by Olivia Swift
“And sturdy,” Katie said as she picked up the steam engine part. “How will you fasten down the rails?” Magda waved a stapler in the air.
“Sam’s strong stapler. Let’s see if we have enough rail.” The few customers still inside moved away to make space, and two of them stood up to pass pieces up to Magda as she stood on a stepladder. Sam had made it to include a figure eight so that the train could do a more interesting run and in the middle of the figure eight, it either went under or over itself.
“The fabulous thing that I hadn’t realized, is that you control it from your cell. The engine recharges when it is standing at the station. Well, on the charger as we haven’t got a station,” Magda said.
“You really are excited about this,” Katie said. “You download the app and I will staple the rails to the boards.” Rula served a couple of customers who joined in watching the construction team. Then she unpacked the carriages and other pieces.
“Got the WiFi hub. I’ll plug it in and try and sort out the parts,” Magda said. One of the customers, who came in often after work, stood up and came over.
“I have one of these already. Let me sort it out for you,” he offered. The customer found the various USB wires and main pieces to set the thing up. “This is a great idea,” he added. “I’m a railroad nut. I’m Jeff, by the way.”
“Thanks, Jeff,” Magda said and showed him the app on the screen. The man needed no encouraging and in no time at all had the engine and the carriages linked and on the track.
“There should be enough charge in the motor to let you see it work and then you can charge it overnight.” He showed Magda the controls on the cell phone and told her she should have the thrill of making it work. She grinned and counted down three, two, one and pressed the control. The train set off around the track and successfully completed the figure eight.
Everyone who was still in the café clapped their hands and said it was wonderful. Magda was over the moon.
“And,” Jeff told her. “It does sound.” He made the sound of an engine running and tooted the warning sound that was so typical of steam trains.
“Wow. Thanks Jeff. You are definitely on free coffee when you come back in.” They were so obsessed with trying the sounds, the reversing and changing various pieces on the train, that Sam and Declan arrived without anyone noticing.
“Well, I come back to set this up and you have a strange man holding your cell phone,” Sam said but smiled as he said it. Magda ran across and kissed his cheek.
“This is magic, Sam.”
“Hiya, Sam,” Jeff said.
“Might have guessed if there was a train that you would be close at hand, Bloomburg,” Sam answered and shook the man by the hand. “Howya doin’?”
“Okay thanks. Had to offer when I saw them unpack this new WiFi stuff.”
“Look, Sam.” She used her phone to start and stop and they saw the train go over and under the figure eight. “And the sounds.” The train tooted as it rolled along.
“You can download the app to other phones as well,” Jeff told them. Magda handed him the phone.
“Go on. Have a try before we close up.”
In the hands of the expert, the engine reversed, speeded up and slowed down and stopped under the crossover part.
“I think we need to add some scenery,” Rula suggested. Mikey had come in and joined the group. Jeff handed him the phone.
“Gotta go. Give me a call if you need help. Sam knows where I am.”
“Thanks, Jeff. That was really a great relief.” Magda said as Mikey had a try with the new toy.
“The hard thing about this is going to be keeping the men away from it,” Katie observed. Declan took the phone and started to try it out as well.
“I built the shelf and I haven’t had a turn yet,” Sam grumbled. Magda offered him a pecan and marzipan truffle. He could never resist his favorite.
When Declan handed the cell on to Sam, Katie nudged Declan.
“If you cut some sort of scalloped pieces of wood, I could do some trees with snow as a background for the Christmas theme.” He pulled out his tape measure from his back pocket and told her he would do it when he got home.
“We need some sort of building that looks like a railroad depot,” Magda said.
“They were wooden buildings,” Rula said. “I love that sort of building.” Katie asked Declan to cut out a station shape as well and she would give it a quick paint.
“It doesn’t have to be perfect as it is high up and behind the track. Oh, and the tinsel and the tiny white Christmas lights.” Katie had put the lights she bought in the cupboard and went to get them out. The men reached up and stretched them along the shelf, plugged them in and the tiny pin pricks of light came to life.
“It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas,” Rula laughed. “What a great idea this was of yours, Magda.”
Declan said that he would bring over the wooden pieces once they were cut so that Katie could paint them that night.
“Just running the jigsaw over some thin ply won’t take more than a few minutes,” Declan said.
“I’ll tell Mom to set an extra place. She likes feeding people,” Katie told him and the two of them collected their things and left.
Mikey and Rula were about to leave as well when Magda’s phone rang.
“Is that Magda?” a voice quavered.
“Yes.” Magda flapped her hand for everyone to be quiet and switched on the speakerphone. “Is that Jemima? Are you okay?”
“Listen,” the voice said, and they could hear bumps and bangs loud and clear.
“On our way,” Magda told her. “Sit tight.” They rushed to lock up and Magda left her car behind to ride in the truck. She called Merle and told her where they were going.
