The Birth Of Eve (4 page)

“Oh Freud what are you doing out here” she scooped him up
and wandered into the garage feeling braver with him in her arms. As she moved
towards the rear of the garage the kitten arched his back and shrieked loudly
scratching Eve’s arms as he scrambled to break free

“Ouch Freud okay I will put you down” the kitten shot into
the corner mewing loudly, Eve began to turn the box back upright. There were
some of her mother’s clothes including a notebook; it was some sort of diary.
The year was 1987 that was the year Eve was born so she slipped it into the pocket
of her robe. The rest of the contents were just memorabilia, postcards and
paintings done by Izzy and Eve at school. She found postcards from Australia;
it appeared that Leila’s parents had emigrated years ago. Eve could hear a
muffled sound like someone crying;

“Hello? Is there anyone there?” The sound stopped abruptly
and then the light bulb popped plunging the place into darkness. Eve was
petrified she grabbed Feud who was trembling and felt her way along the wall to
the door, this was crazy. She locked the garage door behind her trying to
regain her composure.

“At least with the bulb blown I won’t be coming down to switch
the damn light off again” Eve carried the kitten with her back into the
kitchen, after making sure Freud was safe and sound, she made a cup of
chamomile tea to take back to bed. She slept restlessly again, and her mother
was back;

“Please let me go, Eve please set me free. I have been
waiting for you.” The next morning as soon as Tara had gone; Eve rang a local
builder to come and look at the garage. She wanted a new door, new electrics
and flooring to revamp the place. There was no way she would set foot in there
until it was done. Tony Judd, a lovely friendly builder arrived at one o’clock,
he had just finished at another site so could start as soon as tomorrow. Eve
took him out to the garage feeling calm with the six foot burly man by her
side. She removed the last box to get it out of his way; Tony was staring at
the bottom end of the garage.

“See that wall at the end?” Eve nodded wondering where this
was leading

“That wall is short of the length, it has been added in the
last ten years perhaps. It needs coming down, I need to know what’s behind it,
and you are losing three feet of floor space because of it.” Tony tapped his
large spirit level against it “Hear that? It’s hollow behind do you mind if I
get my lump hammer and get rid of it? I can’t measure up or order new concrete
for the floor until I see its entirety.” Eve gave him permission and left him
to it; making him a coffee before taking the last box inside to clear.

Christopher Novak was sitting in the cutting room,
painstakingly analysing every scene of his movie “Lady in Waiting.” Mia Shannon
the leading lady was on course for an Oscar nomination from what he had seen so
far. The painstaking task of cutting and skimming his movies always troubled
him, but as a famous movie maker once said “You have to trim off some meat to
create the perfect fillet”

Brian his co-producer was sitting beside him, they had
just watched the knight’s banquet scene; as with all other scenes she had
appeared in one girl stood out “Eve.” Brian likened her to Liz Taylor; he was
right she glowed on screen. She had a vulnerability and innocence that made her
almost absorb your attention. She drew everyone to her, males watched her
unnoticed especially his protégé Nathan, he hardly took his eyes off her, the
chemistry was obvious. One thing was certain she would be a star, Christopher
wanted to make it happen but with care; she needed a profile and a gradual
increase in her roles. The last thing a raw talent like Eve needed was to be
thrust into fame too early. Christopher had a plan and calling her agent was
step one.

Eve was washing up in the kitchen, she could hear Tony
bashing away outside. He had been hammering for twenty minutes before it finally
went silent. Eve was staring out of the window when she felt an overwhelming
urge to vomit; she bent over holding her knees as she struggled to fight off
the rising bile in her throat, then as suddenly as it hit her it had gone. She
stood upright with a feeling of relief and emotion that brought tears to her
eyes.

“What the hell was that?” She watched as Tony stumbled from
the garage looking ashen, he pulled his phone from his pants and was making a
call. Eve watched as he paced the garden, every now and then bending forwards
to rest his hands on his knees. He looked up and caught her staring, she
swallowed hard, something was very wrong. Walking towards the house Eve met him
just outside the back doors of the conservatory.

“What is it? Something is wrong isn’t it?” He was struggling
to find words and was looking at her in a strange way

“How long have you lived in this house?” Eve couldn’t
understand why all of a sudden she felt guilty of something

“We Just moved in last weekend, my father passed away and I
inherited this place” her answer seemed to pacify Tony

“There is a woman’s body behind that wall, looks like she
was bricked in and left there. I have phoned the cops they are on their way”
Eve stumbled backwards; Tony grabbed her arm to steady her.

