by K E O'Connor
“I’ll do my best with him.” I exchanged an amused glance with Helen. Camilla sounded like a scary mom. “Alex lives here with you?”
“I can’t let him have his own place,” said Camilla. “Goodness knows what horrors he’d get up to if he wasn’t supervised. He’d probably have installed a hot tub in the lounge and given his money to all those sycophants who pretend to be his friends. Or purchased a chain of pizza restaurants so he could get free takeout every night. Helen, you need to put a stop to that bad habit of his. You can’t run on junk food.”
“It’s good you’re looking out for him,” said Helen. “I’ll make sure he has plenty of good food to eat.”
“Somebody has to,” said Camilla. “Let me show you around.”
We grabbed our cases from the trunk and headed for the front door.
As I got closer to the door, I could hear the sound of an animal snorting and got the scent of farmyard drifting toward me. “Have you got farm animals here?”
“Only Lucy,” said Camilla.
“Is she a dog?”
“She’s a pig. You’ll meet her. She spends most of her time in the house. Alex insists upon it.” Camilla shook her head as she pulled the door open. “Sometimes, I think I indulge that boy too much. He loves that pig, though, so I’ve done something right.”
I looked at Helen. A pig in the house! I hoped she was potty trained.
We walked into a vast whitewashed open plan hall, with two doors leading off from the main entrance. There was a staircase to the right, with more chrome and glass fittings. I glimpsed the kitchen at the end of the corridor.
“Right this way.” Camilla ran sprightly up the stairs. “I’ll show you your rooms, and then you can meet Alex. I’ve told him you’re exactly what he needs. Alex needs a strong steer to keep him on course and not get distracted by his childish pursuits.”
“His computer games?” I asked.
“Among other things,” said Camilla.
I imagined Alex would be interested in meeting us. I hadn’t spoken to him once during the recruitment process, yet we were to be working together every day. I knew he was young, so perhaps he wasn’t interested in getting involved in the recruitment side of his business. He must be keen to know who would be interfering in his life. I hoped we’d get along.
Camilla showed us two immaculately presented cream bedrooms, both with double beds, closets, and dressing tables. “You each have your own attached bathroom. These rooms are entirely private. Neither of you will be disturbed up here.”
“The accommodation is perfect,” said Helen. “When do I get to see the kitchen?”
“That can be our next stop,” said Camilla. “Alex does not have the best diet. I’m sure you can tempt him.”
“I’ll do my best,” said Helen. “I’ve got plenty of ideas for meals.”
A blast of rock music shot up the stairs. “Players, choose your weapons,” said a deep, menacing voice.
Camilla sighed and shook her head. “It sounds as if Alex is awake.”
I raised my eyebrows at Helen. “Does he usually get up so late?”
“My son is a night owl,” said Camilla. She led the way back down the stairs and along the hallway. “You will change that. Alex needs to keep more regular hours. People try to contact him about business opportunities, and he’s still lying in bed. It doesn’t give the right impression.”
It didn’t sound too bad. I wouldn’t mind a lie-in now and again.
Camilla pushed open a set of double doors, and we walked into an enormous lounge. Sitting on the cushion scattered black couch was a young man of about twenty, wearing pajama bottoms, a Metallica T-shirt, and slippers in the shape of dragon claws. In his hand was a game controller.
“Alex! You could have gotten dressed.” Camilla hurried over to him. “You knew Lorna and Helen were coming today.”
Alex glanced over. He had a pale complexion. It suggested he spent too long inside, staring at a computer screen. “Sorry. It slipped my mind. I’m about to crack level fourteen on Zombie Death Hunters. I’ve been up most of the night.”
“Never mind your ridiculous zombie game,” said Camilla. “Meet your new assistant, Lorna.”
Alex paused the game and dropped the controller on the couch. He stood and extended a hand. “Nice to meet you.”
“And you.” I shook his hand. “That’s quite a computer screen.” I gestured to the enormous screen attached to the wall. It must have been at least seventy inches wide.
