The Haunting

by Raymond M Hall

  Sebastian was jolted by a loud scream followed by the sound of a solid blow. He felt glued to the chair, whether by fear or some supernatural force he didn’t know, but he was unable to stand. The noise from above increased in tempo as the girl screamed again and again. Sebastian struggled to get up but still sat helplessly and seemingly glued to the chair. He saw the smoke descending the stairs. It flowed out of the open door and away into the night. With a supreme effort he forced himself out the chair, it felt as if he had been released from whatever force had been holding him back. He ran up the stairs and into the second bedroom, Caroline’s room, to be confronted by the sight of a young man laying in a pool of blood, a bloodied axe lying beside him. The girl was lying on the bed her clothing torn and shredded, and it was very obvious she had been violated. He knelt beside the man and tried to find a pulse in his neck but only encountered masses of dark red blood. The axe had taken him squarely on the head cleaving half way through the skull. There was no hope for him he would have died instantly. He went to the girl next. She lay on her back staring up at the ceiling. He tried talking to her in soothing tones telling her she was safe now but there was no answer. He gently brushed the dishevelled hair from her face and experienced that strange feeling when touching a person with no answering reaction whatsoever. Checking her pulse, he found no response; he tried both wrists and her neck, but there was no reassuring beat forthcoming. She was dead.

  Sebastian made his way wearily downstairs and sat at the table again. Perhaps, he thought, it would be the same as before. He would go back upstairs, and there would be no axe, no dead man with his brains seeping into the carpet and no dead girl killed by fear, lying spreadeagled on the bed.

  He got to his feet and mounted the stairs again praying that all would be well. Not this time, though. They were still there, that poor unfortunate couple who had spent their evening with the ghost hunting group only to end up as victims themselves.

  Walking back downstairs, his thoughts turned to Caroline; he had completely forgotten about her. She was still sitting at the table, and he shook his head wondering why he hadn’t thought to speak to her when he was a prisoner of his chair, while all that terrible business had been taking place upstairs.

  He spoke now, holding her hand to comfort her.

  ‘Caroline, something dreadful has happened.’ He began.

  She looked at him coldly withdrawing her hand from his in disdain,

  ‘I know, I saw it.’ She said.

  Sebastian reeled back in his chair, what had she said? She had been there, upstairs during all that carnage?

  ‘Why didn’t you scream out, try to stop whoever it was?’ He said, desperate to make some sense of the situation.

  ‘You wouldn’t understand, you never did!’ She exclaimed, getting up and walking out of the house.

  Sebastian followed her and ran into the road, wanting a better explanation than that but she was gone. He looked up the road into the darkness in both directions; there was no sign of her.

  He walked back into the house and at once saw the blue smoke rising from the chair. Ignoring it, he walked upstairs just to be certain the scene had not merely been another trick of his imagination, but all was as before. The young couple were dead but by whom or what, he had no idea.

  Sebastian sat watching the pipe smoke curling up to the ceiling and smelling tobacco as he telephoned the police. He realised how it would look of course, but Caroline had been present too. The rest of the group could speak for him as well although they had all left by the time the killings took place.

  The police instruction was to touch nothing until they arrived. Sebastian had watched enough police shows on the television to know the form. His eyes strayed to the camera, and he went over to it. Without removing it from the tripod, he clicked it onto playback. It was eerie watching the scene repeat itself; it clearly showed the smoke and then the figure rising out of the chair. As it approached the features became clearer, and he knew it was not the same figure as before. This one was a lot younger than the old man, no more than a youth he guessed. The face was severe though and cold, the eyes hard and penetrating. It passed by the camera, and its size became apparent, whoever it was, had a massive physique. There was nothing more on the video, only the chilling sound of the violence upstairs. Sebastian would show it to the police; they would then understand that he couldn’t have possibly been involved in what had befallen the couple upstairs. He decided to play it again although he didn’t think there was any possibility of recognising the ghostly form. He pressed play and watched. Nothing! He tried again and again. Somehow he had inadvertently pressed delete. The video was no more.

  The police arrived in numbers, and the house was declared a crime scene. Sebastian had sought refuge in the bakery, away from the horror upstairs in the house. The police didn’t seem to be terribly interested in him for which he was grateful, so he sought out the little room behind the oven and lay on the bare bed. He fell asleep almost immediately worn out emotionally by the evening's events and didn’t wake until the sun was well up in the sky. There were no windows in the little room, and it remained in perpetual darkness, night and day.

  He emerged into the empty yard and approached the kitchen door. Walking inside he saw Caroline sitting at the table,

  ‘Oh, there you are, I was wondering where you had got to?’ She said.

  Sebastian looked around him,

  ‘Where are the police, surely they haven’t finished already?’

  Caroline fixed him with a hard stare,

  ‘Well after five days I think they had all they need!’ She exclaimed.

