It Started With A House: Lizzie. Book 1 (The Westport Mysteries) (30 page)

Inside, Riley
never left my side, except when I was taken to x-ray and imaging when I was
accompanied by Officer Rookie who, even though he looked too young to be a
police officer, the sight of his gun did reassure me quite a bit. By the time I
was being wheeled back to emergency, my family had arrived.

Oh
dear God
, would this night never end? I know I should be grateful for their love
and concern, but all I wanted was some sleeping tablets and a comfy bed where I
would be safe and could forget everything that had happened.

Looking at the
clock as I was pushed back into my cubicle, I saw it was two thirty am and
everyone looked exhausted. Mum was the first with the hugs, holding on
extremely tightly as everybody else looked too shocked by the sight of me. I
still didn’t have the bravery to look in a mirror but judging by how white they’d
all turned, I must look horrific.

Wiping her
eyes, Mum stepped back and allowed Dad near. I heard the sob in his throat as
he pulled me towards him and even though I thought I was all cried out, the
tears started all over again. Cradled in his arms, I held on tight, feeling
like a child. Maybe Mum was right. I would always need someone to look out for
me.

Danny was next
to step up once Dad let go and as he held me, he whispered, “You’ve got to have
one serious make-over when you get out of here, girl.” Laughing, I punched him playfully
in the arm.

As I looked at Grandma
Mabel, I noticed how for the first time, she actually looked her eighty-two years.
Emotion burned bright in her eyes as she swished her teeth backwards and
forwards.

Molly was the
last to approach. Drew had been holding her, her eyes so swollen from crying,
she looked like the one who’d been punched.

“I missed my
big job in Loganville because of you,” she scolded. I knew this was just a
cover. Sometimes Molly acts brave to cover her vulnerability.

“Love you, Moll.”
I smiled.

Officer Rookie was
standing back carefully watching to make sure nobody hurt me, when Danny finally
noticed him. He took one look at him in his perfectly pressed uniform and
asked, “Well, honey. Do I look like a bad guy? Because you can frisk me if you
like.”

The color
drained from Officer Rookie’s face. He either took his job way too seriously or
it must be too early in the morning for jokes.

“Daniel, have
some respect for the law!” scolded Mum.

“I do have
respect and I’m just saying I’m not as good as I look, if you know what I
mean.” Looking over at Drew, I saw him roll his eyes. “Don’t roll your eyes at
me, Drew. You know how bad I can be,” Danny laughed.

Dad groaned.

Grandma just
kept rolling her teeth around.

It certainly
seemed like everyone was back to normal.

After the
doctor had given me the all clear—no, my wrist wasn’t broken and my brain
was
still intact—I was patched up as best they could and sent on my
way. There was a small kafuffle as everyone argued over who I was staying with
until Riley said I was staying with him. Officer Rookie was to stand guard
until David Thornton had been arrested for his part in the crimes.

Honestly, I
didn’t care. The lovely doctor had given me something pretty strong for my
headache and to help me sleep. Apparently counseling was a good place to start
but until then denial and sleeping tablets seemed the way to go.

* * * *

The
next day arrived bright and sunny. I stretched luxuriously in Riley’s bed—he
disappointingly seemed to be absent—then lay back with my head on the
pillow, relaxed and content. Looking at the clock, I saw it was already twelve
thirty in the afternoon. Crap, those tablets must have been really good. I’d
slept like a log without any dreams.

A few things
still had to be sorted today, like my statement I still had to give to the
police. I also had to look in the mirror. When we got back here last night, I
walked straight to the shower, stripped off naked and scrubbed every inch of my
body I could, avoiding the mirror altogether. I needed to be strong before I
could do that. Caffeine would be a good help. I moved to get out of bed,
wincing at my sore body.

Riley was
already up and sitting at his computer by the time that I made it down that
stairs.

“Hey, how are
you feeling?” he asked.

“Sore. And
still a bit groggy. I’m hoping coffee will help.” I forgot my wrist was weak as
I picked up the coffee pot and winced.

