The Patchwork House (3 page)

CHAPTER 3

There was nobody
in the library.

Did Derek leave? How had he done it so quietly? The door was closed and I hadn’t heard it open again. What the hell? Who had come in here?

Unnerved, I hurried back into the deserted corridor. Derek could have ducked into another room. One way to be sure. I entered a bedroom on the opposite side to the library, a little further away from the stairs, and went over to the window at the back of the house.

Beth, Chloe and Derek were walking back across the lawn towards me. The two girls were arm in arm, Derek a few steps behind. They were about to reach the courtyard, but it was obvious they hadn’t yet been back in the house since I’d seen them last.

I spun around, listening for any sound. Nothing. Who was in the room with me? Did I imagine it or did I just have an encounter with Percy’s grandfather? My skin tingled in fear and excitement. I tried to recall every detail of what had just happened before the memory faded. I didn’t know whether to be terrified or exhilarated. I had hoped to encounter something while staying here, but in all honesty I had fully expected the night to pass with no incident whatsoever. The prospect of there being a real ghost to hunt, not just rumour or a groundskeeper’s stories, but a real entity in this building…

I had to tell Derek. Even if he was pissed at me or being shy or whatever the hell was wrong with him, he would love to hear about this.

I hurried down the stairs and across the hallway, opening the front door just in time to see Beth, Chloe and Derek standing there.

“You look very pale,” Beth said as she stepped in. She gave me a brief kiss. “Are you okay?”

“Oh my God, you have to listen to what happened to me,” I said eagerly as they all assembled in the hall. I recounted my experience in as much detail as I could. Beth and Derek seemed unconvinced despite my excitement. Only Chloe seemed to hang on my every word.

“First of all, lame prank, mister,” Beth scolded me. “Second of all, I think you just heard creaky floorboards.”

“What if it wasn’t just creaking?” Chloe said, intrigued.

“What do you think, Derek?” I asked.

“I don’t know. I’d have to hear it for myself.”

What was up with him? I brushed it aside for now.

“So listen, it’s kind of cold upstairs. Not drafty, there’s just a chill up there. Anyway, I suggest we make camp down here. The warmest room seems to be the one just next to the front door. We could even start a fire if we can find some wood.”

“And if the chimney’s not blocked,” Beth said.

“Why don’t you take Chloe into the village to get food and she can call home.”

Beth took the car keys from me. “While you boys can get reacquainted.”

“Don’t get lost!” I called as the girls headed out the front door. “Oh and remember we drive on the left here. Wait, I need to get the stuff out the car first. Give me a hand please, Derek.”

We followed them outside. While Beth was adjusting her seat and the mirrors, I opened the trunk and pulled out one of two large canvas bags. Derek grabbed the other and while the girls drove off, we hefted the weighty bags into the house.

We took them into the drawing room and placed them carefully in the corner.

“Right,” I said, “let’s see what we’ve got.”

I unzipped the first bag and pulled out a digital SLR with tripod and a case full of lenses. Next was a video camera with night vision lens, a laptop, cables and a huge battery pack. It was fully charged so I plugged my smartphone in right away. The other bag contained two double ultra-thin sleeping bags, neatly rolled up, and two gas lanterns and a mini camping stove.

“Do you mind taking these to the kitchen?”

Derek nodded and left the room. I booted up the laptop and wondered again what was wrong with my old friend. He was so quiet. As a teenager, when we used to hang out all the time, he would have been fascinated and utterly convinced by my possible encounter with a ghost. I wondered if perhaps Chloe had been haranguing him the whole ride and he was simply feeling cowed. Still, with her gone, he should have lightened up a little. Perhaps parenthood had just drained him so much he could only function on the most basic of levels.

I started up the video camera and took a panning shot of the room.

“Hey, Dad,” I narrated, “it’s me, Jim. This is the drawing room and it smells of pipe smoke and the wallpaper is peeling. The rest of the house is in great shape, but this one room will need some work. I have some other suggestions too, but first let me show you the hallway.”

I picked up the camera just as Derek was emerging from the kitchen.

“Dad, you remember my old friend, Derek? Derek, say hi to Dad.”

Derek waved awkwardly and ducked out of the shot.

I spent the next hour going from room to room, taping each one and providing commentary and suggestions. By the time I got upstairs, the natural light was fading so I switched on the camera’s low-light filter. I was in the library upstairs when I heard the car return. I looked out of the window and saw Derek going out to meet the girls. He seemed talkative with them, not shy at all. As I watched, he even laughed at something Chloe said. If he’d been in the doghouse with his wife, he was out of it now. Their voices were muffled and I couldn’t make out words, but there was definitely more good humour. Was it just me he was pissed at? What the hell did I do?

The car itself was right below the window. I had to peer downwards at quite an angle to see the back end of it. Now I couldn’t see the trio either, so I assumed they had returned to the house. The blip of the car’s alarm activation and the sound of the front door closing confirmed that. I finished filming in the library and told Dad I would be photographing many of the rarer books and getting them appraised, just in case there were any collectible first editions on the shelves that could make some bonus cash.

I headed downstairs and into the kitchen, still filming.

“Smile, everyone,” I said as I entered the kitchen.

Beth turned around to welcome me and immediately ducked away, hiding her face.

“Argh! Put that thing away.”

“Don’t tell me you hate being filmed,” Chloe said.

“Yep, Beth hates being on camera,” I said. “You’ll make an exception this weekend, right?”

“Hell no.”

Chloe shook her head. “If I was as pretty as you are, I’d go looking for cameras to take my picture,” she said.

Beth smiled and let her guard down for a moment. “Aw, you’re sweet.”

