2 A Different Shade Of Death (8 page)

Chapter 21

“Are
you sure?” Pearl asked.

“It
all makes sense, or sort of sense. I never thought of him as a suspect. I have
to go to Heathville and warn Amy. Will you be okay if I go?”

Pearl
nodded. “There’s nothing you can do for Frankie. If this James, or Jim, is
planning another murder you have to stop him. I’ll do what I can for this young
chap.”

Grace
said, “Are you going to absorb his pain again? Is it safe for you to do that?”

Pearl
looked back at Frankie. “I’ll do what I have to do, you go and warn Amy. Grace,
be careful and remember the condom.”

“What?”

“The
protective condom that you need to imagine around yourself, it should protect
you from any harm.”

“Right.”
Grace wasn’t going to think about a condom. “I’ll take Frankie’s van.” She
paused and took a final look at Frankie. She couldn’t lose him, he was the only
family that she had left.

Grace
drove Frankie’s van to Heathville. Ted was coming out of the door as she ran up
the path.

“Is
Amy in?” Grace asked.

Ted
grunted. “She is, somewhere. We’re finished for the day. Watch yourself with
Amy, don’t let her sweet talk you into taking a loan out.”

“I
won’t.”

Ted
left the house, followed by a couple of workmen. Grace looked at the men, Jim
wasn’t with them. She tried to recall his face from earlier in the day. She
couldn’t quite bring his features to mind. Did he look like the boy in the
photos at Emily’s house? She just wasn’t sure.

The
door closed behind Grace making her jump. Why was she so nervous?

She
went in to the room that she’d been in earlier with Amy. There was no one
there. Out of curiosity Grace walked over to a piece of furniture that was
covered up. She lifted the sheet. Definitely an antique. Was this a piece that
used to belong to Emily?  A piece that she had been tricked out of to try and
pay off her debts? One that Amy had now moved back into the house?

Grace
jumped again as a creak overhead sounded out. She called out, “Amy? It’s Grace,
from the shop. Are you here?”

Grace
walked out of the room. Should she go upstairs? Her gaze was drawn to the
library. That room had something to do with Charlie’s death. And what was it on
the original house plans that she’d seen earlier? Something was bugging her.

She
called out Amy’s name again but didn’t receive a reply. She took hesitant steps
towards the library, pushed the door open and stepped inside.

It
was a spacious room with floor to ceiling windows at the opposite side to the
door. Bookshelves decorated two sides of the room complete with old looking
books.

Grace’s
eyes flicked to the left and towards the bookcase there. Something looked odd.

That
was it!

The
original plans showed another room behind the library. Grace remembered that
the door to that room was to the left of the library, right where she was
looking now.

She
moved further into the room and towards the bookshelf where the door should be.
The bookshelf looked slightly off kilter.

Grace
peered closer. Was it really? It was! A secret door disguised as a bookshelf.
Grace smiled, it was just like from an old movie. She walked closer to the
door. Did she need to pull a certain book towards herself to open it?

No.
She could see that the door was already ajar. She put her hand out and pulled
the door towards her.

Should
she really be doing this? What if Amy came in and found her?

But
it was a secret door in a library! She had to look in.

Grace
pulled the door wide enough open for her to step through.

She
was in another room. She recognised it immediately. It was the room that she’d
gone into via a vision with Charlie this afternoon, the one that he’d referred
to as his secret office.

Her
nose wrinkled. That smell was in here, the mouldy smell, it was even stronger
than before.

Grace
froze, her heart seemed to stop. There was an old desk in the middle of the
room. On the desk were four thick green candles.

The
candles were lit.

Someone
was in the room with her, Grace could feel it.

Without
moving her head Grace looked around the room. She couldn’t see anyone. She
lowered her gaze and looked again.

Her
eyes alighted on something on the floor, right next to the table where the
candles were.

A
hand was sticking out. It was a woman’s hand.

“Amy!”
Grace ran over to the desk.

Amy
was lying on her back, one arm flung out, the other laying across her stomach.
Amy’s eyes were screwed up, her mouth was moving as if she was trying to speak.

Grace
put her head closer to Amy’s to try to hear what she was saying. It was then
that she noticed specks of green on Amy’s lips and around her mouth.

“Amy,
what are you trying to say?”

“She’s
probably saying, “Ouch,” a voice behind her said.

Grace
looked up. “Jim?”

“That’s
me, although Mother calls me James.”

Chapter 22

Jim
had a white mask over his nose and mouth. His voice sounded muffled but there
was no mistaking the hate in his voice.

He
came round to where Grace was bending over Amy. He nodded towards Amy and said,
“Leave her to die, she can’t have long left now. You were here earlier, what
was your business with her? Are you involved in her dodgy loan schemes? Do you
work for her? Do you know what sort of a woman she is?”

Grace
held her hands up to ward off his questions. “I’d never met her before
yesterday. I work at a shop in town, she asked for my advice on something.
Shouldn’t we call for an ambulance?”

