It Started With A House: Lizzie. Book 1 (The Westport Mysteries) (27 page)

“You know,
doing the deed? Hiding the sausage? Doing the nasty?”

“Really, Lizzie!
Do you have to be so crude?”

“Well you
asked.”

“I’m going for
a lie down,” said Grandma, finally finding her voice and shuffling off in the
direction of her bedroom.

“I can’t
believe she got thrown out of a Church!” said Mum after Grandma had
disappeared.

“Well, at least
she’s not a boring old lady like Dad’s mum.”

“I just wish
she could be a normal senior citizen, who sits and crochets doilies…or
something equally normal.”

I didn’t know
what to say to this. I mean, I could understand Mum’s frustration, but I have
to admit that when I’m old, I’d rather be like Grandma Mabel than boring and
stagnant like Nan. Mum obviously preferred the latter, I thought, wondering how
the hell she had come from Grandma. They were so different.

Suddenly
remembering the piece of paper I’d been given at the Church, I ran back out to
my car.
 
This also gave me an
escape before Mum realized she hadn’t interrogated me yet. I collected it off
the floor where I had thrown it. Turned it over, and read:

Please meet me at The Future Care Nursing Facility

1024 Meadows Road, Ackwood at four o’clock this
afternoon.

I know someone who can answer all your questions.

John Smith

My heart
skipped a beat when I read the name. This was the same person who had visited
Avis at Allora Lodge. Switching the ignition on and pulling up my GPS, I typed
in the address and waited for it to calculate the journey.

Hmm…forty-five
minutes. Looking at my watch I saw it was already two thirty-five, so I still
had enough time to find the place and meet John Smith. I was feeling a bit
uneasy about going alone though.
 
After
my visit to the Church today, I wasn’t sure if this could be some sort of trap.
Calling Riley again to see if he would make the trip with me, I waited for the
call to connect. But once again I got his message bank.

I hung up, and tried
to decide what to do. I knew it would be stupid to go alone, but Riley was
unavailable, Molly was away, and Mum and Grandma were busy. That left Danny and
Drew.

On the second
ring, Drew answered.

“Hello, Drew
speaking.”

“Hi Drew. It’s
me, Lizzie.”

“Hello, Sweetheart.
What are you doing?”

“Well, I was
wondering how busy you guys were this afternoon and if you’re free for a road
trip.”

“I’m sorry, but
we’re completely booked up. We finish at six this evening. We could come with
you then. Where are we going, Poppet?”

“Just over to
Ackwood to visit someone. I just feel a bit weird going alone, that’s all.”

“Then we’ll
come with you. Can it wait until then?”

“No, sorry. My
appointment is at four. It’s okay, though. I’ll go on my own. I’m sure I’ll be
fine.”

Damn. I knew this
was a really stupid move. But what could I do? I couldn’t let this opportunity
pass me by. It may just answer all my questions. But what if it was a trap? What
if David Thornton figured out I knew it was his family who owned the ring? So
what if he did?

Did he have
anything to hide? For all I knew, the ring may have been stolen from his family
or lost even. It may not even be connected to what’s been happening lately. I decided
then and there, I really had to go and ran back inside to tell Mum I was off.

Chapter
Twenty Eight

It
turns out my GPS underestimated the traffic a little bit. It took well over an
hour to get to the nursing facility. Driving up the long, tree-lined drive that
led me to the main administration building, I had butterflies the size of birds
flying around in my stomach. Surely meeting somebody in a place as populated as
this I should be safe?

Reaching the
building, I locked my car and walked inside. The exterior of the building
looked very Tudor in style with its white-washed walls and black beams running
across the front. The interior was totally opposite to what I expected. It was
very modern, with wide halls and white-washed timber flooring, white walls and
lots of colorful prints, adding much-needed color to the almost sterile-looking
area. Along one wall, ran a reception desk—also white—with two
women behind the counter. Surprise, surprise, they too were wearing white.

I wasn’t sure
if I was supposed to ask them for John Smith or what. My instructions had
really been quite vague. Looking around, trying to decide what to do, I figured
my only option was to ask for him, so I walked towards counter and waited to be
served. Geez, you had to be tall to work around here. The top of the counter
came to my shoulders, making me feel like one of the dwarves as the woman on
the other side looked down at me.

“Can I help
you?”

“Yes, please. I’m
looking for John Smith.”

“John Smith? Is
he a resident here?”

“Well, I don’t
really know, sorry. I was just asked to meet him here.”

I saw the
incredulous look pass over her face before she quickly put her public face back
on. “I’m very sorry, but I can’t help you. The exit is that way,” she said,
pointing towards the door I had just come in from.

I could kind of
understand where she was coming from, but did she have to be so rude about it? Turning
around and feeling totally pissed off, I watched as a man stepped out of the
shadows. My heart skipped a couple of beats before I realized it was the man
from the church. My heart rate settled a bit at this, but I’m not really sure
if it should have. I still didn’t know why he’d asked me here.

