2.0 - What Lies Below

by Helen Phifer

  ‘I knew it.’ Glenys looked triumphant. ‘I pulled some cards last night, and I’m telling you I stopped at three because it was the worst spread I’ve pulled in forever.’

  Maddy sipped the hot coffee, savouring the aroma as if filled her nostrils, the liquid warming her insides.

  ‘What cards and what’s a spread?’

  Glenys bit her lip. ‘Tarot cards. A spread is when you pull cards to do a reading. I didn’t technically know it was going to be about you, although your name wouldn’t get out of my head. Did you mind? It was a bit naughty not to ask your permission first, but I had to know why you were on my mind so much.’

  Maddy didn’t know whether she minded or not. It wasn’t something she’d ever had experience with. ‘When you say it was the worst spread you’ve pulled, what does that mean?’

  Glenys shifted in her seat and Maddy decided that her discomfort suggested it definitely wasn’t good.

  ‘Look, something is going on,’ she admitted. ‘I found a radio yesterday in the library. I didn’t expect it to work, but I plugged it in, and it began to play Ella Fitzgerald and other swing music. Last night, before Seth left, I unplugged it and went to bed. At some point in the night, I woke up to the sound of Ella Fitzgerald filtering up the stairs. It was the exact same song, and it freaked me out. I went downstairs and it wasn’t plugged in, so either I have a magic radio, or someone is messing around with me.’

  Glenys looked over at the huge radio on the worktop. ‘That radio?’

  Maddy nodded, and Glenys walked over to it. She plugged it into the socket and a loud burst of static filled the air, making them both jump. Maddy crossed the room towards her.

  ‘It was fine yesterday; it was playing all afternoon.’ She began to twiddle the knob, but there was only static. ‘Radios repeat songs all the time, so it was probably nothing.’

  Unplugging it, she went back to her chair and picked up her mug of coffee.

  ‘Yes, they do,’ Glenys agreed. ‘It’s old, so you might have got its last bit of life from it before it died a death. It’s strange, though, isn’t it? Do you think it turned itself on, or do you believe that someone of the humankind might have done it?’

  Maddy shrugged. ‘You tell me.’

  ‘Well, from a professional point of view, I think there’s something going on.’ Glenys’s serious tone made Maddy erupt with laughter.

  ‘No shit, Sherlock.’

  Glenys grinned and began to laugh with her.

  ‘Give me a guided tour and let me get a feel for the place, then I’ll tell you exactly what. Throw in some lunch and I’ll give you an expert opinion all free of charge, because I like you.’

  ‘How could I refuse? Let me get dressed first. I kind of feel a bit underdressed for the occasion.’ Maddy drained the last of her coffee and stood up. ‘I’ll be back in a minute. You can have a look around yourself while you’re waiting, if you want.’

  Glenys shook her head. ‘No, I’d rather wait for you. I want a full guided tour.’

  Wondering if Glenys was scared of the house, Maddy ran upstairs to get dressed and brush her teeth.

  Chapter Sixty-Nine

  G lenys was in the library when Maddy came back downstairs.

  ‘This must have been some room,’ she said. ‘All these bookshelves. I wonder what happened to the books.’

  ‘I wish I knew,’ Maddy agreed. ‘It’s like a dream come true. Ever since I was a child, I’ve dreamt about having my own library. This is where I found the radio yesterday, I like this room. It doesn’t feel strange or scary, it just feels sad and empty.’

  As Maddy led her into the various rooms downstairs, Glenys found herself falling in love with the house despite her initial reservations about it. She didn’t say anything out of the ordinary, but she knew Maddy was watching her expressions in case a look of horror flashed across her face. So far so good.

  But when they reached the foot of the huge staircase and Maddy stepped up, Glenys paused. Reaching out, she clasped her fingers around the bannister, gripping the wood until her knuckles went white.

  Maddy whispered, ‘What’s the matter?’

  Glenys didn’t answer. Instead, she closed her eyes, standing still as if they were playing a game of musical statues and the music had stopped.

  Maddy felt a cold chill begin to spread over her shoulders, but then Glenys nodded her head once, opened her eyes, and smiled at her.

  ‘Are you okay?’

