Shadow of Suspicion (Haunted by the Past) (16 page)

Callie paid the taxi driver and
turned to face the modest cottage where her mother called home. It wasn’t a
large dwelling. She would guess it had two, maybe three bedrooms at most. A
warm glow emitted from the downstairs window, shining out in the gathering
darkness. At least she knew someone was home. Her stomach lurched and for a
moment she thought she might vomit. She clasped a hand to her midriff in an
attempt to calm her nerves.

Her gaze wandered over the aged
stones that made up the cottage walls. Judging by their appearance, the cottage
was old. She would guess at least three hundred years, probably more. The leafy
green ivy that climbed the trellis fence on either side of the front door, made
the place feel welcoming and quaint. It was likely the only warm welcome she
would receive.

Callie smoothed down her coat and
licked her dry lips. She resisted the urge to check her appearance for the
umpteenth time in the small mirror she carried in her bag. It was stupid.
Sandra wouldn’t care. She was more likely to burst a blood vessel because her
daughter had shown up unannounced than be concerned about Callie’s appearance.
Besides, there was only so much she could do to cover all her bruises.

Callie gathered her tattered courage
around her. There was no use putting off the inevitable. She slowly made her
way down the paved pathway that led to the front door. The sound of her heels
tapping on the paving stones filled her ears. The image of her walking towards
a firing squad flashed through her mind. She pushed it away. Nothing would
deter her from her mission.

Callie pressed the small round button
at the side of the front door. The sound of a loud chime rang out inside. She
clutched at her bag handle as if it could keep her from falling to pieces.
Footsteps approached from inside. She heard a chain being pulled back and a
lock turned. Finally, the door swung open. Callie’s heart launched itself into
her throat, and just as quickly hit her stomach. It wasn’t Sandra.
Disappointment surged through her and tears pricked her eyes.

A young girl stared out at her. She
ran her gaze over Callie. Hostile was the word that sprang to Callie’s mind
when confronted with the barbed expression on the frowning face before her. The
girl’s mouth thinned out.

“What do you want? You selling
something?”

Callie cleared her throat. “No. I’m
here to see Sandra. Is she in?”

The girl shook her head. Her eyes
widened and she snapped her fingers. All traces of hostility faded away as if
Callie had simply imagined them. It was replaced by a friendlier, if somewhat
calculating countenance. Callie wondered if she ought to be worried.

“You’re Callie, right? I should have
realised straight away, what with your red hair and all.”

Callie nodded. “That’s me.”

“I’m Fay, Jason’s sister.” She
grinned cheekily. Warning bells rang in Callie’s head. This young lady was a
world of trouble, if she wasn’t mistaken. “Man, I owe you big time for getting
rid of Lucinda for me. What a result! Come on in.”

She didn’t wait for Callie to reply.
She simply left the door open and headed back into the cottage. Callie
hesitated, then followed. There was no hallway to speak off. The stairs faced
the front door and the living room was simply there. It was a snug, cosy space
with a fireplace, sofa and chairs, a small coffee table, and a rug. Somehow, it
seemed too warm and homey for her prickly mother. She’d expected cold, modern
lines and cacti everywhere.

Fay stomped to the sofa and sank
down. She pointed a remote at the TV set and switched it off. She casually
threw the remote beside her and regarded Callie with a frown.

“Are you going to stand there all
night? Might get a bit uncomfortable.” Fay stuck a piece of chocolate in her
mouth from a wrapper that lay open on the arm of her seat. She shoved her feet
on the wooden table in front of her and slouched down into the cushions
surrounding her. “There’s plenty of places to park it. Choose one. They won’t
bite you.”

Callie slipped her coat off and
gingerly sat in a chair opposite the girl. “I didn’t realise Jason had any
siblings. It’s nice to meet you, Fay.”

The girl snorted. “I doubt that. Most
people can’t stand me.”

Callie stared at the girl in
surprise. “I’m sure that’s not true.”

Fay shrugged. “It is, but I don’t really
care. I can’t stand them either.”