“Woman’s body?” but Eve knew exactly who it was; the
messages, the spooky goings on and the dreams all indicated it had to be her
mother. Not normally a believer in all that stuff Eve found herself wondering
if her mother had been trying to contact her to help her find peace. Being
bricked into a tiny space didn’t lend itself to a peaceful death. The question
was how had she died and who had put her there? She shouldn’t jump to
conclusions but what other explanation was there?

The police arrived in record time; there probably weren’t
many buried bodies around rural Cheshire. The clean-up operation was going to
take some time; forensics didn’t have much to go on as after so many years the
body was skeletal. Dental records for her mother had been sent for; it seemed
the police had the same thoughts as Eve. They only briefly chatted with her as
she was a child when this occurred and her father was dead so there wasn’t
anything Eve could add.

An examination of the bones would not show cause of death
and the only potential suspect was now dead. Detective Newton who was in charge
didn’t think the case would take long to sew up. Just then Tara pulled up on
the front and looked horrified at all the activity. Eve wandered over to escort
her safely to the house filling her in on the way.

“Oh my God Eve, your mother, perhaps that is why she never
came for you, maybe she was killed because she wanted to come and get you” Eve
hadn’t thought of that, her mother may have died for her or because of her.
There was also the conversation she overheard as a child maybe it was the man
they all seemed scared of. There was no point telling the officer about that,
she was a child and only recalled snippets anyway. Tara helped brew up for the
officers and it was almost dark before the place was finally silent and empty
again. Just some yellow crime scene tape across the garage remained of the last
few hours of stress.

Eve’s mind returned to the unexplained urge to vomit, it had
coincided with her mum being discovered. She however decided not to mention it;
talking to Tara about the paranormal could go on all night. It was a strange
moment and she had experienced a few of those since moving in. They ordered a
Chinese takeaway and sat with the kitten while they waited for food. Eve’s
phone vibrated, she didn’t recognise the number strange only Sally had her new
number.

“Hello?” Eve’s heart raced as she recognised the voice at
the other end, she squeaked out a reply.

“Eve lovely to hear your voice, I have missed you. Were you
trying to get rid of me once and for all by changing your number? I had to drag
it out of Christopher.” Eve wondered how Christopher had it; her agent must
have passed it on. She felt a flicker of excitement he must want to work with
her again. She almost forgot Nathan was there, until he cleared his throat.

“Sorry Nathan, no it wasn’t you I wanted to get rid of, it
was your stalker. Somehow she got hold of my number. She sent me roughly
seventy messages and texts including some delightful insults and a death
threat!  Frankly you should keep your phone safe rather than allow the first
girl you bump into after me to get her hands on it” Nathan was silent

“Eve I am so sorry she threatened you, what else did she
say?” When Eve had repeated some of the messages she heard Nathan stomping
round his room.

“Can I just clear one thing up, and that is that she wasn’t
in my bed. She was in fact stalking me at the airport; she snatched my phone to
wind me up, and took it into the ladies. She must have looked through my
numbers and seen my texts to you and panicked”  Eve was wondering why this girl
was such a problem and hadn’t been dealt with by his security.

“I am so sorry, I do my best to avoid her but she is like
the proverbial boomerang. Unfortunately she just keeps coming back, despite my
attempts to get rid of her.” Eve sort of felt sorry for the poor girl, but no
not really, not after the messages she sent.

“Make sure you keep my number safe, I am not happy
Christopher gave it to you at all. I have enough going on here at the moment”

“Where are you? I went to Altrincham to find you, but you
had gone. Your neighbours had no forwarding details or even knew if you were
still in the UK. Obviously I wasn’t going to rest until I found you so
Christopher helped me out. He only gave me your number because he wants us at
the premier next month, together.” Eve gasped, premier with Nathan? That would
be amazing. Cripes nothing to wear for that, plus there would be photographers
all over them. Maybe it was not as exciting as she first thought, nerves took
over her; Nathan sensed her change of mood.

“Eve don’t get stressed, he is putting us up in a hotel near
Leicester Square. He has organised things with Sally? He said to tell you a makeup
artist and stylist will be at your disposal plus an assistant to help you
choose the perfect red carpet gown.” Wow that sounded extravagant, it was a
once in a lifetime opportunity but she had one condition.