“No,
she’s going to die. Do you know what she did to Mother? Shall I tell you?”

Grace
slowly stood up. “I know about your mum. I took some belongings round to her
today, she told me everything.”

“Everything?”

“About
the debts and loans. It must be hard for you, being made to leave your family
home.”

“You
don’t know the half of it! This is my home, it’s always been my home. It’s mine
and everything inside is mine. Can you imagine how it felt for me to move out
and then have to come back and see the new owners? To actually work for them?”
Jim’s fists tightened.

“I
can’t imagine that. Did you blame Charlie Ford for the loss of your house?”
Grace paused. “Is that why you killed him?”

Jim
looked at her, his eyes seemed to bore into her soul. Grace saw the corners of his
eyes move upwards as if he was smiling. Why was he wearing that mask? Had he
just been working on something?

Jim
said, “Well worked out. I was hoping that Amy would be accused of his murder
but the bitch was out of the country at the time. You should have seen Charlie
Ford gloating when he moved in! I could have strangled him with my bare hands!
Ignorant pig!”

“I
spoke to Ted earlier. He told me that Amy was the one behind the loans and
debts. Is that why you’re ...” Grace couldn’t say the words.

Jim
said, “Trying to kill her? Yes. She’s taking a long time to go. I wished she’d
hurry up, I’ve got some work to do on my computer. I’m setting up my own
business. That’s what I’ve been working on for years. I’ll make a profit soon,
I know I will, I just need to do a bit more work on it. I should be working on
my business now instead of being forced to work here. Ted told Mother he was
doing me a favour by hiring me. She’s no idea how he talks to me. He’ll be next
on my list if he doesn’t change his ways.”

Grace
swallowed her fear. It was obvious that Jim wasn’t a sane person. She
remembered that Emily had told her how he’d spent a lot of time on his computer
instead of mixing with people. She looked towards the door, it was still open.
Could she make a run for it? What about Amy? She couldn’t leave her here with
Jim.

She
said, “This is a lovely room, I didn’t know it was here.”

Jim
nodded and seemed to smile again. “It’s a secret room, it’s only for the male
members of the Heath family. Grandad showed it to me when I was young. He used
to work in here, away from prying eyes, Dad did too.”

Jim
let out a loud laugh. It sent shivers down Grace’s back. Jim said, “They didn’t
know! None of them knew. I found out, I was the only one clever enough to work
it out. How are you feeling? What’s your name?”

“Grace.
I do feel a bit queasy, I’m getting a headache too. It must be that funny
smell. Why do you ask?”

Jim
lifted the mask up and gave Grace a grin. It was a grin filled with malice. He
said, “It’s the arsenic! It’s in the wallpaper. It’s in the paint. It’s even in
the candles! Isn’t that hilarious? No one knew! That’s why they died. Not me
though, I worked it out.”

Grace’s
eyes widened as she looked around the room. “I don’t understand. Why would
anyone want to put arsenic in the wallpaper?”

Jim
looked at her as if she was stupid. “They didn’t know it was going to cause
problems. They used it to make the colour green. It was all the rage when
Benjamin Heath first built this house. It was much later that people associated
death with this colour. That’s why so many of my male relatives died. I worked
it out. Mother told me that they suffered from early deaths but she didn’t know
why. I knew about this room and I knew about the funny smell. Didn’t take me
long to work it out. Charlie Ford didn’t know. I made a great show of ‘finding’
the original plans and then uncovering this room. He was so smug about using it
as a secret office. It took a while for the poison to work. I had to dampen the
walls to let the arsenic out and I made sure the candles had been lit for a few
hours before he came in. The idiot never suspected anything, not even with the
smell.”

“Did
Charlie die in this room? I thought his body was discovered in the library,”
Grace said.

“He
died in here but I had to drag him out, I couldn’t let anyone find this room. I
told Amy Ford about this room after Charlie died but she wasn’t bothered,
wouldn’t even come in. I had to drag her in this afternoon, had to slap her to
stop her screaming. Nobody noticed she had gone missing. I’ve had to scrape
bits of green paint from the furniture and force her to eat it. It’s been a
right pain. I wish she’d hurry up and die. Grace, do you want to know the
symptoms of arsenic poisoning?”

“Not
really.” Grace looked towards the door. She could make a dash for it and then
call the police.

Jim
smiled at her. “I’ll tell you anyway. You get headaches and sometimes severe
diarrhoea. There’s confusion and drowsiness. Long term poisoning leads to your
major organs being affected. The final result is a coma and then death. It was
fascinating to watch Charlie Ford go through those stages. I wish I could have
made Amy go through them too, she deserves it, but I need her to die quickly.” He
put his mask back down. “I’m sorry, Grace.”

“Sorry
for what?” Grace said, a tremble in her voice.

