Chapter 12

Family

Friday

Sitting around thinking about Elle was not going to bring her back. The pain threatened to overwhelm Chelsea as she pottered around the house, busying herself with mundane tasks. Nothing took her mind off the fact that her best friend was gone.

Chelsea decided to open Bloom to escape the silence and constant reminders. Elle wouldn’t have wanted Chelsea to put her life on hold and it would take her mind off things.

As she headed out the door, the phone rang. She rushed to answer it.

“Hello.”

“I’ll be coming for you soon,” a strangely metallic voice threatened before hanging up.

Her heart dropped but she pushed away the fear, almost convincing herself that it was a prank call, someone’s idea of a sick joke.

* * *

When Chelsea entered the back of her shop an instant comfort of aromas and colours washed all over her. She was pleased to see Gavin had delivered the flowers along with the arrangements for display she’d purchased, allowing her to get a start on her orders.

The next hour passed quickly and, before she knew it, opening time arrived. Next to Saturday, Friday was her busiest day and she appreciated that the morning would go quickly. Sarah and Charlotte were arriving at lunchtime and she was eager to see them.

She closed for lunch and headed home to greet her family. The moment she walked in the front door, the phone rang once again. Dropping her bag and keys on the table, she ran to answer it.

“Hello.”

“Soon it will be your turn.” Again that metallic voice.

She put the phone down, hard. This time she couldn’t shrug off her growing anxiety so easily. Was this threat real? It certainly sounded it. No, of course not, she told herself, but she failed to convince herself. Underneath she knew she wasn’t being paranoid.

The voice sounded cold, harsh and very serious. Inhuman, in fact. She stood frozen, her heart thudding. The hairs on her neck bristled. As goose bumps spread down her arms, she rubbed her hands over them and tried to shake off the mounting terror.

She thought for a moment about picking up the phone again and calling Lucas. Perhaps the calls could help with his investigation. No, surely it wasn’t the killer. Why would he call her? She thought it would be nice to call Lucas and this could be a reason to. A slight smile touched her lips as she remembered their evening, their kiss. She brought a hand to her lips as she remembered how they felt against hers.

When the phone shrilled again, she jumped and she let out an involuntary cry. As she picked it up, apprehension crept into her chest. Taking a deep breath she summoned some bravado.

“What?”

“Chelsea?”

Relief dispelled the trepidation at the sound of a familiar voice.

“Yes.”

“This is Clare Sheridan.”

“Oh, I’m sorry for sounding rude, Mrs. Sheridan. I’ve just been receiving some nuisance calls.”

“Are you sure they are nuisance calls, dear and not something more serious? Please tell me you will be careful. And it’s Clare.”

“Ok, Clare, please don’t worry I’m sure it’s nothing.” Chelsea reassured her, not won’t to cause her any further distress. “How are you doing?”

“Not so good, honey. I’ve lost my baby and I don’t know how I’ll get through it.” Her voice caught.

“I miss her too.”

“I called to find out whether you would mind ... if my daughter, Megan, can come around on Monday to collect ... Elle’s things.” Her voice broke and she paused a moment. “I can have her do it sooner if ...”

“No Monday is fine, Clare. There’s no hurry.”

“Thank you and also the ... funeral is Tuesday. Megan can give you the details on Monday, when it will all be finalised.”

Clare sobbed quietly, her composure barely holding.

“Thank you for letting me know, and if you need anything else, please call, anytime.”

“Thank you, dear.” Then she was gone.

Chelsea experienced a sense of dread and sadness. Tears which threatened during her call with Clare escaped now. She would actually have to say goodbye to her beautiful friend. Chelsea wasn’t sure how she was going to manage this. She couldn’t understand why life took such a wonderful person like Elle. Leaning against the counter, she wiped away the tears and took a shaky breath.

Trying to put Elle and the calls out of her mind for the moment, she walked to the kitchen to prepare lunch.

With perfect timing, just as she’d finished, the front door opened and Charlotte breezed through with Sarah following close behind. She ran to greet them and was enclosed by a Summerville hug, Charlotte from behind and Sarah in the front. Sarah pulled back and cupped her face.

“How are you holding up, sweetheart?”

“Ok,” she squeaked.

“Well, we’re here now so you don’t have to worry about anything. What time do you need us to head over to Bloom?” she continued in her no fuss way.

“In about half an hour.”

“Well let’s eat, then,” Charlotte decided.

They caught up on lighter subjects over lunch. As they prepared to leave, the phone rang again.

“This phone has not stopped,” she said with exasperation.

“Hello.”

“You head off to your little shop now, Chelsea. I’ll see you soon.”

This time Chelsea hung up.

“Who was that?” Charlotte asked.

“No-one, just a prank call.”

“How many have you had?” Sarah asked.

“A few.”

“What did they say?” Charlotte said.

“He would see me soon and that he was coming for me, that kind of thing, nothing serious. It’s probably some kids who have seen the news and know Elle was murdered.”

