It Started With A House: Lizzie. Book 1 (The Westport Mysteries) Read online

  After what felt like an eternity, he whispered, “Do you love him, Lizzie?”

  I felt my heart miss a beat. I didn’t know what to say. Of course I didn’t love Scott. I thought I did, but the last few weeks had proved wrong. What I wanted to say was No, I think I’m falling in love with you, but I knew I would never have the courage to say that. Before the right words could form in my brain, the Heavens opened and rain poured down. Now I don’t mean just a shower, I mean large, pelting drops that soaked us in a matter of seconds. Squealing, I started to run back towards the car, Riley close behind me. It was then I noticed the lone man, his face still hidden under his hat, standing in the rain near Riley’s truck, watching us run towards him. As we got closer, he turned his back and disappeared into a black sedan.

  * * * *

  On the drive home, neither Riley nor I spoke. I thought if he asked again about Scott, I would tell him the truth. At least, the part about me not loving Scott. But maybe he meant nothing personal by it. It was probably just a simple question about love, not the mammoth event I’d made it out to be. There weren’t any signs of anything special happening between us. In fact he was just being his normal self. Maybe it was just my imagination back there, listening to him tell the story of his Gran and Grandpop and how they loved each other. With the way I’d been feeling at Avis’s grave it was likely I’d projected the feelings onto Riley I wanted to hear.

  “Did you notice the man standing alone at the Cemetery?” I asked to break the silence. “The one wearing the long black coat?”

  “Do you mean the one who was praying when we were at Avis’s grave?”

  “Yes. He was watching us when we were over at your Pop’s site.”

  Riley stopped at a red light and looked over at me.

  “Did you happen to see where he went?”

  “Yes, I saw him get into a black sedan. No idea what type of car it was though, but it looked very similar to one my neighbor has. You know, the one who always parks in really inappropriate places?”

  “Would that be anything like the black sedan that’s been following us since we left the cemetery?” Riley asked.

  “What? Are you kidding?” I looked at him, surprised but as I went to turn to look over my shoulder, Riley reached out and touched my arm.

  “Don’t look back, I don’t want him to know we know he’s there.”

  “Why would anyone be following us?”

  “I don’t know, maybe it’s just a coincidence, but I think I’ll head into town for a while and see if he follows us there.” Driving through town, Riley pulled in at the local Kmart.

  “Let’s go in and see what happens,” Riley suggested, finding a parking spot. “Apart from that, I’m hungry, so we can get something to eat.”

  How could he be hungry at a time like this? Someone was following us!

  As we parked the car, I had a discreet look to see where the black sedan went. It had followed us into the shopping center car park but I tried to calm my nerves by telling myself that could just be coincidental. I noticed Riley was a lot more relaxed about this than I was. I’d never been followed before and didn’t know the correct protocol or anything.

  “What should I do?” I asked, feeling a bit panicky.

  “Just act normal.” Riley looked at me and smiled.

  Okay…normal. I could do that.

  “I need to pee,” I said looking at Riley. Alright, normal wasn’t going to be as easy as I at first thought it would be. Working our way through the shops, I found the loos but hesitated before I went in.

  “What?” asked Riley.

  “Will you be okay out here on your own?”

  “Yes, I’ll be fine.” I could see him struggling to cover his smile.

  “But what if he sneaks up behind you and hits you with something?” I asked, my eyes darting around everywhere. Personally, I’d had lost sight of the man in the car park. Shows how good I was at this.

  “I’ll be fine. I think we may have lost him in the crowd.”

  I breathed a sigh of relief and walked into the loos.

  Chapter Fourteen

  We decided to grab some lunch and take the ring to the jeweler for a valuation. The jeweler we chose had been around for a long time and was well respected in the community. Mum and Dad had used him for years. I have memories of being here as a child, looking at all the sparkly diamonds, totally awe struck. Not much had changed apparently. I was still mesmerized by the diamonds.