Riley, not
missing a beat, jumped up and poured the cup for me. “You just need to give it
time. The doctor said it would be sore for a few days, maybe even a week.” His
hand had brushed mine as he handed me my cup and I felt the jolt of electricity
run up my arm. I looked up at him and smiled.

“What are you
up to?” I asked, nodding in the direction of the computer.

“Just sending a
few emails and finishing off a few quotes.”

Damn, that’s
right. I’d forgotten about that.

“Did you get
the job in Loganville?” I asked, turning away and walking to the table so he
couldn’t see how this thought upset me.

“Yeah. That’s
the email I’m sending now,” he said, with a sheepish smile. “The police officer
has gone. They arrested David Thornton this morning and are holding him until
he gets in front of a judge for his bail hearing.”

I let out a
sigh. “That’s good. Hopefully they will take a very careful look at that family
and uncover all the evil things he’s done. I’m sure Avis isn’t the only person
they’ve hurt to cover up indiscretions.”

“When you’re
ready, I’ll take you to the station and you can give your statement,” said
Riley, walking to the table and placing his cup on it.

“How did the
police know to come to the house last night?”

“Jared called
them. When I got out of the hospital from visiting Mia, I got your messages. I
gave the license plate to Jared and he phoned it in. As soon as I heard who the
car belonged to, I tried to call you but it kept going to message bank. You
were supposed to be at your mum’s, so I called her. She told me how you’d
picked Mabel up from the Church and left. The fact that you wouldn’t answer
your phone made me panic, so I spoke to Jared and we came straight to the
house. Seeing the black sedan and the lights on, we knew he was there but I
didn’t know you were there until I crept up to the window and looked in.” Riley
looked down at me, the intensity in his eye blazing. “When I saw you handcuffed
to the refrigerator I wanted to break the door down and get you out. Jared
convinced me to wait two minutes while back up arrived, so I stayed outside the
window and watched.”

“So you
overheard what was happening inside?” I asked, uncertainty causing my stomach
to clench.

“Yes. The first
thing I saw was him kissing you.” I saw the muscles in Riley’s jaw tense as the
memory passed.

“Yeah, that
reminds me, I need to get some acid to rinse my mouth out with.” I tried to smile
to lighten the mood and show Riley I was okay, but it was harder than I
thought. I was desperately shoving the emotions from last night into the
To Be Sorted
file in the back of my
mind. Hopefully, they would soon be buried by all the other
To Be Sorted
crap and I would never have
to actually visit them again.

“Lizzie, when
you’re feeling better, we really need to talk,” said Riley, in a voice barely
above a whisper.

“We can talk
now,” I suggested, hoping against hope he was going to say the words I desperately
wanted to hear. Of course, we didn’t get to talk because as it always is with
Murphy’s Law, my phone started to ring.

“Why don’t you
go and get dressed and I’ll answer that,” nodded Riley.

“Ok. Thanks.” Shit,
I hate phones, I thought, stomping off in the direction of the bathroom. I
think I might take it and drown it. Better yet, maybe smashing it with a very
big hammer would be better.

On reaching the
bathroom door, I took a deep breath, opened it and approached the mirror with
my eyes closed.
You can do this, Lizzie
.
Everybody else had seen my face, it was time to man up and look for myself. Slowly
I opened my eyes.

Ok, internally,
I was screaming the house down, but all that could come out of my mouth was a
quiet little
eek.
My throat
constricted. What looked back at me from the mirror was a black and purple face
I hardly recognized. My eye and lip were swollen and a clump of hair missing
from the back of my scalp. No amount of make-up in the world would cover this.

I decided the
only thing I could do was have a shower and wash my hair, styling it as best I
could to cover my face. I gently brushed on mineral foundation and sprayed
myself with the most expensive perfume I owned. Finding my new jeans and top, I
pushed my D-cups up as far as they would go, hoping that with this distraction,
nobody would be paying too much attention to my face. With my best heels on, I
was ready to face the world. It wasn’t great, but I did feel a whole lot better
than I had thirty minutes ago.

