by Nell Dixon
Lou handed me her phone. “Do you know the number?”
While Steve and Jamie were still bumping and banging in the bathroom I scrabbled the estate agent’s number from my memory and dialled. A few minutes conversation with Carolyn confirmed that Mum’s house was indeed on the market.
She and Chuck had agreed to it being valued and had called yesterday afternoon to say it could be listed.
“Thanks, Carolyn.” I rang off and handed the phone back to Lou.
“So that’s it then? The house is on the market?” The hurt expression in Lou’s eyes said it all. Why hadn’t Mum said anything to us?
I rubbed my forehead trying to disperse the frown on my brow. “We really need to get hold of Mum and find out what’s going on.”
Lou slipped the phone back into the pocket of her jeans and gave a small shrug. “It sounds as if they’ve found a house by the sea.”
Steve emerged from the house.
“Right, the bath’s in. We’re going to drop off the busted frame at George’s workshop and we’ll get some sheeting to board the window over. Can you stay here till we get back? Only the house won’t be secure.” Steve frowned as he caught sight of Lou’s woebegone face.
“Mum’s put her house up for sale. She’s moving to Devon with Chuck.” Lou burst into tears. Steve looked at me as if I would have an explanation.
“We only found out because Mrs Gulliver was worried when the sale board went up and rang us to see if there’d been a mistake. Mum hadn’t said anything to her either and now Mum isn’t answering her mobile so we can’t talk to her about it.” My own voice gave a traitorous wobble.
“I’m sure when you get hold of Claire it’ll all get sorted out. Perhaps she fell in love with another house and didn’t want to miss out on it. People can be quite irrational about houses.” His dark brown eyes met mine and I knew he meant my passion for the barn. The comment stung and I couldn’t answer.
“I’m going to head home. I need to get some shopping and do my laundry.
Will you be okay here by yourself?” Lou dried her eyes and squared her shoulders.
“I’ll be fine. I’ll carry on with the garden. Will you keep trying to get hold of mum?”
She nodded. “As soon as I get to talk to her I’ll call you. I’m worried about who is paying for this move. Chuck said he had money but if Mum’s selling her house then I’m wondering what’s going on.”
“I know.” I’d had the same thoughts.
“What’s got into her lately? First she marries Chuck, international man of mystery, and now this! I’m worried Kate.”
She wasn’t the only one. “I agree. She’s always been so happy in that house.”
I watched Lou set off to catch her bus and returned to my attack on the weeds and brambles. I took out my worries about my mother by launching a full scale massacre of the foliage until a large splash of rain on my cheek alerted me to an imminent downpour. The sunny start to the day had vanished and grey clouds now covered the sky.
I finished raking up the cut greenery and left it in an untidy heap at the side of the path before hurrying inside. I’d no sooner made it through the back door than the heavens opened and large silvery raindrops pelted down onto the dry sunbaked surface of the garden releasing the earthy scent of the ground.
After closing the back door against the deluge I hurried up the narrow staircase to the bathroom. The rain was blowing in through the large hole where the window had used to be. I grabbed the plastic wrapper that had been around the bath and duct taped it to the wall as best as I could.
“Damn that man and his bright ideas.” By the time I’d finished my face, hair and tee shirt were all soaked. I also needed a wee but as my toilet was currently quite exposed to the elements and every passing neighbour, it was something that would have to wait until Steve got back.
Shivering, I crossed the small landing to my bedroom so I could towel off my wet hair and change my top. I’d just stripped off my sopping wet top when I thought I heard the click of the back door opening.
“Steve, is that you?” I bundled my hair into a towel and clutching a clean tee shirt ventured out onto the landing.
No one replied. I crept down the top three steps taking care to step over the plank that squeaked on the second tread down. The hall was empty and I paused to listen for a moment trying to hear if there was anyone in the kitchen. Nothing, only the drumming of the rain on the windows of the cottage disturbed the silence. I tiptoed down another couple of steps and listened again, my inner senses warning me that I wasn’t alone.
