Thriller: Horror: Conceived (Mystery Suspense Thrillers) (Haunted Paranormal Short Story)

by Stephen Kingston

  “Looks like the summer crowd are starting early Ben. I hear most of the rental cottages are all booked up too. Strange is that. They all seemed to fill up at the same time this year. Usually it’s just dribs and drabs isn’t it?” George said.

  “Bring ‘em in I say. More the merrier. A bit of help from the landlord would be nice but you know how that pair are?” Benjamin replied.

  “Oh aye, you do better when they’re away lad. Leave ‘em in Spain. We’d all be happier” George chortled. “If they paid me like a landlord I’d be happier doing the work of one.” Benjamin replied.

  Fred and Mildred Jones were the owners of the Cow and Calf and seemed to spend more time away from it than running it. For now, they were in sunny Spain looking for somewhere to retire to. As their locals pointed out often enough, they might as well have already retired as they spent more time abroad than most retirees could dream of. Benjamin moved comfortably around the bar serving the ever increasing group of walkers that were filtering into the pub and George settled himself at the end of the bar observing the new arrivals and greeting most with a friendly nod and a “Hello”.

  About a half a mile down the road Janey Masters was flitting between tables at her mother’s café. It was only a tiny place with seating for ten at a push so today with a constant stream of walkers arriving, hungry and thirsty, Janey was under some pressure. Her mother, Monique Masters, took up position at the cash register and scowled at the throng of faces. She was tall. Her long dark hair flowed down her back and framed her fine porcelain features and hazel eyes. She watched her daughter as she worked her way between tables, smiling, joking and serving without looking for a moment as stressed as she really was.

  Though not as tall as her mother, Janey had her beautiful dark hair and eyes but the complexion of a girl that loved to live in the outdoors. She smiled constantly and her slim and healthy figure caused its own smiles with the patrons.

  “Not seen it like this in forever Mother. Where did they all come from all of a sudden?” Janey gasped as she took a moment to deliver a pile of dirty plates to the counter where her mother stood still scowling.

  “City folk dear. They will all go back to their miserable existence in their grubby cities and wax lyrical to their workmates how totally green and environmental they are. Despicable.” Janey’s mother replied.

  “Mother please! Keep your voice down. These are the people that keep our little shop afloat” Janey replied.

  “Pah! I intend to accommodate you on this cash register dear, but please don’t expect me to talk to these grubby peasants” Monique said.

  Janey gave a sigh and a weak smile as she turned back into the throng to deliver more food and collect more plates. As far as she was concerned, this was the best time of the year. Hard work, but wonderful. Her mother on the other hand had no time for either the café or the people. She had one love and that was her collection of books and artefacts she kept in her study upstairs. There, Janey would find her, either dusting or reading intently. Sometimes muttering to herself. Strange words from the books, Janey could never quite understand. Latin perhaps? Something more ancient?

  Her mother had inherited the café many years ago from an aunt and had moved in when Janey was still a baby. She had of course maintained the business for appearance sake and to keep the rest of the family happy, but her only love was ever her mysterious books and artefacts.

  As the last of the visitors drifted out of the café, Janey took time to clean the little place down and load the dishwasher. Her mother, though drifting between the shop and the private area to the rear was now absorbed in the book she was carrying. Bound in leather and quite obviously ancient, it carried a strange circular emblem embossed on the cover, Janey noted. She didn’t bother to ask. It could be priceless for all Janey knew but had learned not to even ask her mother about her collection of curiosities. She would always receive the same answer. “In time dear, in time. Now is not that time.”

  Janey had finished the last of the cleaning and turned to her mother. “I’m going up to the Cow to see Ben, Mother. I’m sure you can manage any waifs and strays that might arrive while I’m gone. Please be nice to them and they might just come back sometime.”

  “On your way child. I have work to do and woe betides some simple minded city dweller who disturbs my studies.” Monique sneered before breaking into a rare smile. “Take your time Janey darling and give my love to Benjamin. He is a sweet boy.”

  Janey closed the café door behind her and began the walk through the village and up to the pub. She noticed the sleek, silver BMW four wheel drive slowly gliding past her. Inside she noted the gentleman. He was tall it seemed although he was sat in a car and well- polished. Certainly not the type to be walking on the moors, even on a beautiful day like today. She wondered where he might be headed but the answer came ten minutes later as she reached the car park of the Cow and Calf. The BMW was parked outside and the driver had obviously gone in for a drink. Janey made her way into the porch-way of the fourteenth century inn and pushed her way through the solid oak main door.

  Ben was busy serving a group of visitors but his eyes lit up as he saw her entering the pub.

  A glass of wine was placed in front of her as she took a seat just down from George. Ben finished the order he was working on and moved over to her. He leaned over the bar and gave her a big kiss. “I’m guessing you’ve had a day like us today babe. I hope your mother managed to get out of her office at some point.” Benjamin said.

