Echoes of the Past

by Mailer, Deborah

“Miss Brook, one way or another I will have to speak to you. Now when would be the best time? Would it be easier if I come down to Edinburgh?”

  The woman paused again. “What did you say your name was?”

  “Detective Sergeant Tom Hunter.”

  “Are you any relation to Doctor Sara …?”

  “She was my wife.” There was a sharpness to his tone he had not intended.

  There was a long silence. “All right, it’s the least I can do. I can meet you on Saturday, I don’t work weekends.”

  “Thank you.” Tom took down the details and said good-bye. He looked puzzled as he hung up the phone.

  “What’s the problem?” asked Danny.

  “She said it was the least she could do, after she realized I was married to Sara.”

  Danny shrugged. “Maybe she meant that Sara had helped her, so she should pay it forward.”

  “No, I don’t think so. Anyway, she denies ever being in Coppersfield.”

  “Take that story with you, there’s no way anyone could write such detail without ever stepping foot in the village.”

  Tom put the phone back in his trouser pocket and sat down, the phone call had left him ill at ease, but he did not quite know why.

  *****

  Lee sat at a table in the café still shaking. Elsie brought her a cup of coffee.

  “I tell you Elsie, if anyone had told me what I just witnessed, I simply wouldn’t believe them.”

  “That’s because you’re a bit of a sceptic.”

  “No, I do believe in the afterlife, I do think sometimes they visit us and watch over us. But I don’t believe that they can mess with our heads and …”

  “I must let you meet my mother one day.”

  “Seriously, Elsie, this thing is disturbing my sleep, it makes me feel ill, and it is scaring the hell out of me, I live alone, Elsie and I don’t want to go home. It is putting things on my computer; it is interacting on a physical level.”

  Elsie shook her head. “Considering that you are a bit of a sceptic, it must take a tremendous amount of energy for this poor soul to get your attention, either that or you are, as I said before, a little sensitive.”

  Lee shook her head, exasperated. “I don’t care what it is. How the hell do I get it to stop. I can’t keep staying at Tom’s.”

  “No, you’ll get all the tongues wagging if you do that. I think you have to ask it what it wants.”

  “I know what it wants; it wants me to find it. Well, I tell you I am not going to go looking for no ghost. You know I keep telling Jess it’s all in her imagination and deep down I know it’s not.”

  “You know you shouldn’t do that to Jess. Sometimes all you need is to know that someone else believes in you, to know that there is someone to talk to.”

  Lee knew what Elsie was saying was true and she felt more than a little guilty that she had been telling Jess it was all in her imagination.

  “Look, you’re going to see that medium tonight. May be she can give you some clue as how to move it on, she may even offer to do a cleansing for you, Lee. We’ll see how good she is; if she can pickup on it.” Elsie threw her a wicked smile. “And another thing, I told you before, don’t keep dismissing Jess or she won’t tell you what she is seeing. She must have someone to talk to Lee.” Elsie could not understand Lee’s fear anymore than Lee could understand Elsie’s comfort with these things.

  Lee finished her coffee and went back to running her errands. The thought of going home filled her with dread, the longer she was out of the house the more surreal her experience seemed. After spending an hour with her Dad, she had just about built up the courage to return to the empty house.

  *****

  Jess returned from the horses around 6pm. The lamps were on; the heating was on. Overall, it felt rather welcoming to her, it only usually felt this way if Aunt Lee was home. Tom was waiting for her in the kitchen.

  “Chinese, butter popcorn and a DVD,” he said holding the items up in both hands. “But first you and I are going to talk.”

  “What’s the point?” she said walking toward the stairs to go and change.

  Tom grabbed at her shoulder. “The point is, love; it’s just you and me. No secrets remember.” Jess remembered the pact they had made after her mother had died. She dropped her bag and hugged him. Tears ran silently down her face.

  Tom pulled her away and wiped the tears from her cheeks. “You go get a quick shower and I will serve the dinner. You do realize you smell like horse.”

