Possession is Nine Tenths of the Law
by
Natasha Duncan-Drake
&
Sophie Duncan
Copyright © 2017 by Natasha Duncan-Drake and Sophie Duncan
Smashwords Edition
This publication is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organisations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of either the author or the publisher.
Wittegen Press
http://www.wittegenpress.com/
Cover art by Natasha Duncan-Drake
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Dedication
This book was created for All Hallows Read 2017 and we would like to thank them for their wonderful idea.
To all who love a good scare, we offer you welcome and have to say a big thank you. We hope you enjoy our offerings.
Table of Contents
Looking for Luticia
Lost in the Dark
Also from Natasha Duncan-Drake
Also from Sophie Duncan
Afterword
Looking for Luticia
by Natasha Duncan-Drake
"Today we are really excited to be at Darling Manor. This building has been the source of local legends and stories of hauntings for generations and, this weekend, we have been given exclusive access to investigate for ourselves. With me is Jason Darling, the current owner of the Manor. Jason, thank you so much for having us."
"Thank you for coming."
"Your family has owned the Manor since the sixteenth century, is that correct?"
"Yes, it was granted to my ancestor by Henry VIII after the dissolution of the monasteries."
"And did you grow up hearing stories about all the ghosts?"
"My uncle used to love to scare all the children when we stayed here for family gatherings, like Christmas. It was always my favourite part of the visits when my parents brought me."
"So you didn't actually live here?"
"No, my uncle inherited the Manor, but he died this year without any children. Since I'm the eldest of the next generation it passed to me."
"Not your parents?"
"That's all part of the weird history of the manor. My first ancestor made a will and the manor always has to pass to the oldest child of the next generation be they male or female, which was unheard of at the time. There was also a stipulation that any spouse be allowed to continue living here until their death. Breaking that rule is one of the things that can really upset the ghosts."
"Really?"
"Oh yes, at the turn of the twentieth century a relative tried to challenge the testament, saying he should have originally inherited because he was the oldest male heir. The court, in their patriarchal wisdom, granted the property to him after his older sister died rather than passing it to a niece, and the story goes that he was driven out within a week."
"Well let's hope the ghosts don't mind us poking around then."
"Oh, I'm sure they won't."
"And cut."
Lucy looked away from Jason Darling.
"Was that okay?" she asked Karl.
"Perfect," Karl replied and grinned at her.
She smiled back even though she wasn't really feeling it.
"Thanks, Jason," she said.
If she let on that Darling Manor gave her the creeps she would never hear the end of it. That was one of the drawbacks of being the lead host of the most popular ghost hunting show on UK TV. She was all too aware half the crew called her 'the screamer' behind her back because sometimes, when they went dark for the investigations, she just couldn't help her reactions. Sometimes she even put it on because she knew the audience loved it. This place, however, made her skin crawl.
"Right everyone," Karl called out, "let's do Lucy's inside segments before we get the house wired up for tonight. Mel, how's everything testing out."
"Fine," Mel (or Spook to most of her friends) stood up from where she had been leaning into the back of the van. "We can have this place sorted in no time."
Spook was their surveillance expert. She had learned her trade in a government post she couldn't talk about, which was, of course, where the nickname came from. Only Karl and newbies ever called her Mel. Spook could wire just about any location to pick up a spider farting, so they never missed any footage. Lucy considered her one of her best friends. Having Spook around made her feel a little less jumpy, but only a little.
As Dave, their lead camera guy, headed inside, Lucy went to follow, but a car roaring up the drive and screaming to a stop grabbed her attention instead.
"About time," Karl said and headed over.
"Sorry we're late," Paula was already apologising as she leapt out of the car, "M1 was fu...lipping awful."
Lucy couldn't help grinning. Paula was the other host of the show and she had been rapped over the knuckles after the one live they had done for swearing on camera. Adding that to the fact the production people were always complaining about having to edit her for her potty mouth, and she was trying very hard to stop swearing at all. She still had a way to go.
"Someone save me, I've had a premonition of my own death."
That came from the tall man climbing out the other side of the car. It might have sounded more urgent if Sil didn't always seem like the most laid back man on the planet. Lucy had only ever seen their medium and third regular presenter flustered twice and both times she had been running away after screaming. Contrary to popular belief, they did not fake footage, and everything they had caught, including all the really weird stuff, had actually happened. When Sil looked worried it was time to hightail it and regroup, it was one of their unspoken rules.
"Wus," Paula said, but Lucy had been in a car with Paula once and she was willing to side with Sil on this one.
"I'd take an honest to god demon over your driving," she called, "at least with a demon there would be a sliver of hope of survival."
"I'm being maligned," Paula declared, "I'm sure that wasn't in the contract."
"Then you should have read the small print," Karl said.
