Dream Cottage (21 page)

“How did Ardi know about the gold?” Max shook his head.

“It was Leo, of course. He was down in the tunnel, wasn’t he? I bet he was trying to steal the gold. When he tried to climb down, he must have fallen, hence the broken ankle. Oh, and did you know that Ardi had been sacked from her job?”

“No!” Max looked stunned. “How? Why?”

“For stealing!” Greta looked angrily up at the roof of Greenacres.

“Bloody hell! So she was short of dosh and decided to cash in on our stash of booty then?”

“Yep, conniving little cow! Still, she won’t be stealing any more, will she?”

“But if that was the case, how did Leo know about it?”

“Think about it, Max. I know I am gullible, but I think I might have the reason.” Greta looked smug.

“Go on,” Max prompted.

“Remember how anxious the Rev Oli always was when you mentioned the demise of his tenant?”

“Yes.”

“And the reason he gave for his anxiety, just before he died?”

“Yes.”

“Well, there is your answer.”

Max thought for a while.

“You mean, Marcus Mowbrie?”

“The same. He had a hold over Rev Oli, didn’t he? Insisted that the Rev was to sell Greenacres to him and no one else. Mowbrie must have known about the gold.”

“Yes, old news.”

“So who do you think would be in a position to assist Marcus Mowbrie?”

“Leo and Ardi?”

“Yep, Laurel and Hardy. She was out of work, out of money. Leo’s work doesn’t pay that well. They were short
of cash. Also, there is something interesting the police mentioned earlier. When they asked how long Leo and she had been together, I said about six months. Six months… six months before a work permit runs out? Coincidence, don’t you think?”

“Possibly. I thought it didn’t matter about permits now. Anyway… and?”

“Mowbrie was in the pub that time when we had the family lunch, wasn’t he?”

“Yes.”

“He interrupted our conversation, overheard us when we talked about Greenacres.”

“He did.”

“Don’t you think it was coincidence that he was on the table next to ours and was in earshot?”

“Hadn’t really thought about it.” Max scratched his head. “Have you mentioned all this to the police?”

“Not yet, but I think I am about to. Oh and they have inside information on Nonie too, sadly it’s not good news.”

Max shook his head.

“She is a fake, isn’t she?”

Greta kissed Max on the cheek.

“Yes, she is wanted by the Met for fraud and she’s been on the run for a fortnight. Sorry, Max, you were right. So was the father. The police want to ask me some more questions. I think I need to go to the station with them. They want more information on Nonie.”

Max looked alarmed.

“You aren’t being arrested, are you?” he called back to Greta, who was being escorted by an officer to a waiting car.

“No, don’t be silly. They just want to ask a few questions. Wish me luck!”

“Let me get this straight, Mrs Berkley. You have said you attended a show in London with Ms Spangler as the star act.”

“Yes, she was carrying out a spiritual evening. It was one of her nights on tour.”

“Trouble is, she wasn’t on a nationwide tour. That night you attended was the only night she was booked to perform.”

Greta looked baffled.

“But her website… the newspaper said she was on tour…” she broke off and put her hand to her mouth.

“One of her wheezes, unfortunately. I did tell you she is a con artist. Right, then you employed her to investigate… uh… what did you say…?”

Greta looked humiliated.

“Paranormal activity…” she whispered.

“At your newly acquired property?”

“Yes.” Greta ran her hand through her hair.

“Didn’t it seem odd to you that she was able to come over to the Island on a whim to your property? If she was on a nationwide tour, she wouldn’t have been able to drop everything, she would have had pre-arranged show dates. Don’t you find that odd, Mrs Berkley?”

Greta shook her head.

“No. Because I thought she was… oh… genuine.”

“That’s how confidence tricksters operate, Mrs Berkley. They win your trust; get you to like them, to trust them. That’s how it works. Sadly this is not the first time I have investigated this sort of crime and, no doubt, it won’t be the last.”

“Right,” Greta answered bleakly. She wished Max were with her.

“So, she found paranormal activity in the cottage?”

“So she said; but then, so did I.”

“How did she deal with it?”

Greta thought back to Nonie’s first visit.

“She wasn’t much help.”

“Did you pay her at this stage?”

“Yes, I paid her and gave her money for her travelling expenses.”

“Did she solve your paranormal problem on that occasion?”

Greta felt terrible.

“No. She told me she was sapped of energy.”

“Didn’t that ring any alarm bells to you? At this stage, Mrs Berkley?”

“No, because I thought… she was genuine.” Greta closed her eyes in humiliation.

“But then, you called her back on another occasion.” The officer continued to barrage Greta with questions.

Greta looked to the ceiling.

“Yes,” she whispered.

“And did she solve your paranormal problem?”

“Sort of; but then… well, no.”

“Did you pay her on that occasion?”

