“Yes. The lake has been there since the sixties. I remember my parents taking me to see it as a child.”
“Could I leave my number with you, please? I’d appreciate it if you asked your colleague if she knows anything, or has any photographs.”
“Of course, I will.”
“Did you ever hear of any gold going missing?”
“Gold?”
“Yes.”
She shook her head. “No. Nothing like that. Of course there were a few chancers over the years, but I never heard of anybody getting away with stealing any gold. I’m sure that would’ve made the news. I remember somebody robbed the bank once. He ran off with a bag of cash, up Martha Hill, but the bag had a hole in it and they were able to follow him, picking up gold coins along the way.”
I laughed. “How funny. You couldn’t make it up.”
“Yes. Criminals weren’t very sophisticated back in those days.” She gasped as she clearly realised what she’d just said.
“I’m sure you’ve worked it out already, but the dead man was my dad—Richard King. Did you know him at all?”
“This is a small town. Your dad worked at the mine as an engineer. He lived in the big house. Everybody knew of him. But few actually knew him.”
“What did you think when you heard my mum had killed him?”
“What did I think?” She scratched her temple with a pink manicured fingernail. “To be honest, we were all in shock. I’d met your mum a few times and she came across as a really gentle woman. I was in awe of her artwork. I’d even been to a few of her exhibitions—I was a huge fan. So when it first came out that she’d killed her husband, the whole town was in shock.”
“Did you believe it?”
She shrugged. “I didn’t question it, if that’s what you mean. The police said she’d done it, and she was charged, so I figured it must be true. Did they get it wrong?”
“I believe so. But there is no way to prove it after all these years.”
Chapter 21
The builders were back at it by the time I returned to the house. I busied myself cleaning for the rest of the afternoon. I placed Mum’s clean laundry on her bed, turned sharply, stubbing my toe on one of the photograph cartons from the storage locker. Flying forwards, I landed in a heap on the carpet. “Bloody hell, Mum!” I groaned, rubbing my throbbing toe.
Once I was able to walk again, I picked up the box and moved the occasional chair over to the built-in wardrobe. Climbing up, I shoved the box on top, surprised to hear a clunk as I pushed the box against the wall.
Puzzled, I shifted the box to the side and, standing on tiptoes, I stretched my arm as far as I could. My fingers glanced against something smooth and hard, but I couldn’t find anything to get a grip of. Bending down, I grabbed a coat hanger from the wardrobe. I tried once more to free whatever it was up there, and finally I heard the scrape of something hard and heavy moving towards me. Reaching up again, I was able to grab hold of the hard, square object and pull it down. I gasped as I instantly recognised my mother’s old music box. It was made from walnut with a floral design inlaid into the top. I opened the lid and was astounded when my ears were filled with Rock of Ages.
I stepped down off the chair and glanced inside, not expecting to see anything. To my surprise, I found a thick gold band. Picking it up, I tried it on my fingers but it was much too big for any of them. The music stopped and the atmosphere suddenly stilled—dust motes hung in the air, motionless. Then I heard the strange rustling sound I now associated with my grandmother’s ghostly visits. I froze, too terrified to look up, but I had to. I spun around and was startled by how close she stood to me. I dropped the box.
Grandmother was dressed as before, however this time her face was twisted in rage.
Stumbling backwards, I soon hit the far wall. But for every backward step I took, she stepped forward, pointing her finger at me angrily.
I slid down the wall shielding my head. A loud bang and the sound of running footsteps caused me to cower even further. Whimpering uncontrollably, I was surprised and confused by a cry of delight. I forced myself to peep through my fingers.
My grandmother was bent over the music box on the carpet.
“You okay, Hilda?” a man’s voice said, confusing me all the more.
Dropping my guard, I looked over to the doorway. It was Neil. He approached me, his arms outstretched, and his eyebrows furrowed.
I couldn’t compute. How the hell was Neil in the same room as my grandmother, and yet he didn’t think it was odd?
