Page 79 of The Burnt
A woman Declan had never seen before entered the room. She was accompanied by a police officer who was clearly letting her know what had happened over the past few hours in the house. Her face betrayed little emotion, but Declan noted that her hands were shaking.
Charlie walked over to her. “Jasmine. Are you all right?”
Declan realised that this must be the housekeeper Charlie had told him about. He made his way over to her. “I’m Declan Hunt. Charlie here says you were very helpful during his investigation. I’m so sorry you had to come home to all of this.”
Jasmine smiled weakly. “It’s quite a shock…to find out Milo is truly dead, and to have Mr Semple shot by Mr Griffin… It’s hard to believe.”
Declan put his hand gently on her shoulder. “If you need any help at all…”
Jasmine pursed her lips. “Thanks. I’ll be fine.” She slowly surveyed the room. “I think I need a cup of tea.” She turned toward Charlie and Declan. “Would you care to join me?”
“That would be nice,” Declan replied nodding at Charlie.
Jasmine led them into the kitchen where she steeped a pot of tea and poured it into three mugs. She sat at the table in silence, then said. “Do you believe in fate, Mr Hunt?”
Declan paused. “Why do you ask?”
Jasmine continued, “Looking at all of this, it just reminds me that none of us are really in control of our destiny. I saw an exhibit of sculptures last year made up of scraps of funnels, and bicycle wheels, sewing machines and dolls. Usually the doll was at the centre with its hands on a crank, and at first glance it seemed that when it turned that crank, the world around it started to spin. But that’s not how it really worked. No matter how it appeared, that little doll wasn’t making that crank turn, the crank was keeping the doll working. Life’s an illusion, Mr Hunt. I think we’re all just serving something bigger that we never really understood in the first place.”
She shook her head sadly, then took another sip of her tea.
Declan considered what she’d said and thought about the past ten years of his life. Maybe she was right.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Charlie sat in Declan’s office. “So, I guess now that my missing persons case is solved, we need to find some more work.”
Declan nodded. He had a far-off look in his eyes.
“You’ve been quiet all weekend. What are you thinking about?” Charlie asked.
Declan shifted in his chair. “I’ve been trying to decide if I’d rather not know the truth about the past. Finding out that Freddy was still alive, that was… I’ve lived the last ten years based on a lie. Imagine, Freddy pretending to be someone else all that time.”
“I know a bit about that,” Charlie replied. “For the last ten years I haven’t exactly been honest about whoIam, at least not with my parents.”
Declan was silent for a moment. “I don’t want to scare you, but if you’ve hidden things in the past, there’s always a price to pay when the truth comes out. When my dad found out I was gay, a lot of things shifted, and not for the better. And Freddy…he paid a much bigger price. I can’t even begin to imagine the effect it’ll have on him for the rest of his life.”
Charlie got up and moved over to Declan. “What Archie did was horrible, but in the end, his final thoughts were about Freddy. He used his last bit of strength to send a message to you so you could help him. I know that doesn’t erase what Archie had done, but there’s no way to go back and change the past. Maybe the best we can hope for is that by revealing the truth we open up the possibility for a better future.”
“You’re a wise man, Charlie Watts,” Declan said, ruffling Charlie’s hair.
“What do you think’s going to happen to Freddy now?”
“I placed a called to Katherine O’Grady,” Declan said. “Last time I saw her, she told me she was the executor of Archie’s will. It seems to me that as his closest relative, Freddy may be entitled to the house, and if that’s the case, he can sell it and use the money to start fresh. I doubt he’d want to live there. It must have a lot of bad memories.”
There was a knock at the door and Mrs B walked into the office. “I hope I’m not interrupting. I just got a call from a woman named Jasmine Robertson. She wanted to pay the bill for Simon Griffin. I told her she could e-transfer the money. Funny thing, though, she said she was going to add a bonus of ten thousand dollars. I’m not sure whose money it is, but she said given the nature of the incident on Friday, she felt you were owed a little recompense for the danger her boss put you in. Exactly whatdidyou get up to on Friday?”
“It’s a long story, Mrs B,” Charlie replied.
Declan grinned at Charlie. “Well, I suppose maybe now we can afford to build that office wall I promised you.”
Charlie’s phone rang. “Excuse me for just a minute. I have to take this.”
He answered the call. A voice on the other end said, “Charlie, I need to see you. The birds have left the nest and won’t be home until later this evening.”
It was Gran. She was letting him know that his parents had gone out and it was safe to visit her.
“I’ll be right over,” Charlie said. He looked at Declan, “I mean…we’ll be right over. There’s someone I’d like you to meet.”
