The Wildwood Sisters (22 page)

‘Don't worry, I'll be there with bells on!' Renee called out after her.

Wandering into the private hospital room, Renee smiled when she saw Nan sitting up and doing a crossword puzzle, something she'd done for as long as Renee could remember—Pearl always saying it kept the brain perky. Beside her, a doctor was busily writing things down on a chart as he checked the monitors. He acknowledged Renee with a nod of his head and a small smile and Renee returned the gesture.

‘Hey, Nan, you're looking pretty spritely today.' She flopped down on the end of the bed, placing her hand on the bump of the blanket where her nan's legs would be.

Pearl's face lit up at the sight of her granddaughter. ‘Hi, love. I must say I'm feeling the best I've felt in days.' She reached out and patted Renee's hand. ‘How are things at home? Is Pa behaving himself?'

‘Pa always behaves himself. Unlike yourself.' Renee smiled cheekily.

‘Now now,' Pearl said with a smile. ‘I always behave myself.'

The doctor cut in on the conversation. ‘And you will continue to behave yourself when you get home, Mrs Wildwood.' He turned to Renee. ‘I can't stress enough how important it is that your nan takes it easy.'

‘Don't you worry, Doc. I'll be making sure she rests up. If I have anything to do with it, she won't be lifting a finger.'

‘Yeah, good luck with that,' said a voice from the doorway.

Renee and Pearl turned to watch Mick hobble through on his crutches. Both women smiled warmly in his direction.

‘Gee whizz, that was quick,' Renee said.

Mick eased himself down on the chair beside the bed. ‘Tell me about it. I'm usually there for ages.' He leant over and gave Pearl a peck on the cheek. ‘How are you going, beautiful lady?'

‘Pretty damn good, if I do say so myself,' Pearl replied with vigour, her eyes once again shining with her usual twinkle.

Renee was happy to see her sparkle back.

Mick looked to the doctor. ‘Is she really as good as she says, Doc? Or is she just trying to fool us all so she can come home sooner.'

‘This doctor's too clever for that. I've tried to pull the wool over his eyes a few times but the bugger has caught me out every time.' Pearl's eyes crinkled at the corners as she smiled.

The doctor chuckled. ‘Yes, she's as good as she's saying, but that doesn't mean she can go home and start galloping around on horses again.'

‘You're a party pooper, Doc,' Pearl said as she rolled her bottom lip.

Mick looked to his cast, and then to Pearl, smiling. ‘Looks like both of us are banned from that for a while.'

Pearl chuckled.

Renee laughed along with her. ‘God, what am I going to do with you pair?'

The doctor shoved his pen in his pocket and then hung the chart back at the end of the bed. ‘Righto, I'm off to see the next patient. I'll be back in later today to check in on you, Pearl, okay?'

Pearl nodded. ‘Okay, it's a date.'

With the doctor gone, the three of them sat and chatted about life at Wildwood Acres, the conversation making Renee feel all warm and fuzzy inside. She'd missed times like these—the simple times where you got to share cherished moments with loved ones.

Fleetwood Mac's song ‘Little Lies' played as background music on the jukebox, the pub now filled to the brim with hungry lunchers. Thank goodness they'd come early. Shoving the last of the juicy tender rump steak into her mouth, Renee put her cutlery down and rested back against her chair, groaning pleasurably as she chewed her last forkful of the delicious counter meal. A few beer battered chips were still left on her plate, now scrumptiously soaked in the mouth-watering garlic sauce, and although she wished she could devour them, she couldn't fit another bite. She was so full her belly was aching, the button and zipper on her jeans now open after having to release the pressure halfway through her whopping-sized meal.

She'd forgotten how wholesome a good old-fashioned pub meal was after becoming accustomed to chic cafe food. She liked both, quinoa salad and smoked salmon one of her favs, but she had to admit she couldn't beat the warm and fuzzy feeling she got while eating a piece of fresh local meat cooked to her type of perfection—still mooing—along with a crisp garden salad and some crunchy chips.

Mick pointed at her with his fork, grinning. ‘I told you it was to die for, didn't I?'

Renee nodded slightly, unable to move any other part of her body right now for fear of exploding. ‘You bloody well did, and you weren't wrong. The reef and beef will defo be my pick whenever I come in here for a feed, that's for sure. Do Nan and Pa ever come in here for dinner?'

