The Haunting of Highdown Hall (34 page)

“Suit yourself,” she shrugged, swapping the bedroom for the kitchen, intent on a serious caffeine hit. Not the instant stuff this time, what with it being Christmas Eve, but a cafetière of something rich, dark and Italian.

After savouring a couple of mugs, she felt ready to eat something. Pouring some Cheerios into a bowl, she fired up her laptop. Her emails were mounting up, the usual spam amongst them but plenty of enquiries too – more and more people, either tentatively or boldly, asking for help with various problems: a survey perhaps, a cleansing, some distance healing. It would take a good day, perhaps two to reply to them all. 2013 looked promising, not just for the spirit world but for Psychic Surveys too – even more imperative then that they should succeed today, that their reputation should not be damaged in any way. No matter how many positives were achieved, it was human nature to remember only the negatives, thought Ruby. Sad, but true.

Instead of a shower, Ruby luxuriated in a bath, filled to the brim with scented bubbles. As the warm water enveloped her, she let her mind empty – all thoughts of everyone and everything pushed temporarily aside. She loved to meditate, trying to reach the calm and tranquillity that existed below the often ear-splitting din of everyday life. Meditation was something she meant to do every day; unfortunately, she didn’t always make the time. To do so now was a treat and valuable too, she always felt so much stronger afterwards.

By the time Ruby had dressed it was well after ten o’clock. Should she do more research or just continue to relax? She knew what Theo would advise. She also knew she shouldn’t contact Cash before he came to pick her up at five, although she really wanted to. In a bid to distract herself, she decided on Christmas shopping instead and afterwards, once she’d wrapped and tagged everything, watching a film perhaps, or catching up on EastEnders episodes she had previously recorded. Corinna wasn’t the soap’s only fan.

The day passed quickly. Before she knew it, it was time to get dressed in more hard-core clothing. Restraining her hair, Ruby tugged on a thermal vest, long sleeved T-shirt, woollen jumper, jeans and two pairs of socks, the first pair thin cotton, the second thermal. With the addition of her North Face padded jacket instead of the navy coat she usually wore, she was content she’d be warm enough. Checking her watch, she noticed it was nearly five already. Cash would be here any minute; she’d go outside and wait for him.

“Come on, Jed,” she called, watching in amusement as the eager animal flew past her on four furry feet and disappeared straight through the unopened front door.

***

“Aren’t you bringing the box with you?” said Cash as Ruby clambered into the passenger seat of his estate car, just as battered as her own.

“The box? Oh God, the box. Sorry, I won’t be a minute.”

She ran back to the flat and soon returned with it under her arm.

“Did you look through it again today?” he asked once she was settled.

“No, I didn’t,” Ruby admitted. “I spent the day relaxing instead, trying to keep my mind clear.” She thought she’d leave out the bit about EastEnders, she’d only managed one episode anyway before dozing off. “I think we’ve found what we were looking for anyway.”

“Yeah,” agreed Cash, “weird or what, huh? About Ron Mason I mean?”

“If there’s a link, definitely. But there might not be.”

“No, there might not be. Bringing the box with us could be useful; it’s another thing that could help to jog Cynthia’s memory.”

Ruby nodded, it was a sensible train of thought.

Turning round to peer into the back of the car, she smiled.

“Poor Jed, he doesn’t look very comfortable perched on whatever it is you’ve got back there.”

“The remnants of my drum kit mainly. And he’ll have to get used to it. It’s just me and you up front I’m afraid,” replied Cash as he put his foot on the accelerator and pulled away.

***

The road that led to Highdown Hall was surprisingly clear considering it was Christmas Eve; Ruby imagined most people must have already gone home to gear up for the big day with their families.

“Did you get a good rest last night?” Cash asked her.

“I slept okay, you?”

“Not so well...” he replied. “Had a few things on my mind, keeping me awake.”

“Highdown Hall?” Ruby sounded worried.

He cast a cheeky glance at her. “Oh no, nothing to do with Highdown Hall.”

