Ghostly Secrets

by K. E. O'Connor

  “What’s going on?” Zach paused by the corner of the house.

  “Lorna’s sensing a ghost,” said Helen.

  I waved away her comment. “It’s nothing. Go ahead, Zach. We’ll catch up with you.”

  “If you’re sure.” Zach gave me a worried look. He never liked me doing battle with ghosts on my own.

  “I’m sure. I’m used to this.” Ghosts were something I’d dealt with most of my life. Zach was still getting used to the idea, and I didn’t want to scare him off with my unusual ability.

  Zach nodded and walked slowly away, glancing back now and again before he rounded the house and disappeared out of view.

  “You don’t think it’s the ghost of the first husband?” Helen came to stand by my side.

  “Let’s hope not.” I rubbed the warmth back into my arms. “We don’t need another mystery to solve.”

  Flipper sat by my feet and looked up at me, concern clear on his furry face. He whined several times and nudged my leg with his nose.

  I reached down and stroked his ears. “Nothing to worry about here. Just an old ghost trying to get my attention. Let’s go and find you and Jessie a treat.”

  As I walked to the car with Helen, the dogs running ahead of us, I couldn’t resist taking a glance over my shoulder. There was nothing there, and no ghostly figure stood watching me. Perhaps it was nothing. I hoped so. I wanted this job to be a straightforward one. And the presence of a ghost in the house would make that impossible.

  Chapter 3

  It was late in the day. I’d unpacked my case and was settled into the cottage with Helen and Flipper.

  We’d left Zach to his cute little studio apartment, and Helen was in the kitchen making a delicious smelling quiche and an apple tart. Helen was an amazing cook. I could just about boil water but had given up learning to cook when Helen complained about me serving her underdone toast. And she didn’t mind doing all of the cooking. She was great in the kitchen, and I always appreciated her fabulous meals.

  “That sister, Fleur, is a bit of a nightmare,” said Helen as she carried two steaming plates of vegetables and quiche into the living room. “I hope I don’t have much to do with her. I wouldn’t be able to hold my tongue as well as Ben did. She was so rude to him.”

  “Fleur didn’t seem like the nicest of people.” I took a plate from Helen, and she sat opposite me at the small wooden table in the living room.

  “It must be hard for Ben,” said Helen, “fitting into a family like this. How did he meet Juliette?”

  “Not sure. But Zach was right. Ben is a few years younger than Juliette.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with having a toy boy,” said Helen with a grin. “But he does seem a lot livelier than her. I hope he doesn’t get bored.”

  “Ben seemed happy enough.” I cut into the crisp pastry of the quiche. “And he clearly adores Juliette. It’s a shame she’s unwell. It must put a strain on the relationship.”

  “Having all those headaches must be a real drag,” said Helen. “Maybe it’s stress-related. Losing a husband and then remarrying so fast. I bet people gossiped about it. There were reports in the papers, weren’t there?”

  I smiled at her, realizing that was exactly what we were doing. “Some of the tabloids ran a few mean stories about how quickly the marriage took place. Juliette could still be grieving. It must have been a shock to find her first husband’s body.”

  Helen gave a shudder as she stuffed a potato into her mouth. “Nightmare. I would have to sell up if it was me. I’d think about his body every time I went into the garden.”

  Flipper placed his head on my lap and I stroked his head. “You’re not getting any of my dinner. You’ve already had your own.” I knew I’d be feeding him the leftovers, though. He could melt gold with those ice blue eyes.

  “I think I’m going to like it here,” said Helen. “The horrible sister aside, the work doesn’t seem onerous. If I only have to do the sewing and laundry for the three of them, it’s not going to keep me too busy.”

  “You could use your spare time to go out husband hunting.” I grinned at Helen as she threw her napkin at me.

  “The village is tiny. I bet there are no likely candidates for me,” said Helen. “And I don’t think I’d want to settle here. It’s too quiet for me. Although, it is beautiful.”

