Her gaze moved back to the picture to the handsome little boy sitting on her mother’s lap. Schaja had been such a good boy, so sweet and loving. He would curl up in her bed after their parents had gone to sleep and make her read him stories. She could still recall the smell of his hair, the faint scent of the lemon soap her mother would use on him as she scrubbed his neck and behind his ears with a rough washcloth, despite his complaining.
A small smile graced her lips; she remembered the day this photograph had been taken. It had been a bright and pleasant day when they had worn their best clothes and walked down to Mr Zimmermann’s photographic studio. She had felt so grown up standing alongside her parents while Schaja sat in her mother’s lap. They looked so happy together, a moment frozen in time unaware of the horror that would await them in a mere four months’ time.
She had spent years trying to repress the images of the death camp in her mind, the helpless terrified screams, the uncomfortable horror of having to witness the press of naked bodies herded through the mud and rain, regardless of age or gender with no thought given to dignity and then the silence, the awful silence after they had been sent to the showers.
Tears filled Renata’s eyes as the image of her mother, her head shaved with a few tiny clumps of missed hair as she clutched her tiny petrified brother to her skin, flashed in front of her eyes and she felt the same helpless rage she had all those years ago. She sighed bitterly, sometimes she wondered if she shouldn’t have lied about her age. If she’d told them the truth she would have been sent to the gas chamber with them, at least then they would have all been together.
She pressed the aching bones of her hands together trying to find some relief from the pain. It hadn’t all been bad, her life. She’d spent many happy years in Mercy; it had saved her in a way no other place could. But still deep down in her soul some of her scars had never fully healed.
She glanced down again at the picture and shivered. All of a sudden the room had gotten so cold, but then again no one was supposed to be in the museum at this time so the heating had probably shut off. Her breath was expelled as a fine mist and as she looked up her mouth fell open in a gasp of shock. She felt her heart jolt violently and for a moment she froze even as her breath seemed to stop.
Her mother stood in front of her smiling warmly. She was wearing her favourite blue dress and the jewelled peacock brooch her father had given her for her birthday. Her thick chestnut hair was elegantly styled in soft waves, just the way Renata remembered. Standing beside her mother was her father, tall and robust, with his rounded belly and slicked back salt and pepper hair. His mouth curved into a smile beneath his thick bushy moustache, no longer the broken emaciated man she had last seen but seemingly whole and happy. Lastly her gaze was drawn to the little dark haired boy between them, in his short trousers and shirt and vest. His hair was parted neatly to the side as he grinned up at her with a perfect little set of white teeth.
‘Mutter?’ Renata gasped, her hand resting against her heart as she unconsciously lapsed into the language of her homeland, a language she had not spoken in years. ‘Vater?’
Her little brother held his arms up to her.
‘Rena! Rena!’
She was on her feet and around her desk without even thinking about it, scooping the precious boy into her arms and holding him tightly.
‘Schaja!’ tears filled her eyes and caught in her throat as she inhaled deeply, smelling little boy and lemon soap.
She looked up at her parents.
‘Ich habe dich so sehr vermisst,’ she whispered.
‘Wir haben auf dich gewartet,’ her mother smiled.
Renata looked down at her arm, the markings tattooed on her forearm were no longer there. Her skin was no longer wrinkled and loose but smooth and soft. She turned her hand over and the age spots and skin discolouration was also gone. Reaching up to her hair she found it was thicker and softer and when she pulled it over her shoulder it was no longer white but deep chestnut brown.
‘It’s time to come home Rena,’ her father wrapped his arm around her shoulders, ‘are you ready?’
She nodded as her face broke into a smile.
‘Rena?’ Schaja cupped her face, ‘will you tell me a story.’
She pulled him in closer and tucked his head under her chin and she rocked him softly, ‘I have a whole lifetime’s worth of stories to tell you.’
Her parents watched on, smiling contentedly as the little boy continued to chatter away and as the four of them faded from view Renata did not look back nor did she see her old fragile body, cold and lifeless, slumped across her desk.
Chapter 12
Olivia rolled over, reaching blindly for her insistently ringing phone which had woken her.
‘Lo,’ she murmured pressing her face back into her warm soft pillow. ‘Veronica?’
She listened to the muffled voice at the other end of the line for a moment.
‘What?’ she sat up abruptly, waking Theo.
‘Oh God’ she breathed, rubbing her hand over her face before swinging her legs over the side of the bed. ‘No, of course I don’t mind. I’ll be right there.’
She hung up the phone and tossed it on the bed as she searched out some clean underwear and then dragged on her jeans.
‘What’s wrong?’ Theo murmured as he propped himself up on his elbow scrubbing his hand through his disordered hair.
‘That was Veronica,’ she paused and took a deep breath. It was then that Theo heard the slight tremor in her voice and saw the tears brimming in her eyes.
He hauled himself out of bed and took her in his arms.
‘What’s wrong?’
‘Renata died last night.’
‘Christ,’ he muttered pulling her in closer, ‘what happened?’
‘I don’t know exactly, Veronica arrived for work this morning and found her slumped over her desk.’ She pulled back slightly and wiped a stray tear before smiling sadly, ‘she always said she was going to die at her desk, I guess she got her wish.’