“No, I offered her to stay over at my parents’ property as she was feeling drained and weak; she suffers from
asthma. I took pity on her. She stayed at their property.”

“Was she alone at the property for any length of time?”

“She was in her room, on the first afternoon, resting,” Greta recalled.

“Was there any other time she was alone at your parents’ property?”

Greta thought hard.

“Hmmn, not that I remember.”

“Have your parents reported anything missing from their property?”

Greta shook her head.

“No, mummy hasn’t said anything has gone missing.”

The officer scribbled further notes on a pad.

“I think we need to make them aware of Ms Spangler’s situation. And we need them to check for any missing items.”

“It’s all been rather hectic, with my brother in hospital; I haven’t had a chance to speak with them yet. They are very upset about Leo, no doubt they will be devastated about Ardi; they really thought a lot of her,” Greta surmised.

“Okay, thank you very much for the information you have given us this afternoon. We will be in touch if we need to speak to you any more.” The officer closed her notebook and indicated towards the door.

“You will let me know what happens in respect of Nonie, won’t you?” Greta looked over to the officer as she made her way to the door.

“Of course,” was the swift reply. “Goodbye, Mrs Berkley.”

“Bye.” Greta closed the door behind her.

To her surprise, Max was in the reception area. He looked very worried and rushed over to Greta’s side.

“Darling, are you all right?” He held her close to his chest.

“Yes, I’m fine. I’m free to go, don’t worry, Max.” She squeezed him back. They walked out of the police station and over to where Max had parked the car.

“All this just doesn’t seem real,” Greta reflected, she drifted into a daydream. “It all just seems like a crazy dream…”

“Greta! Greta? Darling, can you hear me?”

Greta frowned.

“Now what? Yes, I can hear you, mummy.”

“Oh thank goodness. You really had us all really very worried,” her mother’s voice permeated the air.

Greta blinked. For some reason her eyes were closed but she could quite clearly hear her mother’s voice.

“Mummy? What’s wrong?” She opened her eyes and focused on Jeanne who was standing over her. Her face was white.

“Darling, do you know where you are?”

Greta thought her mother had been on the sherry.

“Of course I know where I am. Max and I have just left the police station…” she blinked her eyes once again. “Why are you dressed up like that? You look really smart! What’s he doing here?” She was staring at the paramedic.

Her mother smiled. She looked relieved.

“Because it’s your wedding day. How are you feeling?”

“But I’m already married. We got married ages ago…” Greta stopped talking, paused and looked down at what she was wearing. She felt constricted in her clothes.

“Why… mummy, what’s going on?” Greta was confused.

“You had a bit of a fright, darling. In fact, you had a terrible fright…” her mother began.

“Well, we all have, haven’t we? What with everything that happened at Greenacres, Ardi, Leo and Barnabas.”

Her mother looked surprised.

“What is Greenacres, darling?”

“Mummy, have you got amnesia? You know,
Greenacres
!”

“Sorry, darling, you’ve lost me. Maxim, do you want to speak to Greta?” Jeanne looked alarmed. “I think she is still concussed,” she added in a whisper.

Max knelt beside Greta and took her hand.

“Greta, it’s Max, darling.”

“Oh, thank the lord, please talk some sense to me.” Greta was relieved to see Max.

Max smiled nervously.

“Your mother is right, darling. It is our wedding day. You had an unfortunate encounter with a spider; fainted and fell. When you fell you hit your head on the edge of the table. You’ve been out stone cold for quite a long while.”

Greta looked annoyed.

“Don’t be so silly. Don’t you remember where we’ve been and what’s been happening?”

“No, I have been with you, here at the hotel all the time. I haven’t been anywhere and neither have you.” Max held Greta’s hand. “We did complete the ceremony, before you blacked out. But the minister had to leave. She had another wedding to attend. We will have to rearrange another time to collect the marriage certificate; she said it would be all right. We’ll have to wait until you are feeling better.” Max looked bleakly at Greta.

Greta smiled.

“Ha, ha! I’m really not that gullible, Max, but nice try.” She laughed and waited for Max’s response.

“Seriously, without a word of a lie. You fainted; it’s still our wedding day. That knock on the head must have 
really had an impact on your memory. Don’t worry, we are legally married.”

Greta looked down at her clothes and blinked in astonishment. She was wearing her wedding gown. Her posy of limp roses lay on the floor and her parents were stood either side, trying to force disappointed smiles.

The paramedic was packing up his equipment.

“Greta will be fine. I am leaving now, but ring again if there are any problems.”

“Thank you very much.” Max shook the paramedic’s hand.

“Well done, old girl. Nice to see you back with us; in the land of the living!” Charles stepped forward. His foot crushed the bouquet of roses. Jeanne yelled at the top of her voice.

