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

  “Did you see the way he was looking at you?” one of them said to the group.

  “Yes. What a creep,” replied the woman who’d been looked at. I wondered if they were talking about Rodney.

  “He was trying to look in here when we walked in. Should we report him to management?” asked the third friend.

  “Yeah, well he was standing outside the door to the ladies toilets. Maybe he was waiting for someone.” They all turned and looked at me. I watched as they looked me up and down, taking in my ample chest and the amount of thigh I was showing from the very long split up the dress. Judging by the looks I was getting, they probably thought Scott was right. I looked like a hooker. I let out another sigh and leaned forward to put my shoes on. Grabbing my jacket, I flung it on as I stomped towards the door, listening to the whispers that followed.

  I took as deep a breath as possible before opening the door and prepared the speech I was going to give Rodney about how I have a lovely boyfriend and wasn’t interested in him.

  However, once outside the door, the only person I could see was a tall, bald-headed man who looked to be in his forties. He turned away from me when our eyes met; obviously embarrassed he was caught hanging around outside the ladies. Maybe the women should report him to management.

  Chapter Six

  By the time dinner was over and we were saying our goodbyes, I had consumed quite a bit of wine. This felt like the best way to get through the rest of the evening. I should probably let you know I’m not much of a drinker, so it didn’t take much for me to be quite intoxicated. Add to that my lack of oxygen and I was holding onto Scott’s arm in an attempt to stay focused and upright. Lucky for me the evening was a success and Scott was in a very good mood. He even seemed supportive when Rodney slid his hand across my bottom whilst leaning in for a friendly goodbye kiss on the cheek.

  I chose to ignore the irritability I felt at this and focused on staying happy. I was hoping later this evening I might even get lucky—if you know what I mean. I have to admit that with all the pheromones Riley put out, I was feeling just a little bit amorous. So, as you can see, I needed Scott to remain in his good mood.

  Allowing the valet to open the door to Scott’s beautiful black Mercedes C63 AMG, I slid onto the leather seat, enjoying the cool sensation seeping through the thin fabric of my dress. I love everything about this car but I especially love driving it. Not that I got the opportunity very often. It was fast and Scott complained I drove like a madman when I had my one and only drive. I mean, what was the point of Mercedes making this car so fast if it was only going to be driven like Granddad on a Sunday? Scott on the other hand, handled it like delicate glassware. Only ever opening and closing the doors by touching the handles, never the paint, and he drove it with extreme care, never, ever taking it over three thousand rpm.

  His mood had improved dramatically from earlier in the evening. Obviously all the stress of trying to win a new client had him pretty wound up. Much to my relief, he hadn’t mentioned the dress.

  “Where are we going?” I asked in my most seductive voice, reaching over and running my fingers through his short, dark hair.

  “My place,” he said as he turned to me and smiled.

  Yes! I knew that look. Lucky, here I come.

  ****

  Scott lives in a new penthouse apartment with a spectacular view out over the city. It‘s very modern with lots of glass and stainless steel. It helps he has a house cleaner. Personally, the thought of cleaning all of that glass and stainless had me coming out in hives. The master bedroom is very dark, with lots of black wood and charcoal color and he has the largest bed I’ve ever had the pleasure of sleeping in. I really could understand why he didn’t like sleeping over at my place. Even before I moved, he always preferred we stay here. The strange thing was this place didn’t feel like a home. There were no books left lying around, no dirty dishes in the sink, even his toothbrush had a home safely out of sight in the cupboard. It was a lot like Scott, I suppose. Very pristine and never gave away any secrets. Loosening his tie, he walked towards me and pulled me into his arms.

  “I’m sorry I was such a jerk earlier. I was pretty wound up about the meeting. It went well though, don’t you think?”

  “Well, they did say they were phoning Mr. Bradley tomorrow to sign a client contract,” I smiled.

  “Yes, they did. You did well. They seemed quite impressed with you actually.” Yes, particularly Rodney, I thought.

