The Backyard Goes On Forever: The Sheldon Creek Trilogy, #1

By Glen Alva

When Jacqui moves to a rural Australian university town, she expects to get her degree, meet new friends and indulge in the excesses of the lifestyle. What she doesn't expect is to be boarding with an elderly widow and finding out a girl her age died in the widow's backyard the year before.

Every day, Jacqui passes through the same yard where Deb died, goes to the same university where Deb went and even becomes friends with the boarders of the eccentric share house where Deb lived. Learning more about Deb's life, Jacqui begins to suspect the unfortunate death might be much more than that. As the intertwined stories of the small-town residents start to unravel, she fears one of them might be keeping a dark secret.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Glen Alva
• Release date: Apr 15, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201595654

Book preview

Chapter 1

Sheldon Creek - Queensland - Australia – 1997

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On Jacqui’s first morning in Sheldon Creek she woke to bush sounds. Birds calling from the yard, wind in the trees and dogs barking in the distance. The house she was staying in was almost identical to her grandmother’s. It had the push button cupboard doors with circular vents, the chrome rimmed table and the plastic light fittings. There might be over a hundred kilometres between the Brisbane and Sheldon Creek, but the two houses shared the same 60s style. It wouldn’t have surprised her if Grandma stepped out of the hallway.

Sheldon Creek was a typical Queensland country town, striving to be more than it was. Of course, most southerners said that of Brisbane itself. Despite the capital's rise in fortunes since the Commonwealth Games and Expo 88, most of Australia still referred to the state as a backwater. Hurtling towards the millennium as they were, Queensland was still stuck in the 80s, if not the 70s.

A university town had been Jacqui's choice. She'd dreamed of moving into student accommodation and living the carefree life she'd seen on TV. Her parents had had other plans. They'd found the most respectable person possible to board with, a widow in her seventies. No drunken parties for Jacqui, it seemed. Not that she was a party animal, but she'd like the possibility.

After breakfast, she found herself alone, sitting on what was now her bed, in her room, but she still felt like a stranger. She knew it would take a few days to settle in, but at that moment, it still felt too much like someone else's room. There were marks on the walls where posters had once hung and stains on the carpet where someone else had spilt something.  The cure to the trespassing feeling would be to spend more time in the room, but it would still take time.

She unpacked, deciding for the first time in her life which drawer should hold her socks and which her underwear. Just to see how it felt, she tried folding her t-shirts the way a friend did – if her mother saw, she'd roll her eyes, but her mother wasn't here and probably wouldn't ever see inside her wardrobe again. Strangely, that hit the hardest. She was a big girl now, out on her own, making the life-changing decisions of whether to follow her mother and place good clothes in a separate drawer to house clothes or just stuff them all together. She chose the latter.

She'd only brought a few bags, so unpacking didn't take too long. Sitting on her bed half an hour later, she looked around and couldn't see a difference. Everything she'd brought had been put away and was now hidden behind closed doors. There were no posters, no dust collectors and no photos. Not one thing on display was hers. She ended up getting a t-shirt from the drawer and throwing it over the end of the bed. It was the best she could do for now. Slowly, she'd get things of her own.

Bored and lonely, Jacqui walked into the kitchen. Mrs McCullagh was baking biscuits. Since her mother had never made them, it was something that Jacqui knew about but had no actual understanding of. She politely offered to help but Mrs McCullagh insisted on doing it herself. Instead, she boiled the kettle and poured them both a cup of tea. Old people liked tea, she figured. It'd be a good way for them to get to know each other.

Mrs McCullagh drank hers while she worked but refused to allow Jacqui to assist with anything. After the umpteenth time of Jacqui asking her, Mrs McCullagh finally sent her outside. 'There's a garden out there you haven't explored. Don't spend your whole first day inside.' Jacqui did as she was bid, opening the door and stepping through.

From the back steps she could see that the whole yard seemed to be laid out logically, at the bottom of the steps was a veggie garden (lettuce, carrots, strawberries and all the usual choices), behind that were trestles (tomatoes, sweet peas) and finally at the back of the yard grew a number of fruit trees (citrus and mango from the looks). Jacqui made her way between the trestles, tasting at random and feeling like Alice or those kids from the Narnia books. Each time she rounded a corner she expected to see a rabbit, a badger or maybe a faun darting between the low hanging branches. When she finally found it, it was nothing as exciting as she'd imagined but it still filled her with joy. Nestled under a mango tree was an outdoor setting. After wiping off the seat, she sat down and looked amongst the shadows but there was no mad hatter nor talking lion. It was as she was sipping her drink and basking in the lovely surroundings that she heard the sound of someone approaching. She couldn't help but think that her fantasies were coming true but in reality all she saw was a girl a year or two older than herself.

