Missing On Kawau

By Patricia Snelling

When Laura McKenzie returned to Kawau Island with her friend Cass to live in her missing grandmother's cottage, it was a dream come true. The dream turned into a nightmare when she discovered that her grandmother had not drowned but mysteriously disappeared.

Will the charming Branson Colby, help her uncover the truth? A macabre discovery shatters Laura's security in her new island home as well as her budding relationship with the Park Ranger. 

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Patricia Snelling
• Release date: Jan 29, 2022
• ISBN: 9781393936701

Book preview

PATRICIA SNELLING

Published in New Zealand by Inthelight

Copyright Patricia Snelling 2018

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or other-except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental and not to be construed as real.

Bible scriptures have been taken from the World English Bible (WEB)

Harold Joyce Cover Art

Martin Joyce Graphic Design

Judith Little Editing Support

***

Other Books by Author:

Broken web

Rescue Net

Unshakable

Missing On Lion Rock

Missing On Kawau

When Hope Went South

Jessie’s High Country Heart

Mack The Good Shepherd

Murder in the Band Room

Last Ferry to Gulf Harbour

Butterfly In A Jar

Louis’s Garden Party (children’s book)

Chapter 1

Laura McKenzie stood on the wharf watching the ferry slowly drifting towards her as it prepared to dock at Sandspit, her light brown hair billowing in the sea breeze. The noise of a few black-backed gulls fighting over remnants of old fish bait disturbed her as she enjoyed being lulled by the sound of waves lapping against the wharf.

She craned her neck to see if she could spot her friend Cass on the deck amongst the passengers waiting to disembark. Perhaps she had got the message wrong. She was sure her email had said she would be on the three o’clock boat.

The young skipper quickly looped the mooring rope around the post near Laura and tied it.

‘Are you okay there?’

‘Oh, hi! Is this the last boat? I can’t see my friend Cass. She’s supposed to be on the three o’clock run, but I can’t see her yet.’

‘You mean Cass from our ferry office?’

‘Yep, she’s still on the boat helping an old lady getting up on deck. She has a lot of bags and Cass is giving her a hand.’

‘That’ll be right, that’s Cass for you. I thought I had the wrong ferry. Anyway, I’m Laura, an old friend of Cass’s.’

The skipper shook her hand. ‘Ryan’s the name. Cass told me you were coming. She works in the ferry office that runs these ferries.’

‘Ah! There she is,’ he said, pointing to Cass as she stepped up on deck assisting an old woman.

Cass waved at Laura as she walked down the ramp carrying the old woman’s bags in one hand, taking the arm of the woman in the other. An old man appeared waving at the woman who looked relieved to see him.

‘Here she is, all safe and sound,’ said Cass, handing the woman over to her husband. He greeted his wife and helped her walk towards the parked car, as she expressed a heart full of gratitude to Cass.

‘She had bought the shop out over there I think,’ said the woman’s husband to Cass, as he peered into his wife’s carry bags. Thanks again for your help, dear.’

‘Hi, Cass. I thought for a minute that you weren’t on this boat. Good to see you,’ said Laura, giving her friend a welcoming hug. ‘If you aren’t working, why were you on this ferry trip?’

‘They asked if I would officiate as a guide for a group of seniors who went to Mansion House for lunch. Some of them needed extra assistance, as you could see.’

‘That explains it. I was a bit confused when I thought you shouldn’t have been on the ferry on your day off.’

‘Anyway, I’ll be a passenger like you this next trip,’ said Cass. ‘Let’s go to the cafe over there by the office and grab a bite before the next ferry leaves. We can have a good catch up.’

The next boat left on time, and Laura was eager to get to the island to see what state her grandmother Nan’s old cottage was in. She was also grateful to have Cass agree to share the house with her, at least temporarily, at a low rent.

❖

Cass had lived all her life on the island until her parents sold up to go and live in the small rural community of Matakana. Her real name was Cassandra, but shortened to Cass by her family, and she kept the nickname ever since. She had completed a Diploma in Tourism and spent several years in some interesting roles as a tourist guide throughout the country as well as a cruise ship coordinator where she earned a good salary.

