Prelude to Poison

by Morgan W. Silver

  I put my hand on his face and tried to push him away as I was skipping on one leg.

  “Maggie?”

  We froze and our faces slowly turned in the direction of the voice. It was Alistair. He was standing there in his sharp suit, not a hair out of place as a grin pulled on the corner of his lips.

  “Hellooo,” Eddie and I both said.

  “Everything alright?”

  We mumbled something incoherent at the same time.

  Alistair nodded. “Well, I’ll be on my way then, I was just grabbing some coffee.” He turned around and started walking away.

  Eddie pushed me forward, and I started following Alistair. I couldn’t have him think that Eddie and I were performing some kind of strange mating ritual. “So, Alistair,” I started as I walked next to him. “How do you like being back?”

  He glanced at me. “The village hasn’t changed at all. Neither have the people. Not much anyway.”

  “Except that you sometimes think you know someone, and they turn out to be cheaters or mistresses, or murderers,” I said.

  Alistair stopped me with a touch on my arm. His dark eyes assessed me, like he could open up my forehead and see into my mind. If he could, he’d see how messy it was, as well as the heart-shaped posters of him. “Do you know something?”

  I fidgeted with my hands. “Maybe,” I said in a high voice.

  “That’s a yes, then.” He stood closer. I wasn’t sure if he even noticed he did that, but my body certainly did, and it flipped on the heating.

  Stupid body. Be cool. I tried a seductive smile, not sure how it came across, and blinked at him.

  “Do you have something in your eye?” he asked.

  I grumbled something. “My employee Susan was the one who had an affair with him. She admitted that to me a short while ago. I haven’t told anyone, and I don’t want it to come out. I’m not sure how they’d treat her. The villagers, I mean. Victor and Patricia are popular, I’m sure you remember that. Also, I asked her if she knew anything that could help the investigation, but she didn’t. She was very distraught. If you go talk to her, which I’m sure you will, please be discreet about it. There really is no reason for her to get hurt even more.”

  Alistair stared at me for a moment. “You’re very sweet.”

  I felt my cheeks get warm and giggled. Actually giggled.

  “Thank you for telling me. I’ll look into it.” He put his hands on my arms. “I really appreciate you keeping your eyes and ears open, but please be careful. Everyone is talking about how you’re going to solve this, but that means the killer is hearing that as well. Please don’t do anything dangerous.”

  It took me a lot of effort to hear the words instead of getting distracted by the shape of his mouth. “Yep, yep, yep.”

  He smiled at me.

  “Would you like to catch up sometime? Have dinner? I’ll cook for you.”

  He raised his eyebrows and his smile disappeared, so I expected him to say no. “Sure. Monday evening at seven?”

  “Really?”

  “Here’s my card.” He fished it from his breast pocket and handed it to me.

  I stared at it. It took me all of four seconds to memorise his number. I had a good memory. “Thanks. I’ll see you then.”

  “See you.” He turned to leave, and so did I.

  Instead of striding away with dignity and grace, I started running back so I could wave the business card in Eddie’s face, but I’d taken only three steps before I fell flat on the ground.

  Eddie had gotten up from the bench but wasn’t moving. Jerk. Why isn’t he helping? I felt an arm around my waist and Alistair’s lips were close to my ear.

  “Are you alright?” he asked as he helped me up and turned me to face him. He scanned my body and hands for wounds.

  “I like the purple squirrels dancing on your shoulder,” I said.

  He looked up sharply. “What? Do you really see those?”

  “No,” I said. “Sorry, I couldn’t resist.”

  He sighed. “I’m glad you’re okay. Please be more careful.”

  “Got it. No pissing off murderers and no tripping.”

  He managed a smile. “Exactly.” Then he gently touched my chin right before he left.

  I sighed and watched him go while Eddie’s footfalls sounded closer. “Did it go well or poorly? I couldn’t tell.”

  I held up the business card. “I’ve got a date.” Sort of.

  “Please invite me to the wedding.”

  “Done.”