“I will go Nathan but I don’t want to walk in with you or
leave with you, I will not be the latest girl you are photographed with, that
is not how I operate.” Nathan admired her stance

“Sure I will go along with that although Christopher may not
agree so keep it to yourself; he wants some publicity for you. I think you are
his latest project, getting you noticed will enhance your profile, he must have
a role in mind for you Eve.” This was food for thought, Nathan shocked her
again with his next question

“Can I come and visit you? We need to get to know each other
before the premier. I am in Manchester at the moment; can I pop over tomorrow?”
Eve after a moment of hesitation and then decided it was a good idea for them
to get on before the premier, and so she agreed and gave him the post code. She
had a wicked thought

“By the way the house is haunted and they just found a dead
body in the garage, do you still want to come?” Nathan laughed and hung up, I
warned him she thought and laughed too. Tara had been watching the exchange
with interest.

“Nathan Matheson is coming here tomorrow?” Eve nodded “Well
don’t broadcast it or Sue will be over and you won’t get a word in” They both
smiled but Tara was staring oddly

“What are you looking at me like that for?”

“Eve I have never known you blush over a man or invite one
over when it means you will be alone, what has this Nathan done to you?” Eve
frowned, alone; that hadn’t crossed her mind. Nathan definitely rocked her boat
but he also made her laugh and she felt quite relaxed with him.

In her bed that night she couldn’t stop thinking about his
eyes. She expected his eyes to haunt her dreams but her mother was there again.
She was standing in the back garden, mist was curling around her. She was
smiling at Eve and then she waved walking away into the mist, Eve cried as she
watched the image fade away.

Eve drank the cup of tea that Tara had made before she left.
Nathan was coming over and she had no idea what time. She had butterflies but
she shook them off and jumped into the shower. Eve owned one pair of skinny
jeans so for a change decided to wear them, instead of her usual shapeless
pants. Choosing a t shirt that hugged her chest was a bit risky but she went
with it anyway. Looking in the mirror at her long wavy hair she knew that she
was asking for trouble, so she scraped it into a pony tail.

“That’s better, we don’t want to give him the come on do
we?” she said to the cat, Freud sat on the floor mewing at her

“Yes okay I know you are hungry come on” she scooped the fur
ball up and carried him down to feed him. The roar of an engine made the kitten
shiver in her arms, looking out of the front window she sighed when she saw the
Ferrari parked outside. Men and their cars, he was not inconspicuous in that
was he? And he was early; she could have been sleeping in. Eve opened the door
to find him staring at the yellow crime scene tape across her garage. He looked
at her smiling ruefully;

“You weren’t joking where you? There really was a dead body
in there?” Eve let him inside noting his gaze lingering on her chest; she
blushed at his obvious appreciation of her. He stroked a finger along her
cheek, sighing she led him into the kitchen where she put the kettle on. Nathan
leant against the worktop taking in his surroundings.

“Nice cottage, it’s a shame about the body though, any ideas
whose it was?”  Frowning at him Eve answered knowing she would shock him

“It was my mother’s body” That got his attention, Nathan
flushed with remorse

“Jesus Eve I am sorry I had no idea, what about your dad? Is
he still around?” Eve took him to the lounge and they sat down. She told him
her story, from the day she was given away until now, leaving out the Rory part
of course. Nathan looked suitably sombre;

“Hey I feel terrible, I was blessed with amazing parents and
a sister who I love to bits, I have no concept of what your life was like. It
explains something to me though, about you.” Eve raised her eyebrow waiting for
his revelation

“You have this defiant look, like you are daring people to
try and get close to you. Just so you can push them away again.” Eve was
astounded at his accurate summary of her persona. He was spot on of course, she
did want people to like her and yes she wanted to then prove she no longer
needed them. Tara was the only exception to that, she looked over at her new
friend; maybe Nathan could be another exception.

“You think you have me figured out do you? Tell me this do
you believe in the afterlife?” Nathan didn’t laugh her off but sat thinking

“I would like to think that this wasn’t all we get, 90 years
and gone; why do you ask?” Eve explained all the odd happenings in the garage
and her strange dreams he looked disturbed.

“So the house is haunted too? Blimey I wish I had listened
to you last night! I am usually sceptical but it sounds to me like you were
being drawn to her body. Maybe you should visit the local church I passed it on
the way, if anyone has the answers it will be the big man upstairs” Eve smiled
yes good idea, maybe she would call in tomorrow. Eve made them both some lunch,
Nathan was watching her hungrily she felt his eyes burning into her. Handing
him a sandwich he ate standing up so she did the same. They both ate in silence,
watching each other surreptitiously. After lunch they decided to walk over to
the pub for a drink, Nathan wore his baseball hat so he would not be
recognised. Eve teased him that not many Cheshire folk watched Game of Thrones.
He laughed but still kept the hat on; the pub was empty so they sat in a quiet
corner.

