Ghost of a Chance

by Pam Harvey

  ‘Do you think he will?’ Gabby watched Mrs Dalrymple walk into the dining room.

  ‘I’m not sure,’ Ling said, then yawned. ‘I’m going to have a rest, but don’t go to the lighthouse without me.’

  ‘We should go straight away.’ Hannah frowned.

  ‘Please wait for me,’ said Ling. ‘I just need to sleep.’

  Hannah nodded but didn’t feel happy with the decision. What if they couldn’t get the will? What if they were too late?

  Gabby sat on her bed to keep Ling company, making notes in her diary and flicking through some magazines. Out of the window she could see the others slowly making their way along the beach towards the old jetty where E.D. had rescued the seal pup. Gabby smiled. E.D. was such a weirdo, and yet she thought of him often and had written about him more than anyone else in her diary. Creepy.

  She glanced over at Ling, who appeared to be fast asleep. Suddenly Gabby wanted to be out there with the others—with E.D. She grabbed her towel, stuffed a couple of magazines into her bag, scrawled a quick note to Ling and headed out.

  ‘Hey, we were just coming in,’ Hannah said as Gabby met the others at the gate that led from the beach up to the guesthouse. ‘Is Ling up yet?’

  ‘She’s asleep still. I was just going to have a quick swim.’

  ‘Cool, I’ll come in with you,’ E.D. said, turning.

  ‘Well, don’t be too long. I don’t like the look of those clouds. Anyway, aren’t we going to check out the lighthouse?’

  ‘Swim, lunch, lighthouse,’ E.D. called, hurtling back down the beach and heading for the water.

  ‘E.D! You’ve still got your clothes on!’ Gabby shook her head slowly and smiled as E.D. plunged into the water.

  Gabby and E.D. returned from their swim to find Hannah and Angus pacing anxiously in the corridor outside the girls’ bedroom.

  ‘What’s going on?’ Gabby asked.

  ‘Mrs Dalrymple wants to ring Ling’s parents,’ Hannah whispered. ‘She’s in there now with Ling.’

  ‘Oh my God, is she okay?’ Gabby snatched her towel back from E.D. ‘I’ll go in and see.’

  ‘Wait up, Gab. I really…’ They all froze as the door suddenly opened and Mrs Dalrymple appeared. She smiled briefly.

  ‘Not sure what’s going on,’ she said, trying to sound cheerful. ‘Nothing to worry about. We’ll just let her rest up and see how she is later this afternoon.’

  ‘Sure, Mrs Dalrymple.’

  ‘Now, I know you’ve been out and about a bit, but I’ve just heard the weather report and they’ve issued a severe storm alert for the coast here. I’d prefer it if you stayed inside the guesthouse for the rest of the day.’

  ‘Oh, but…’

  ‘That’s a good idea, Mrs Dalrymple,’ Hannah said quickly, interrupting Gabby. ‘There are some other awesome-looking games that we haven’t played down in the pool room. We can try some of those.’

  ‘We can try pool too,’ E.D. said.

  ‘So, do we go to the lighthouse or not?’ Hannah said, trying to steady the cue on her knuckles. She hit the white ball with a hollow cracking sound and watched it disappear into the middle pocket.

  ‘Two shots to us, Han,’ E.D. said.

  ‘Mrs Dalrymple told us not to leave the guesthouse,’ Gabby said, getting up to play her shot. ‘And look at the weather. It could be the middle of the night, it’s so dark out there.’

  ‘It’s always the weather, Gab. A bit of rain ain’t going to hurt anyone.’

  Gabby paused over her shot as a clap of thunder rumbled ominously. The lights flickered.

  ‘Gabby!’ E.D. shouted suddenly.

  Gabby almost dropped her cue in alarm. ‘What?’ she shrieked, terrified.

  ‘You’re not aiming for the black, are you?’ E.D. was looking horrified. Gabby glared at him.

  ‘We have to go,’ Hannah said. ‘We can’t wait for Ling.’

  ‘Who’s we?’ Gabby asked, stealing another glimpse out of the window. She took her shot, smacking the number 11 ball into the corner pocket. She stole a glance at E.D. who was staring wide-eyed at the pocket the ball had disappeared into.

  ‘I’m in,’ E.D. said.

  Gabby smiled. ‘Me too,’ she added, quickly. ‘Angus, I think you should stay.’

  ‘No way.’

  ‘Angus, trust me. Ling needs you here. I know.’