“How are the kids doing, Chloe?” I asked.

“Oh just fine thanks. Mum’s got everything in hand so we can
finally
relax!”

“Excellent.”

“Dinner is served,” Beth said. She opened two bags filled with Chinese takeaway. Another three bags of snacks and junk stood on the counter by the sink. Clearly we weren’t going to be hungry this weekend. Chloe opened cupboards until she found crockery and utensils, and pulled out enough for all of us.

“Can we get some light in here please?” Beth asked as she opened containers and put spoons in them.

Derek headed for the door. “I’ll get the lamps,” he said. It really was getting quite hard to see in here.

I taped him leaving the room and then shut off the camera.

“So, Chloe,” I asked, “just how much trouble is Derek in over the passports?”

Chloe laughed. “None. Well, none anymore, not since we saw how amazing this place is.”

“Better than Vegas?” I asked her.

“Well we’re spending a lot less money, that’s for sure.”

“I’m so glad you invited these guys,” Beth said, still hiding her face in case I started the camera up again.

“Oh what? You can’t stand the thought of being alone in this house with me?”

“Ugh, God no. You’re
so
dull.”

Just for that I turned the camera back on, and then moved in closer to try to get a shot of her face. She held up a bag of nachos to block me. Derek came back with the lamps. He’d brought the chill with him it seemed. Beth hugged herself and Chloe zipped up her jacket.

“That’s a heck of a draft you’ve let in,” Chloe commented as Derek turned on the first lamp. There was a momentary hiss of gas and the lamp fired into life.

“One should be enough for now,” I said. “Let’s save the others for later.”

Derek put down the lamp and we all grabbed stools. Beth spread the various dishes over the counter and I put away the camera, grabbed a plate and helped myself. The others dived in too.

“Thank God for that,” Beth said. “I thought you were going to film us eating.”

“Screw that, I’m too hungry.”

“Pass the sweet and sour please,” said Beth.

Even Derek seemed to come out of his funk for a little while. At first there wasn’t much conversation; we were too hungry to talk. But after a while our stomachs realized that we weren’t going to be starving them all day and we slowed down enough to take a breath.

I was the first to take a pause. “This is good. I’m surprised you found a Chinese takeaway in the village.”

“So were we,” Chloe said.

“I thought we were going to have to buy a bunch of cans and cook over a little camping stove,” Beth said. “And then we nearly drove right past this tiny little take out joint.”

“It was pretty busy,” said Chloe. “Always a good sign.”

“Didn’t realize how hungry I was,” Derek said.

I stared at him for a moment as he ate. His appetite seemed to have lifted the air of grumpiness he’d carried since he arrived. Of course it wasn’t going to last.

“Chloe, I hope you paid Beth for half this stuff,” he said between mouthfuls.

“No, Beth insisted on paying. You should say thank you to our gracious hosts.”

The temperature seemed to take a dip again.

“It’s okay, hon, we can pay our way. It’s the least we can do after Jim and Beth were nice enough to invite us.”

“This trip isn’t costing us anything,” I said, “so it’s fine, we can pay. I know things have been a bit tight for you guys—”

“We’re not poor,” Derek snapped. I wasn’t the only one to detect the accusation behind Derek’s words. Beth looked at me awkwardly too. We all fell silent for a moment while Derek’s words hung in the chilly air.

Beth broke the silence. “How about if we go back tomorrow then it’s on you?” she suggested.

“Yes all right then,” Chloe agreed, but this didn’t seem to placate Derek.

“That’s okay,” Derek said in a forced tone. “Jim has all the money, so let him pay.”

“I have my own money, thanks very much,” Beth said. Now she sounded pissed.

“Oh, so both of you are doing well. That must be nice.”

“Derek,” Chloe said.

“No, it’s okay. It stands to reason that if you don’t have to work two jobs with stupid hours just to put food on the table for your three kids, it’s much easier to swan around the world staying in nice houses and spending most of the year playing computer games.”

The atmosphere was so frosty I could almost see my breath turning to mist in the lamp light.

“Derek, you need to calm down,” I told him.

“Calm down? Sure I’ll calm down. It’s your fucking fault I’m stuck with my shitty life while you never have to lift a bloody finger.”

“Excuse me?” It was Chloe’s turn to be angry now. She rose from the table. Derek knew he’d gone too far; all his bluster faded immediately.

Chloe advanced on him. “It may be hard and we’ve had to make a lot of sacrifices, but I love you and I love my children. I don’t regret anything and I certainly don’t consider my life to be shitty.”

“Hon, I didn’t mean… I meant financially…”

“I know exactly what you meant, Derek, and—” Chloe stopped suddenly. She stared upwards. “What was that?”

We all looked at her and then followed her gaze to the ceiling. I’d felt so awkward while they argued that I was ignoring everything else around me. Now we all sat in silence, staring at the light fixtures.

I broke the silence. “What did you hear?”

“Shh.”

We stayed dead still, all looking up. I couldn’t hear anything. Nobody spoke, wondering if whatever Chloe had heard might happen again. I opened my mouth to speak.

There was a bang from above, a
huge
bang, so loud it was like a bomb had gone off upstairs. All of us jumped to our feet. There was absolutely no mistaking it. The house was far too solid for the bang to cause anything to move, but we’d all
felt
it too, like a very short, very violent earthquake.

We froze, gaping in shock at each other.

After a moment I asked, “What the hell?”

We stood in stunned silence for about a minute, our food forgotten, staring at each other, then at the ceiling, then back to each other again. Nobody made a move.

“Should we pretend that didn’t happen or go take a look?” Derek asked.