  “Well, I do my best!” I laughed.

  “You do look very beautiful,” Scott whispered in my ear. “You were lucky though. In future you really need to be a bit more organized, Elizabeth, and be prepared ahead of time.” I heard the warning tone in his voice.

  Looking into his eyes, I quickly realized I was about to lose him here and I really needed an evening of romance.

  “Anyway, it doesn’t matter now. What matters is you were truly amazing and made up for my inabilities.” I smiled, undoing his tie and throwing it on the floor. I noticed a look pass through Scott’s eyes and I have a suspicion it was annoyance. “I love this suit on you. The color brings out the grey in your eyes,” I said, quickly diverting his attention away from the tie. I stood on my tiptoes and lightly kissed his lips as I slipped his off his jacket. He still felt a little wound up, but a bit of coaxing and his lips softened. Pulling away from me, he turned and quickly hung up the jacket and tie I had thrown on the floor. Turning back, he grabbed me around the waist and pulled me in close as his hand quickly moved to magic places. His other hand on the back of my dress, I felt him pull the zipper down—thank God—and my dress fall to the floor as he pushed me back on the bed.

  “It’s okay, you can make it up to me,” he whispered.

  Well…you can guess what was going to happen next.

  * * * *

  Well, that was a bit quick…and I must say very disappointing! I know it had been awhile but he was very quick on the trigger. So quick, I didn’t even finish! Not that he seemed to notice. At the moment he was in the shower. I had asked him to lay with me for a while and cuddle but he wasn’t much of a cuddler. He prefers showering straight away as he doesn’t like feeling sweaty. Personally, I have no idea how he could be sweaty after that performance. It didn’t last long enough to break a sweat. I wondered if Riley liked feeling sweaty.

  Sitting up with a gasp, I wondered where the hell that thought had come from! Looking towards the bathroom door, I could still hear the shower running, so I was safe in the knowledge Scott hadn’t heard my thoughts. Phew, that was lucky. I really should keep my imagination in check a bit better than I did.

  When Scott finally came back I asked him to take me home.

  “No, I’d like you to stay. You know I don’t like driving at night”, he almost whined.

  “Yes I know, but I don’t have any other clothes here. I don’t even have a toothbrush.” I was never, and I mean never, allowed to keep any of my things here.

  “I’ll take you home in the morning. I have to be up early anyway, I’ve got a meeting first thing.” With that, Scott climbed into bed, turned his back and went to sleep.

  * * * *

  It turns out early was seven bloody thirty. This meant that as we pulled up outside my house, all my neighbors were out picking up the morning paper, waving the kids off to school or getting in their cars to drive to work. And what was I wearing? Last night’s dress, that’s what.

  Scott leaned over and gave me a kiss on my burning cheek. “I don’t mean to be rude but you need to get out. I have to be at the office by eight. I can’t be late for my meeting.”

  Sighing, I picked up my shoes and started my walk of shame. I noticed the black sedan parked in the street again, this time with the driver in it, but I was too embarrassed to go over and actually ask them if they could please park in a more appropriate spot. Next time, I thought.

  Allowing my hair to fall forward over my face, I almost ran to my front door.

  “Good morning!” calle
d out my neighbor, giving me a smile and a small wave. Great. She was a bit nosy and I could see her mentally picking up the phone and telling all her friends what a slut the lady next door was.

  “Morning,” I mumbled, opening my front door and almost launching myself inside. If I thought that was where my humiliation would end, I was wrong. Sitting at the kitchen table was Riley.

  God, you have one night of what can’t even be described as passion and every man and his dog has to know about it! All I need now is my mother to turn up and then the whole bloody world would know. Even Cat was giving me the look.

  “Obviously you had a good night,” remarked Riley with a frown.

  “Yes, thanks. Scott was very successful.” I tried to smile and act casually.

  “Looks like it,” he snapped. Getting up from the table, he walked to the sink and put his cup in it. “If you want me I’ll be in the attic stripping wallpaper,” he scowled.

