An Unexpected Revenge

Chapter 6 - The Green Thumb

Chapter 6 - The Green Thumb

After the meeting with my team I arrived at the compound to find that Alec is again gone, as are most of the guards that usually roam the compound. There's only Ricky and another which I have been seeing a lot of, and think his name is Joe. From what I can gather, Ricky is sort of the one left in charge whenever Alec is not not home, which suits me just fine since he seems to like me. Maybe, just maybe I can persuade my new friend to allow me into some of the most restricted areas of this house. Ricky might be a gossip, but so far he has taken his job rather seriously, despite his carefree and jovial attitude, so my best bet is to create an opportunity where he might be forced to bend the rules.

Considering I still have a few hours of freedom left since this is my day off, and the maniac is not home to throw ridiculous demands at me, I start walking around the gardens of the complex. It may look like I'm enjoying the beauty of the greenery when in fact I am looking for weaknesses in the tight security and a way of getting into that study from the outside.

As well kept and highly manicured as the rest of the vast yards around the property might be, I did notice that the small garden right outside the area where the closed office is, has been left rather unkempt. It is closed off somehow by hedges, but it's apparent that the groundskeeper was never allowed on the inside of that tall hedge. I smile, seeing an opportunity.

Deciding to risk it, I form a plan to contact a gardening company in the morning, ask them to come over and take care of that secluded garden. I am also hoping to see if I can play dumb and 'accidentally' stumble onto something that was not meant for me to see. Fingers crossed that there's a window I can climb through and get inside, or maybe another door. Yeah, a door would be great, for the last time I tried to enter through a window, I got stuck and nearly killed because of the delay. I doubt I'll be that lucky the second time.

I tossed and turned all night, but I know this is the best shot I have, and I don't know when I will get an opportunity like this, where it's basically only me and 2 other guards in the compound. The chance of them keeping a close eye on both myself and the gardening team is slim, between Ricky and Joe, there's only two pair of eyes, and they trust me enough not to watch me like hawks, unlike the strangers I will invite. And I plan on being quick and efficient with my snooping.

It's been a few hours since I have set my little plan in motion, and now I find myself glancing nervously at the massive clock on the wall in the kitchen, while pretending to organise a spice rack. I start hearing footsteps clacking on the hard marbled floor, and I tense with the sweet adrenaline rush that I get in the face of danger. It's showtime.

"Mel?" Ricky's call my name and I smile seeing that so far, everything is going exactly as I anticipated.

"Yeah?" I do my best as sounding distracted by the little jars I'm sorting. "What's up?"

"Uhm, did you arrange for a gardener to come in today?" He asks a little unsure. "Bennet said that there's two guys at the gate, in a van with a bunch of gardening tools. Apparently they were contracted by you to come in today and tend to the garden?" He continues, most likely imagining that I would deny everything.

Instead of doing what Ricky thought I would, I get into the character or Melody like never before and clap my hands together excitedly. "Oh, finally. Yes, please tell him to let them though. I'll put these away and go out to meet them." I chirp and try to appear as casual about it as possible, but I know what coming next.

"Melody, we're not allowed to just bring people in the compound. And plus, Mr Vaughan has a whole team of gardeners and landscapers that come in weekly to tend to the premises." He explains by talking a little slower, most likely so that my dumb self could understand what he means and see that she made a confusion. Well oupsie, but I'm milking this as much as I can. 

Of course I did see the gardeners that usually come here, it's my job to be picking on the tiniest details, and not to mention that this whole place looks like someone wakes up in the morning and measures the height of the grass to see if it's up to par or not. And knowing Mr Vaughan, as Ricky just called him, and how anal he is about everything, I'm starting to actually believe that the grass is truly cut to measure.

"Mr Vaughan is the one that asked me to tackle the little garden behind the hedges, and because he didn't like how I served his eggs in the wrong plate, he said I couldn't get any help from the guys that do the landscaping." I decide to lie through my teeth by using some things that are accurate and some that are very plausible. "I can't ask them, Ricky, they will tell him that I got help, and the he's going to find an even more ridiculous task for me. I'm pretty sure I saw a roof tile that's out of place, right beside the main entrance to the house. I'm not good with heights, Ricky." I look the guard dead in the eyes, as I shudder to make my point. I'm actually excellent with heights, I never minded being up, even in stressful situations, but Ricky doesn't know that. Right know he sees poor Melody who would make a bigger mess of the garden is she were to tackle the task herself. Not to mention ruining her manicure.