  EVERY SATURDAY NANCY cooked dinner for me and Eddie at her flat. This time she had made her famous lasagna, which was good enough to make me want to marry it. We sat at the dining table, right next to the open plan kitchen. Our flats were similar, but she had taken down some walls so that only her bedroom and bathroom were separate rooms. It gave her flat more light and made it seem more spacious. It always smelt of incense and the colour purple was dominant. It was her favourite.

  “I taught mindfulness today at the shop. I wasn’t sure if there would be many people, but twelve showed up,” Nancy said.

  “I’m not surprised,” I said. “People are upset about what happened. The most exciting thing that’s ever happened here is when those garden gnomes went missing, or when we found out that Harry stole those pies from Olivia’s windowsill.”

  Harry was homeless, and once he’d gotten a taste of Olivia’s baking, he kept coming back for more. Now she gave him chores once a week in exchange for food. I also hired him whenever I had an event at my bookshop and wanted someone to hand out flyers. In addition to money, I would also pay for a haircut at the barbershop, which Jacob hated because apparently Harry was always rude to him, and many years ago had called him a fanny for cutting hair and shaving beards for a living. Jacob was one to hold a grudge, like most villagers. A few smiles from me would make Jacob do it, though.

  “That’s not the only thing people are talking about,” Eddie said with enthusiasm. “I read on Twitter that those ghost hunters are here. They will start their investigations tonight. They should be at the B&B.”

  “Oh, no. You’re totally going to stalk them, aren’t you?” I asked.

  “Don’t say that like it’s a bad thing.” Eddie grinned. “Brian and I are going over there to talk to them and see if we can help. Our equipment is pretty good, but these are pros.” He turned to Nancy. “Why don’t you come with? They could probably use a psychic to come along.”

  Nancy wrinkled her nose. “I’ve already been there, and if nobody is going to pay me, I ain’t going. Besides, I think those ghost hunters are just a bunch of idiots who scare themselves by turning off the lights and focussing on every little sound.”

  “Well, we will find out.” His eyes held a twinkle.

  “Cheers to that.” I held up my fork with lasagna.

  Nancy chuckled.

  “Why am I even friends with you?” Eddie shook his head.

  “You’re one to talk, Ghostbuster.” I stuck out my tongue.

  Eddie grabbed a handful of lettuce and threw it at me.

  “Hey, no food fighting,” Nancy said. “I’ve been slaving away in the kitchen, you know? It took me several seconds to take that lettuce out of the packaging.”

  “Fine, I’ll be the bigger person.” I peeled off a piece of lettuce from my forehead.

  Chapter 8

  After dinner, Eddie couldn’t get his coat on quick enough. “Everybody sure they don’t want to come?” he asked as he was struggling to get his arms into his sleeves. He was bent forward with his arms in weird positions, like broken antennas.

  “Yes,” we said in unison.

  Eddie turned to me. “I’m surprised you don’t want to go.”

  “Why?”

  “You write mysteries, and this is the biggest and probably only mystery this village has had in our lifetime. Don’t you want to check it out?”

  “No. They’ll be filming stuff in the dark, and they’ll focus on spirits. They won’t actually ch
eck out the room where it happened.”

  “Ah, I see what’s going on,” Eddie said as he moved forward, having succeeded in his mission to put on his coat. “You’re scared.”

  “You know what? That is absolutely and completely so not false.”

  He frowned. “What?”

  “You’re right.” I hit him on the shoulder. “Don’t act surprised, we all know what a scaredy-cat I am.” Spiders, scary films, heights, people in masks, loud noises, snakes, commitment, confined spaces, and poorly written novels.

  “It’s true,” Nancy nodded.

  “Yes,” I said.

  Eddie shrugged. “It’s less fun when you actually admit it.”

  “I know. You’re welcome.”

  “Fine, don’t come, but you’ll be missing out on a great adventure and potentially a great source of inspiration for novels to come.” He stepped towards the door. “I’m leaving now. Almost at the door.”