  Jess smiled slightly and went up the stairs.

  When she came down Tom was putting the take away onto two plates. He poured the sweet and sour sauce over the chicken balls and set it down in front of her. He carried his chicken curry over and sat across the table from his daughter.

  “I’m sorry, I know I haven’t been listening to you, Jess, but tonight I want to hear it all, everything that has been bothering you, everything that has scared you, and we’ll see if we can work it out together.”

  “I know you don’t believe in this sort of thing Dad, so I know this is hard for you to understand, but sometimes I feel mum. I smell her perfume.”

  Tom looked down at his plate. He did find it hard to hear. If Sara was around why didn’t he feel her, why didn’t he smell her?

  “The dreams I’ve been having are becoming more vivid. Sometimes it’s Olivia and sometimes I see the girl in the picture you have. We are in a dark damp place that smells like earth, it’s a bit like a barn only you go down dirt stairs to get to it. There is a large black box on the floor and a chair in the middle of the room.” Tom looked up at her as she spoke. He knew what she was describing sounded like a murder room. He threw up a silent prayer, in case Sara was there, asking for her guidance. “Then I see Olivia dragging herself across the dirt floor and these huge hands go around her neck.” Jess stopped and looked down at her food. Her appetite was gone and had been replaced with a knot in her stomach. “Anyway, I wake up feeling sick. And when I look round I can feel someone watching me, I feel as though there is someone in the room with me. Sometimes I even see her.” Her words became tenuous. “I know you and Aunt Lee don’t see anything, but I do and it scares me.”

  Tom reached out his hand and cupped his daughter’s in his. Trying hard to disguise his inadequacies, racking his brain for the right thing to say.

  “Do you want to change rooms?” were the only words he could think to say.

  Jess looked at him, she had not thought of something as simple as that.

  “Lets for a moment assume that there are things that we can’t explain. That was your Mother’s room when she was a child. Maybe she knows how upset you are and she is trying to comfort you. Instead, it scares you. As for the dreams. That could be an accumulation of everything that has happened over the last couple of years; you combine that with what we are all talking about in the kitchen at night, you know, missing women and so on, it could explain the dreams.” Tom knew his argument was weak. He waited for her reaction.

  “All right. I can accept that, if you are willing to accept that there may be something here that I can feel and you simply can’t.” Jess stated bluntly.

  “I can go with that. Your Mother always said that men were thick skinned and women were far more sensitive. Maybe this is the kind of thing she meant.”

  “Do you think changing rooms will help?” she asked.

  “I think it is certainly worth a try. We could do it Saturday morning before I go to Edinburgh.”

  “I will be at Uncle Matt’s all day Saturday. We are going to muck out all the stalls for him.”

  “All right, when I get home in Saturday evening we will get it done.”

  “Thanks, Dad.”

  “Now before we go and put on the film, is there anything else that you haven’t told me about?”

  Jess considered for a moment the incident with the Ouija board. She decided that he had yielded as much as she could expect for her in one night. His decision to take her seriousl
y was a big step for a man who believed in nothing he could not see and touch. She shook her head in reply refusing to say the lie out loud.

  “One more thing, Jess, I want to hear about any more of these dreams, they sound disturbing and I don’t want you keeping them to yourself, agreed.”

  Jess smiled. “Agreed.” Her appetite slowly returning they sat in a comfortable silence and finished their meal.

  *****

  Lee had a light meal while she waited for Elsie to arrive. The atmosphere in the house was a little lighter but she was still on edge. Her brain could not accept what she had seen on the screen earlier that morning, yet she knew it had happened. She glanced into the study to make sure the computer was off. She had no intention of putting it on anytime soon. As soon as Elsie appeared, Lee quickly changed. Elsie smiled to herself and shook her head. She knew Lee had waited for her arrival on purpose, so she was not home alone when she went upstairs.

  When they arrived at the Deer Lodge, there was a buzz in the air. A woman was taking names for people who wished to have a private reading with one of the psychics. Lee and Elsie were only there for the medium. Neither of them wanted a reading.

