Spiritwalker (2 page)

“Yes, yes of course.  The police were very concerned at first, they searched the woods and the surrounding area.  They even dragged the lake. That was the worst bit, I could tell that they thought she might have harmed herself, it even crossed my mind.  But nothing, no sign of her anywhere.  They sent out appeals for information on the local TV and radio. But nothing, nobody has heard from her since.”

“What about her husband, has he heard from her?”

“I rang Ian, her husband, he was away on business in the States, he's in the music business and travels a lot but he hadn't heard anything from her.  He's not much help, just thinks she's doing it for attention.”

“Does she have any other family or friends that she could have gone to?”

“To be honest I've tried everyone I could think of.  She has two daughters, one in Scotland studying medicine, Samantha, she's twenty and Molly is nineteen she's studying to be an architect in London.  They're both desperately worried about her, we all are.”

“Has she ever done anything like this before, gone off and not told anyone?”

“Well, apparently about six months ago when she and Ian first split up, she went off on her own to Spain.  They have a villa out here.  I didn't know at the time, I suppose she went out to get her head straight before she had to tell her daughters the bad news.  Ian told me when I rang.  Now the police think she's just gone off and will turn up eventually.  But she can't have gone to Spain her passport is still in her room and all her money and cards.  I just know something has happened to her.” Eva's eyes welled up, her voice trembling as she tried to keep her emotions in check.  “Will you help me; I've run out of options.  Please help.”

“Of course I'll help.” Anna said gently.  “I’m sure we'll find her.  Do you mind if I ask why you came all the way to Ireland for a private detective, I'm sure there are plenty in England that are very good?”

“I have a Good friend. Olivia Brown, she recommended you. She said you were the best psychic detective she ever met.  The genuine article so to speak. I'm not exactly a believer in psychics but Olivia and I have been friends for years and she convinced me to give you a try. She told me how you found her grandson when everyone else was convinced he had been abducted that you pointed them in the right direction.  How he had wandered away from home and fallen down an old well.  She said it was just as well that you had been called in because the poor mite was in a bad way when he was rescued and might not have lasted another night. Olivia swears by your talents and she's nobody's fool.”  Eva said emphatically

“I remember that little boy. That was an unusual case, apparently there had been reports of a strange man talking to children in the area the previous week, so everybody came to the conclusion that he must have taken him.  It was my sister who rang me, she works with Olivia's daughter and thought I might be able to help.  They were so desperate to find him I think if I had been a witch doctor they would have agreed.  I must correct you there though, I'm not exactly a psychic, at least not in the sense most people understand.  If you hire me you must understand that.  I can't look into a crystal ball and magic her back.  That's not how I work.  Most of it is straight forward investigative work.”  Anna was quick to remind her visitor.  “I do have abilities that some might consider psychic, I suppose in a way they are a bit unusual.”

“Don't you worry, I'm under no illusions.  I think I'm a bit like Olivia's daughter, I don't care how you do it so long as Jane is found and from what I've heard you're my best bet.” Eva said.

“If I'm to take this job, I just have two requests” Anna said. “Don't breathe a word to anyone about my being a psychic, firstly they would think I was crazy and then think you were worse for hiring someone like me, and if at all possible could you find me somewhere quiet that I can stay while I'm over there.  I need somewhere that I can have total peace and not be disturbed.  I tend to go into a trance like state when I'm doing the psychic thing, my sister says it looks like I'm in some sort of coma and the last thing I need is to scare the living daylights out of some hotel maid who might find me.”

“That’s no problem, you can stay with me, there's just my husband and I.  Our daughter only comes home at the weekends.  I do have a housekeeper and a cleaner but I will warn them not to disturb you.”

“That sounds great” Anna agreed. “I'll try and get a flight out first thing in the morning. When are you due back?”

“I'm flying home again this afternoon.” Eva said.  “I must be home to collect my daughter, Sassy, she's fourteen, she comes home from school at the weekends. If I'm not there the house could be demolished by the time I get back.  Our housekeeper Olana is great but Sassy runs rings around her.”  Eva handed her a business card with her address and phone numbers written on the back.  “Give me a call when you have your travel plans sorted.  And thank you.”