“Lizzie
Fuller.” It was said more as a statement than a question.

“Yes?” We
totally had this question answer thing the wrong way around.

“I should
probably introduce myself. I’m John Buckner, also known as John Smith. Would
you walk with me?” he asked, gesturing towards the corridor to my right.

I wasn’t really
sure about the answer to this. I was thinking I was probably a lot safer in
here with Rude Britches over there watching us, but I didn’t think I would be
any the wiser if we stayed.

“Ok. But you
need to tell me why you got me here.”

“There’s somebody
I’d like you to meet.”

Following him
up the corridor and making several turns into other corridors, all of which
looked exactly the same as the last, I was completely lost by the time we
stopped and knocked on one of the doors. Waiting a beat, he opened the door and
motioned for me to enter first.

I felt the
sudden wave of panic hit me. Being here was a really bad idea.

“It’s okay. Nobody
is going to hurt you, but you do have a lot to gain if you stay.”

Looking into
his eyes, I tried to get an indication if he was telling me the truth or not,
but this was way too mysterious for me.

“Who’s in there
and why won’t you tell me what’s going on?” I demanded.

“Please, if you
just go in and let me introduce you, it will all become very clear.” He had a
really calm, gentle voice that kind of reminded me of David Thornton, which let
me tell you, was not a particularly good thing. My options here were limited
though, I could turn and run and never solve the mystery or I could grow a set
of balls and enter the room. Turning on my heel, I briskly walked into the room
before those balls shrank again.

It was a small
room, rather like that of a hospital ward. Maybe that’s why I had the heebee
jeebies. A television was mounted high on the wall, with an ensuite bathroom
off to the side and a bed in the middle of the room. Lying in the bed was a
particularly small, fragile looking lady, who if I had to guess her age, would
put her in her late eighties, dressed in a cream-colored nightgown and white
fluffy slippers. Hardly a killer in waiting, I thought, feeling much more
relaxed now I was actually in the room.

“Nana, I’d like
you to meet Lizzie Fuller,” said John as he walked towards the lady.

The lady looked
over at me, her eyes cloudy with cataracts. I wasn’t really sure how much she
could see, so I tentatively walked closer to the bed. Reaching out her hand,
she waved it around for me to move closer still. Once I was within her reach,
she grasped my hand and held it tightly. I don’t know why, but I could feel that
lump in my throat once again.

“Lizzie, this
is my grandmother, Wilhelmina Buckner, nee Thornton. Mina to her family.” So
this was David Thornton’s Aunt. “And Will to all her friends,” John continued.

Looking between
John and Wilhelmina, I thought I’d misheard. I could feel the cogs in my brain turning
as all the pieces of the puzzle finally fell into place. I was too shocked to
speak.

When finally I
regained control, I asked, “Is this Will who knew Avis Miller?” I needed to make
sure I had this right.

John nodded.

Feeling
Wilhelmina’s grip tighten, I looked down at her aged hand holding mine as if
her life depended on it. “Oh my God, I don’t believe it! Can…can…she speak?” I
asked, looking back at John.

“Yes, but it is
a bit of an effort. She has emphysema and breathing is difficult a lot of the
time.” He stopped and looked at his Nana, and I could feel his love and
compassion for her. “I’ve been watching and listening at the Church and have
overheard conversations I don’t think I was supposed to overhear. Most of them
involved you and your house,” he said, finally looking up at me. “You’ve really
had my cousin on the hop since you bought it. He’s been so afraid you would
find the ring and connect it to our family.”

“Are you the
one who put Sedan Man onto me?” I asked, suddenly feeling on edge and very
defensive.

“Who?”

“The big, bald
guy who drives the black sedan. He’s been following me for weeks.”

“No, I haven’t
had anyone follow you. But I’ve heard my cousin talking and I know he’s afraid.
When the house was cleared out they couldn’t find the ring. When you started
renovating it, he was afraid of what you would find. Avis always told him it
would come back to haunt him one day.”

“You are
talking about David Thornton, aren’t you?”

“Yes, the one
and only.”

“So he knew
Avis as well?”

“I wouldn’t say
he knew her, but he visited a couple of times to try to get the ring back. My
Uncle Charles had tried many times over the years and, before he died, he told
David all about Nana and how important it was the public never knew the real
story.”

“Why? What’s so
important about it?”

“Don’t you see?
I’m sure you’ve figured out by now Nana was in love with a woman?”

“Yes, and I
also found the letters and a photo, so I pretty well understand that side of
it.”

“Well, if the Church
congregation found out the great Thornton family had a lesbian in their midst,
that wouldn’t sit well with them, would it?”

“I think they
underestimate people.”

Looking back at
the lady lying in the bed, her eyes half closed, I wondered how anybody could
hide her.