“For
leaving you in here. I can’t let you go, you know the truth. There’s enough
arsenic in the air to kill you quickly. Hopefully!” He crossed his fingers.

Jim
patted her on the shoulder and walked towards the open door, a spring in his
step.

“You
can’t leave me here! Killing Amy won’t get your house back!”

Jim
shrugged. “It might. Bye, Grace.”

Jim
left the room, closing the door behind him.

Chapter 23

Grace
heard a click as if the door was being locked. She ran over to it and pushed
it. It didn’t move. She looked closer at the panels on the door, the panels
were similar to the ones in the hallway that Jim had been uncovering earlier.

There
was no obvious handle on the door. Did she have to press one of the panels to
get it to open?

Grace
quickly pressed them all. None of them moved, the door stayed resolutely
closed. What else did she expect?

She
looked around the room; no windows and no other doors.

She
went back to Amy. She was still breathing but her face had turned paler. Her
eyes were still closed, her eyelids fluttered slightly as if she was trying to
open them. Grace quickly blew the candles out, would that even help?

Grace’s
hand lifted to her forehead, she rubbed it. Her head was hurting more now. How
quick did arsenic poisoning work?

A
sudden thought made Grace reached into her handbag. She pulled out her phone
and held it up. She sighed with despair as she saw there was no signal. Was
this room lined with lead?

A
feeling of panic began to grow in her stomach. She couldn’t really be trapped
here. This sort of thing didn’t happen to her. She wasn’t really going to die,
was she?

Grace
ran to the door and started beating on it. She knew it was pointless, who would
hear her? She banged louder anyway, letting her frustration out.

Tears
got the better of her and she collapsed onto the carpet, she rested her head
against the door whilst tears trickled down her face. There must be a way out!

Grace
closed her eyes and tried to think. A sudden shiver rushed through her body.
She opened her eyes to find she wasn’t alone with Amy.

There
were ghosts in the room. Ghosts of men from a long time ago, walking about the
room, oblivious to each other. Grace recognised Benjamin Heath. He was
muttering to himself and nodding as he walked. There were a couple of men who
looked as if they were from more recent times – Emily’s father and husband?

Had
they all died from arsenic poisoning? From being in this beautiful room?

Grace
soon got her answer. One by one the ghosts began to get ill in front of her, it
was as if their lives had speeded up. Grace watched in horror as Benjamin Heath
grew paler and thinner. He constantly grimaced and clutched his stomach. Grace
had to look away as he collapsed in front of her, screaming out in pain. The
other ghosts followed suit. Grace kept her eyes closed and placed her hands
over her ears. She couldn’t bear to see, and hear, them all dying.

How
long was she going to be subject to this? How long before she died?

A
cold draft went past her face. She opened her eyes. The ghosts had gone. She
lowered her hands. Had they all gone?

Without
warning the ghosts reappeared and began their death walks around the room.

“Not
again!” Grace stood up. A feeling of determination lit up in her. “I have to do
something!”

She
had an idea, a ridiculous idea, but an idea anyway. Would it work?

She
reached into her bag and pulled out the pocket watch. She walked over to
Benjamin Heath and stood right in front of him. She yelled out, “Benjamin
Heath! Stop right now!”

She
held her breath and prayed that he wouldn’t walk through her.

He
didn’t. He stopped and peered at her. “What the devil? Who are you? What are
you? Some spectre? A ghost? An angel?”

“Yes!”
Grace held the pocket watch tightly. “I command you to show me the way out.
Now!”

Benjamin
stared at her. Grace tried to keep her expression grim, hoping that he used to
be of a superstitious nature. She called out, “Now! Before I curse you and your
household!”

That
seemed to do the trick. Fear washed over Benjamin’s face. He strode towards the
door and pointed to the wall at the side of the door.

“That’s
a painting. Don’t trick me, Benjamin Heath!”

Benjamin
said, “There’s a button behind the painting, it opens the door. I’m telling you
the truth.”

Grace
gave him a nod and reached up to remove the painting. There was a button
underneath. She pressed it and the door swung open. Grace let out a sigh of
relief. She realised Benjamin was watching her. She looked over her shoulder
and said, “You may go.”

Benjamin
gave her a puzzled look and walked away.

Grace
stepped through the door. What if Jim was waiting for them? She had a quick
glance around the room, no one was lurking there.

She
went back into the green room and over to Amy. She was taking shallower breaths
now.

“Don’t
die on me, Amy Ford,” Grace said. She grabbed Amy’s hands and dragged her
through the room and into the library. Ghosts were dying again all around her
but Grace gritted her teeth and ignored them.

She
pulled Amy into the middle of the library and quickly opened all the windows.
Would fresh air help anyway? Her phone had a signal so she phoned for an
ambulance. She phoned for the police too, she had no idea how she was going to
explain all of this.

Charlie
appeared at her side. He gave Grace a sad look and said, “It’s too late for the
ambulance.”