  As we walked in I saw an older man, who I remembered to be the jeweler, Brian Hogan, behind the counter serving a young couple, obviously looking for an engagement ring. The total giveaway was the way they were standing, heads together, looking at each other with love-struck eyes. Sighing, I took the time to have a good look around. Riley wandered over to the watches, talking to someone on his phone, but I found myself drawn to the rings. Within seconds I was hypnotized.

  “Can I help you?” asked a lady who appeared from a back room. She looked about my mum’s age and was dressed fairly formally with a black skirt and a white blouse buttoned all the way to the neck. I assumed she was the jeweler’s wife, but I’d never seen her before.

  “Oh, I was just admiring these,” I said with a smile.

  “They are lovely, aren’t they?” She pulled out a tray of rings from the cabinet and placed them in front of me. “Which one appeals to you the most?”

  That was easy. “That one,” I said pointing to the floating two-carat diamond in a solitaire setting.

  Taking it out of its case, she lifted my hand and placed it on my finger.

  Wow. The diamond was huge and the way it sparkled in the light was breathtaking. I turned my hand around to make it sparkle even more. Something about the lighting in a jeweler shop makes diamonds even more alluring. I know I should have said no to her and never tried it on, but hey some things are too hard to resist.

  Riley, of course, picked this moment to walk over to me. “Expensive taste I see.” He smiled.

  “I’m sure she’s worth it,” the lady smiled at Riley.

  Oh…she thought we were together. Better set her straight. Taking the ring off, I placed it back on the counter as Riley put his arm around my shoulder and smiled at me.

  “Yes, she is.” Turning to face him, I raised my eyebrows and saw the playful glint in his eyes.

  “What we’re really here for,” I said, turning back to the lady and elbowing Riley in the ribs, “is to get a valuation on a ring we have.” Digging into my bag, I pulled out the ring and handed it to her.

  “Oh my, that is beautiful, isn’t it,” she said picking up her little eyeglass and looking at it through the magnifying lens. “It has our markings on it,” she muttered. Removing the eyeglass she looked at me. “It was made by us. All the jewelry we make, we mark,” she said showing us some very tiny markings on the inside of the band. “This is quite old, I personally have never seen it before.” The jeweler behind the counter had finished serving the lovebirds, so she called him over to us. “Brian, these lovely young people would like to get a valuation on this ring.”

  “Yes. Hello, Elizabeth,” he greeted. I was quite surprised he remembered my name. It had been many years since I’d been in this shop. “How is your mum? It’s been quite a long time since I’ve seen her.”

  “Oh, she’s really good, thank you, Mr. Hogan. I’m actually quite shocked you remember me.”

  “Well, your mother and grandmother are quite memorable, if you don’t mind me saying,” he chuckled.

  “Not at all. That’s actually a very polite way of saying it.” I grinned back.

  “Now, what do you have here?” He took the ring from his wife and looked at it through the jeweler’s glass.

  “It looks quite old. Have you ever seen it before, Brian?”

  “It was more than likely made by my father, but then again it could have been my grandfather. It does look quite old. If you give me about an hour I can give it a good clean and have a valuation certificate made up
for you,” he said, placing the ring back on the bench.

  “Do you think your father would remember who it was made for?” I asked getting a bit excited.

  “I could ask him, but I’m not sure if he will remember as he has made so many pieces over the years. He’s quite elderly now and his memory isn’t what it used to be. But I have to photograph it for the valuation certificate, so if you like, I can show him the photo and see if he recalls anything,” he offered with a smile.

  “If it’s not too much trouble, that would be fantastic.” I smiled back at him. He reminded me a lot of my dad with his kind eyes and gentle smile. “But don’t worry about a valuation certificate, we only really needed an idea of the value. There’s a bit of a story attached to the ring and we’re trying to track down the original owner.” I quickly filled him in on the story so far, hoping that when he spoke to his father someone may recall something useful.

  “Oh, what a sweet couple you two are,” smiled Mrs. Hogan. “Most people would sell the ring and keep the money.” Brian looked at her and then back at the ring.