"Fine, but if he finds out, you're on your own, Mel. Make sure they do their job and get out as quickly as possible. And under no circumstances they are allowed into the house. I'll be close by as well." I grin widely before resuming a straight face and pretending to listen to Ricky's instructions carefully. That seems to please him, so he takes the two way radio and instructs the guy at the gate to let the gardeners through, then he calls for Joe through the same device.

I'm not sure if Ricky completely missed the precarious location of the garden, of if I may really struck out and find nothing but a brick wall behind that hedge, but he never made a comment about the locations which otherwise is off limits to me. But my instinct screams that there has to be something there, otherwise the regular landscapers would have tended to the area instead of shielding it with tall shrubs.

Dressed casually in a white, tight, turtleneck and a pair of denim overalls, I make my way out into the garden. The men I hired were already unloading the equipment from their van, carefully supervised by Joe and Ricky.  The latter winks at me when he sees my choice of outfit, for only a few minute before I was in my regular Melody attire which is glitzy enough to be seen from  the Moon.

I greet the two men who are looking around a little confused, not to mention taken aback by the sheer size of the compound. Seeing as the grass is neatly trimmed, the topiary are on point and the flowers are knitting a perfect design, the older of the two clears his throat before addressing me. 

"Miss, I'm sorry, but it seems like there has been a misunderstanding." Seeing where the guy is going with this, I raise my hand to gently interrupt him.

"Forgive me. Allow me to show you the part of the garden that has been left unkept, and that you will need to tidy up today." At the sound of actual work for them, his face seems to light up. I can tell that he really enjoys his trade, and I feel like I have made the best decision when I selected them. From their website, I gathered they are a family owned business and they didn't boast about having celebrity clients, unlike others, which means they will not cause me more trouble than I will cause myself. He waves for the other guy who looks no older than 18 and they follow me towards the tall hedge. I took a second to property study both men, and they look like family, but the age difference is too big for them to be father and son. Grandfather, maybe? I think to myself. 

"Behind this hedge, gentleman, is a small garden that ruins the overall aspect of the property." I wave my hand in the general direction of the area, with both Ricky and Joe stiffening as their tiny brain finally realised the location. Well, it's too late now. I smirk and watch the two talk by only throwing weird and scared glances at each other. So there is something in that garden.

An hour later, and the duo I hired has managed to trim the hedge equally on the other side as well, and also neatly mowed the overgrown grass. There are piles and piles of weeds that the two removed and now need to be carried towards the large bins. With no path leading to this garden, the bins couldn't be wheeled here unless we were planning on replacing the turf we would have damaged in the process, so Ricky and Joe found themselves forced to help the two gardeners carry all the rubbish out.

While 'helping' the two men trim everything down to what it made the garden look neat and organise a few potted plants as to make the area more visually delectable, I have noticed that on the outside wall of the mansion there are no windows, just the shape to match the other windows around the house, so I kept wondering what the hell was that hedge hiding. It's not like anyone can see inside the office or walk in the house, so why all the mystery?

That same mystery is quickly solved when I find myself staring at a manhole that frankly has no logic being here. A manhole. When the guy are taking another trip, their hands filled with grass cuttings, I make it as if I'm picking up some stray leaves and strain my ears to see if I can hear anything coming from that covered hole in ground. One would think I would be able to hear even the faintest sound of water running, right? Wrong, for all I hear is nothing, which to my trained mind sparks the idea that the manhole might actually be a secret entrance, or exit, into that office. And since I can't get in through the door Alec uses inside the house, I will have to find an opportunity and try getting in through this manhole. This is it, I tell myself as I pretend not to give the round entrance a second though. 

Taking our time, I help the men gather the tools they used and fluff the potted shrub we decided to use as an entrance, one that can also blend in with the rest of the hedge and make it look seamless. I don't pay any mind to Ricky and Joe who have suddenly gone from watching the strangers closely to being completely absent. I go on to organise the p*****t for the two and walk with them to their van, and this is where I almost s**t my pants. Leaning against the gardener's van is a seething Alec Vaughan, looking deliciously murderous with the golden, red sun setting behind him, giving him that extra demonic glow.