In the kitchen, Ruby and Corinna downed a fresh cup of coffee each whilst Alicen made the call. She returned a short while later, a look of complete astonishment on her face, poured a cup of coffee and sat too.
“You’re right, the Milligans did used to have an animal, not a dog though, or a cat. It was a rabbit would you believe, a house rabbit! I never realised you could look after rabbits indoors but they enlightened me on that score, he was perfectly house-trained apparently. The way she talked about Arthur, that was his name by the way, you’d have thought it was a beloved child.”
A rabbit? She hadn’t expected that.
Alicen continued relating what she’d been told. “Like I said, he was like a child to them, they doted on him, but something happened. They weren’t here at the time; they’d gone for a long weekend to visit the D-Day landing beaches in Normandy. Mr Milligan’s a war veteran you see and there was some sort of trip organised. They asked their niece to look after Arthur whilst they were away. When they got back he was gone. The niece was distraught, said she took him into the garden for some fresh air and he disappeared, that a fox must have got him. She wasn’t supposed to take him into the garden, not without his special lead on. Poor Mrs Milligan, she sounded so upset, she got quite choked up talking about it. The second bedroom was his room.” Again, she seemed incredulous. “A rabbit with his own room! How spoilt.”
As Alicen was speaking, Ruby looked at Corinna, was it the rabbit responsible for the smell, the scratching; his way of letting them know that a fox hadn’t run off with him? That he’d met a different fate entirely?
Jed, is it Arthur that’s here?
Jed leapt to his feet and started wagging his tale enthusiastically. Taking her by surprise, he sprinted past her and out of the room.
“Erm, do you mind if I pop into the living room?” Ruby asked, realising he wanted her to follow him.
“If you want,” Andy replied, shrugging.
In the end they all went into the living room. Jed was barking enthusiastically at a silver-framed picture of two cartoon rabbits embracing.
Noticing Ruby looking at it, Alicen explained, “That’s one of our wedding presents, we’re the Haires you see, so it’s kind of apt.” Understanding dawned. “The smell, the scratching, it’s the rabbit isn’t it? And we’re the Haires. What a coincidence!”
Andy appeared thunderstruck too. “You couldn’t make it up!” he said.
Ruby’s mind was calculating what to do.
“We need to look under the floorboards,” she decided.
“You mean take them up again?” asked Andy.
“That’s right.”
“Like I said, there’s no way something’s buried beneath those floorboards, we’d have known about it if there was.” He shook his head as though exasperated. “And besides, we’re only talking about a rabbit here.”
A staunch vegetarian, Corinna was also an avid animal rights supporter. Ruby guessed she’d have something to say about that and she was right.
“It doesn’t matter if the spirit grounded is that of a person or an animal, they’re of equal importance.”
“Really? Is that what you believe?”
“Yes I do.”
Andy didn’t seem convinced. “I never realised animal spirits lingered.”
Ruby stepped in. “Normally they don’t, not in my experience anyway.” In her experience she’d only ever dealt with Jed. “Animals normally have no trouble passing into the light, but every now and again…” She paused, did her utmost to emulate the authority of Theo, Ness and even Ailsa, to show she knew what she was talking about. “Every now and again, one gets stuck. But it’s not a problem, we’re, erm… we’re used to dealing with the unusual.”
“Even so,” Andy stated, “there’s no way I’m taking up my floorboards. Can’t you use your powers to see what’s under there?”
Her powers? He was making her sound like a character from a Marvel comic. Well, she’d give it a go. After another hour, however, Ruby, Corinna and even Jed had to admit defeat. She still had no clue as to what was under the floorboards. She was almost thankful the smell was growing stronger. At least it proved to the Haires, who were both holding scarves over their noses by this stage that they weren’t entirely mad, not if the non-psychic in the room were being affected too. What was that smell, Ruby wondered, what did it remind her of? It was familiar, so familiar. She closed her eyes, focussed on that instead, let familiarity be the thing to guide her. Come on, come on. Think, Ruby, what is that smell?
