The Ghost House (22 page)

As they approached the entrance of the house Annie felt her body begin to buzz. It was as if there were some electrical current running through it.

Derek sensed her sudden wariness and reached out for her hand. ‘It’s OK you are being bombarded with the memories of this place. Whoever lived here feels a strong connection with you. She trusts you and is trying to tell you something although I don’t understand why she has waited so long to start haunting someone.’

Annie shivered. She knew why. It all had something to do with the diary and the terrible secrets it revealed. She wanted to tell him about the diary and what she knew but she couldn’t physically speak, something was stopping her.

Derek looked her in the eye. ‘You will be fine my dear.’

She took the key from her jeans pocket knowing that regardless of whether she was OK or not she had to go through with it for the sake of her sanity.

Derek stared at her. She looked different. Her face had taken on a slightly rounder shape and her eyes were focused on something that only she could see. He followed her as she pushed the front door open and stepped inside. The energy running through the house was so strong it made the hairs on the back of his neck prickle. Annie began humming and carried on walking through the big hall to the corridor.

‘Come on.’ She gave him a gentle smile, but it wasn’t her usual one. They entered the kitchen, the smell of the damp and mould from the years of being empty turned his stomach.

Annie sniffed. ‘Cook makes the best shortbread in the whole town and I’m so hungry.’

Derek took hold of her hand and led her to sit on the windowsill. ‘Is Cook here now, Annie? What do you see?’

‘I see Cook baking. There are trays of biscuits on the side ready for afternoon tea. If I’m good and get my chores done she will let me have one with a glass of milk. I must work hard and make sure they are all done before Edward comes to disrupt me.’

The temperature in the room had dropped so much that when Derek spoke he could see clouds of his breath in front of him. ‘Can you tell me about Edward. Why does he disrupt you, Annie?’

‘Alice, my name is Alice, silly. You should stop calling me Annie; that is another girl. Edward is her ladyship’s son and he doesn’t like me very much. In fact, he hates me and I don’t want to be here when he comes back because he is so mean to me.’

‘Alice, how old are you?’

‘I’m seventeen.’

‘Alice why do you keep talking to Annie? What is it that you want from her?’

‘I think it is because she looks like me and I need her to help me: Edward has come back. He killed those poor women in London, you know: slaughtered and butchered them like animals and now he is back. I hear his voice whispering and his footsteps in the cellar. He wants blood, that is all he ever wanted.’

Derek was so absorbed in his conversation with Alice’s spirit he never heard the footsteps creeping up behind him.

Annie’s expression froze as she gasped, ‘Edward.’

Derek turned to see a man standing behind him, a hammer in his hand. He swung towards Derek, hitting him on the head; his glasses fell off and he lost his balance. The hammer hit for a second time and Derek collapsed. Annie stood up from the windowsill and slipped in a pool of blood which was spilling from the side of Derek’s head. As she felt the world turn black a pair of rough hands grabbed her.

‘Well, well, it’s been a long time, Alice. I never thought I would see you again.’

Edith got out of the taxi and stared at the house. It was in darkness. It was a relief that Henry was out, it made her feel a lot better about what she was about to do. She knocked on the driver’s window.

‘You wait there, young man. Keep the meter running. I don’t want you to go dashing off and leave me.’ She walked up the garden path to the front door and looked for the plant pot with the shrivelled lavender plant inside. Bending down she lifted it up and sure enough there in the plastic moneybag was the spare key. Her hands began to shake as she tried to put it into the lock. She had a bad feeling about this and was terrified about what she might find. But she had to do it for Gladys’s sake: her friend may need her help.

As she stepped inside a strong smell like metal made her lift her hand to her nose. Her husband had been a sheet-metal worker in the shipyard and the air smelt like his overalls did when he would bring them home every Friday to be washed. She went straight into the living room and picked up Gladys’s handbag. Inside were her glasses, purse, phone and diary: all the things you wouldn’t leave behind if you had to go away suddenly.

She put the bag down and went back into the hallway shouting up the stairs, ‘Gladys, it’s Ethel. Are you there, love?’ She was greeted by silence, not wanting to risk going upstairs in the fading light she felt for the light switch and her hand touched something wet and sticky. As she bathed the hall with light she looked down at her fingers: they were covered in a dark red liquid. Lifting them to her nose she balked: blood.

Horrified, she stumbled outside to the waiting taxi. ‘You have to phone the police, please tell them something bad has happened. There is blood on the light switch.’