“It needs to be. I spend most of my time gaming.”
Helen shook his hand. “Isn’t your business online apps?”
“Some of it is.” Alex ran his hands through his bed messy dark hair. “I dabble in many things. Computer games being one of them. To be the best, you have to know your competition. I’ve been playing this every day for a month. Do either of you play?”
“I’m more of a board games kind of girl,” said Helen.
Alex raised his eyebrows at me. “What about you? You need to be good at games if you’re to be my assistant. Have you ever played Zombie Death Hunters?”
“I can’t say I have.” I stared at the screen, where a frozen, salivating zombie looked like it was about to reach through and eat us all. Violent video games were not my thing. There was no way Alex would get me to play anything like that. Paperwork and the tax returns, I could handle. I would not spend hours staring at a screen fighting imaginary enemies.
Alex shrugged and shuffled back toward the couch. “I’ll show you some insider tricks. Most of the games are easy, once you know your way around them. It takes time. You need to immerse yourself in them.”
“Yes, yes. I’m sure these young ladies are fascinated by all the hours you waste slumped on that couch,” said Camilla. “That’s not why they’re here. They’re here to sort you out and make sure the business is in a fit shape. Don’t forget, you’re our main breadwinner now.”
Alex ducked his head. “As if I could forget.”
“We’ll have none of that.” Camilla tutted and shook her head. “It’s not as if we have a choice.”
I was going to ask what she meant, when the sound of snuffling caught my attention.
Flipper’s ears pricked up. He took a few steps toward the door.
A pig the size of a small dog wandered into the room, its nose on the wooden floorboards. This must be Lucy. She was so focused on snuffling out a treat on the ground that she didn’t notice us.
Flipper gave me a startled look before stepping cautiously toward the pig.
“Lucy! I wondered where you were.” Alex hurried over to the pig and wrapped his arms around her. She gently snuffled her snout against his stubble. “It’s way past your breakfast time. You must be starving.”
Camilla tutted again. “Welcome to my bizarre family. This is Lucy.”
Alex looked up from scrubbing his fingers across Lucy’s back. “You can pet her if you like. She’s tame. I’ve had her since she was tiny. I got her as a gift from a friend. Lucy thinks I’m her dad. Well, maybe her big brother. I’m not sure, really.” He looked at Flipper, who studied Lucy intently. “Is your dog okay around pigs?”
“He’s never been bothered by them before.” I kept a hand on Flipper’s head, just in case he took a bit too much interest in Lucy. “This is the first time he’s met one in a house. In fact, it’s the first time I’ve met one inside, as well.”
“Lucy is house-trained.” Alex stood and wandered back to the couch, Lucy following behind, wagging her curly tail. “If the weather is terrible, I bring her in a giant litter tray, and she uses that. She’s never once made a mess. You have nothing to worry about.”
I knelt down and held my hand out to Lucy. She looked at me with her small black eyes before walking over and giving my hand a snuffle. Lucy turned her attention to Flipper, and they touched noses. So far, so good. Maybe Flipper would think Lucy was some kind of odd looking dog, and they could make friends. It would be nice for him to have company whil
e he was here. He always missed Jessie when they were apart.
“Lucy is a good judge of character,” said Alex. “I can tell she likes you.”
“She’s sweet,” I said. “And it looks like she wants to make friends with Flipper.”
“I hope they get along,” said Alex, a game controller already in his hand. “Pigs are sociable animals. She gets lonely hanging out here with me. I try to keep her entertained; you’ll find pig toys around the house, balls and treat things. She also loves playing tug with an old bit of towel. Don’t throw it out or wash it if you find it lying around. Having a four-legged friend around will be a good thing for her.”
“Let’s hope so,” I said. Alex seemed nice. Maybe a little too obsessed with computer games, but decent enough. And, anyone who loved animals was okay in my book.
“Let me show you the rest of the house. Then you can spend time with Alex,” said Camilla, who had been walking around the room, picking up discarded shoes and pig toys.
