Page 31 of The Silence of Hell

Emory wandered in, yawning. “Coffee,” she growled.

“Kelly and I will go after breakfast,” Harriet said.

I shook my head.

“Heidi and I?” Harriet amended, and I nodded again and yawned.

“This will come to a lot. You basically need everything,” Harriet continued. “I’ll try to get generic stuff to keep the price down.”

Miffed, I glowered. Did Harriet think I was cheap?

“You got two thousand, buy branded and whatever you want. Shut up,” I growled.

Harriet and Heidi exchanged amused glances as Kelly and Dan bent their heads and ate.

An hour later, I was in the room we were clearing and removing the final few dolls. The Peacock room was done, and Emory could now use it. It needed a good scrub, and I had a team arriving in five days. I wanted them to clean the hallways and the bedrooms that we had opened so far. It was the same company who’d cleaned the kitchen and adjoining rooms.

We had moved on to the bedroom containing the Eloise dolls, and they were the first removed. They were being locked into the family vault, which was situated in the cellar.

It resembled a bank vault with a heavy door. Luckily, I knew the combination, or we’d have been in dire straits. Aunt Aggie had drummed it into my head as a child, and I’d sworn never to tell anyone. It had been updated before Aunt Aggie died and now boasted a key lock, as well as the spinner and also a thumbprint scanner, which Slaughter had sorted.

Jinx headed down to the vault with Kelly and the other valuable dolls in this room and locked it under a security camera’s watchful eye. I knew Tatum had returned and was working with Chatter to clear the rest of the coins.

Tatum had approached me about his group whom I had heard of. They were exclusive and well respected. Tatum then offered me to join them, and I was considering it. Then again, it was unlikely I’d travel for jobs as I had many years of work in front of me here.

By midmorning, we’d packed and cleared the Ruby Room, and Harriet could move in now. After discussion, Emory, Dan, and Kelly picked a room for Heidi, and we started clearing it. This was the Moon room and everything in here was a light silver grey or shining opal colour. It was another stunning room. Ravenberry Manor was full of them. Each generation adding something to the house.

We began packing up the dolls—not as many in this room—and I kept an ear out for the girls returning. When they did, I ushered everyone out and locked the door. It would be unfair to let them unload the car alone.

I was shocked when I saw the SUV was packed with bags. “What the hell?”

“There is seven of us living here. And we eat a lot,” Heidi said flippantly.

“Seven?”

“You, Jinx, and us five. Plus, any visitors,” Harriet replied.

“Load me up,” I ordered, knowing I couldn’t argue their logic.

The boys went back and forth to the car with Jinx as we began putting items in the pantry and in the cupboard. An hour and a half later, we’d finished, and Harriet was making a platter of sandwiches.

“Lunch!” Tatum announced, entering the kitchen with Chatter on his heels.

“Yup. Help yourself,” I said as I bit into a peach.

I wasn’t hungry, so got up to check the gardens. It had been just over four weeks since I’d moved in, and the estate boundary walls had been completely repaired. The builders were now repairing, damp proofing, and re-roofing the ground structures. Such as the stables, garage, pool house, and greenhouse, for example.

A team of gardeners was working on the grounds. They’d started with the lawn in front of the rear of the manor. Historically, my family would have played bowls or croquet here or lounged around with a picnic. The gardens surrounded the lawn on three sides, with the fourth being the Manor itself.

A lot of work remained on the outside. At the top of the house on the third level, builders tackled the damp. It surprised me that the floor had it, yet the attic and cellars had been kitted out against it. Another mystery of Aunt Aggie’s thought process!

“Ma’am, would you mind coming to check this?” a guy asked as he approached me.

“Sure,” I commented, wondering what now. Surprisingly, he led me to a golf cart.

“It’s a short drive but a longer walk,” he said.

“Okay,” I replied, properly confused. As we pulled off, Chatter walked out, but I waved him away. There was an expression on his face that suggested he didn’t like me going off alone.

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