Don't Look Back

by Ben Cheetham

  “Beans on toast. That’s Mum and Jacob’s favourite,” said a child’s voice.

  Adam and Doug turned to Henry.

  “How long have you been awake?” asked Adam.

  Henry shrugged, but the strange light in his eyes suggested he’d been listening long enough.

  “I was just saying to your dad that the two of you are welcome to stay at my cottage,” said Doug. “How would you like that, Henry?”

  “Are my mum and brother inside a mirror?”

  Doug smiled as if the idea was absurd. “Of course not.”

  “So where are they?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Then how do you know they’re not in a mirror?”

  There was no debating with a child’s logic. Doug looked to Adam for back-up. “Doug’s right,” said Adam. “Jacob and your mum aren’t inside a mirror.”

  “So where are they?” repeated Henry, his voice a flat challenge.

  “They’re… They’re somewhere else,” Adam answered unconvincingly. As Henry opened his mouth to respond, Adam added, “No more arguing, Henry.” He folded his arms to show the conversation was over.

  Henry and he stared at each other, competing in a silent battle of wills. After a moment, Henry snapped his mouth shut. Adam turned to Doug. “Thanks again for your offer, but we’re staying here for now.”

  Doug sighed resignedly. “Promise me one thing, Adam. If you try to contact Ella, don’t do it here.”

  “I won’t do it here or anywhere else,” said Adam, rising to show Doug to the front door. “Why would I? It’s all bollocks, isn’t it?”

  Doug threw him a wry look. “The dead are dead. Leave them be.” He glanced towards the sitting room. “For his sake.”

  “He’s all I’ve got left. I’ll jump off those cliffs myself before I let any harm come to him.”

  Doug grimaced. “Don’t talk like that. Remember. Faith wasn’t thrown off the cliffs, she was merely led to their edge.” His gaze moved to The Lewarne Room. “What are you going to do about them?”

  “I’ll call the police tomorrow. I’ve had all I can stand of them in the house today. The Trehearnes have been missing twenty-odd-years. One more night won’t make any difference.”

  Doug pushed his lips out as if he wasn’t sure that was true. They shook hands and Doug headed for his car. The fog closed around him like curtains. Adam locked the front door. He went to the backdoor and locked that too. No one else was getting in or out of the house today.

  Chapter 30

  When Adam returned to the sitting room, Henry said, “We could try speaking to Mum in a mirror. She might be able to tell us where she is.”

  “No.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because it’s dangerous.”

  “Why is it dangerous if you don’t even believe in it?” persisted Henry.

  “Listen, things are bad enough already. I don’t want to do anything that might make them worse. That includes scaring the crap out of ourselves by doing something stupid like that.”

  A frown gathered on Henry’s forehead. “I don’t think it’s stupid. We could try to talk to Jacob as well.” There were suddenly tears in his eyes. “I want to talk to Jacob. I want to say sorry to him.”

  Tears threatened to find their way into Adam’s eyes too. “You’ve got nothing to say sorry for, Henry.”

  Henry narrowed his eyes as if trying to work out whether that was what Adam really believed. “I don’t see how anything could make things worse,” he muttered, lying back down with his face to the cushions.”

  Adam laid a hand on his son’s back. “We’ve still got each other.”

  Henry sobbed into the cushions. Adam kept his hand where it was until Henry’s tears subsided into sleep. His own eyes rolled with exhaustion. He rose to chuck a couple of logs on the fire. He needed to stay awake in case the police called. He made himself a coffee and sat in the armchair, listening for the phone, wanting and not wanting it to ring. He kept glancing at the grandfather clock. Minutes crept by like hours. Hours passed like days. His head felt as heavy as a breeze-block. It lolled back against the cushions. His eyelids drifted shut.

  “Ella.” The name passed his lips in an agonised murmur. “Ella…”

  “I’m here, Adam. Don’t leave. Please stay with me.”

  The words seemed to come from behind him. The sweet scent of Ella’s perfume filled his nostrils. Eyes snapping open, he jerked around. There was no one there.

  Blinking dazedly, he told himself, You were dreaming.