“Hilda. What’s happened?” he said.
“Look–look,” I said, pointing at my grandmother.
“What is it? A music box?”
“My music box,” my grandmother said. But it wasn’t my grandmother’s voice. It sounded like my mother.
I did a double-take. The person playing with the music box was indeed my mother.
Neil placed three mugs of steaming tea onto the dining table. “So, let me get this right, you thought your mother was your grandmother?”
“Yes! I mean, no. The ghost of my grandmother was there only seconds before. She was angry and I thought she was going to hit me. You guys must’ve come in when my eyes were closed and I automatically thought Mum was her. I didn’t look closely. I just saw Mum’s black cardigan and thought it was her.”
“Where did you find my music box?” Mum asked, seemingly oblivious to what was actually happening.
“I found it on top of the wardrobe. It must’ve been there for years. This was in it, look.” I handed her the ring I was still gripping tightly in my hand.
She took it from me and turned it over. “I’ve not seen this in years.”
“Is it your wedding ring?”
“Not mine. It was your grandmother’s.”
“How do you suppose the music box got on top of the wardrobe? That wasn’t even your bedroom back then.”
She shook her head. “No idea. The music box belonged to my mother, and her mother before that,” she said.
I turned back to Neil, who appeared to be miles away. “You think I’m losing my mind, don’t you?”
“What? No, of course not. It just startled me a little, that’s all.”
“It’s not the first time, you know.”
“What isn’t?”
“I’ve seen her twice before. Pete doesn’t believe me.”
The colour drained from Neil’s face. “I don’t know how I’d feel seeing a ghost.”
“Ethel was always angry,” Mum said. “She wouldn’t hurt you though.”
Surprised she’d been listening after all, I smiled. “She was scary.”
“Yes, I know. She hasn’t changed at all.”
“Have you seen her, Mum?”
She looked at me and then at Neil before nodding. “I think so, but I thought I was just daydreaming.”
“When?”
“Last night.”
“What happened?” I asked.
“She was just standing there at first. I was in bed trying to ignore her, but she seemed to be yelling at me. Her mouth was moving but there was no sound.”
“What do you think she was trying to tell you?” Neil sat ramrod straight and placed his cup back on the table, clearly uncomfortable.
“I couldn’t tell what she was saying.”
“Well, I guess I’ll be off. We can go to my house tomorrow, ‘Liza, if you fancy?”
Mum nodded. “I’d like that.” She raised her face towards him for a kiss as he passed behind her chair.
So I had been right after all. There was more to this than friendship.
I laughed at the speed Neil left. It was clear he believed us. Maybe Pete would take more notice now Mum had also seen our ghostly visitor.
I still felt jittery when I thought about it. Although Grandmother hadn’t been the warmest person in the world, I really didn’t think she would want to hurt me. But she’d seemed so angry. If Mum and Neil hadn’t arrived back when they did…
I considered telling him everything, but I wasn’t in the mood to hear his mocking tone. I was still coming to terms with it myself and even considered asking Mum to spend the night in my room so neither of us had to sleep alone. But before I managed to broach the subject, Mum said good night and had headed off to bed.
“I had a great day today,” Pete said. “I bought us a kitchen.”
“Really? Did you even have the measurements?”
“No. I called and spoke to Steve today. He said you’d gone to the museum. How did you get on?”
“Not great. I was told the best woman to talk to was away today, just my luck. But that’s okay, I’ll try again next week. Will you be home tomorrow?” I tried to keep my voice even and held my breath as I waited for his reply.
“I hope to be. I won’t be leaving till after eleven, so I’ll probably be late.”
“No worries. Drive safe, and I’ll see you when you get here.”
I locked up with every light blaring in the place. Then, flicking each switch off one at a time, I ran the three feet from the hall light switch to my bedroom in the dark and slammed the bedroom door—leaning my back against it in relief. My heartbeat raged and my head throbbed. I read for a couple of hours before I felt my eyes becoming heavy, then I slipped into a dreamless sleep.