Mick shook his head. ‘Your pa hasn't stepped foot in here since you left. To be honest, he's become a bit of a hermit over the years, only venturing out to collect supplies for the farm, or go to the doc's, or to do the banking and stuff. And your nan, well, she supports him by not going out much either, although she still goes to the quiz nights at the bowling club once a week and her scrapbooking group once a month. Sad really, they used to be so social before…' Mick met Renee's woeful eyes, swallowing hard. ‘Well, 'nuff said really.'

Renee looked down at the floor, her heart sinking. ‘Poor Nan and Pa.'

Heavy silence sat between them for a few moments—the noisy chatter around the lively pub a welcome distraction. Renee blinked back tears as she people-watched, at the same time wishing there was some way she could take her grandparents' heartache away and give them their lives back. She believed there was only one way she'd be able to possibly do that, but where to start, or how to do it, she honestly still had no idea.

She'd flicked through the old high school yearbook she'd found in her glory box over breakfast, but nothing or no-one had jumped out at her. Maybe Scarlet's mystery man wasn't a student, and hadn't even gone anywhere near the high school on a daily basis. There were so many possibilities, and it was driving her nuts. She just prayed the answers would come to her somehow, and held tightly onto the faith they would. It was a long shot, trying to dig up clues on a person who had been missing for nine long years, but she would never give up trying. She owed it to Scarlet to deliver justice.

Her gaze travelling down to the far end of the long timber bar, she spotted Freaky Frank—other than the few creases around his face he didn't appear to have aged a bit. She half laughed, half cringed to herself as she imagined him doing taxidermy on himself. Turning, he caught her looking at him and smiled, his crooked grin making him look extra creepy. She smiled nervously and then quickly looked away. No way in the world did she want to talk to him. A shiver ran up her spine and she shuddered. He still gave her the heebie-jeebies. Scarlet had been fascinated by his taxidermy, sometimes stopping off at his place after school to check out his collection of petrified reptiles, birds and fish, but Renee had never understood the appeal. She and Scarlet may have been identical twins, but they were certainly opposites when it came to some of their personality traits, and friends.

Mick took a swig from his icy cold beer. ‘Your nan looked good today. It was a relief to finally see her sitting up and luring the doctor into some playful banter.'

Renee smiled. ‘Yeah, apart from the fact she's lost an awful amount of weight, she's almost back to her normal chirpy self. She's even got some colour back in her cheeks. I don't know how we're going to keep her in bed for the next few weeks. “Just light activities” the doc said. Lord help me.'

Mick chuckled as he placed his knife and fork on his licked-clean plate. ‘Yeah, good luck with that. Pearl isn't one to sit about. I'm sure that woman has had ants in the pants since the day she was born.'

‘You can say that again, God love her,' Renee said, laughing. ‘Speaking of visiting Nan at the hospital today, I ran into Hayley Gregory while I was there. We're going to catch up at the Studs and Fuds ball this weekend.'

‘Bloody hell, I haven't seen Hayley since last year's ball. She's a nice girl.' Mick waved to someone he knew at the bar, then turned his attention back to Renee. ‘You two will have fun together, that's for sure. I remember you both getting up to loads of mischief as kids.'

Renee laughed. ‘Yeah, we sure did. What's Hayley's hubby like?'

Mick smiled broadly. ‘Oh, Greg, he's a top bloke. I can't say a bad word about him. Hayley's definitely scored with him.'

‘That's good. And I reckon he's scored with Hayley, too. She still looks as gorgeous as ever.'

‘Yup, Hayley's certainly a looker. Those two make a great couple. They're always the life of the party. You'll have a ball with her on Saturday night.' Mick eyed her curiously. ‘You mentioned to your pa you're going yet?'

‘Um, not yet, but I will. After what happened yesterday I thought it'd be better to wait until he's in a calmer mood. I'm not in his good books right now.'

Mick pointed his almost empty schooner glass towards her. ‘Good thinking ninety-nine.'

‘Why thankya, Maxwell,' Renee replied cheekily. She glanced over at the clock on the wall above the bar. ‘We better hit the road. Pa will be wondering where we got to and I've got stacks to do at the homestead before Nan comes home.'

‘Ready to go when you are,' Mick said. ‘I'll just go and give me regards to the chef.' He sculled the last of his beer, leaving a frothy moustache above his lips. Licking it off, he propped his crutches under his arms, and then headed over to the bar to say his goodbyes to Rex and Lorraine.