  Well, someone got out of the wrong side of the bed this morning.

  I decided I should stay out of his way for a while, so after showering and putting on jeans and a t-shirt I headed over to introduce myself to the neighbors.

  It turns out my neighbors, Helen and Allen, have been here for fifteen years and know pretty much everything about everybody. The people on the other side of me, Dianne and Roger, are a retired couple who visit their daughter down south once a year. The family opposite has four children, two of whom are teenagers who sneak out through their bedroom windows so Mum and Dad won’t find out. Of course Helen sets this straight with Mum whenever she can and the old man, Edward, from down the end of the street is a Pastor, in case I needed him.

  “Well, that’s good to know,” I said through slightly gritted teeth. I mean, I know I did come home this morning in last night’s dress, but I did spend the night with my long-term boyfriend!

  “I was actually wondering if you knew the lady who used to live in my house,” I asked trying to get the subject off of me.

  “Oh yes, of course we did!” She laughed, as if my having to ask was the most ridiculous thing she’d heard in a long time. “We knew Avis very well. Allen used to mow her lawn for her. Of course, after she fell down the stairs the doctors moved her into a nursing home. We didn’t get to visit her very often. We’re very busy you know. Did I mention I’m a primary school teacher and Allen is the Principal?” She pushed her thick spectacles further up her beaky nose. “Well, now our children have grown up and left home, we spend most of our spare time helping children who don’t get the opportunity of a very good education. We do a lot of volunteer work you know and there’s always something to do in the gardens here. That’s what keeps Allen busy most of the time he’s home.” I was thinking Allen probably hid out in the garden for a bit of peace and quiet. “That’s why our house is the best looking in the street,” she beamed. “Of course, being right next to yours doesn’t help the street appeal that much. But I’m sure now you own it, it will sparkle in no time.” Finally, she stopped for a breath and smiled. She was quite a harsh-looking lady, with short, dyed black hair and bucked teeth. I could just imagine what the school kids called her behind her back. Her husband walked towards us and I must say he was not at all what I’d expected. He wasn’t bad looking with bright red hair and he actually looked very fit.

  “Hi Lizzie, I’m Allen,” he said extending his hand to shake mine. I could picture him as a Principal; he spoke very gently. He had a kind smile and I decided instantly I liked him. Pitied him was probably a more accurate verb, I couldn’t imagine Helen would be easy to live with.

  “Helen was just telling me you used to mow the lawn for Avis,” I said pointing towards my house.

  “Yes, I kept mowing it right up until it sold. Then I thought I should probably mind my own business. I didn’t want to upset my new neighbors,” he smiled.

  “Really, you wouldn’t have upset me at all,” I laughed. “In fact mowing it would have put you on the favourite neighbor list,” I joked. The sour look on Helen‘s face told me she obviously didn’t like my sense of humor. “I was wondering if you could tell me a bit about Avis.” I continued, undeterred by her attitude.

  “Well, there’s not much to tell,” said Helen “She was very elderly, she turned eighty-seven on her last birthday. I, of course, made her a cake and took it over for her. I mean, she never had any visitors and it must have been very lonely having a birthday with no one around. We’re very fortunate, aren’t we Al, that our children visit us on a very regular basis,” she said smugly.

  “Did she have any children?” I asked looking at Allen, secretly wishing Helen would shut up.

  “No, she actually never married. She once told me that when she was younger, she looked after her elderly mother. As far as I knew she was an only child and by the time her mother passed away, she felt she was too old to find that someone special. She was a very sweet lady, if a little lonely,” explained Allen.

  “She did have a cat,” Helen added with distaste. “It was quite a large ginger cat. I haven’t seen it in a while, which is a blessing as it always used my garden as a toilet. Didn’t it, Al?”

  The cat she was talking about was at present sleeping on the window seat in my lounge room.

  “Oh, you don’t by any chance know the name of the Nursing Home Avis went into do you?” I asked standing, ready to make a fast retreat.

