Home Truths (24 page)

Calum leant back against Bob's refurbished curved glass and brass-framed display case. Enjoying the sway of Jennifer's hips as she rounded a table setting, as her fingers slid over chairs and down drapes, and her breasts that rose and fell as she marvelled at her new surroundings.

‘This is the best thing that's ever happened to me. The photos Sofie sent of the tables and padded chairs didn't do them justice. It's all gorgeous and brilliant! I'm dying to see the kitchen.'

‘This way, and tell me if you need anything changed.' He held the swinging doors open for her.

‘Wow, it's a chef's dream! It's
my
dream. The steampunk cappuccino machine is brilliant, I love it. I love it all.' She laughed softly. ‘I can't wait to turn on the gas burners and create something. You'll be the first to have a meal out of this kitchen.'

‘You're on,' he said. He could hardly believe his luck
.
‘I'll get the courtyard sorted before Sofie gets here.'

‘She can't wait to start on the garden.' Jennifer ran her hands over sparkling new appliances. She turned to face him, a tender look in her eyes.

Damn, he itched to reach out, hold her and kiss her soft mouth, carry her upstairs and throw her on the bed covered in flowers, strip her naked and… But he didn't dare, not yet. He shoved his hands in his jeans pockets. After a long pause, she stepped closer. Her expression changed from one moment to the next — grateful, happy, awestruck, and a few others he couldn't fathom.

‘I'm so happy I decided to start a restaurant here. And you made it all so easy.'

‘I'm glad to have been part of it,' he said. Jeez, is that all he could come up with.
Tell
her you couldn't eat for weeks.
Tell
her you went to the mountains to scream.
Tell
her your dick doesn't work anymore unless she's around.
Tell
her it's a package deal that you come with the kitchen. ‘C'mon,' he managed to say. ‘I'll take your bags up.'

Calum grabbed two cases while Jennifer grappled with the smaller one, plus her handbag the size of a small hippo.

‘Same room?' he asked.

‘Yes, please.'

He could feel Jennifer behind him. Her heat stole up his back and around into his chest. As long as it stayed there and didn't burn a trail south, he'd be safe. He placed her suitcases at the end of the bed.

‘Are there any more bags outside?' He was out of breath, and it had nothing to do with the cases.

‘No, that's it. The rest is coming by crate on a container ship.'

‘This is it, you're staying for good?'

‘I've just spent thousands transforming this place; I intend to stay — forever.'

He nodded. ‘Nice idea, and a bit longer than last time.'
Ouch! Fuck
. He could've kicked himself, again.

‘It's not an
idea
.'

‘Uh huh.' Calum studied her eyes. They were steadfast.

‘I'm staying,' she said emphatically.

He shoved his hands in the back pocket of his jeans. Otherwise, he might lose the bet with himself that he'd play it cool.

‘I've seen countless city people come and go in this town. Few can hack it long-term; they miss the city and all it has to offer.' Calum moved in closer, leaving only inches between them. The impulse to throw her onto the bed and kiss her senseless until they both got hot, naked and sweaty was overwhelming.

Jennifer's wide green eyes spoke volumes; right now he didn't know what they were saying. It could be that his one-track mind assumed she wanted what he wanted. On the phone to her in London, he'd said that he'd never sleep in without her…never, but she hadn't parted with enough of her feelings for him to go and throw himself at her. Calum leant in slightly, on the verge of kissing her. She gave a little gasp. The air between them hummed hot with promises.

He zeroed in on her mouth. She closed her eyes, or was that a slow blink?
Mate, what're you doing?
He hesitated and drew back. Did he see disappointment? Last time he kissed her and made love to her, she'd left the country. Better slow this down. Rushing her wasn't the way to go.

‘Are you hungry?' he asked. Her wide-eyed look could have meant anything, but Calum decided it meant yes — safer that way. ‘Thought as much.' He took her hand and led her to Bob's kitchen. ‘Sit,' he said, pointing to a chair. He made coffee and brought out a plate of massive, wholemeal sandwiches from the fridge. The crusts were crunchy and almost an inch thick.

‘Good God, are those for me?'

He chuckled. ‘It's okay, just eat what you want.'

‘Did you make them yourself?'

‘Yeah, straight after I crutched four hundred sheep.'

