“Well, is anyone coming? I’m going looking for her,” I said looking back at everyone in the room. All at once people were moving, grabbing bags and phones. Once outside, we decided mine wasn’t the best car to take, as we wouldn’t all fit, so we took Riley’s truck and headed for St Joseph’s church. It felt like the best place to start.
* * * *
It didn’t take long to get to the church. At this time of night the traffic was very quiet. That pretty much summed up the atmosphere inside the truck. Everyone was very quiet, all lost in our own thoughts about Grandma. Danny, Drew and Molly had all got in the back and I’d got to ride shotgun with Riley. I could hear Danny sniff occasionally and saw Drew reach out and hold his hand. Molly was sitting very rigid, staring out the window, looking like she was hardly daring to breathe.
We found Father John at home in his small stone cottage behind the church, really handy for visitors like us. He greeted us with warmth as he opened his door.
“Come in, come in,” he said with a small smile. Father John was a really sweet man, with a kind voice and was about fifty years old. Tonight he was dressed in jeans and a blue collared shirt. The only indication he was a priest was the little crosses pinned to his collar. I was always surprised that priests dressed normally when they weren’t in church. I kind of thought they always dressed in robes or at least with their dog collar on but I suppose that was just a uniform to them, just like a suit was a uniform to most business men. We walked into his living room and took a seat.
“We’re looking for Mabel,” explained Drew.
“Yes, Ellen rang me and asked if I had seen if she left with anyone. To be honest, I was so busy helping one of the other members I didn’t really see anyone leave. I assume you’ve done a ring around her friends and informed the Police?”
“Yes. The only person we can’t contact is her friend Eunice. She’s not answering her phone. Was she at seniors club today?” asked Drew.
“Yes, Eunice was there but she left for her daughter’s as soon as we’d finished. It was her granddaughter’s birthday and they were having a dinner for her tonight,” he explained, looking at his watch. “You could try to see if she’s home yet. Sometimes she doesn’t hear her phone ringing.”
That sounded like a good idea. At least it gave us something to do. We all felt useless sitting around doing nothing. Father John got up and moved over to a small antique desk on the far wall, opened a drawer and pulled out a small book. Flipping through it, he looked up.
“Eunice lives in the over 50’s village, The Grange, over on Pickett Street. She’s number 142. Do you know where that is?” he asked.
“Yes, I do,” said Riley.
Thanking him for his time, we all piled back into Riley’s truck and headed over to the Grange Village. It took us longer to find the correct unit than it did to actually drive there, as Eunice lived towards the back of the village. Who would have thought a retirement village could be so big? We’d even had to stop at the administration building to get a map.
Winding our way around the very narrow lanes, we finally stopped at number 142 and saw the lights were on. It appeared Eunice was home. Piling back out of the truck, we walked up to the door and knocked. The poor lady. You could see the anxiety in her eyes as she opened the door to us, keeping the chain firmly in place.
“Can I help you?” she asked. She looked to be about the same age as Grandma and reminded me a bit of Mabel with her tightly permed hair and long, narrow face. Drew, being the only one of us capable of explaining the situation properly, said Mabel was missing and asked if she’d seen or heard from her.
“Oh dear, you’d better come in.” She closed the door, released the chain and let us all in. Danny was the first to enter and without being offered, immediately took a seat on the couch, his concern over Mabel neutralizing his normally perfect social etiquette. Deciding this was a far better option than standing in the doorway, we followed suit. Once seated, I looked at Eunice to find her smiling at the three of us.
“Well, I can tell you are Mabel’s grandchildren. You all look so much like her,” she smiled.
Danny, Molly and I all looked at one another, horrified by what we had just heard. Unaware of the fear her words had created though, she continued. “Mabel is such a character, she’s always keeping us entertained with her stories. Only the other day she was telling us how she was going to get a new bikini so she could join the swimming group.” She laughed at the memory. “Oh my, you should have seen the picture of the bikini she was getting. It was some skimpy little thing with pointy breasts. Mabel thought she would look fantastic in it.” That sounded like Grandma. Even though I think she has a grip on reality and knows she’s in her eighties, there’s a part of her that thinks she still looks like she did in her twenties.