Renee stood, groaning as she did her zipper and button back up. ‘Righto then, time for me to strap on the apron and get some housework done,' she mumbled to herself. Turning to head towards the front door of the dining room, she bumped into the last person she wanted to see: Billy Burton—Scarlet's boyfriend.

‘Renee Wildwood, well I'll be damned. Other than the hair, you haven't changed a bit.' The brawny bloke eyed her up and down, and her belly flipped uncomfortably. ‘Actually, I take that back, you've changed quite a lot…in a good way. You're looking very, how do I put it—' he stared at her breasts, ‘—womanly.'

Feeling exposed, even though she had a very conservative shirt on, Renee wrapped her arms around herself. Other than becoming older and rounder, his freckled face was exactly as she remembered it, and his roving eyes were as discourteous as ever. ‘Billy, how are you?' She half smiled.

‘I'm pretty good, thanks.' He crossed his arms across his broad chest, his stance wide. ‘So when did you sneak back into town?'

‘A few days ago.'

Mick joined her at her side, making her feel less intimidated. The men exchanged nods.

‘G'day Billy.'

‘G'day Mick.'

Renee stepped around Billy, half tripping over her feet in her haste to get out the door. ‘Anyways, gotta run, heaps of things to do. Catch ya round sometime, Billy.'

‘Yeah, okay, catch ya round, Renee,' Billy replied, waving her off as he shrugged at Mick, smirking. ‘What's up with her? Anyone would think I stank.'

‘Not sure. Catch ya, Billy.'

Stepping into the sunshine, Renee tried to calm her racing heartbeat as Mick placed his hand on her shoulder.

‘What was that all about, Reni? You couldn't get away from the poor bloke fast enough.'

‘I don't know about him Mick, I never have. Something just puts me on edge around him. And he's such a bloody perve—I can't stand it. No matter what the cops say, I still reckon he might have had something to do with Scarlet's disappearance.'

Mick eyed her apprehensively, his gaze softening. ‘Oh, come on now, Reni. Just because the bloke was going out with Scarlet at the time, it doesn't mean he had anything to do with her disappearance. I can understand your suspicions, but he was questioned endlessly by the coppers and had a pretty tight alibi, so I reckon that takes him off the suspect list. Don't you?'

Renee gritted her teeth, not wanting to get mad at Mick. He didn't know what she had read in the diary and she had to remember he was only trying to help. ‘Just because his mum and dad say he was home all night, doesn't mean he was. Most parents would protect their children no matter what. And I reckon if I looked hard enough, I might be able to find some sort of clue that will put him at the scene of the crime, wherever that is.' Renee put her hands on her hips, unexpectedly feeling very defensive of her opinion as Mick eyed her with exasperation. ‘You got to be able to understand, Mick, I need to find Scarlet's body so we can finally lay her to rest. Surely you get that.'

Mick rubbed his face, sighing gently. ‘I can completely understand your desire to do that, but one word of advice, Reni—and please don't take this the wrong way: Unless you have any hard evidence, please be careful of who you blame. A lot of people's lives were turned upside down during the investigation—and you were so desperate you yourself were pointing the finger at all sorts of innocent people. That was understandable at the time, but not so understandable now. It's taken many years for people to get past all the accusations and hearsay. You don't want to go opening up past wounds that might not have ever fully healed, if you get my drift. You might go treading on the wrong toes.'

Renee stared at him blankly, her mouth agape as she shook her head in disbelief. Did he know what she had said to Dylan all those years ago? There was no possible way. Surely Dylan wouldn't have repeated it. She shook the thought away. No, Mick just didn't understand, for her to try and heal the gaping wound in her heart, and in her grandparents' hearts, she had to try and find Scarlet's body and finally lay her to rest, no matter whose toes she trod on in the process. She'd honestly expected more understanding from him than this.

‘Look, I'm sorry if I'm coming across as cold, but to put it bluntly, I don't want you putting your life in any danger, and pissing the wrong people off, because it might land you in pretty hot water. Your nan and pa couldn't handle it if something, anything, happened to you… And neither could I for that matter. We've all lost enough loved ones along the way. I think, as hard as it is, you should just leave it be, Reni. You getting my drift now?'