  “Well, the clarity of the diamond is exceptional and it’s made from platinum, not white gold, so I would give you a rough estimate of about $10,000. Of course I would need to weigh and measure it to give you an exact value.” Brian looked up. “It has quite a unique band, so there’s a chance Dad may remember it.”

  I knew Brian was still talking but my mind was stuck on the $10,000 bit. Maybe returning it wasn’t that important after all. I mean, I did buy the house and that meant everything in it became mine, right? I looked at Riley to find him smiling at me. I think he can read my mind sometimes.

  After Brian photographed the ring to show his father, I gave him my number and thanked him for his time. Walking out of the Jeweler’s, Riley turned to me.

  “I rang my brother before about the man who was following us. If we see him again we need to get a license plate number and he’ll run a check on it for us. He thinks it was probably a coincidence though.”

  “Yeah, I’ve been wondering why anyone would want to follow us. I think the break in has made me a bit paranoid.”

  Working our way back through the shopping plaza to the car, we passed a florist, so I made a quick detour and bought a small bunch of flowers.

  “Do you think on the way home we could stop by the cemetery again? I didn’t feel right not leaving anything for your Grandpop.”

  ****

  After an uneventful trip home, via the cemetery, I spent the rest of the day trying to get some work done. I had a meeting in the city tomorrow with Scott and the client to talk about how their financials were looking so far this year. I was supposed to have had the figures to Scott yesterday, but hey, shit happens.

  By sunset, I had everything pretty much up to date. So I backed everything up, emailed the figures to Scott and closed my laptop down for the night. Riley had left a few hours earlier, so it was just me and Cat. I really needed to stop calling him that and use his proper name, but habits are hard to break. Turning the TV on in the lounge, I went into the kitchen to find what was left for dinner. A trip to the supermarket would be advantageous but who had the inclination for that?

  Finding some left over spaghetti, I zapped it in the microwave and gave Cat some really yummy cat biscuits. Well, at least according to the box they were yummy. It’s not like I’d actually tasted them or anything.

  I went back to the lounge. My oversized armchair was probably big enough for two, but it was perfect for me to spread out on. Which is exactly what I did. Ready for a bit of TV time to catch up on my favourite shows, I put my feet up and relaxed. I had to admit life wasn’t too bad at the moment. Sure the décor of the room was pretty awful but progress was being made. If I could just keep Riley around long enough to finish the whole house, I’d be set.

  About half an hour and quite a bit of channel surfing later, I came across a local current affairs show doing a story on the Global Ministry. I thought of Grandma Mabel and how she’d enjoyed her day there, so I turned up the volume on the TV and listened. It was just a human-interest piece about the family who ran the church but proved to be quite interesting.

  Apparently Grandma was right when she said the grandfather of the present minister had started it. He’d had two children—a girl named Mina and a boy Charles. The grandson, David Thornton was the present minister. Even though it was his father, Charles who had made the church what is was today, David had continued to help the congregation grow. Not much was said about Charles’ sister, only that she’d married and had a child, and that she kept pretty much to herself, never in the public eye like her brother. Not everyone was cut out for that kind of attention, I supposed.

  The story continued to show footage of the Sunday Services they held and there was a lot of singing and arm waving. I think my Sunday school training had made me a bit more of a traditional girl, even though I rarely stepped foot inside a church anymore. I know I should go more often than once a year at Christmas time, but Mum always told me you could pray behind a bus stop so that was more my kind of scene, speaking to God in a more relaxed setting. When it was over I did a bit more channel surfing and found a rerun of Big Bang Theory, so I sat back for a few hours of laughter.

  It was midnight when I found myself asleep in the chair, now covered with a blanket and the television off.

  * * * *

  Riley was waiting for me when I got out the shower the following morning.

  “I wondered if you would mind if I gave my brother Jared a look at the ring and the letters. I thought he might be able to track a few things down for us, him being a detective,” he said.

