CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Late that afternoon, Jaz picked me up and we drove over to Bogg House. The guys were just leaving, although Mac looked apologetic when he saw me.
‘I’d have stayed to finish off the wall but I’m under instructions to get home at a reasonable time tonight.’
I smiled, glancing at my watch. ‘Isn’t six o’clock when most people leave work? You’ve got nothing to feel bad about.’
He grinned. ‘It’s a healthy aubergine roast tonight with a big salad. I don’t eat enough of the good stuff, apparently.’
Barney laughed as he got in his car. ‘Life’s too short to bother with salad.’
‘Yeah. Hard lines, Mac.’ Danny slapped him on the back. ‘Try not to think of me and my take-away tikka masala for one when you’re digging into your delicious rabbit food.’
Jaz and I laughed, watching them drive away, then we turned to the house.
I was feeling braver in the daylight, although I still had a slight case of butterflies, wondering what we might find, and I was very thankful to have my friend there with me.
I hadn’t mentioned to Mac about thinking I’d seen someone at one of the windows. I hadn’t wanted to make a thing of it, just in case it really was pregnancy hormones sending my imagination wild.
The house, when we entered, was perfectly silent. There were obvious signs that work had been done – including the half-dismantled wall between the kitchen and dining room – but nothing looked out of place.
But climbing the stairs, my heart was beating fast as I remembered the spooky shape at the window...
‘Which room was it?’ asked Jaz.
I pointed, and we exchanged a glance and went in together.
But of course, it was empty.
My shoulders slumped with relief.
‘No ghosts, then.’ Jaz smiled, and I realised she’d probably been feeling as jittery as I was, coming over here.
‘No ghosts. Or intruders,’ I agreed.
‘So which will be your room?’ She disappeared and when I tracked her down, she’d found the master bedroom. ‘Nice views of the back garden.’
I chuckled. ‘Yes, if you use your imagination.’
She went off to look at the other rooms, but I lingered in what would be our bedroom, trying to decide where the bed should be to take advantage of the beautiful countryside views.
‘Ellie? Come and look at this!’
‘What is it?’ I rushed in the direction of Jaz’s voice, my heart sinking because I feared she’d found something sinister, like a big patch of damp or something worse.
But what I saw in the bedroom next-door took the wind right out of my sails. ‘Oh, my goodness! What on earth ...?’
A section of wallpaper had peeled away and was hanging loosely, and painted on the wall beneath it was... a bee?
‘Wow.’ We gazed at it. It was a cute cartoon bee with a smiley face and pink wings. Gently, I pulled away more of the paper. And then still more. And to our amazement, a field of golden sunflowers was beginning to appear, the bee resting on one of the petals.
‘This is incredible,’ murmured Jaz, as we peeled away more to reveal the astonishing mural beneath. The condensation in the room meant that the old striped wallpaper was virtually hanging off in places and fairly easy to remove.
The sunflowers were raising their heads to the sun, as exotic birds flew overhead and perched in the nearby trees.
‘I feel like we’re discovering something really precious here,’ I whispered.
Jaz nodded. ‘This is what Howard Carter must have felt like when he discovered Tutankhamun’s tomb.’
‘But wasn’t there some kind of a curse on whoever entered it?’
She grinned. ‘Keep peeling. I think we’ll be fine.’
*****
We worked away for well over an hour, removing the wallpaper very gently so as not to disturb the delicate brushwork beneath and gasping in awe whenever we revealed something new.
Finally, when all the paper was removed, we stood in silence gazing around us at the stunning vistas covering all four walls: country scenes in high summer with lush green foliage on the trees, and birds with wings in a rainbow of vibrant colours.
‘Who do you think did this?’ Jaz stared at me, still looking thunderstruck.
Slowly, I shook my head. ‘I can’t imagine. But whoever it was has so much talent.’
‘Maybe you should try and find out who owned the house before you?’
‘But it would be longer ago than that, surely? The previous owner actually wallpapered over all of this! Can you imagine even wanting to do that?’
‘Maybe whoever painted these scenes got bored with them and covered them with wallpaper themselves.’
‘Well, whatever the story is, I’m very glad we’ve revealed them today.’ I turned to Jaz. ‘What made you tear the paper away? Did you want to see what was underneath?’
She shook her head. ‘I honestly didn’t touch it. When I came in, the corner was already pulled away.’
‘Really? But I would have noticed...’ A chill ran through me. ‘Oh, no.’
‘What?’
‘The face at the window. Someone was here. I knew it!’
‘But who? That boy you caught in the garden, you mean?’
I shrugged. ‘Maybe. They scared Maisie last time we were here, roaring around on those quad bikes.’
‘You should call the police.’
‘What would I say, though? I’ve got no proof he was in the house.’ I sighed. ‘If anything else happens, I might have to go and speak to the farmer who owns the field. I really don’t want to, though. I mean, I’d like to get on with my new neighbours, not antagonise them from the word go.’
Later, we went out to explore the gardens – and that’s when Jaz called something worrying to my attention.
A window on the ground floor at the side of the house was open a crack and beneath it, in the soil, some large footprints were clearly visible.
‘That’s how your intruder got in, I guess,’ she pointed out.
My heart sank, looking at them. ‘Those are big boot prints. Definitely male.’
‘The windows are being replaced, though, aren’t they?’
I nodded. ‘Starting next week, hopefully.’
‘So you’ll soon have locks and the place will be completely secure. I can’t imagine those boys messing around here any longer once there’s someone actually living in it.’
‘That’s what I told Maisie.’ I shivered. ‘I hate the thought that someone’s been in, though.’
‘The house has lain empty for a while,’ Jaz pointed out. ‘It’s actually a wonder there weren’t squatters. At least you don’t have to deal with something like that.’ She squeezed my arm. ‘It’ll be fine, love. And if it isn’t, you and Zak will just have to have a word with your neighbours.’
She looked across at the farmhouse in the distance and I followed her gaze, trying to ignore the sense of foreboding I was feeling...