Wicked Little Lies- Molly Page 5

  All too soon my alarm dinged alerting me to the fact that the bride and groom would be on their way, so I grabbed my camera gear and made my way to the spot that Brooke had chosen.

  I was expecting the event planners to be setting up the chairs for the guests to sit on, so I was surprised to find I was the only one here. Fine by me. It gave me more time to snap a few shots of my own.

  However, the closer it got to eleven a.m., the more antsy I started to get. So far no one had turned up and I was doubting my memory as to where the ceremony was going to be.

  I hurriedly opened my online diary and checked the notes. It definitely read it was to be here, at exactly eleven. So, where was she?

  Dialing her number, I waited for the call to connect, but a recorded voice alerted me that this number was no longer in use. I double checked the number she had given me.

  Yep, that was right. I scrolled back through my call list to ensure that the number in my diary was the same number she had called me on a few days prior. Yep. So why was it now disconnected? Had she cancelled the event and forgotten to cancel the photographer?

  This had never happened to me before. I had never once made a mistake with a booking. As much as I hated to call Lizzie, I needed to verify that Brooke hadn’t called her to change the venue.

  “Hello,” she answered on the first ring.

  “Morning gorgeous,” I sang, attempting to keep my voice light and upbeat. “I’m so sorry to bother you about this, but I’m stuck.”

  “It’s okay. I’m just sitting here at the hospital with Riley.” Her voice sounded fatigued and I figured she hadn’t had much sleep.

  “How are you both?”

  “I’m fine. Riley’s fine. We’re both fine.” Then why didn’t she sound fine?

  “I’m glad to hear that. Is it okay if I visit this morning? You’re probably inundated with people and want some quiet time.” I bit my thumbnail, suddenly doubting everything.

  “No. Well, yes. We’ve had a lot of visitors, but that’s a good thing. It stops me from thinking too much.”

  “In that case I don’t feel as bad about calling with a question about work.”

  “Works great. Definitely will keep my mind from going over everything that has happened. What do you need?”

  “I agreed to take some photos for a vow renewal this morning.”

  “Yeah, that’s for Brooke, right?”

  “Yes! Only with the whole pregnancy thing I think my brain has turned to mush.”

  “Why? What’s happened?”

  “The diary says that she wanted to have it in Alexandra park at eleven. Only no one is here.”

  “That’s right. I checked the booking a couple of days ago.”

  “Did you confirm it by calling her?”

  “Ahuh. Maybe she’s just been held up.”

  “Possibly. Only no one is here. No planners, no celebrant, no guests. Just me.”

  “Oh. Then maybe the time changed. Have you tried calling her?”

  “Yes. Her number is disconnected.”

  “Well that’s weird. Give me a minute and I’ll try to call her.”

  “No! You have enough to do. I just thought I’d double check that she hadn’t changed it and I’d missed the memo.”

  “Sorry Molly. Everything sounded legit when I spoke to her. Not once did I get the feeling it was a prank.”

  “Don’t worry about it. You’ve had the week from hell. You don’t need to concern yourself with misunderstandings like this.”

  Lizzie’s sigh was long and slow, and filled with sadness.

  “Is Riley up for a coffee from Café by the River?” I asked. “I’ll bring you both one when I come up.”

  “That would be amazing! The coffee here is terrible, and if he doesn’t feel like drinking it, I sure as heck will.”

  I smiled and a part of my anxiety settled.

  After ending my call, I had no other option than to pack my gear up and leave. If Brooke called and demanded to know where I was, then I would race over to her as fast as humanly possible. And if she left a bad review on my website, then so be it.

  Tom was happy to see me twice in one day, and took his time making my order so that it was just perfect. He’d heard about what had happened to Lizzie and Riley on the news and once again gave me the order for free, adding three chocolate brownies for good measure. I wasn’t sure how his boss and the owner of the business, Judy, would feel about all the free stuff he kept giving me, but I wasn’t in the mood to argue. Instead I thanked him and made my way to the hospital.