  “Don’t tell me you want some London toff who is going to wine and dine you and take you to the theater every night?”

  “Not a London toff,” said Helen slowly, “but I would like someone who knows his way round the best establishments and wants to show me off at them.”

  I laughed. “You really do need to lower your expectations.”

  “You don’t think I’m good enough for a well-to-do man?” asked Helen.

  “I’m not saying you can’t bag yourself an upper-class husband, but it would make things easier on you if you weren’t fussy about their social status.”

  Helen raised her eyebrows. “You mean roughing it with the gardener?”

  This time, I threw my napkin at her. “Not fair. Zach is lovely.”

  Helen laughed and tossed me back my napkin. “Yes, he is. But perhaps Ben has some friends he could introduce me to.”

  Flipper whined and pawed at the ground. I looked down at him and noticed the agitation on his face. “What’s wrong with you? You can’t want my potatoes that badly.”

  He whined again, and his gaze went to the door of the cottage.

  “A ghost or a guest?” asked Helen.

  There was a knock on the door, and I was relieved to see Zach open it. Jessie bounded into the cottage and straight over to Flipper. “How are you both settling in?” asked Zach.

  “Great, thanks.” Helen sprang to her feet. “There’s plenty of food if you want to join us.”

  “I’ve already eaten,” said Zach. “The kitchen in the studio is full of food. I was taking Jessie for a walk and wondered if Flipper wanted to join us.”

  “That’s a good idea,” I said. “He hasn’t been able to settle. I thought he was after my dinner, but maybe he’s got too much energy that needs to be worked off.”

  “Happy to take him with me,” said Zach. “And you can always join us when you’ve finished dinner.”

  I nodded. “It will be nice to explore some of the grounds.”

  “Although not all of it in one go,” said Helen as she sat back in her seat. “There are twenty acres here.”

  “It’s going to keep me busy looking after all of it.” Zach beckoned to Flipper, and he happily trotted up to him. “I’m going to take a look at the wild flower meadow when I’m walking the dogs.”

  “It’s too dark to see anything out there,” said Helen.

  Although it was late summer, the nights were slowly drawing in, and all I could see outside were the lavender dark shadowy outlines of trees and bushes.

  Zach pulled a torch from his pocket. “A good gardener is always prepared. I’ll see you later.” He gave me a wave and shut the door.

  “You’ve got that silly grin on your face,” said Helen.

  “What silly grin?” I speared an asparagus tip.

  “That grin you get every time Zach’s around,” said Helen with a sigh of discontentment. “One day, I’ll have that too.”

  “Yes, you will,” I said. “But I don’t have a silly grin.”

  “It’s not a bad thing,” said Helen. “It’s nice that Zach makes you feel so good.”

  “Don’t get carried away. This is a new thing for both of us. And I don’t want to scare him by getting too intense,” I said. “Besides, we’ve only been on a dozen dates. He may decide he doesn’t like me. The ghost seeing thing would put a lot of guys off.”

  “Your ghost seeing ability makes you unique and even more of a catch. But you like him, don’t you?” asked Helen. “And he’s so good with Flipper.”

  I smiled. I did like Zach, a lot. He was strong, capable, and kind. And a man who loved animals always made me go weak at the knees. �
��I could definitely do worse.”

  Helen gave a squeak of alarm as the bedroom door slammed and the overhead lights flickered out.

  I jumped out of my seat. “What was that?”

  “Could it be the wind?” asked Helen in the darkness.

  “I did leave my bedroom window open.” I fumbled around the edge of the table. “Let me see if the lights are on at the main house.”

  “I hope it's just that,” said Helen. “I don't like it when your ghostly friends decide to arrive in the dark like this. Makes me think they're up to no good.”

  I made it to a window without bashing my shins and stared outside. “It could be a power cut. I can’t see any lights at all.” The whole of the main house was in darkness.

  “We’d better stay where we are,” said Helen. “I can eat in the dark.”