  ‘Yes, just getting to know the place. Downstairs was for happy times – dancing, family life, parties, friends, celebrating, and living life to the full.’

  ‘And upstairs?’ Maddy asked warily.

  ‘I don’t know yet, I need to go up there.’

  Maddy led the way, not stopping until she reached the landing and turned to see Glenys only halfway up. It looked as if she had to force her legs to move, then she was moving, running up the last few steps to catch her up.

  ‘I’ll show you my room,’ Maddy said. ‘I want to know what you think about it.’

  She opened the door, forgetting she hadn’t made the bed, and dashed towards it to straighten the duvet. ‘Oops, sorry. I’ve forgotten what it’s like to have guests.’ She winked at Glenys, who was looking around the room, her fingers trailing over the furniture.

  ‘This is a good room. There’s a little sadness in here but nothing too bad. You chose wisely.’

  One by one, Maddy opened the upstairs doors and let Glenys look around the assortment of bedrooms, which ranged from even bigger than the one she was sleeping in to smaller, compact guest rooms.

  When they reached the last room at the end of the corridor, nearest to the attic, Glenys paused.

  ‘That room’s is locked,’ Maddy explained. ‘It won’t open. Me and Seth tried the other day.’

  Reaching out, Glenys touched the wooden door with her fingertips, then pressed her ear against the wood. Maddy stepped back, horrified. Did she think there was someone inside? Before she could ask, Glenys lifted a finger to her lips, silently shushing her. Maddy was totally freaked out. What was going on?

  Finally, Glenys clasped the brass knob in her fingers and turned it, pushing the door wide open. Maddy, who hadn’t realised she’d been holding her breath, released it to see an empty, dusty bedroom which had clearly once been a nursery. There was a rusted, spring-mounted rocking horse, a dust-covered, wooden crib filled with dolls and ancient teddies, toy cars, a tiny pram with a cracked porcelain doll tucked up inside it, and various books and puzzles.

  ‘Why is this stuff still here when all the other rooms have been emptied?’ she wondered aloud.

  ‘Maybe they couldn’t bear to remove the toys.’ Glenys walked around the room, picking up a stuffed bear which only had one button for an eye, and clutching it to her chest.

  Maddy felt a wave of sadness wash over her; she didn’t like this room. She watched as the woman in front of her placed the bear back inside the crib, nodded her head once, then turned and walked out of the room. She followed, closing the door behind her.

  ‘I don’t understand,’ she said. ‘Seth and I tried that door a couple of times. It wouldn’t open.’

  Glenys continued walking towards the last door. ‘Is this the attic?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘There’s nothing up there except sadness and memories. Come on, I’m hungry. I hope you have something nice to eat for lunch.’

  She turned and headed back downstairs, an intrigued Maddy following closely behind.

  Chapter Seventy

  S eth watched Alfie kicking a stone along the street past the pub. He wondered if he should ask him about the house again, see if he caved in and admitted to messing around in there.

  He opened the front door and shouted, ‘Alfie!’

  The teenager turned around, realised it was Seth, and grinned at him. He wandered back to the pub.

  ‘Have you seen my mum?’

  Seth shook his head. He hadn’t set eyes on her since their conversation
in the early hours of this morning.

  ‘Think she’s gone to the house to see Maddy,’ the boy said. ‘I’m hungry.’

  ‘Come in, then. Do you want some toast?’

  ‘Yes, please. Or can I have a crisp sandwich?’

  ‘You can have whatever you want.’ Seth led him inside and they went upstairs to the kitchen where he made a salt and vinegar crisp sandwich and put the plate on the table in front of him.

  ‘Have you been to the house lately?’ Seth asked.

  Alfie screwed up his forehead while he contemplated the question, then shrugged.

  ‘Sort of.’ He took a bite of his sandwich.

  ‘What does that mean?’

  ‘Well, I was there yesterday, but I didn’t go inside. I never go inside. I stay outside.’

  ‘Why don’t you want to go inside?’

  ‘For real? You don’t think it’s scary in there? I do. Too big, too dark, and empty for too long.’

  Seth sat opposite him. ‘I’m going to ask you a question, man to man. Did you put the wedding dress on the steps to scare Maddy? I won’t be cross.’

