The Haunting of Highdown Hall (12 page)

“The world’s darling today, tomorrow second best. I’ve seen it happen, Cynthia, I’ve seen how it destroys people. Don’t let fame be the only thing you have in your life.”

“Fame is enough!” she had screamed at him.

Again he held her gaze. She had read the contempt in his eyes; contempt and despair. Without another word, he pulled on his clothes and left the bedroom. Not even a backwards glance.

She had fallen onto the bed – alone. Reeling from what he had said to her. At how quickly the mood had turned sour.
How dare John try to cage her, to own her? She belonged to no one, no one.
A shiver ran through her as she realised this wasn’t strictly true. She did belong to someone. Lytton had made sure of it. Lytton! Why had she allowed herself to fall under his spell? So many times she had asked herself that question. She had been young and naive, she had been desperate – so different to the person she was today. And the man she belonged to, if you could call him a man, he was here, she was certain of it. Not John, the antithesis of John. He watched her every move, blocking her path to the light that she could see shining in the distance, a light that looked so inviting but she knew was also a trick. As soon as she tried to reach it, he would step forward; drag her down with him to an existence even worse than this. The girl, the old woman, they did not know what they were talking about; who they were dealing with. She
couldn’t
go to the light. She belonged to the Devil and perhaps always had done – since she had first felt that desire for stardom burn in her belly. All Lytton had done was to facilitate that bond.

No, she would stay here: in
her
house, in
her
room, in the shadows, where it was safe. And if they came back, those wretched people, that man that squatted below, they would regret it. But for now she would rest. Gather her strength. She would need it.

Chapter Eight

“What do you mean, she’s still here? I was given to understand you people were professionals, that you’d rid me of her.”

“Mr Kierney...” Ruby started to appease, but Theo interrupted.

“Mr Kierney, we have completed stage one of our investigations and in very many cases, stage one is sufficient. Sometimes, however, spirits dig their heels in, refuse to depart. There can be a number of reasons for this, which aren’t always obvious and so we need to delve further. But believe me when I say our concern is not just for Cynthia’s wellbeing but for yours too. We plan to go away, conduct more research and find out the reason behind her resistance. Armed with this knowledge, we will return to perform another cleansing, endeavouring to achieve a conclusion that is satisfactory for all.”

Mr Kierney didn’t seem half as inclined to argue with Theo as he was with Ruby.

“And what am I supposed to do in the meantime?” he muttered, his eyes refusing to meet the old lady’s, his mouth a grim line.

“I believe you’re sleeping downstairs at the moment,” Theo continued, “and that you feel relatively safe doing so? I suggest you continue in that manner until we return.”

“Or I could get another team in,” said Mr Kierney, rallying.

“Indeed you could,” sanctioned Theo, “but Psychic Surveys has made significant progress with your case, whereas another team would have to start from scratch. I believe your best bet is to stick with us, although, of course, it’s your decision entirely.”

His pallid complexion flushing red with fury, Mr Kierney conceded but not with good grace.

“I want the entire use of my house!” he thundered. “And I want it soon. One more chance, that’s all I’m prepared to give you and at no extra cost to me.”

“Mr Kierney, I...” Theo began, a rise in her voice signalling it was time for Ruby to butt back in.

“One more chance is all we need Mr Kierney, we’re very grateful to you. I intend to devote myself personally to this case, to find out what the problem is, what grounds Cynthia. We’ll be back as soon as possible to try again – later this week or early the week after.”

“You’d better!” Mr Kierney growled before indicating he’d like them to leave.

Outside, Corinna turned to Ruby.

“Bloody idiot! Why didn’t you just tell him to get lost?”

“First, because it wouldn’t do Cynthia any good, and second, Mr Kierney’s a journalist. If we fail to evict Cynthia, he could use the media to harm our reputation considerably. We’ve spent two years getting people to take Psychic Surveys seriously; we don’t want the work that we do devalued by an arrogant arse like him.”

At the thought of everything she’d worked so hard for suddenly being under threat, Ruby started to feel emotional and – psychic, sensitive or not – all around her felt it.

“Mr Kierney said there’s a pub somewhere close?” Cash reached out his hand to rest lightly on Ruby’s shoulder.

“Yes,” confirmed Ness, “I passed it on my way here, The Rainbow Inn
it’s called
.
Follow me, I’ll lead the way.”

***

A typical Sussex country pub, the taller among them had to duck as they entered The Rainbow Inn, its doorway was so low. Inside, the ceiling, complete with blackened oak beams, was also low. The sense of enclosure, however, ensured an intimate and cosy atmosphere, a respite from the weather. The bar shone like a beacon in the gloom, and on the chalkboard menu a member of staff with an artistic bent had drawn holly leaves and berries in the top corners, green and red a festive contrast against the black. Cash took orders whilst the others settled themselves round a large, battered table, not too far from the fire that danced in the grate.

Seeing the drinks lined up on the bar, Corinna jumped up to help Cash bring them over. A coke for Ruby and her, a half pint of bitter for Cash, gin and tonic for Theo and tomato juice for Ness, heavy on the Tabasco and Worcester Sauce.

“Well, that was interesting,” she said, returning.

“That’s one way of putting it,” Ness mumbled, clearly savouring her drink.

Ruby was about to speak next but movement at the bar caught her attention.

“You can see him too?” said Theo, leaning towards her.

“Yes,” said Ruby, smiling again at last. “But I don’t think he’s earthbound. He looks too content. I get the impression he just enjoys propping up the bar every now and again.”

As Corinna and Cash looked to the bar intrigued, Theo changed the subject.