  “No, you’re better going to someone you know is good if your going to spend the money.” Elsie advised as they took a small table just to the left of the fire. “We’ll see how good this one is, if she starts with all that nonsense of ‘do you know someone with a J in their name’. Then you know she’s just fishing.”

  “If you feel that way why did you want to come?”

  Elsie looked at her with raised eyebrows. “It’s a psychic night, dear, why wouldn’t I want to come.”

  Lee shook her head and got up to go to the bar. “I’ll get us in some drinks, shall I?”

  The lounge began to fill, mostly with women. John Caulder set out a long table with some sandwiches wrapped in cling film for the break. He did not get a lot of pleasure from seeing so many customers in his bar. He did not get much pleasure from anything anymore. He positioned himself back behind the bar ready to serve as the evening began.

  A tall thin woman in her mid-forties started the floorshow. She had long dark hair tied in a ponytail. She introduced herself as Linda. Lee swallowed back a laugh as she began with the typical; ‘Can anyone take a man with the letter A in his name?’ Elsie rolled her eyes in disdain. As the woman warmed up, she got a little better, some she got right, some she got wrong. After about thirty minutes of pretty good guess work, she called a break announcing that she would be available in the nook to do private readings if anyone wished.

  “Well, I don’t suppose they’ll be knocking her down,” Elsie remarked.

  “Shh, she might hear.”

  “Do you want another drink?”

  “Sure,” Lee said. “I think John’s about to open the finger buffet.”

  “Well, I hope his food is better than his psychics.”

  John had added hot sausage rolls and some chicken legs to the table. The women lined up for their nibbles and the bar became busier. Another thirty minutes had passed and then the second half of the evening began. This time the woman was much older, closer to her mid-sixties. She was a short curvy woman with grey hair pilled loosely on her head.

  “I get a better feel for this one,” Elsie said as she devoured her sausage rolls.

  The woman cleared her throat and lifted the mike. She did not say a word until everyone in the lounge had stopped talking.

  She welcomed everyone to the hotel and thanked them for coming. She introduced herself as Jean.

  “When I come to you with a message, please don’t give me any information, it can confuse the line. I would also like to hear your voice, so please answer in a clear voice, Yes or No only.” The small yet intimidating woman walked across the bar to where a group of young women were occupying a booth.

  “I have a David here. He is a father figure and he wants to speak with Lisa.” The girls looked at each other in astonishment. A woman in her mid-twenties nodded.

  “I need to hear your voice dear, can you take this man?”

  “Yes. It’s my Dad.”

  “No information please, dear, that’s what you pay me for. He passed in a car accident.” The hushed gasps from the small group confirmed it. “He said he is happy and not to worry, but you should take the opportunity that has come up for you, he says you don’t need to worry about your mother, he will take care of her. Ok, hmm yes” the woman had her eyes cast down as she carried out what seemed to be a private conversation that everyone else could only hear one side off. She looked up and continued with personal information for the young woman. Each time the group would appear astonished with the facts she was producing.

  “This is more like it,” said Elsie as she settled in her seat to enjoy the show. The woman moved around the room, each time the accuracy astounded the person receiving the message.

  “The pregnancy test will be positive.” A roar of laughter rang out at the next table. “It will be a boy first; the second grandchild will be a girl.” The group of older women sat at the edge of their seats hanging on every word. “And you have to butt out and leave the couple to it, he says.” Again more laughter. Still she would continue nodding and speaking to an invisible force that no one else was privy to before moving on to the next person. The woman had been working the floor for forty minutes by now and had the audience in the palm of her hand. If it was a mere parlour trick Lee had no idea how she was doing it. The woman crossed the floor to the where Lee and Elsie were sitting.

  The woman looked at Elsie and smiled. “You have a bit of a gift don’t you.”

  Elsie smiled and tilted her head, refusing to give anything away.