  “YOU ARE SUCH A BRAVE woman. I really admire your strength and perseverance,” Eddie said as we stood in front of the B&B. Brian was also there, he wore black-framed glasses and breathed heavily. He had asthma and it was probably an indication that he was getting excited.

  I never spent any time with Brian. He was just Eddie’s weird friend in my book. Though it was possible that Brian felt that exact same way about me.

  “Don’t mock me,” I said. “I have watched a lot of Jackie Chan films, and I’m not afraid to use that knowledge against you.” If I witnessed first-hand what those ghost hunters would find, I’d be even more credible when I told the book club and anybody else that there were no ghosts. It would also mean that Victor’s murder would be taken seriously by the villagers, and it could help the police. Besides that, I was also genuinely curious about how something like this would go.

  The door opened, and Mrs Suzuki, the owner, stood in the doorway. She was wearing an apron with kittens depicted on it. She had straight long hair that she usually wore in a knot, like today.

  “Hey guys, what a nice surprise.”

  “We heard the ghost hunters were here,” Eddie said and bounced up and down as he tried to look past her.

  Mrs Suzuki laughed a melodious laugh. “Come in. They are about to leave for the Pembroke Hotel. They’re in the front room.”

  I followed Eddie inside. It had been a while since I’d been here, and I welcomed the cheerful colours and country-like style of the detached house.

  In the front room were four people, only one of them a woman. They were packing two bags, one with equipment, and the other one with drinks and snacks.

  Eddie didn’t waste any time. As soon as he was inside, he began talking. “Hi, guys. I’m Eddie Ellington, nice to meet you. This is my friend Brian and—” He looked up and saw he was pointing at me. He pulled Brian out from behind me. “This is Brian, and that is my friend Maggie.”

  I waved.

  The ghost hunters stood frozen for a second, their eyes on us, probably not sure if this was really happening. Maybe they thought we were ghosts. Ha.

  The man closest to us showed the first signs of life and stood up straight. He had blond hair, half-long and curling at the nape of his neck. His eyes were moss green, and he projected a warm smile. He was about our age; they all seemed to be. It surprised me that they all seemed so normal, though I should know better than anyone to not judge a book by its cover.

  “Hi, guys. I’m Nick,” he said in a Welsh accent. He stepped forward and shook Eddie’s hand first. Then he shook Brian’s hand, who began breathing more heavily. When he shook mine, he used both hands. “Nice to meet you.”

  “Nice to meet you,” I said and smiled.

  “We’re locals, and we know a thing or two about ghost hunting. Not like you do, but still. We were hoping we could help you guys out. We also know about the ghost stories and you know, the recent event,” Eddie said.

  “Sure, we wouldn’t mind some help, but we can’t lend out our equipment for insurance reasons,” Nick said without discussing it with the other members. He was clearly the leader.

  “No problem, we have our own.” Eddie smiled proudly.

  “Excellent, well, this is Fiona,” Nick pointed at the woman with the braid and she gave us a curt nod.

  Eddie immediately dashed forward to shake her hand. Subtlety was not his thing.

  “Steve.” A firm man with a bald head stepped forward to shake Eddie’s hand.

  “And Eric.” A young man with dreadlocks gave Eddie a fist bump.

  Nick turned to me. “So you’re a ghost hunter, too?”

  “No, I’m a writer. I actually write detective stories, and my friend suggested I might come along and help solve a mystery. Gain some inspiration at the same time.” I shrugged. “I don’t really think there’s a curse. Sorry.”

  Nick smiled. “That’s okay. We keep an open mind ourselves. We’re after the truth.”

  “Good, me too.” I returned his smile.

  He held my gaze for a moment, then turned around. “Alright, guys. Let’s get moving. We have a big van. You guys can join us.” He winked at me.

  Ten minutes later we were in a black van. Luckily, it could hold eight people, so there was no squishing involved. I sat next to the woman, Fiona. She was listening to music and stared out the window, so she wasn’t exactly a source of bubbly conversation.

  Eddie was in front of me, right between Brian and Steve. He had better luck at striking up a conversation, though their talk of equipment was a little lost on me.