  Sebastian thought for a moment,

  ‘Five days? You mean to tell me I slept for five days?’

  ‘Slept or whatever but it has been all of five days since that night. Where the hell have you been anyway?’ She asked.

  ‘I’ve been in that small room at the rear of the oven in the bakery; surely the police would have searched in there?’ He replied.

  ‘I wouldn’t know, I kept well out of the way.’ She said, again with that coldness he had noticed before.

  He couldn’t resist the snide comment,

  ‘With James, I suppose.’

  ‘Yes,’ She replied, ‘With James, not that it’s any business of yours, and where’s your precious Briony when she’s needed? Ask yourself that. She made herself scarce and no mistake.’

  Sebastian made his way upstairs and inspected the scene of the crime. There was still a big patch of congealed blood and brain matter on the carpet, and the bed was still a mess. He pulled off the covers and discovered a stain of dried blood in the centre of the mattress. That poor young woman, how she must have suffered. The doors and walls were covered in a powdery substance, and he assumed this would have been for fingerprints. The thought occurred to him that they would want his fingerprints for elimination purposes, perhaps he should call them and offer to drive into Lincoln.

  Back in the kitchen he spoke to Caroline again,

  ‘I wonder if they have any suspects yet?’ He said.

  Caroline looked at him as if he were poison,

  ‘I don’t know, and furthermore, I don’t care.’ She said, ending the conversation abruptly.

  Chapter 36

  The work at the bakery continued unabated and became quite profitable, Luke had a good business mind. Rose was put in charge of the accounts and would count the coins every night, securing them in a small strongbox which she had taken to hiding in a place known only to herself. Nobody questioned her suitability for the task, her coldness and meticulous eye for detail were qualification enough. The only occasion she was challenged was brought about by Lilly; she was not confident she trusted Rose with what was technically Hugh’s and her profits. She broached the subject one evening at the kitchen table after their meal. Rose bridled immediately, giving Lilly a scathing look,

  ‘Don’t you think I can be trusted then? Maybe we should all share our little secrets; then everything would b
e in the open.’

  Lilly dropped her face mumbling that of course, she trusted her, and that was the end of the challenge. Luke glanced guiltily at Lilly who had flushed from the neck up into her face. Hugh carried on with the last of his meal oblivious to everything and Robin laughed openly at Lilly’s discomfort. He knew nothing of his mother’s affair with Luke, he could never be trusted to carry such a heavy burden without spilling the beans in a moment of temper, and he had plenty of those. Rose stifled his laughter with one glance, and his eyes dropped to the table top. Luke thought them a most unhappy group and wondered how he would ever be able to extricate himself from the situation. On the one hand, he had his embarrassing affair with Lilly to contend with and on the other, a daughter who was so much in control she would never leave voluntarily.

  Two more years passed and the situation remained the same. Luke was sure that Hugh would discover his clandestine affair with Lilly but he never for a moment showed any signs of suspecting his unfaithful wife. Lilly bloomed with the attention of two men in her life and seemed to be getting younger; there was always a spring in her step now. The only negative thing in her life was the fact that Rose knew of her union with Luke and could dash her happiness with one misplaced word to Hugh.

  It was a Sunday morning, and after they all dutifully attended church in Upper Marston, there was a period of rest. The only day of rest in the week and even that would finish promptly at midnight when Luke, Hugh and Robin would make their way into the bakery for an early start to Monday’s orders. They rested during the afternoon and early evening each in their own way. Hugh was already fast asleep upstairs, and Luke sat in an old wing backed chair smoking his pipe. He sat idly reflecting that his father, Seth, had occupied the same chair, in the same manner, all those years ago. Lilly busied herself in the kitchen wishing she could take Luke upstairs for a lie down but she knew better than to risk Hugh waking up and catching them in flagrante delicto.

  The strain of watching Luke became too much for her, and she ventured out into the yard wandering to and fro until she was at the bakery door. She rarely went there; her place was in the house. However, curiosity got the better of her, and she went in. It was hot because the oven was still lit, in fact, it was never allowed to go out, much too difficult to heat it up from cold. Later that night it would receive fresh fuel, and the temperature would rise rapidly ready for the next batch of bread. Now though it was merely warm, and she brushed her hand gently across the brick front. Noises coming from somewhere at the rear caught her attention, and she walked softly around the back of the oven to the small room which Robin had made his own. She very occasionally went in there to refresh the bed and was always repelled by the closeness of the air, there were no windows to allow ventilation, and it always smelled of stale sweat. The door was wide open, and the noises were emanating from inside, Lilly frowned wondering who was in there with her son. Peering around the corner, she put her hand to her mouth to stop herself crying out when she saw Robin, naked and lying on the bed with a naked Rose astride him. Rose was moving purposely, and it was Robin making all the noise. He was grunting and groaning most unattractively while Rose remained silent. She was very obviously in complete control of the situation and appeared to be getting no pleasure at all. Robin suddenly arched his back and gave out a deep sigh, after which Rose ceased her movements and abruptly got off the bed. As she did so, she turned and saw Lilly framed in the doorway. Rose was unable to stop the look of consternation on her face and went to speak, but Lilly put a finger to her mouth cautioning silence. Lilly crept quietly back to the bakery door and came out into the yard stopping midway from the main house.

