Jason and Emily stood, rooted to the spot, staring around the room. The command module here in the studio was set in the ceiling above his desk. But this voice hadn’t come from above – it had come from behind them, through the open door.
‘What was that?’ she said. ‘What was it?’
He strode over and looked down the stairs. ‘Yes, hello!’ he yelled down. ‘Something you want to share with us? Hello? HELLO?’
‘Don’t,’ Emily cautioned.
He turned to her. ‘Don’t what? Someone speaks to me in my – our – home, I’m sodding well answering them back.’ He shouted down the stairs. ‘Show yourself – you can say what you want, my wife and I aren’t scared of a bloody ghost, OK? Got that?’
Emily followed him and stood beside him. Their eyes met, Emily’s wide with fear. Jason put a protective arm around her and held her tight again. He could feel her trembling.
He was trembling, too.
‘What was it?’ she asked. ‘Like, who?’
‘Stay here, I’ll take a look.’
‘No way, I’m coming with you.’
She followed him, one slow step at a time, down the spiral staircase. Into each of the rooms in turn, on the first floor. Checking the windows. All were locked. Then on down and into the hall. There was nothing in the living room and they went into the kitchen. Poldark was on the television, the sound still muted.
‘We both heard it, Jason,’ Emily said.
‘I know.’ He went through into the utility room off the kitchen, grabbed the torch from the shelf and went out of the back door, latching it. Emily followed.
He headed past the bin store, to the back garden, and shone the beam all around. ‘I’m going to check the front too – make sure there are no speakers anywhere, put there by that bastard Fears, or any other locals trying to scare us,’ he said, determinedly.
Finally, having done a complete and thorough circuit, and finding nothing, he went back inside.
‘Do you really have to work so late?’ Emily asked, following him back up to the studio. ‘I don’t want to go to bed alone. I’m scared.’
‘I’ve got to get this finished, and the sketch of the spaniel, by tomorrow afternoon, somehow. I’ve promised David, otherwise he won’t get the framing done in time. If I don’t deliver these to my clients, I’m not going to get paid – and they’re going to be mightily pissed off. I can’t let them down.’
‘Christmas is still a week away. You give him a lot of business – surely he can still do them if you deliver to him on Tuesday, or even Wednesday?’
‘He’s going on holiday on Wednesday until after the New Year – he’s allocated the time on Tuesday for them both.’
‘So, work through tomorrow night. But not tonight, please, Jason.’
He nodded at the couch on the far side of the room. ‘How about you crash there while I work on? Actually, it would be quite nice if the two of us were up here – just for now.’
She looked at him. ‘Because?’
Because I’m shit scared of working up here alone tonight was the truth. But he didn’t say that. He said, ‘Because you’ll feel safer here.’
To his relief, Emily agreed.