* * *
Father finally returned today, bringing the rains with him. I was shocked by his appearance. He seems to have aged many years in the few weeks that he has been away from home. Mother ran out into the storm to greet him, uncaring of the rain and wind. I waited in my chamber afraid not so much of his anger but of his disappointment. Since the deaths of both my older brothers and my younger sister during the last few years I am the only one left of his children still living and now I have bought shame upon him.
* * *
I had almost made it to the hall when I heard the heavy tread of footsteps coming from behind me up on the landing. I ran into the kitchen latching the door shut and pushed the pine table in front of the opening. Whoever or whatever was behind that door could stay there. The rational bit of my brain told me that if anything supernatural was there then my actions were futile. The rational side of me however was drowned out by the rapid thumping of my heart and the panic rising in my chest.
Without waiting to see if anyone or anything had followed me I ran out of the back door straight into the rain and Steve.
Chapter Twenty-Two
“Kate, what’s wrong? Where are you going in such a hurry?” Steve halted on the path, blocking my way.
I grabbed his arm and started to explain about the mist in the lounge and the footsteps. The rain was cold against the bare skin of my back and my teeth chattered as I tried to get the words out.
“Whoa, come on, you’re soaked. What the hell are doing running around in your bra?” He rested the large wooden board he’d been carrying against the side of the skip and opened the door of his caravan.
I stumbled inside, my legs shaking and my heart still racing. “Someone or something is in that house. That was why Lou stayed over last night, because I was scared. Then, I heard someone on the landing as I came downstairs. I thought you’d come back and were in the kitchen but you weren’t and the footsteps seemed to be following me.”
Steve tossed me a towel. “Dry yourself off before you catch pneumonia.”
I took a seat on the faded orange banquette bench at the front of the caravan and wrapped the towel around my shoulders. “I’m not crazy.”
Steve regarded me with a long, considered look. “I’ll go up to the cottage and check it out, make sure no one’s got in from the scaffolding.”
“Thank you.”
He swung out through the narrow caravan door and I watched through the rain-streaked Perspex window as he made his way along the garden path to the back door. I doubted that he would find anything. I rubbed my arms and shoulders dry with the towel and slipped on the damp tee shirt I still had clutched in my hands from when I’d fled the house.
Why didn’t anyone else ever notice anything wrong with the cottage? Was I really going crazy? True, Mike had seen the face at the window and Steve had felt the draught in the lounge and noticed the scent of lavender, but even so...
I rubbed at my wet hair with the towel trying to stop chilly trickles of water from escaping down the nape of my neck. The towel I’d had wrapped around my head earlier must have fallen off in my haste to escape.
The caravan door opened and Steve came back in, shaking the rain from his hair like a dog shaking water from its coat.
“There’s no sign of anyone having been inside. Only the table shoved in front of the kitchen door and this on the floor half-way down the staircase.” He handed me the towe
l I’d had wrapped around my head.
“That’s it, I’ve had enough with the spookiness. I’m calling in some paranormal investigators.”
He raised an eyebrow and the corners of his mouth quirked. “Ghostbusters?”
“It’s not funny. That house is freaking me out.”
The smile vanished from his lips. “I know you don’t like the cottage, Kate, but surely you can’t be serious?”
“Yes, I am serious. Whatever is haunting that cottage has got to go.” I wrapped the towel back firmly around my head and glared at him. My pulse had settled down and I’d stopped dithering now I’d dried off a little.
“What are you going to do? Get some weirdy beardy people in to burn sage and sprinkle holy water around the place? That’ll be great when we come to sell the cottage if word gets out. Have you ever considered that there’s probably a perfectly rational explanation?”
“I’m not nuts, Steve. When have you ever known me be like this about anything? I’ve got the number for someone who’s a proper paranormal investigator.
He’ll come and get to the bottom of it all.” I stood up so I could meet his gaze on a more equal level. Well, a bit more equal, Steve was at least six inches taller than me.