A memory of waking up in her room came to mind, one dark winter’s night and the thing that had haunted her – the entity – in the house with her, glaring at her from his hiding place in the shadows as the spirit in Gilmore Street glared at Samantha. She remembered how she’d scanned the room for it, had tiptoed out of bed, crept to the door and then, panic overtaking her, yanked it open, belted down the hallway and burst into the night, desperate to escape her ‘stalker’. The smell was fear. Of course it was. Whatever had happened to Arthur, it hadn’t been pleasant.
Ruby came to a decision.
“Alicen, where did the Milligans relocate?”
“Not far, a retirement village in Ditchling.”
“It is possible you could phone them again, get them round?”
“Get them round?”
“Or I can go and pick them up. Ditchling isn’t far.”
“I… well, I can see what they say I suppose? They might be willing.”
“It won’t do any harm to ask.”
“But should I explain why exactly, you know that we’re being haunted, by their pet rabbit of all things.”
“You didn’t mention that last time you were on the phone then?” Ruby couldn’t help but tease.
“No.” Alicen looked slightly aghast at the thought. “I rang up on the pretence of some issue about the pipes. I also said I was thinking about getting a dog – I’m not by the way – but I figured it would pave the way in asking them if they’d ever had any animals whilst living here too.”
“Good thinking,” praised Andy.
Ruby agreed. “But tell them the whole story this time. We need them here.”
By the time the Milligans arrived, Ruby had to admit that this was far from a standard case. When she eventually got home tonight, a bath and bed would be all she’d be good for. She wouldn’t even have the energy to see Cash.
According to Alicen, once she’d explained to the Milligans the scenario going on in their former house, they’d needed no further cajoling. In fact, Mrs Milligan let on that she half suspected that had been the reason behind the first phone call. When she entered the house, a tiny woman, birdlike in stature, her eyes, a bright shade of blue despite her years, were fierce.
“I knew it,” she said, “I knew a fox hadn’t got him! It was our niece, Tasha, the one who looked after him. She did something to him didn’t she? She’s gone off the rails that one, a lost cause. We should never have gone to Normandy and left Arthur with her.” Abruptly, all fierceness left her. She just looked sad, terribly sad. “Poor Arthur, he came a cropper didn’t he?”
Her husband was behind her and he too seemed full of woe, his eyes pale compared to his wife’s, and glistening with un-shed tears. Staring at him, at them both, Ruby was touched, extraordinarily touched. Their love for Arthur – and never mind that he was only a rabbit – was plain to see.
In the bedroom, Mr and Mrs Milligan sat on the bed, in the exact same spots that she and Corinna had occupied earlier, to catch their breath.
“This is Arthur’s room,” Mrs Milligan said, looking round, “we had a little bed made up special for him. He was toilet trained, you know,” she added proudly. “Never messed anywhere he wasn’t supposed to. Free rein of the house too, but not the garden, we never let him out unsupervised.”
All the while Mrs Milligan was speaking Mr Milligan nodded in agreement.
“Do you know what could have happened to him?” asked Ruby tentatively.
Mrs
Milligan shook her head. “But I can tell you the problem with Tasha. It was drugs. We don’t have anything to do with her now. She was smoking that puff even at sixteen, that’s how old she was when we agreed she could look after Arthur. It does strange things to you that puff, it warps the mind.”
Ruby couldn’t help but agree. Drugs opened up doorways in your psyche that were sometimes – oftentimes – better staying closed. They made you act in ways you perhaps normally wouldn’t. With that in mind she tried to tune in again, even whilst smiling benignly at the Milligans. A flash of temper, she sensed that. Sensed also that the rabbit had messed in the house, perhaps due to separation anxiety; he had messed repeatedly. A foot came out, kicked, not once but two or three times – an attempt to chastise him, but a bit of an extreme attempt. Terrified, the rabbit kept messing. Another blow, the girl not just angry but fed-up too, the blows turning fatal. Temper swiftly dissipating as horror surfaced instead. Sorrow and panic too. Ruby understood that Tasha wasn’t a bad girl. Not really, despite her actions. But a girl with problems, she was that all right – hence the drug use. A Band-Aid rather than a cure. A vicious circle that turned her vicious. Occasionally.