“That’s because
you aren’t a member of the Global Ministry. Homosexuality is a sin and they
condemn sinners. Plus…there are a lot of other things that go on that they may
start to question as well.”

Wilhelmina
started to move in an attempt to sit up, and was coughing and struggling for
breath. John quickly moved forward, pushing me out of the way and placed the
oxygen mask on her mouth and nose. After a few minutes of listening to nothing
but the whirring of the motor and Wilhelmina’s labored breathing,
 
she took the mask off with shaky hands and
tried to speak.

“Move closer. I
think she wants to tell you something,” said John, putting his hand on my shoulder
and moving me forward.

Her eyes moved
to mine as she held the mask in her wrinkled hand and I saw the tears well up
as she gave me a weak smile.

“I gave the
ring to Avis when we had been together a year,” she wheezed, her voice weak. “I
knew we could never get married, but the ring could be a symbol of our own
union.” I watched as the tears in her cloudy eyes disappeared and a light took
their place as she remembered the love she shared with Avis. “She loved it, she
was so happy,” she smiled. “That didn’t last long though. Her mother walked in
and saw it. The look on her face as she looked at Avis was one of pure
disgust.” Wilhelmina stopped for a coughing fit, but as John tried to put the
mask back on her, she shooed him away. “I even changed myself to look like a
man and went by the name Will thinking people wouldn’t know the truth and then
we could be together. But Avis knew and she couldn’t live with her mother’s
hatred.” Stopping to inhale some more oxygen from the mask, the sadness returned
to her eyes. “But she couldn’t abandon her mother. I know Avis loved me, but
she couldn’t really accept who she was. I gave up but I never stopped loving
her. I never found that kind of happiness again. I love my son and my grandson
of course, but I never loved another person the way I loved her.” The memory
was obviously painful. I watched tears run down her wrinkled cheeks.

“What do you
want me to do with the ring, Ms. Buckner?” I had to know. It was only right she
decided what to do with it.

“You have it? Avis
kept it?” she wheezed, her eyes suddenly bright.

“Well, I don’t
have it with me, but it’s in a safe place. I can get it to you tomorrow, if
that’s okay?”

Her cough kicked
up a gear as she shook her head. She took my hand and said, “No, no, no. Do not
give the ring back to them. It was my mother’s and I don’t want them to have
it. They don’t deserve it. My brother spent his whole life hating me and what I
stood for, and now so does his son. You take the ring and do whatever you want
with it. It’s yours now,” she said in between coughs.

“But I don’t
want it. I feel really strongly that you should have it back.”

“Then sell it,”
she said, putting the mask back on and turning her head slightly away from me,
her body language telling me in no uncertain terms this was the end of the
discussion.

“How about I
sell it and use the money to buy Avis a headstone. She doesn’t have one and I
think she should.” Turning back towards me, a smile hidden by the oxygen mask,
she squeezed my hand tighter. “I can give the rest of the money to you, John. That
seems like the right thing to do.”

Feeling at
peace with my decision, I said goodbye and left her to rest as John walked me
back out to the front reception area.

“Thank you,
Lizzie. I think you’ve made Nana a very happy woman.”

“She obviously
married then?” I asked, curiosity about her whole story getting the better of
me.

“Yes, she
already knew my granddad. He was a family friend and her father pretty much
arranged the marriage. It was very important to them that everything looked
proper and correct to the congregation. It’s still the same now. I mean, if the
truth was told about what happens behind closed doors in that place, people
would flee from it in droves.” I could hear the hatred in his voice as he
spoke. “My granddad treated her well though, right up until he died, and they
did have my dad. He passed away a few years ago from cancer, so I’m all she’s
got now.” Hearing buzzers going crazy at the nurses’ station, John looked up
and said, “Well, I’d better get back to her. I don’t like leaving her alone for
very long. The doctors have told me she doesn’t have much more time and I want
to be there for her as much as I can.” I could feel his sadness as he looked
back at me and shook my hand. “Goodbye.”

* * * *

Walking
back to my car with a heavy feeling in my chest, I knew I should be happy that
the mystery was finally solved. I knew who Will was and who had owned the ring.
But all I could think about was how their families had kept them apart. I
thought of Danny and Andrew, my mum and dad, and of Riley’s gran and grandpop.

It didn’t
matter who you loved…just that you loved. There was no excuse for anybody to stand
in the way of it. Avis and Wilhelmina would never get another chance; it was
too late for them now. I crossed the car park towards my car feeling frustrated
by the situation, knowing there was no way I could change anything.

Discrimination
is wrong. I believe everyone is entitled to their own opinion. We’re all
different.
 
What’s right for me may
not be right for you. I also believe that even though I have never actually
read the Bible, the overall message of it is that we should all love, respect
and honor one another. Only God can judge, and when Judgment Day arrives, He
will. In the meantime, I think the whole world would be a better place if we
all respected our right to an opinion and not to force our own beliefs on each
other.