  “You can eat anywhere,” I said as I slowly made my way back to the table. “There’s probably some candles around here somewhere, but I don’t know where to look.”

  “I’ll light the log burner,” said Helen. “That will give us some warmth and light until the power comes back on.”

  “And I’ll close my bedroom window so the door stops slamming.” I carefully made my way to the bedroom door, eased it open, and peered inside. The inky blackness did nothing to allay my fears, but I couldn’t feel a ghostly presence in the room, so I made my way to the window and eased it shut.

  “Was it the wind?” called Helen. “Or should I set another place at the table?”

  “No, we’re ghost free,” I said. “It was just the wind.” At least I hoped it was. But I wasn’t getting any chills and didn’t feel an otherworldly presence nearby. I took a few calming breaths and returned to the living room.

  “I’ve got the log burner going,” said Helen. “I remembered seeing matches on the top, and it was already prepared, so I just had to light it.” She was silhouetted in the firelight, which gave the living room a comforting glow.

  “That’s better,” I said. “At least I won’t go stabbing my fingers by mistake when we finish dinner.”

  Helen’s bedroom door slammed shut and a gust of cold air shot past me.

  “That wasn’t the wind from your open window this time,” whispered Helen. “And I know my windows are shut tight.”

  I closed my eyes for a few seconds as my whole body shuddered. “You’re right. It wasn’t. We’ve got company.”

  Chapter 4

  “Who is it?” whispered Helen.

  “I don’t see anyone,” I said quietly as I closely inspected any dark corners in the room for signs of a ghost.

  The curtains in one of the windows shook violently, and another blast of cold air hit me in the face.

  “Whoever it is, they want to play,” said Helen.

  “We could try ignoring the ghost,” I said. “Whoever it is may think we can’t see what they’re doing and disappear.” That was one of the annoying things about my ghost seeing ability. Although I could see them, I couldn’t hear them. They could see and hear me just fine, but they often had to resort to ridiculous mimes in order for me to understand them. It led to a lot of frustration on the ghosts’ part.

  “You know that never works,” said Helen. “You’re a ghost magnet. They know you can see them.”

  I sighed and looked down at my now cold dinner. “Fine. Why don’t you show yourself?” I said to thin air. “We won’t do you any harm, and it seems like you have something you want to tell us.” That comment earned me another blast of cold air.

  “The ghost is agitated,” said Helen. “Do you think it’s the late husband trying to communicate?”

  “It could be. Although old houses often have a number of deaths occur within their walls. It could be anybody.”

  “Didn't Ben say this used to be a cow shed?” asked Helen. “Maybe we have a ghostly cow wanting to pass on a message.”

  “Never met a ghost cow, but I'm not ruling anything out.”

  We waited in silence for a few moments, watching for the ghost to make its next move.

  “Maybe it’s gone away,” whispered Helen.

  The front door crashed open, and we both squealed in alarm. It was Zach.

  “Everything okay in here?” He shone his flashlight into the room. “There’s been a power cut. I was walking the dogs and saw all the lights in the house go out. Looks like the same thing has happened to you.”

  “Yes, but what caused the power cut?” asked Helen.

  “Probably a dodgy fuse.” Zach stood aside as Jessie and Flipper raced into the lounge. Flipper began whining and pacing around the room, his gaze on me.

  “Flipper doesn’t think it’s a dodgy fuse,” said Helen.

  Zach moved towards the sofa and placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. “Is it a ghost?”

  “An agitated one,” I said. “It won’t show itself, but it’s been slamming doors, and the lights went out the second it arrived.”

  “The dead husband?” suggested Zach.

  “That’s what I think,” said Helen. “He would be the most recent ghost in the house.”

  “But I don’t know what he wants with us,” I said.

  “Try speaking to him again,” said Helen. “If he knows you can sense him and recognize who he is, he may calm down.”

