Promised Land Lane

by Brown, Marcus

  “Hils. Stop!” Sandra shouted. “Please. Come back.”

  “Your friend is wise to run and you should do the same. She knows you’re here, Sandra. You must go. Now.”

  Sandra looked up into his face, suddenly remembering. “It’s you - I remember you.”

  He looked down at her, his face filled with kindness.

  “Go, please, she will do whatever it takes to get to you. I can’t keep her away for much longer. They will stay with you,” he said, gesturing towards the many cats that still surrounded her.

  Sandra looked up into his sad eyes. She wanted to talk to him, to find out why he was there and why she remembered him.

  The child’s cries became louder.

  “Go please. I couldn’t bear to see you suffer the same fate as your sister.”

  The words hit Sandra like a thunderbolt. She jumped back from the man and ran, the cats following her as she raced towards the side of the house. She stopped dead in her tracks. The doll house. With an almost trance-like pull, she reached out to remove the covering, her surroundings melting away.

  “Go! Now!” he screamed at her.

  Startled, Sandra dropped the torch. She ran and cleared the side of the house. Although in complete darkness, she felt as though somebody was guiding her. As she approached the gate, the cats stopped following her. Sandra didn’t look back and darted towards the car. She banged on the car window causing Hilary to scream at the top of her lungs.

  Hilary unlocked the car door and reached over pulling Sandra inside before locking it again.

  Sandra didn’t have time to fasten her seatbelt before Hilary had the engine running.

  In her panic Hilary struggled to find the right gear.

  “Hils,” Sandra said sternly. “Calm down, please.” She could hear the cracks in her own voice, but was trying her best not to panic. She knew she had to keep a level head or they wouldn’t make it home in one piece. It was obvious, Hilary wasn’t thinking straight.

  “The fucking car won’t move, why won’t it move?” Hilary said, panic rising in her voice.

  “You’re in the wrong gear,” Sandra said, looking down at the gear stick.

  Hilary pressed down the clutch as far as it would go, put the car into first gear and sped off.

  Sandra quickly turned in her seat to see the man standing behind the gate watching them drive away.

  Neither of them said a word. Hilary, shaking, reached forward and turned the heating up as high as it would go.

  Hilary drove home in silence. Sandra could see her constantly checking the rear-view mirror, but she didn’t say a word - she couldn’t take her mind off what the man had said about her sister.

  Hilary stopped the car outside of her house and turned the engine off. She rested her head on the steering wheel.

  “Are you alright, Hils?”

  “I just want to get myself together before I go inside. What about you?” Hilary lifted her head off the steering wheel and looked at her friend. “Are you ok?”

  “Not really. I’m so confused right now that I can’t think straight.”

  Hilary gently placed her hand on Sandra’s leg. They sat in silence for a few minutes.

  “Sand, what the fuck happened back there?”

  “I don’t know. It all happened so fast. I was so scared and wasn’t expecting any of that to happen. I know I’ve been there before, but I really believed I’d imagined most of it.”

  “I’ve never been so scared in my life.” Hilary, was still shaking.

  “We’ll talk about it later. Let’s get you inside and in front of that fire of yours,” Sandra said, trying not to upset her anymore. “Are you ready?”

  Hilary nodded as she climbed out of the car. They walked into the house in silence, stopping before opening the living room door. They turned to one another and smiled.

  Chapter 12

  They found Tim still sitting in his favourite chair reading a book, or at least pretending to. It was obvious he was waiting up for Hilary to come home, and seeing the look on his wife’s face he dropped his book, jumped out of the chair and grabbed her shoulders.

  “What the hell has happened to you, Hilary? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

  “Oh, very funny, Timothy! I almost cracked a rib there from laughing. What do you think happened to me? Soft girl over there took me to a haunted house and some lunatic was waiting in the garden for us. He had a kid with him pretending to crawl out of the bloody well and almost gave me a heart attack, and what does she do?” nodding towards Sandra.

  “I don’t know. I wasn’t there, was I?” he said.

  “Well, I’ll tell you if you shut up and listen. Crazy girl stood talking to the loony, and if that wasn’t bad enough, we were surrounded by all those rotten cats as well. Oh, and don’t think I haven’t noticed the house smells like camel shite.”

  “Hilary, you’re not making any sense at all, and you…” he said, pointing to Sandra, “…you’re unusually quiet. Do you think it’s funny taking my wife to a haunted house and frightening the life out of her?”

  “I didn’t take her to a haunted house, your Lordship. I took her to a haunted garden, and your wife volunteered to come with me. I didn’t force her to do anything she didn’t want to do, but do me a favour and remember I’m not one of your students. I won’t tolerate you speaking down to me.”

  Sandra couldn’t stand his pompous attitude and knew she was wrong talking to him so rudely in his own home, but she wasn’t going to let him get away with speaking to her like a child.

  Hilary interrupted their exchange. “Sand, who was he and where did he come from? I thought I was going to shit myself, literally. And all those cats and that horrible noise that little girl was making.”

  “He’s always been there. He was there all those years ago. I recognised him, but he doesn’t look any different now to how he looked back then.”

