by Inia Jardine
‘That is so unfair Lilia, totally uncalled for. You sound mean and jealous. If you want to leave, go right ahead. I won’t stop you.’
Men are so stupid; they don't see what is right in front of them. I throw some clothes on, grab the cat travel boxes, carefully and calmly put the cats in one by one and put them into the car with a blanket over them. Then I call Kiki and get into the car myself. As Jonah limps out of the front door I show him the finger and pull away in fury.
I have been hurt so badly and I can barely see through my tears. Where am I going? I have nowhere, I have no money of my own. I have not needed to work for a living since I completed the arboretum at the castle.
I feel like I did when I left South Africa all those years ago, unworthy, unloved, unhappy and there is a great big aching hole where my heart used to be.
After ten minutes I pull over in front of my previous home, the little cottage I rented next to Bella’s house. Everything is dark, and I see Howie’s car in her drive. So the two eventually gave up the battle and succumbed to each other.
What a grand thing.
Why does that make me cry harder then?
I let the cats out of their travel boxes and Willow eventually settles down on my lap, Rainbow on my shoulders and Flower next to me. Kiki snuggles up on the other side of me for some body heat with her nose next to Willow. It is freezing cold in the car now that the engine is turned off but I cannot wake Bella at this hour. I pull the blanket over all of us and we soon fall into a disturbed sleep, all bundled together in the car.
Kiki wakes me up by growling. Someone is trying to open the car door. It is Howie. ‘What the hell are you doing Lilia, come inside it is freezing cold. It is three o’clock in the morning.’
Howie takes Kiki’s leash and I carry the cats into the house, one by one under my jacket. Bella is standing there all sleepy eyed and with one look at this sorry bunch leads the way to the guest room.
Without asking questions Bella says: 'I will bring food and water for the cats and put a clean cat litter tray in your bathroom. Lucky I have a spare. Kiki can sleep with you as well it's fine with me. Would you like some hot milk, or something stronger for yourself?’
‘A sleeping tablet or two if you have please. And some alcohol.’
‘No Lilia, don’t be daft. It is already morning. I will bring you some hot milk, with a bit of liqueur in, how about some Amarula? It will relax you. We can talk when you wake up. Howie squeezed your car in under the carport with his as it looks like bad weather is on the way.’
She is a very good friend; she knows when to not ask questions. Or give unwanted advice.
Dawn breaks over Arumvale as a terrible storm unleashes its fury over us. Gale force winds threaten to break the huge old oak trees lining the streets and the shutters in front of Bella’s windows creak and bend in the wind.
I wake up to a huge crash and find that a big branch from one of the oak trees lining the street has fallen. It shocks me when I see that it is the exact spot where I was parked during the early morning hours. It would have crushed us.
Then I remember Howie coming to get us and moving the car.
I am very thankful, but deep inside I think that he should have left me there to be crushed. I remember Jonah telling me that I was mean and jealous and that he wanted me to leave.
Kiki is begging me to go out for a wee but with this lashing rain and wind I cannot take her outside. Her thick coat will be soaked through within minutes. ‘It is the litter box for you sweetie, or the paper towels. How about the shower? Sorry Kiki. Just look at that storm.’ I lead her to the shower and she obediently does her business which I flush away.
I wonder if Jonah is sleeping peacefully, I hope not.
I am so mad at him but very relieved that his plane touched down before the storm hit. I don’t want him to be hurt even though I am very mad at him. Actually, I’m more disappointed than mad.
I just hope that Solange does not take advantage of him. She did seem a bit hard-boiled to me at first, like she blamed him for the decisions her mom had made. Jonah will have to watch out, she must have some unexpended anger over the way Jonah treated her mom although they were only kids back then. Kids having a wild fling.
As I contemplate the storm and the collapse of my personal life an alarm bell goes off in the far reaches of my mind.
Solange Belmore. Solange and Armand Belmore. B.
‘V, L & F, now B and V, L & F.’ Vatjer said that. With a sarcastic smirk on the 'B'. What if that 'B' I wondered about then, but never enquired about, stands for Belmore?
No, Lilia, you read too many crime and investigation novels.
I make a decision to do some research into Solange and Armand Belmore on the internet as soon as I can. Bella and Howie are still sleeping but I'm sure she won't mind me using her laptop. I do not believe in coincidence. The appearance of Jonah’s daughter and her stuck-up French husband came too soon after his brush with death. All because of his suddenly invaluable land.
I recall old Dr Perna the geologist. I bet he sold his information to V, L & F. I knew he was hiding something from us, he never did get back to us with the results of his tests and a complete survey. He seemed way too casual for someone who made a discovery of pure obsidian far away from any known volcanic formations.