  “Or he may get worse,” I said. “And whatever he wants, I’m not helping. We’ve only just started here, and we need to make a good impression, not get caught speaking to invisible friends.” It had happened before, an employer stumbling across me talking to apparently nothing. Not long after that, I’d been given my marching orders.

  “What was the first husband’s name?” asked Zach. “Albert?”

  “Archie Musgrave,” said Helen. “Archie, are you here?”

  “Stop encouraging him,” I said. “He’ll only hang around if you keep talking to him.”

  “He must be agitated for a reason,” said Helen. “Or maybe he’s lonely and wants someone to chat to.”

  “Then he’s wasting his time with us,” I said. “I don’t do chatting to ghosts.”

  “But you do help ghosts,” said Helen. “And I know you’ll want to help him if he needs it.”

  “We need to help ourselves,” I muttered. “We are not losing these jobs.”

  “Simply talking to Archie isn’t going to make us lose our jobs,” said Helen. “Let’s find out what he wants at the very least.”

  I gave a sigh, knowing Helen wouldn’t be driven from her determined path to help this ghost. “I will talk to him, but that’s all.”

  “And help him if it’s a simple request,” said Helen. She grinned at me in the firelight, and I knew I had lost the fight. Looks like we’d be helping this ghost.

  “Archie Musgrave, is this you?” I asked into the gloom. There was silence for a few seconds, interspersed with a few gentle whines from Flipper. “If you’re here, can you show yourself to us?”

  “Maybe he’s not strong enough to materialize,” suggested Zach. “Don’t ghosts need to... charge themselves?”

  “He should be strong enough,” I said. “He’s been around the family, and there’s plenty of electrical equipment in the main house for him to stay recharged. But then he is a new ghost; maybe they don’t always know what to do.” I didn’t entirely understand ghosts and how they worked, but I knew, if they were left alone, they grew weak, and being around humans made them stronger. Sometimes so strong that they could lift furniture and throw it across the room.

  “Try again,” said Helen. “He could be cautious about revealing himself in case he scares us.”

  “He’s already done a good enough job of that by slamming the doors and blasting me with chilly air,” I said.

  “Archie,” said Helen softly. “We aren’t here to do you any harm. Why don’t you show us where you are? We will help you if we can.”

  I grumbled under my breath at Helen, knowing I would be the one plagued by cold blasts of air and a harassed-looking ghost if I didn’t do what he wanted me to
.

  “Stop that,” said Helen sternly to me. “I know you want to help him just as much as I do.”

  I stroked Flipper’s head and looked round the room, using the light from the log burner to see if there were any ghosts hiding from us. In the corner by the door was a vague misty form. “I think that’s him.” I pointed to the corner.

  “Lorna can see you.” Helen squinted into the corner. “You don’t have to hide from us. You’re safe here.”

  Zach sat on the edge of the sofa. “Archie Musgrave. That name is familiar. What work did he use to do?”

  “It should be a familiar name,” said Helen. “He was a wealthy man and made a lot of money in television and movies.”

  “That’s right. He produced a great documentary about soldiers in Syria,” said Zach. “He had talent. It was a shame the way he died, falling off a horse like that.”

  The misty form of Archie dispersed and spread around the room. The doors and windows rattled, and the lights flickered on and off.

  “Calm down,” I said. “We’re only trying to find out a bit more about you.”

  The image of a man with a neat brown beard and glasses appeared so close to my face that I jumped back. I took a deep breath. “Looks like Archie’s arrived.”

  “How can you be sure it’s Archie?” asked Helen. “What does he look like?”

  “Late forties, beard, glasses, brown hair.”

  “Hold on a second.” Helen walked over to the cabinet next to the fireplace. “This could be him.” She returned with a framed photograph in her hand.

  I took it from her and studied the people in the picture. There was Juliette, Fleur, and our ghost. “This looks like Archie.” I held out the picture to him. “This is you, isn’t it?”

  He glanced at the picture and nodded.

  “Okay, so Archie Musgrave, why are you trying to scare us?” I asked him.

  He pointed at Zach and shook his head.