“Charles! You stupid fool! Watch where you are treading! You must be more careful!” Jeanne knelt down and scooped up the flattened roses. She wailed in despair. “Just to add to all the drama!”

“Don’t worry mummy; it’s not the end of the world.” Greta struggled to her feet from the floor. She brushed down her wedding gown and put a hand to her head. She felt her tiara. It was still safely in place. “Compared to what I have been through, this is a walk in the park!”

Jeanne held out her hand to steady Greta. Greta smiled.

“It’s okay; I’m feeling much better. I could do with a drink, though.” She looked at her bouquet. “I think we’ll leave this in here; it’s seen better days!”

Max held out his hand and Greta thankfully took it.

“Are you okay to carry on?” he asked.

“Of course, yes. I wouldn’t miss this for the world. It has taken ages to plan. We must enjoy it. Come on, let’s go and find the guests.”

Max looked relieved.

“You must tell me some time about what you’ve been through. From what you were saying, it was something pretty memorable.”

Greta stopped suddenly and looked in alarm at Max.

“Where’s Leo?”

“He’s here somewhere, in the garden, I think.”

“Is he all right? How is his ankle?”

Max looked baffled.

“Yeah, he’s fine, and so is his ankle.”

“Good, I’m so glad.”

“Really? Where did that come from?”

Greta frowned.

“Not sure. What about Ardi? Is, is she…”

“Yes, Ardi is here too.”

Greta looked pale.

“Just one more thing.” She held tightly on to Max’s arm.

“Yes?”

“Who married us?”

Max smiled with uncertainty.

“Uh, it was a Miss, oh sorry, can’t remember her name.”

“So it was a female? Not a man?”

“No, originally it was going to be the vicar, Reverend Oliphant. But he was taken ill. She stepped in at the last minute for him.”

Greta looked shocked. “But he is okay?”

“Yes, just some sort of virus. Nothing life threatening.”

“Right.”

“What difference does that make?” Max was intrigued.

Greta paused.

“No difference. I just wanted to make sure he was all right. Must be horrible being struck down.”

“He’s on the mend. Sends his very best regards to us both and he wishes us every happiness for the future, I
think that’s what the card read. I took a peek whilst you were… um… not in this world.”

“Have you ever heard of someone called Marcus Mowbrie?” Greta continued to rack Max’s brain.

“Marcus… no, can’t say I have.”

“That’s good; I don’t want you know him. He’s not a good person.”

“You obviously know him, by all accounts,” Max surmised.

“Not really, just an acquaintance. No, perhaps not even that.”

“Did I hear you mention Marcus Mowbrie?” Leo was stood in front of Greta.

“Oh Leo! You are okay! Thank god!” Greta threw herself into Leo’s arms, much to his surprise. He managed to untangle Greta’s vice-like grip on him. He held her at arm’s length.

“Bloody hell! You must have taken a real hard knock to your brain, sis.” He laughed.

“Are you all right with me?” Greta looked seriously at Leo.

He stopped laughing.

“Of course I am, what makes you think otherwise?”

“So you’re not jealous then?”

Leo thought hard for a moment.

“Er, no. Can’t say I am. You’re my sister, how could I be jealous of you?”

Greta hugged him tightly.

“I’m so glad; you will never know how much,” she whispered close to his ear.

“I think you need a lie down, Greta. You’ve gone all mushy! Oh, and why did you want to know about Marcus Mowbrie?”

Greta held Leo away from her.

“Do you know him?” she asked.

“Yes, sort of. He’s a local farmer. Has a farm not that far from mum and dad’s place. You’ve known of him for years as well.”

Greta looked puzzled.

“Have I? Where does he live?”

Leo grinned.

“Near Greenacres Farm. I heard he’s been trying to buy the place recently. Bit of a struggle from all accounts. The place is a real wreck apparently. It’s owned by the local vicar, so I’ve been told.”

Greta looked alarmed. “How do you know all this?”

Leo looked sheepish.

“Sorry, perhaps I’ve said too much. It needs renovating. Why, what’s wrong with that?”

“Does he know about its past, the history?” Greta looked around her in desperation.

“Haven’t got a clue,” Leo replied. “I should imagine he’s aware of it though. Apparently he has some sort of connection with it. Something to do with his family, some years ago. How come you know all about it? It’s not one of your supernatural projects, is it? I didn’t know you dabbled that much into the unknown!”

“Hmmm, he should be careful. Be really careful. I wonder if he knows about the tunnel! I wonder if he’s come across Barnabas!”

Max and Leo looked baffled.

“Do you think she is all right? The bump on her head seems to have made her talk a lot of gibberish,” Leo whispered.

“Leo, do you know something more about Greenacres than you are letting on?”

Leo frowned. “Can’t say, sis. Too much information…”

Greta walked away from Leo and took Max’s hand.
Taking a deep breath, Greta shrugged her shoulders and marched forward.