  He shook his head. ‘What wedding dress? What’s one of those? Why would I do that? Not me. It might be the lake people.’

  ‘Who are the lake people?’

  Alfie shook his head. ‘No one, I dunno. Wasn’t me.’ He took a bite of his sandwich. ‘Do you think my mum will be there long?’

  ‘I don’t know. Should we go there and see?’

  Alfie glanced up in surprise. ‘What, you want to walk with me?’

  ‘No, I was thinking about going in my car. I’m too lazy to walk.’

  Alfie laughed. ‘Car’s good. I like cars.’ He stuffed the remainder of the sandwich into his mouth and wiped his arm across it.

  Seth stood up, wondering what the hell the lake people were; he’d never heard of them.

  They walked out of the pub and Seth locked the door behind him. A voice shouted, ‘Seth!’ He turned around to see Andy crossing the road towards him.

  Alfie put his head down and scurried towards Seth’s Land Rover, where he opened the passenger door and clambered inside, slamming it shut.

  ‘Wonder what’s got into him?’ Seth muttered.

  Andy laughed. ‘He doesn’t like me. I told him off because I caught him snooping around in the garage one day. He didn’t appreciate my lecture on it being a dangerous place for him to be, especially when he was messing with things he shouldn’t be touching. You’re far too soft on him, Seth. He’s always hanging around you like a pet dog. You keep feeding him scraps, he’s never going to leave you alone.’

  Seth shook his head. ‘He’s all right. I like him.’

  ‘It would help if his weird mother kept an eye on him. It’s not right the way she lets him wander all over.’

  Seth found himself irritated by Andy’s condescending attitude. The man didn’t know Glenys or Alfie well enough to be judging them; this was the kind of small mindedness which drove him mad in the village.

  ‘I should have your friend’s car ready after,’ Andy went on. ‘I only need to fit the part and it should be good to go.’

  ‘Thanks, mate, that’s brilliant. I’ll come and sort you out if you let me know what time to pick it up.’

  Andy waved his hand at him. ‘I’ll bring it to the pub, and you can buy me a couple of pints.’ He walked off in the direction of the post office and Seth made his way to his car.

  Alfie was staring at the rear-view mirror, watching Andy walk away. ‘Don’t like him, he’s mean.’

  Seth laughed. ‘Is that a general observation, or is that because he shouted at you?’

  Alfie shrugged. ‘Both.’

  Chapter Seventy-One

  S tella handed over her credit card and did her best not to grimace when the girl at the reception desk said, ‘That will be two hundred and forty-eight pounds, forty-seven pence.’ Where the hell did the forty-seven pence come from?

  Joe smiled at her, mouthing the word ‘sorry’. She shook her head. He’d been good enough to drive her to find Maddy, so the least she could do was foot the repair bill for the car, and he’d insisted on going halves with the hotel room.

  When they got into the car, he turned the key and smiled when the ignition burst into life.

  ‘So far so good.’

  ‘Yep,’ she agreed, ‘but we haven’t gone anywhere yet.’

  He snorted. ‘Positive vibes only the rest of the way, please. Don’t bring the car down before it’s time.’

  As they set off, Stella felt her stomach begin to churn at the thought of seeing Maddy again and having to confess everything, but she knew she had to. For her own peace of mind, she needed to come clean and face the consequences. She couldn’t wait to hug her friend; she’d missed her so much.

  She reached out and squeezed Joe’s arm. ‘Thank you. I don’t know what I’d have done without you the last few days.’

  He smiled at her. ‘It’s all my pleasure. Literally. I’m the one having a great time. I’ve dreamt about dating you for so long, it’s amazing. I’ll pay you back the money for the car when we get back, I’ve got some spare cash stashed away. I can’t believe I didn’t think to bring it with me.’

  ‘No, you won’t.’ She told him firmly, then paused and spoke more hesitantly. ‘Do you think she’s okay? It’s not like her not to be in touch.’

  ‘I’m sure she’s fine. And aren’t you forgetting something? She won’t have your new phone number, and I can almost guarantee that judging by where that house is situated at the bottom of a valley, there won’t be any decent Internet or phone signal.’