  “What is she talking about?” Tim asked.

  “Ssssh.” Hilary shook her head, clearly annoyed at his interruption. “That’s not possible, Sand. Come on, surely you realise he’s just some local loony. I’m more worried about that kid messing about in a derelict garden at this time of night.”

  “She’s always been there too. Don’t you get it? The man told me she was coming for me. I think she knew who I was because I looked at that doll all those years ago.”

  “You don’t really believe that, surely?”

  Sandra felt frustrated. “You know the stories as well as I do, Hils. If you look at the doll, she’ll come for you. She knew I’d come back.”

  “Sandra, you’re talking crazy.”

  “That’s the place Sarah went missing. I was there that night. She was there with me one minute and gone the next. I couldn’t find her. You heard him tell me I shouldn’t have come back. How did he know I’d been there before?”

  “I don’t know how he knew, but why are you so sure something happened to Sarah there?”

  “I wasn’t one hundred percent certain until tonight, but that man told me I had to leave as he didn’t want me to suffer the same fate as my sister.”

  “Sand, this is crazy. There’s no way he could know anything about Sarah’s disappearance. We need to call the police and tell them he’s walking around that garden frightening people with all those cats and those stupid noises. Jesus, that child should be fast asleep in bed.”

  “What are the police going to do? When Sarah went missing, they thought she was just pissing about and didn’t take any of us seriously, but when they finally realized something was wrong, it was too late and they didn’t find any trace of her. They said there was no evidence of foul play and she’d used the situation to run away.”

  “Well, you’re even more stupid than I thought you were, Sandra,” Tim said. “Going back to the same place where your own sister vanished. Why would you do that?”

  “Tim, I swear to God, that if you say one more word, I’ll kick you so hard my foot will be wedged up your arse. Shut
up and go to bed please. You’re not helping at all.”

  “But, Hilary…”

  “I mean it, Tim. I’m not joking.” Sandra noticed the icy look Hilary gave her husband.

  Tim stomped off like a scolded child, slamming the living room door behind him.

  ***

  “Sand, I’m so sorry he said that stuff. He had no right, I know, but he’s just worried about me. When he’s like that he goes into protective mode and puts his foot firmly in his big gob.”

  “He said nothing that wasn’t true, Hils. I had to go back, but I shouldn’t have taken you with me. For years I’ve tried not to think of that awful place. I told myself she’d just run away and was living the high life somewhere -- happy, married with kids, filthy rich, but deep down, I know something happened to her. I can feel it in my heart.”

  “Promise me that you’ll never go back there.”

  “I can’t promise you that. I won’t spend another twenty years pretending nothing happened. You saw it for yourself tonight. Something’s there, something evil and you heard what he said too.”

  “I really don’t know what I saw, Sand. It was so confusing with all those cats and those strange noises. I feel like I’ve been pranked by one of those awful shows on MTV. Nothing about it seemed real to me.”

  “But, you left me and ran. You know something is there.”

  Hilary lowered her head, clearly ashamed to have left her best friend.

  “It’s a dark garden in the middle of the night, full of cats, and then a man appears as though he’s been watching us. Part of me was waiting for Cilla Black to pop up and scream Surprise Surprise.”

  “If only... I know something is there, and whatever it is knew I’d returned. The man told me never to return and that he couldn’t stop her.”

  “That’s my point. It’s just so far-fetched. I feel like somebody is playing games with you, Sand.”

  “Why would somebody do that? You know my sister disappeared the last time we went to that house. You know what it did to my mum. She was never the same again, and if I’m honest neither was I.”

  “Oh, Sand.”

  “All this time, at the back of my mind, I’ve wondered where she went and what happened to her. But now I’m certain something hurt her. For all I know she could still be there, trapped, locked up somewhere. I have to go back.”

  “Please don’t. I’m so scared for you. Look, I don’t believe there is anything freaky going on there, I just think that man is there scaring people away.”

  “How would he know that I’d been there before? He looks younger than the both of us.”

  “I told you I didn’t know, but he may have recognized you from the papers, or the internet -– your face is always splashed across it. You’re not thinking straight. Anybody can find out anything now on the Internet.”

  “Shit, you’re right!” Sandra said as a thought struck her. ”Why didn’t I think of that?”

  “Right about what? And what didn’t you think about?”

  “The internet. I can find out anything I want as long as I know where to look. I can find out who used to live in that house before the Gallagher lady.”

  “I’m begging you, Sand, please just let it go. I could fucking throttle Rachel for this. The fat bitch knew what she was doing when she gave you this assignment.”

  “Yes, she did, but she’s just doing her job, and to be honest, it was the kick up the arse I needed instead of hiding away and pretending there hasn’t been a massive hole in my life since Sarah vanished.”

  “Nothing I say is going to make a difference, is it?” Hilary looked shattered.

  “Sorry, Hils, but no. I need to know what happened in there, and more importantly, what happened to my sister.”

  “I think you’re cuckoo and I must be too, as there’s no way I’m letting you go through this alone, so what now?”

  “There’s no way I’m letting you go back to that place. You were terrified.”

