Jan woke up sweating. The bedroom was still in darkness. She could hear Dave breathing rhythmically on his side of the bed. She swung her feet to the floor and padded into the bathroom. She closed the door and switched on the light, needing its brightness to chase away her fears. She had a quick gulp of water from the glass on the shelf; the cool rush of liquid was an instant relief on her dry, constricted throat. After a short while she returned to the bedroom and lay down slowly, trying not to disturb Dave. She lay there for about an hour, fearful to fall asleep lest she return to the house and all that blood. But eventually sleep claimed her and she warily opened her eyes to find out where she was. She was standing by the window in the front room of May’s house. The sight of the rose wallpaper instantly confirmed the fact and Jan shuddered. She jumped as the door opened and May entered the room. She was wearing a smart grey suit with a cowl collar, the pink glittery brooch fastening the collar in place. Jan watched as Clive and a girl came into the room after May. She guessed the girl must be Elizabeth, the daughter. Jan realised with a quick shock she looked remarkably similar to the woman at the car boot sale. She quickly did her sums and realised it couldn’t have been Elizabeth that she’d seen, her daughter perhaps.

“I don’t want it, any of it.” May looked quite upset. “You both can have it all.”

“Don’t be silly, Mum.” Clive put his hand on his mother’s arm. “You deserve some money after all he put you through. What a laugh to find he had all that cash stashed in the house. It’s like it finally came right – he got his comeuppance by dropping that dish when he punched you and then hit me. That shard of glass was guided by the hand of a vengeful God right into his twisted neck.”

“Don’t say that, Clive.” May looked around her as if she expected someone else to walk into the room. “Walls have ears you know.”

“How is anyone going to hear us?” Clive knocked on the wall of the house. “Thick walls, see? And about as thick as those nice new foundations they’ve laid for the new houses down the street.”

“I never brought you up to be a liar, Clive. I don’t know where you get it from.”

“From him, I expect.” Clive pulled a face that drooped with self-loathing at the very thought of being like his father. “He lied to people about our injuries for enough years. People believed all that guff he spouted; why shouldn’t they believe he ran off with another woman? After all, it was right in character for him. You take the money, buy yourself some nice clothes like that suit I got for you. Take yourself on posh holidays and out for slap-up meals like tonight.”

Jan watched as May perched on the edge of the sofa.

“When are you going?”

“Friday. I’m not staying in this country a minute longer than I have to. If I stayed living here, I’d never forget, and I want to, I really want to forget everything.”

“Even me?”

“Don’t be silly, Mum. I’m going to send you stuff all the time. I’ll not forget you. You can come and visit me when I get a place. And Lizzy isn’t going anywhere, are you?”

Jan watched Elizabeth shake her head. She hadn’t uttered a word since she’d walked into the room and Jan wondered what she thought about it all. Suddenly Jan felt someone grab her: she looked at Clive but he was over the other side of the room, May was still on the sofa and Elizabeth was in a chair. Jan squealed in fright and lashed out.

“What’s wrong with you? Have you gone nuts?” Dave had stopped trying to wake her up and had reached over to her side of the bed to switch off the shrill shriek of the alarm.

“Bad dream,” she gasped. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to hit you.”

All day long Jan worried about whether to visit the house or not. She wondered if she really was going mad, just like Dave had suggested she was. But at six o’clock she found herself outside May’s house waiting for the estate agent. A cream and chocolate Mini Cooper rounded the corner of the street and zipped up to the kerb in front of her.

“Mrs Bolter?”

She nodded at the short, dark-haired young man with the piercing blue eyes standing in front of her.

“You really are in for a treat, Mrs B, I can tell you. Didn’t your husband want to come for a look?”

She shook her head and followed the young man inside the house.

“It’s very old fashioned isn’t it? Who lived here?” She looked around as she walked from room to room.

“An old woman lived here for years. She died a couple of months ago. Her granddaughter dealt with the sale of all the contents. God, there was a lot of crappy old stuff in here.” The young man pulled a face and shrugged as he realised what he’d said. “Sorry, but you really should have seen it. Like something out of the past it was. You know when they demolish those old houses, and the wrecking ball exposes rooms like a doll’s house. All flowery wall paper and dark furniture – just like something out of the ark.”

Jan wondered if the young man sold many houses; he certainly wasn’t selling this one to her. “Are you new at the job?”

 “It’s my first month. How did you know?”

Jan smiled at him and followed him as he rambled through the rooms, prattling incessantly. She felt sorry for the sad, old empty house; all that seemed to be left to it were memories clinging to its walls.

“I think she was batty, the old lady I mean, not the granddaughter. She had a rich son in Australia; the granddaughter said he was always sending her money. He even paid for the porch to be built; he arranged it all from the other side of the world. But she lived in some kind of weird time warp right up until her death and no-one ever found any money. The granddaughter turned the house out but she didn’t find anything.”

“Wasn’t the granddaughter rich then?”

“God, no.  The rich son’s not her father. His sister’s her mother and she drank and gambled all her money away. Her kids are as poor as church mice. So are you going to put in an offer then?”

Jan bit back a smile.

“I’ve got to speak to my husband about it first. I’ll let you know. Thanks ever so much for the viewing.”

Jan walked back to the car feeling a whole lot better. Now she knew more of the story it didn’t seem quite so dark anymore. That night she fell asleep peacefully and slipped straight into a dream. She found herself in the living room again standing by the door. A much older May was sitting in an armchair holding the smooth wooden box. Jan watched as May placed her hand on the front of the box near to the base and slid her hand sideways. Jan felt all the hairs stand up on her neck as a keyhole was exposed behind the false panel. May turned the brass key in the lock and the lid sprung open to reveal another key and a sheet of paper with a series of numbers written on it. Jan had watched enough films to recognise a combination when she saw it. She walked towards May and peered over her shoulder. She could clearly see the emblem of a bank on the key and realised it must open a safety deposit box. May put the key and the paper into her handbag and left the room.

Jan woke up with a start. The room was pitch black, but this time she was smiling broadly as she swung her legs out of bed and ran out of the bedroom and down the stairs, switching all the lights on as she headed towards the cluttered dining room table where she had discarded the smooth wooden box. 

The End

Copyright Suzanna Stanbury 2009 All Rights Reserved