She broke the connection. She’d seen enough.
“Were you having building work done when you went away?” she asked.
“Nothing much, just some home improvements,” Mr Milligan answered. “Tasha was taking care of that too, you know, letting the builders in, making them tea, supervising, that sort of thing.”
“This room was also being ‘improved’?”
Mr Milligan confirmed it was. “It had a few wonky floorboards, we were having them fixed. We didn’t want the builders to do that until we’d got back, didn’t want to upset Arthur’s routine further, but they didn’t listen, builders don’t do they? They went ahead anyway.” She paused. “Why do you ask?”
“I…” Ruby faltered. She really didn’t want to upset this couple. Looking at Jed, he was staring at her, in his own way urging her on. He was right; they had to know. “We think – that is my colleague, Corinna and I – that he’s still in this room. He’s not buried here, not as such, but something of his is. A special toy perhaps? A blanket? Something that perhaps had blood on it. Evidence in other words.” She faltered, hating having to be the bearer of bad news. She pointed to the area Corinna had previously identified. “If the floorboards were up, well, Tasha knew they had to go back down again.”
“A special toy?” Mrs Milligan turned to her husband. “He had so many of them, didn’t he?”
“He did, he loved them all. I never noticed if any were missing.”
“Me neither. Only his lead was gone.”
His lead? That was probably under there too, to corroborate Tasha’s story of Arthur having been attacked by a fox.
“And that spot you just picked out,” Mrs Milligan continued, “that’s where his bed was, it’s where the sun streams in through the window. He liked nothing better than to bask in it. Lazy little tyke he was at times, wasn’t he?”
Before Ruby could say another word, Mrs Milligan burst into tears. With a swiftness belying his years, Mr Milligan put his arm around her and hugged her close.
Andy, who had been standing silently in the room with Alicen, looked visibly moved by this display of emotion but nonetheless muttered, “The thing is I really don’t want my floorboards taken up.”
“It’s okay,” Ruby assured him, “you may not have to. Now that Mr and Mrs Milligan are here, perhaps they can break his attachment to that corner – the good and the bad memories associated with it – coax him forwards. Turning her attention back to them, she continued. “I know this sounds silly, but can you speak to Arthur. Tell him you’re here, that you know what happened. Let him know he’s safe. He can go home, to his real home, on the other side.”
Mr and Mrs Milligan just stared at her. Slightly nervous, Ruby held her breath. Then Mrs Milligan spoke. “It doesn’t sound silly at all, dear.”
They did as she asked them, their voices soft and cajoling, but not only that, so full of love. Everyone in the room, without exception, felt not just their pain, but also the intensity of their feelings towards such a small animal and their relief too, at finally finding out his fate, no matter how hard it was to take.
Ruby and Corinna had gone to join Andy and Alicen, who looked on rapt. Jed stayed where he was, occasionally turning full circles in excitement.
“You’re doing well,” encouraged Ruby, “really well. He’ll be here soon.”
The smell that had been in the room began to fade. A scratch or two was heard then also ceased. The room brightened, despite the dying day. As it did, Ruby focussed on the grounded spirit, willed him to tune in too, to materialise. At long last a shape appeared, larger than she expected, with soft grey fur, floppy ears and almond-shaped sparkling eyes. Jed barked and circled twice more. If only the others in the room could see what she could – the shade of Arthur, his semblance. She’d love it if they could. Even so, all sensed a change in atmosphere and smiles lit up faces one-by-one.
“He’s here, isn’t he?” asked Mrs Milligan.
“He is,” confirmed Ruby, “he’s making his way towards you. But he won’t stay long, don’t ask him to. Let him go. Give him his freedom.”
More tears coursed down the old woman’s face as she bent forwards and whispered words that only she, her husband and Arthur could hear. Eventually, the rabbit continued onwards, walking right through the pair and disappearing entirely, Jed following on behind, intent on a playmate perhaps, someone to frolic with in those sun-dappled fields of his.
Afterwards, Mrs Milligan asked if Ruby thought she was the silly one.
