JOLLY VILLA
LISA took Joe back inside the villa. From a wooden cupboard in her room, she took out a small album, like the one she told Joe and started to turn through the pages.
“I had thought this was some vacation pics until I saw this picture.” She placed the album on the table and pointed to a photo on the right side. That photo did not have her parents like all other photos. It was a full view of the villa alone.
“See the engraving on the compound wall”
“I saw that when we came here yesterday. It says Jolly Villa”.
“Now see this “, said Lisa after giving her phone to Joe.
“That’s the villa I grew up. See the name on the compound wall. It also says ‘Jolly villa ‘. And the name Jolly is a combination of my Papa and mamma’s name. ‘John’ and ‘Molly’.
“Great, but how did you find the location and the keys?” “See, if the house belonged to my parents, then they would certainly have its sale deed. Right? Luckily I was able to find it in the bedroom locker. I got the location from that. It was super hard to understand the location from that.
Now the keys …..I got them from the items police recovered from the accident site”.
“Why do you want to keep this a secret? What’s the big deal with the house”.
“I haven’t told you everything yet. Hear me out before you jump to conclusions”. Lisa said it like a punch line in an action movie
“Enlighten me then”.
Lisa sat down, keeping her elbows on her thighs creating a triangle with her hands. The expression on her face said that she was not really sure how Joe would react to what she was about to say.
“Joe, I am going to put it bluntly.”
“Come on. No need for formalities with me. "
“I think....... I think... I think my parents were murdered”.
“What?” Joe was shocked to hear that. ‘Murdered’, he was surely familiar with that word. He had heard it a thousand times in the news and movies. But to hear that someone you knew was murdered is a different game. He was dumbfounded for a minute. Suddenly it struck him she had said that she thought that her parents were murdered not that they were murdered.
“Wait, you said you think your parents were murdered? You say ‘I think’ when you believe something, but you are not confident that you can convince others of the same”.
“You are right. I said I think because I believe that’s exactly what happened, but for everybody else, including the police, it’s just another accident. Right now you and I are the only ones aware of this possibility.”
“Even when the police think it’s an accident what makes you think otherwise? What triggered this thought?”
Lisa stood up, walked towards those cupboards again. She gently opened the door and took out a plastic bag. Inside it there was a partially burned book. It seemed to be a personal diary. She took the diary out and carefully placed it beside Joe on the bed. She slowly turned the burned pages until reached a page which was only half burned.
“I found this diary inside the hearth the day I came here. Fortunately, it was not completely burned. I guess the fire died out before the diary was completely burned. This one page is the spark that triggered the thought. When I came to the villa the first time, it looked like someone had searched the whole place .Everything was out of place.” She moved the book closer to Joe. “Here, read it”.
The writing was in black ink. The handwriting looked similar to that of Lisa. So he guessed it must have been one of her parents’ diary.
If she had found someone .I am worried for her .The enemy’s blade is upon our throat. I wonder how long till it cuts the throat. If it happens now, she will be all alone. What if they
“Is there something on the other side of paper?”
“I’m afraid that’s it”
“Whose diary is this?”
“It’s my mother’s”
“How can you say that? There is no name on it and all it says is that someone is in danger. ”He was trying to understand how much she believed it.
“That is my mother’s handwriting .Don’t tell me you didn’t notice the similarity to my handwriting. You see, this is why I didn’t go to the police. Even you, whom I thought would believe me more than anyone else in this world is asking these kind of questions ,what do you think the police would have to say?. They would make a mockery out of me”
Lisa had left the bed while saying it. She walked to the wall and leaned against it. Joe could understand that she felt that he didn’t trust her. That he didn’t share her view. He wasn’t entirely convinced by what she said and he thought the diary wasn’t enough to believe that her parents had been murdered. Even if it is her mother’s diary, the lines are indirect .They could mean anything. But he couldn’t say that to her. She called him here for support, thinking that he would be there for her no matter what. He had to stand by her. Because that is supposed to do. How can he say he loves her if he cannot be there for her when she needed him the most?
“Lisa, don’t take it the wrong way. I’ll be there with you .No matter what.”
“But I thought you would share my view. How foolish of me?” Lisa tried to smile, but he could see that she was sad.
“It doesn’t matter. We will clear all your suspicions. I’ll see to that. I promise”
“Do you really mean that?”
“You know me. I always mean what I say. Don’t I?”
“Yep. That is one of the reasons why I fell for you”.
This time she had a real smile on her face. One that lit up her face like a chandelier.
“I should probably get to the kitchen. We are going to need some lunch right?”
“I’ll help you”
“Okay!!”