“Have you seen or heard from her this evening?” asked Drew.
“No, but I haven’t been home. She was spending a lot of time with Ben Willet this afternoon. I think he has a bit of a crush on her,” she giggled, reminding me of a teenager.
“Do you know how we can contact him?” asked Riley. Danny, Molly and I still hadn’t had the power of speech return.
“Let me make a few calls. I don’t know his address but a friend of mine would. I won’t be a moment.” She stood and walked toward the tiny kitchen. We all waited silently, hoping we would get a lead on what happened to Grandma. Finally she returned with an address.
“Now, my friend Roger says this is where Ben lives,” she said, handing Drew a piece of paper. “Please let me know if you find her. I won’t be able to sleep tonight if I don’t know she’s safe.”
* * * *
Back in the truck, Riley pointed us in the right direction. Ben lived on the other side of town, so it took a good thirty minutes to get there. By this time it was nearly ten o’clock at night and Grandma had been missing for a good five to six hours.
Reaching Ben’s house, we took a minute to assess the situation. The house was an ordinary looking single-story affair with lots of colorful flowers in pots around the front door, all lit by the streetlight on the footpath. The bright cheerfulness of them seemed in direct opposition to the mood of our group. The lights in the front of the house were out but looking up the side we could see a light was on towards the back.
Knocking, we all stood back and waited as we heard shuffling, followed by the sounds of a door lock being opened. As light spilled out to greet us, I blinked and took stock of the man who opened the door.
He was not what I’d expected. If he was under a hundred years old, I’d be shocked. His skin was about two sizes too big for him, which gave him the appearance of a Shar Pei and he had the best tan I had ever seen. But it was what he was wearing that shocked me the most.
Nothing. He was wearing absolutely nothing.
It was a bit like a car crash, when you know you really shouldn’t look but you can’t help yourself, then you regret it for the rest of your life. I heard Danny inhale very quickly and looked at Molly, who stood with her mouth hanging open. Riley and Drew seemed to take it all in their stride and pretended not to notice. Opening the door naked was obviously a common occurrence for Mr. Willett, as he didn’t seem fazed by it at all.
“Hello. We’re looking for Ben Willett,” explained Drew, his eyes never straying below Ben’s shoulders.
“That’s me. What do you want?” he snapped.
“Hello, Mr. Willett. I’m Drew and this is my partner Danny, his sisters Molly and Lizzie and our friend Riley,” said Drew introducing us all.
“Congratulations. What do you want?”
Gee cranky old man. Taken back a bit, Drew continued, “Well, we’re looking for Mabel Phillips. Would you have seen her by any chance?”
“What if I have?”
“Well, the thing is, she’s been missing since this afternoon and we’re trying to find her.” Even patient Drew was starting to get a bit flustered by now.
“Doesn’t mean I’ve seen her,” snapped Ben.
I couldn’t take it anymore.
“Listen, you cranky old fart. If you’ve seen Mabel, tell us!” It had been a very long evening and I was running out of patience. Riley reached over and put his arm around my shoulder. I’m not sure if it was to soothe me or stop me from jumping across and grabbing Ben Willett by the throat.
“What’s all this racket about?”
I looked behind Ben and there was Grandma Mabel, dressed in her bra, knickers and the pink slip she always wore under her dress. I was so overcome by relief, my knees gave way and I felt Riley hold me a bit tighter to stop me from falling. Molly started to cry and Danny ran over to Mabel, pulling her into a big hug. I could see the confusion on Grandma’s face that quickly turned to irritation.
“What are you all doing here?” she asked.
“We could say the same for you, Grandma. We’ve been looking for you for hours, running all over the place trying to find you!” shouted Danny.