  Rose came storming out of the bakery fully dressed ready to attack, but Lilly again put her finger to her lips.

  ‘Now, Rose, you wouldn’t want your little secret to become common knowledge, would you? Incest is a serious crime both in law and the church.’

  Rose hissed back at her,

  ‘What do mean incest? We are not brother and sister.’

  Lilly smiled, revelling in the turned tables,

  ‘Oh, but it is my dear, we had it drummed into us as children at church. The law is very clear that a man’s brother may not marry that same man’s daughter. It is incest, pure and straightforward and the act of carnal knowledge is no different.’

  Rose was desperately trying to work it out; it showed on her face. Lilly stepped in to help,

  ‘Luke, your father, is Robin’s brother, they, in turn, share a common father, Seth, who was married to me before he died.’

  The facts gradually trickled down into Rose’s mind, and her shoulders slumped in defeat.

  Lilly let the knowledge sink in before continuing,

  ‘So, my dear, it seems we both have secrets best kept to ourselves, perhaps we can learn to live with each other a little better now?’

  ‘Yes, I suppose we can.’ Said Rose, but without any conviction.

  Lilly decided it was the best she could hope for and followed Rose into the kitchen. Luke had already disappeared upstairs and would no doubt be asleep, Lilly twisted a cloth in frustration,

  ‘Why don’t you go up to him? Rose asked, with a hint of sarcasm.

  Lilly began mopping the floor vigorously,

  ‘So you could wake up Hugh, I suppose.’ She hissed between compressed lips her anger boiling over.

  Rose gave Robin the bad news a couple of days later when he begged her to join him in his room,

  ‘No more, never again while they are here. Your mother saw us together and is threatening to tell the authorities.’

  ‘So what!’ Exclaimed Robin, we’re both old enough, nobody can stop us.

  Rose studied this oaf of a man and shook her head slowly from side to side, why was it, she wondered, that a woman was unable to make her way in this world? A woman always needed a man to protect her and speak for her, but at least in her case, she had complete control, he was such a dolt!

  She explained the family relationship between them slowly and concisely, but he still had difficulty grasping the reality of their situation,

  ‘If we are caught we will go to prison.’ She said, labouring over each word.

  Finally, he seemed to catch on,

  ‘So, no more of you know what then?’ He asked.

  Rose smiled,

  ‘No, not while they’re here.’

  Robin’s face darkened in anger as Rose walked away, accentuating the sway of her hips for his benefit. He turned away, back to the bakery, his fists clenching and unclenching. It had taken an age to entice Rose into his room and out of her clothes. He had endured insults and countless acts of brutality from her in his desperation to assuage his need for her. She had manipulated him into believing she was indispensable to his very being and now someone had threatened the whole arrangement.

  That night in the bakery very little conversation took place. Hugh and Luke talked, but Robin said not one word to either of them. He worked with a vengeance thinking all the time of his mother and how she had ruined his life. The bread came out in record time, and Hugh exchanged glances with Luke as if to ask what was wrong. Luke shrugged his shoulders in answer.

  Lilly chose not to tell Luke of what she knew about Rose and Robin; he wouldn’t be pleased that his daughter was having sex with his younger brother.

  The uneasy truce lasted for six months, six months of sheer frustration for Robin because Rose withheld herself from him in every way. She knew of course that she didn’t need to, the truce with Lilly based on the mutual understanding that they could continue their unlawful relationships. Lilly was most certainly still seeing Luke whenever possible, but Rose chose to keep Robin at arm's length, he would be much more malleable that way.

  It was after church on another Sunday that Rose sidled up to Lilly with a question which she had been preparing for weeks.

  ‘Lilly, would you and Luke be together if anything happened to Hugh, after all, he is not a well man?’

  Lilly wondered what t
he scheming little bitch was up to now but answered anyway,

  ‘Well, Hugh is a very fit man for his age, bearing in mind his disability but I suppose if anything did happen then Luke and I would make a life together, eventually. Why do you ask?’

  ‘Just wondered, that’s all.’ Replied Rose.

  Lilly decided to go on the attack,

  ‘I take it you and my son are still ‘at it’?’

  Rose put her nose in the air,

  ‘How crude you can be, Lilly. No, as a matter of fact, we haven’t been ‘at it’ as you called it since that day in the bakery six months ago. Unlike you and my father who I note are almost constantly ‘at it’.’