Looking straight ahead, Ruby tried to suppress a smile. She reminded herself that she needed to concentrate on one thing right now and one thing only – sending Cynthia and Co. into the light. It was difficult though, when he was right by her side.

Attempting a stab at seriousness, she said, “Cash, I know I say this every time, but if you don’t want to come in, if you’re at all nervous, that’s fine. You can wait outside.”

Glancing at her quickly, this time with no mirth in his eyes, he said, “If you go in, I go in. It’s as simple as that.”

Ruby couldn’t help it this time, she laughed out loud.

“What?” Cash looked genuinely confused. “Why are you laughing?”

“You,” she said. “You remind me of Leonardo di Caprio.”

“Leonardo di Caprio?” Cash looked appalled. “But I look nothing like him!”

“Not in looks, in what you’ve just said.”

“Explain,” he insisted.

“You know, in that film,
Titanic,
when he’s trying to persuade Kate Winslet not to jump off the ship. He says something like, “If you jump, I jump”, have you seen it?”

Cash nodded his head. “Yeah, yeah, I’ve seen it, an old girlfriend made me sit through it. Such a cheesy film, though I suspect I might be about to develop a new respect for it.”

“What you said reminds me of that scene.”

“So...” he continued after a moment, “I make you feel like a film star, do I?”

“You make me feel a lot of things,” she replied, more serious.

“Ditto,” he said, smiling, one hand on the wheel, the other reaching across temporarily to touch hers. “Really though, Ruby, I’m going in with you, to Cynthia’s bedroom; don’t even think about trying to stop me.”

“I won’t,” she whispered, tingling at his touch.

She couldn’t say much more, she thought she might cry if she did. This man sitting beside her, he really was different to any she’d ever known before, so accepting of what she did – promising to stick by her through thick and thin, to watch out for her. It was an all-time first. Historically, and not just in her case but in her mother’s and grandmother’s too, men didn’t stick around. Sooner or later her psychic ability would come between a Davis woman and her man. With Cash though, she seemed to have discovered a new breed of man entirely, someone who was keen to
help
her with what she did. Time would tell, she supposed. But right now, she suspected time would tell only great things.

“It’s the next turn off after this,” Ruby managed at last, pointing to a sign saying ‘Oldlands Wood, 2 miles’, which had momentarily shown up in the car’s headlights.

“I’m not likely to forget,” Cash replied.

***

“Stop! Pull in here,” said Ruby, just over a mile away from the gates of Highdown Hall. “I can feel it... This is the place where David Levine passed.”

Although the road was empty, Cash mounted the verge, just in case another car happened to appear out of nowhere, desperate to get by. Bringing his car to a halt, he stuck on the hazards, flashing amber lighting up the dark in an almost festive manner. Getting swiftly out, Ruby walked up to the tree that Levine had most likely crashed into, laid one hand flat against its trunk and tuned in. Jed, meanwhile, took the opportunity to cock his leg up against it and have an imaginary wee.

“Anything?” said Cash, coming up behind her.

“No, just residual emotions, like I said before. His spirit, wherever it is, isn’t here.”

“What can you feel?”

“Anger is the most prevalent... and such extraordinary bitterness, like he was eaten up with it. There’s jealousy too. Hmm... I wonder if that was the source of the bitterness?”

“Not a happy man then?”

“Not at all,” agreed Ruby.

“Do you think he
is
the culprit? The one terrorising Cynthia?”

Ruby was quietly contemplative for a moment. “It’s likely,” she eventually replied before turning on her heel. “Come on,” she added, “let’s go, the others will be arriving soon.”