“No need to shout. I’m standing right here,” Grandma said to him. “And can’t a woman have a bit of privacy once in a while?” she snapped. From where I was standing it was pretty obvious what was going on here. Looking over to Ben and Mr. Droopy, I felt myself shudder.
“Of course you can, Mabel,” said Drew, being the first one to pull himself together. “It’s just you need to tell people where you are. Everybody has been so worried about you. Ellen has even called the Police,” he explained. Grandma started swishing her teeth. This thought had obviously never occurred to her.
“Hmm. Well you can take me home anyway. Not much happening here,” she said looking at Ben.
* * * *
Getting back to the truck, we realized we were one seat short, so I got in the back and scrunched up next to Molly. Luckily Mum and Dad’s house wasn’t too far away.
“I’m actually glad you came when you did. Ben wasn’t showing me a good time, if you know what I mean. Those pink tablets aren’t what they are cracked up to be,” said Mabel.
“What pink tablets Grandma?” I asked.
“You know, the ones that make his bits stand to attention.”
“Do you mean the blue tablets?” asked Danny.
“Oh. Maybe that’s why they didn’t work then,” she said thoughtfully.
This was all way too much information for me.
“Grandma, doesn’t the Church frown upon sex outside of marriage?” asked Molly.
“Well, the rules are more like guidelines at my age. You’ve just got to take the opportunity when it’s there. I mean, he could be dead tomorrow.” There’s a thought. By the time we’d dropped Grandma home and got back to my place it was nearly midnight.
As I was waving everybody goodnight, I noticed the black sedan pull away from the curb and slowly disappear into the night.
Chapter Eighteen
Standing in my shower, the following morning, I looked out over the back yard and groaned. That was it, this grass had to be mowed. I could put it off no longer. Another one of the disadvantages of showering on the back deck is that you have to look at the grass. And the weeds. And the crumbling fence. It didn’t make for a good start to the day.
I decided I needed to borrow Dad’s mower and would ask Riley if I could borrow his truck so I could pick it up. I also decided that when this job was over, I would have to give Riley a huge bonus. He’d done so much more for me than we’d originally agreed on. Luckily for me, Riley was very easy going and agreed to pick me up at nine am.
Grandma was still asleep when we got to Mum’s. Her night on the town had obviously exhausted her. I think Mum was just grateful for the peace and quiet.
“I still can’t believe your grandmother was out with a man,” said Mum, shaking her head. “She had us all so worried. I was too relieved to say much too her last night, but when she gets up I’m giving her a piece of my mind.”
We hadn’t told Mum the finer details of what we had seen last night. None of us had really wanted to relive it.
“You seem to be spending an awful lot of time with Riley,” she continued. “And I’ve seen the way you look at him.” I could hear the warning tone in her voice. “You’ll have to watch yourself, young lady. People will start to talk and how will Scott feel about that?” Riley was at present outside with Dad loading the mower onto the back of his truck.
“I don’t think Scott cares too much, Mum. He’s only rung me once since I left the hospital the other night, and that was to check I wouldn’t get behind on work.” I chose to ignore the comment about the way I looked at Riley.
“Well then, maybe you need to put some spice back into your relationship. Why don’t you organize a weekend away somewhere nice?” she suggested.
“Nice idea, Mum but this house is costing me more than I budgeted for. I can’t really afford to go away.”
“Well then, what about a nice romantic evening. You could cook him a lovely meal and have a nice night at home. Some fancy new underwear never goes astray either.” I could see the twinkle in her eye from here.
“Yeah, I’ll think about it, Mum.” Probably not today, but I’ll see what the future brings. Just then Dad and Riley walked into the kitchen.
“What are you thinking about?” asked Dad.
“I was just suggesting that Lizzie cook Scott a nice romantic dinner to spice up their relationship,” smiled Mum.
