The Ghost House (16 page)

Annie got back to the farmhouse, her stupid phone had no signal and she desperately wanted to hear Will’s voice, anybody’s voice would do – even Jake. She needed someone to tell her she wasn’t going mad, not just yet. All her life she believed that things happen for a reason, she just needed to know what that reason was at this moment in time. She was tempted to ring Ben but he’d get worried and come home and, selfishly, she didn’t want him to. It wasn’t like he could actually do anything about it.

Going into the kitchen she heaved off the wellies then, taking the milk out of the fridge, she made herself a mug of hot chocolate: it was comfort food weather out there. Her plan was to find one of the Mars bars she’d hidden for emergencies at the back of the cupboard, take the diary and read it until she finished it. See if there were any clues in it as to what was happening and maybe Derek would ring back and she would be able to put an end to it all and live happily ever after. As she sank into the sofa her phone began to ring. She answered and wasn’t disappointed to hear Will’s voice.

‘It’s me, I’m just ringing to make sure you’re OK.’

‘I think so why?’

‘I’m worried about you. Bad things are happening. The girl who went missing last night, her body was found this morning; I’ve just left the post mortem. And you know all about Jenna so I think our guy has a thing for the Abbey. No brownie points for guessing who is up there on her own.’

Annie decided to come clean and tell him about what had been going on. ‘Will, something strange is happening up here but it’s nothing to do with those girls and I don’t know how to explain it without sounding like I’ve lost the plot. I’ll tell you more when you get a chance to come up but I’ve been trying to get in touch with some medium bloke I met a few nights ago.’

‘Is he called Derek Edmondson?’

‘How do you know that?’

‘He came into the station earlier asking Sally to check on you and to pass a message on.’

‘How did he know who I was? He doesn’t know my name. Oh wait, he might, I left him a voicemail earlier.’

‘He described your car and registration. Look, I need to find him, Annie. It’s a bit of a coincidence that he is from out of town and we suddenly have a maniac on the loose killing girls. Do me a favour, will you? Please come into town, I’ll meet you outside the station and take you to my house or Jake’s, if you prefer. If you’re too stubborn to do that then lock the doors, check the house and wait for me or Jake to come to you. Whatever you do don’t answer the door to anyone. Personally I’d prefer it if you came to stay at mine for a bit, until we catch this guy.’

‘I can’t leave, Will. I have to look after Tess and the chickens; I need to be here. I’ll be fine. I’ll stay inside and if I so much as see a dog walker heading this way I’ll ring you.’

Will sighed. ‘You are so stubborn, you know that, don’t you. I’ll be up as soon as I can but it could be a while yet.’

‘Yes, I am stubborn but if it’s any consolation I can’t wait to see you.’

‘Don’t go outside, I mean it. And lock up.’

She ended the call with a smile on her face. Little did Will know but she doubted things could get any worse. She systematically checked every door and window, the nagging doubt that it wouldn’t make one bit of difference to whatever she was experiencing at the back of her mind. In fact, she was scared she might be locking whatever it was in with her. Upstairs was freezing cold, just as downstairs had been this morning and she shivered.
Aw come on Annie, What you need is a doctor’s appointment, the sooner the better
. But just in case she filled her holdall with everything she might need in an emergency and dragged it down the stairs, shoving it into a cupboard at the bottom. Even after this morning it still felt safer down here because if anything happened up there it would be much harder to escape. There was a lock on the stair door and she slipped the bolt across.

In the kitchen she searched the drawers for a torch and found two. She tested them, making sure they worked. There was no way she was getting caught out again. She tucked one under a cushion on the sofa and placed the other one on the coffee table and then she took a box of light bulbs from the pantry and set about flicking switches and changing any bulbs that didn’t work. When the whole of the downstairs was bathed in light she felt much better. She thought about going out to the shed to fetch a couple of hammers just in case, or was that going over the top? It was better to use a household item than a knife if you ever had to, that’s what she told all those battered women she dealt with on a daily basis. It would stand up much better in court – self-defence, your honour. But she didn’t care, she wouldn’t be bitten twice: if she needed to use a knife she would. There was also the heavy brass poker by the fire if she had to defend herself from whoever was killing around here. It occurred to her that she would probably be fine because at the ripe old age of thirty-two she was out of the age bracket for the victims by at least ten years.

Sitting down she picked up her hot chocolate, which was no longer hot, and put it back down. She decided to wait for Will to arrive and then find the biggest wine glass in the cupboard and fill it to the brim.