‘Oh lovely, a little extra flavour for that country taste,' she threw back dryly.

Calum winked and moved the plate closer to her. He poured steaming coffee into two large mugs and sat opposite Jennifer, who was squishing the sandwich down with the palm of her hand.

She turned to him with a
help me
look on her face. ‘I can't get my mouth around it.'

Don't even go there, pal.
‘Sure you can,' he said, and couldn't stop the grin.

Jennifer managed to bite off a hunk and chewed, closing her eyes. ‘This is delicious,' she mumbled through a mouthful. ‘The silverside is cooked to perfection, and the pickle…
Hmm!'

‘Gran's homemade pickles. Don't ask me what's in it.'

‘Do you think she'd give me her recipe?'

‘As long as you didn't enter it into any of the local fairs, she probably would. If you're not too tired after this, I need to show you something else.'

‘I'm fine. I had a lovely week's rest in Sydney with Sofie and Claudia. Got rid of all my jetlag.' She inclined her head. ‘What do you want to show me?'

‘Hard to explain, easier if I show you.'

‘It wouldn't have anything to do with the singing drunk, would it?'

‘ 'Fraid not…' He trailed off as a vague thought occurred to him, something about Parrot Rock, but in a flash it was gone. ‘Hmm, strange.'

‘What's strange?'

‘I don't know, it's one of those things you can't quite get a handle on. Doesn't matter. If it's important it'll come back to me.'

She washed her sandwich down with the swig of coffee. Calum went back to the fridge and came out with two small bowls of lemon sorbet.

Handing her a spoon, he said, ‘Gran insisted. She made so much of it yesterday that everyone she cares about is getting a helping.'

‘Oh,' she breathed. Looking a mite stunned, she took a spoonful.
‘Hmm…
this is delicious, so refreshing. Your gran knows a thing or two. But then, most people of that era do…my gran could turn her hand to just about anything.'

She licked her lips and Calum couldn't help a throaty rumble from escaping. ‘That good, huh?' He smiled as, sadly, Jennifer's tongue popped back into her mouth. ‘Come on,' he took her spoon and laid it on the table. ‘You can lick the bowl out later. I want to show you what's been bothering me about your uncle's rooms.' He ushered Jennifer down the hall and into the pink bedroom. He could feel her body heat as she stood next to him gazing at the roses and swirling vine wallpaper that even his grandmother would reject — maybe.

‘Okay, here we are. What am I supposed to see?' Jennifer wrinkled her nose and squinted. ‘Have to change that God-awful wallpaper.'

‘I know it's hard, but forget the paper. There's something odd about this room, and the bathroom. Come with me.' He led her into the en suite. ‘See this corner here?' He pointed to the right of the door.

‘Oh lord!' Jennifer ignored him, and eyes wide, took in the luxurious new bathroom. ‘The old claw foot bath looks brand new. My God, the shower.' She spread her arms out wide and hugged the curved glass door. ‘Six people could fit in here.'

‘Not with you they won't.' He gave her a look. When he saw her slightly stunned expression, he couldn't help but smile.
Oh well,
he thought,
I don't care, you're mine.

‘Um…well, of course not.' And she let go of the door.

‘Okay, Jen. We'll get to know the shower later.' Pink flushed her cheeks. Part of him felt good that he had this effect on her, another part told him he should stop making her feel uncomfortable, but man, she was making it difficult. His eyes slowly drifted down to her open mouth.

‘Um…Jen? I want you to focus now.'

‘I am,' she blurted out. ‘But you're not.'

One side of his mouth tweaked up. ‘Okay.' He brought his hands up. ‘I'm on it. See where this wall ends here?' Calum stepped back out into the bedroom. ‘It comes to about here, the left side of this closet. By rights it should meet with the hall, and obviously it doesn't.' He took her by the hand. Wanted to take hold of a lot more.
Concentrate
, he told himself. He ushered her out to the hall and began banging the wall with his fist, pointing out where the deep, hollow sound finished, about two metres along.

Jennifer gasped.

‘You catch on quick,' he told her.

‘That would mean —'

‘Don't look so worried. Yes, it's a hidden room, but it could be as simple as a boxed in stairwell. Whatever it is, I have to find out, if there's wiring in there it'd be like the rest of the house was,' he said, slapping the wall for emphasis. ‘And there's no telling if it's live.'