  “Well, Archie said, he sends his love, but you shouldn’t waste money on this sort of thing, he can see you at home for free.” A few chuckles rose from the lounge. “I have a Sara here.” Lee froze for a second. “I’m not sure if it is a mother or a sister vibe she comes in on.”

  “I can take her,” said Lee, The woman was looking between Elsie and Lee.

  “She’s standing at your table, dear; I wasn’t sure which of you she was with. She was killed.”

  “Yes, an accident,” Lee elaborated.

  “Not an accident, dear. She has someone with her. Lydia, Livia?”

  “Olivia,” confirmed Lee. Her eyes started to burn with tears at the conformation of what she already knew.

  “Who is Jess?”

  “Jess is Sara’s daughter, Sara is my sister.”

  “Ah, that’s the mother vibe I’ve been getting. They are both worried about Jess, they want you to protect her, you have to listen to her. Ok, yes.” The woman again cast her eyes to the floor as she spoke to her own private audience. “Ok. They said they did not mean to scare her the other day; they were just trying to get her attention. The box that fell on her, it was important. You have to get that box, dear.” The older woman spoke in a matter-of-fact tone. There was no urgency, just a message.

  Lee sat in dumbfounded silence. She could not believe that the woman could possibly know about the incident in the attic.

  “Ok, yes.” Again, her eyes were cast down at the floor. She lifted her hand to her temples and rubbed them gently. “Ok. They are giving me a lot of information, there is someone with you. You can feel her, she has red hair, she say’s you discovered her? That you woke her. She won’t go away until you end this. Do you understand?”

  Lee shook her head; she had no idea how to end this. “You have to keep Jess safe. I’m going to leave that with you dear.” The woman walked away from the table and stopped. She turned back to Lee. “Your sister is giving you a hug.” The tears began to run silently down Lee’s face as she subconsciously lifted her hand to her shoulder.

  “We’re going to take a short break and then Linda will be back.” The older woman said putting the mike down on the bar. The woman seemed to have aged ten years in the short time that she spent with Lee. Exhausted she sat by the bar with her hand rubbing her fo
rehead.

  “Are you all right, love?” Elsie asked concerned. “She was red hot.”

  “I’m fine. What did she mean by, end it?”

  “I think you have to find out what they want. I’ll get you another drink; you look like you could use it.”

  Lee waited for a second. “I’m going to go, Elsie, I want to go up and get that box from Tom’s.”

  “Well, you call a taxi and I’ll get your drink.” Elsie went over to the bar and Lee took out her mobile and ordered a taxi. It was only 9.45pm and the next floorshow had not yet begun. The volume in the bar was rising as people were discussing their messages from their loved ones.

  Elsie picked up a napkin and started filling it with sausage rolls and sandwiches. She came back over and put a large vodka and orange down in front of Lee.

  “You get that into you, see if you feel better.”

  Lee noticed the bulging napkin in Elsie’s hand.

  “Waste not want not, love, a little bit of supper seeing as I won’t be staying till the end,” Elsie offered in way of explanation. Lee smiled and swallowed back the drink.

  Lee gathered her things. “I’m going to wait outside. They said the taxi would only take five minutes.”

  Lee and Elsie walked to the door when Jean, the medium grabbed Lee by the arm. Lee turned in surprise.

  “You said your sister died in an accident, dear. That’s not so. She and the young girl with her, met the same man. She wants to let you know this, she said it was important.” Lee shook her head unable to process the information.

  “My sister fell in front of a train in Edinburgh.”

  The woman took hold of Lees hand. “I know this is a lot to take in, but you must listen. You have many people around you; they all want the same thing. For this to end. Nevertheless, they are very worried about the young girl, Jess. They say she is getting very close to danger. Look after her. Oh, and Sara says to tell them both she loves them. I think you know what that means.” The woman dropped her hand. “Phew, you have drained all my energy for this evening, dear, I hope I was of some help to you.” The woman walked slowly back to a booth next to the bar where she sat nursing a bottle of water.