That was one of the reasons Lucy loved her job; the whole team got on so well.
"If you can both get to makeup we're going inside to shoot some segments with Lucy and our host," Karl went on. "Then I want to do your walkthrough, Sil, and then Paula's history segments."
To some it might be suspicious that the team historian and the team psychic often travelled to venues together, but Lucy knew for a fact Sil never liked to know anything about a place before he arrived and Paula guarded her research like a Rottweiler in a bad mood. Lucy had seen enough in their first year to believe Sil was the real thing.
With another wave at her friends she headed for the entrance to the manor. As soon as she walked through the door, that cold feeling she had managed to forget at the thought of Paula's driving, came back full force.
~*~
"Well this door looks like it's locked up tight. What's the story for this, Jason?"
"This is my Great Great Great, actually I forget how many greats, Grand-something's room, it's so hard to figure it out exactly how we're related given the weird inheritance. She was a ve
ry proper lady who died in the late 1870s. The family legend is that she had herself embalmed and laid in her bed, declaring before she died that she would never leave the house. Several relatives tried to give her a proper burial, but very bad things happened when they did, so they locked up the room with the three locks you can see, and left her to it."
"So she's still in there?"
"According to family legend yes, but no one has seen the keys in living memory, so it could just be an old storage room that we just don't know how to get into."
Lucy laughed on cue even though ice ran up her spine at the same time. Suppressing the instinctive shudder she went to ask her next question when someone's phone started blaring.
"And cut," Karl said.
"Sorry," Jason apologised and fished in his pocket, "but that's my wife's ring tone."
"No problem," Karl replied, "that was a good segment."
So far they had done all the downstairs and they were just finishing the upstairs. Lucy was sure they had some great stuff that would be cut in around any 'live' footage they got over the next two nights.
"Hi, Sara," Jason greeted as he answered the call.
Lucy turned away.
"What?"
That tone made her turn back. Jason had been the perfect host so far, happy and helpful, but all the colour had just drained out of his face.
"Of course, I'll be there as soon as I can."
"Something wrong?" Lucy asked as soon as Jason hung up the call.
"It's Sara, my wife," Jason said, looking ashen, "she's gone in to premature labour. That was her sister, Beth. I have to get to London. Look, I'm sorry, of course you can continue at the house, but I really have to go."
They were all aware that the reason Sara had not stayed along with Jason for the weekend was because she was having a difficult pregnancy and was allowed no stress. This news was just awful.
"Of course," Karl said immediately. "Don't worry about us. In fact, you're in no state to drive. I'll get one of the staffers to take you. Several of them were heading back to London tonight anyway, so there will be someone that can head back early."
"I can get a taxi."
"Don't be silly," Karl said, doing his fatherly thing and leading Jason towards the main stairs.
"Well, okay, thanks," Jason capitulated to Karl's charms, but then Lucy had never seen anyone who didn't. "Mrs K will be up from the village later to look after you this evening. She's been the housekeeper for years and she knows the place better than anyone else if you need any more information."
"I'm sure she will be fabulous," Karl said. "You just worry about your wife and forget all about us."
Their voices dimmed as they went round a corner.
"Poor guy," Paula said as she stepped up beside Lucy.
"Yeah," she agreed. "I hope his wife and the baby are okay."
"I'm sure they will be," Paula said; "the wonders of modern science will save the day."
"Fingers crossed," Lucy replied.
This news really didn't help the heavy feeling in the pit of her stomach. It was stupid, but she was beginning to wonder if this shoot might be cursed.
~*~
"What the hell?" Spook complained and stared at her phone.
Lucy took a sip of her tea and raised one eyebrow questioningly. They were taking a little break while Karl was off filming Sil's segments.
"I was cut off," Spook said.
Lucy pulled her phone from her pocket.
"There's no signal," she observed.
They might have been in the middle of nowhere, but the phone signal had been perfect when they had arrived earlier in the day.
"Bollocks," Spook said, "I forgot. Darling said something about the local cell tower going down for maintenance sometime today. I had it in my head that wouldn't be until this evening."
"Oh god, I can hear the whining now. You do realise that some of our crew can't live without being connected 24/7."
"I don't care about them," Spook replied, "I care about telling my no good brother exactly what he can and cannot drink from my liquor cabinet. I'm going to find a land line."
Why Spook ever let her brother flat-sit for her, Lucy would never know, but it happened at regular intervals. Spook and Mike were twins, but two further apart personalities you could not get. Lucy liked Mike, but reliable was not his middle name.
"I'll just sit here all alone, forlorn, bereft as my best friend abandons me," Lucy said, using all of her dramatic training to ham it up.