Riley smiled
when I got back down stairs, his eyes only momentarily lingering on my
cleavage. “It was your mum on the phone. She wants us all there for dinner
tonight. She’s celebrating Harper’s heroism.”

Chapter Thirty One

After spending the rest of the afternoon at the police station
recounting every detail I could remember from the events of the day before, I
drove with Riley to Mum’s. I felt a familiar tug on my heartstrings as I
watched him concentrating on the road, deep in thought.

I knew
I’d fallen in love with him and I kind of had a feeling he felt something for
me, but there was no use kidding myself. He was leaving soon.

“Are
you okay?” he asked, concern causing his eyebrows to knit together.

“Yes. Why?”

“You
just groaned.” Oops. I really need a filter between my brain and my mouth.

“I
have to go back to Ackwood and get my car,” I said, quickly thinking on my
feet. “I remember having the keys in my hand as I walked through the car park
yesterday, but I honestly don’t know if I dropped them or put them back in my
bag. I hope my car’s still there,” I said, crossing my fingers.

“I’ll
get Molly to drive with me and I’ll go and pick it up,” said Riley.

“Oh?” Jealousy
rolled and clenched my stomach. “Why Molly?”

“Because
you probably shouldn’t be driving just yet and I don’t want it to stay there
another night.” Riley looked at me, a look of amusement in his eyes.

“What’s
so funny?” I snapped.

“Nothing.
It’s just, even with all those bruises, you look really cute when you’re
jealous.” This earned me the megawatt smile.

“Who
says I’m jealous? Maybe I just don’t like Molly driving my car,” I sulked. Gee,
I really need to work on my poker face a bit more.

Pulling
up outside Mum’s, Riley turned to me. “Lizzie, I have to drive to Loganville in
the morning to prepare for a job and I’m going to be gone for a while, but when
I get back I still really want to sort a few things out with you.”

“Can’t
we sort it out before you go?”

“I’d
like to, but I have to get your car tonight and I’m leaving really early in the
morning, so I don’t think I’ll have enough time,” he said, a look of sorrow
clouding his eyes.

“Oh, okay.”
I felt my heart sink.

Sitting
there in Mum’s driveway looking out at the darkening sky, I wondered what it
was he wanted to talk about. I mean, if he was just going to tell me he loved
me, was crazy about me, couldn’t live without me etcetera, then why couldn’t he
just say it? The only answer I could come up with was that he didn’t feel any
of these things and wanted to let me down gently. Shit, that was an emotion
that hurt. Hearing Riley open his door, I blinked several times to try to clear
any lingering feelings and followed him into Mum’s.

Mum
had gone all out. You would have thought it was Christmas with the amount of
food she’d prepared. This was a feast. There was roast vegetables, roast
chicken, gravy and my favourite of all, a huge chocolate mud cake. My stomach
growled at the smell of it all.

“Hello,
Baby,” she said, rushing over to me as soon as I walked in the door. Returning
her hug, she stepped back to survey my face and I saw the tears well in her
eyes.

“It’s
okay, Mum. I’m all good. I’ll look like my old self in no time,” I smiled.

“Well,
come on in. We’ve got a few extras tonight. Your Auntie Margaret and Uncle
Frank have come for dinner. I thought it was about time they met Riley.”

“Really?
Why do they have to meet Riley?” I asked, anxiety churning in my stomach.

Mum
answered with a cluck, as if I’d just asked a stupid question. Walking into the
lounge, I spotted Danny and grabbed his arm.

“Did
you know Auntie M and Uncle Frank were going to be here?” I hissed.

“No. Do
you think I’d be here if I did?” he answered.

“Danny,
I can’t do this!” I said, anxiety now running through me at warp speed. “Mum’s
showing him off, isn’t she?”

“Looks
like it,” he grimaced.

“Riley
and I are not an item and if there was any chance of that happening, them being
here will guarantee he runs for the hills. I’ve scared him half to death with
my appearance in the morning. He’s watched me vomit in public, flash my
knickers, seen me naked – which let me tell you was not a good thing at
the time—and I’ve frightened the life out of him. Plus he had to look at
me today before I even had a chance to fix myself up. Believe me–the way
I look right now is good. Riley doesn’t deserve
this,
” I said, looking at Danny, desperation screaming from every pore.