Tess began to bark and she jumped up to peer out of the window. Like a knight in shining armour there was Derek walking along the path towards her car. She was not sure how she knew it but she felt it inside her that he was one of the good guys and he was probably too old to go around killing and running rings around the police. Besides what choice did she have, she didn’t know any other mediums who were willing to help her. In fact, she didn’t know any at all. Ignoring all Will’s earlier advice she unlocked the door and stepped outside.

‘Hiya, you got my message then? How did you know where to find me?’

Derek walked forward and held out his hand. ‘To be honest, I’m not entirely sure. Can we please start again? Derek Edmondson. I think I’m very pleased to meet you. And you are?’

‘Annie Graham.’ She reached out and took hold of his hand, shaking it as if they were old friends.

‘I can’t really explain but after I listened to your message I got an urge to come for a walk in these woods – it happens sometimes – so I did and here I am. I saw the car through the trees and ventured up the path.’

Annie was amazed but grateful that he had found her. She invited him in. ‘Would you like a cup of tea?’

‘I would love one, thank you. There are some things we need to clear up. Do you want to tell me exactly what has been happening from start to finish?’

‘Where do I start?’ She filled him in on everything that had happened. ‘To be frank with you I think I’m losing my mind. I have a head injury and I think the doctors haven’t realised just how serious the brain damage is.’

Derek laughed. ‘Aha that would explain it then. Sometimes a serious head injury can result in an awakening of the dormant part of your mind, which is far more susceptible to things which happen on a different level. A lot of folk call it a sixth sense.’

For the first time in days Annie’s shoulders relaxed and she breathed a sigh of relief. ‘Oh thank God for that. It all started when I walked into the empty mansion not too far away from here. When I walked inside I had the most amazing feeling of déjà vu. I felt as if I had lived there a very long time ago. This morning I woke up to a freezing cold room and a huge black mass in the kitchen which formed into the shape of a man. I feel as if I’m being watched all the time and sometimes it feels alright but others it feels damn right scary.’

‘Oh dear, that’s not good, that’s not good at all. Did the black mass speak or do anything?’

‘Well, it tried to open the door I was holding but then an orb of brilliant white light appeared and a woman’s voice told it to leave so it growled at her but it went. I think I know who this woman is but then sometimes I feel as if I am this woman from the past. I’m confused and you’re the first person I’ve told about this in case they put me in a straightjacket and cart me away.’

Derek smiled and his crinkly green eyes lit up. ‘No, my dear, you’re not going mad. It sounds as if you are experiencing a variety of things all of which are proven to be in existence, although I have never met anyone who in such a short space of time has seen so much. Welcome to the world of a psychic. Now sometimes it can be a gift, which will stay with you for the rest of your life: I have been speaking to dead people since I was nine years old. Or it can be a temporary thing. Whichever it is your life won’t be quite the same again, I can guarantee that.’

Annie wanted to believe every word that he said, it all made so much sense, but the cynical part of her thought he was talking a load of rubbish. She was tempted to tell him about the diary but a voice inside her head told her different.
It’s for your eyes only. When the time is right you may do as you wish but for now keep it close to your heart
.

Derek was watching her. ‘Keep what close to your heart?’

‘You heard that as well?’

He nodded and began to explain about the wonders of being gifted. For the next thirty minutes Annie listened to him transfixed until, from the corner of her eye, she saw a streak of luminous yellow walking through the trees towards the path. Jake was waving at her. She turned to face Derek and watched the colour drain from his face at the sight of the big, burly policeman.

He stood up. ‘Well, it was nice to meet you properly this time. I think I should get going now I’ve taken up enough of your time.’

‘I know that he looks scary but honestly he’s a big pussy cat and my best friend who has been sent to check on me.’

Derek relaxed a little as Jake walked into the kitchen.

‘Knock, knock. Did you know your new BF Will has sent me up here to be your personal bodyguard until he finishes work? Mind you, I’m not complaining as long as you get the kettle on: I’m dying of thirst and starving. Have you got any food you can cook that you won’t burn until it’s unfit for human consumption?’

Annie laughed. She was so glad to see Jake and threw her arms around him. He hugged her back, squeezing far too tight but she didn’t care it; felt safe and warm.

Derek walked towards the door. ‘I should get going now. We could meet up at the church tomorrow if you’re free and try to do a session together. It may help to get to the bottom of everything.’