  Hannah looked up sharply, staring from Gabby to Angus. ‘What do you mean?’ she asked.

  ‘Call it instinct—I don’t know.’

  ‘Well, whatever it is, let’s finish this game and get going,’ said E.D. ‘Gab, go the yellow here.’

  ‘Oh, for heaven’s sake, E.D. Is everything just a game to you? Ling’s upstairs sick, there’s a huge storm coming, it’s almost the anniversary of the drowning, Thomas Croft might be on his way here and we need to find this will in a spooky, locked up lighthouse.’ Hannah stomped out of the room.

  ‘What’s eating her?’ E.D. said.

  ‘Beats me,’ Angus shrugged. ‘But she doesn’t easily get stirred up.’

  Gabby put her cue down. ‘E.D., grab a coat and anything else you think might be useful and we’ll meet you back here in five, okay?’

  E.D. looked at Gabby and nodded. ‘And we finish the game when we get back, yeah?’

  Gabby sighed. ‘You’re impossible.’

  Chapter 16

  Wednesday, 22 December, afternoon

  E.D., Gabby and Hannah trudged across the low-lying sand dunes, their heads and bodies bent into the stiff breeze that was whipping off the ocean. They steered a path towards a small concrete retaining wall and followed a worn track that led through the scrub until they came to an open area of grass.

  ‘Let’s run for it,’ E.D. called. The others followed him across the grassy area and onto a dirt path that wound its way up to the foot of the lighthouse.

  ‘Do we break it down?’ E.D. said, pushing against the door. To his surprise, it creaked open. ‘Hey, I thought you said it was locked.’

  ‘It was.’ Hannah peered past E.D. into the gloomy interior.

  Gabby followed E.D. into the lighthouse. ‘You coming?’ she said to Hannah.

  ‘Of course.’ Tentatively Hannah stepped into the darkness. An enormous spiral staircase dominated the inside of the lighthouse. Hannah looked up. Dim shafts of daylight from small windows cast a soft glow in the stairwell at regular intervals.

  ‘Is there a light switch down there somewhere?’ E.D. called. He’d started climbing the iron stairs. Hannah looked around but couldn’t see anything that looked like a switch.

  ‘Nothing,’ she whispered.

  ‘Great. We’re in a lighthouse and we can’t see a thing because there’s no light,’ E.D. muttered. ‘Hey, there’s a door here.’ Gabby and Hannah joined him on a small landing. ‘Locked.’ Behind them the door they’d come through banged shut.

  ‘Oh my God, what was that?’ Gabby wheeled around.

  ‘The wind must have closed the door. C’mon, let’s keep climbing. This is stupid—as if we’re going to find a will hidden here. There’s nothing in here except stairs.’

  ‘I’ll just go back and check the door,’ Hannah said. ‘Wait here.’ E.D. sighed loudly and sat down on a small iron-grilled landing.

  ‘So, Gabby, what do you make of all this anyway? You don’t think—’

  ‘I can’t open it!’ Hannah shrieked from below.

  E.D. swore under his breath and headed back down. ‘Weird,’ he said, rattling the old, brass door handle. ‘It’s stuck.’ He pulled hard but it held fast.

  ‘Hey!’ Hannah shouted, banging on the wood with her fists. ‘Can anyone hear us? Let us out!’ E.D. hauled his backpack off his shoulders.

  ‘I think I put a torch in here,’ he muttered, rummaging through it.

  ‘HELP!’

  ‘There’s no one there, Han.’ Gabby patted her pocket. ‘Don’t worry. I’ve got my phone.’

  ‘Don’t panic, Hannah. The others know where we are.’ E.D. pul
led out his torch. He pressed the button. ‘Great,’ he groaned, banging it on his leg. ‘Battery’s flat. Let’s keep searching.’

  Once again they began the climb. At first, the iron steps were wide and easy to navigate, but as the stairs curved and spiralled upwards, Hannah found herself getting closer to the edge where the steps were at their widest. She gripped the thin rail in her left hand tightly.

  E.D. and Gabby pushed on as Hannah slowed down. She was now sliding her body against the cold stone wall and was starting to feel faint. She paused at a tiny window, reaching a hand out to cling onto a small red air vent protruding from just beneath the glass. She stared out over the water, breathing hard, trying to ignore the feeling of cold and dread eating away at her.

  ‘Gab?’ she called, her voice weak and croaky. ‘Gab?’