“I will be hours on this game,” said Alex. “If there’s a chance of some toast and tea, I wouldn’t say no.”
“You get your own toast, young man,” said Camilla.
“I don’t mind making toast for Alex,” said Helen. “I am the new house cook.”
“No, he needs to know the rules and stick to them,” said Camilla. “He must become more self-sufficient.”
Alex gave an apologetic shrug before his gaze flicked to the screen.
“You can play on your computer for half an hour,” said Camilla. “Then it must be switched off and you spend time with Lorna, showing her what needs to be done.”
I heard Alex grumble under his breath as we left the room. It must be hard having such a domineering mother. It looked like he needed taking care of, though. I could imagine, if Camilla wasn’t here, Alex would spend all day glued to the couch, his eyes turning square as he killed his thousandth zombie of the day.
We looked around the rest of the house, discovering a dining room, separate sitting room, study, games room, and finally the kitchen.
Helen hurried in and looked around. It was an open plan room, with an enormous island in the center, covered in an expensive marble slab. It looked like the family enjoyed their kitchen gadgets. There was everything from the latest coffeemaker to a top of the range juicer.
“I hope this will do,” said Camilla. “Neither Alex nor I are adept in the kitchen. I’m usually too busy to stop and cook a meal. Alex eats anything that comes out of a packet. Now you’re here, Helen, we hope that will change.”
“This all looks perfect,” said Helen.
“Neither of us like fancy food,” said Camilla. “Good wholesome food, that’s all we require.”
“My meals are always wholesome. But I also do good desserts.”
“We only eat dessert on the weekend.” Camilla patted her flat stomach. “It’s important not to let yourself go.”
The joy in Helen’s eyes dimmed. She liked dessert at every meal, breakfast included. Maybe this would not be quite the joyful cooking experience she’d hoped for.
“I’ll leave you both to it,” said Camilla. “Get yourselves settled in. And, Lorna, be sure to spend time with Alex this evening. Don’t mind if he complains about you interfering with his computer games. Those dreadful zombies will still be there when you’ve finished. The end of the world will not occur because Alex isn’t staring a zombie down and blasting it in the head with an AK-47.”
Camilla left the kitchen, leaving me wondering just how tricky it would be to get Alex to do any actual work.
Helen had a swift look through the cupboards. She shut the last one and turned. “There’s not much here. It looks like Camilla was right about wanting nothing but plain, boring food.”
“Didn’t she actually say clean and wholesome food?” I grinned at Helen. “That can’t be a bad thing.”
“There’s no butter or cream in the fridge,” said Helen. “How am I supposed to make brownies with no butter?”
“Can’t you make a fat free version?” I suggested. “Didn’t you have a recipe that used applesauce instead of fat?”
Helen’s nose wrinkled. “Then it wouldn’t be one of my legendary brownies. It would be a clean and wholesome brownie.”
“Which sounds about perfect for this family. Camilla seems very proper about things.”
Helen grimaced. “Even their granola said it was low-fat on the packaging. I will have a hard job making fun meals for this family. There’s not much you can do with fat free spread and a stick of celery.”
“I’m sure you’ll come up with amazing meals.” We left the kitchen and walked back along the hall.
I paused and looked in on Alex, who was staring at the computer screen as he fired at a horde of oncoming zombies.
Flipper poked his head in the door. It looked as if he was seeking his new friend, Lucy. He nudged me with his nose and whined.
A shiver ran down my spine and a familiar lightheaded feeling hit me. I looked more carefully around the room. As I did so, I saw a pale haze hovering next to Alex. As I stared at it, the ghost of a young man appeared.
Chapter 3
Grabbing hold of Helen’s elbow, I hurried us away from the door and up the stairs to our bedrooms, Flipper right at my heel, keeping an ever-watchful eye on me.
“What’s wrong?” asked Helen, once I’d shut the bedroom door behind me.
“Alex has a friend.”
“I doubt he has many of those,” said Helen. “These gaming addicts spend a lot of time on their own. Maybe he’s a bit socially deficient.”
