Secrets of the Past

Amy lives alone, above the old antiques shop in Rochester. Amongst the old buildings,museum, and the history of dickens.
She often walked to the riverside to think, but on this particular day her life changed forever.
She discovered a body of a young girl. Upon leaving the scene as she walked through the crowd a young woman touched her hand, she was crying, but Amy embarrassed by events left hurriedly.
That night as she sat alone she found an object of beauty, or is it?
She finds love but then is betrayed.
Many want the object and will kill for it.
Secrets should stay secret forever.

Secrets of the Past

                     
Copyright © 2012 Author W J Backshall

                              
All rights reserved.

                     
ISBN-
978- 1480062269

AUTHOR

W J BACKSHALL

W J Backshall

Is
a mother

She has two children and five grandkids.

She lives in Kent.

She has spent the last thirty years ta
king care of her family.

Her son has taken a great deal of her tim
e, but is far more independent now.

This
is her first short story
.

’ Secrets of the Past’

This book is all fiction

All characters are the product of the author’s imagination

All names are fictitious.

Everything about this book is coincidental if it resembles any name, place, or person.

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115

     
DEDICATION

To my family

Who all gave me the time to write this book?

In addition, to my husband
Fred
, who has spent so many hours without me speaking for days on end?

A special mention for my son Lee.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like
to thank my family.

For being born in such a great, place Rochester in Kent
.

Amongst the history of the old buildings and famous people
that have lived in this place.

Without it, all my story would not been written.

115

Secrets of the Past

115

CHAPTER ONE

The sun shining, warm rays on my skin, such a lovely day, thought I would take a stroll along the
esplanade look by
the river
it was so peaceful.

I stood alone, gazing across the water, no sounds just the splashing of water against the wall below, it was very clear for a change to the normal muddy dirty river I usually see.

Often walked here now, and wonder if I am from the past, perhaps reincarnated. Back that time, the people I met were mine, and I will always think how could this be? A mystery, will I ever know the truth?

From this day my life changed, through the misery of others, deaths occurred, all for an object of beauty that held a secret.

My mind returned to the awful day it all started.

It was Tuesday
23 August 2010

On this
day,
my
eyes
become
aware of
a bulky object bobbing up and down, not far in the water, like an old
dirty looking sack.

As I
glanced,
again,
the waves from a boat had started to turn the sack, su
ddenly I saw a hand sticking up,
and it
startled me as I stepped back. Looked again it was a hand, grey, not sure, is it real?

Was it a prop, some stuff be
en chucked in the river somehow
from a film set somewhere? 

I checked again, it certa
inly looked real.
I turned to see if anyone was near
by
, only children in the distance and an old gent crossing the road, a long way off, but then I noticed a telephone box, and thought I must call the police.

I called the emergency number and the operator told me to give her details and wait by the river so
an officer  could identify me,
so I made my way back along the riverside to the spot, it was still there, it looked like a body, or was I just getting carried away and had made a dreadful mistake.

Two police officers arrived with
their car siren
sounding, very loudly as they neared. They asked, if it was I
,
that had telephoned.

I pointed to the spot and t
hey be
gan looking over the railing,
then
as they did,
both star
ted talking on their radios
and
within minutes, countless police cars arrived, one taping off the area, another talking to the officers.

A few onlookers had started to gather and I actually began to get excited, nothing ever happens in my life, so for a change I was the centre of attention.

One girl in particular stood out from the rest she looked very sad, she stared, directly at me, so I turned away. Thought I saw a
tear run down her cheek
.

I gazed towards an officer who called out to me to sit in the car, and tell her everything, well there was not
much to tell, and
I wanted to get away from the stares and accusing looks, the excitement had turned to embarrassment.

Therefore, I got on with it, so I could get home. The officer told me to go, and said they may want to speak to me again in the near future, so I gazed up and began to walk across towards the crowd as another officer was beckoning me to go through the tape he had lifted.

As I did, I had to push a little, as the crowd were not moving apart, I then felt a hand touch mine, it was warm and held me tightly, as I loo
ked up I saw the sad faced girl so I hesitated
,
but she said nothing,
I pulled my hand away, pushing through the crowd, rushing slightly.

As I headed for home I realized my selfishness, not once had I thought about the body in the river, was it a woman, man, how they got there.

My mind became a blur; I just wanted to get home, forget about the whole episode.

Mum left me with enough to buy a little flat, so unlike most I did not have to struggle. I took a course at the local college in office and business studies, after she died, and she would have been proud of me as I passed all with excellence.

Mu
m and dad were the first I told
after I hurried to the college early to receive my exam results.

I rushed to
the cemetery, sad moment for
me
, as I
lay
at their gravesi
de, babbling, amongst the tears
how lucky I was. Lucky I thought, I had just passed the biggest hurdle in my life and had no one to tell, but as usual, I got on with it.

I knew
I could not let them down as I was there little angel and they gave me there all.

I lived in a Rochester High Street, it was a fun place to be, old buildings, cathedral, museum, amongst a nightclub, wine bars, teashops.

