by S G Read
Several boys laughed.
‘She looked round again but when she got up she held on to the chair and slid it forward like this.’ He demonstrated the move with his head low and forward like her’s had been. ‘So I lifted the desk lid up as hard as I could.’
Now the boys really laughed.
‘Is this Ursula that bad then?’ Jenny asked.
‘Worse.’ Tim declared. ‘I knocked one of her teeth out. Well I thought she might seek reprisals, so I decided to keep watch on the girl, who I found out was called Celia. I also found Waif but she was locked in the cellar and there was no way I could find the grave with her down there, so I suggested she went on strike if they did not allow her to put flowers on her mother’s grave. When I went back there was no sign of Waif in the cellar and I found Ursula ill treating Celia in a cupboard, so I tipped some liquid on her head to stop her and Celia escaped. Celia can actually see me when I am invisible, so she knows I am a ghost but Waif doesn’t know yet. When I found Waif they had beaten her and she was all bandaged up but she was able to show me the grave but you know it was empty.’
‘What happened to Ursula?’ Simon asked.
‘I went back and she was ill treating Celia again but I could see that now she was wearing a wig, so I took it off her head and dropped it out of the window. At that time the mower was going by.’
‘What she is bald now?’ Simon chortled and the rest joined in.
The laughter brought David out of the house.
‘Bedtime I think, so either make your way back to the hall or find a bed round here, the caravans are made up.’
They chose to sleep in the caravans and garage to save going back to the hall and planned another game of football in the morning, before they went to bed. Stuart and Steven slept out with the other as Jenny had Stuart’s room and Brian was in the guest bedroom. The second guest bedroom was now the office and no longer had a bed in it.
After breakfast the played their game and then went to the hall to shower and change rather than queue at Stuart’s. Brian, Pat and Stevey had a meeting about Apsford house and Brian showed them the improvements they had already finished and those which were still on going. The house was a different place now and Stevey wanted to visit it but he also wanted to finish helping Waif and Tim before he did so but he was running out of ideas and so was Stuart.
The boys were in the games room waiting to continue the search of Gordon Hall for Tim’s remains when Stevey joined them and they chose the room they were to search in the same manner as before but without luck. In the end they walked through the last room the cellar searching every little nook and cranny in case his body was broken up and hidden round the room like a jigsaw puzzle but they saw no bones at all. Simon lifted up the curtain which hung on the far end of the cellar to reveal just a wall when he was hoping for so much more. He let the curtain drop and walked out into the garden.
‘So now we search the grounds.’ Stuart declared.
‘But it has been ten years!’ Toby retorted.
‘Got a better idea?’ Stuart asked.
‘No.’ Toby admitted.
‘We do have some things to help though.’ Stevey added and passed out metal poles with long thin spikes on them. ‘This is what they use to search for bodies. If the pole goes in deep enough we mark the area for Tim to search, if not we don’t so that way Tim only has to look where there might be a body.’
‘No digging?’ Simon asked.
‘No digging.’ Stevey answered.
‘Let’s go then.’ Simon urged.
They walked the grounds including the garden trying to find soil that had been dug previously to a depth likely to conceal a nine year old boy and when they did it was marked ready for Tim to search, when he returned from making sure that all was well at the convent.
Tim walked into the convent grounds searching for Celia to make sure she was not being bullied by Ursula but could not find any sign of either of her or Ursula and her two accomplices. He searched faster and faster until he heard Celia’s voice coming from some trees.
‘You do realise I control a poltergeist and if you hurt me he will hurt you more.’ She declared.
Tim looked through the trees and Celia was hanging upside down tied to a tree with her short skirt hanging down her waist. Ursula was busy piling leaves and twigs under her head.
‘Are you sure about this Ursula?’ One of her accomplices asked.
‘I lost my hair so she will lose her’s!’ Ursula exclaimed.
‘But what about the poltergeist?’ The girl asked worriedly.
‘Do you really believe that she has a tame poltergeist to help her out?’ Ursula asked. ‘She is probably worried about losing her hair like me.’
‘I warn you.’ Celia said quietly. ‘He will be angry.’
‘Let him be.’ Ursula declared and lit a match.
Tim started to panic he could not blow out a match and waving his hand near it merely made it flicker. Ursula moved the match nearer Celia and Tim grabbed hold of her wrist and made it as cold as he possibly could. Ursula squealed and dropped the match which fell on the pile of leaves. They all watched with baited breath to see what would happen and then a flame appeared out of the pile of leaves. In desperation Tim tried to wave his hand over the flame to try to extinguish it but slipped and threw the burning leaves at Ursula by mistake.
‘Now he is angry.’ Celia warned.
The three girls ran for their life leaving Tim with Celia who was still hanging there.
‘Stop looking at my legs Tim and get me down.’ Celia ordered.
‘Sorry but you do have nice legs.’ Tim answered and pulled on the knot.
‘Be careful…’ Celia started but was too late and fell on her head cushioning the fall using her hands. ‘Well at least I am down and I still have hair.’ She said gratefully.
‘She really doesn’t like you does she?’ Tim declared.