Callie laughed, she simply couldn’t
help it. Fay was refreshingly honest. “Not a people person then?”

“Hardly” Fay rolled her eyes. “If it
wasn’t for Jason and my best mate, I think I’d become a hermit.”

“You sound like my best mate, Jade.
She’s not really a people person either.” Callie’s eyes stung. “In fact, I
think I’m the only person she actually likes in the whole world.”

The image of her friend’s beloved
face rose in her mind’s eye. She missed Jade so much it actually hurt. How she
wished she could talk things over with her flatmate, but she didn’t want to
drag Jade into this. Her friend had more than enough on her own plate, without
Callie adding to it.

“She sounds cool. You must miss her.”
Fay popped another piece of chocolate into her mouth, her eyes never leaving
Callie’s face.

“She is and I do.” Callie laughed
shakily. “Is Sandra likely to be long?”

“No idea. She never tells me her
plans.” Fay picked up her phone from the empty seat beside her. She stuck her
lip between her teeth; a gold stud glinted in the light. Her fingers flew over
the screen as she tapped out a text.

“Are you sure it’s okay for me to
wait here?” Callie sat back in the easy chair and draped her coat over the plump
arm. She stuck her bag on the floor by her feet.

Fay glanced up from her phone, a
wicked gleam in her eyes. “Why ask? You were counting on a surprise attack,
weren’t you?”

Callie laughed and held her hands up.
This girl was shrewd! “Okay, you rumbled me. I haven’t had much luck with
Sandra so far. I thought if I just turned up, she might have more trouble
fobbing me off.”

“Good plan. Lucky for you I’m home
and she isn’t. This way, you can really stick it to her. She can’t exactly shut
the door in your face, if you’re already in the house.” Fay resumed her
texting.

“Thanks. I appreciate the help.”
Callie regarded the girl, her curiosity pricked. “I have to ask, why are you
helping me? You don’t even know me.”

Fay shrugged. “Lots of reasons.
First, you got shot of Lucinda the witch. I owe you for freeing my brother from
her black web, if nothing else. Second, I can’t resist winding up Sandra. She
gets on my nerves.” Her phone dropped to her knee, her face suddenly serious.
She hesitated a moment before continuing. “Third, I know how it feels to be
abandoned. I would want answers to questions too, if I didn’t already know what
had happened.”

Callie sucked in a deep breath.
Sadness squeezed her chest as she gazed into the young girl’s tortured eyes.
“Who abandoned you? If you don’t mind me asking. I assumed your family were all
around here. I know your dad is with Sandra, but doesn’t your mother live
nearby?”

Fay’s face hardened and her mouth
hung down at the corners. She fiddled with the phone in her lap. “No. Mum
walked out when she and Dad split up. She’s living in France now. She has a
whole new life, which she’s made clear doesn’t include me. Believe me, I know
how it feels to have a mother that couldn’t care less if you were dead.” Her
intense stare bored through Callie, as if she could see right into Callie’s
soul and understood her pain. “Nobody can know how much that hurts, unless
they’ve gone through it.”

Callie held herself in her seat. She
longed to comfort Fay, but she knew the girl wouldn’t welcome it. She had
hardened herself behind a shell of defences and Callie didn’t want to puncture
that without invitation. Fay reminded her of Jade. Callie knew Jade always came
out fighting if people attempted to breach her walls without her consent.

“Thank you,” she said instead. “You
are the first person that has truly understood how I feel, and why I had to
come here for the answers that I need. It makes a nice change. Kind of feels
good to meet a kindred spirit.”

Fay wiped her nose with the sleeve of
her jumper. Her eyes shone suspiciously bright. “You want to see Sandra’s
family album? I know where she hides it. Maybe it will help you to see some of
your relatives.”

Callie knew a diversion when she saw
one. Fay obviously wanted to change the subject. She couldn’t blame her and Fay
had chosen her subject matter well. Callie curled her fingers into her palms.
Her hands practically itched to get hold of that album. She longed to gaze upon
her roots. The desire was so intense that she ached inside, but she couldn’t
land Fay in hot water because of it.

