“The question is where.” A wide set of concrete steps led up to an impressive front door. The pillars that decorated the front of the house held an expansive balcony that ran the length of the front of the building.
Above it, he could see the turret and the tattered flag blowing in the wind. Where did he start looking for someone who had disappeared without a trace?
The sound of wheels on gravel made him look around. A work ute laden with lengths of timber strapped to the roof pulled up and parked beside his car. A man climbed out of the driver’s door, a frown on his face. “This place isn’t open to the public yet. Best you be on your way.”
Hamish held out his hand, smiled in the hope he could gain a little bit of leeway with this cranky tradie. “My name is Hamish Abbott and this is Alex Stanford.” He nodded at the Billie’s vehicle. “The car belongs to someone who’s gone missing, Billie is Alex’s mother. I wonder if you could tell us anything that would help locate her.”
“Missing, you say?” He scratched his head. “Been on another job for the last couple of days so I wouldn’t know when she’s been here and when she hasn’t. Told her I didn’t have time to give her a guided tour and that was the last I saw of her.”
“So you did see her then?” Alex stepped forward, his face lighting up.
“Of course I did. When was it now, last Monday or Tuesday. Can’t quite remember, been Bedlam around here trying to get this place ready along with my other jobs. Damned timeframe is impossible.” He put his hands on his hips and gaped at the two of them, frowned as if he wanted to get away from the situation and then shrugged his shoulders.
“I showed her the inside hallway and gave her directions to upstairs and told her the few rooms that had been used last, then left her to it. I can do the same for you and you can look around, but I really don’t have time to be of much help. If you’re worried, you should call the police.”
“We understand and anything you can do will be greatly appreciated. As you can imagine, we’re very worried and finding her car here makes us wonder what could possibly have happened.” He put a reassuring hand on Alex’s shoulder. “If you can do your best to remember anything she might have said, we can wander around and see what we can find.”
The tradie nodded his head. “Well, we didn’t have much to say to each other really. I told her I didn’t have enough time to get this place ready for opening and she said she was doing a story on it for a Sydney paper. I pointed her upstairs, told her I hadn’t even started up there yet but she was welcome to go wandering.” He scratched his head and looked over the gardens. “I think she did mention that she wanted to look at the gardens too and might have gone over there, but really, I didn’t take that much notice. Too much on my plate.”
“I really need to find my mother.”
“I understand, young man, but I don’t think I’m going to be of much help to you. I can’t think what would have happened to her. I mean, the only other person here that day was the sparky and he never said anything to me about seeing her. Mind you, he did arrive late and she’d already gone exploring so their paths might not have crossed.”
“Do you have a business card for him in case I need to make contact?” Hamish glanced over at the lake and the forest behind it.
“Bound to be one in my ute. Hang on.” He returned to his vehicle and rummaged in the mess of papers on the front seat, pulling up a bundle of business cards held together by a thick rubber band. He shuffled through them and dropped one onto the seat before bundling the others back together. He threw them down and picked up the sparky’s card, handing it over to Hamish. “Here ya go. He lives in the area so you should be able to contact him after hours on that number.”
“Thanks.” He stared back at the lake again. “You been down there much?”
“Nah, don’t have time for sightseeing or feeding the ducks. I don’t think it’s that deep either if that’s what you’re worried about. At least that’s what I’ve been told but who knows. And the forest, well, too damned spooky for me. Hate places like that.” The builder shivered. “Sends the willies up my back, it does.”
“Is it a haunted forest?” Alex glanced over, a frown on his face.
“According to some. They reckon the ghost of the eldest girl roams the place. It’s where her lover used to go looking for her after she was killed in that train crash, according to gossip.” He shivered again. “Right, if you want to have a look, come in now then ’cause I have shitloads to do here before opening day.” He hurried up the steps, opening the front door before Hamish could rouse himself.
They followed him into the wide and very high hallway. “Holy crap.” Alex spun in a circle and oggled the ceiling that soared above them. “This is just, heck, incredible.”
“Been left too long without maintenance though. If it’d been properly taken care of, my job might be a bit easier.” The builder lifted his hand and pointed up the staircase. “That first door is the old man’s sitting room or library where he spent most of his time when he wasn’t confined to bed. One of a few rooms that were still in use up until about ten years ago when he died. His bedroom is right next door and the only other rooms used