‘I’m sorry Livy’ he stroked her back comfortingly, ‘I know how fond of her you were.’
Another tear rolled down her cheek and he leaned forward brushing it away with the pad of his thumb.
‘Are you heading to the museum now?’
She nodded mutely.
‘I’ll get dressed and come with you.’
She couldn’t say anything, a hot tight ball of sadness ached at the back of her throat as she wrapped her arms around Theo and buried her face in his chest. He held her gently while she cried, murmuring soft soothing words into her ear and smoothing her hair back from her face until she was ready to let go.
They dressed in silence and left, and by the time they pulled up in front of the museum it was a frantic bustle of activity. Police tape cordoned off the entrance and this had attracted a small crowd of onlookers. Olivia climbed out of the car and headed directly for the front door. As they approached the entrance she recognised the police officer guarding it.
‘Olivia,’ Deputy Hanson nodded.
Olivia took in the tall blonde police officer unsure of how to address her. It had been a few months since the last time they’d seen each other. That had been the night Olivia had been shot by her own mother. Coincidentally it had also been the night she found out that Officer Hanson was actually her father’s younger half-sister, which technically made the enigmatic blonde woman her aunt. She also knew her real name wasn’t Helga Hanson at all but Danae Connell. However only a few people actually knew the truth so Olivia decided just to go with the name she’d known her by and bull headedly ignore the fact that they were related.
‘Officer Hanson,’ she returned the brief nod.
‘I’m afraid you can’t cross the tape Olivia,’ she told her, ‘got the coroner in there at the moment and until he’s satisfied this was a death of natural causes it has to be treated as a crime scene.’
‘I got a call from my frie
nd Veronica Mason. She’s the assistant curator here and the one who found Renata, she asked me to come.’ She looked up at her entreatingly, her tone softened ‘please, she’s only been here a few months, she doesn’t know many people. She shouldn’t have to go through this on her own.’
Helga studied her silently for a moment before relenting and nodding slowly. She lifted the tape and allowed Olivia and Theo to slip underneath and head up the steps to the front door.
‘Officer Gilbert?’ Veronica spoke softly as she approached Jake.
‘Veronica?’ he replied in surprise as his gaze swept over her.
‘They said you have some questions for me?’
‘Some questions…right,’ he murmured as his eyes continued to study her. Last time he had seen Olivia’s friend, her thick bushy brown hair had been pulled back into an unflattering ponytail at the nape of her neck and she’d been wearing clothes and really ugly low heeled shoes which would have been more suited to a middle aged woman. He wasn’t sure exactly what she’d done to her hair but it now hung glossy and smooth in a sassy bob which fell just past her chin and was slightly shorter at the back. Every time she tilted her head it swung like a curtain of silk with new glints of honey and gold, making his fingers involuntarily twitch with the urge to find out if it was as soft as it looked.
His gaze slid down to the silk blouse she wore which clung flatteringly to her breasts. It was tucked into the impossibly small waistband of a tight pencil skirt which fell to below her knees. He had no idea she’d been hiding a body like that. His eyes slid scandalously down her shapely legs to land on the killer heels she was wearing giving her nearly an extra five inches in height. He almost smiled, given how endearingly clumsy she was he briefly wondered if she had her personal liability insurance paid up.
‘Um Officer Gilbert?’ she prompted him, ‘questions?’
He cleared his throat and shook his head frowning; it was unlike him to lose his trail of thought like this.
‘You came in at approximately 8.45 this morning?’
‘Yes,’ she nodded, ‘I start work at 9.00am. I’m usually in a lot earlier but I was running late this morning.’
She wasn’t about to admit she’d been late because she couldn’t remember how to use the stupid straightening irons she’d bought in Salem the day before.
‘And you discovered Ms. Gershon?’
‘About ten minutes after I entered the building,’ she blew out a deep breath remembering the details too well. ‘I was opening up this morning as Renata wasn’t supposed to be in until later. The doors were locked, as they should be, but I remember thinking it was strange that the alarm hadn’t been set. That had me worried so I headed straight into Renata’s office and that’s when I found her.’
‘When was the last time you saw her before that?’
‘Yesterday late morning, I took a half day and went into Salem with Olivia. Renata was supposed to lock up last night; it wasn’t unusual for her to be in the building on her own until late.’
‘I see,’ he frowned, looking down at his notes.
‘Veronica!’
She looked up and saw Olivia hurrying over to her. Theo was by her side, holding her hand as if to provide comfort. She didn’t realise how choked up she was until Olivia threw her arms around her. At the sweetness of the gesture something in her chest clenched tightly, making swallowing almost impossible.
‘Thank you for coming,’ she managed.
‘Of course we came,’ Olivia pulled back and looked into her eyes. ‘You’re not on your own, always remember that.’
Veronica nodded but her gaze tracked sideways to a gurney being pushed through the lobby, a black body bag strapped to it. At the terrible sight her eyes filled with tears. Olivia wrapped her arm around her shoulders and pulled her in close. Together they watched Renata’s body leaving her precious museum for the very last time.