“I’d better not. I wouldn’t want to
get you into trouble,” she told the girl hesitantly.

“I don’t care. Sandra can scream and
yell all she likes. She’s not
my
mother.” Fay jumped out of her seat.
“Wait here. I won’t be a minute.”

She thumped up the stairs. Callie
could hear her loud footsteps as Fay entered a room above her head. The girl
sounded like she was going to come through the ceiling. Callie smiled. She
couldn’t help but like Fay immensely. It was refreshing to be with someone that
spoke her mind, without all the games and secrecy. Fay understood Callie and it
warmed her heart. Shortly, the sound of Fay exiting the room met Callie’s ears.

“Here it is,” Fay called out as she
came back down to the living room. She held up a heavy, leather bound book in
her small hands.

“I can’t tell you what this means to
me.” Callie held her excitement in check. She carefully took the book from Fay,
her heart galloping in her chest. “Would you be able to provide identities to
anyone in here?”

“Not really. I recognise a couple of
faces, like Mitch of course. Sandra never allows anyone to see her album. Don’t
know why.” Fay pulled a face.

“She doesn’t know you’ve peeked in it
then?” Callie laughed. Fay was outrageous.

“Are you kidding? She’d pitch a fit!”
Fay covered her mouth with her hands, but her giggles spilled out from between
her fingers. “I found it when I had to clean the bedroom as punishment for not
doing my homework. It gave me a great deal of satisfaction to flick through it,
just because I knew Sandra would hate it if she knew.”

Callie opened the front cover. She
squelched down the part of her that insisted what she was doing was wrong.
After all, this was her family too. She had a right to at least see their
faces. If she left it to Sandra, she’d never have this chance.

Her gaze feasted on the photos. She
drank in each image and tried to commit everything to memory. Callie carefully
flipped the pages, recognising her grandmother in the younger version that
graced many pictures. Her eyes filled with tears at the picture of her
grandparents wedding day. It was the first time she’d ever laid eyes on her
grandfather.

She sniffled, realising that she
didn’t even know if her grandfather was still alive. Nobody had had the decency
to tell her. The tall, good looking gentleman appeared to have a lighter
disposition than his wife. Callie yearned to know him. She traced his face with
her fingertips. Wouldn’t he want to see her too? From the photos, she imagined
her grandfather was more like Uncle Max. Surely he would want to meet her as
much as her uncle had!

Callie smiled as photos of her mother
and Uncle Max as children began to appear on the pages. The years of history in
each scene filled some of the empty spots inside her. There were many faces she
didn’t know, but it hardly mattered in those precious moments. Tears fell from
her eyes, but she didn’t take the time to swipe them away.

She turned the page once more and
gasped. All the air left her lungs in one whoosh and for several moments, she
couldn’t suck any back into her body. She stared in shock at the small face
staring up at her. Her whole body went numb.

“Is something wrong?”

Fay’s concerned voice sounded like it
was coming at her from a long tunnel. Callie could hear the girl’s worry, but
she couldn’t answer her. A loud ringing filled her head and for a moment, she
thought she might faint.

Right in front of her eyes was a face
she never thought she’d see outside of her visions. Her little guardian girl
smiled up at her from the photograph. Seated beside her was a much younger
Sandra. They both looked so happy in each other’s company. Callie touched the
child’s face with a shaking hand. What did this mean?

“What are you doing here?” Sandra’s
shriek broke the spell. Callie’s head snapped up, and her gaze locked with her
mother’s. She’d been so absorbed in the photos, she hadn’t heard Sandra’s key
in the door.

Sandra threw her bag on the floor and
glared at Callie before she could answer. “I can’t believe you have the nerve
to come round here! Do you have any idea where I’ve been the last three hours
because of you?”

Callie shook her head, struck dumb by
the outpouring of anger from Sandra.

“Then let me tell you. The police
station! With my mother no less! We were questioned like common criminals. All
because you misinformed them that we meant you harm! How dare you!” Sandra
raged.