of his mind, images of his parents’ old car covered in pink petals.
‘That’s the van I saw him leave the factory in,’ confirmed Juliet.
‘Austin is staying here, then.’ Nick was now a heartbeat away from the door. ‘I suppose we should knock,’ he said, and rapped away.
No answer. Further raps, further silence. ‘He’s not in …’ Nick mumbled in a lost manner, looking to Juliet for guidance.
Annoyingly, she had no suggestions. ‘What do you think we should do?’
He walked along the wooden porch and peeked through a window, a subtle nostalgia affecting him. He spotted something on a table. My diary … and next to it … Tom’s house key. He didn’t want Juliet to know of the existence of his embarrassing journal, so he said nothing of it.
A Body Displaced (Lansin Island 2) Page 28