The driver looked at her like she was a senile old bat. ‘Now then, love, how do you know something bad has happened, did you see anything?’

Edith held up her blood-soaked fingers. ‘Because, young man, I know what blood is. Now please call the police.’

He picked up his radio handset and asked the operator to get the police. Then he turned his meter off and muttered ‘bollocks’ under his breath.

Edith didn’t know what to do for the best so she leaned against the car and waited.

Jake printed off the statement for a job he’d attended earlier and was about to book off an hour later than he should have when a 999 shout came in for the house he’d attended earlier. He watched as the parade room emptied. He put his radio and CS gas into his locker and walked into Kav’s office.

‘Erm, Sarge, I went to a job at that address earlier and spoke to the bloke that lives there. He was a bit odd but everything seemed in order. Do you want me to go back out?’

Kav shook his head. ‘Nah, get yourself home. It says on the log a taxi driver has reported it on behalf of his fare – some old bird called Edith Wright. She said there’s blood on the light switch. It will be a load of old tosh, poor guy has probably cut himself shaving.’

Jake turned to leave, smiling to himself. That woman was a persistent customer if ever there was one.

Will had gone through both cases with Grace who he found easy to talk to. She was blonde, tall, slender and very attractive – exactly his type – yet not once did he find himself imagining sleeping with her, which was a first for him. Instead he found that he could concentrate on the case and talk it through like a professional. The only woman who kept popping into his mind was Annie and he couldn’t wait until he was finished and could go see her. His mother would be so proud of him.

He had shown Grace the crime scenes. He’d taken her to where Emma’s body had been found and then to the Abbey museum. Along the way he pointed out where Jenna’s last known sighting had been. The light had been fading rapidly and the Abbey ruins took on an eerie feel. He was tempted to ask if he could nip and check on Annie but it was complicated and didn’t feel like telling Grace the entire history of his private life.

While she was pacing around and writing notes he tried to ring Annie again but it went straight to voicemail: he left another message. His chest began to burn and he rubbed it. He didn’t have time to get heartburn now and he didn’t have any Rennie® on him either. Grace finally returned to the car and asked to be driven back to the station.

When they had walked back into the office Stu gave Will the nod and he frowned at him. Laura caught the look between them and blushed. Grace had sat down at the desk with her notepad and was busy typing on her laptop. A little while later, when everyone else had gone home and Will was nodding off, Grace lifted her head.

‘You can go home, Will. I’ll carry on for a while yet. As soon as I have something you can work with I’ll let you know.’

He was sorely tempted and stood up to stretch. ‘I can’t, sorry. I’m not allowed to leave you unsupervised in the station.’

‘Ah that’s all right, I understand. I spent most of my childhood in and out of police stations.’

Will thought about it. She wouldn’t be allowed to do her job if she had a criminal record.

‘Let me rephrase that. I spent most of my younger days in them because of my dad. Oh God that sounds even worse. I’m not a delinquent my dad was a detective just like you, and a workaholic. I was always hanging around waiting for him although I doubt it would be allowed these days, too many health and safety rules.’

Will relaxed a little wondering if he knew her dad. He glanced at the name on the visitor’s badge around her neck. The surname ‘Marshall’ glared back at him. ‘You wouldn’t be related to the Detective Inspector would you?’

Grace looked down at her hands and spoke much quieter. ‘Yes, he’s my dad.’

Will replayed every minute he’d spent with her wondering if he’d screwed up in any way; he didn’t think that he had. ‘Don’t worry it’s cool and I won’t hold it against you. To be honest I haven’t met him. I just spoke to him on the phone but he seems like an all right kind of guy.’

She smiled, flashing him a perfect set of white teeth and all he could think how lucky it was he hadn’t tried it on with her. She stood up. ‘I have everything I need for now. I’ll let you get home. Give me your number and I’ll ring you if I come up with something you can use tonight. Otherwise I’ll see you in the morning.’

Will recited his phone number and slipped his jacket on, excited to be able to finally go and see Annie.

Kav came puffing through the door like a stampeding bull. ‘Murder, need you at the scene. It’s a right fucking mess, so Smithy has said, he went to an emergency concern for welfare some old dear rang in and he’s only gone and found a body in the bedroom with the head caved in.’

‘Female?’

‘Nope, sorry mate, it’s a male.’

Will looked over at Grace. ‘How often do you get dead bodies pilling up in this town? I know for a fact it’s few and far between. It could be a coincidence but it could be our guy. Count me in,’ she said.

