Henry found himself walking along the path to the woods. He couldn’t remember how he had got this far but he headed towards the farmhouse. As he got close to the gate he could hear vacuuming inside so he jogged over to the hay barn and walked in, taking up his position in front of the window. He could see her flitting from room to room having a cleaning frenzy. It was tempting to go and knock on the door but he didn’t think she would open it for him. He supposed he could try the missing dog routine one last time but if she phoned the police it would be over before it began.
While he sat dithering over what to do another man strolled up towards the gate. He hadn’t seen this one before. How many men can one woman know? He watched, puzzled, as to who this one could be. He didn’t know if he had the strength for many more murders in him, he was kind of all murdered out.
She had plenty of male friends but he hadn’t seen any of the female kind. He wondered if she was lonely. He’d spent most of his life on his own and look where it had got him. The sound of the kitchen door being unbolted pushed all thoughts from his head. He watched as the man entered the house. He was quite old and he didn’t think he would be much trouble in a fight. He listened for the sound of the bolt going across and smiled when it didn’t. That was a very good sign: exactly what he had been waiting for. He stood and stretched. Five minutes and it would be chaos over there.
Annie was glad Derek was here. She felt like she was on the verge of breaking down she was so worn out with it all.
‘I got your message and came straight here. I’ve been thinking about the best way to get to the bottom of this and the only thing I can think of is doing a séance in the house. That way I can get a feel for the place, ask some questions and hopefully get some answers. What do you think?’
Her mouth went dry and she couldn’t get her tongue to move. ‘I don’t think I really want to. I don’t like the thought of messing with anything like that, Derek, but do I have much choice?’
He peered outside. It was mid-afternoon and if the rain didn’t start again it would be light for a couple of hours yet. Derek didn’t want to be in that house in the dark either. ‘No. I think we should do it now.’
Annie grabbed her jacket and the key for the house off the hook. ‘Come on, if I think about it too hard I’ll chicken out. Is there anything we need like a cross, holy water or maybe a couple of silver bullets?’
‘A couple of cloves of garlic if you have them.’
The colour drained from her face which stopped Derek from laughing out loud. ‘I’m sorry, Annie, I was joking. I didn’t realise you were being serious.’
She let out a huge sigh of relief. ‘Phew, good because I’m proper scared, my hands are shaking.’
He smiled and patted her arm. ‘Well, then you’re in luck because as it goes I’m one of the best in the business. We’ll get this sorted out and put those ghosts to rest and have you back in time for tea. How does that sound?’
‘Bloody wonderful, Derek. In fact, it would be amazing.’
She pulled her trainers on her feet just in case she needed to run.
‘Ready when you are. I always did have a secret fantasy about being a Ghostbuster.’ She winked at him but her voice trembled. Stepping outside she was followed by Derek who was followed by Tess. Annie ushered Tess back inside and locked up. Should she phone Will? She decided not to. It was time to take control of her life.
They set off towards the old house.
Henry had known his patience would pay off. He watched as they headed into the woods in the direction of the house. Perfect. He couldn’t ask for anything more. He would give them a head start and follow them. The woods were so peaceful not even a bird was chirping. Thank God it wasn’t the school holidays because then they would be full of screaming kids.
Edith could not settle. It wasn’t right. In all the years she had been friends with Gladys she had never even mentioned having a sister, she may have said a distant relative but not a sister. Henry had looked different as well. When he opened the door his appearance had shocked her. He hadn’t shaved for days and there were dark circles under his even darker eyes. Gladys had said she was worried about him and she could understand why.
Turning off her television Edith stood up. As she stretched the bones in her knees creaked. Shuffling over to the phone she rang Gladys again: it rang and rang, Edith knew she couldn’t stand back and not do anything. Not when her friend might need her help. She knew where the spare key for Gladys’s house was hidden so she phoned a taxi. She would ask the driver to wait for her while she checked the house. Never one to shy away from a fight in her younger days she knew that even if Henry was inside she was going in regardless. What was the worst that could happen? He might call the police but tough. If all policemen were as nice as the one she spoke to earlier it would brighten up her day.