‘She looks so tiny,’ Veronica whispered.
‘I know,’ Olivia tilted her head so that it pressed against Veronica’s.
A tall man with black hair and a pleasant appearance stepped away from the trolley nodding to his assistants to keep moving. He approached their small group and turned to Jake. Olivia judged him to be in his thirties. His skin was a deep pleasing brown, his black eyes hidden under high winged brows and when he spoke his voice betrayed a subtle accent.
‘Officer Gilbert,’ he nodded.
‘Doc,’ he inclined his head in greeting. ‘This is Dr Sachiv Achari,’ he introduced him to the others, ‘he’s our new Coroner.’
They all murmured greetings.
‘So can you tell us anything yet?’ Jake asked.
‘I’m afraid nothing conclusive until I’ve performed the autopsy but from my preliminary examination I suspect it was probably a heart attack.’
‘Did she suffer?’ Veronica asked.
‘It’s unlikely,’ he told her sympathetically, ‘the chances are it was very quick. She would probably have been barely aware of it.’
She nodded mutely as more tears slid down her cheeks but she managed a weak smile of thanks as Jake handed her a tissue.
‘I guess I’d better go deal with all the workmen,’ she sniffed, ‘they’re nearly finished with the last of the renovations. Then I guess I’ll start getting all Renata’s paperwork up to date for the next curator.’
‘What do you mean the next curator?’ Olivia frowned. ‘The whole reason Renata gave you the job was because she intended you to take over from her.’
‘I know that was what she originally intended,’ Veronica blew out a heavy breath, ‘but she hadn’t even finished training me yet. I imagine the town council will want someone with more experience, especially after all the funding they’ve just sunk into this place. I expect the Mayor will appoint someone else. Hopefully they will want to keep me on in my current position but if not,’ she shrugged in defeat, ‘I guess I’ll have to go home to Boston.’
‘That’s not going to happen,’ Olivia took her hand and squeezed. ‘It took you long enough to run away from home, you’re not going back. We’ll sort it out I promise.’
‘I hope so,’ she sighed as she looked across at the workmen huddled together near one of the cordoned off exhibits. ‘I’d better go deal with them,’ she turned back to Olivia, ‘are you sticking around for a while?’
‘Sure,’ she nodded.
She watched thoughtfully as Veronica walked away, an idea forming in her mind.
‘Theo,’ she turned to him, ‘do me a favour.’
‘What?’
‘Can you keep an eye on Veronica for me, I’ve got something I need to do. I’ll be back in a while.’
‘Sure,’ his eyes narrowed suspiciously, ‘but where exactly are you going?’
‘To speak with the Mayor.’
‘I knew you wouldn’t be able to resist interfering.’
‘Then I don’t have to explain myself do I,’ she smiled as she stretched up on her toes and dropped a kiss on his mouth.
‘Just bring me a coffee when you come back,’ he sighed.
She watched as he turned and disappeared in the direction Veronica had gone.
‘Olive,’ Jake spoke softly as she turned to face him, ‘I’m glad I ran into you. Do you remember you asked me to look through the police archives for any reports on Charlotte West?’
‘Did you find something?’
‘Yes,’ he answered, ‘I’m quite surprised I did actually, I almost stumbled on it completely by accident.’
‘So what did you find out?’
As he opened his mouth to speak one of his colleagues called to him.
‘I don’t have time to explain it now,’ he apologised.
‘Why don’t you come by the house this evening after you’ve finished your shift?’
‘Okay,’ he nodded as he reached out and caught her face gently in his hand, his thumb tracing the bruise on her jaw, ‘and I want to have a conversation with
you about your mother,’ he told her quietly.
‘What’s the point Jake,’ she pushed his hand away in irritation. ‘You won’t find her unless she wants to be found, there’s nothing we can do at the moment.’
‘We’ll see,’ he replied.
He knew she didn’t want to talk about her mom, she just kept pushing it away pretending the problem didn’t exist, but Jake didn’t trust Isabel West’s motives at all when it came to her daughter and he was going to do whatever it took to make sure his oldest friend was safe.
‘Look I have to go,’ she squeezed his hand gently, ‘I’ll see you at the house later okay?’
‘Okay,’ he conceded.
She watched him join his colleagues before disappearing back through the main entrance. Ducking under the tape she averted her eyes, not wanting to see Renata’s body being loaded into the large dark Coroner’s van and headed down the street towards the council offices.
Hoping that the Mayor was in and that by some miracle she would be able to get in and see her, Olivia entered the building and headed up the stairs towards her office. It had been some months since she’d last been to the council offices but she remembered where she was going, although she didn’t recognise the Mayor’s new assistant. She cast her mind back to when Erica had brought her to see the Mayor, at the end of the previous year when she was being harassed by the former Chief of Police. She seemed to recall the Mayor’s last assistant had been pregnant at the time; she must be on maternity leave now. Cursing lightly she headed towards the desk; she had been counting on the previous assistant remembering her. Now she had to convince the new assistant to let her in to see the Mayor.
The Ferryman (The Guardians Series 1 Book 2) Page 18