Laura and Cass had become good friends during their youth when Cass was living on the island with her parents and Laura had spent a lot of time on the island during the school holidays

Cass had a brother who was a pastor in a church in Sydney and she had been raised in the Anglican Church. During the last few years, she shared her faith with Laura, but with all her moving around, she had lost contact with fellow Christians.

During the trip to Kawau Island, Cass stood at the front of the boat next to Ryan, with whom she flirted, while Laura sat at the back of the boat looking out at the rolling sea, reminiscing about the happy times she spent with her grandparents on the island.

Suddenly she was distracted by several white gannets that hovered overhead as if they were following a fishing boat. Laura sat and stared at the beauty of the birds, the jet black fringes on the wings, the pure white bodies and yellow heads that appeared as though they had fallen headfirst into a pot of mustard. She took out her smartphone to take a snapshot which was difficult as the crossing in the boat this time was rougher than normal.

❖

When Nan had mysteriously disappeared four months ago, Laura’s mother, as next of kin, had allowed Laura to move into her grandmother’s cottage to take care of it until Nan was declared dead by the coroner.

She had spent the last few years in rural Wellington as a District Nurse, visiting patients in their homes. When she was offered the cottage on Kawau Island, she jumped at the chance of getting back to the island. To her delight, she was able to get a transfer as a District Nurse, the only one on Kawau.

She remembered the happy times she experienced there during her youth, staying with her grandparents in their humble home in Schoolhouse Bay.

The home had its own private wharf, a highlight of the property, which was situated on an acre of land a little way up from the beach, adjacent to Schoolhouse Bay Road. It was covered in native trees and flat lawn and had its well-trodden track on the back boundary leading back onto Schoolhouse Bay Road or down to the beach. The home had amazing harbour views. Along the track, one would often see families of wallabies that had become tame, because Nan had fed them regularly. They would often come to the cottage and stand back on the outskirts of the home, waiting for her to bring them food. She had purchased special wallaby pellets, and their favourite food was her homegrown grown grapes and apples. Nan had planted almost every fruit tree imaginable but fought a battle keeping the possums at bay.

Laura’s grandparents, Bert and Nan had always been good to Laura. Bert would take her out fishing in his small wooden fishing boat, teaching her all the rudiments of where and how to fish. Nan taught her bush sense. She learnt all the names of the flora and wildlife, and how to survive if lost in the bush. Laura shared Nan’s love of animals too.

Laura’s fondest memory was of the numerous times that Bert sat with her on the end of their private wharf under a huge full moon in the still of a balmy summer’s night. The water would be unusually calm and smooth as ice, and then suddenly, a large kingfish would jump out of the water, glistening in the moonlight. Bert would skilfully play that fish for what seemed hours, when in fact he usually landed the large prize within minutes. She loved sitting under the magical light of the huge white moon, waiting for the next bite, mesmerised by the glistening ripples that stretched right across the bay each time a fish took a bite. It was on these nights in the bright moonlight that they caught the most fish. That’s why Bert called his old boat Silver Moon.

Most nights, the silence was broken by owls calling more pork, more pork, a familiar sound in the forests of New Zealand.

Bert died of Parkinson’s disease, a few years before Nan went missing. Laura had always wondered why he could barely hold the fishing rod still towards the end. She was sure that Nan always knew but never let on.

A sense of sadness descended on Laura as she recalled all these happy times that had come to a bitter end.

❖

‘Come on girl, we have arrived. Grab your kit and we’ll head for the road,’ said Laura who was busy doing up her large backpack after extracting a fleece-lined denim jacket from the front pocket. The breeze had turned chilly, though it was early spring.

‘The old folks had a quad bike according to Mum. It’s supposed to be in the garage with the Hillman. That would come in handy right now, and I hope it’s still in there,’ said Laura, realising she had underestimated the uphill walk.

‘I hope so too!’ Cass looked at the incline to the cottage, then looked down at her heavy bags, and sighed. ‘Is it far from here?’

‘Just along there,’ said Laura, pointing to a freshly painted cottage about two hundred meters around from the wharf, then up a dirt track. ‘Should only be a five-minute walk and it’s quicker to take the track. It’s a shortcut between two properties, as it’s hard going walking up the road, especially with all these bags.’