The gates to Highdown Hall drew back slowly, more slowly than ever it seemed to Ruby. Leaving them open so that the rest of the team could follow, Ruby tried to quell a growing sense of unease. Her mother’s warning visit, her grandmother’s revelation, the attack she’d experienced, they were all affecting her more than she wanted. Although she believed wholeheartedly what her grandmother had taught her, she couldn’t help but remember her mother’s assertion: where there was good, there was evil, and not just evil acts and evil thoughts, but
pure
evil, as real and relentless a force as love. They’d already established that what waited for Cynthia wasn’t Rawlings’ Devil, but what if it
was
a creature from another dimension entirely, what if it had never been human, what if she were putting not only herself in danger, but also, and far more importantly, her dearest friends? Was Jessica right? Was true strength knowing when to retreat? If so, should they retreat now and to hell with their reputation? Let Alan Kierney do his worst?

“You okay?” said Cash as he drew to a stop in front of the house, a house that Ruby thought, by moonlight, looked less like a grand country manor and more like the setting for a Hammer Horror film. All they needed was thunder and lightning to suddenly manifest itself from nowhere, to rip an otherwise benign sky apart, and the set would be complete.

Shaking her head, as though to disperse such thoughts, Ruby replied at last, “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine, just letting my imagination get the better of me.”

Leaning over to tuck a rogue strand of hair behind her ear, Cash said, “You’re good at what you do, Ruby, bloody good. And Cynthia needs you.”

“Your faith in me is touching,” Ruby smiled back at him, but it was only a half smile.

“My faith in you is absolute,” he answered back, leaning in again to kiss her lightly on the lips.

His words, his touch, helped her, dissolving the fear that threatened to overwhelm her; a fear that could easily be used against her if sensed by an opposing spirit; a fear Gran had always said there was never any need to feel.

Before it could take hold again, Ruby reached for the handle, pushed open the car door and stepped outside, breathing in great gulps of night air. Jed immediately rushed round to her side.

As she straightened up, squaring her shoulders as a soldier might before heading into battle, Ness’s car came into view. After crunching to a stop on the gravel, Ness, Theo and Corinna climbed out.

All five turned to stand in a row, staring at the house before them, preparing themselves mentally and psychically for the imminent onslaught.

“Coming, ready or not!” said Theo at last, trying to lighten the atmosphere as she marched up to the front door.

Ruby fell into step beside her, Jed bounded ahead.

The house had been empty for a week but already it had taken on the abandoned air of a property left for much longer. Instead of forlorn and forgotten, it looked slightly smug, as though enjoying its abandonment – wanting to be left to its own devices.

Too bad,
thought Ruby.
You belong to the living, not the dead.

Looking up at the turret that housed Cynthia’s bedroom, Ruby thought she could sense movement. Was that Cynthia looking out wistfully across the lake?

“It’s just a shade,” said Theo from beside her. “A re-run of what happened on Christmas Eve, 1958. Cynthia must have stood and looked out of the window at some point.”

“The house is waking up...” It was Ness, close behind them.

“Then let’s put it back to sleep,” said Ruby, taking another deep breath.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

The big oak door was resistant at first.

“Is that because we’re not wanted?” Cash whispered beside her.

“No,” said Ruby, imitating his dramatic tone, “it’s because the hinges need a good squirt of oil.”

“Oh,” said Cash, somewhat deflated.

Once inside, Ruby reached for the lights before closing the door and the night out entirely. The Grand Hall lit up before them, the bulbs shining surprisingly bright. Despite her padded jacket, Ruby shivered. She was sure it was colder in here than it was outside. Mr Kierney had failed to leave the heating on, either through absent-mindedness or Scrooge-like stinginess. With him, she suspected the latter and pitied the poor guests arriving on Boxing Day, hoping sincerely they’d bring with them a good selection of thermals and woollen apparel. A house like this would take ages to feel warm again.

Although Cash and Corinna seemed oblivious, Ruby knew that Theo and Ness could also hear the faint sound of music coming from the ballroom – big band music, upbeat tunes; tunes that made you want to dance. And she could sense a large number of people milling about, confined to the ballroom mainly, but also spilling out of the French windows onto the terrace beyond; fur shawls wrapped around the ladies shoulders. Excited chatter and laughter – high expectations of a magical evening to come – filled the air. Not spirits, but shades, emotional echoes of a prominent night replaying.