Chelsea was still hoping against hope that this was actually the case, although her rapid pulse and the prickles of cold fingering her spine, told her otherwise. He knew her name.

“How would they know where she lived?” Sarah asked.

“I don’t know. I’m sure it’s nothing.” Chelsea shoved her shaking hands in her jacket pockets to hide their betrayal of her words.

“It doesn’t sound like nothing to me,” Sarah said, just getting started now.

“Mum, it’s okay, really.”

“Drop the bravado, Chelsea. I can tell from your face that the call bothered you.”

“He said my name.”

“What? You have to tell the police.”

“I don’t know if that’s really necessary.” She wished it wasn’t.

“Yes, it is.”

“Can I call Lucas later, when we get home from Bloom?” she asked. Chelsea instantly realised her mistake once the words left her mouth.

“Who’s Lucas?” Charlotte asked with one eyebrow raised.

“He’s a detective working on Elle’s investigation.”

Chelsea attempted to keep her face straight, hoping to deter further questions. However, with Charlotte, this would be unavoidable. Her sister was far too inquisitive. Chelsea wasn’t ready to share Lucas with anyone yet. Besides she wasn’t really sure what was happening anyway.

“You like him.”

“He’s nice.”

“Is there something going on?” she asked, her voice laced with excitement.

“I don’t know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know?”

“Exactly that, I don’t know. We had dinner last night, nothing serious.” She shrugged trying to appear nonchalant.

“Chelsea’s got a boyfriend,” she teased.

“No, I haven’t. How old are you anyway? Six?” she said a little too fiercely. “Now we have to get going and open Bloom, so I can make a living.”

Chelsea promptly stormed out the door. Charlotte and Sarah exchanged looks and shared a secret grin before following Chelsea.

There was much to do. Chelsea completed all the bouquets required for the next morning out the back and away from her sister’s questioning looks. Sarah manned the phones and took orders, while Charlotte served and flirted with her customers. By the time they’d helped the last of them and shut the door, they were exhausted.

“How do you do this every day by yourself?” Charlotte asked throwing herself dramatically into a nearby chair.

“I don’t do it by myself. On busy days, like today, I have Lauren to help me,” replied Chelsea, referring to the part-time student who worked for her.

“Oops, did we steal her job today?”

“No, she had exams today which, by the way, shouldn’t you be doing?”

“No, I only had two and they’re done.”

“Good. I wouldn’t be happy if I took you away from your studies.”

“Well you haven’t,” she stated standing up. “Can we go now? I have a craving for a glass of cold wine.”

Once the day’s takings were counted and all the flowers put safely in the fridges, they headed home. As they walked in the front door, the phone rang again. Chelsea looked at Sarah and Charlotte.

“Should I answer it?”

“Yes and then I think you should write down every phone call,” Sarah told her.

“Yes,” she answered the phone.

“Not long now.” The phone went dead.

“What did he say?” Sarah asked.

“Not long now.”

“Write all the calls down now, so you don’t forget.”

“Ok, I am really worried now. The calls only happen when I’m home,” she said, frowning. “See there are no messages on my machine. It’s like he knows when I’m here.”

“So do you think you should call the police now?”

“Yes I do, but after dinner, okay?” Sarah nodded.

Over dinner and a glass of wine, Charlotte began to grill Chelsea again.

“Please tell me, what is going on with Lucas. I’m dying of curiosity.”

“I already told you, I don’t know.”

“Have you kissed him?”

“He kissed me, twice.”

“I want details.”

“Are you going to stop pestering me if I do?” she asked, rolling her eyes.

“Maybe.”

“The first time I met him, I thought he was rude ... and cute.” Chelsea smiled. “I went to the station to report Elle missing and he acted like he couldn’t get me out the door fast enough. Then I saw him again the next day – yesterday – when they came to tell me about Elle.” She stopped as her voice broke a little. It was going to take awhile to say her friend’s name without heartache.

“What happened then?” Charlotte prompted.

“He was rude to me again.”

“Then how did you end up kissing him?”

“How did he end up kissing me, you mean?”

“Stop using nitpicking as a stalling tactic and spill.”

“He came back later to ask me some more questions and to apologise. Then he kissed me, apologised again and ran away.”

“Keep going.”

“Then he came back last night to apologise again. Seems he does a lot of that, now that I think about it.” She paused. “Oh and he wanted to show me some photos. He stayed for dinner and we kissed goodnight, that’s it.”

“You’re in love with him,” Charlotte declared.

“What? No I’m not. Besides I hardly know him. I only met him Wednesday.” Now that Charlotte had mentioned it, she wondered if perhaps she was at least falling in that direction. Was it possible to love someone on sight? She was definitely infatuated by his amber eyes and crooked grin.

“Shouldn’t you be calling him about your calls?” Sarah said reminding her.

“Ok I’ll do it now” she said getting up to get his business card and the phone.