  “She did indeed. Poor dear has been worked to a frazzle today. I left her reading one of her weird books. She’ll be happy for a while as long as she doesn’t get any of those pesky customers.” Janey replied. At the far end of the bar she saw the tall, well-dressed gentleman she had spotted in the BMW parked outside. He had grey well-groomed hair and though he was casually dressed, she could tell there was not a stitch of clothing on him that hadn’t been hand-made. He caught her gaze for a moment before turning to talk to a couple of the travellers.

  “Any idea who he is Ben?” Janey whispered over the bar.

  “No idea sweetheart. He turned up just a few minutes before you arrived. Don’t know if he knows these other folk but he’s been talking to a few of them since he came in.” Benjamin replied.

  “Well he’s not short of a few quid. That BMW outside is his and it looks like it just came out of the showroom” said Janey.

  George leaned himself down the bar to chip in to the quiet conversation. “He’s renting the farm out on Stonemoor. The one just up from the circle. Looks loaded right enough. I’ll chat him up for a pint.”

  “Don’t you go bothering my customers, George.” Benjamin laughed. “I don’t think he looks the type to mess with low-lifes like us.”

  “Speak for yerself” George added as he slid back to his place at the end of the bar, sliding his glass towards Benjamin.

  One of the visitors that had been talking to the tall stranger arrived at the bar and ordered a round of drinks. The martini he ordered was obviously for the tall gentleman and George again leaned over to speak. “You know that fellow then mate?” He asked.

  “He is Daniel Van Lomas and yes we are acquainted” came the reply.

  “I’m guessing he’ll be the chap that has moved into the farm on Stonemoor then. Doesn’t look much like a farmer to me.” George said.

  “He is doing research and the solitude allows him time for his research. He doesn’t like to be disturbed so I would suggest staying clear of the place if I were you.” Came the curt reply as the visitor gathered the drinks order, paid and moved back into the group he was with.

  “Right.” George said as he slid back to his position at the end of the bar and winked at Benjamin.

  “Best take that as a warning then George.” Janey said smiling. “Not that a warning like that would mean much to Derbyshire’s finest poacher of course.”

  George looked back at her. “Was thinking the same thing Janey and I still have a few of my
rabbit snares set up near there. Who knows what I might bump into on those moors?”

  George emptied his pint and pushed his glass to the relief barman that had taken over from Benjamin. As he did so another one of the Van Lomas group arrived at the bar. As the man slid the empty glasses towards the barman George noted the intricate ring the man was wearing. It was a twisted scroll of silver holding a round black stone. The stone had something like a rune engraved on it. George could only assume the man was some sort of football player. He knew American Super bowl players wore something like that but this guy was certainly no American footballer or American for that matter. He thought no more of it as he sank back on his stool.

  Janey and Benjamin carried their drinks over to a table in a corner away from the throng and sat chatting hand in hand while George started work on his new drink in the corner, gazing over at the new customers now and again and particularly at Mr Daniel Van Lomas.

  Eventually, Benjamin and Janey stood up, bade their farewells and began the walk down the road back to the café.

  “There’s something strange going on Ben. I don’t know what exactly, but I can feel it. Something about these people just doesn’t seem right.” Janey said.

  “Don’t go fretting. It’s just a lot of folk all at once and we’ve both been rushed off our feet. Things will settle down eventually. Are we walking the dog? We’ll have a nosey up at the circle.”

  Janey punched his shoulder laughing. “You spend far too much time around that idiot George. But yes we’ll take Annie for a walk and the circle is as good as anywhere. She can chase some of George’s rabbits.”

  As they entered the café, which was now empty and quiet, Monique rose from a table at the back, holding a book she had been reading.

  “Welcome home children. I assume you will be taking Annie for her evening constitutional?” Monique said. “Lock the door behind you and I shall retire upstairs. I have reading to do.”

  “We won’t be too long, Mother.” Janey replied as she slid past her mother and into the room behind to retrieve an excited and ready Annie. Annie was bouncing around desperate for her chance at the outside world. She was a very attractive, brown and white Posavac hound. She had two loves apart from Janey, whom she adored. Running and eating. Now she knew she would be doing a lot of running and was eager to get onto the moors.

  A slow amble over rough footpaths interrupted by the occasional stile had them high on the moors as the still warm evening sun shone down on them. Annie was chasing backwards and forwards around them and disappearing into the heather. Soon they were heading down a narrow track through the gorse and heather leading to the old stone circle. Nobody really knew much about the circle apart from the fact it had always been there. Archaeologists had done a few digs and dated it sometime around the Bronze Age but had little idea as to why it was there apart from the usual “religious” aspect of circles such as this. For most of the locals, it was just a circle and a landmark to meet up on the moors. Everybody knew it, had played there as kids and of course had heard all the old stories of Pagans, witches and ghosts. But for most it was thirteen stones, just above knee height in a circle of forty feet radius. About one hundred feet away stood a taller stone, known as the “Kings stone”. It stood to the north of the circle and a path headed straight from it to the circle itself. At the centre of the circle was laid a large slab that could comfortably accommodate a person laid upon it. Obviously the speculation was that this was a sacrificial stone and the blood of many innocents had been slain upon it in the far distant past. For Janey and Benjamin, it was nothing more than a good place to sit after the hike up to the circle and this they did. They sat, wrapped in each other’s arms, gently hugging as Annie ran around sniffing and exploring. Annie stopped at one of the stones and began sniffing and pawing. Janey looked over to her.