  ****

  The Westport General Hospital took up an entire block with Main Road to the North, Nelson Road to the South, Wood Street on the West, and Bell Road on the East. The main entrance was accessed from Main Road. The glass doors had just swished open when my phone rang from the depths of my handbag. Only problem was my hands were full with a carry tray of coffees and a bag of goodies. I found a wall, placed everything on it and just grabbed my phone before the call diverted to message bank.

  My knees shook as Matt’s smiling face shone back at me.

  “Matt!”

  However, I wasn’t fast enough. The line was silent. Hurriedly checking the call, I saw that I’d missed it. Damn! My heart pounded as I hit redial and waited for it to reconnect.

  “You’ve reached Matt. Sorry I can’t take your call right now, but please leave your number and I will get back to you ASAP.”

  My heart sank and mixed with my breakfast.

  “It’s me. Sorry I missed you, but please, please call me back.” A thousand thoughts raced, and I stuttered on what to say. “I, ummm, I...miss you.” Hitting end, I sighed and sunk my backside on to the wall and checked the message that he left on my voice mail.

  Matt’s voice was strong and familiar, and a tightness started around my heart. “I’m sorry I haven’t called for a while, but my signal has been out of range.”

  His face filled my mind when I closed my eyes. I could see his dark eyes brimming with worry as his deep voice radiated his concern. I could feel his heat and smell his woody scent and the pang grabbed my heart and held on tight.

  “I’ve got a weak signal now, but I’ll try you again when I get signal back.” There was a long pause and his breath sounded heavy down the phone. “I ummm, I’ll talk soon.”

  As the call ended a lone tear ran down my cheek and loneliness surrounded me. I swiped at the tear, clutched my phone tight and watched the world continue its path, wishing that Matt would quickly call me back. Several cars pulled into the fifteen-minute drop off zone in front of the hospital. An elderly lady got out of one and her partner raced to help her into a wheelchair. He fussed over her telling her to wait while he moved the car, and I envied their relationship. Would Matt be there for me when I was that age? As my phone lay silently in my palm, a stab of reality told me he wasn’t even here for me now, so what were my chances of him being around when I was eighty?

  By the time the drop off zone had repopulated with new vehicles three times, I’d watched at least a dozen people come and go through the entrance doors. I retried Matt only to get his message bank again and again.

  I sighed, threw my phone into my handbag and picked up the drinks, making my way inside.

  The reception area was busy at this time of day, but thankfully I knew where I was going, so I followed the signs to the purple lift and hit the button for level three.

  Riley was in a private ward, which was good considering the noise level my family created. I was sure the staff would frown upon it if he’d had to share with a stranger.

  “Where’s mine?” demanded Danny, looking at the tray of drinks I was carrying, his hip cocked against the bed.

  “I didn’t know you were going to be here!”

  “Humph.”

  Rolling my eyes, I pushed past him and placed the drinks on the table over the bed. Lizzie jumped up and fell into my arms for a much-needed hug. I just wasn’t sure which of us needed it most.

&nb
sp; Lizzie and I were a lot alike in a lot of ways. But we were also very different. Me, I had to put a lot of effort into looking my best. I wore this year’s fashions and designer shoes and hid the real me behind perfect make up. Lizzie, well she looked beautiful without any of that. While my curls were tamed, hers ran wild. My fitted dress was matched with her shorts and T-shirts, and my designer shoes met her sandals. Yet she was effortlessly beautiful, and I envied her. Not that I would ever tell her that of course. Today though, she looked pale, drawn and exhausted, and the medical tape across her throat was a visual reminder of what had happened.

  “Did you get any sleep last night?” I asked her.

  “Not really. The doctors wanted me to go home, but I wouldn’t. So, they made me a cot up here.”

  I turned to look at Riley. His gorgeous blue eyes fluttered open and he gave me a small smile. He was god-like good looking and had the body to go with it. He was a strong man, but to see him lying in the bed connected to an IV, his skin pale and dark rings under his eyes caused a hitch in my voice.