He folded his arms and leaned back against a faded wood-effect cupboard. “I know that to you it’s all real but honestly, Kate, it’s ridiculous, think about it. Who is this bloke anyway? Where did you find him, the Yellow Pages?”
“One of the ladies from my night school class gave me his card. He’s very reputable.” I wasn’t about to tell him that Brian had a day job as a bin man. Frankly I didn’t care any more; I simply wanted the creepy happenings to stop.
Steve snorted. “Fine, go ahead and call in your exorcists or whatever they are.
It’s not that I don’t believe you, I’m worried about you, that’s all.” Steve reopened the caravan door. “I’m going to go and get some boards across the bathroom window before the plaster gets soaked.”
He stalked off up the path ignoring the rain which continued to drum tinnily on the roof of the caravan. I waited for a while longer, making use of the caravan’s toilet and giving myself time to calm down. Steve obviously thought I had imagined everything.
“I’ll show him.” I hurried back to the cottage, ignoring Steve, still hammering away inside the bathroom, and headed for my room.
Brian’s card was in my folder with my research stuff. I pulled it out and dialled the number on my mobile before I could change my mind. I listened to the reedy call tones of his mobile and almost changed my mind. What if Steve was right and I had imagined everything?
“Hello.” Brian sounded a little younger than I’d imagined. I’d pictured him in my mind as a bluff middle-aged man. I hoped he didn’t have a beard or Steve would be annoyingly smirky.
“Um, I was given your card by a lady at my evening class. I think my cottage is haunted and she said you would be able to help me.”
“Oh yes, that would be our Mavis I expect, she often tells people about us. Are you local?” He didn’t sound surprised that I’d claimed to have a haunted house. I suppose people must call him quite often saying they had apparitions in their attic or poltergeists in their pantry.
“My house is Myrtle Cottage, near the Coach and Horses pub.”
“I know Myrtle Cottage, it’s a proper old place that is. What makes you think there might be paranormal activity going on there?” His voice held a quiver of suppressed excitement.
I gave him a brief résumé of all the events that I’d experienced since we’d had the house. “Well, what do you think?” I held my breath.
“Very interesting, especially if you’ve seen orbs and mist. I’m sure my mate Beaner knows something about your place. He’s an expert on these kinds of incidents.
I’ll get in touch with the team and contact you back. We’ll set up a date to come round and see what we can find.”
Relief flooded through me. “Thank you that would be great.”
As I rang off I wondered what the mysterious Beaner might have heard about the cottage. Perhaps there had been a murder in the house, or maybe someone else had seen a ghost before. I shivered.
My mobile rang before I could tuck Brian’s card back in my folder.
“It’s me. I still can’t get hold of Mum. How are things your end? Did Steve drop the window frame at the carpenters?” I heard muzak in the background mixed with the beep of tills. Lou must be waiting at the supermarket checkout.
“Steve’s back. I’m assuming he dropped the frame off. I’ve called Brian the paranormal man to come and investigate the cottage.” I told her about the footsteps.
“Ugh, I think I would be freaked too especially after the state you were in last night. This Brian might be able to put your mind at rest. Perhaps your ghost will be a friendly one, like Casper,” she suggested.
“Maybe.” I simply wanted whatever or whoever it was to go away.
“Listen, got to go, I need to bag my shopping. I’ll keep trying Mum’s mobile and I’ll call you when I get her.” She rang off.
I spent the rest of the afternoon holding things in place and passing tools to Steve. He didn’t mention the ghost and neither did I. We actually didn’t talk much at all except to say things like, ‘Pass me a hammer,’ or ‘Can you get the dustpan?’
The bathroom was very dark by the time the boards were fixed over the hole and I decided I would have to use Lou’s flat if I wanted a bath or a shower before the window was put back in place.
It was after six when we finally packed away for the day.
“What are you doing tonight? Is Lou coming back to stay?” Steve emptied the last dustpan full of sawdust into the bin bag.