The geology I studied way back when slowly creeps back into my brain. Obsidian is formed through exposure to extreme heat. Usually volcanic but the kind of heat a meteor crash might exude. Meteors have rare geological compounds...maybe valuable plutonium? Maybe even diamonds?
‘Shit, that’s it.’ I hope I am wrong. If not, Jonah may still be in terrible danger even though Vatjer, Forsten & Co are behind bars.
‘Bella, Howie, wake up!’
‘Not again Lilia, it has barely been four hours since we let you in. Give us a bit of a break please?’
‘We have to get to Jonah; he is in trouble. If you don’t want to come with I will go alone. Where did you put my keys Howie?’
‘Calm down Lilia. Tell us what is wrong.’
‘I need to check up on some stuff later but I have to find Jonah and warn him first. He may be in terrible danger. They got him to change his will and as soon as he signs they will get rid of him, permanently this time.’
‘Who are ‘they’?'
‘Solange and her husband.’
‘Lilia, are you sure of this? It is a very serious allegation.’
‘Not a hundred percent sure, I have to check some things first but it cannot be coincidence. Too many things look suspicious.’
‘It is only seven am Lilia, tell us the story over coffee and we will take it from there.’
I proceed to tell them everything I suspect and I can see that they are still sceptical.
‘Jonah may hate you if you tell him straight out that you suspect his long lost daughter is out to murder him. Get some proof first.’
‘Proof, where do I get proof? She won’t tell me; she sees me as opposition.’
‘Let me try and hack into the old V, L & F account, if I find any leads pointing to the Belmores I will tell you immediately. Then you and Howie can go and see Jonah. The solicitors only open at eight and with the storm, maybe even a bit later. Howie is less emotionally involved at present so you need him with you.’ Bella says as she proceeds to do the hacking on her laptop.
‘I have got this terrible premonition Bella, please hurry.’
As she looks up at me with a shocked expression, a full twenty minutes later, my heart jumps as I realise that I was right. It is not a good feeling though. I am devastated for Jonah.
‘Let’s go Howie, let’s go!’
We rush to my Range Rover and Howie jumps behind the wheel. ‘I’ll drive Lilia; you are too upset.’
‘OK, just get on with it!’
We see the ball of fire billowing up into the sky before we get to the town limits.
‘Noooo! Jonah! ‘I scream. ‘Howie we are too late! They got to him!’
&n
bsp; Emergency vehicles rush past us and we are forced to make way for them.
But wait, they are not going to Xanadu, they are turning off at the airfield. It must have been an explosion in one of the hangars. Howie slows down but we keep going until we reach our farm. I have to make sure that Jonah is fine.
He opens the door and manages to get out ‘What the fuck are you two doing here in this storm’ before I slam into him and hug him tight.
‘You are OK Jonah, oh thank goodness.’
‘One minute you tell me to fuck off and show me the finger and the next minute you are all over me. What the hell is going on with you Lilia? Have you lost your mind?’
Jonah stands back to let us in as Howie says in a stern voice, ‘Lilia is possibly the reason that you were given another chance at living my friend, yet again, I might add. You should thank her before we go any further.’
‘Take this slow. Tell me what the fuck is going on.’
I look over at Howie and give him a nod. ‘You tell him Howie, I will go and pack a few of my things. My husband still seems to detest my presence.’
Suddenly there is a knock on the door. ‘Is anyone here named Jonah Hibbert?’ the police officer asks.
‘Yes, that would be me’ Jonah folds his gown tightly around him as cold air and whipping rain lash into the house once again.
‘I’m afraid we have bad news, sir. A plane has gone down while attempting to land at Arumvale Airfield and there are no survivors. Both passengers and the pilot were killed on impact.’
‘For goodness sakes Officer, I don’t know anyone who would fly around in a storm? Why do you tell me this?’
‘Identification was found on board and your name and physical address was found on one of the bodies. They have been identified by their passports as Mr A Belmore and Mrs S Belmore. Do you know them per chance?’
‘Oh no. Oh God No. Solange.’
Jonah groans and sinks down on the couch. ‘Are you sure?’
I freeze and a terrible feeling comes over me. I wanted her to leave us alone and now she is dead. It is my fault. It sometimes happens that someone wishes me harm and then they come to harm themselves. Karma? I don't know, but apparently my great grandma could see visions, maybe I inherited some extrasensory ability from her, maybe it is in this necklace. I finger the L and close my fist over it. Maybe I am a witch.
‘I am sorry for your loss sir, yes. They have not been positively identified, if you could assist us with that please.’
‘Was there a baby on board?’ I hoarsely whisper.
‘No ma'am, only two adult passengers and the pilot. They were the only passengers recorded as leaving Lyon on this chartered flight and no other remains were found.’