Eve told him some funny stories about growing up in care, it
wasn’t all bad and she didn’t want him to pity her. Eve’s life had made her
what she was and she couldn’t have regrets. None of her situation had been in
her control and thanks to Sue and Tara she had her own tight circle. Nathan
told her a little about his own family, they lived in Los Angeles and his
sister was a fashion designer. Nathan had lived a privileged life, maybe he’d
never be able to empathise with hers. Could two people from opposite
backgrounds ever unite successfully? Eve was surprised at herself for wanting
the answer to be yes.

Nathan left later that afternoon and despite the desire that
had been bubbling around between them, Eve was grateful he hadn’t acted on it. Nathan
Matheson a gentleman, she would never have guessed that about him. Tara
approved when she heard about their day

“He sounds lovely, just what you need, Eve why don’t you
give him a chance? You have had so many opportunities and most of your choices
I haven’t been a fan of, but Nathan is a chance for you to be happy. Every
relationship is a risk, you can never predict longevity; you need to take a
risk for once.” Was Tara right? Should she take a chance on him? At this moment
her answer was more yes than no. They had left it that he would come over at
the weekend and meet Tara too; he was going to take them both for lunch. Tara’s
approval meant a lot to Eve, Nathan seemed to be attuned to her and appeared to
know exactly what would be the right thing to do.

Eve slept peacefully that night for the first time since
moving in, despite recent events. It was Wednesday today and Eve planned to
walk down to the church. She hoped the vicar wasn’t an old school vicar; if he
was there was no way he could relate to her. She also needed to arrange some
kind of funeral for when her mother’s body was released that is of course once
she is formally identified. She was about to leave the house when she noticed Detective
Newton pulling up, talk of the devil! The Detective smiled kindly at her and followed
her inside he declined a drink, sitting himself down he took out his notebook.

“Miss Purnell, we have confirmation the remains found in
your garage are that of Mrs Leila Purnell. The pathologist felt due to a large
crack in her skull the most likely cause of death was blunt force trauma” Eve
had watched enough CSI’s to know this meant hit with a heavy object on the
head.

“Is it possible she fell and injured her skull that way?”
The Detective shook his head

“The angle and position suggests she was struck from the
front by a left handed individual, the blow would have been made with some
force so we are assuming a man. Was your father left handed do you recall?” Eve
tried to think back

“I’m not sure to be honest, is there any way to tell?” Detective
Newton explained as he was now dead and they couldn’t find anyone who knew him.
Then they would be making assumptions only based on the fact he was the main
suspect.

“It looks possible that your father was the killer and
covered his tracks very well it seems. Unfortunately for us it means we can’t
bring anyone to justice, so it looks like he got away with it. The time of
death seems to coincide with the time you left, any idea what was happening
around the time you were sent away?” Eve told him that as far as she knew they
were a happy family her murder was as confusing to her as her being sent away. Detective
Newton left giving her permission to plan Leila’s funeral, so as soon he drove
away she headed for the stone church.

Churches always felt unwelcoming and cold to Eve, she didn’t
remember coming here as a child despite finding the rosary and bibles it seemed
her family worshipped in private. Walking inside the first thing that hit her
was the cold despite the warm spring day outside. The building was empty apart
from a man she presumed was the preacher, he was lighting candles around the
pulpit. Eve didn’t want to intrude so sat on a pew and spent some time
digesting the past week. She must have been miles away as the vicar was
suddenly sat beside her without her realising.

“Sorry to startle you, you look very peaceful. I’m Father
Michael, and I am covering for the regular vicar as he has taken ill. I haven’t
seen you here before are you from the area?” Eve decided he was in his early
fifties, very attractive for a religious man and he had lovely green eyes.

“I live along the railway in Lilac Cottage my friend and I
moved in last week” His face changed

“I  heard the house was occupied again, I haven’t been past
for a while, I have visited this village for over twenty years.vThis parish was
my first posting when I was first ordained how are you settling?” Eve wondered
if he had known her father.

“I am getting used to being here again, I lived in the
cottage years ago with my family but my father died last year and I was the
only relative they could trace” The vicar stared at her puzzled. A micro
expression that made her blood run cold drifted over his face. Eve couldn’t put
her finger on what it was; fear, hatred guilt? It was too fleeting for her to
get a read on him.