‘No she doesn’t Tim but I don’t know why.’
‘Look in the mirror.’ Tim suggested.
‘What does that mean?’
‘It means that you are very pretty, even with clothes on and she is butt ugly.’
‘Too much TV again.’ Celia warned but kissed him on the lips. ‘Thank you my knight in shining armour.’
‘Are you okay now, I must check on Waif.’
‘I will be fine for a while Tim does Waif know that you are a ghost?’
‘No and don’t tell her Celia.’
‘Why not?’
‘We are trying to help her but to do it I need to talk with her dead mother but she isn’t buried where Mother Superior said she was.’
‘How do you know?’
‘I looked Celia, it is just ground and has never been disturbed well not to put a coffin in anyway.’
‘How do you know Mother Superior did not just make a mistake with the position?’
‘I ask the other Mother Superior.’
‘Are there two?’
‘Lavinia Fellows.’
‘I know that name.’ Celia said thoughtfully.
‘You should you walk past her grave every day.’
‘Oh her; how do you ask a dead person anything?’
‘It is a ghost thing Celia hard for the living to understand.’
‘Celia are you okay?’ Molly asked when Celia appeared from the trees.
‘I am shaken but not stirred Molly. I do believe she was going to set my hair alight.’
‘How did you escape?’
‘I persuaded her not to.’
Tim walked down into the cellar and found Waif all alone and crying.
‘What’s up Waif?’
‘It’s not fair why can’t I go for a walk? It is not like I am going to run away. Where would I go?’
‘You could always come up to the hall and hide until they gave up looking.’
‘How do I get out of the cellar?’
‘I don’t know do I? You just asked where could you go and I gave you an idea, getting out of
the cellar is your problem for now.’
‘All I do is wash clothes dry clothes and fold clothes. I used to be allowed out for a walk, even if Ursula did make me climb up the chestnut trees, at least I was outside!’
Waif was still ranting when Tim left. He returned to the hall to see if they needed his help and found them systematically searching a flower bed with the thin poles. Anywhere the poles sunk in, had been marked for him to investigate.
‘That was my cat Mr Tiddles.’ Tim said when he arrived at the first mark.
‘Why Mr Tiddles?’ Simon asked.
‘Because that is all he seemed to do, until he died.’
‘Do you think my uncle would have buried me in with him?’
‘We don’t know but we should check.’ Sherman answered.
Tim checked all the marks until it was dark and then they all went in to eat except Tim who returned to the convent to check on Celia but she and Molly were playing chess and Ursula was nowhere to be seen. He sat and watched, as he had watched Toby and Antony play chess in the hall. The two girls were silent while they played but Celia looked up at him now and then with a smile, just to show she knew he was there. Molly did not know he was there at all. It was a phenomenon he had not met before, people who could see him when he was invisible to all others. Waif could not do the same and he was pleased about that. Tim was pleased Ursula could not see him while he was there, just in case she caused him trouble.
When Celia was in bed and the lights were turned off Tim went to find Ursula to make sure she had nothing planned as her bed was empty but when he found her she was sedated in the infirmary and fast asleep.
As it was Friday night three parents turned up to collect children who had work to go to on Saturday, which left just the ten boys, Tim and Jenny to search.
On Saturday the search of the garden continued and it took another two days to complete but they did not find any bodies except in the little cemetery where Tim’s father and mother were buried. Near the front gate there was another grave with Tim’s name on it but he explained that it was empty, it was just Dan’s way of trying to give him peace.
‘So he is not in the house or in the grounds.’ Stevey recapped when they met in the games room. ‘Tim how long was you away from your body when your uncle killed you?’
‘Two hours maybe; I was hiding from him but he never came to look.’ Tim answered.
‘So if you took five minutes to die he could have had one hour and fifty five minutes to drive your body somewhere.’ Stevey continued.
‘No.’ Tim answered.
‘But you said you were gone two hours maybe.’ Simon declared.
‘Uncle Humphrey was seventeen when I died and he couldn’t drive a car. I could drive better than him!’
‘How could you drive a car?’ Toby asked.
‘I used to sit on my fathers lap and go up and down the drive. I even turned it round sometimes!’ Tim explained.
‘He was only seventeen?’ Stuart echoed.
‘Yes.’
‘So he might be still alive today?’ Stuart added.
‘Oh yes living in London I think.’ Tim answered.
‘So we can catch a live murderer and put him in prison for you!’ JC declared.
‘What put Uncle Humphrey in prison?’ I would really love that, I could be a witness at his trial.’
‘Can you imagine how quick the court would empty if you did that?’ Ben asked.
‘Not a good idea then.’ Tim said quietly.
‘But you could be in court and see him put in prison Tim.’ Simon declared.
‘And then freeze him to let him know that you know he has been locked away.’ Jenny added.
‘But if he couldn’t drive and he was only seventeen at the time how far could he have carried a dead body.’ Sherman asked.
‘So it must be close to the house or indoors and we have searched it completely.’ Toby declared. ‘There must be somewhere like a secret passage that we are missing. Think Tim, I want to get him locked away as much as you do.’
It did no good. Tim could not think of any secret passages where a body might lay undetected for this many years.