“No! That’s not what I mean.”
“Lucy the pig?”
“No! Not a living kind of friend.”
Helen’s eyebrows shot up. “A ghost friend?”
“Yes. He was standing right next to Alex, watching him play.”
Helen sank onto my bed. Flipper hopped up beside her. “I wonder who he could be?”
“They looked about the same age.”
“Was there any family resemblance? Maybe Alex had a brother who died.”
“Not that I could see,” I said. “He had lighter hair and wore glasses. He didn’t look all that happy, though.”
“You will hardly be happy if you’re dead,” said Helen.
“I don’t know; some of the ghosts we meet aren’t unhappy. This one had a really sad expression on his face.”
“It could be he was sad because he can’t play that dreadful computer game with Alex. Maybe he was as much of a geek as Alex is.”
“I don’t think Alex is a geek,” I said, “a bit of a loner, maybe, and obsessed with his computer. His obsession has made him wealthy. There’s a lot of money in computer games and apps.”
“That sounds geeky to me,” said Helen.
“Don’t tell me you wouldn’t like to make a living out of doing something you love.”
She grinned at me. “I already do. But I don’t get obsessed with it. I have a life outside of work.”
“You have Gunner,” I said.
“I have a lot more than Gunner.” Helen’s cheeks glowed pink. “Having a boyfriend is not my sole purpose in life.”
I couldn’t help but smile at her comment. Ever since I’d known Helen, she’d been obsessed with getting married and settling down. Now that it looked like she might achieve it, she was trying far too hard to hide that fact. “What else do you have?”
“I have you. I make my own clothes. I love to cook and eat what I cook. There’s plenty going on in my life, thank you very much.”
“Fine. We’ve confirmed you’re not a geek. That doesn’t help us figure out who this ghost is.”
“Maybe Alex had a boyfriend?” suggested Helen. “That would be sad to lose someone at such a young age.”
“They could have been school friends, rather than partners,” I said.
Helen looked around the neat bedroom. “It’s hard to get a sense of the people in this house. Usually, you can tell by the décor what
a person’s like. All I’m seeing is a lot of cream or white. A complete lack of color.”
“The house is lacking a feminine touch. From what we’ve seen of Camilla, I think she rules this place with an iron rod. She must decide on all the decorating, so we’re seeing her personality in the house, rather than Alex’s.”
“Everything is tidy and has an allocated space,” said Helen. “It’s very precise, apart from the lounge, which must be where Alex spends his time. That room is a car crash.”
“We can’t all love florals and patterned wallpaper,” I said. “This is a lovely house.” Helen was right, though; it was incredibly neat and ordered.
There was a knock at the bedroom door. I opened it to find a tall, pale girl standing outside. She was dressed head to toe in black, and her long dark hair was completely straight, hanging almost to her waist. Her eyes were lined with black kohl, making her skin look even paler.
“Since mother didn’t bother to introduce us, I thought I’d better do it myself. I’m Eva, Alex’s sister.”
Camilla hadn’t mentioned having another child. “It’s nice to meet you.” I introduced myself and then Helen and Flipper.
“Don’t worry. I don’t expect you’ve heard anything about me.” Eva flicked her gaze along the corridor. “I’m something of the black sheep of the family.” She waved her hand at her outfit. “Quite literally at the moment.”
“Maybe you could try navy if you prefer dark colors,” said Helen, as she walked over. “Black can be very... draining on the complexion.”
Eva carefully looked over Helen’s outfit. “I know what I like. I don’t always wear black. Thanks for the tip, though.”
“Do you live here as well?” I asked, sensing Eva’s tension at Helen’s tactless fashion advice.
“I will until I can get enough money to get out,” said Eva. “I’m not a fan of all this show of wealth. They only got this place because Mom insisted on it after Alex’s business made so much money. Mom likes nothing more than to show off everything we’ve got. There’s three of us living here and eight bedrooms. We rarely have guests. What are we supposed to do with all the empty rooms?”