Chapter three

       
OBE out of body experience, astral projection, some call it spirit walking.  That was the ability that Anna had.  She had googled it some years ago and was amazed at the number of people who claimed to be able to do it. She had thought until then that she was some kind of freak. Maybe I am she thought, but at least it was nice to know that there were other freaks out there too. The first time it happened to her was just like it said on the web site, after a head injury or near death experience.  She remembered the night of her near death experience vividly.  She was seventeen and had been grounded for dossing school. Her boyfriend who was a year older than her had just passed his driving test he had called her and begged her to go for a drive with him to celebrate.  She had sneaked out of the house and they had driven to a friend's house.  There was a party on and in full swing when they got there, her boyfriend had started drinking and Anna began to get worried that if she didn't get home soon her parents would notice that she was missing, she demanded that he take her home. He refused and they had a blazing row, she left and started walking home.  Her boyfriend followed her in his car and after some persuading she got in with him. 

            She wasn't sure how they had crashed, but the car had ended up leaving the road at a bend. She remembered her head smacking off the side window and it shattering, she could hear her boyfriend screaming as he tried to control the car, it had tumbled out of control for what seemed like an eternity, then nothing, she must have blacked out.  The next thing she was aware of was being in a hospital ward, her parents and two sisters by her bed talking to her.  Her mother was crying.  It took her a moment to realise why everything seemed so strange. Not only was she was looking down on them, she was hovering over them.  She was aware of everything that was going on, she could hear and see perfectly.  She saw her body, it was lying in the bed, wires and tubes coming out of her mouth and arms.  Then a doctor came in.  He told her family that her brain scan results had come back normal and that there was a good chance that when she woke up that she would be fine.  Her mother had asked him how long more she would be in a coma, he told her that he couldn't say for sure that her body needed to heal itself and that once that was done she should wake up.  Any time now he had assured her family.  She tried to talk to them to tell them that she was there and was fine but no matter how loud she had screamed or how much she had willed herself to re-enter her body she couldn't do it.  Her family had gone home for the night and she was left there staring down at herself, wondering if she would ever be able to get back into her body and out of that bed again.  The following morning her dad had come in early and sat down beside her, he was holding her hand and begging her to wake up.  It was then that she began to feel herself being drawn back into her body like a magnet.  Then all of a sudden she was no longer looking down at her father, she was struggling to open her eyelids and when she did she found that now he was now looking down at her.  Her dad was crying as he called for the nurse and though her body ached all over she had never felt such exquisite happiness and relief to be re-united with her physical form.

            Since that accident Anna had been able to enter her body and leave it whenever she liked.  At first she had been cautious and not gone too far from her body in case she wasn't able to get back.  After a while she realised that all she had to do was concentrate on returning to her body lying in her bed and in an instant she was back and eyes open looking up at the ceiling.  Nobody had believed her at first, her parents had been very worried about her.  They thought she was imagining it and had taken her to see a specialist, needless to say he didn't believe her and couldn't find anything wrong with her.  Her sisters decided that she should prove these claims so they used to lock her into her room and go somewhere and she had to tell them where they were and what they were doing and saying.  Once one of her sisters stayed in the room with her just in case she was escaping unknown to them.  Eventually they had to believe her as they couldn't find any other explanation.  Her parents too began to believe. She knew things that she otherwise wouldn't have known. Her mother warned her not to do it again and not to go broadcasting this ability, she was worried in case people would think her daughter was crazy.  Anna eventually realised that her mother's fears were justified she didn't want people to think she was a freak.  She could count on one hand the number of people that knew of her ability.  Extremely intuitive was how her mother and sisters described her.  In the past few years she had begun to use her abilities in the course of her work as a private detective.  She was very good at finding missing people. Those she helped were convinced she was a psychic.