‘So how old will your uncle be now Tim?’ Sherman asked.
‘I have been haunting this place since I was killed so he will be quite old.’
‘That didn’t help.’ JC declared. ‘When is your birthday?’
‘The tenth of July.’
‘And which year were you born?’ JC asked.
‘I can’t really remember that why?’
‘Well if we know when you were born, we can work out when you were nine and then we can work out how old your uncle is now.’ JC answered.
‘Dan will know that.’ Tim replied.
‘So he will.’ Stuart sighed. ‘We will ask him tomorrow.’
‘We go back tomorrow.’ Jenny said sadly.
‘Why not stay here?’ Stuart asked hopefully.
‘I can’t send daddy down there all alone it would not be fair. He wants me to stay but I am not going to and you lot won’t come down there while all this is going on.’
The boys shook their heads, she was right no one wanted to miss the outcome of their investigations, it was too much to ask.
Chapter 9
They found Dan digging to repair one of the beds the boys had trampled down in and effort to find Tim’s body.
‘How old is Humphrey Carlisle now Dan?’ Stevey asked.
‘Humphrey must be…’ He mentally counted the years. ‘Seventy five but you wouldn’t guess it to look at him, he still exercises regularly and takes lots of vitamins to keep in good shape.’
‘And he lives in London?’ Stuart asked.
‘Yes he does. What is all this about?’ Dan asked suspiciously. ‘I don’t want you to go near Humphrey Carlisle, he is bad news. I am sure he killed Tim but I cannot prove it or I would have him thrown in prison and the key thrown away.’
Stevey wanted to tell him what they were doing but he knew he would try to stop them, so he said nothing.
‘We were having a competition to find out when Tim died and we thought knowing how old Humphrey Carlisle was would help.’ Toby explained to help out.
‘Tim knows when he died.’ Dan answered.
‘But he doesn’t know years.’ Toby answered.
‘It was…’ Dan thought for a minute. ‘I’m blowed if I remember now.’
‘See what I mean.’ Toby declared and they all walked away leaving Dan to dig and try to think of the year Tim disappeared.
‘We haven’t actually got anywhere have we?’ Toby continued as they walked along. ‘We started looking for two bodies and we are still looking for two bodies.’
‘Where could he have put Tim after he killed him?’ JC asked. ‘He was seventeen but we don’t know how strong he was.’
‘What if he ate the evidence?’ Ben asked, always looking for the ghoulish answer.
‘It would take more than two hours to eat a whole nine year old!’ Antony declared.
‘How do you know Ant?’ Ben asked. ‘Have you tried it?’
‘No but it would be like eating JC’ Antony answered.
‘Who are you calling a nine year old?’ JC complained. ‘I am just small for my age and I did have dysentery when we were in the jungle!’
‘We need to concentrate all our ideas on one person, sort them out and then start on the other one again.’ Stuart declared as he wiped his feet in the porch, which boasted two new hanging lights instead of the old one which had a rusty wrought iron shade. The new ones were all glass to let more light out and one hung either side of the front door but still under the little extended roof to keep visitors dry while they waited by the front door.
The all did the same unless they were satisfied just to remove their shoes and walk inside in their socks. Inside they headed for the drawing room to work out their next plan of campaign.
‘We need to work on one so we will vote on it.’ Stuart declared, once he was sitting.<
br />
‘Do I get to vote?’ Tim asked as he appeared.
‘It is about him so should he?’ Toby asked.
‘Why do you ask Tim?’ Stuart asked ignoring Toby’s question.
‘I am worried about Waif they have locked in the cellar laundry and she never gets to come out now.’ Tim answered.
‘So you would vote to sort out Waif first?’ Sherman asked.
‘Yes. I have been looking for my body for a long time, so a few more years won’t matter and I am enjoying you being here.’
‘So we vote then. It will be an open vote as it doesn’t really matter which way anyone votes but we have heard Tim’s report about Waif.’ Stuart announced. ‘All in favour of helping Waif first?’
The vote was unanimous and Stuart had no need to ask for any voting about Tim as there was no one left to vote.
‘Now all we have to do is to figure out where Waif’s mother’s body is.’ Toby declared.
‘Are we sure she is dead?’ Simon asked.
‘Don’t be silly Simon the mother Superior said she had died.’ Toby answered.
‘The same mother superior who told Waif where her grave was and lied.’ Simon countered.
Toby opened his mouth to answer but check himself for a second. ‘You might actually have something the Simon.’ He agreed. ‘We know the Mother Superior lied about where the grave was and we know she isn’t actually buried in the convent anywhere. So what if she did lie about her being dead.’
‘Then why doesn’t Waif live with her mother?’ JC asked.
‘Wow; what if the lying cow told Waif her mother died when she was born and told her mother that the baby was born dead?’ Ben asked.
‘That makes her one wicked cow and it also sets us looking for Waif’s mother amongst the living.’ Stevey answered.
‘So how do we do that?’ Sherman asked. ‘I suppose it is easier to find someone who is alive?’
‘Live people move around, whereas dead people stay in one place.’ Colin warned.
