by Dan Scottow
Friendship is better anyway.
They are heading back towards Willow Cottage. There was a brief moment when their fingertips brushed against each other as they walked. She considered holding his hand, but he snatched it away before she had the chance. In hindsight, she’s glad that she didn’t try. As they break out from the woods, they see Diana sitting in the garden beneath the willow tree, chatting to an older lady.
‘Shit,’ Mylo hisses under his breath. ‘This can’t be good.’
‘What? Who’s that?’ Lucy replies.
‘Annette,’ he spits as he pulls away from her, marching towards the women. Lucy picks up the pace to catch up.
‘Who’s Annette?’ she calls after him, but he doesn’t seem to hear.
‘Mylo, hello!’ Diana calls as he approaches. Lucy notes her speech is slurred again and wonders if she has cracked open a bottle of wine or two while they were out. She arrives by his side.
‘Let me introduce you both to Annette. She’s–’
‘I know who she is,’ he spits. Lucy shoots him a look.
‘Hello.’ Lucy holds out her hand.
The woman takes it in both of her own and strokes the skin with her thumbs. Closing her eyes, she tips her head back, smiling. Lucy pulls her hand away, looking once more at Mylo.
‘Annette is a psychic,’ Diana slurs. Lucy glances at her. Her pupils are dilated. ‘She’s going to help us get rid of Rose!’
Mylo runs his fingers through his bushy hair as he sighs, looking away towards the trees.
‘Diana,’ Lucy says, ‘I don’t think this is appropriate.’
‘Oh nonsense! We need him here for it to work. They have a connection, you see!’
The older woman steps forward. ‘I prefer the word “medium”. Young man, you may not like what you hear, you may not believe… but that doesn’t stop it from being true.’
He turns towards her, but before he can speak the sound of a car pulling up around the front of the house distracts them all. Four heads turn to the side of the cottage. A car door slams shut, and moments later Valentina emerges into the garden.
‘Val!’ Diana claps her hands together like an excited child. ‘What a lovely surprise!’
Valentina glances at Lucy, who shakes her head.
The woman saunters towards the group. A mustard-yellow pashmina covers her top half. Black flared trousers emerge from beneath it, hugging her thighs tightly. She’s curvy and carries it well. It suits her. A pair of ridiculously high stilettos, totally inappropriate for the terrain, sit on her feet. She struggles to walk on the grass in them, wobbling a little.
Her black hair is tied up in a tight bun at the back of her head. Huge Prada sunglasses cover most of the top half of her face. She slides them down her nose as she looks at Annette.
‘Who’s this?’ she barks, her tone clipped.
Diana lurches forwards, embracing her friend.
‘You’ve been drinking,’ Valentina says as she sniffs her. ‘You can barely talk.’
‘I have not.’ Diana insists. She motions towards the lady beside her. ‘This is Annette. She is here to cleanse the house.’
‘Excuse me?’ Valentina pulls her shades from her face, folding her arms across her chest. Lucy steps in between them.
‘I think Diana wants to do a seance or something.’
She pulls a face that only Valentina sees, shaking her head.
‘And how much are you charging this emotionally troubled woman for your sham service?’
Annette holds her hand up with sadness in her eyes.
‘Charging? Oh no, not at all. I provide my gift for free.’
Valentina raises her eyebrows, looking to the sky.
‘Not a seance… a cleansing ceremony, to rid the house of unwanted spirits! It’s fantastic you’re here, Val. Annette says it’s better with more people.’
‘Oh no–’
Lucy steps forwards.
‘Diana, why don’t you take Annette inside, see what she needs. Mylo, go with them and make sure they’re okay.’
Mylo frowns but does as he’s told. The three of them cross the lawn in the direction of the cottage.
‘I think she’s having some sort of relapse. You noticed her speech.’
Valentina nods. ‘Are we supposed to entertain this ridiculous charade?’
‘It might do her some good. If she believes this psychic can get rid of the apparent ghost in the house, perhaps she will move on after this.’
