HUES OF A MURDER

Chapter 16: Verdant secrets and lies

"The Greywich family was established long time ago. It is one of the oldest families in Maplewood. This whole area was forest once. Both Maplewood and Yellowridge. The Greywich patriarch, I forgot his name, came somewhere from the south."

"I think his name was Percival. I saw his portrait in the manor," Cyan interrupted her.

"Right! Percival! He was a mariner who later became a merchant. He made lot of money. The early settlers in Maplewood and Yellowridge had discovered the coal mines in the Ebony Hills. But they didn't have money or other facilities to mine coal. Percival spent the money and later became the owner of the coal mines. The Greywiches flourished along with the town of Maplewood. In a way, I think we owe him for the development of our little town." Amber sipped water.

"Greywich of our generation was Oleander. He married a rich woman from south when he was in mid-forties. His wife was a mere girl of eighteen years. She wore expensive silks and jewellery made of precious stones. But she was never happy. He was a monster. Had lots of affairs. Poor woman. They had a son, Silas. When Silas was born, his mother died of pregnancy complications. Around twenty years later, Oleander married a village girl from Yellow Ridge. No one knows how that marriage happened. She was a young woman too, around Silas's age. They had a daughter, Zelena. When Zelena was eight years old, her mother committed suicide. They say that she jumped from the clock tower in the manor in front of Zelena. Poor kid."

"The son was much like his father. Cruel and lavish and philanderer. Zelena was the opposite. A sweet girl. Soft-spoken. Not arrogant. She used to visit the library. When she was twenty, she eloped with one of the miners. A maid at the Manor said that Zelena was pregnant with his child when she eloped. No one has heard of her again. God bless her."

"People say that when Zelena left the Greywiches, she also took their luck with her. The family was struck with a series of misfortunes after she left. A couple of days after she left, the mines collapsed. Eighteen people died in that disaster. Most of the miners were from Yellowridge and from our town. Some were from Green Bay. It was the greatest tragedy our town had seen."

"What happened to Silas?" Rowan asked.

"Well, he never married or had kids. The mines closed after the tragedy but that didn't deter his lavish lifestyles or habits. A few years later, to be exact, a fortnight before Oleander was murdered, Silas had a car accident. It happened near the Redmare forests. He was drunk, coming from Green Bay at night, and hit a deer. He must have lost control after that. His car hit a tree. The cops found him the next morning. He survived but was completely paralysed. He has been in a hospice in Green Bay."

"How was Oleander murdered?" Cyan wondered.

"He was found shot to death in his house. The doors and windows were locked from inside apparently. But who knows? That's what the police said," The four exchanged glances.

Rose's phone rang. "Oh! Its mama," She exclaimed. She took the call and said she was at Mrs. Redmaynes' and she was leaving soon.

"Oh! My! Look how time flies!" Mrs. Redmayne exclaimed. It was quite dark. "If you want to know more about the Greywiches, there are a couple of books at our library. You should check that out. Greywiches' history is our town's history" She added.

The four thanked and took Redmaynes' farewell and ventured into the night.

                                                                                   ***

Cyan and Rose met up at the Maplewood Public Library right after it opened at nine. Scarlett was helping her grandma set up her stall at the farmers' fair. Rowan had a business meeting that day. The four met at the fair in the afternoon to help Scarlett. They helped set up stalls, helped farmers to haul and arrange their produce, helped Iris and Carmine to sell their produce. The fair was set up for a fortnight. Rusty and Skye also helped around.