Weeping Willows: A Thrilling Mystery Novella (Dark Desires Book 1)

Weeping Willows

Written by
S.B.Rose

Copyright ©
S.B.Rose

All rights reserved. No
part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior
permission in writing of the publisher, nor be circulated in
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of binding or cover other than that in which it is published
without a similar condition including this condition, being imposed
on the subsequent purchaser.

This book has been produced
for the Amazon Kindle and is distributed by Amazon Direct
Publishing

- CHAPTER 1
-

B
right scorching sun glinted on the shiny metal of the red
buses lining the busy street corner. A man bent over a metal bucket
and ran his fingers through the soapy sudsy water making ripples to
speed up the process. He dipped his rag into the bucket, soaking it
as he washed the grime off the exterior of the bus. He sang a song
in a language that the little girl standing in the corner did not
understand but she listened, mesmerized by the tune. Oblivious of
being watched he happily continued his task.

The girl looked away guiltily
remembering what mum and dad had said, “
It’s rude to stare at people, Suzie!”
were the words that echoed in her head. She looked into the
shop where her parents were busy paying for their purchases. A
sudden feeling of dread was settling in the pit of her stomach.
Their shopping trip was coming to an end and it would be time to
head home. She hated being at home - it felt so cooped up. They
lived in an apartment in the city, not in the very best part of
town but it was all that they could afford for now. Mum stepped out
of the shop and held Suzie's hand as she steered her towards the
entrance of their apartment building, whilst dad trudged behind
with all the shopping bags.

Suzie could never explain why the
foyer of their building petrified her. The shabby dark brown carpet
smelt musty, a strong smell of cheap detergent could never disguise
the cold dank stale cigarette smell that permeated the air. It was
pitch black and the long flight of stairs to their flat on the
2
^nd
floor felt like a
huge mission. The lifts were permanently out of order. The darkness
was so eerie that it felt like little fingers were clenching her
chest, squeezing tightly making her feel breathless. Just as she
felt dizzy they reached the landing to Suzie's relief.

Long corridors with floors coated with thick
lavender smelling polish, a soothing scent met them at Flat 22. A
simple agreement with all the tenants to maintain their corridors.
Fresh, spicy aromas of mouthwatering cooking wafted through as
Suzie and her parents entered their door.

This was home.

They settled in for the day, had lunch that mum had
prepared before they had left for shopping. It was a deliciously
divine mutton stew with veggies. Mum was an amazing cook.

A soft knock at the front door sent mum to answer.
It was probably Aunt Ivette from next door. Suzie brushed the thick
fringe of her silky black hair off her forehead and stared at the
tall woman in the doorway. She was one of the most beautiful
creatures she had ever seen. A very tall blonde haired woman with
flawless milky skin, a soft pink lipstick on her shapely lips
dressed in a white wispy chiffon flowing dress. She had always
looked like she had just stepped out of a movie.

“
Hello
Judy, just came to bring Suzie a chocolate bar that Jimmy bought
for her
.” she said in that soft husky
(warm) voice as she held out the chocolate bar to Suzie gently.
Even at such a young tender age, Suzie knew that Aunt Ivette loved
children.

Grandma May always said that children had a natural
sense of what people were really like. Suzie thought about that,
she argued that grandma was probably right, there was warmth and
kindness emanating from the lovely woman. She reached out and took
the chocolate bar smiling a thank you at Aunt Ivette.

Suddenly, the loud clanging of crashing metal in the
courtyard reverberated through the building. The noise was
deafening! Suzie remembered that Aunt Ivette, Mum and Dad exchanged
knowing looks that only adults knew how to do.

“
Ugh!
It's probably the hooligans in
the courtyard.
” said Dad. Suzie followed
her parents and Aunt Ivette into the corridor, it always amazed her
how all the tenants would stand with their arms on the wall,
nervously watching, on the tips of her toes peeking at the
frightening brawl occurring in the courtyard in spite of Dad
warning her to stay indoors. It was a frighteningly strange
fascination watching bottles being broken on the heads of people,
as rivulets of blood oozed down their faces.

The sound of Adele’s melodious
voice singing “
there’s a fire burning in
my heart. . .
” brought Suzie out of her
memory as her cellphone ringtone played. She jumped up and quickly
answered but was a second too late as the caller rang off. She sat
up awkwardly wondering what had brought back the childhood memory.
She felt extremely disorientated that her mind had crept so far
back into the past. As she stretched her long legs clad in a tight
fitting skinny jeans and pulled the denim jacket tightly around her
in an unconsciously protective gesture, she realized while sitting
on the bank of the duck pond, that Melissa was extremely late. They
were never going to make it for their English lecture on time.
Melly was Suzie’s best pal for year’s right back to the time after
her parents had moved out of that dreadful flat in the city and
into the stunning suburb where the two girls had befriended each
other on their first day at school, promising to be best friends
forever!

Suzie’s life had changed drastically from that
momentous time. She had a beautiful secure childhood in an
amazingly safe neighborhood, had gone through middle and secondary
school happily. She and Melly had both decided that they were going
to major in English, both looking towards careers in Education.
Life, right now was just awesome.

She reached again for her phone, dusted the grass
off of her jeans as she stood up and looked at the caller
number.

It had been Melly.