‘Won’t we be encouraging her delusions though? If we play along.’
Lucy shrugs.
‘Maybe. But it could also bring an end to this situation.’
Valentina lets out a long sigh, pulling a cigarette and lighter from her tiny handbag. She lights it, taking a deep drag, holding it inside, before exhaling through her nostrils.
She takes another few quick puffs before dropping it onto the lawn, stubbing it out beneath the toe of her shoe.
‘Let’s get this over with then.’
She marches away into the house. Lucy follows behind, closing the door as she enters. The group linger in the hall, discussing the stain on the floor. Mylo waits in the kitchen, looking uncomfortable. Lucy feels for him, she truly does. It must be awful to have to see this. To hear it.
‘You okay?’ she asks quietly as she stands beside him. He shrugs. She places a hand on his back, stroking up and down.
‘I can’t believe we’re going to do this,’ he says sadly. ‘It doesn’t seem right.’
Lucy remains silent. Nothing she could say will help him.
They enter the hall, approaching the women. Diana pushes the door to the living room. It swings open and the group file in. Mylo and Lucy follow behind. Annette unzips a large holdall which is sitting on the floor, pulling out a foldable table with a round top. She splays the legs, clipping the top in place. She pulls a black silk cloth from the bag, making a dramatic show of flapping it out over the structure.
‘Mylo, could you get the chairs, please?’ Diana requests. He crosses the room, picking up two from the dining area, placing them beside the women. Fetching more from the kitchen, he sets them out in a circle. Lucy grabs a final chair for herself, resting it next to Mylo.
‘I’m going to nip up and change quickly. I got a little sweaty on our walk.’
She hurries upstairs as the others take their seats.
65
Diana
Lucy bounds down the stairs, freshened up and looking radiant as Mylo sits at the table beside Valentina. Diana is seated opposite him. Annette, next to her. Mylo’s reaction upon meeting her was to be expected. There are some around these parts who value her, and some who despise her. Her reputation precedes her. She lives in one of the smaller villages on the other side of the woods. Most folk have heard of her, or at least have heard rumours of what she claims to do. Many locals have used her.
She had heard talk that Annette had approached Mylo not long after Rose’s accident, asking if he wanted her to see if Rose had anything to say. Mylo had apparently in his usual non-confrontational manner, politely declined.
Annette lights a thick pillar candle, placing it in the centre of the table, clearing her throat. She looks towards Diana.
‘Do you have the item?’
Diana smiles, pulling something from her pocket. She hands it to the woman, who places it near the candle. Rose’s driving licence.
Diana’s head whips from side to side suddenly; she sniffs the air, like a dog with the scent of a juicy steak.
‘Can you smell that?’ she hisses.
Heads turn all around the table, as people begin to sniff.
‘Perfume. Rose’s perfume.’
‘You smell it, don’t you, Mylo? You know it’s her.’
His eyes dart to Lucy, but he says nothing.
‘It has begun,’ Annette says solemnly.
‘I would ask you all to place your hands flat on the table, towards the outer edge. Splay them, so that your little fingertips are
touching the person’s to each side of you.’
Diana’s go straight down. She glances around, waiting for everyone else to do the same. Lucy places hers down, and in turn, each participant follows suit, forming a circle around the tabletop.
‘Whatever happens, please do not lift your hands from the table. Do not break the circle.’
Valentina smiles, shaking her head. ‘Jesus Christ,’ she sneers.
‘Blasphemy is extremely unbecoming,’ the woman scolds.
She closes her eyes, tilting her head backwards, much the same as she had done when she touched Lucy’s hand earlier.
‘If there is a spirit here, I ask that you go. Leave this house. Leave the living to live. And you, in turn, join the dead. There is nothing here for you any longer.’
Mylo looks around the table warily. Diana can tell he thinks it’s all a sham. A waste of everybody’s time.
‘Rose. You have caused enough trouble here. You must leave this house.’