            As Anna sat at her desk drinking a fresh cup of coffee, she set about booking a flight for London for the following day.  Luckily Aer Lingus had a few remaining seats on their midday flight out of Cork airport and she promptly booked one and hired a car for a week, she didn't book a return flight as she wasn't sure how long she would be away.  This done she decided to Google Jane Turner, curious what kind person she had been hired to find. Most of the hits included her husband Ian, he it seemed was a big fish in the music industry, he was the majority shareholder in one of the biggest record labels in Britain.  There were lots of photos of him with various pop stars and actors, some she recognised some she didn't.  Ian Turner was a very good-looking man, he was in his forties, he had a full head of dark hair receding slightly at the temples, he looked like he was in good shape.  His wife Jane was in many of the photos, she was a stunning blond woman, had to be aged somewhere in her forties judging by what her sister had told Anna, but she didn't look a day over thirty five.  She was always beautifully dressed, not a hair out of place and looked the picture of happiness in all the photos.   Her arm nearly always linked possessively through that of her husband's.  On further investigation Anna discovered that Jane wasn't just arm candy for her husband, she had a degree in biology and chemistry and had in her younger days been a teacher.  Her name was also linked to a lot of charities, everything from children's charities to  homeless shelters.  And she wasn't afraid to get her hands dirty, she was pictured handing out meals to the homeless in London on Christmas day and washing the dishes after.  She also ran in the London city marathon last year for the RSPCC.

            Anna was so engrossed in her research that she didn't hear the knock on the door until it opened and Boozy, her golden Labrador bounded in followed by her neighbour Jamsie.

“God Jamsie, you gave me a fright, creeping up on me like that.” Anna said petting her dog vigorously behind the ears

“Sorry” Jamsie laughed.  “What have I told you about locking your back door, anyone could walk in.  Has your visitor gone?  She stopped earlier asking for directions, nice looking woman, very polite.”

“So it was you she asked for directions, she said she got a bit lost” Anna said emphasising
Lost.
Jamsie was the local signpost turning vigilante.  “If you left the signposts turned the way they were meant to be maybe people wouldn't be getting lost.” She was always admonishing him about it but he never changed.  He was a good neighbour though and not much escaped his notice.  “I'm off to London in the morning Jamsie, will you keep an eye on things here and feed Boozy for me.”

“Of course I will, sure you don't even have to ask. Them robbers won't get past me. You mind yourself over there. How long will you be gone?”  Jamsie for all his easy going attitude was a bit of a worrier and he was very fond of Anna.

“Hopefully only a week or so” Anna replied. “God it's nearly two, I'll make us some sandwiches and heat up that soup.  Better feed Boozy too, don't want him to think he has to survive on a diet of Guinness.” She was referring to Jamsie's habit of going to the pub ordering a pint for himself and a half for the dog.  She had wondered when she first got him why when he came back from his ramblings that he always
smelt
of alcohol.  Jamsie had sheepishly admitted that he had been giving the dog Guinness.  So the dog's name had been changed from Shep to Boozy. 

            The following morning Anna got up early, fed Boozy, locked up and headed to the Airport.  Her flight was on time so it wasn't long before she was seated on the aeroplane and headed to Gatwick.  After clearing customs on the other side Anna went up to the Hertz car hire desk and collected the keys to her car.  She had no trouble finding the car in the allotted space, she unlocked it stored her luggage in the boot and sat in.  It had a Sat Nav so she switched it on and keyed in the address Eva had written down for her.  As she didn't fancy getting stuck in the motorway traffic and absolutely hated those enormous lorries thundering past her, she avoided motorways as much as possible and took the smaller roads through Tunbridge Wells and then on to Ashford and from there it was only another forty minute drive to Eva's home, she lived close to Canterbury.  The English countryside was beautiful at this time of the year and she loved the drive past the fields of crops growing on either side of the road, stopping only once to allow a herd of cows to cross the road to the field on the other side.  The farmer waved cheerily to her as he closed the gate behind them.  People are always much friendlier in the country she thought to herself as she drove happily along.