  And yet it had seemed so real. Ella’s voice, the smell of her perfume. So real…

  Hauling in a shuddering breath, he rose to his feet. Henry was still asleep. Adam padded into the hallway. He stopped outside The Lewarne Room, his face a mask of pained uncertainty. Slowly, like a fish being reeled in, he approached The Lewarne Room and reached for the door handle. He snatched his hand back like a child caught in some mischief as a shrill brrrinnng, brrrinnng split the silence. He spun around to snatch up the phone’s receiver.

  He could barely find the breath to speak. “Yes?”

  “Adam?”

  The voice made his stomach plummet. “Linda.” Ella’s mother was the last person he wanted to talk to right now.

  “A policewoman phoned. She asked all sorts of questions about Ella and you. She…” Linda stumbled over her words, struggling to keep control of her emotions. “She said Ella is missing.”

  From somewhere Adam summoned up the strength to reply, “She may have fallen from the cliffs.”

  There was a sudden clunk as if Linda had dropped the phone. The sound of her sobbing seemed to reach Adam from a great distance.

  Richard came on the line. “Just what the hell’s going on?” he demanded to know. “Where’s my daughter?”

  “I…” Adam’s eyes returned to The Lewarne Room’s door. “I can’t stay on the phone. The police might try to contact me.”

  “Don’t you dare hang up. Put Henry on the phone. I want to talk–”

  “I’m sorry, Richard,” interrupted Adam.

  He put the receiver down. Almost immediately the phone rang again. He picked it up and Richard barked at him, “I’m warning you–”

  Adam hung up again. He waited a moment. When the phone remained silent, he turned to approach The Lewarne Room. Moving faster now, he opened the door and entered the room. He shuddered. The flooded basement seemed to have sucked all the warmth out of the air. He peered through the trapdoor. The skull grinned up at him. Picking his way through the bones, he descended the steps and lowered himself into the water. This time he was ready for the numbing cold. Instead of fighting it, he used it to give him strength.

  He sloshed to the mirror. The top half of it was above the water. He took hold of its silver frame and attempted to lift it. It came away from the wall and sank against the flagstones with a dull clunk. He dragged it across the floor and up the steps, causing a minor landslide of bones. He lifted it through the trapdoor and balanced it against the wall adjacent to the shuttered window. Its surface was smeared with translucent slime. He cleaned it with his sleeve. The hollow-eyed face that looked back at him from the glass was almost like a stranger. What the fuck are you doing? The thought came and went in a breath, displaced by an image of Ella in her wet dress.

  “Who phoned?”

  Adam flinched around at Henry’s voice. Henry was staring at him from the doorway with a knowing gleam in his eyes. “No one. Go back to the sitting room.”

  “No. I want to help.”

  “Do as I say, Henry.”

  Henry shook his head. “I’m going to help and you can’t stop me.” He pointed to the mirror. “I’m not scared of that.”

  Adam almost smiled. Jacob had always been the brave one of the twins. He’d teased Henry for his timidity. But it seemed Fenton House had forced Henry to finally find his courage. Adam left the room. Henry followed him into the kitchen.

  “I’ll make toast,” said Henry as Ad
am opened a tin of beans.

  They took the beans on toast to The Lewarne Room, set it down on the floor and stood side by side staring into the mirror.

  “What now?” asked Henry.

  “I don’t know. I suppose we speak to your mum.”

  “And Jacob.”

  “And Jacob,” Adam agreed somewhat reticently.

  “What should I say?”

  “Just tell them how you feel.”

  Henry leaned forwards as if trying to see into the deepest recesses of the mirror. “I’m sorry for hurting you Jacob. I… I didn’t mean to,” he began in a faltering voice. He took a deep breath as if to steady himself, but then his words came in a pleading rush. “I’m sorry for hurting you too Mum. Please don’t leave me like Jacob did. Please come back. I promise I won’t ever hurt you again.”

