Hope smiled. “I spoke to Archie.” She referred Archie Winchester, one of the two brothers who lived in the house I’d come to Gooseberry Bay to research. “He told me you were out at the house, and he said it appeared that you had been there before — when you were younger.”
I nodded. “It did seem that way. When Archie first showed me the house, I wasn’t entirely certain. The house in my dreams has presented itself to me in tiny fragments that don’t necessarily fit together in any sort of organized manner. And the house Archie lives in is just so…” I struggled for the right word.
“Grandiose.”
“Sort of, but in a good way. It is huge and very intimidating, but it’s also extremely impressive. I loved the conservatory, and Josie told me that the ballroom is fabulous. I suppose the overuse of crystal chandeliers and ornamental trim did seem a bit ostentatious, but the view was spectacular, and the more I looked around, the more certain I was that I’d visited the house at some point. Archie didn’t know who the woman in the photo was, but I’m hoping Adam will.”
“Archie told me that Adam was in town while he was in London, but I wasn’t aware of that fact, or I would have introduced you. He’s a hard man to nail down.”
“So I’ve heard. Based on what the others have said, he works a lot.”
She nodded. “He really does, but he spends six or seven weeks from around mid-November through New Year’s Day here every year, so he should be showing up in the next week or so, and then he’ll be around for a while.” She glanced back toward the house we were still standing in front of. “I’m not sure if Parker is going to end up with the answers she’s after, but I really hope you get yours. It must be so odd not knowing how you ended up in the middle of a burning building on Christmas Eve when it appears that you were here at the house on Piney Point just months beforehand.”
“I will admit that the whole thing has caused me some grief.”
Hope glanced at her watch. “I should get going. I have a lot to do before check-in time.”
“I imagine Fridays are your busiest day.”
“They are.” She pulled her phone out and sent a quick text. “Good luck with your meeting tonight. I hope you find something new to give your investigation some steam, but if you don’t, I think I should warn you that Parker tends to go just a tiny bit crazy when a story isn’t coming together.”
“Good to know. Thanks for the warning.”
After Hope returned to her car and continued on her way, I decided to take a walk around the property. I wanted to get a feel for things, so I would be able to visualize what Parker referred to when we met that evening. The house was situated on a large lot on a quiet street. There were homes on either side of the property, but they were set in the center of their own large lots, so the three structures weren’t really all that close together. The backyard was fenced, but the gate was easy enough to open, so I popped the latch and headed around to the rear of the property. The grass was dead and overrun with weeds, the same as the grass in the front of the property had been. The upstairs windows were covered with shutters, as were the windows at the front of the house, but the downstairs windows were covered with large pieces of plywood. Small pieces of glass on the ground seemed to indicate that someone had broken the windows at the back of the house at some point, and whoever was supposed to be keeping an eye on the place had covered the openings with wood rather than replacing them.
There was a tall wooden fence around the entire property at the back. A small wooden gate along the back fence line provided access to the meadow behind the property. Beyond the meadow was a road, and on the other side of the road was a heavily forested hillside. I supposed if it had been dark when the family left their property, they could have snuck out the back and met up with a car that was waiting for them on the road behind the home, and no one, not even the neighbors on either side of the house, would necessarily have seen them.
I wasn’t sure where the road that ran behind the home led, but if I had to guess, it probably hugged the hillside and then eventually met up with the main highway that ran along the bay. The bay road was the only road in or out of the area, so if the family had fled in a vehicle, they would have had to have taken that route which led to the bridge that crossed the inlet separating Gooseberry Bay from the road leading to Port Angeles.
I wondered what was on the other side of the wooded hillside. I’d need to look at a map. If the family had fled at the last minute as their enemy approached, they wouldn’t have had time to arrange for a car and would have been on foot. In that case, it would have been safest to disappear into the woods rather than traveling along the highway. I felt a chill climb up my spine. I couldn’t imagine the terror the family must have felt if they had been forced to run for their lives with only the clothes on their backs on what had most likely been a chilly night.
After I checked out the area behind the property, I headed back through the gate to the fenced yard. I took another walk around the house and then headed toward my SUV.
“Afternoon,” a woman with long blond hair who looked to be in her early twenties approached from across the street. She was holding the hand of a child who looked to be around three.
“Afternoon,” I replied.
“I noticed you were checking out the Hamish place,” she said. “I live in the area and try to keep an eye on the place. Was there something you needed?”
“My name is Ainsley Holloway,” I said. “I’m working with Parker Peterson, who works for the local newspaper. Parker is doing a follow-up story on the family who disappeared, and I was just here to take a look before our strategy meeting.”
“I know who Parker is,” the woman said. She held out a hand. “I’m Vanessa Hudson.”
“Happy to meet you.” I looked down at the child who was still clinging to the woman’s hand. “And what is your name?”
“Arial.”
“I’m happy to meet you, Arial.” I really hadn’t spent much time around children. Being an only child, I hadn’t had nieces and nephews to dote on, nor did I have friends with children, but this little pixie sure was a cutie. I looked back toward the woman, whom I assumed was the girl’s mother. “Did you live here when the family went missing?”
She nodded. “I moved to the area about the same time as the Hamish family. I was devastated when the family simply disappeared.”
“I can imagine. I recently moved to the area, but based on what I’ve been told, the whole thing is quite the mystery.” I smiled at Arial, who had walked over and sat down on the edge of the raised sidewalk. She scooped up a pile of brightly colored leaves and began stacking them neatly. “Did any of the family members say anything in the days or weeks before the incident that might explain what happened?”
“No. Not really.” Vanessa furrowed her brow. “How exactly do you know Parker Peterson?”
“As I indicated, I recently arrived in Gooseberry Bay. I’m currently renting a cottage out on the peninsula. I became friends with the other residents who live out there, and Parker is a frequent visitor.”
“I see.”
“Do you know Parker well?” I asked.