“What is your name?” He asked as if dreading her answer Eve hesitated
before telling him,

“Eve Purnell” The man stood up gasping shaking his head
mumbling under his breath, Eve was wishing she had asked Nathan to come with
her yesterday instead. She was getting ready to leave when he sat back down and
grasped her hand really tightly.

“Your parents are Ian and Leila Purnell?” Eve nodded warily,
he stood again muttering something about Africa and he should have stayed,
“What year were you born?”

“I was born in the summer of 1989, why? did you know my
parents?” He sat back down trying to contain his bubbling emotions; there were
tears in his eyes

 “Eve, I was very close to your mother, and I spent a lot of
time with your family. Your dad was always working, and unfortunately Leila
turned to me for attention. We eventually fell in love” The breath Eve had been
holding shot out in a gust, she was desperate for him to continue but at the
same time wanted him to shut up;

 “I left Acton Bridge in 1989. We ended our affair; Leila
decided it wasn’t fair on your sister. Isabella was a sensitive child and Leila
wanted to make her family work for her sake. Ian was a drinker but not a bad
man, so I decided to do the right thing for my flock and I left. I took
missionary work for almost ten years. I returned hoping Isabella had become
independent and perhaps Leila would be ready to love me again. Instead I found
Ian alone, he was drunk and very bitter; he told me Isabella had grown up and
moved away and that Leila had left him. So sadly I went back to Africa thinking
I would never see her again. Ian did not mention you at all, maybe he had guessed
about our affair” Eve had no idea what he was talking about, but the timing of
his last visit would interest Detective Newton.

“Eve have you noticed my eyes are the same colour as yours
are?” Eve’s hand stilled and she looked at the man in front of her, his eyes
were green yes. Something stirred in her brain, his eyes were the same and so
was his mouth. She knew what he was inferring and she didn’t want to hear it,
not now, not here.

“Stop it please, stop it” Eve couldn’t hear anymore and ran
from the church in a panic, she could hear Michael shouting after her but she
kept going until she was almost home. Pulling out her phone she dialled Nathan,
she had no idea why she chose to call him but he was the one she wanted at that
moment. Nathan answered instantly;

“Eve hi I am please you rang I wanted to surprise you. I am
outside your house” Eve couldn’t be happier and ran towards the cottage to see
him, he was right in front of her and she was in his arms before he could
react.

“Eve? What is it are you okay?” She held on to him as though
he was a life ring.  The security she felt in his embrace began restoring her
equilibrium.

“Let’s get you inside, then you can tell me what has
happened” She didn’t let go of him as she unlocked the door, closing it behind
him he wrapped both arms around her and rested his head on hers. They remained
that way until she felt balanced again, once seated together on the sofa, she
held his hand and told him about Michael.

“Do you think he could be your father Eve? It is a massive
thing if he is; you definitely need to tell the police. This could be their
missing motive; if your father found out you were not his daughter it could be
what tipped him over the edge.” Eve took out her phone and called Detective Newton;
he was very intrigued and set out to talk to father Michael immediately. Eve
suddenly remembered the reason she had needed to see the vicar in the first
place.

“I needed to arrange my mum’s funeral today, I never got the
chance. Oh Nathan, Michael doesn’t even know she is dead. He didn’t know I had
moved in here, should I go back and tell him?” Nathan thought it would be
better coming from the police.

“Sorry about the hysteria back there, why did you come
today? Not that I mind at all but I wasn’t expecting you until the weekend” He
smiled pulling her into his side

“I love hysteria if it drives you into my arms; I am doing a
play in the West End next week so have to leave Friday night. I confess to
wanting to see as much of you as I could before I leave.” Eve didn’t mind at
all

“I am glad you were here, I don’t know why I called you but
at that moment you were the person I needed most.” Nathan turned her towards
him running his finger down her cheek he bent forwards and gently kissed her
lips. Eve responded with a groan and the kiss soon became heated.

“Stop Eve, now is not the right time to lose my control” He
backed off a little, twitching uncomfortably in his seat.

“You are tempting me but I don’t want you to be just a
conquest; I want a relationship with you. I want to spend time knowing you
first.” He caught a look of rejection on Eve’s face so he remedied it with
another assault on her mouth.

“See what you are doing to me? Don’t think it is easy for me
to not take you here and now.” Eve could see the evidence of his arousal quite
clearly so felt mollified. Eve did not want to rush things either; he needed to
know about Rory before they got involved emotionally. When did you tell a man
something like that; yes I want a future with you but hey I am barren? A
conversation was required but not until Eve was sure of him and that may take a
while.