Annie didn’t dare look at Jake. She thanked Derek and shook his hand again. ‘I’ll ring you in the morning and let you know.’

He walked out into the courtyard. ‘I’ll look forward to it and please don’t hesitate to ring if you need to speak to me. Be careful, Annie.’

She watched him walk along the path and disappear into the trees. Jake’s loud laughter filled the kitchen and filtered out of the door. She went back inside to see him doubled over.

‘What’s so funny?’

His face turning many shades of red, he spluttered, ‘Who was that? Why would you even want to go to a church and what did he mean by a session? I don’t think Will would be too impressed if you’re having sessions with strange old men so soon into your relationship, especially in churches. Annie, I’m shocked. What has got into you?’

She shoved him hard in the chest. ‘I’m not going to a church to have sex with him, you moron. Oh forget it, I can’t explain it to you, you’d never understand: it’s complicated.’

‘Why don’t you try me. It’s not like I have anything else to do but babysit you all afternoon and I could do with a good laugh.’

He was obsessed with the woman from the farm. He couldn’t get her out of his head: day and night she was in there. It didn’t help that she looked a little bit like Julie, the only woman he had got close to marrying until his mother had messed that up as well. She had been such a quiet pretty thing and he had loved her so much. Unable to buy a house of their own she had moved in with him and his mother, but had to sleep in the spare room because his mother wouldn’t let anything sinful go on under her roof. His mother had picked and picked until she had worn Julie down to a nervous wreck and then she left him. She just packed her bags and left: no note or anything, not even a goodbye. He had first thought about killing his mother that night. His heartbreak got so bad he couldn’t function for months.

When the medium had spoken to the woman so bluntly he had been shocked. In all the years he’s sat there like the dutiful son he was listening to the drivel they usually spouted, he’d never heard one that didn’t say anything that wasn’t wrapped in cotton wool and sugarcoated. He had been glued to his seat while watching the exchange between them. When the medium dashed out of the door after the woman he was scared to death. He had excused himself and went upstairs to watch from the small window which overlooked the car park. He had taken a couple of photos on his phone, intrigued by the pretty woman in the blue hat, and then gone back down stairs to sit next to his mother. The guy had come back inside and tried to continue with his session but it was different, the atmosphere had changed from one fraught with tension to one of deflated energy, as if someone had cut the power cable. The medium had passed a few messages onto some old dears but he couldn’t concentrate and after thirty minutes of stumbling along he had excused himself saying he felt ill and left.

He had gone into the kitchen to help make the tea, just like he did every week, and to listen to the snatches of conversation to see if anyone knew who the mystery woman was. He heard one woman say she recognised her and his heart had begun to beat faster. His trembling hands managed to pour scolding water all over the worktop, narrowly missing Edith who had walked away shaking her head. He cleaned up the spillage before his mother came in and embarrassed him with her harsh comments.

When he had realised the woman from the farm was the woman from the church, he had been ecstatic: fate was finally shining his way. He decided to go to the supermarket where it would be busy and try and print out the pictures from his phone. He had to queue to use the photo machine. When it came to his turn he stood at the kiosk fumbling around it, he had never used one before and didn’t have a clue how it worked. A teenage girl came and used the kiosk next to him and within two minutes had printed off her pictures and was ready to go.

‘Excuse me, would you be able to help me. I’m not very good with this stuff and haven’t got a clue.’

She didn’t speak just smiled at him and then transferred his pictures onto the screen. If she thought it was odd that they were all a bit blurry and of the same woman in different situations she never said anything.

‘There you go, just press that “print” button and that’s it. You can pay for them at the kiosk over there or at one of the checkouts when you pay for your shopping. You just give them that receipt. Or if you’re skint like me you can just walk out with them. They never know if you’ve paid or not, no alarms go off or anything.’

He thanked her for helping him and went to queue at the cigarette counter. He had never stolen anything apart from the scarf the other day, and he hadn’t meant to do that. He watched as the girl walked out of the shop clutching her stolen pictures. She was right, not one person had so much as given her a second glance. He paid for his pictures and left the building holding a copy of the local paper under his arm. The headline KILLER ON THE LOOSE made the paper feel so hot it felt as if it were burning into his skin. He smiled. For the first time in his insignificant life he had made the headlines. He was untouchable.

Walking home he thought about the woman at the farm and exactly what he would like to do to her.