Ruby was nonplussed. “No, why?”
“Because we loved Arthur so much.”
It was Corinna who answered. “You know what I think? Loving something so small makes us bigger and it makes them bigger too.”
“It doesn’t seem trivial to you then?” Mrs Milligan quizzed Corinna further. “Moving on the spirit of an animal instead of a human?”
“There’s nothing trivial about it. Not as far as I’m concerned, and I know Ruby feels the same way. It was a privilege to help Arthur. And hopefully to help you find peace as well. You’re good people.”
Andy was decidedly misty-eyed, as for Alicen, she was crying along with the Milligans. In a sudden change of heart, Andy offered to take the floorboards up after all. “You might want those things of his.”
Mr Milligan laid a hand of his arm. “No we don’t, son, not if they’ve got his blood on them. You get rid of them if you want to. Meanwhile, we’re going to stick with memories of happier times.” Smiling at his wife, he added, “And we’ve got plenty of happy times with Arthur to remember haven’t we?”
“We have,” she answered, “including today.” She hesitated. “But… do you have any idea of where his body might be?”
Ruby nodded. “I think Tasha’s story that a fox might have got him is partly true.” But it was after the event, his body left out as bait almost.
Mrs Milligan didn’t question her further.
After another cup of coffee – all of them needing a little bit of time to ‘come down’ from the experience it seemed to Ruby – everyone said their goodbyes and Ruby and Corinna walked back to Ruby’s old Ford.
“Time for a quick drink before we head for home?”
“Not tonight, Corinna, but soon, definitely.”
Later, ensconced in her own home, she glanced at her phone. There were several messages and missed phone calls. But whoever wanted her and on whatever business, they’d have to wait. She’d dash off a quick text to Cash, then get ready for bed. Despite their success with Arthur, she was beat.
Chapter Eight
Sitting at the breakfast table in her kitchen the next morning, Ruby smiled as Jed sloped in through the door. Whereas she felt refreshed after a good night’s sleep, he looked knackered.
“What’s the matter, Jed, too much bunny chasing?” sh
e asked, wishing for the umpteenth time she could reach out and stroke him as you could a living dog. She imagined how soft his fur would be, the comforting warmth of his skin. Unfortunately, if she tried her hand would go straight through him.
In answer, Jed slumped at her feet. Ruby reached down anyway.
“Thanks for your help yesterday, it was good to have you on board.”
There was a slight wag of the tail before he drifted off, twitching occasionally at the imaginary bunny in his sleep she presumed.
The phone rang. Who’s it now? No amount of psychic ability enlightened her. Already she’d had a productive morning, answered texts and made various appointments, including one with a neighbour of Samantha Gordon’s – a woman called Delia who’d known Ben or at the very least known of him. She’d agreed to talk to them, tell her what she knew about his disposition, hopefully providing them with vital clues on how to deal with such a fractious spirit. Reaching for the phone, she noticed the caller ID – it was Ness. She took a deep breath before answering.
“Hi, Ness, how are you?”
“I’m fine, thanks, and you?”
“I’m good.”
“Glad to hear it.”
The formal tone in Ruby’s voice was echoed in Ness’s – if she was feeling awkward so was her team member.
“I’ve just made an appointment with Samantha—”
“Ailsa and I have arranged for another regression with Ellie—”
They both cut to the chase, speaking at the same time. When Ness’s words sank in, Ruby could hardly believe it.
“You’ve made another appointment with Ellie?”
Ness was unrepentant. “I did because it was me Ailsa rang with times when she was free. I tried to ring you but you weren’t answering your phone, so I took the bull by the horns, so to speak and went ahead and booked Ellie in. I’m letting you know what I’ve done at the first available opportunity.”
It was fair comment. Ruby couldn’t deny it. She’d been unavailable since the Malling job yesterday. Ness had rung a couple of times but left no message. Even so, Ruby couldn’t help feeling usurped again. Theo and Ness were more experienced than her, granted, but this was her business and Ailsa should have rung her to arrange an appointment with Ellie. If she wasn’t available to take the call, she should have waited until she was.
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