  “Yeah, sure. They’re still in my bag from yesterday,” I said walking down the stairs. Reaching the kitchen, I grabbed my bag and pulled out everything Riley needed. I decided to keep the photo, though. I didn’t think it would be much use to him.

  “Are you still going into the city for your meeting today?” Riley asked, once we’d both had a cup of coffee.

  “Yeah, my meeting’s at eleven thirty but I should be there a bit earlier so I can go over some notes with Scott.” This was always the plan but rarely did I ever get there early.

  “Did you want to get a lift in with me? I’m meeting Jared at twelve so I could drop you first and then meet him at the station after that,” Riley asked.

  Now that’s a hard one, I thought. I could make the boring trip into the city by myself or spend half an hour or so with Riley.

  “Sounds good. What time are we leaving?” I smiled.

  * * * *

  With Riley driving I should be at my meeting with plenty of time to spare but today, we kept being stopped by roadwork. By the time Riley dropped me off, I was running late. Damn and double damn. Scott of course, was waiting.

  “You’re late, Elizabeth,” he said, stating what I already knew. He walked over to me and kissed me on the cheek. Lucky for me, the client was also running late, so I was being let off without a lecture.

  “You only just made it. I believe Mr. Thompson is in the lobby waiting,” said Scott, frowning.

  “Where’s Brenda?” I asked, ignoring his disapproving look. “I didn’t see her at her desk.”

  “She’s not feeling very well today, so I gave her the day off,” he said walking to the other side of his desk and sitting down. “I thought after this meeting, maybe I would take the rest of the day off and we could spend some time together.”

  “That would be nice. I haven’t seen much of you lately.” I couldn’t say anymore as there was a knock at the door and Mr. Thompson was escorted in by the office junior.

  The meeting took a bit over an hour and the client seemed happy with how things were progressing, so Scott was in a particularly good mood when we headed out to lunch. As we walked towards the restaurant I filled him in on all that had been happening with the Will Hunt as I was calling it.

  “I think you are making too much out of this, Elizabeth. I mean really, it all sounds like a coinciden
ce to me,” said Scott, as we walked side by side. Saying it all out loud in broad daylight had me questioning it as well. It all sounded a bit far-fetched. Things like this just didn’t happen in everyday life.

  After lunch I talked Scott into a walk around the park. As he still thought I should lose a bit of weight and I had consumed a whole piece of mud cake with lunch—yes, it was delicious and worth every calorie—he didn’t hesitate in agreeing.

  After a few minutes in the park itself, it was easy to forget you were actually in the city. It was so beautiful here. It was pretty busy though, as many people tried to enjoy their lunch break away from their offices. Scott seemed pretty relaxed as we walked, so I decided to bring up our last meeting in the sandwich shop.

  “Anything new happening at the office?” I asked, not wanting to be too direct. “Any new gossip?”

  “Really, you just can’t let that one go, can you?” I could feel the tension in Scott start to return.

  “I was only interested. It’s a bit lonely out in the suburbs.” I smiled to trying to get him to relax again.

  “Nobody new is sleeping with each other, the last I heard. Not that I actually listen to that rubbish.”

  “It’s not rubbish, Scott. Office affairs actually do happen.” I looked at him to see if there was any indication of guilt. None. I must have been imagining it. My imagination had been really busy lately.

  “You know, Elizabeth, there are a few things we need to talk about.”

  Uh-oh. That didn’t sound promising. I turned to face him, preparing myself for the worst. What I didn’t prepare myself for though, was to be pushed to the ground. I’d noticed a young guy in a hoodie walking behind us for the last few minutes, but as this is the city, I didn’t think too much of it. However, I thought a lot more of it when he grabbed my bag from my shoulder, pushed me and ran in the opposite direction as fast as he could. Trying to keep hold of my bag meant I didn’t get my hands out in front of me as fast as I should and fell head first to the hard concrete, banging my head as I landed. I could hear Scott yelling for someone to stop the bag thief but he didn’t heroically chase the baddie down and save my bag. Shit, shit and double shit.