Danny
looked at me sympathetically. “You’re right, he doesn’t. I mean you look like
shit now. No man deserves to see you look worse than this. But, he’s got to
meet them some time,” he said, shrugging his shoulders.

“No he
doesn’t! Did you not hear me? I
said
Riley and I are
not
an item! In fact
I think he wants to tell me he doesn’t feel that way about me.” My heart
started to palpitate and sweat broke out on my upper lip. “Danny,
please
. I couldn’t stand the humiliation
if Mum announces we’re a couple. You have to stop her.”

“Okay, okay. I’ll
talk to her. But I don’t think she’ll listen. You know what she’s like when she’s
got an idea in her head.”

Yeah, I knew
only too well.

“Margaret!”
I heard Mum call. My heart skipped a beat. “I want you to meet Lizzie’s new
boyfriend, Riley.”

Mum
was herding Riley into the lounge and away from Dad and Drew, who were hiding
out in the kitchen. I took one look at Riley’s face and wished with all my
heart the ground would open up and the Earth would swallow me.

“Sorry,
not quick enough,” whispered Danny, who judging by the grin on his face was not
sorry at all. He was standing back ready to enjoy the show.

“It’s
no good trying to stop her now. She’s been going on all afternoon about your
new boyfriend,” said Grandma Mabel, who’d snuck up behind me.

Riley
looked like a cornered rat, eyes wide, looking for all the exits. As
humiliating as this was, after all he had done for me, I had to save him.

“Mum! Riley
is not my boyfriend,” I hissed, grabbing Mum’s arm and giving her the death
stare. This didn’t have the required effect as it was difficult to squint your
eyes when one of them was already half shut.

“Oh,
hush, Lizzie,” she said, turning away from me and back to Riley. “Riley, this
is my sister Margaret and her husband Frank,” she said, pushing Riley forward
and if I may say, under the oncoming bus.

Auntie
Margaret’s face was priceless though. There was unspoken competition between
Mum and Auntie M to see who had the best-looking children, the smartest
children, the child with the best job etcetera, etcetera. Well, if Riley really
was my boyfriend, Mum would have just won
Best
Looking Son-In-Law
.

Auntie
M looked like she’d swallowed something sour as she held out her hand to Riley.
I heard Danny snigger behind me, as I watched Riley turn on the charm. Basking
in the glow of his smile, Auntie M turned from being bitter to flirting in a
blink of an eye. I saw the look of triumph cross Mum’s face as she quickly
changed the subject and called everyone to the table.

“Sorry,”
was all I could come up with as Riley walked behind me to the dining room.

* * * *

Dinner, as usual was a noisy affair, especially with the extras in the
room. Auntie M held center of attention as always with her loud voice and colorful
language, Harper enjoyed his bone and I enjoyed the chocolate cake. After
dinner, Riley organized with Molly to go and get my car and I went home to face
my demons.

Cat
was extremely happy to see me, winding himself around my legs, hoping I would
feed him. Standing in the doorway to the kitchen, I took a few deep breaths and
told myself it was all over now. I had Officer Wilkins’ number on speed dial
and I knew Mum and Dad would understand if I changed my mind and slept on their
couch. I wouldn’t do that, of course. I had to build a bridge and get over any
lingering fear of yesterday.

After
showering and getting into bed—being extra vigilant and putting a chair
under the door handle—I thought about the ring that had started it all. I
knew I didn’t want it and after knowing about Brian Hogan the jeweler, I didn’t
want the trouble of selling it either. I just wanted rid of it. Deciding that
tomorrow I would contact John Buckner and give the ring back to him, I took one
of the sleeping pills the doctor had prescribed and drifted into a deep,
dreamless sleep.

