by Peppi Hilton
“No, I’m not a developer,” he finally answered as he sipped his drink. “What happened to the last landlord, I didn’t realise he’d left?”
The man looked at him curiously. “A bit before your time I would have thought young man. This place hasn’t been occupied for tens of years.”
Anton looked at him, presuming he didn’t know about the last landlord.
“I came in a few months ago and …”
“The only people who could have been here would be surveying the place,” he interrupted. “They would either be from the brewery, or maybe their workmen. But I can tell you, on authority, that it’s been closed for years.”
Anton was convinced that the barman didn’t know what he was talking about, especially if he didn’t come from the area.
“I know it was pretty dead when we came, so it’s no surprise that it closed down, I never saw any customers.”
The barman peered back at him.
“I was born and bred in Judge Fields, son. I left the area a long time ago to work away, but I knew Old Jim Thorney. He was the last landlord to run this place and it was years ago. I used to pop in for a pint whenever I visited my old mother, during her decline. He was much older than me, been dead for years. In fact he went to school with a lad from Juniper House, come to think of it. Only primary school, mind you, because the lad was only young when he went missing. I wasn’t even born then. But my old mum told me all about it – she knew all what went on around here you know. It was a bit of a scandal at the time from what she used to tell me.”
Anton was confused. He knew he was not mistaken, because even though the pub had evidently been refurbished, the layout and the bar were the same. He let the barman continue without interrupting him.
“He came back you know.”
“Who came back?”
“Billy – yes, that’s what they called the boy … it was Billy. He was an old man when he returned, not in years but in stature and appearance. He’d had a hard life you see.”
“What happened to him?” Anton was now keenly curious, although somewhat bemused.
“He was only six years old when he was taken away by some men. He never really knew why though, he was too young to understand back then. Something to do with his father owing them money is what he said. He was taken abroad, but he managed to get away in his teens and he went to sea. He’d clearly suffered from his life as a seafaring- man, it showed in his face and his stature. Pity when you knew what his background was and where he’d come from.”
Anton had nothing to say. He didn’t understand really, and was still of a mind to believe the landlord had got his facts wrong about the closure of the pub. He let him continue.
“By the time I was old enough to hear about the scandal, his mother – Magdalena I think she was called – had gone into decline. I was only a boy and didn’t really understand what it was all about. But the villagers who’d known her before the incident, had said she used to be a beautiful woman and very highly regarded, but her husband was a cad.”
“What happened to Billy when he came back?”
“He stayed here, in this pub. Old Jim let him stay because the daughter – I guess that was Billy’s sister Beryl – had taken over Juniper. It was common knowledge that Magdalena had left the house to Billy in case he ever returned – apparently she always knew he would one day. It was written into her will. She evidently wasn’t too mad to do that! But then I guess she probably did it soon after he’d disappeared, maybe before her mind was gone. She probably wanted to make sure her husband didn’t get anything, knowing his reputation. It was a sad affair really. She was a wrong ‘un you know – the daughter, that is. They reckon she took after the father. She robbed Magdalena blind, took everything she owned including the house which she fraudulently possessed. And she managed to get Magdalena sectioned, after transferring the house into her own name. Sad thing was that Magdalena never knew that Billy had come back, and it was all she’d ever waited for. But she was in the madhouse by then, and Beryl was well and truly ensconced in Juniper.”
They were both silent for a while, the barman deep in thought as Anton sipped at his drink waiting to hear more, although unable to digest the facts in an intelligible way.
“Nobody knew he was back apart from the landlord,” he continued. “And me of course, although I sure didn’t tell anyone. No point feeding a village full of gossipers with idle talk, and besides, he didn’t want anyone to know, including his sister. He used to stand over there.” He pointed across the bar. “Over in yon corner, with his half-empty glass on the counter top. Long white hair, unshaven and unkempt but for the shoes he wore. He always had a shine on his shoes did Billy.”
Anton felt a cold shiver run down his spine.
“Oh yes, and he had manicured nails as well, I remember that. And long elegant fingers, even though they were riddled with arthritis. Pianist hands you might say, because that’s what he did as a boy. And I know something else too.” The landlord grinned at Anton mischievously.
“And what’s that?” asked Anton, all ears listening.
“He had a set of keys to Juniper. Apparently the daughter came in here a few times like a raving lunatic. He walked her back to the house a couple of times, so I heard, and he picked up a set which he’d seen hanging in the hall. It must have been a difficult experience for him, although he’d hardly remember it I suppose. But he must have had some memories of his childhood there. Imagine going back after all those years and finding it in that condition. From all accounts, it had deteriorated beyond recognition. The keys were possibly his last hope of holding onto something of his past, for what it was worth. The authorities seized the house you see, they took it to pay for the asylum fees. So Billy never got anything. I understand the piano was still in the house?” he asked Anton.
“Yes it was, and still is. The new owners have a family and their son wants to learn to play. They were thrilled about it being left there for them. I cleaned and polished it all up, and tuned it in readiness for when they move in. It looks like new now.”
“Was that old rocker still in there? I heard the old woman never left it, sat in it all the time whilst she waited for Billy.”
“Yes, it’s there alright. I left that too, and the new owners seem intent on keeping it. The husband’s going to refurbish it because he’s in the manufacturing upholstery business.”
“Ah well, at least it’s finally got a good home.” He carried on with his story: “Billy passed away you know, not long before Old Jim. He’s buried in the church graveyard – at least he got that if nothing else. The plot was reserved for Magdalena, but because she was sent to the madhouse by Beryl she didn’t get a proper burial and wasn’t laid to rest where she was meant to be. I heard she was cremated. Anyway, she’d be happy to know Billy was there and long may they both rest in peace now.”