  “We’ll probably end up sectioned, but I’ll be with you all the way.”

  “But,” Sandra tried to object.

  “No arguments. You’d do the same for me. Just one condition though.”

  “Name it,” Sandra said.

  “Next time, make sure I bring a spare pair of knickers as my arse still hasn’t defrosted.”

  With that, both of them dissolved into uncontrollable laughter.

  Chapter 13

  It hadn’t taken Sandra long to track Dianne down, but it took some convincing for her solicitor, Donald Chase, to disclose where she now lived. After a pleasant lunch in Liverpool city centre, he handed her a piece of paper with the name Rosewood House written on it.

  “It’s in County Cork, everyone knows where it is,” he offered.

  “Can you give me the full address?” she asked.

  “It’s a convent, Miss Miller, you’ll find it.”

  “Why does Mrs Gallagher live in a convent?” Sandra asked.

  “It’s not my story to tell, but maybe she will tell you herself. Like me, she will wonder why a well-respected journalist such as yourself is digging around and asking questions about a property she owns.”

  “It was more than that, Mr Chase. Your client lived there for a relatively short space of time and left after being attacked. I don’t know if you’ve seen the papers, but a child was murdered there recently.”

  “Sadly, I’m aware of the child’s death, but my client will not thank you for that information, or the intrusion. I have very little contact with the lady herself and only see that her wishes are attended to in regards to the property on Promised Land Lane.”

  “Then why have you given me the address?” She was curious as to why he had offered the information so freely.

  “Because, as I said earlier, you are well-respected, and after your call, I made some phone calls of my own and it seems you also have a history with the property. You wouldn’t be asking to speak to my client if it wasn’t serious. I truly believe that. Be careful though, Miss Miller, I’m an old man and don’t believe in hocus pocus, but something is very wrong with that house.”

  “Do you think she will meet with me?”

  “You have as good a chance as any. I’ve only met her twice myself in all these years, but don’t be fooled by her appearance. She’s sharp as a knife.”

  “Did she tell you anything about what happened to her at the house? After she left the hospital, nobody seems to know anything about her.”

  “And that’s the way she wanted it. As for anything she may have told me, that’s between Mrs Gallagher and myself. Now. Is there anything else you need from me?” he asked, changing the subject quickly. “It’s been a very interesting lunch, but I have things to do.” He bent down to pick up his briefcase before Sandra had a chance to answer.

  “No, there’s nothing else I need, but thank you for agreeing to see me.”

  “It’s been my pleasure, Miss Miller. Take good care of yourself.” The well-dressed man got up from the table and offered a slight bow before shuffling off towards the escalators.

  Sandra picked up her bag from under the table and rummaged around for her phone. She scrolled through her contact list and called her travel agent. “Hi, it’s Sandra Miller. I need a flight to Dublin as soon as possible.”

  After making the necessary arrangements, Sandra sipped the last of her lime and soda and made her way to the car park. An early morning flight meant she had to hurry home and pack.

  ***

  Sandra was usually a nervous flyer, but she was so excited about meeting Dianne Gallagher that the nerves never had a chance to take hold.

  It was only a forty-five minute flight from Liverpool John Lennon Airport to Dublin. The Captain announced over the PA system that they would be landing soon. Sandra gripped the arms of the chair - she always hated this part. The screeching of the wheels on the runway frightened her and made her feel like the plane wasn’t going to stop in time. She always feared the worst.

  S
he rushed through the airport to the car rental place she had found online. Luckily, it was just outside the arrivals terminal and after handing over the relevant documents she was driving south to County Cork.

  She enjoyed the drive through unfamiliar territory and took in the views whilst thinking of the questions she would ask. Did Dianne know the history of the house before she bought it, and did she know who the man was? She hoped that Dianne would be able to answer her many questions, but in the back of her mind, she remembered what Mr. Chase had told her. Sandra didn’t want to intrude into Dianne’s life, but she was the only person who might be able to help. It was an opportunity she couldn’t pass up.

  The built-in satnav told her she was approaching her destination and a sense of foreboding overtook her as the old red brick building came into view.

  Stopping the car just beyond the bridge which led to the convent she got out. She stared at the building before her. Why was she so nervous? She got back into the car and drove slowly over the bridge and onto the long driveway of the property. She noticed the nuns scattered about the grounds and shivered. They had always given her the creeps.

  Her nerves settled as the serenity that surrounded the convent overwhelmed her. She suddenly understood why Dianne had chosen to live here after leaving the lane.

  She pulled the car into the designated parking spot and got out and spent ten minutes looking around the grounds, taking in all the beauty of her surroundings. The gardens looked well maintained. Throughout the grounds were walkways in all directions. There was a beautiful manmade pond to the left-hand side of the convent – a flock of ducks exited the pond as the caretaker skimmed the water with a net to remove the dead leaves. Looking around, Sandra, smiled -– this was her idea of heaven.

  A nun approached with a smile on her cherubic face. “Can I help you, my dear?”

  Sandra found herself smiling back. “Yes please. I’m looking for Dianne Gallagher. I would like to speak with her.”