Calum rubbed his chin and kept an eye on Jennifer as she processed the new problem.

* * *

Jennifer felt sick. There was no entry that she could find to get into a hidden space the size of a large walk-in closet. She covered her mouth as dark thoughts tumbled through her mind.

Enough apprehension grew inside Jennifer to want to pretend this didn't exist. She and her sister had been unaware of large chunks of their uncle's life — vineyards and the wine collection, for example. What else had he kept from them?

She felt Calum's big hand warming the small of her back as he carefully ushered her through the door back into the pink room. She walked to the edge of the bed, and that gave her a reassuring buffer of about three metres. Standing with her arms folded, she silently eyed the enormous closet.

‘No one knows about this but you and me,' Calum assured her, giving her a gentle nudge. ‘When Dwain worked on the plumbing up here, he concentrated on the bathrooms and kitchen. I did all the wiring and found some of it goes off into this space somewhere here. The first time I walked into this bathroom I thought it was odd.'

‘It was dark most of the time so I think my sister and I can be excused for not noticing. But the plumber worked in here for about a week, during the day, and he didn't notice?'

‘It's cleverly disguised, but yeah…Dwain is…' Calum nodded, ‘… a great plumber.'

‘Dwain, the plumber?'

‘Yeah,' Calum shrugged. ‘You should see his business card — Dwain Pipes.'

Jennifer choked out a laugh. Trying to hide her nervous hysteria didn't work.

‘Ready for more surprises?'

‘Sure.'
Sure?
Was she insane? ‘But I don't think anything can top Dwain.'

‘You're not wrong. Okay, let's shove this closet aside and see what's behind it.'

Negative energy surrounded Jennifer, it weighed heavy on her chest. She didn't want to see what was behind the closet right now…or maybe ever.

She should stop him.

Calum began to push, but the closet didn't budge. ‘This must weigh a ton,' he grunted with effort. ‘Can't do it alone.'

‘I know it's big, but you should've been able to slide it little,' Jennifer said, peering down the side nearest the wall, part of her hoping it was never going to shift. ‘It's probably bolted to the floor, or the wall. Oh well,' she shrugged.

Confused about what to do next, Jennifer sat on the edge of the bed. Gazing at the looming closet, her thoughts went to the dark side. What if there was something horrible buried behind these walls — like the dead bodies of women he'd lured into the pink bedroom? She loved and trusted her uncle; he was a kind and gentle man. But even nice men did strange things. How many times had she seen on the seven o'clock news bemused friends and neighbours saying, ‘We just don't understand it; he was such a lovely family man. Wouldn't hurt a fly. Pity about all the bodies buried in his backyard.'

Stomach churning, Jennifer looked at Calum. ‘I don't think I want to know.'

Calum laughed. ‘Aren't you curious? It may have nothing to do with Bob. It could've been the people who owned it before your uncle. Maybe they built it to stash their money. It might still be in there. Want to look for an opening?'

Jennifer pulled at a lock of curly hair. ‘I don't know anymore.'

Calum stood back and calculated size versus area, versus weight, and said, ‘It has to be done.'

‘Well, it's obvious,' she said, ‘the only way in is through the closet.'

‘Yep.' Calum nodded, hands low on his hips.

‘Okay,' Jennifer said, giving in. ‘Let's look. Otherwise I won't be able to sleep, I'll have one eye fixed on the damn doors, all four of them.'

‘Your house, your closet,' Calum said, hand out. ‘Or would you rather I went in first?'

‘No, but thank you. I'm being a wuss.' Jennifer mentally apologised to her Uncle Bob — for what, she didn't know. ‘Okay, here we go.' She reached for the doorknobs and hesitated.

‘C'mon Jen, nothing can be so bad that you can't investigate with a good friend. It's not like whatever is in there has anything to do with you personally.'

Jennifer knew it had nothing to do with her, but mud sticks, especially if it belongs to a relative.

‘Okay, but if it's — you know, unsavoury — no one else must find out about it.' She frowned, remembering the cryptic note Bob had left for her and Sofie. She repeated his words aloud: ‘Forgive me. Leave it alone — don't search. I meant no harm, what I did was for me, no one else.'