The famous writer ‘Charles Dickens' a favorite here amongst the visitors.
It
was always buzzing with people of all nationalities, due to its history; I would not live anywhere else.

I rushed up the steps
to my flat above the little
antiques shop, collecting my post as I entered and threw my coat on the sofa, clicked the kettle, kicked off my shoes and sunk in the sofa.

Again
guiltily,
I thought of the poor person who lost their life, and realized how sad it was for a life to end in such a way.

Up to that point I had not given them a second thought, how selfish, what was I thinking of, I had got so wrapped up in the excitement of it all I had forgotten that this could be a mother o
f young children, almost anyone
they still had a life, that had ended so traumatically.

I had lived here for almost two years since I lost my mother, she had suffered the dreaded illness with
the C word, still cannot say the word
, it was so heartbreaking watching her waste away slowly, life so cruel.

She had a wonderful life until it hit her, then it took two years of tests
, medication, scans, in the
end,
it almost broke my heart.

Mum never complained once, she was strong for me I knew that, but sometimes I wish she had broke down a littl
e here and there,
she never did
.

When she was in
hospital,
we
went through every process, that I needed to know after she died, the funeral, the service everything.

She passed away peacefully,
I was happy she did not suffer in the end.

Then Mum's house had to be sold
.
Luckily,
my brother
Tom done that bit, he did try to intervene with the funeral arrangements
,
but I was having none of that.

I had to live somewhere busy after her deat
h. I went against his
wishes
as he wanted me to move to London with him and his family, but I wanted to be close to my mother and father.

   
When I had no one to turn to or when I was sad
,
I travelled to their graveside, as I knew they would listen and guide me.

My brother
is married to Lisa
and they have five-year-old twin sons Bobby and Charlie. They live near Hyde Park in London, not a place for me I preferred the countryside, in Kent. Tom is an estate agent. He was very sad about me living alone after mother’s death, but I proved to him I could be alone as I have super friends who helped me through the grief, it was very lonely at
f
irst, but now I am fine.

Tom
knew
a few influential people and managed to set me up with a job at a local
s
olicitor
s firm
. I hoped for a great job, as you d
o when just setting out in life
but I expect a little intervention from my brother helped.

My boss James Brannon was a partner in the solicitors, a dream job I thought, when I started but recently boredom had set in. James was very sweet quite fancied him for a while but he realize
d he doted on his
fiancée Rebecca
. Never less, he was still cute.

A
t twenty years
old,
I have my life ahead of me
with op
portunities I hope all the
way.

My special friend is Mel, what I can say, without her, and her family I would now be a wreck but her mu
m took care of me, adopted me like
her
second
daughter.
She was just so nice when mum died, so kind.

Mel has been seeing Danny
for a year or so, his great to. Mel stays over most weekends. She has
the most
gorgeous blonde locks and a figure of a model, unlike myself I feel so plain to Mel. However, she is far more outgoing than I am.

As I glanced at the clock I had not realized the time, it had been flying by, with all thoughts that had been running through my mi
nd I had lost all track.

Suddenly the clicking o
f the kettle made me jump, I made
myself a sandwich and a cup of tea, and sat at my window, to watch the delights of Rochester.
I had a large bay window with cushions all around it.

It was teatime so there were a few shoppers rushing around. An old Japanese couple stood, hand in hand gazing at the museum, smiling with delight at such an old crotche
ty building, it was almost falling
over.

The same old down and out old gent sitting on the pavement opposite shaking his tin as he always is. I wondered if he gets enough to feed himself, I feel a little sadness. However, I have learnt there are so many and I cannot help them all, so when I pass I always give him a pound or two. As mum, would have done.
She could never pass them without
giving them a
quid.

A group of youths sitting on the wall just along the way in the garden, laughing and joking was trying to amuse the girls sitting with them...

The evening is drawing in now, darkness is almost upon us, still warm but nice. I have many thoughts while I sit there alone, mainly I wish mum was here
with me, but that was not to be. I missed her so much.

As I glance across the street, I become aware of a person’s feet standing in the doorway opposite, in the darkness, but
cannot make out
whom
they are, until they step out
.
I realize it is the girl
the one
who touched my hand, who looked so sad,
back at the riverside.

However,
what is she doing here?

Next to her, there is a man, older who has hold of her arm, his very shabbily dressed, with long straggly graying hair, a cru
mpled grey suit, similar to the tramp
sitting on the pathway. He looked awful, dirty.

I jump back as I notice that they are both staring at me, I feel very strange at first, like a naughty girl,
so
I hide behind the curtain as they are there for some time.

I then realize the girl must have followed me home for some reason, for what I wonder’ I know nothing; Nevertheless they were still looking up at me.

I try to peep again from behind the curtain again, I glimpse the man is speaking on a phone,
then the girl turns and
speaks to him, and he grabs her wrist.

He then pushes her back in the doorway. He looked very aggressive, which worried me slightly.

Suddenly I am startled as the doorbell rings, so I jump up race to the door
and
speak into the intercom, its Mel so I tell her to come up quickly.