The candle flame flickers as Annette’s lids spring open.
‘There is an unhappy spirit in this place,’ she whispers, looking to each participant in turn. She stops at Mylo, staring into his eyes.
‘She does not want to go.’
Mylo’s jaw clenches. Everyone is looking at him. Lucy has an expression of sadness on her face. Diana is fascinated. Valentina appears bored.
The table wobbles. Mylo frowns.
It’s lifting, the top rocking from side to side. It suddenly lurches up a couple of inches higher. Diana gasps. Lucy stares towards Annette, the beginnings of a smile on her face. Mylo parts his lips but doesn’t speak. Diana’s heart pounds in her chest. Wide-eyed, she watches with morbid fascination. Even Valentina is paying attention. The air of someone who doesn’t want to believe what they are seeing.
‘Please keep your hands flat. Do not break the circle!’ the medium commands. The table lowers slowly to the ground, setting itself down with a gentle thud. Annette lifts her palms up, looking at Mylo, a curious expression on her face. Mylo stares downwards, unmoving.
‘It is over. But she will not leave.’
‘What do you mean?’ Diana whispers.
‘I still sense her here. There is nothing I can do. She will go when she is ready.’
Mylo stands suddenly, pushing his chair back so hard that it topples over. He storms out of the room.
‘Mylo, wait!’
Lucy springs up from her seat, rushing after him, leaving the bewildered women staring.
66
Lucy
She runs behind him, grabbing his shoulder.
‘Are you all right?’
‘I’m pissed off. This is all such rubbish. Did you see Diana sitting there, lapping it all up? She’s a fucking idiot. She’s loving this. It all creates a drama around her. Makes her the centre of attention. That’s the only time she seems to be happy.’
Lucy pulls him towards her, holding him in an embrace.
‘I’m so sorry you had to see that,’ she whispers in his ear.
He pulls away.
‘I’m not. It’s confirmed what I’ve thought all along. She’s mad.’
Lucy nods.
‘You didn’t actually believe any of that, did you?’
She bites her lip.
‘It was a little creepy,’ she says apprehensively.
‘It’s all bullshit. An act. That’s why she insists on bringing her own table. It’s rigged. I saw a documentary about it all. She presses on the edge to make it rock, then slips her foot under the leg once it’s lifted. Then she raises her foot to raise it. It’s balanced by everyone’s hands being on top of it, so it lifts easily. It’s all smoke and mirrors.’
Lucy sighs and nods once more.
‘I suppose that makes sense. Probably why she wants the curtains drawn and one single candle to light the room.’
‘Bingo!’ he replies.
Valentina emerges from the house, crossing the garden towards them, pulling a cigarette from her purse.
‘Give me strength!’ she shouts as she approaches.
‘You weren’t impressed either, I take it?’ Lucy asks.
‘Of course not. Because I have a brain. I’ve told that trickster to get the hell out of here. She had better be gone by the time I go back inside.’
She looks at Mylo.
‘You all right?’
He nods.
‘I didn’t realise who you were, I’m sorry. That must have been terrible for you. If I’d known, I never would have let it go ahead. It was insensitive.’ She shoots Lucy an icy glare.
‘You’re right. It’s bad,’ Valentina snaps, still looking at her. ‘She’s totally lost it if you want my honest opinion.’ She taps her stiletto on the boardwalk, drawing on her cigarette, turning her head to one side to expel the smoke away from her companions.
‘I’ve known her a long time, and I’ve never seen her this bad. It’s… not like her.’
‘What should we do?’ Lucy asks, exasperated.
‘You said she’s seen the doctor?’
‘Yes, he came out when she had her episode. But she lied to him… didn’t tell him anything that had been going on. I had to fill him in before he left. She also claims she’s made an appointment for blood tests. But whether that is true is anybody’s guess.’ She pauses. ‘There’s… something else…’
Valentina tilts her head questioningly.
‘Follow me.’