  ‘Hannah? Where are you? We’re at the top. It’s scary.’

  Just another flight of steps further up, E.D. and Gabby gazed in astonishment at the space they found themselves in. A thin metal platform surrounded an enormous cylinder of glass pieces in the middle of the room, but when E.D. looked more closely he saw that the light wasn’t big at all. He whistled softly.

  ‘What?’ Gabby whispered, holding on tightly to a narrow pole connected to the floor just to her left. She didn’t want to look outside though it was impossible to ignore the rain spattering the glass and the sound of the wind howling all around them.

  ‘Look at that tiny light,’ E.D. said, staring into the centre of the glass cylinder.

  ‘Do I have to?’

  ‘It’s just a tiny little light, Gab. The size of my finger.’

  ‘E.D., I don’t want a lesson…’

  ‘It must be all these reflective lenses that make the light seem so bright,’ E.D. continued, shaking his head.

  ‘There’s nothing here, E.D. Let’s go.’

  Below them, Hannah could hear the sound of Gabby’s voice but she couldn’t move. She felt as if her hand had frozen over, permanently attached to the air vent. She was gripping it so hard that her knuckles had turned white.

  ‘C’mon, Hannah, move,’ she whispered, urging herself to let go of the rail and make her way up the final flight of stairs. Closing her eyes, Hannah gritted her teeth and with one last monumental effort, she released her hold on the bar. Feeling herself swaying, Hannah lunged for the next step, leaning her body against the wall to keep from falling backwards. As quickly as possible, she stumbled up the last remaining stairs.

  ‘Hannah, are you okay? You look as white as a sheet.’ Hannah watched Gabby’s look of concern suddenly turn to horror.

  ‘W-what?’ Slowly Hannah turned to look behind her. ‘What is it?’

  ‘E.D.?’ Gabby whispered. She closed her eyes and opened them again. ‘S-sorry, I thought…oh, nothing.’

  Something smashed behind them.

  ‘Sorry. Just gave it a push and it came out.’ E.D. held a number of triangular lenses in his hand. ‘Hey, there’s something down there.’ He reached his arm into the central hole and wrapped his fingers around a long thin cylinder tied to a metal pole with a rough piece of leather.

  ‘E.D., what are you doing?’ Gabby cried.

  ‘E.D., you can’t…’ Hannah froze. ‘Oh my God, look—have you found the will?’ Hannah gasped as E.D. upended the tube and an old piece of paper slid out.

  E.D. picked it up gently and unravelled it. ‘“The Last Will and Testament of Harold Thomas Croft.”’

  ‘Thomas?’ said Gabby.

  ‘His father, probably.’ Hannah went over to E.D. and started reading the will. ‘“I leave my property and residence to my wife, Jane Elizabeth. In the event of her death, all my goods and chattels are bequeathed to my eldest child, Elizabeth Valda Croft. In the event of her death, my goods and chattels are bequeathed to my eldest son, Thomas Francis Croft.”’

  ‘That’s Thomas. He’s the only one left! So he gets everything that belonged to his parents.’

  E.D. gave a low whistle. ‘And check out the address. A house there would be worth millions these days! That means Thomas could be a millionaire.’

  ‘Only if he hurries.’ Hannah pointed at the will. ‘See this? “If no claim is apparent in the first thirty-five years from the death of the last member to be bequeathed, then my home is to be placed with the trustee in possession of my last Will and Testament.”’ Hannah looked up. ‘Elizabeth died thirty-five years ago tonight. Thomas has only got hours left to lay claim to this will.’

  E.D. rolled up the paper and put it back in the tube. ‘Let’s get out of here and tell him. How did you go with that phone, Gab?’

  ‘No reception,’ Gabby said. ‘I’ll try again.’

  ‘Right, okay, let me think. Hannah, you just sit down and get your strength back.’

  ‘I do feel kind of sick.’ Hannah moved back against the wall and sat down. ‘It must be the height or something.’

  ‘Okay, I’m still thinking.’

  ‘Still no reception.’ Gabby felt her stomach tighten. What had she seen a moment ago? She stared at the space behind Hannah. Although it just wasn’t possible, she could have sworn she’d seen an old man standing there.

  Angus stared out the window and swore softly. He’d watched the others disappear over the rise, but that had been over an hour ago and he’d heard nothing from them since. He’d tried texting Gabby’s phone but for some reason the messages didn’t appear to be getting through.