The girl was walking through what appeared to be a path leading from the house over the back. The path ended in a rusty metal gate near the table Jacqui was sitting at. Despite the heat the girl was wearing jeans and a long sleeve tshirt. She had long black hair, black eyeliner and appeared lost in her own world. If Jacqui was still in high school, she'd describe the girl as a swampie but she wasn't sure what they called them up here.

Whoever she was, the girl obviously walked through here often and for all Jacqui knew, she could either be Mrs McCullagh's granddaughter or just some weirdo using other people's yards as a shortcut. Either way, it wasn't really Jacqui's place to question her,

As the girl approached the gate she stopped in her tracks and Jacqui noticed the colour drain from her face. For a few seconds Jacqui thought the girl might faint but she held onto the gate to steady herself. As quickly as the girl had been overcome, she seemed to recover.

'You must be Jacqui,' she said opening the gate. Jacqui noticed she hesitated before entering the grove.

'Yeah,' Jacqui replied. 'Are you alright?'

The girl smiled, 'Sorry, I'm just not used to seeing anyone sitting here anymore.' And then as if to change the subject. 'My name's Suzanne, I live over the back.' She motioned through the bushes to a house Jacqui couldn't see. 'I've been invited to your welcoming dinner.'

'I didn't know I'd been announced.'

'The Widow,' the new girl caught herself. 'I mean Mrs McCullagh, has been looking forward to you coming for weeks. She loves looking after people, you're going to be very spoilt,' she said with a smile.

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On the cool of the verandah, with a wine in her hand and a gentle breeze blowing, Jacqui could definitely see herself coming to enjoy her new life. The sun had dropped and there were now more shadows than light. It had reached that magical part of the day when the intense heat had gone and when you were in the breeze, you could feel the temperature drop degrees at a time.

Dinner had been chops with mash, carrots and peas, typical meat and three veg. Jacqui couldn't understand why the elderly still clung to meals like this. It was way too hot, a simple salad would have been better but to her credit it was cooked well and tasted delicious. They'd eaten in the house where it was still stifling hot but like their insistence on meat and three veg, Jacqui had come across a number of elderly people who ate religiously at the dining room table whether it was freezing cold or boiling hot. It was only after the clearing up had been done that they'd retired outside with their wines.

The first bottle had been finished and Suzanne was just coming back out with the second when Jacqui noticed the dull hum of the cicadas suddenly stop. 'Oh fuck,' Suzanne cried dropping the bottle. She had started rushing down the stairs before Jacqui even realised what was happening. The wine leaked red across the verandah dripping through the gaps in the boards.

Jacqui looked over the railing and saw two people coming out of the bushes across the road. As they got closer Jacqui realised they were both girls, a year or so younger than herself. One was half carrying the other, both were dripping wet even though neither were wearing togs. The one that couldn't walk appeared to have blood running down her face and a wound on her leg.

Mrs McCullagh started saying a prayer and rushed inside leaving Jacqui alone and stunned. Suzanne had arrived at the pair and helped lay the bleeding girl down.

'What happened?' Jacqui could hear Suzanne ask.

'She slipped on a rock,' the girl said frantically.

'Has she taken anything?'

Neither girl answered.

'Call an ambulance!' Suzanne screamed at Jacqui. Lights started to come on up and down the street. Jacqui ran inside past Mrs McCullagh, who was already on the phone, and grabbed some towels from the linen cupboard before rushing downstairs. One of the neighbours arrived and was inspecting a gash on the girl's forehead. Nearby Suzanne had wrapped herself around the other girl who was a sobbing mess. In the distance Jacqui could hear sirens.

The next half hour was a blur of neighbours, police and ambulances but Jacqui started to piece some things together. It appeared that the injured girl lived just down the street and from the fact everyone asked what they'd taken, Jacqui assumed drugs were involved. The ambos took both girls to hospital accompanied by Mrs McCullagh, the parents of the injured girl weren't at home. The way Mrs McCullagh stepped in and the fact that others accepted that so easily gave Jacqui the feeling the injured girl knew Mrs McCullagh quite well. The police did a quick investigation which included chatting to Suzanne and a few of the neighbours before leaving themselves.

It was about nine thirty before the street was quiet again. Suzanne was downstairs putting the towels through the washing machine while Jacqui sat on the verandah and sipped wine. She was still trying to make sense of everything when Suzanne returned and poured herself a glass.

'What just happened?' Jacqui asked. She was sure she was missing something but couldn't work it out.

Suzanne looked at the half empty bottle of wine, 'We might as well settle in for the night, I doubt the Widow will be home till late and there's a fair bit to tell you.'