When they found the house, it was at the end of a street. There was a house on one side but nothing on the other although the road continued on. The truck and Mikey’s car stopped in the drive and they all climbed out. It was still daylight and what they saw was a pretty house with a large window on each side of the front door. There were four steps up to the covered porch.
“Oh, Mikey. What a lovely house. I love it and the color is turquoise. It’s just beautiful.”
“We will find the right one eventually, Rula,” he said and took her hand.
On the steps, they knocked and called out who it was. Jemima opened the door as Merle and Branston arrived and rushed to join the group. Magda introduced them and they all spread around the living room.
“It’s a lovely house,” Rula started and then stopped as there were definite thumps from below the floorboards.
4
“Did you say there were rooms underneath?” Sam asked and Jemima nodded and said she would show them. They followed her outside and around the corner of the building. There were two windows at ground level and a set of steps down to a door. Jemima found a key hidden on a ledge and opened the glass-paneled door.
As it was getting dark, she flicked a switch and the basement room flooded with light. The room ran under what looked like half of the house and there was a door into a second room. The place was empty apart from a wooden cabinet and a neat pile of logs in one corner. Jemima walked across and opened the other door. The second room had some furniture stacked in one corner. Both rooms were swept clean and looked remarkably normal. There was no sign of any disturbance and certainly no people or anything that might be moved by a draft.
“You see there is nothing unusual. If I go back upstairs, after a little while, the noises start again.”
“Let’s go and see if we can find anything out,” Merle suggested. Jemima locked the door and put the key on the ledge.
They found seats and sat in a sort of circle. Merle went through a routine that she used for protection and told them all to imagine themselves protected by a clean, blue light. She talked for a little while until she thought that everyone had settled and then she called out.
“Hello. Is there a spirit person out
there? Can you come forward and talk to us please? Is there someone who makes noises? Please step forward.”
“Come and talk to us. We mean you no harm. Can you make a noise so that we know you are there?” Magda asked. There was nothing but Merle thought that she could feel that someone was listening. She asked for a noise again and this time there was a slight tap.
“Can you do that louder please?” Magda asked and this time there was a noise and the sound of light footsteps.
“Are they your footsteps?” Merle queried and there was another noise under their feet.
“Thank you,” Magda said. “Are you trying to tell Jemima something?” There was another slight bang.
“I wonder what she is trying to say,” Merle said. “Definitely feels feminine.”
“Did you live here once?” Rula asked. “This is a lovely house.” There was another noise and it sounded more confident.
“Was it your house?” Merle continued and there was no response at all. There was no response to other questions about whether the person worked there or visited. They were running out of things to ask when the footsteps ran across the floor. Merle smiled.
“Are you a little girl?” There was an immediate thump from below their feet and the footsteps moved again accompanied by some tapping sounds.
“Well done, Merle,” Mikey said.
“Could a little girl make those awful noises?” Jemima asked. “The sounds are loud and horrible and nothing like the ones we heard tonight.”
“Did you make loud noises to frighten Jemima?” Merle asked. There was nothing. “Bang twice if the answer is no.” Two taps sounded quickly. “Thank you. You’re a smart girl.”
“Are you telling her something is wrong?” Magda asked and was rewarded with one loud tap.
“Thank you. We’ll try and find out what it is. Is your mom with you?” There were two taps and Magda gasped.
“I heard a little sob,” she said. “Poor little soul.”
“Have you always heard noises in the house?” Sam asked and Jemima shook her head.
“Can you tell when they started?” Branston queried and she thought about it.
“I guess it was only a few months ago but I can’t think of anything that started them off.”
“Does your friend hear them as well?” Merle asked and the woman nodded.
“Just like you all heard them when you arrived. Then they stop.”
“And it’s not the little girl. She is there but she’s not a problem. She has problems of her own, I guess,” Merle told them.
Magda wondered if they could find out from the deeds who had owned the house before Jemima.
“If we can look up the previous owners, we might find out who she is.”
Jemima went to a filing cabinet and came back with a folder. She went through it and found the deeds to the property.
“My mom and dad bought the house from people called Douglas. They had no children and had retired to an apartment.” She read through the papers and tapped it with her finger. “The name on the deed before that is Deronda. That is all and the building date is there. I guess it has to be related to the Deronda family if she is connected to the house.” She passed the papers to Merle who looked at them and handed them on. Jemima took them back when everyone had scanned them and put her files away.
“We will do some research and come back tomorrow night for a proper séance,” Merle said. “Is that okay?”
“Yes, thank you. I feel better already.”
“There has to be a rational explanation if the little girl is not to blame,” Sam told her. “I am sure we will solve it if we look hard enough.”
“Will you be okay now?” Magda asked and Jemima said she felt a lot better.
“I am looking forward to tomorrow night now,” she told them as she waved them off from the porch.
Magda and Sam found the cats waiting impatiently for their dinner, but they had found the box of decorations that Magda had set aside to go to the café. The floor looked very much like a Christmas disaster. Sam offered to make something to eat as Magda picked up the pieces and swept up the tinsel and glitter.