When I awoke just before seven I leapt out of bed knowing the builders would arrive any minute.
As I walked down the hallway, I could hear Mum talking ten to the dozen in her room.
I tapped on the door and slowly turned the handle. “Mum?”
“Hi, Hilly-billy.” She was sitting up in bed.
I approached and sat on the edge of the mattress. “You’re awake early.”
“Ethel wouldn’t let me sleep.”
“She’s been here again?”
Mum nodded. “She just left. She’s really angry.”
“Why? Did you manage to find out?”
“No. But I’ve never seen her like that before. She dug her nails into my arm.” Mum rolled up the sleeve of her nightdress and I gasped at the four deep crescent shapes that were prominently displayed on her forearm.
“Grandmother did that to you?”
Mum nodded. “And she threw the photo of your dad and Uncle Declan at the wall.” Mum pointed at the silver frame I’d purchased a couple of days ago. It was face down on the floor at the side of the room.
I slid off the bed and walked over to it, bending to pick it up off the carpet. I wasn’t expecting what I saw. The glass was completely shattered, blurring everybody in the image all except for one directly in the middle of the shot—Neil’s smiling face taunted me from the frame.
Could Neil be the reason grandmother was so angry? It couldn’t be because Mum was interested in him—it had been over twenty years since Dad had died. As I scrutinized the photo, it suddenly occurred to me that everybody in it was either dead or missing. All except Neil. Could it have something to do with the missing gold? He’d acted shifty when Mum mentioned it.
“Hilly? What is it?”
“Oh, nothing, Mum. I was just looking at the picture. Everybody in it is dead. Dad, Uncle Declan, Wendy, Fergie is missing. That only leaves Neil.” His beaming face made me feel uneasy.
“That’s nice, dear,” she said, closing her eyes for a snooze.
“You okay, Mum?”
“Tired. That’s all. I’ll just have a little nap.”
The doorbell rang and I realised I still wasn’t dressed. I wrapped my dressing gown around myself and headed for the door. “Excuse me, guys. You caught me in a state of undress,” I laughed.
The younger of the two builders didn’t know where to look, and his face flushed deep red.
Steve just shook his head and shoved his mate down the hallway, good-naturedly.
“I’ll just get dressed then I’ll make you both a cuppa.” My nerves were wired. I needed to talk to Pete desperately. Pete already suspected Neil of being up to something, but what?
Chapter 22
Mum shuffled from her room an hour later, still in her nightdress and robe.
“Are you okay?” I asked. “You’re very pale.”
“I have a headache.” She rubbed her temples.
“Come and sit down, and I’ll make you a coffee and find a couple of Paracetamol. Maybe you shouldn’t go out today, just in case you’re coming down with something.” I didn’t want to warn her off Neil, but I wanted to keep her away from him until I’d spoken to Pete.
“It’s okay. I’m not going very far anyway. Neil is taking me to his house for lunch so I won’t overdo it.”
“Really?” I mumbled under my breath as I filled the kettle. Any other day she would’ve forgotten, but of course, because I wanted her to forget, she remembered everything.
Mum was much brighter when Neil arrived to pick her up.
I opened the front door and invited him in, but he stayed on the doorstep.
“We’ll get going, if she’s ready,” he said.
“Mum had a sleepless night and didn’t feel too well this morning so maybe a quiet day would be a good idea.”
“We’re just heading over to Tauranga to collect a few more boxes,” he said.
Prickles formed at the back of my neck. “Why don’t you wait for Pete? He can help you next week.”
“It’s okay. We won’t overdo it, I promise. And it will give Eliza something to focus on.”
What are you after? I wanted to blurt out, but I bit my tongue as Mum came up behind me, glowing like a teenager in love. I stepped aside and pasted a smile on my face. “Well, have a good time.”