  Nick was driving with Eric in the passenger’s seat.

  I thought about texting Nancy to tell her that parents were right, it’s never a good idea to get into a van with strangers, but figured I’d just stick it out. Maybe it wasn’t so bad. Nick seemed nice. Still, I felt kind of silly going along with this. Filming stuff in the dark and trying to talk to dead people, all the while being in a place where people died. In bathtubs. Well, let’s just say that if I had to do this in a film, I’d get a stunt woman to do it.

  When we arrived at the hotel, we parked near the entrance. Mr Field, who seemed even more mousy-looking than when I saw him in the pub, was already waiting for us at the double doors. How did he feel about this? Did he want it to be ghosts or an actual murderer? Which would be better for business?

  Mr Field showed us to the reception room which was a large, beautiful room with a fireplace that wasn’t burning and antique sofas. Wall lights and a chandelier provided ample light. I hadn’t noticed this the last time because of the shock.

  “Thank you so much for coming,” Mr Field said and indicated we should sit down.

  Eddie and I were about to sit down, but everybody else remained upright so just as our behinds were hovering over the seat, we managed to push ourselves up in an awkward way. Nobody noticed.

  “I’ve informed our current guests that you would be here, so I’ve convinced them that for the next hour they should be out or stay in their rooms. Most of them have gone out to eat, so you should be free to walk around and do what you need to do. The rooms where earlier incidents have occurred are still empty. The doors are open so feel free to walk in. There will be a constable in front of Mr Woodbury’s room.” His voice was calm and heavy.

  “Right,” Nick said. “Like I said on the phone, we’ll visit each room in the downstairs area and then make our way through the corridor upstairs. We’ll review our footage tonight and get back to you tomorrow.”

  Mr Field nodded. He looked surprisingly calm under these circumstances. His wife was nowhere to be seen.

  “Other than the mysterious way in which those cheating men died, is there any sign of a haunting?” Nick asked.

  “No, nothing. Just during construction, you know, some misplaced things and accidents. That’s why we had the local...” He searched for words.

  “Witch?” I said.

  “Yes, she came here to do a cleansing.”

  “Well, let’s go find out if she did it right,” Nick said and put down his bag wit
h the equipment.

  Eddie and I glanced at each other.

  They split up in two groups. Nick, Fiona and Eddie were in one, while Steve, Eric and Brian were in the other. They took their equipment and went in opposite directions as they explored the ground floor first.

  Nick gave me a walkie-talkie so I could listen in and communicate with them as well. “Are you sure you don’t want to come?” Nick asked.

  “Nope, I’ll just wait here until you guys head upstairs.”

  He nodded and off they went with their torches and weird equipment.

  “I’ll be in the back room,” Mr Field said. “Thank you for coming.”

  “Sure,” I said. “Bye.” I watched him walk away.

  “The lights are going to be turned off now,” Nick’s voice said over the walkie-talkie.

  Oh, boy.

  As soon as he said this, the lights turned off.

  Oh, boy. Oh, boy. Oh, boy.

  I turned on my small, pink torch that glowed in the dark and was about the size of my middle finger and let the spot of light glide over the furniture around me. It looked bleak in the light of the torch. A tingling sensation spread throughout my body like I was pricked by hundreds of needles as I stood frozen in the spacious room. What was I trying to prove? I really shouldn’t have come here. Fear isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s a sign that something is wrong.

  Chapter 9

  I swallowed and moved into the corridor as I shone my torch on the double doors that led to the safety of the outside world. I bit my lip and contemplated running out of here with my tail between my legs. Though, if the ghost hunters found me missing, they’d probably think ghosts kidnapped me. I grinned at the thought. I wasn’t alone. Eddie was here too. Besides, there was a mystery to solve. I liked mysteries, didn’t I? I should be having a blast.

  Another reason I’d come along was so I could get a look at the guest register, not that I was sure it would result in anything, but it was worth a shot.

  “Perhaps there’s some information on the computer,” Detective Black said.