  Henry lapsed into sniffling silence. Adam gently brushed his son’s tears away before turning his own gaze to the mirror. At first he looked at the reflection of the room. Then he stared into his own eyes. An itch grew between them. Reaching for the right words, he began, “I’ll never forgive myself for what happened to you, Jacob. I’d give my life to be able to tell you how sorry I am. I want to say sorry to you too, Ella.” His voice dropped to an almost inaudible murmur. Tears of shame filled his eyes. “What you said about my book. You were right. That’s why I made us move to this house. To try to escape those thoughts, but they followed me here. I hate myself for them. Sometimes I feel as if I never deserved the family you gave me. But I want you to know that from now on things will be different. If you come back to me I’ll never let you down again. Just come back. Come back. Come back...”

  Adam trailed off into silence. Several seconds passed.

  “Nothing’s hap–” Henry started to say. He broke off as the phone rang again.

  “Jesus Christ,” said Adam, pressing a hand to his hammering heart. “Who’s that now?”

  He hurried to pick up the phone, ready to slam it back down at the sound of Richard’s voice.

  “Mr Piper?”

  His heart accelerated even faster. It was Detective Sergeant Holman! “Have you found her?” Everything inside him clenched painfully tight in readiness for Penny’s reply.

  “I’m afraid not.”

  A strange mixture of relief and disappointment swirled through Adam. “So why are you calling?”

  “We’ve reluctantly decided to postpone the search until the fog lifts. The forecast says it should clear by tomorrow morning.”

  “Tomorrow morning,” Adam echoed hollowly. If by some miracle Ella hadn’t been killed by the fall or swept out to sea, she would surely succumb to exposure long before then.

  “I’m sorry but we’ve done all we can for now.”

  “Thanks for letting me know.”

  “There’s something else, Mr Piper. We’ve had a call from Ella’s father. He expressed concern about Henry’s welfare. Would it be possible for me to speak to Henry?”

  Adam scowled inwardly. Bloody Richard. Did the meddling old sod really think he’d hurt his own son? Adam called Henry to the phone.

  “How are you holding up, Henry?” asked Penny.

  “I’m OK.”

  “I can come over to the house if you like.”

  “No thanks. Bye.”

  With this curt response, Henry handed the phone back to Adam. “Satisfied?” asked Adam.

  “I’m sorry,” Penny apologised again. “You understand we have to follow through on every call where a child’s welfare is concerned. I’ll let you know when the search resumes.”

  Adam hung up, then took the phone off the hook. There would obviously be no more news tonight. He remained motionless for a moment, his eyes swimming with pain. Drawing in a deep breath, he returned to The Lewarne Room. Henry had resumed staring into the mirror. Adam shook his head at himself, feeling like a fool for calling to Ella and Jacob in the mirror. Next thing he’d be scrawling hocus pocus on the floor like Faith and her friends.

  “Enough of that, Henry,” said Adam. “This isn’t–”

  He broke off as Henry whirled around with eyes as big as saucers. “I saw Mum,” breathed Henry.

  Adam’s eyes raced around the room. They were the only ones in it. “Where?”

  Henry pointed towards the secret panel. “She was over there, but when I turned round she was gone.”

  Adam opened the panel. The passageway was empty. “Are you sure it was her?”

  Henry nodded. “She was wearing the same dress as earlier.”

  “Was…” A hesitancy came into Adam’s voice, as if he wasn’t sure he wanted to know the answer to the question in his mind. “Was her dress wet?”

  “I don’t think so, but I only saw her for a second. You believe me, don’t you Dad?”

  Adam’s gaze returned to the mirror, fraught with uncertainty. He had a sudden strong urge to pinch himself and see if he woke up.

  “You believe me, don’t–” Henry started to repeat.

  Adam shushed him sharply, cocking his head, “Do you hear that?”

  “It’s the bell,” exclaimed Henry.

  The ringing was rapid and continuous. It seemed to be coming from a long way off. Adam ran into the hallway. “It’s louder here.”

  Henry lifted his eyes towards the ceiling. “It’s coming from upstairs.”

  They climbed to the landing, Henry a couple of steps behind Adam. The ringing drew them to the attic door. When they opened it, the volume jumped higher. They continued up to the attic. Adam pressed his ear to the tower door. The ringing reverberated through it as clear and high as birdsong. “Someone’s in the tower.”