Henry picked up the woman as if she weighed no more than a sack of coal. He threw her over his shoulder and surveyed the scene. The man was out cold if not dying on the floor. He would come back and sort him out later. His priority was Annie. He finally had a name for her as he’d listened to the conversation the two of them had before he so rudely interrupted. This time she would not get the better of him. It was only a matter of minutes before she came round. He needed to get her into the cellar and into his little room. He carried her down the cellar steps to his trophy room. He needed no light; his feet could find the way unaided.

Kav, Will and Grace got into the unmarked car which was the only one left in the back yard. Kav drove fast and as they turned into the street they were greeted by chaos: three patrol cars with lights flashing illuminated the early evening sky; an ambulance pulled up behind them as they parked up. They could see a taxi driver arguing with Smithy about how much money he was losing while sitting there. Kav and Will got out of the car leaving Grace in the back. A silent look between them said it was the best place for her at the moment; she wouldn’t be able to get out because of the child locks.

Will suited and booted for the second time this week and went into the house. He noted the blood on the light switch and followed a trail of it along the banister and up the stairs. He walked along the landing to the only room with an open door, keeping to the opposite side of the wall away from the banister, careful not to destroy any evidence. A noise behind him made him turn to see Kav.

‘I couldn’t let you have all the fun.’

Will stepped inside and stared at the pictures. It took a few seconds before they registered in his brain and his face went white. Kav stepped in behind him.

‘Oh shit, what the fuck is Annie’s husband doing in here?’

Will looked at Kav and then down at the body. He had never seen the man before but if it was Annie’s husband then he had met his match. Kav looked around the room and sucked in his breath.

‘I think we have a much bigger problem. Why is our Annie plastered all over the walls?’

They both looked up to the ceiling at the giant picture: Annie stared back at them smiling. Will turned and ran out of the house, his phone vibrated in his pocket. Tugging off his latex glove he answered to a frantic Jake.

‘Have you spoken to Annie lately? I’ve been ringing her on and off for ages and can’t get hold of her. If I hadn’t had a couple of large glasses of wine I’d have driven up there but I thought you’d be there by now.’

Will had to concentrate to stop himself from throwing up all over the flower beds. ‘Not since lunch, I’ve been busy. Jake, we’ve just come to a house and found her husband and he’s dead. I’m going up there now.’ He didn’t have time to explain everything. He got back in the car, forgetting about Grace until she spoke.

‘Is everything OK?’

‘Not really. I can’t get hold of my girlfriend and she is staying on her own in the woods behind the Abbey and inside that house is her husband’s dead body, lying in a room which is covered in pictures of her.’

‘Go. Don’t worry about me, get driving. I’ll keep out of the way but you might need me anyway.’

He knew this made sense but he couldn’t think straight for the panic had taken over and a feeling of dread had settled in the pit of his stomach. Will had never suffered from anxiety or panic attacks but he had a tight band squeezing his chest. He ignored it; he didn’t have time to have a heart attack.

He drove into the rear yard of the station and dumped the car. He then ran inside to the sergeant’s office taking the only set of van keys off the whiteboard and his radio and CS gas from his locker. He jogged back into the yard and let Grace out of the car. Swapping vehicles she climbed in beside him. It was years since he’d driven a van and it took him a moment of fiddling with the buttons to find the lights and sirens: he needed to get to the Abbey in record time.

He passed his phone to Grace. ‘Please can you keep trying?’

She hit the call button and put it to her ear. ‘Voicemail.’ Grace had no idea who this Annie was but she was worried for her, so she kept on redialing. The phone beeped with an incoming call.

‘Jake, should I answer it?’

Will nodded.

‘Will’s phone, he’s driving can I help?’

Will could hear Jake’s animated voice but couldn’t make out what he was saying, ‘OK, I’ll tell him, we’re almost there.’ Grace repeated what she had just been told. ‘Alex is driving him and he’ll be here soon.’

‘Good if we need to split up we can. I just hope she’s having a long soak in the bath and can’t hear her phone.’ He pulled up in front of the gates and swore; they were locked up tight. Jumping down from the van he felt in his trouser pocket for the key. ‘Bloody hell, I went home to get changed and the key is in my other trousers in the washing basket.’ He was furious with himself. Taking the huge Magnalite® torch from the footwell of the van he looked at Grace. ‘I’m sorry to drag you into this. You can wait here if you want till Jake arrives. It’s a bit of a trek through the woods but not that far.’

