Free A Grave Inheritance by Anne Renshaw

wasn’t switched on, but she willed it to be warm nevertheless. Shivering slightly she turned her attention to the garden below and looked out of the window. Her main concern was the spreading hawthorn bushes and hazel tree seedlings which had taken root. Grace was glad the group of trees in the garden was far enough away from the house and didn’t block out the light. She was visualising a table and chairs underneath the canopy of branches when she heard a soft sound behind her. Thinking that Amelia had sneaked in for a quick look, Grace turned to face her. There was no one else in the room.
    ‘Amelia!’ Grace called out.
    ‘I’m in the kitchen,’ Amelia replied from downstairs.
    The sound came again, as though something brushed against the wooden floor, and whirls of dust, like smoke, rose up around her. Shivering, and not wanting to be alone, Grace called down to Amelia again. ‘Come up and take a look at your new office.’ After a few minutes Grace could her hear her sister’s footsteps on the stairs.
    ‘You’ve made a fantastic job, it looks lovely,’ Amelia praised, glancing around and admiring Grace’s work, and then she went back downstairs to the kitchen to finish off her jobs.
    Feeling spooked, Grace hugged herself. The odd episode played on her mind and however she tried to make sense of it, she couldn’t.

Chapter 11
     
    Leonie Lanceley let the telephone ring eight times before she replaced the receiver. She flicked through her address book looking for Tapscott Manor’s number, and then punched the buttons on the handset. Roughly pulling her fingers through her auburn curls, she waited for it to be picked up at the other end. Just as she was about to replace the receiver yet again, she heard the familiar greeting.
    ‘Tapscott Manor Nursing Home, Vicky Morris speaking, how may I help you?’
    ‘Leonie Lanceley here, has my brother been in today?’ Leonie snapped.
    ‘Hello Leonie. I’m not sure, sorry,’ the receptionist answered, a little flustered. ‘I’ve just come back from lunch.’
    ‘Put me through to Lynne Sykes then.’ Leonie wanted to add, “And quickly”, but held back. ‘God, people think I have all the time in the world just to sit and pass the time of day,’ fuming she click-clacked her long fingernails on the desk and waited to be connected to the nurse’s office, growing more impatient with each second.
    ‘Nurse Sykes here, Leonie. What’s up?’
    Leonie ignored the question and came straight to the point. ‘David! Is he with my aunt?’
    ‘Yes, he stopped by to have lunch with her. Sophia has been feeling a bit off colour for the last few days. Nothing serious, but at her age, well, you never know. She would be overjoyed if you came to see her.’ Nurse Sykes bit her lip, waiting for a response.
    ‘Yes, well, I would be overjoyed if you would stop harassing me about it. I’ll come when I want to and not when you tell me to, got that.’ The chilly silence from the other end of the line gave Leonie a sense of supreme satisfaction. Continuing slowly, with each syllable emphasised, she spoke into the receiver. ‘Now do you think you could give David a message?’ Leonie’s fingers resumed their clicking.
    ‘Yes, of course.’ Lynne Sykes was used to Leonie’s off hand attitude. ‘I have my pen ready, what is the message, please?’ She asked quietly, her voice controlled and calm.
    ‘Tell David I’m on my way to Woodbury now and I’ll be at the vicarage at three o’clock. Tell him to make sure he’s there when I arrive.’ Not waiting for any confirmation, Leonie replaced the receiver back in its cradle and grabbed her coat. Leaving her office, she spoke to her secretary as she passed her. ‘Shelley, I’m out of the office for the rest of the day.’ Leonie opened the main door leading onto Bridge Street and stepped out.
     
    ***
     
    David quickened his step when he saw his sister, Leonie, waiting outside the vicarage door. He knew by her posture she