“Is the grave marked?”
“There’s no fancy headstone, just a small round stone, very smooth just like a pebble. No-one knows who put it there it just turned up one day. It has nothing on it except a small inscription which reads Billy. There wasn’t anyone to care about him really, and I doubt if anyone knew he was there. No-one knew him you see cos he’d been gone too long – gone and forgotten. You’ll find it down the side of the church, facing the direction of Juniper. It’s easy to find anyway because it’s the only one with a stone.”
The barman finished shining the last of the pint glasses and Anton finished his drink. He put the empty glass on the bar.
“What happened to Beryl?” asked Anton quietly, as an afterthought.
“She went mad and ended up in the same madhouse as her mother. She used to say that her mother was haunting her at Juniper, and had used the cat as a medium to get to her. She got her comeuppance in the end. It wouldn’t surprise me if Magdalena met her there, at the madhouse, and carried on haunting her to her death. Serves her right whatever she got.”
“I’ll be off then and if I can leave these ke
ys here, the couple will be in later this week.” Anton slid the keys across to the barman who picked them up and placed them on a hook behind the bar.
Anton made a move to leave but couldn’t resist glancing across the bar to the corner where he’d first seen Billy. A great sadness clung heavily to his shoulders, as he reflected on the tragic story the landlord had relayed to him. But as he was about to walk away, he was taken by surprise as he saw the old man looking across at him from his usual corner. Anton instinctively lifted his hand to wave, and then stopped dead in his tracks. He didn’t know if it was a figment of his imagination, or whether he was truly seeing him. The old man lifted his half-empty glass of beer and smiled across to Anton, nodding to him at the same time. Anton made a move to walk round to him but the old man disappeared within seconds, leaving Anton to wonder if it had really happened.
He was visibly shaken, but he finally realised that Billy was thanking him for all what he’d done by his efforts at bringing a lifelong mystery to a close. If he hadn’t been somehow led to the house to buy and renovate it, the secret may have remained a mystery for many more years to come, and maybe forever. And the ghosts that lived within it would have remained there unable to rest in peace. He had been responsible, along with Lucy, for uncovering an age-long crime. When Billy made the decision to give him the keys that day, he must have decided it was time.
But the crime should have been solved all those years ago, so that the perpetrators could have been caught and punished. Billy could have been reunited with his doting mother and therefore have given a very sad story a happy ending. At the same time, Beryl might never have been able to subject her mother to the cruelty and treachery bestowed upon her by her only daughter. But for whatever reason, it hadn’t to be. There was no turning back of events, things happen for a reason, but that was for someone else to justify, Anton certainly couldn’t.
He decided to walk up the lane to take a look at the graveyard to see if he could find Billy’s resting place and to pay his respects, albeit years too late. He opened the small latch gate which struggled and groaned as he pushed it, probably due to lack of use. He wandered round to the side of the church, the side overlooking Juniper, and there it was in a corner. Just as the landlord had said, a small stone marked Billy’s grave.
He stood and reflected for a while. All of the past months’ events were beyond his understanding and he may never be able to work it out. But he’d grown fond of the old man – or fond of his memory whichever was most appropriate. Because he knew now that when he first set eyes on Billy he had somehow managed to slip into a time-warp with him, which allowed him to experience a glimpse into the past. He was unlikely to ever work out how he obtained the keys from someone who was buried in the earth just below his feet; but some unknown force far beyond the reach of human comprehension, had somehow lured him into a situation for which he was destined. And who was he to question a higher intelligence than his own.
He walked away after saying a quiet goodbye to Billy, but part way down the lane something compelled him to look back. In the distance he saw the shadowy outline of a woman kneeling at the grave. She seemed to look up and wave to him, and then she was gone. He turned away and kept on walking, convinced his eyes had deceived him and he cast it out of his mind.
As he strolled back down the lane, the rain came on and the skies took on a grey hue. He clutched at his Granddad’s old cardie which he was wearing, and pulled it tightly round his body to keep him warm whilst he made his way to the pub car park and his old camper van.
He knew he wouldn’t be passing through Judge Fields again, unless one day they decided to take that old top road to their favourite village after all; who knows. Right now he had no plans to return.
He cast his mind back to Billy, and the shadowy image at his graveside, but he had no knowledge or understanding of these things. They had always intended to walk round the old graveyard and browse through the ancient headstones, but somehow the opportunity had never arisen. And all the times that he had looked for signs of the pub opening, so that he could call in and speak to the old man once more, little did he know, or even guess, that his name was Billy and he was lying in the church graveyard, a smooth round stone marking his grave and pointing in the direction of Juniper. Maybe, after all, the shadowy image at the graveside could be that of his mother, Magdalena. He would never know of course, and better to leave the past alone and cast his mind to the future.
His long stride soon turned into a run as he hurried back to the shelter of his old camper van and jumped in out of the rain. He took one last look at the old pub and then drove away out of the car park, out of the hamlet of Judge Fields, and onto the main road which would take him back home to where he belonged with Lucy.
EPILOGUE
At the graveside
The earth grows rich above your face the flowers bloom each year
And down within that earth-filled space you are so still my dear
So many words were left unsaid so many things undone
So many thoughts within my head were meant for you alone
And as my tears refresh the soil that covers you whilst you sleep
My last sweet words I love you are yours alone to keep.
The end
Author’s note:
Thank you for choosing to purchase this book, I hope you enjoyed reading it.
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If you have enjoyed this book, you may also wish to take a look at ‘The Appointment’, which is now available on Amazon as a kindle version and paperback.
To keep up to date with new releases, visit my website and blog at: peppihilton.co.uk where you can also leave your comments if you wish.
Thank you,
Sincerely yours,
Peppi Hilton