She snorted. ‘Are you having a laugh? There’s a man killing women on the loose and you want me to wait here like a sitting duck, no thanks. I’ll follow you. I can handle a bit of exercise.’

Will smiled. She was growing on him by the minute. ‘Thanks but make sure you don’t tell your dad that I made you do it.’

‘You would be surprised at just how little I do tell my dad.’

They set off jogging along the path. Grace wasn’t even breaking a sweat but Will was struggling to breathe. How he wished he’d joined a gym instead of talking about it. The band around his chest got tighter, squeezing that bit harder and he had to start taking deep breaths in through his nose and out through his mouth.

He could see the outline of the farmhouse in the distance. There were no lights shining through the trees like every other time he’d been up here. Annie’s car was parked outside, the dog began to bark as he pushed the door handle: it was locked. He peered through the glass unable to make out much except the shape of the dog pacing up and down growling at him. He turned to check the barns just in case she’d hurt herself. He went into the hay barn first. Shining the powerful torch around until it reached the bales of hay by the window: they had been made into a makeshift seat. He looked at a dog lead on the floor next to it and his blood ran cold.

‘She had an audience, Will.’

He looked out through the cracked glass and had a perfect view through the kitchen windows. Will took out his phone but there were no bars on the screen. Grace tried hers but it was the same.

‘What about your radio?’

‘It’s in the van, shit. Why am I such an idiot?’

Grace looked around. ‘The door is locked, her car is there and there is no sign of a struggle so either she went with him of her own free will or – ‘ she paused and Will knew she was gauging his reaction to what she was about to say. He felt like shit and was trying to keep it together but he knew they were screwed. ‘Or whoever it was took her by surprise coming out of the house. But unless he drugged her or knocked her out cold there would be some evidence of a struggle, wouldn’t there?’

Will nodded as they left the barn. ‘The only place within walking distance if you were carrying someone is the old house five minutes away.’

‘Look, why don’t I go back to the van for the radio. At least then you can let patrols know where we are and what’s going on.’

Will was torn. He didn’t want to let her wander off on her own with a maniac on the loose but he didn’t have much choice. He couldn’t waste time going back down there; he needed to get to the house.

Grace reached out and touched his arm. ‘I’ll be fine. I teach self-defence classes back in Manchester to the kids off an estate. I can handle myself and I’ll be able to run down to the van and back in a couple of minutes.’

Will felt sick. If anything happened to her he didn’t know what he’d do but he had little other choice; he needed back up and soon.

‘Thanks, but promise me you’ll scream as loud as you can if you so much as see a shadow.’

She nodded.

He passed her the keys and watched her set off running. Will turned the other way and headed towards the house. If anything happened to Grace he would never forgive himself but Jake should arrive any minute and meet her half way.
Bloody hell, Jake in the dark is enough to make anyone scream, what was I thinking?
He rounded the final bend out of breath and paused to look at the mansion; it looked like every scary house in every horror film he’d watched. It was so creepy in the dark. He studied the upstairs windows for any moving torch beams but it was all pitch black.

Taking deep breaths to try and calm himself down he walked up to the front door. If he was going in there was no point in hiding; he may as well walk right in. He hoped the front door would be open and his prayers were answered when he cautiously pushed the heavy door and it moved. He had the gas in his pocket and some handcuffs on his belt and that was it. He never needed to carry a baton and he wasn’t Taser trained. At this moment in time he would swap anything to have one or both of them. He stepped inside the entrance, leaving the door ajar, scared that if he closed it he wouldn’t be able to get back out. He shivered. The atmosphere in here was awful. It was so cold he could see his breath every time he exhaled. Will stood very still and listened for any noise but there was none.

The only place he and Annie had never checked the other day was the cellar. Every old house this size had either a haunted attic or a demonic cellar so it had to be one of them, didn’t it? He made his way through the house until he reached the kitchen. Shining his torch around the beam illuminated a pool of blood on the floor. Will couldn’t breathe and the blood was pounding between his ears, he let out a sob and tried to tell himself that it didn’t have to belong to Annie but it was fresh, it hadn’t started to congeal it was a big, wet pool. He shone the torch further and he could see drag marks leading into the next room, keeping away from them he followed struggling to keep on his feet, his legs wanted to give way.

Henry had gone back up to check on the man. He didn’t want him waking up and escaping. But he didn’t need to worry. He was out cold and by the amount of blood on the floor he didn’t think he would be waking up any time soon. He returned to the cellar to make his final preparations; he was almost ready.