Suzie dialed back wondering why
Melly wasn’t answering and left a message, “
Melly, for god sake, where are you? We’ve missed our lecture.
Call me!
” she rang off.

Picking up the books that she’d left on the bank
with her bag, Suzie began walking towards the university gates,
students were chatting and laughing with each as she walked on, a
very lively atmosphere. She walked towards the shiny red golf that
her parents had gifted her for her birthday, pulled out her keys,
deactivated the alarm and jumped in. looking into her rear-view
mirror, she wiped her smudged pink lipstick and brushed back her
sleek black hair over one ear as she scrutinized her appearance,
she turned out okay looking she thought with huge almond eyes,
fringed by thick black lashes, a slightly delicate nose with a
mouth a tad too small, but nevertheless okay.

She'd always complained that she
was very average looking and Melly would argue that it was untrue
as there was always a line of boys vying for Suzie's attention.
Melly was a bright bubbly vivacious girl with emerald green eyes
that always shone with mischief and a friendly smile that earned
her great popularity. The only thing that made them truly differ
was that Melly would jump crazily from relationship to relationship
while Suzie would stubbornly refuse to be involved with guy's
claiming her studies were “
top
priority
”.

They would torment and tease each
other mercilessly as Melly would playfully call Suzie
“
too picky
” and
judgmental, as she would argue that she had no trouble waiting
for
“Mr. Right”.
Thus banter would go on regularly as it did in their
teens.

Secretly, Suzie would agree to herself that Melly
was right. She was too serious and didn't want to get hurt. The few
relationships she had attempted just hadn't felt right so she'd
abandoned the whole dating thing besides Suzie was too busy
consoling Melly through her disastrous relationships. Melly was a
sweetheart but in all honesty she could sometimes be too free
spirited and a commitment-phobe. Deep down Suzie knew that Melissa
was really a harmless soul, leaving a stream of broken hearts
behind as she ended on relationship after the other.

She glanced at her phone on the passenger seat,
still no message from Melly. She placed the key in the ignition and
started up the engine, heading for home. This was so unlike Melly,
but something had probably come up and she knew that she'd hear all
about it soon enough.

The weather had turned nastily
dreadful. Dark black clouds loomed overhead as Suzie headed to the
outskirts of London to the little town of Rosewood Creek, where she
and Melly had rented the little cottage. It wasn't too far out from
the University, traveling the short distance was the added bonus to
living in such a picturesque environment. Both their parents helped
by their generous allowances to the girls. Life couldn't be better.
Looking out at the stretch of country road with the sweeping
willows swaying in the gusty wind and the smell of the fresh pine
needles hinting at a downpour Suzie realized that she was going to
be caught in the thick of it. The sky blackened and the heavens
opened, spewing torrents of rain. It pounded on her vehicle, the
windshield swishing to and fro crazily as Suzie squinted at the
road ahead struggling for visibility. She thought of pulling over
but decided against it as home was just ten minutes away. She'd
weather the storm, driving at a snail’s pace. Thank goodness that
this was the country and no traffic hazard. “
She'll be home soon
.” she kept
reassuring herself.

A fork in the road ahead indicated
the turn towards home and the car skidded slightly as Suzie took
the turn. The cottage loomed ahead as she quickly turned into the
driveway, she felt a bit relieved that she didn't have to jump off
to open the gate as both she and Melissa had probably forgotten to
shut it when they left this morning. Lightning and thunder struck
as Suzie jumped off the car quickly locking it as she made the mad
dash to the front door. Inserting her key in the lock totally
drenched in those few minutes Suzie entered the cottage. It was
freezing cold and the dark interior making it apparent that Melly
had not returned as she sometimes did with Craig, her latest. She
walked into the lounge and switched on the light. It was
beautifully cozy furnished room with a soft rose printed wallpaper
in a delicate pink and white pattern which always gave one the
feeling of brightness and warmth, soft drapes at the windows
matching lampshades and a suede lounge suite completing the
furnishing. Suzie kicked off her shoes and sank her feet in the
luxurious shaggy rug making her way to the bathroom. Quickly
undressing, she turned on the spray in the shower, soaping herself
letting the hot streaming water soothe her body. Ten minutes later
she turned the faucet off, stepping out she dried herself, slipping
on her warm toweling robe she headed to the kitchen, pulled out her
favorite red and white mug with hearts on it and spooned 2 sugars
waiting for the kettle to boil. A nice cup of tea was generally
what Suzie liked to have when she got home from campus.

She and Melly would catch up on the events of their
day, laughing and joking around. The kettle automatically switched
off and the click brought Suzie back to wondering as she poured the
steaming water into her mug. Where was Melly? It was beginning to
become a little unnerving that Melly hadn't called back yet.

A sudden feeling of dread settled in the pit of her
stomach. She had the uncanny feeling that something was amiss.
Shaking her head she quietly told herself not to be Silly and
mentally pushed away the negative thoughts. It was probably the
storm adding to her paranoia.

Taking her tea she settled herself
into the warmth of the couch, switched on the Television and the
soapie
Days Of Our Lives
was on. Suzie skipped the channel and weirdly
settled for the Daily news update. The country's political
situation making headlines with the Presidents excessive funding on
his personal home making the highlights with the different rival
parties vying to outsmart each other on what the outcome would be.
The warmth of the tea made Suzie feel so relaxed that she dozed off
on the couch with the telly still on.