  He paced about the games room, occasionally flicking snooker balls around but more often gazing out the window and wondering what was happening at the lighthouse. Why were they taking so long?

  ‘Everything okay in here?’

  Angus jumped. ‘Yes, Mrs Dalrymple. I…I’m just waiting for the others. They’ve gone to get some soft drinks from the vending machine.’

  ‘Okay,’ she said. ‘Ling’s feeling much better. I’ve rung her parents and her mother is on her way down here. Do you want to go up and see her?’

  ‘Sure.’

  ‘I’m just going in to Beachport to grab a few things. Is there anything you guys want?’

  ‘Oh, um, no, I don’t think so. Thanks.’

  Angus ran up the stairs and knocked gently on Ling’s bedroom door. The door opened and Ling stood there looking anxious.

  ‘Angus, there’s something wrong.’

  ‘Yeah, I know. Mrs Dalrymple—’

  ‘No. With the others. They’ve been too long. Come on.’

  ‘Where are we going? I don’t think you—’ ’I’m going to the lighthouse. Are you coming or not?’

  Angus said nothing as he followed her down the stairs.

  Hannah sat shivering, watching Gabby fiddle with her phone.

  ‘Anything?’ she asked.

  Gabby shook her head. She looked over towards E.D., and in spite of the situation almost smiled. E.D.’s backside was sticking out from the chamber where he’d found the will. He was searching the rest of the area. Finally, he pulled his head out. ‘Nothing else,’ he said, then stopped suddenly, his eyes darting to the stairs.

  ‘What?’ Hannah said, looking about frantically.

  ‘Ssshhhh. I thought I heard something.’ E.D. sat up, cocking his head towards the stairwell.

  ‘What?’ Gabby whispered. She held her breath.

  Somewhere close a door creaked.

  ‘That,’ E.D. said, getting up.

  ‘Someone’s there,’ Hannah said, quickly getting to her feet.

  Gabby looked at E.D. She didn’t know whether she was more frightened of what was happening or the look of fear etched on E.D.’s face. None of them moved. Soft footsteps could be heard on the stairs.

  ‘W-who is it?’ Gabby croaked, surprising herself that she’d actually spoken. Suddenly the footsteps stopped and for a moment there was total silence. An old man appeared at the top of the steps, staring at the cylinder clutched in E.D.’s hand. Then he spoke. ‘Give it to me.’

  Hannah gasped. Standing on the top step and staring at them was the man s
he had seen in the photograph of Care ‘n’ Comfort Cottage. A lot older, perhaps, but still the same man. ‘Ronald Jamison!’

  The man turned his scowling face towards Hannah.

  ‘Gabby,’ whispered Hannah. ‘I think I’m going to faint.’

  Chapter 17

  Wednesday, 22 December, evening

  ‘It’s stuck,’ Angus said, banging on the door.

  ‘They’re in there,’ Ling said. ‘I know it.’

  ‘Hey, guys, can you hear me?’ Angus called, bashing the door again. He pressed his ear against the wood. ‘I can’t hear anything.’

  ‘Angus, go to the fish and chip shop and find Angelo.’

  Angus took one look at Ling’s worried face and set off. Ling pulled the hood of her jacket over her head and edged her way around the base of the lighthouse so that at least she was partially out of the wind.

  ‘Give that to me,’ Ronald Jamison snarled, pointing to the tube in E.D.’s hand.

  ‘Time to get out of here,’ E.D. yelled, springing to his feet. He charged past the man and hit the stairs, bounding down three at a time. Gabby and Hannah dodged the old man and followed E.D.

  ‘Stop there!’ they heard Ronald Jamison shout.

  ‘B-but the door’s locked!’ Hannah’s voice echoed down the stairwell. The others ignored her. By the time Hannah got to the last landing E.D. was already making his way back up, Gabby not far behind.

  ‘You’re right,’ Gabby said to Hannah. They looked up as they heard the sound of the old man’s footsteps.

  ‘Oh, God, he’s coming down! What if he’s got some sort of weapon? We’re trapped in here.’ Hannah pressed herself against the cold stone wall.

  ‘Gabby, give me your phone. Maybe there’s some sort of interference up there.’ E.D. paused alongside one of the small windows and gazed out. ‘There was some rope by that little metal door up there.’ Hannah looked confused. ‘Try and open one of the windows near the bottom.’

  While E.D. fiddled with the phone, Gabby and Hannah headed further down to the nearest window, desperately trying to find a way to get it open.