  “How are you feeling?” I asked moving to give him a kiss on the cheek.

  “Been better, but I’m getting there.”

  “How long do you have to stay here?”

  “Hopefully I can go home tomorrow.”

  “Provided he does as he’s told and improves,” added Lizzie.

  “You keep frowning like that and you’re going to need botox,” snapped Danny, his gaze falling to her brow.

  “So are you,” she retaliated with a grin.

  Danny gasped and his hand flew to his forehead as he smoothed his lines away.

  “What are you doing here at this time of day?” I asked as I handed him the cup of coffee Tom had made for me.

  “Andrew moved a few appointments around so I could get here in my lunch hour. Is that really for me?” he asked, accepting the cup.

  “Sure. I’ve just had one, so you can have mine.” I didn’t add that it was decaf. He’d figure out soon enough. “I’ll fight you for the brownie though.”

  “That’s fine. I’ve just had three Turkish delights from the box Riley’s mum left him.”

  “Damn you.” I sighed, knowing I would swap a brownie for Turkish delight any day.

  “What happened with the vow renewal?” Lizzie asked, before Danny and I could get into a squabbling match.

  “No one turned up.”

  “Some people are so inconsiderate,” scoffed Danny, perching himself on the end of the bed.

  “Brooke was kind of weird when she called me too,” I added, bringing them up to date with the call I’d had earlier in the week and how she’d asked me about Matt.

  “Why would she ask you about him?” Danny asked, his nose scrunched.

  “Oh! He called us this morning,” interrupted Lizzie, her eyes wide.

  “Matt did?”

  “Yeah. He heard what had happened and wanted to know that we were okay.”

  “Has he called you yet?” Danny asked me, as Riley closed his eyes and drifted back to sleep.

  “On the way in, but I missed it. I tried to call him back, but it went to messages again.” I wanted to ask why he’d called Lizzie before he called me, but that sounded needy.

  “On my way to the job this morning I got a text from an unknown caller,” I explained pulling up the message and the photo. “It was about Matt too.”

  Lizzie and Danny both leaned to look over my shoulder.

  “That’s weird,” said Lizzie, zooming in on the photo.

  “I wanted to believe that it was an old photo, but I asked Tom at the Café and he said these banners are new.”

  “That doesn’t mean anything.”

  “Yes, it does. They were only put up on Monday, after Matt was supposedly overseas.”

  Both my siblings stared back at me, their thoughts unreadable.

  “So, he’s lying to you?” Lizzie asked. “That doesn’t sound like Matt.”

  I sighed. “No. He’s always been so open and honest with me.”

  “Do you believe that he came home without telling you, or do you think he never left?” Danny asked.

  “That’s a good question.”

  “Of course, it is. I only have good ones.” Danny smirked.

  “I don’t know the answer though.”

  The three of us spent the next hour running through the many possibilities of what Matt could be up to. None of what we came up with did anything to settle my unease, so by the time the nurse told us visiting hours were over, I was happy to kiss everyone on the cheek and head home.

  I still had a lot of editing to get done and I wanted to take Harper for a walk. It was such a beautiful afternoon, I figured I’d take him to the dog beach and let him run off lead. He loved it there and thinking of his happy little face made me feel far more settled than I had all day.

  The allocated parking at my building was in the basement. It was good to know that my car was locked up and safe, but at times the area was dark and a little bit scary. It was mid-afternoon and as I beeped the doors locked behind me, a chill ran down my spine.

  I shivered and checked there was no one else around and hightailed it to the elevator. Waiting for it to arrive felt like an eternity and I released a deep breath as the doors pinged open and my neighbor Valerie smiled back at me.

  “Oh Molly! What a surprise.”

  “Hey Val. How are you today?” Valerie looked like she was ready for yoga. Her hot pink, leopard print pants matched what I could see of her sports bra. Her black T-shirt was fitted and cut low in the front, and her shoes were the latest Nike had to offer. She didn’t look a day over fifty and I hoped when I clocked over my sixty sixth birthday I looked half as good as she did.