We have to find the baby, where is Jonah’s granddaughter?
‘What happened, was it the storm?’
‘Yes sir. It must have driven the plane off its approach and it crashed just two kilometres before the landing strip. There were some explosives and rifles on board, which caused the fuel tanks to detonate on impact. We are not aware of any import permits for the weaponry so a criminal docket was opened at the scene. Do you have any information regarding these persons?’
Howie walks over to the officer. 'Howard Davis sir, may I speak with you in another room please?’
What feels like an eternity later they walk towards Jonah and the police officer asks him to come to the station later. Howie will take him to make a statement and do possible identification of the bodies at the morgue.
Jonah has not moved or said a word since the policeman confirmed that there was no baby on board.
‘I’m truly sorry Jonah, I know you may not believe me but I truly am. I know you must be devastated but just know that I never wanted for anything like this to happen. We would have sorted something out you and I, we always manage to. I am deeply sorry for your loss. If you need me you know where I will be, with Bella.’
He sits frozen like a statue and does not acknowledge me at all. Howie takes my bags from me and says 'come Lilia' and we leave. Outside the storm continues unabated. The storm inside me is worse, I have lost Jonah. I feel dead too.
20
For the seventh night in a row I cry myself to sleep. It has been a week since the crash and I have not heard anything from Jonah. Howie has been over to Xanadu to check on things but he says that Jonah is very cold towards him and he does not want to endanger their friendship by asking too many questions.
I have made myself as comfortable as possible in Bella’s guest room, but I have faced the fact that very soon I will have to find a job and suitable accommodation for myself, the cats and Kiki. Kiki needs space to run and Willow, Flower and Rainbow are not house cats. They like playing outside or at least having the option to go outside.
They hate being locked up and have started to fight with Skye and Crystal, Bella's two pure-bred Siamese cats. I don't have a job but Jonah did not stop my use of our mutual account so I can get money to rent a small place somewhere. Should I possibly go back to South Africa? I don't want to. I have burned that bridge for a reason.
The death of his daughter so soon after he discovered her must have shattered Jonah, and he is most probably searching high and low for his grandchild. I cannot imagine though what has happened to little Desiree. Solange and Armand must have left her with someone when they came on their murderous little adventure, but where will Jonah find her and how? She is after all now his only living blood relative and as such must be precious to him.
I feel so restless because I can't help him and I miss him, it feels like ants are eating me alive, and I take Kiki for a long walk. We walk past an empty house with a ‘To Let’ sign out front, and I take down the estate agent’s details. It would be nice to live in this peaceful part of town again. It is a pity Bella is not an estate agent any more.
As we round the corner and proceed down the Cul-de-Sac I see Jonah’s silver Ducati parked in front of Bella’s house. I run the last fifty metres and all but fall in the front door. Kiki jumps up against Jonah and I look into his eyes. I don’t know which one of us is more emotional but wordlessly we clamp to each other like magnetic leeches. He is my life force; I need him so much.
‘Lilia, I’m back.’
I understand and hug him tight. ‘I have been waiting for you Jonah. I love you too much to give up. How did you manage on the bike?’
‘Almost fell a few times but I had to do it. I know that you never stopped loving me, thank you. Howie and Bella told me how much. I am so sorry for what I did to you Lilia; can you forgive me? I was, am still, in a very bad place. Lots of questions and blame. Most of all I blame myself. I wanted a fairy-tale, I wanted a long lost daughter to love me like a father who stood by her every day of her life. I expected my wife to want what I did, which was not fair to expect of you who have no links to my past. I was wrong, I am wrong.'
‘There is nothing to forgive Jonah, your life was turned upside down and shaken like a snow globe. How you managed to stay sane nobody knows. Maybe I mistrust people too easily, and maybe I am over protective of you. I am sorry if you misunderstood that and saw it as nastiness. Just please tell me one thing. Have you found out where little Desiree is?
‘I managed to track her down through Social Services in Lyon. She was with Tantine Rose but as the aunt is fairly ancient she is not able to look after a baby for long periods of time. That is one of the reasons I am here. I want to know whether you would be prepared to come back to me because I love you and to help me look after her at Xanadu. I am leaving to go and fetch her now, and if you want, you can accompany me. I would very much like you to.’
‘Are you serious Jonah? Can you just take her?’
‘Not me, us. Yes, I am her closest blood relative. Didn’t you always want a baby girl?’
‘Bella, will you help me get all my things together please? I’m going home to be a mommy!’ I exclaim as I kiss my Jonah. ‘And please, once more, will you look after my four furry babies for a short
while please? They will be safe at Xanadu and you can just look in on them once a day or so.’