Jacqui ignored the repeated reference to the Widow, panic was rising within her and that was more important. 'You don't think she'll be home till late?'

Suzanne smiled. 'Don't worry, I'll sleep on the couch. I won't leave you alone on your second night.'

'Thanks,' she said as Suzanne disappeared to get more wine.

While she waited, Jacqui looked out onto the street, it was quiet now with no indication of the previous turmoil. In the street lights she could make out the neighbours houses and the patch of shadow that was the bush leading down to the creek. She felt something on her shoulder and jumped only to realise it was Suzanne.

She placed the wine on the table as well as what Jacqui assumed were two joints. 'Maybe you should have one,' she suggested.

Jacqui'd never tried drugs and didn't think a night like tonight was a good time to start. She knew many people who had smoked, been friends with them but the events of the evening and the uncertainty of what she was about to learn made her cautious. Instead she accepted another glass of wine.

'Can I?' Suzanne asked signalling one of the joints. Jacqui didn't want to seem sheltered, she was a uni student now after all so nodded approval. Suzanne took one and lit it.

They both leaned back and watched the night for a minute or two. Jacqui didn't want to be the one to break the silence.

Finally Suzanne started, 'Ok, so there are some things you should probably know.'

Jacqui smiled for probably the first time since dinner, 'Yeah. It seems like it.'

'You would have found out eventually, after you'd settled in but things didn't work out that way. The girl, the one who was hurt, she lives a couple of houses down.' Suzanne pointed down the street but not to any particular house.

'Why were they at the creek at this hour?'

Suzanne re-lit her joint and took a deep drag, the end glowed brightly before dying black. 'That family, it's a bit of a mess. The mother is a lovely lady and it's not her fault, she's done the best she could under the circumstances but....' Suzanne shrugged her shoulders. 'Anyway, the daughter, Maree, she's withdrawn and quiet and sometimes ....' Suzanne paused trying to find the right term, 'sometimes it's just like she's not there, like she's in her own world. Generally she's ok but as you saw tonight, sometimes things get bad.

'What about her father?'

Suzanne poured herself some more wine before continuing, 'He's a complete arse, low level drug dealer, thinks he's from Compton.' Jacqui missed the reference but didn't interrupt. 'Treats them like shit, we've been trying to get them to leave him but you know. The Widow, Mrs McCullagh, she helps her out a fair bit.'

Jacqui thanked the Lord she'd never grown up like that.

'After they were taken to hospital,' Suzanne continued, 'one of the cops went into the house, the doors were open. We assume Kirsten's at work and there was no sign of Kirk.'

'Is that normal?'

'Pretty much, she works a lot to support the family and he's probably off somewhere wasted with his friends.'

Jacqui was shocked. 'Really?'

'Yeah, there were drugs left on the coffee table, just out in the open. That's probably what Maree took.'

Jacqui was having trouble taking it all in. 'What happens now?'

'Well Mrs McCullagh's gone to the hospital. They'll release the two girls, there'll be a half arsed investigation and no doubt it'll continue going on.'

'It's happened before?'

'Pretty much, neighbours have found Kirk passed out on the lounge with a needle in his arm.'

'Won't anything happen to him?'

'Probably not.'

Jacqui hated people sometimes, how could they be such shits.

'There's more,' Suzanne continued. 'Like I said, you'd have found this all out eventually but if you know that, you should know this.' Jacqui didn't know what to expect, Suzanne's face showed something bad was coming. 'The girl that was with her tonight, Emma, she's got her own story, fucked up in her own way. You see her sister, Debra, she used to live in the share house with us.

'What do you mean used to?' Jacqui asked, horrible thoughts racing through her head.

'Last year she was found dead in the backyard.'

'Of your place?' Jacqui couldn't believe it.

'No, here. Vera and her used to make bush teas. One day Deb made one out of something she shouldn't have. Died in the backyard, near where you were sitting. That's why I reacted like that when I saw you, that's where she used to sit.' She took another drag of the joint. 'Well anyway, it messed Emma up pretty bad.'

'That's horrible.'

'Yeah. Deb was such a nice girl, to die like that, alone, in pain.'

'Didn't she check the plants first?'

'Normally she did, that's why it didn't make any sense. Mrs McCullagh's in the gardening club and she had to have the last say on whether or not they'd could use a plant. Presumably that time Deb didn't wait.'

'No one heard her? She didn't call out?'

'One of the neighbours was chainsawing. There's no way they could have heard her over that.'

Suzanne looked off into the distance but Jacqui could see her eyes welling up. She let the conversation drop, it really wasn't appropriate for her to comment on something she knew so little about. Suzanne took a long drag on the joint. 'Welcome to Sheldon Creek.'