“What have I told you, woman?” bellowed Dad. I jumped so high I spilt my coffee all over my t-shirt. “Keep out of it and mind your own business!”
Gee, Dad felt pretty strongly about something. Mum quickly busied herself making Dad a cup of tea so we couldn’t see her embarrassment and I grabbed a cloth and started wiping my shirt.
“Something smells good in here, Mrs. Fuller,” said Riley giving Mum his killer smile. Mum was baking a cake and loved nothing more than people complimenting her baking skills.
“Well, thank you Riley, but please call me Ellen. If you can wait around for another ten minutes or so, I can send you home with some.” Mum warmed at Riley’s smile. I guess no-one is immune.
* * * *
Starting Dad’s mower was always a bitch. I’m pretty sure this mower is as old as I am and only likes to be started by a male. I’d long ago realized that was because the ripcord was longer than my arm and I just couldn’t pull it far enough to start the damn thing. However, not one to be beaten, I gave it my all today. Twenty minutes later, I was kicking the stupid mower and cursing when I heard my neighbor call over the fence.
“Yoo Hoo,” called Helen with a little wave. Great.
“Hi, Helen, how are you?” I called back. She waved me over to where she was standing. Looking around, I could come up with no excuses not to go, so I reluctantly walked over to her.
“I was wondering if you’ve seen a large, ginger cat hanging around?” she asked.
“Why’s that?” The large, ginger cat in question was at present sound asleep on my bed.
“Well, I happened to be looking out my back window the other night and saw him toileting in my garden again. If I catch it, I’m calling the pound,” she said with a huff. Looking at my garden and then at hers, I could understand why Cat preferred hers.
“I’ll keep my eye open for it,” I smiled, making a mental note to keep Cat inside for a while.
“I hope you don’t mind me saying,” she said, leaning in towards me and lowering her voice, “but you are a busy girl on the man front aren’t you? I don’t know how you have the energy.”
What? Was she kidding? It’s been that long since I’ve been laid except for that one unmemorable night with Scott recently and that didn’t count as I didn’t get to the finish line—that I can hardly remember what passion feels like. Dreams involving Riley do not count, okay?
“What do you mean?” I asked, a bit confused.
“Well, it’s just not good for the neighborhood, you know. Oh don’t look like you don’t know what I’m talking about. First there’s the Mercedes, then there’s this one,” she said pointing,
to Riley’s truck “and then there’s the black car that’s always parked out front.”
Whoa, slow down a minute. “Which black car are you talking about?” I asked.
“The one that always parks opposite your drive. I know he’s with you because we never saw him before you moved in, so please don’t deny it.”
“How often do you see this car?” I asked.
“Well, most nights since you moved in. I see this truck move out and the black one move in. You’re not running some sort of business are you?” she asked, looking horrified.
WTF? “No!” What sort of a person did she think I was? I mean I know she didn’t like me that much, but seriously?
“Well, you don’t exactly conduct yourself properly, do you? First I see you take your pants off at the front door, and then we have to put up with you showering outside. I mean, my husband doesn’t want to see you naked in the back yard. And I’ve seen some of the people you entertain.”
“What do you mean by that? The only people who come over are Riley and my family. And if your husband doesn’t want to watch me showering—in my swim suit I might add—then tell him to stay inside at seven in the morning and six in the evening.” With this I turned on my heel and stomped towards the house.
“Riley!” I yelled. I could hear him banging around in the bathroom upstairs, so up I stomped. “When is my bath coming back?”
Riley sat back on his heels. He’d been tiling the bathroom floor. “They said it would be about a week. Why, what’s wrong?”
“My neighbor is a pervert and his wife is a bitch!” I said. I’m not sure Riley was taking this seriously as he had a very big smile on his face. “And the black sedan has been parked outside every night since I moved in.” This removed the smile. I retold the conversation I’d just had with Helen.
It Started With A House: Lizzie. Book 1 (The Westport Mysteries) Page 15