“Um, no she isn’t. Actually I’m going out for a drink with Mike.” My cheeks heated.
A flicker of something flashed across his face. “I was about to say you didn’t have to stay here on your own if you were still scared.”
“Thanks. You know, you could move back in, if you wanted.” I stashed my broom carefully in the corner and resisted the urge to take a peep to see how this suggestion had gone down. I knew it was selfish of me to suggest that he moved back just so that I would have someone in the house.
“If you want me to move back in, I will, but I don’t know if your boyfriend would like it.” His tone was cautious.
In other words, his girlfriend probably wouldn’t like the idea. “I’m sure he’d be okay with it. It’s okay though, maybe you should carry on staying in the caravan.”
I didn’t say that Mike wasn’t my boyfriend. A girl has to have some pride. “Thanks for not mentioning the baby to Jamie today, too.”
Steve dropped the dustpan next to my broom. “Yeah, well, I hope Lou gets some answers when she goes for her scan. Jamie’s coming back to give me a hand next week with the bathroom. I don’t suppose you’ve had any news from Claire yet?”
I shook my head. “Nothing. If Lou can’t get her on her mobile by tomorrow morning then we’re going to try the guesthouse where she said she’d be staying.”
“She’s probably avoiding talking to you two because she knew how you’d react when you knew she planned to sell up.”
“Maybe.” I hoped that was the only reason she hadn’t called Lou back.
He pulled up the bottom edge of his tee shirt to wipe the tiny beads of sweat from his brow. “I need to go and scrounge a shower.”
My heart gave a twinge. I supposed he was off to the pub to see her.
“I’d better get ready to go out too.”
“Are you sure you’ll be okay here by yourself?” He asked.
I nodded. “I’ll be fine, but I’ll be hammering on your caravan door if anything else happens.” I tried to make a joke of it even though the gloomy room had added to my nervousness. I didn’t tell him I’d already hammered on the caravan door last night after my horrid experience in the lounge.
His dark, chocolate brown eyes gazed deep into mine. “Call me if you get
scared. I promise I’ll come straight here.” He touched the outside of my arm with a long, lean finger calloused from work. My pulse gave an unexpected jump at the half-forgotten intimacy of the gesture.
I nodded once more, unwilling to trust my voice in an answer. He continued to search my face as if seeking an assurance that I would be all right before stepping away from me and severing that strange connection that had run between us.
“Have a nice night.” I heard him singing an old Danger Line track as he loped away down the stairs.
I fed Mr Flibble, made myself some hot buttery toast and had a strip wash in the kitchen before getting changed into clean clothes ready for Mike’s arrival. I’d been unsure about what to wear. I didn’t want Mike to think I’d gone to lots of trouble for our date but at the same time I wanted to look nice. In the end I settled for a nice pink top and a summer skirt.
Steve had returned my kitchen chairs to their rightful place and re-centred the table back into the middle of the kitchen. It reassured me to see some kind of order in the room. I carefully checked the lounge door and the bathroom door to make sure they were latched shut. The last thing I wanted was to experience any more spooky incidents.
With everything secured I turned on the hall and kitchen lights so that I wouldn’t have to return to a dark house, then I sat and waited for Mike. The rain had stopped a couple of hours earlier leaving behind air that felt damp even inside the kitchen. Outside the window water dripped idly from the leaves of the plants and grasses while small puddles lay scattered along the rough stone of the patio.
After a couple of minutes I spotted the flash of Mike’s car headlights as he pulled to a halt in the space usually taken by Steve’s truck. I gathered my jacket and bag and set off to meet him hoping to save him the walk along the garden path. It felt good to be out of the cottage even if the evening was darker and danker than usual.
Mike smiled and raised his hand in greeting when he saw me.
“You look lovely.” He kissed my cheek and I smelt the unfamiliar scent of his cologne, soft and musky quite unlike the spicier notes of the one Steve favoured.