  She let out a huge sigh of relief. ‘You always know the right thing to say. Thank you.’

  ‘Right, now load those instructions in again, and let’s get to that house before the car dies a permanent death.’

  According to the directions, they weren’t too far away. As long as they didn’t get lost, they should be there in the next hour or so.

  Chapter Seventy-Two

  M addy put the food on the table and watched Glenys pile her plate high with cheese, crackers, grapes, and a couple of the sandwiches. She didn’t tell her it was leftovers from last night’s picnic with Seth. It still looked fresh and, judging by the look in Glenys’s eyes, she didn’t care, anyway; she was eating it without complaint.

  Picking at the corner of a sandwich, Maddy realised she wasn’t really hungry. She was waiting for a run-down on the house from the village psychic and feeling a bit tense. She didn’t know what she was going to do if Glenys said it was haunted.

  Unable to wait any longer, she piped up, ‘Well, what do think? Did you pick up anything ghosty?’

  Glenys smiled. ‘Ghosty, as in ghostly?’

  ‘Yes, you know what I mean. Things that go bump in the night, restless spirits that are wandering the halls for the rest of eternity.’

  ‘Nope, nothing like that.’

  ‘Nothing?’ Her answer shocked Maddy. She’d expected to hear some scary advice about how she needed to go and get a local vicar to come and exorcise the house.

  ‘Don’t get me wrong,’ Glenys replied through a mouthful of sandwich, ‘there’s a lot of residual stuff going on. Lots of trapped memories that replay over and over again. But that’s what you would expect in a house of this age and size. It’s quite refreshing, actually.’

  ‘Yes, I suppose it is. Well, it is for me. Are these residual things dangerous?’

  ‘No, they’re just memories, and nothing to be scared of.’

  Maddy still felt troubled. ‘Then how do you explain the wedding dress, the bangs, the confetti, and the radio being turned on and off?’

  ‘That is the worrying part, and I think that’s why your spread of cards was so crap,’ Glenys replied. ‘Someone is trying to scare you.’

  ‘Someone? You mean a person?’

  ‘Yep, a living, breathing, dirty, rotten bastard. Someone is getting their kicks out of scaring you. Someone like an ex-boyfriend maybe, or an
angry villager.’

  There was a brief pause before Maddy asked, ‘What should I do?’

  ‘Phone the police or go and speak to them. You need to report it.’

  Maddy sat back in her chair. She wasn’t sure whether she was relieved or even more worried than before.

  ‘And before you suggest it,’ Glenys went on, ‘Alfie has nothing to do with it. I know he wouldn’t intentionally scare anyone like this, and he was fast asleep last night at home when your radio was being turned on and off.’

  ‘I didn’t think it was him,’ Maddy assured her. ‘And thank you. I guess I should report it. I need to find out where Connor, my ex, is because I walked out on him. He was abusive, not to mention violent. He’s the only person I can think of that would be mean enough to do something like this.’ She sighed heavily. ‘I wish I could get hold of Stella.’

  ‘Who’s Stella?’

  ‘My best friend who suggested I come here in the first place to get away from him. She’s the only person I know who knows that I’m here. My gran does as well, but I never gave her the address; I only showed her the pictures. She’s never been further than Brighton so she wouldn’t have a clue where this is.’

  ‘Right, so this Connor is the number one suspect. Is he dangerous?’

  Maddy nodded. ‘Yes, he’s violent. I don’t know about this, though. It just seems a lot of work for him.’

  Glenys shook her head, still nibbling at the food on her plate. ‘You can’t underestimate someone like that, darling, you don’t know what ends they’ll go to. Please will you consider stopping at Seth’s or mine until we get this mess sorted out?’

  Maddy nodded. ‘I suppose so. Do you think he’ll mind?’

  ‘No, he won’t. He’s as worried as I am. He’ll be relieved, and if it makes you feel better, give him a few quid for the room,’ Glenys suggested. ‘Not that he’ll take it; he’s too much of a gentleman. Why don’t you pack some things and I’ll drop you off at the pub?’

  They heard a car pull into the drive, the tyres crunching along the gravel, and both women stared at each other.