“So, what next?”

“Next, we find out who Lytton is.”

“Lytton?” enquired Ness, pushing a rogue strand of black hair behind her ear.

“Yes, Lytton,” answered Ruby. “When I first made contact with Cynthia, she mentioned someone called Lytton, she wanted to know where he was. She sounded desperate at the mention of his name. We need to find out who he is. What relationship he had with her.”

“And his name hasn’t come up in the research you’ve done already?” enquired Ness.

“No, it hasn’t,” said Ruby. Lowering her head, she continued. “Obviously I didn’t look hard enough. To be honest though, her passing was sudden, unexpected. I thought once we’d explained to her what had happened, helped her to understand, she’d go peacefully enough. Big mistake. There’s more than that holding her here.”

Cash leaned forward too. “Is that what you mean by going deeper? More research equals more knowledge equals the key to her being stuck here? Unlocking the secret equals all round-success?”

“Something like that,” confirmed Ruby.

Sipping at her coke, she continued “I’ll spend the next couple of days looking into it, shall we meet up again at my office on Thursday? Does that suit everyone?”

Even if it didn’t, Ruby knew they’d rearrange whatever they had planned to ensure that it did. A surge of affection for these people sitting around her, her team, her friends, rose up in her. She was lucky to have found them. Maybe Cash too as it was turning out.

That settled, their conversation turned to more mundane matters.

“Wonder if Lucy and Joey are going to get it on in EastEnders tonight?” wondered Corinna, an avid fan of the soap opera.

“How you can watch such rubbish, I don’t know.” Ness looked truly shocked. “No one ever talks to each other in that programme, they just shout. It’s full of such negative energy.”

Corinna smirked as she took another sip of coke.

“The present pile,” Theo joined in. “That’s what I’ll be wading through tonight.”

That’s all Theo ever seemed to spend her evenings doing lately. She had three sons and each son had at least two children. If Ruby remembered correctly, one of them had five – an impressive if excessive number in the modern world. Nonetheless, Theo adored each and every one of her grandchildren and delighted in spoiling them. All year she’d stock up on toys and then spend practically the whole of December wrapping them.

Drinks finished, everyone started grabbing their coats and saying their goodbyes, making ready to go. Whilst they did so, Ruby seized the opportunity to pop to the bar. Standing beside the outline of the man she had noticed earlier, she turned to look directly at him, trying to form a connection with him. Tuning in, she gathered he had been in his seventies; that his name was Albert, but he was known more commonly as Burt and that, in life, The Rainbow Inn was not just a pub to him but a home-from-home.

Are you stuck here or can you come and go?
Ruby asked, not in words, in thought.

I can come and go, love,
the old man replied good-naturedly enough.
For a while anyway.

What are you drinking?

Harveys Old, that’s my tipple.
He was grinning at her, she could sense it.
There’s nothing like it.

Not even on the other side it would seem
.
It was one heck of an endorsement. The company that brewed it, Harveys Brewery in her home town of Lewes, would be pleased to hear that.

You’re okay then?

I’m fine
. Burt winked at her.

Ruby couldn’t tell when he had passed exactly, but fairly recently, something to do with his liver. Although he had gone to the light with no problems, Burt was having trouble relinquishing his earthly pleasures – a beer with friends in a pub he loved. She didn’t know what happened on the ‘other side’, but from experience she had gleaned there were those who were allowed a certain amount of time to come to terms with leaving the physical world in which they had been so happy. As long as they didn’t make a nuisance of themselves, they could visit places or people every now and again until they felt ready to move on entirely, to wherever it was they were supposed to go – the next leg of their spiritual journey. Such visitations could not be considered hauntings as such as the spirits in question rarely needed help; they would do what they had to do, just in their own time.

Enjoy your pint
, Ruby said, leaving him to it.

Cash had waited behind for her.

“Are you okay?” His voice was low, his eyes gentle.

“I’m fine,” she replied. “What about you? After what happened back there, all that banging and crashing?”

“I’m fine. Honest. I’ve never been better.”

She shouldn’t believe him, but somehow she did. He seemed genuinely unfazed by the more obvious elements of Cynthia’s tantrum, astonishingly so.

“Well, it’s over now,” she continued. “You don’t have to set foot in Highdown Hall ever again.”

“Are you kidding?” Cash looked genuinely put out. “I’m looking forward to it. But I can’t wait until the end of the week to see you again. Fancy a curry tonight? My shout.”

Chapter Nine

The atmosphere at Chaula’s, a local Indian restaurant near Waitrose in Eastgate Street, was quiet.
Quietly perfect,
thought Ruby, she’d had enough drama for one day. Looking at the man sitting opposite her, she was glad she had agreed to go, if only to give him the chance to offload about what had happened earlier that day. As she expected, Cash broached the subject of Highdown Hall within minutes of sitting down.

“This spirit stuff, it’s real, isn’t it?”

“As real as you and me,” agreed Ruby, wondering why Jed, who was sitting by her side looking longingly at her, had chosen this precise moment to show up.

Jed, you don’t eat anymore. And especially not curry. Stop staring!

Jed wasn’t buying it though. He wagged his tail expectantly and his eyes were almost heartbreaking, they were so hopeful.

Since there was nothing she could do about the dog’s phantom hunger pangs, she decided to ignore him and concentrate on Cash instead. The waiter had delivered their food, a chicken jalfrezi with extra chillies for him and a prawn dhansak with boiled rice and a side of chilli pickle for her. His eyes widening, Cash lost no time in wading in.

“You like it hot too?” he noted, watching her dollop a spoonful of pickle onto the side of her plate.