Lucy pulls a bunch of keys from her pocket and crosses the lawn to Diana’s studio. She unlocks the door, stepping inside. Valentina and Mylo follow behind. Lucy points to a bucket, with remnants of red paint in the bottom, and dripping down the sides.
Her companions frown.
‘I think that’s what she used… on the floor, I mean. In the hall.’
‘Ah.’ Valentina steps forwards, leaning over. She extends her arm, dipping an immaculately manicured finger into the liquid, rubbing it between her thumb and forefinger.
‘Still wet…’ she says to nobody in particular. ‘I think it’s time I had a talk with her. If you two can make yourselves scarce for a while, that would be wonderful.’
Lucy glances at Mylo, and they both nod. Valentina turns towards the house, but stops, looking back towards them.
‘The perfume. Was it Rose’s?’
Mylo nods.
‘I smelled it. I still smell it. Something is going on here. But I sure as hell don’t believe in ghosts.’
She marches back to the cottage, slamming the door behind her as she enters.
‘Want to go for a boat ride?’ Mylo asks.
Lucy shrugs.
‘She’s made it clear she wants us out of the way for a while, so we may as well.’
They climb aboard, and as Mylo starts the engine, manoeuvring the vehicle away from the pontoon, Lucy glances back at the house. Two shadowy figures stand in the kitchen window, watching them as they pull away.
67
Diana
‘Wasn’t she fantastic!’ Diana beams. Valentina purses her lips, waiting for her moment. ‘Surely you have to believe me now?’
The smile fades from her face as she notes her friend’s expression.
‘You can’t mean to say you still have doubts? You saw what happened in there. You smelled the perfume–’
Valentina holds up her hand.
‘Enough, Diana. Yes, I smelled perfume. That’s about all I can say for that circus act we all just witnessed.’
‘Annette is the real deal. She has even helped the police with trying to track down missing persons.’
‘I’m sure.’ She pauses, closing her eyes, letting out a breath. ‘We have been friends for a long time, Di. I would never want to fall out with you… but I can’t stand by and watch you make a fool of yourself. This has got to stop. I don’t know what you’re hoping to achieve… is it attention? Because let me remind you, it was you who thought it was a wonderful idea to move out here, to the middle of nowhere. Away from your support network.
I advised you against it then, but you were having none of it. So if you’re lonely, then it’s nobody else’s fault but your own.’
Diana’s mouth drops open, eyes wide. She hobbles on her stick towards her friend. Their heads are centimetres apart. Her hot breath, rank and bitter, is in Valentina’s face. She turns away, grimacing.
‘You think I’m attention seeking? You know me better than that. This… this is real. I’m not mad.’
‘You’re drunk! You’re not working. You’re focusing all your time and energy on this ridiculous ghost hunt. It’s pathetic! I’ve never seen you like this. I don’t understand it.’
Diana leans in closer to her friend, their noses are almost touching.
‘I am not drunk,’ she says firmly.
‘You’re slurring. You can barely string a sentence together. Come on, be honest at least.’
‘I haven’t had a drink for days. I had a glass of wine earlier in the week. One glass. The night the bloodstain reappeared–’
Valentina laughs.
‘Oh yes. The bloodstain.’
Diana leans backwards.
‘What do you mean by that?’
‘I’ve seen the bucket of paint. In your studio. Looks suspiciously the same colour as the stuff on the floor to me. Please, Diana, cut the crap.’
Confusion flickers across her face.
‘What paint? I haven’t been into my studio for days.’ She pauses, eyes clouding. ‘Or is it weeks?’ She’s not even sure anymore. She no longer sounds as if she’s talking to anyone in particular.
‘And why is that?’
‘I’m not inspired. I can’t paint when I’m not inspired.’
‘Oh bullshit! You know how this works. You splash a few daubs on a few canvasses, call it a new collection, and we make money. You don’t need to be inspired. I’ve told you before, our professional relationship only works, if you work. Otherwise, my time is going unpaid!’