“Thanks, Hilly.” She kissed my cheek and stepped out onto the veranda.
My stomach was in knots. Could my grandmother be trying to warn us against Neil, or was I overreacting?
I busied myself for the rest of the day, fetching and carrying for the builders and choosing a colour scheme for the lounge. It occurred to me once I’d ordered the wallpaper that I hadn’t a clue what colour the new kitchen Pete had bought was. I hoped it was neutral or we would be back to square one.
Mum and Neil arrived back just after five with a steaming hot chicken casserole they’d made at Neil’s house.
“Oh, thank you. I haven’t made anything and was going to call out for pizza,” I said.
“Now you won’t have to. This is your mum’s recipe.” Neil raised his eyebrows as though impressed.
“Really? Then what are we waiting for? I’ll get the plates.”
Neil dished up the food and I poured us all a glass of red wine.
“So, did you make it to the lock up?” I asked.
“Yes, and we brought back several smaller cartons, although we don’t know what’s in them yet, we decided to cook instead of going through them. They’re stored in my garage, aren’t they, Eliza?”
Mum smiled in that vacant way of hers, letting me know she was away with the fairies again.
“Lovely casserole, Mum,” I said, tucking in with gusto.
“Have the builders finished yet?” Neil asked.
“They’ve finished the plastering and the architrave in the lounge. Pete’s back tonight and he’s bought a kitchen, so it doesn’t look like it will be too much longer before we’re in there.”
“You must be thrilled.” Neil placed his knife and fork on the plate and picked up his wine. “Cheers,” he said, clinking his glass against mine.
Mum got to her feet and headed for the bathroom, returning a few moments later. She curled up in the armchair and closed her eyes.
“She’s exhausted,” I said to Neil.
“We didn’t overdo it, I promise you. She slept in the car and when we got back, I suggested we unpack some of the boxes but by then she was too tired.”
I got up and cleared the table. “I don’t think she slept very well last night.” After his reaction yesterday, I omitted to tell him my grandmother had kept her awake
all night.
Filling the sink, I began to wash the dishes.
Neil grabbed the towel.
“You don’t need to do that,” I said.
“Nonsense. Many hands make light work as Wendy used to say.”
“You must miss her.” I glanced at my mother, confident she was sleeping.
“More than you’ll ever know. ‘Liza’s been a breath of fresh air to me though.”
I wanted to ask what his intentions were, but I felt bad questioning him. “She clearly enjoys your company too.” I handed him the last of the plates and pulled the plug out of the sink, wiping down the worktop. Although I’d been convinced he was the reason for my grandmother’s wrath, I couldn’t knock the way he cared for Mum. I rinsed the dishcloth and hung it over the tap. “And I appreciate all your help.”
“I have nothing else in my life. Your mum’s still a beautiful woman, you know.”
I glanced at her and smiled. “Yes, she is, isn’t she?”
He folded the towel and placed it on the back of the chair. “Is there water running?”
“What?” I gasped. There was definitely the sound of water splashing. I ran towards the bathroom, but my feet sploshed into a puddle before I got there. “Oh, no!” I cried, splashing to the overflowing bath and turning off the taps. Without thinking, I plunged my arm into the scalding hot water to reach the plug.
Searing pain reached up to my shoulder. I screamed and staggered backwards, causing even more water to cascade over the side.
“Leave it! Leave it, Hilda. I’ll sort it out,” Neil said, splashing around behind me and wrapping a towel around my shoulders.
“Be careful, Neil. It’s scalding hot. I’ve burned my arm.”
“Go into the other bathroom and pour cold water on your arm. I’m fine here.”
I did as instructed, heading down the hallway towards my bedroom. As I passed the snug, I saw Mum cowering on the armchair.
“You okay, Mum?”
She nodded quickly, but wouldn’t meet my eyes. Did she remember turning on the tap?
Legacy of Lies- The Haunting of Hilda Page 10
