Chapter Forty
Ishmael
The house looked much as he remembered it, though the white paint was now peeling and the steps looked in need of repair.
“A new roof was put on two years ago and the chimneys are in good shape,” Ollie told him.
“See if the pig farm is still nearby,” he said. He gestured up the road. “It was up that way a bit.”
Ollie nodded. “Once the car is unloaded, I’ll drive that way and check it out. The nearest supermarket is that way, anyway.” Ollie opened the front door and flicked on the switch. “Hey, the lights do work! They’d said the power was still on, but you know how these things are.”
They stepped inside. Ishmael glanced about. Most of the furniture was gone. He walked into the kitchen. Some old pots and pans were still in the cupboard and an old chopping board was on the counter. The scarred old kitchen table his mother prepared meals on was also still there. He peered into the dining room. It was bare. A quick walk showed that the living room was as well.
Ollie ran up the stairs, calling down, “They left the beds like I’d asked. Some linens, too. Old but serviceable.”
Ishmael sighed. It would have to do. At least they had something to sleep on tonight. Furniture shopping could wait.
“Why would they not leave you more furniture?” Kris asked.
“They didn’t know it was me and if they had, they couldn’t have sold it to me. It was a proviso of the will.”
Ollie came back down the stairs. “Yup, it’s actually owned by a company that is a subsidiary of another company that Ishmael bought, that’s owned by yet another company of his.”
“Shell companies?” Kris guessed.
“Pretty much, yes,” Ollie replied breezily.
The sound of car tyres had them turning to look outside. Ishmael relaxed when he saw Ezra and Josh climb out of the car. “Taxi’s here,” he said brusquely. “Have them empty the car. Don’t bring him inside, though,” he added, referring to Crichton. “I saw the barn was still out back. Take him there and look for a plastic sheet or something.”
Kris looked away.
“You should go with Ollie, help him choose the groceries.” Ishmael stroked his arm soothingly as he spoke.
Kris nodded, relieved. “While they, ah, unload the car, I’ll look in the kitchen and see what else we might need. Like, dishes and stuff.”
Ishmael let him go. It was best if his pet wasn’t on hand for what he was going to do. He took his and Kris’ bags and carried them into the master bedroom as it had the largest bed, a double. The other two bedrooms only held singles. He passed Josh in the hall, wrestling his and Ezra’s carryons into his and his brother’s old bedroom. He stared into the room, not knowing what to feel when he saw his bed was still there, waiting for a small boy who had never returned to sleep in it again. He turned, feigning indifference.
It was probably just easier to leave it there and no doubt convenient for when Sixton had friends stay over,he thought, thinking of the brother he’d once shared the room with.
He peered into his sister’s old room, smiling when he saw a note taped to the glass of the window.
“I knew it was you but didn’t say anything to Sixton. I left some pictures in a box of you and Mom under my bed,” he read to himself aloud. It was signed Ebba. He laughed. Of course she’d guessed. Even as a very small child, it had been impossible to pull one over on his sister. He knelt down and peered under the bed. A shoebox was there, waiting as promised. He took it out from under the bed, carrying it to the master bedroom where he placed it under the bed. He wasn’t ready to look at them, just yet.
“Okay, we’re going!” he heard Kris call out.
He looked out the window, watching as Kris and Ollie got into the Volvo saloon and drove off. He turned when he heard Ezra speak up behind him.
“He’s in the barn like you asked. We managed to find a piece of plastic sheeting, so put him on that. He’s awake and glaring daggers.”
“Let him glare all he wants. Go cut his pants off of him. I want him bare ass naked. I also want a hammer and some nails if there are any.”
Ezra nodded. “Hammer and nails, got it.” He turned to leave. Ishmael heard him go down the stairs, the third one from the top still squeaking all these years later, just the way he remembered it. He stood, lost in memories of a moment, recalling him and his brother giggling in bed, only to fall silent as soon as they heard the squeak of the step as their parents came up for the night. He shook the memory off. He wasn’t that little boy any more.
Milian Sjöberg died the same day as his mother. I’m Ishmael Lux now.
He pushed aside the knowledge of why he’d purchased the house, why he’d had a watch kept out for it ever going on the market. He shook his head at himself, leaving these thoughts behind to join his men downstairs, making sure he had his phone with him. Ollie would call him about the fam, knowing why he asked.if the pigs were gone, well, he had other recourses he could take. Just none quite so convenient.
He went through the kitchen and out to the barn.