Spook gave her a big smile and the middle finger and walked towards the door, which made Lucy laugh. She was still chuckling to herself as Spook stepped out of the room. It was good to have friends. Only, as Spook disappeared, it was as if it suddenly got colder, like the sun going behind a cloud. Lucy shivered. She glanced around the kitchen as if that might explain what she was feeling.
The room was just as bright and cheerful as it had been. It was a homely room, but brightly lit and sparkling clean in the late afternoon sunlight pouring through the windows. There was nothing cold about it, but Lucy felt icy fingers walking up her spine.
When the backdoor thudded open she almost jumped out of her skin.
"Well hello," greeted the little old lady who stepped through.
She had white hair, some very well worn wrinkles that proved she smiled a lot, and walked with a slight stoop. She was also tiny.
"Hello," Lucy said, but the feeling of unease did not go away.
"I'm Mrs K, as I'm sure young Jason introduced me, but call me Mo," the woman said, exuding energy as she came in.
Lucy was sure Mo was ninety if she was a day, but she had a sprightly step and immediately took charge of her domain.
"I'm Lucy," Lucy greeted and stood up. "Nice to meet you."
She went to help with the large wicker basket Mo was carrying, but Mo had hefted it onto the counter before she was halfway there.
"It's nice to see so many people around the place," Mo said, not even breathing hard from the effort. "I haven't seen this many people at the Manor since before the Second World War. I was only a girl, but some of us would sneak up here to watch the parties they always had. Big events they were back then."
"I can only imagine."
"All settled in alright?" Mo barrelled on so Lucy didn't have to say anymore.
"Yes thank you," she replied. "Jason sorted us all out before he had to go."
Their investigations were always two nights. With venues like Darling Manor, the first was the 'normal' night where everyone had night-vision cameras in their rooms as well as around the house and slept like normal guests. Then the second night was when they did the thorough investigation. Some of their 'normal' nights had given them the most interesting results during the first season. They were hoping to improve on them in the second.
"Such a shock that," Mo said, "poor dear will be beside himself, but the manor takes care of its own. Madam Sara and the baby will be fine, mark my words."
Lucy shivered again. For no reason she could fathom she believed Mo completely, but the pronouncement gave her the creeps.
"I do hope so," she agreed. "Um, I'm afraid I have to get back. I'll see you later."
"Of course, dear," Mo said and gave her a smile. "I'll get the dinner on."
Usually they brought their own catering, but Jason had insisted that 'Mrs K. would be inconsolable' if she wasn't able to help with all the excitement. In the end Karl had caved and the production company was paying for the food, but Mo was in charge. Lucy hoped Mo was a good cook as she fled the kitchen with all the dignity she could muster.
~*~
Lucy crept round the corner at the top of the stairs so she could see where the crew and Sil were filming outside the locked door. If Sil had been drawn to it, Lucy doubted it was an old storeroom. The family legend was looking more likely.
Sil was standing, half facing away from the camera with his hand to his forehead, eyes closed. It was a familiar stance to all who watched or worked on th
e show.
"I can hear a woman's voice," Sil said eventually. "She is calling to me, but I can't make out what she's saying. Please, can you speak louder, I am trying to hear you."
Sil fell silent again, forehead wrinkled in concentration.
"She's angry," he said eventually, "very angry."
Lucy swallowed, throat tightening as the heaviness in her chest increased. She tried to take a deep breath. Fear curled in her belly and she didn't understand why. This was standard fare for their show, it wasn't even dark yet. She should not have been reacting this way.
"I'm sorry, I can't hear you," Sil said. "Can you communicate another way? Can you knock on something?"
Sil's whole face was creased into a very concentrated expression now. He looked like he might be in pain. Lucy didn't like it.
"Please, I really can't hear what you are trying to say."
Lucy stepped towards the group. Something was building, she could feel it.
Then everything happened at once. Sil cried out, clutching his head, there was a massive thump that had to have come from the door and Lucy rushed forward on pure instinct. She didn't even think about the camera. She dashed round the crew and grabbed for Sil as he started to crumple. Grabbing him with one arm she slammed the other into the door and kept them both upright.
"Sil, Sil are you okay?" came from Karl.
Sil moaned, but nodded, even though Lucy was sure she was supporting most of his weight. Karl stepped in and helped Lucy move him to one of the chairs on the landing.
"Oh dear," came from the direction of the stairs and Lucy looked up to see Mo holding a tray of tea and coffee.
"What was it?" Karl knelt down and asked Sil.
"There's definitely a female presence," Sil said, still holding his head, "probably in that room. I thought I almost reached her, but then my head filled with pain and the connection broke."
"Are you alright?" Lucy asked.
"Yes," Sil said and gave her a pain-touched smile, "thanks to you, but I can feel a migraine coming on. I think I need to go and lie down in the dark."
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