  “I’m running late for my class, and I’ll have to stand up the back. How am I supposed to admire Adolphus from back there?”

  “New trainer?”

  “Yes, and he’s divine.” She smiled a dreamy smile. “I thought you were home already.”

  “No, no. I’ve been out on a job then I went to visit Lizzie and Riley. Why did you think that?”

  “Oh, there was a lot of banging and clattering in your apartment. I thought you and Matt were having a good time until I remembered he’s still overseas, right?” She winked as we switched places.

  “Harper’s probably found his secret stash of biscuits again.” I shook my head, imagining the mess I was about to walk into.

  “Oh geez. Well, good luck with that!”

  “Enjoy your yoga class.” I waved as the elevator doors closed and I was lifted to the third floor.

  I really hoped Harper hadn’t made too much of a mess, but I could forgive him. I’d meant to be home about an hour before now, so I could hardly blame him for getting bored.

  Rummaging for my keys in the bottom of my bag, I moved to unlock my door. However, as I pushed it into the lock the door creaked open with the pressure, and my heart missed a beat.

  Instantly my mind jumped to the fact that I’d been broken into and my feet glued themselves to the floor.

  “Hello!” I called, wishing Val was still here as I nudged the door and it swung against the wall. “Is anyone there?” I wasn’t really expecting a reply, but you just never know, right?

  Silence echoed loudly back to me, and I took a tentative step inside, thinking through the events of the morning and if I just missed closing the door properly when I left.

  Harper didn’t come running which pushed my anxiety into the unhealthy range, so I quietly dropped my keys into the dish on the hall stand, kicked off my shoes and padded across the tiles towards the lounge room.

  Everything looked just the way I had left it. The cushions were still in place on the couch. The sliding balcony doors were still closed and locked. The television was right where it should be, and my computer was still in place on my desk.

  “Harper!” I called, my eyes wide as I scanned for anything or anyone that shouldn’t be there. “Where are you, boy?”

  I h
urried towards the kitchen. Like the lounge everything was just the way it should be. If I’d been burgled then one thing I knew for sure was that they hadn’t been hungry as even the box of chocolates Matt had left me was still sitting in the counter top.

  Okay, my heart rate dropped with the knowledge that I probably hadn’t been burgled. I must have not locked the front door properly when I left and the wind had blown it ajar.

  But where was Harper?

  He hadn’t been lying on the armchair that gave him the view outside, where he could bark at any birds that dared land on my balcony, and he wasn’t in the kitchen lying in front of the pantry waiting for a treat. Hmmm.

  Okay, the only other place he would be was on the bed. Concern that he may not be feeling well prickled my neck as I quickened my step.

  “Harpie! Harpsidoodle! I have Smacko’s.”

  My bedroom was situated at the back of the flat, and at some point in time it had been renovated so that the second bedroom and bathroom had been converted into a walk in robe and largish ensuite. It had a small balcony that overlooked a park with the road beyond, floor to ceiling windows that let the sunlight in, and a divot on my pillow where Harper had indeed been sleeping. However, he wasn’t there now, and my blood pressure rose as my mind started to race. There was nowhere else for him to hide. So, where was he?

  “Harper?”

  He wouldn’t have left, would he? The front door had been ajar and he could have snuck out at any time. But unless he’d learned how to operate the elevator, Val would have found him in the hallway. So maybe he was stuck somewhere.

  “Harper!” I yelled, running back to the lounge, hoping I’d find him under the couch. Even though I had no real idea how he could be stuck there when it sat a good foot off the tiles.

  Sinking to my knees my breath caught as nothing but dust bunnies came rolling towards me. Okay. Where was he?

  Panic started to take hold and hindered my ability to think clearly. I sat back on my heels and closed my eyes, the ticking of the clock loud in the silence.

  What should I do? Was there a helpline I could call?

  Now more than ever I missed Matt. He would know what to say to help clear my mind and get my thoughts straight. He would know how to calm me. But he wasn’t here, and I had to do this on my own.