Later that night, after Suzanne had been set up on the couch, Jacqui lay alone in her new bed for her second night. She was feeling light headed, the secondhand smoke must have been affecting her also. She tried to make sense of it all but her mind couldn't keep up, she kept losing her place. There was a mix of the clearing, the creek, mystical animals and a dead girl. She lay there for what seemed hours with fantasy and reality both trying to out scare her.

Chapter 2

Mrs McCullagh had returned during the night. When Jacqui woke up the next morning, the breakfast was once again ready, but it was a sullen affair. The three sat alone with their thoughts. No one spoke or looked at each other.

Eventually, Suzanne offered to show Jacqui around town. It was obviously a way to get them out of the house so Mrs McCullagh could return to bed. Jacqui jumped at the chance, anything to get away until things had settled down a bit more.

'They used to spend a lot of time down here,' Suzanne said as they walked through the backyard, 'sometimes just the two of them, but sometimes there'd be over ten of us, all sitting down here, sipping exotic teas and eating homemade biscuits. After she died, we just never really ...' she let the sentence trail off.

'Sorry,' Jacqui said. 'I didn't realise.'

'It's fine. You weren't to know, as my grandmother would say.' Suzanne paused as they arrived at the mango tree. 'She was found just here. She'd dragged herself to multiple places like she'd been trying to get to help. They found her pressed hard up against the gate.' Suzanne took a deep breath. ‘The pattern of the chainlink was on her cheek.’

Jacqui wasn't sure she wanted to hear all this, but it was probably good for Suzanne to talk about it. Besides, in a weird way, Jacqui did want to know what happened, and she definitely didn't want to ask Mrs McCullagh about it. They hurried through and emerged from the trees into an overgrown backyard. Jacqui saw a dilapidated Queenslander, raised and built-in underneath. All of the cooling properties of the design had been destroyed to fit in more rooms.

Suzanne led the way up a set of rickety back steps and straight into a cheap and messy kitchen. Warped cupboards whose doors wouldn't shut properly lined one wall, and a laminate table held dirty plates. The kitchen opened into the lounge, currently occupied by a girl watching what appeared to be an X-Files episode. Beside her on the couch was a copy of the National Inquirer.

Suzanne introduced the girl as Fiona before walking towards one of the bedrooms. 'Wait here. I'll just get changed.'

There was an awkward silence before Fiona broke it. 'So, you're the new girl at the Widow's,' she said. It was more of a statement than a question.

'Yeah, moved in Sunday.'

'Have you settled in OK?' she asked. It was a normal everyday question. Anyone from a teenager to an elderly person would ask it, social etiquette, but she could tell Fiona actually meant it.

'Yeah, it was an interesting introduction to the town, but things are OK now. Just as long as there are no more dramas.'

Fiona laughed. 'You're in a small town filled with uni students and locals who hate them. There's always drama.'

'It's not that bad,' Suzanne called from her room.

'Do the locals really hate you?' Jacqui asked.

'Us.' Fiona corrected her. 'You're a uni student too now, and they'll learn to hate you as well.'

'Sorry, us. Do they really hate us?' It was the first time Jacqui had included herself as a uni student.

'Some do, some don't, it's like everywhere. Haven't you heard about town vs. gown?' Fiona asked.

'No.'

'It's mainly a Yankee thing, but it still happens here.'

'She's just messing with you,' Suzanne said, coming out of her room and doing up the final buttons on a flowery white shirt. 'It's nowhere near that bad.'

Fiona stuck her tongue out at Suzanne, who promptly replied with a raised middle finger.

Jacqui looked around the loungeroom, 'Are you the only two living here?' she asked, trying to change the subject.

Suzanne and Fiona exchanged a glance that was beyond Jacqui before Suzanne signalled to the front door. As they descended the stairs, she said, 'You know how I said Deb lived with us?'

'Yeah.'

'Well, we've never rented out her room.'

'You mean it's still got all her stuff in it?'

'Well, no one wants to clear it out, which isn't a problem because no one wants to move in, not once they find out the last tenant was a dead girl.'

'But don't you need the rent?'

'Don't worry about that,' Suzanne smiled. 'Shane has that fully under control.'

Jacqui looked at her questioningly, but Suzanne refused to elaborate.

They walked down the street until Jacqui gathered the courage to ask the next question that was bothering her. 'What happened to the girl who used to be in my room?'

Suzanne laughed. 'She graduated last year. Moved down to Sydney for a job. You were worried, weren't you? Thought something might have happened to her.'

Jacqui was embarrassed, 'Well, with everything that's happened so far.'

'Fair enough, but she had a perfectly normal life. Then she finished her degree and moved to the