  “It’s Mum,” Henry said with desperate certainty. He clenched his fist and pounded on the door, yelling, “Mum! Mum!”

  Adam caught his wrist. “You’ll hurt yourself. We need tools.” He pulled Henry away from the door and downstairs to The Lewarne Room. He grabbed the hammer and chisel and raced back to the tower door. The ringing continued relentlessly as he hammered the chisel between the door and frame above the lock. There was a splintering sound as he levered the chisel back and forth. He yanked it loose and repeated the process below the lock. A gradually widening gap appeared. Sweat dribbled down Adam’s face as he thrust his weight against the door again and again. Suddenly it burst inwards, taking him with it.

  Chapter 31

  Adam fell to his hands and knees in front of an ornate cast-iron spiral staircase. Pale light filtered into the stairwell from overhead. The ringing of the bell cascaded down to greet him. Henry rushed to help his dad back to his feet. The staircase rattled ominously as Adam started up it. Crumbling mortar trickled from finger-width cracks that zig-zagged their way up the bare stone wall. Rozen hadn’t been lying about the tower’s structural damage.

  Adam softened his footfalls, motioning for Henry to do the same. The stairs wound up to a small landing where the ringing was as loud as a fire alarm. Stepping cautiously on warped floorboards, Adam moved through a stone archway. It led to a circular room five or six metres in diameter furnished with a round table and thirteen chairs. In front of each chair, the table was set with silver plates, cutlery and wine glasses. At its centre was a serving platter, a cut-glass decanter and an ornate candelabra draped with melted wax. The remnants of what looked to be a recently eaten meal were scattered across its dark wood surface – half-eaten biscuits and slices of bread, crisp packets and chocolate bar wrappers, open tins of soup and beans. More wrappers and tins were scattered across the floor.

  A book lay open on the table. Heloise’s book! A drawing of a robin had been scribbled out so furiously that the paper was torn. ‘TRAITOR’ was scrawled across the page.

  The triptych oil painting of the Last Supper hung on the wall, divided up by four arched windows. The cardinal points of the compass were engraved into stone lintels above the windows. The panes had been painted black, blocking out all but a faint glow of daylight.

  To the right of the table was a mattress strewn with gru
bby blankets. A faded and frayed red satin dress was crumpled up at the bottom end of the mattress. Adam’s breath stopped in his throat. A woman was sprawled amidst the blankets, naked except for the ropes that bound her hands and feet and what appeared to be a cloth gag hanging loose around her neck. Blood trickled down one of her wrists that she’d managed to work free. There was blood on her face too. She was maniacally swinging a silver hand bell. She stopped at the sight of Adam and Henry, a sob of relief escaping her.

  “Ella!” cried Adam, rushing to her side and clutching her to him. “How… What…”

  “She attacked me,” said Ella, her voice a dry croak.

  “Who did?”

  “Heloise.”

  “Heloise?” Adam shook his head. “That’s not possible, we found–”

  “It was her,” Ella cut in sharply enough to discourage any further debate. “Untie me.”

  As Adam set to work on the knots, Ella found a weak smile for Henry. “Hello my darling.”

  “Are you OK, Mum?” asked Henry, his voice a tiny tremor.

  “I’ll be fine. We just need to get out of here as fast as possible.”

  “These knots are too tight to untie,” said Adam. He turned to grab a carving knife from the table. “Stay still,” he warned as he sawed at the rope.

  “Hurry,” urged Ella. “That woman is insane. She killed her parents because they tried to leave this house. She’ll do the same to us if we try to leave.”

  “Why?”

  “Because she’s lonely and bored. At least that’s the impression I got.”

  The serrated blade found its way through the rope encircling Ella’s ankles. Adam turned his attention to a knot tethering her to an iron ring on the wall.

  “Dad!” gasped Henry.

  “What is it?”

  “Something’s moving on the stairs.”

  Adam and Ella exchanged a wide-eyed look as the spiral staircase clanked. Someone was coming up it! Clump… clump… clump... The footsteps were as steady as the tick of a clock. With each one, Adam felt as if more of the air was being sucked out of his lungs. He resumed sawing frantically at the rope. Ella winced as the blade nicked her skin.