‘I’ll see how unfit I am I suppose,’ moaned Cass.

‘Let’s go.’ Laura led the way along in front of several other properties alongside the house that had a track leading to Nan’s cottage.

‘We normally choose a different route when we use the car or quad bike, up Schoolhouse Bay Road. But this will have to do us today,’ said Laura, relieved to see the cottage in sight.

‘Wow! It’s pretty overgrown by the look of it,’ said Cass.

As they walked onto the property, Laura was overwhelmed by the wilderness that confronted her.

There was a pink bougainvillaea completely covering the fence at the front entrance of the property.

‘I don’t like those thorny creepers! We will have to get rid of it somehow. We’re going to have a bit of work to do to get this lot tidied up,’ said Laura, grateful that Cass was also an experienced gardener. Both of them had done a fair bit of landscaping in the past.

‘Ow! Stupid jolly thing!’ Cass tripped on a tree root as they walked along the path to the front door of the cottage.

‘Are you okay Cass ... not hurt are you? That’s one of those horrible vines that grow wild here. It’s hard to control them.’

‘It’s just my ankle. Twisted I think. It’s all right. Not serious thank goodness.’

Laura opened the front door and entered the living room. As she offloaded her heavy backpack, she held herself back from bursting into tears when she saw Nan’s lounge and belongings, just as she remembered them. The same pictures on the wall, Nan’s large basket of hand-spun wool and large wooden knitting needles, sitting in the corner of the lounge. All her favourite books were still standing neatly on the shelf. Even though it was several years since Laura had been at the cottage, she still remembered every detail.

‘I feel so drained,’ she said, slumping into an old worn leather couch.

‘Me too, and I am famished,’ said Cass, grumbling as she lifted her heavy pack off her shoulders. ‘The first thing I’m going to do is eat some of that food we bought this morning.’

‘I’m going for a nap later before I start unpacking. Hey! Look out there.’ Laura rushed over to the window to watch two ornately coloured woodpigeons sitting on a branch outside the dining room window which appeared to be a couple.

Cass stood at the window, craning her neck to see.

‘Do you know that when they fly, you can see almost every colour of the rainbow in the wings and their plumage? They are amazing birds,’ said Laura softly. Already, she felt at home, remembering that Nan drew birds and animals around her like a magnet.

These two lovebirds gave her a sense that Nan’s presence was still alive and well, in what was about to become Laura’s new home.

Apart from a few dead insects scattered around the kitchen, everything appeared clean and tidy.

Laura switched on the power and hot water.

‘I can’t wait to jump in the Hillman to see if it’s still running okay. Mum said they always kept spare petrol and oil in the garage. I’ll take a look later.’ Laura was busting to go and look in the garage to see what else she could find.

‘I would rather unpack first. I’m tired after two ferry trips today, and I was up early this morning too. That’s if you don’t mind Laura,’ said Cass, plonking herself down on a second dusty couch, as a billow of dust appeared in the stream of sunlight filtering through the net curtain.

‘Sure, no problem. I have also brought some food in my pack which I can cook up if the power is working. I asked the ferry office if they could send the boxes with the rest of my belongings over on the boat tomorrow morning, and we’ll meet them on the wharf.’

‘And I have mine arriving later in the week. I arranged for them to be sent by courier to the ferry office too,’ said Cass.

‘The house looks in pretty good condition inside here, even though it hasn’t been lived in for months,’ said Cass, looking around.

‘That’s because my folks have been coming over occasionally to tidy up. Now it’s my turn to clean up.’

‘And me. You have me to do my share, of course,’ Cass uttered enthusiastically. While unbeknown to her, Laura had real misgivings about having to go through the house and garage to clear out a lot of her grandmother’s things. She dreaded it, and what if Nan hadn’t died and turned up again somewhere—sometime?

Laura shuddered and quickly put the macabre events out of her mind ... at least, for now.

‘We won’t be able to shower until tomorrow morning, Cass. The water won’t be hot until then.’

