The next room was Jasper’s bedroom. It had a fairly strong odour to it. The bed was unmade and clothes were strewn around the floor and the curtains were still closed. Rock posters and bikini-clad girls adorned the walls which were painted black. Shuddering, I quickly closed the door.
I carried on to the next room on the left. This one was Zachary’s bedroom. It was immaculately tidy and everything was in its rightful place. The colours of the room were black and charcoal grey. I sat on his bed and for some reason I smelt his pillow. It smelt of a very expensive masculine aftershave. I took a deep breath and as I closed my eyes, I saw his handsome face. On a table there was a photograph of him and Phoebe. She looked beautiful and they were looking into each other’s eyes. They seemed so happy.
After I had dragged myself away from Zachary’s bedroom, I investigated the downstairs rooms. There was a large sitting room, a drawing room, a huge dining room and a snug with a large television on the wall complete with leather recliners.
I turned a corner and discovered a huge games room with a full-sized snooker table and bar in one corner. This room was amazing. There were large comfy sofas and another large flat screen television on the wall. Continuing on, I found another room that was locked. I realised that it was his study. I would have to try and get into this room at another time or find a key for it.
Continuing on my tour, I found a laundry in the basement and the gymnasium that I saw Zachary working out in last night.
The gymnasium looked out on to the pool and cabana area.
I found a huge garage for his car collection. I peeked through the window and saw two quad bikes and a very sexy Harley Davidson motorbike. There was also a sports car under a cover. It was Phoebe’s Mercedes. I remembered it being pulled in and swept by forensics.
Behind the garage lay the stable block. I took the path that led there and went in.
Scarlett’s horses were next door to each other and I greeted them both as they investigated me. They were beautifully well-bred horses. The stable block was very well maintained and I imagined that there must be staff working here.
“Hello, can I help you with something, Miss?” a voice enquired from behind me.
“Hello, I’m Jennifer the new housekeeper,” I replied, extending my hand.
“Oh right. I’m Billy. I’m in charge of the stables,” a small grey-haired man in his fifties told me.
“It’s very nice to meet you, Billy.”
“Likewise, Jennifer. Do you ride?”
“Yes, my Mum and Dad have an equestrian facility in North Yorkshire.”
“Maybe Scarlett will let you ride Bobby or Rio.”
“Yes, she hinted I might be able to. I would like that.”
“Have you seen Puzzle?”
“No. Not yet.”
“I will show you him. You will never have seen a more sorry-looking horse. He is pining for his mistress, the poor thing.”
We went into the next stable block where Puzzle stood with his head hanging down at the back of his stable facing the wall. He was an absolutely stunning white horse.
“Puzzle, come here boy,” Billy gently said.
At first he wouldn’t turn around but he eventually headed over to the stable door. He had such loneliness and sadness in his huge brown eyes. I stroked his face and tickled his ears as he stared down at the ground.
“Oh, he is a sorry state alright, Billy.”
“I know. I don’t know what to do with him. I spend a lot of time with him but nobody has been able to ride him since Mrs Cole’s disappearance. He just bucks them off and he would never do that with Mrs Cole. He was always a perfect gentleman with her.”
“He looks so lonely.”
In the next stable, I saw Zack’s horse, Ace, a rich dark bay of about 18 hands. Ace was really gorgeous. Just like his owner.
I returned to the house and realised that it was already time to collect the twins.
The journey to school was made enjoyable by my new Audi. She ran like a dream. I let the top down and really enjoyed the warm spring sunshine.
As I pulled up to the school, Scarlett was arguing with a boy. I wondered if it was Ollie. He had hold of her arm and she didn’t look happy at all.
“Get off me, Ollie!” she shouted, trying to pull away.
I decided to get out of the car and see what was going on.
“You heard her. Let go of her arm,” I told him, trying to position myself between them.
“Okay, calm down, whoever you are!” he shouted in my face.
I looked down on him and his bad skin. Scarlett could do so much better.
“Clear off, now!” I grimly instructed him.
He skulked off, looking over his shoulder at Scarlett.
“Thanks Jennifer. He was really scaring me there.”