* * * *

The next morning dawned wet and stormy. I looked out into my driveway
and saw my Mini had been returned. I don’t know what time Riley and Molly had
got back, but I hadn’t heard a thing. After doing the usual shower, teeth
cleaning and hair thing, I went downstairs in search of caffeine. There was a
note on the table along with my car keys and fresh coffee brewing in the pot.

Hi Lizzie

I tried to wake you last night but your
bedroom door was locked and I didn’t want to disturb you. I picked up the last
of your things from my place and left them in the lounge in case you needed
them and I put a pot of coffee on. I know how much you need your morning
caffeine hit.

Take care

Riley x

So
that was it. Riley was gone. Suddenly the house felt empty. Looking around, I
felt the loneliness seep back out of the walls and smother me once again. Maybe
the loneliness would never leave this house. All I knew was I didn’t want to be
here anymore. Throwing the note back on the table, I picked up my keys and
stormed out of the house. Cat could get his own breakfast.

Getting
in my car, I drove aimlessly. Before too long I realized I was heading back to
Ackwood. Jared had given the ring and the letters back to me at the hospital
and I had them all in my bag, so John Buckner, here I come.

An
hour later, I pulled up at the nursing home and found John, but sadly not Wilhelmina.
Holding back tears, John told me how Wilhelmina had passed away later in the
evening of my last visit. He said she felt at peace knowing Avis’ grave would
be looked after and that the ring had been found. She prayed that all the awful
things the Thornton family had done in the name of God would be known and that
justice would serve. If only she’d known.

“John,
I don’t want this ring,” I said, handing the box over to him, along with the
letters. “I’m giving it to you to do whatever you want with it. I know
Wilhelmina told me to keep it or sell it, but right now, I can’t deal with it.”

“I’m
sorry for what my family did to you, Lizzie,” he said, sorrow in his eyes.

“It’s
okay. I’m glad he got caught and will be prosecuted for all the things he did. I’m
just sorry Will wasn’t here to see it.”

“Yeah,
but I like to think she’s in Heaven and that she’s happy now.”

I
liked to think this too.

* * * *

A
week had passed since Riley left and I’d been to visit John. I paid a visit to
Avis’ grave and found someone had been there and left some flowers for her. Hopefully,
John would do the right thing and one day, give her a headstone.

Danny, Drew and
Molly had decided a night out in the city was what we all needed to celebrate
life. I hadn’t heard a word from Riley since he’d left and had a sinking
feeling I never would. The distance between us probably gave him the reason he
needed never to contact me again. Having a major broken heart gave me no reason
to celebrate life, so it was with arguments and threats that I was dragged to
Danny’s salon and given another make over.

With long
flowing curls, smokey eyes and the sexiest little dress I’d ever bought, I
reluctantly got into Molly’s car with the promise that I could consume lots of
alcohol once I got there.

Danny and Drew
had chosen a very popular nightclub in the heart of the city and being Friday
night, it was packed. Bodies jumped around on the dance floor, jammed up
against each other as they all fought for position at the bar, and the music
pumped. I’ll admit, that after my second drink—remembering I am not much
of a drinker—I was feeling the most relaxed I had in days. The short
skirt was also gaining me a bit of male attention, which was good for the ego.

After the Scott
debacle and Riley running for his life, my self-esteem was at an all-time low. Molly’s
self-esteem, however, was not low as I watched her strut her stuff in her tight
midnight blue mini dress and four-inch high heels. With her hair tied up messily
on top of her head and silver dangly earrings showing the curve of her
beautiful neck, two different men jostled for her attention. When the song
ended she gave them both a little finger wave and strutted back to me.

“Having fun
yet?” she yelled above all the noise, as the next song started to play.

“Not really, but
it’s not too bad.” I smiled.

Okay. I was having
fun. Looking around the room, I thought this place was actually alright. The
bar was positioned in the middle of the room with a dance floor on one side and
tables on the other. A single glass staircase worked its way around the room
and up to the second level of tables for those wishing a more intimate setting.
The lighting was low in the seated areas, and bright and flashy over the dance
floor as the DJ mixed his stuff at the far end of the room, in his box high
above the crowd.