Chapter 2

Bert and Nan’s land, a piece of valuable real estate, is close to the waterfront with a spectacular view of Bon Accord Harbour. Property developers, Cam Armstrong and his son Braun, had already coerced the couple and others on the island to sell their properties for a song. They had built large, ostentatious, modern apartments along the waterfront, not in keeping with the beauty of the natural environment. Bert was sure they had given the town planners a few kickbacks to allow them to go ahead.

They had been working on a huge building project, an exclusive holiday resort along the waterfront in South Cove and wanted to build a similar resort where Nan’s property is located.

These men were intent on ruining the beauty of the native flora and the natural habitat of wildlife for monetary gain, along with ruining the peace and happiness that Bert and Nan enjoyed on their little piece of paradise. They had purchased the home many years earlier before property prices rose with the popularity of the island.

Their property, with the panoramic view of the harbour, was perhaps the best on the island, with a short walk down a track to the beach or down Schoolhouse Bay road by quad bike or car. There was the potential for a two or three-story monstrosity to be built with one-hundred-and- eighty-degree views of the harbour.

Bert had dug his toes in and refused to sell and when he died, Nan continued to resist their coercive efforts despite all kinds of attempts made by the developers to change her mind.

She had started to feel that the continuing maintenance of the property was getting too much for her, discreetly making this disclosure to some of her close friends on the island. Such words spread quickly on Kawau.

Nevertheless, Nan could not imagine living anywhere else, and the thought of shifting house had overwhelmed her.

Laura’s parents had told Laura about the bizarre incidences that Nan had experienced. Such as finding her dresses on the clothesline, cut to shreds. Then there was the poisoned wallaby left on her doorstep, and her prized vegetable garden poisoned with weed killer.

A few times when Laura went to stay with Nan, she heard all about the incidences that occurred to frighten her off the land, but there was no concrete evidence, it was all circumstantial, and Nan was afraid to make complaints through fear of reprisals from the offenders. Laura had told her to go to the police which she was reluctant to do, and the unknown offenders got away with it, at least for now. This did not deter Nan in her determination to hold on to her land and her home.

When Nan went missing, the coastguard found her dinghy, which had been drifting in the entrance to Bon Accord Harbour. It contained all Nan’s fishing gear, packed lunch in a basket and her anorak.

The police had reported that she had fallen overboard following a heart attack, stroke, or fall; though her doctor had said she had not had any previous medical history. The forensic report found no evidence of any such medical condition and stated that she had drowned. Laura’s parents found it hard to believe, but in the end, accepted the police report. The night the empty boat was found, there was a fierce storm, and the police presumed her body had been washed out to sea, as it was never found.

❖

The old Hillman Minx was amazingly reliable, and it was still sitting in the garage. Much to the girls’ delight, it looked in good working order. Next to the car stood the green quad bike that also appeared in good condition.

The garage had lots of shelves with neatly arranged boxes labelled in readiness for any move she might make in the future.

The girls were up early the next morning eager to get their new residence organised.

‘Come and look at this stuff, Cass,’ said Laura. ‘There are all kinds of things here, things that we can use.’

At first, Laura was keen to see what she could find that could be useful to them both, as they shared the home. But as she delved further into the boxes, she started pulling out neatly folded dresses and pretty blouses that she remembered Nan wearing. The sight of them, and the thought of Nan lying dead somewhere at the bottom of the sea, or worse, somewhere more sinister, sent a chill through her.

‘Sorry, Cass, I have got to take a break from all this. It’s too upsetting seeing all Nan’s things like this. I need to chill out for a while and do the rest later.’

Cass could see the strained look on Laura’s face, through the sun rays that streamed through the garage window.

Once they had swept and cleaned the inside of the cottage, they spent a few hours opening the boxes of things they wanted to put in the house. The sunlight poured into the cottage which was situated in a small clearing surrounded by native trees at the rear of the property. The large windows let a lot of light into the house.

Laura claimed the room she had always slept in. It had a view of the tall kauri trees outside the window. She used to love waking to the joyful birdsong of the tuis singing in full voice.

She offered Cass the room that had a lovely view of the sea overlooking Bon Accord harbour and Cass felt at home instantly.

While Laura showed Cass her new room, she could see a large tui through the window, sitting on