  “Yes, we did visit her once when she first moved there. I’ll write it all down for you,” Allen said with a smile.

  With the new information I had about Avis, I headed back towards my house taking a shortcut across the lawn. I really did need to mow this grass, it was past my knees already and I was getting green seeds sticking to my jeans.

  Damn, those things are really hard to get rid of!

  By the time I got back to my front door, I was green from the knees down. Every time I tried to wipe them off, they just stuck to my hands. Flicking my fingers to try to get rid of the bloody things, I thought maybe throwing these jeans away might be a good idea. I didn’t think I’d ever get all those grass seeds off. Now, I know the inside of my house is a bit of a mess but I didn’t want grass seeds everywhere, so I decided I would take my jeans off outside and quickly run upstairs to my bedroom for a clean pair. Riley was safely in the attic so I didn’t need to worry about running into him. Checking all the neighbors were safely in their houses, I slipped out of my jeans. I stepped through the open front door and was heading for the stairs when my phone rang.

  Damn, I hated leaving a ringing phone. Thinking I could quickly grab it and run upstairs while I spoke, I went searching for it. Now where did I leave it?

  I could hear it ringing louder as I moved into the kitchen and that’s when I remembered I had left it in my purse from last night. Picking it up, I saw it was my mother.

  “Hello,” I answered.

  “Hel…are…there…Liz…” Damn signal. I moved out to the hallway to try to get a better reception.

  “Hello. Can you hear me now?” I asked. If I stood near the front door the signal improved.

  “Oh yes. Now I can hear you. Where are you, love?” asked Mum. My mum calls everybody Love. She really is the sweetest lady. She’s all of 4 foot 7 inches tall, a tad plump and has short brown, curly hair she styles in an Afro. However, don’t always be fooled by her exterior—she has a seriously bad temper if you push the right buttons.

  “Hi Mum. What’s up?”

  “Well I was thinking, seeing how we haven’t seen your new house since you’ve moved in, I would bring Grandma Mabel over for a visit.”

  “That would be great.” I actually loved Grandma Mabel. As I mentioned earlier she is a bit of a wild card but you were never bored when she was around. My Grandpop passed away when I was really young and she’d lived alone up until last year when she moved in with Mum and Dad. I listened as Mum started to tell me about how she and Auntie M were redecorating her lounge room but I lost concentration when I spotted something under the bottom stair. Kneeling down,
I bent over to have a closer look.

  What the hell was that? Squinting into the darkness, trying to get a grasp on what I was looking at, I quickly realized it was a rat. A very large rat—and, as I was on my hands and knees, it was now only inches from my face. So close in fact, I could see its beady little eyes and twitchy little whiskers.

  “Ahhhhhh!” I screamed, jumping up at record speed.

  “What? What is it, love? Are you okay?” Those were the last words I heard from Mum because I think I lost signal when I threw my phone at the rodent hunkered down under the stair.

  “Ahh! Get out, Get out!” I screamed, running in circles, looking for something to stand on. I did not want that furry little thing running over my feet and up my legs, thank you very much. Seconds later, Riley came running down the stairs.

  “What is it? What’s wrong?”

  “There’s a rat! Under there!” I yelled, pointing to the stair, hopping from one foot to the other. Riley bent down, reached under the stair and pulled out the rat by its tail. It squeaked and squealed but he casually opened the front door and threw it outside. Just like that.

  I was hyperventilating at this point and had started to shake. I hate rodents. And where the bloody hell was that cat? I was obviously feeding him too well.

  “Are you okay?” Riley smiled, looking down at me. “And why are your pants outside?”

  Damn. In my panic about the rat I had forgotten all I was wearing were my underpants and a singlet top. Luckily for me though, I had put on my good Victoria Secret panties and not my big old period panties. I’m not sure whether it was seeing me in my underwear or seeing me dance around like a mad woman, but Riley seemed to be in a better mood. Probably it was the latter.