  “One of these days you’ll sniff at something that bites you back Annie!” Janey paused. “Annie? What you got into there girl?” Janey asked.

  Both Janey and Benjamin stood up from the stone they were on and walked over to the dog. Lying at the foot of the stone was a rabbit. Benjamin leaned forward to inspect it and pushed the dog away.

  “Looks like we’ve got some new age nutcases up here again.” He sighed. “They’ve done a bit of a number on this poor bugger. Looks like they’ve cut its heart out and stuffed it under the edge of the stone.” He reached down and picked up the carcass of the slaughtered rabbit and walked it over to a nearby group of bushes laying it down out of sight.

  “Let’s go Ben” Janey said. “I can’t be doing with lunatics today. What some people will do for their so called beliefs is just bloody crazy and sick sometimes.”

  Benjamin came over to put an arm over her shoulder and steer her back to the track back home.

  “George will be pissed someone’s bagged his lunch anyhow. Let’s get home, aye?” he said as they made their way down off the moor.

  Chapter Two

  Janey had mentioned the incident with the dead rabbit in the circle to her mother and had been met with a glare of disgust and little else apart from the word ”peasants” as Monique climbed the stairs back to her study.

  It was a couple of weeks later that Janey noticed, as she was opening the café, several police cars and the search and rescue teams passing through the village.

  She reached inside her pocket for her phone and called Benjamin. The phone rang for a while before Benjamin answered.

  “Hi princess, how’s it going down in Sleepyville?” Benjamin asked.

  “Hardly sleepy this morning darling, have you seen all the police cars and search and rescue? Did I miss something?” Janey replied.

  “Yes, I’m just getting the update on it from Bill. He’s on the search team. Says a couple went walking on the moors last night and haven’t returned to their B&B. Mrs. Perriwinkle is panicking and called the cops first thing. They are all paid up and everything but she says they’re a sweet couple and hopes they are okay. I think she’s more worried about breakfast going to waste. You know what a miser she is? Anyway, the crews are out and I’ll bet they ended up miles from where their GPS was telling them and spent the night in another pub somewhere. I’ll let you know if any news comes back this way dear.”

  “Well it isn’t that difficult to follow a path surely, even at night? These townies can be a proper pain sometimes. Still, business is good so hopefully they’ll be hungry when they get found and come and spend at my café. I’ll be up there later this afternoon honey and we’ll talk then.”

  Janey went behind the counter and began preparing salads and setting out her display for the day. Her mother sauntered into the shop and gave her a peck on the cheek. Janey told her the news about the missing walkers.

  “City people really should stay in the city dear, they are not in any way capable of living like normal human beings within nature. They should be happy looking at pictures of it on their televisions. I’m sure the police will find them somewhere.”

  “I’m glad you’re so concerned, Mother. We need those city folk to keep our heads above water.” Janey replied.

  “Bah! Whatever. It might be wise though if you keep off the moors for a while dear. Allow the authorities to do their job and keep out of the way right?” Said Monique.

  “Well Annie will need her walk, but yes we’ll keep out of the way of the search parties.” Janey replied.

  “Good girl. Now I shall be in my study if you need me. I have some urgent research to do today.” Monique said as she left the shop and climbed the stairs, leaving Janey to deal with whatever the day might bring in to the café.

  After another long and busy day in the café, Janey went out the back to put a leash on Annie and the pair of them set off up the road towards the pub.

  She hadn’t gone far before the sleek BMW pulled up alongside her. The window slid down and Van Lomas leaned out.

  “Could I offer you a ride somewhere Jane? It is Jane isn’t it?” Van Lomas said.

  “It
is Janey, yes.” Jane replied “But thank you no, I think the dog would prefer to walk. Thanks all the same.”

  “As you wish, Jane. Another time perhaps.” Van Lomas retorted closing the window and driving off.

  Janey shuddered as he departed. He was certainly a very handsome man with impeccable manners but something about him made Janey’s blood run cold. She continued on towards the pub.

  As she was about to open the front door of the pub, George came barrelling out followed by two of the visitors. They bundled him across the carpark and Annie began barking at them.

  “What the hell is going on!” yelled Janey.

  The men stopped and turned to look at Janey scowling as they dropped George to the floor.

  One of them muttered at her.

  “The drunken idiot spilled a whole tray of my drinks. He needs some manners knocked into him.”

  “I might suggest, you won’t be the one to do it,” came a voice from the door. It was Benjamin. “Get yourself inside Janey. It’s just a misunderstanding I’m sure we can sort it out peacefully.”

  Janey took Annie into the pub and gazed out of the window as Ben and the men carried on the discussion outside. George had got himself back on his feet and was looking rather shamefaced in front of Benjamin. Eventually, Benjamin and the two men returned to the bar as George made his way out of the carpark and home. Slightly bruised but thanks to Benjamin, not battered.

  Benjamin sidled past the other barman and pulled himself a pint and poured Janey a large glass of wine. He returned from behind the bar and guided her into their favourite quiet corner.