“I know they keep telling me it’s Christmas. I must remember to keep everything where they can’t get at it.”
“What did you think of the séance?” Sam asked as they ate.
“I could sense the little girl was unhappy but that is understandable. Her connection to the house is one thing but I wonder what her connection is to Jemima?” Magda left that question unanswered. With a dish of ice cream each, which followed the delicious steak Sam had cooked, Magda pulled out her tablet.
“Deronda,” she said. “That name must be easy to find.” Sam let her do her searching and settled to watch the TV with four cats sitting on top of him. After about an hour, Magda sat up and rubbed her eyes.
“Found it. At least, I found a date from the census that puts the Deronda family in the house. They are listed as father, Geoffrey, mother, Eliza and two children, a boy and a girl. The boy is the elder, Donny and the girl is named Beth. That date is nineteen sixty and the little girl is eight.”
“So, find the next census and see if she is still on the list,” Sam advised from his comfortable position on the sofa.
Magda shook her head.
“Do not worry, oh lazy one. I had already thought of that.”
Sam grinned and closed his eyes. Crystal decided to leave her warm spot and come over to Magda. She jumped up onto the table and looked at the screen.
“Your help is not needed, Crystal,” Magda said but the cat stretched out a gentle paw to the screen and tapped. “Oh, Crystal. I know that it is Christmas.” The screen changed and Magda dropped the cat onto the floor. The screen showed Christmas elves in Santa’s workshop. Magda went back to where she had been and found the next census.
“Sam,” she called. “Beth is not on the next census. Something must have happened to her in between the dates.”
“At least you found them.”
Magda closed down the screen and came to curl up against him. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her nose.
“Thank you for the shelving for the railway. It looks really good. No, it looks great! I’m so happy I have you.”
“And if I know Declan and Katie, it will have scenery by tomorrow,” Sam added.
“Declan will be with us tomorrow night as well and maybe he will be able to tell us what little Beth looks like.”
“I hope Jemima has a quiet night,” Magda said.
The lucky cats had an enclosed area outside of the kitchen door where they could go outside without being able to escape. They wandered about outside and shook their paws elegantly as they came back inside.
“These cats are absolutely spoiled,” Magda said as she handed out treats and saw them settled. Irina had discovered the fleecy shelf that Magda had hung on the radiator. She claimed it as her own and curled up for the night. The other three pretended to go to bed but managed to sneak into the bedroom and lie on Sam’s legs. He shifted to a reasonable position and resigned himself to the weight on his legs.
The next morning, Sam dropped Magda at the café as her car was still there from the day before, and then he set off for the yard. Katie had also arrived and followed her inside carrying a big tote bag.
“Come on. I am dying to see what you painted,” Magda grinned. Rula joined her and Katie produced enough thin pieces of background to go behind the shelving. Then there was the depot. It was painted dark red like the comfy chairs and had edges painted to look like wood. It had a chimney, windows and snow on the edges of the roof.
“Oh, it’s fantastic,” Magda said and hugged her friend and co-worker. She found the stepladder and they passed the pieces of snowy trees up to her one by one plus the depot where the charger was. The train could stand at the station and charge overnight.
“Declan says to use those sticky strips to hold the pieces to the wall and when winter is over, we can do a summery scene,” Katie tol
d her and went to find some tape. Rula started to serve the first customers as the new attraction was admired.
“Can we see it work?” One lady asked. She had her small daughter with her.
“If I pick up the little girl, will she drop the decorations into the open trucks?” Magda asked and the child jumped up to try. Her mom came to lift her, and Magda handed her the baubles one by one. The trucks were loaded. There was tinsel amongst the twinkling lights. Magda took out her cell phone.
“You ready?” she asked the girl and showed her which button to press. The youngster started the train on the figure eight track past the scenery and made tooting sounds when Magda showed her how to do it.
“You have made Ruby’s day, thank you,” the woman said.
“What’s your favorite Christmas story?” Rula asked. The little girl scrunched up her eyes and then said it was ‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas’.
“What a great choice,” Rula said. “We will definitely have that one read. I love it as well. I love the bit where he puzzled for hours.”
“Till his puzzler was sore,” the youngster finished, and they all laughed.
Rula put an extra marshmallow on Ruby’s hot chocolate. The café actually seemed to buzz.
“Definitely a feeling of Christmas,” Magda said happily.
Bart arrived and perched at his usual spot. His drink appeared in front of him and he asked for Magda’s phone.
“Download the app on your own,” she said jokingly as she handed over her phone. Bart played happily with running the train, reversing and making the whistle and steam sounds. He adjusted the speed to slow which made it more effective. Young Ruby had to be practically carried out of the café.
“We didn’t have time to call you last night, but we did an impromptu séance at Jemima’s. She called feeling very frightened, so we drove over,” Magda told him. He stopped playing with the train to ask what had happened.
He switched on his recorder to make a note of what she said. She added the part about finding the family online.
