The Ghost's Call, page 11
‘Javi?’
‘Who is it?’ said Kai, another grandchild, who was sitting opposite me.
Ben turned to look at me, his eyebrows raised. Because Javi had been powerful when alive, he looked almost human again as he stood in front of us. He was just as I remembered. Just as handsome; just as cheeky. Chin-length dark hair, eyes that knew what you were thinking before you said it, but that also had a cheeky glint in them. It was scary, looking back at the ghost of the man I’d expected to spend the rest of my life with.
I swallowed the lump forming in my throat. It was the first time I’d seen Javi since I’d held his lifeless body in my arms, ten years earlier. I clung to the arms of my chair to hide how badly I was shaking.
Ben’s sound recorder beside us crackled, hinting that we weren’t alone. The other circle members jumped, glancing at the machine and gasping.
‘You never called! I had to come say hi to my favourite person,’ said Javi.
The sound record crackled some more, the sound waves on the screen reflecting Javi’s volume and pitch. As far as I could tell, it wasn’t picking up his words. Thankfully. That would’ve been even more mortifying than Ben seeing him act like a child.
‘Never called? Javi, you’re dead.’
‘Psht. You’re a ghost hunter. What difference does that make?’
I looked away from him, shifting awkwardly in my seat.
‘Retired, I know. Idiot,’ he added with an eye roll. So he’d been spying on me. Great.
Ben snorted. I kicked him.
Javi narrowed his eyes, floating closer to Ben and inspecting him. ‘Who’s this guy? He’s cute. Better than the other guy. He was an arse. I’m glad you’re rid of him.’
Ben laughed again. He leaned over his sound recorder and started fiddling with it. Sound waves appeared on the screen whenever any of us spoke – including Javi.
‘Can you hear me?’ said Javi, floating closer still and hovering an inch or so in front of Ben’s face. He then got closer to the machine, causing it to spring to life even more. Javi glared, waved his hand at it, and shut it off. Peace. Finally.
‘Yes,’ Ben replied calmly. ‘I can see you, too. Thanks for breaking my sound recorder, by the way.’
Javi flexed his arm muscles. ‘Look at me, Super Ghost. Also, no offence, but the noise was annoying. You need better gadgets, man.’
I face palmed. I mean, how else can you respond to your ex-husband calling himself Super Ghost?
‘Javi, what are you doing here? I’m supposed to be working.’ I said, hoping to get the conversation back on track. And find the ghost I actually wanted to talk to.
A quick glance around the circle showed me that everyone else in it was confused. Too confused to chime in and ask what the hell was going on. Which seemed fair. If I were in their shoes, I probably wouldn’t know what to say either.
‘You are working. Just pretend I’m the person they really want to speak to.’
‘Javi,’ I chastised. I’d forgotten how childish he could be.
‘Fine. Fine.’ He floated down, hovering an inch or so above the wooden floor. ‘I’ve been hearing whispers; rumours. I wanted to warn you.’
‘Rumours about what?’ I asked.
‘Edie.’
‘Face it, she’s a fraud! She can’t find Grandma. She’s using this as an excuse to talk to one of her friends,’ said Marcel. He’d been wary of me since walking in, mumbling to his relatives about the whole thing being a waste of time. Why wasn’t I surprised he was calling me a fraud?
I turned to glare at him. People like him were why I didn’t like customer service. ‘There’s no guarantee who will come through when we do a seance.’
‘Then who do you see?’ said Candice. Her tone was neutral; she wasn’t judging me nearly as hard as her relatives, which I appreciated.
‘My dead first husband.’
Everyone in the circle – except Ben – gasped. They immediately shut up to watch the drama unfold. Or at least, the parts of the drama they could see and hear. Which was basically just anything I said or did.
I turned back to Javi, leaning forwards as my heart thundered in my chest. ‘What about her?’
‘It’s not clear, exactly, but something to do with darkness. Bad stuff. Scary stuff,’ said Javi.
‘That’s it? That’s all you can offer me?’
‘Don’t you think I’ve been trying to find out more? It’s hard, you know! They don’t like to tell the people who are involved what could happen in case we find a way to pass the message on to the living people involved,’ said Javi.
‘You mean like now?’ said Ben.
Javi chuckled, pointing to Ben. ‘I like this guy.’
‘Is there anything else you can tell us? Anything at all?’ I begged, hoping for something.
‘No, I’m sorry. But keep in touch, yeah? If I find anything else out, I’ll find a way to let you know.’
‘Do you know where to find her?’ Ben asked.
Javi laughed again. ‘Of course I know where to find her.’ He winked at me. ‘Can’t escape me, much as she wants to.’
I sunk into my seat, taking a small amount of comfort from the fact that only Ben could hear him. But I was still mortified. It was like having an embarrassing, drunken relative crash a party.
‘Can I do something before I go?’ said Javi.
‘Like what?’ I said.
‘You know, scare them. I mean, they’re expecting a ghost. And with no disrespect to the lady waiting in the wings, she isn’t as strong as me. I doubt they’ll feel anything from her.’
I sighed. ‘Go on, then.’
He grinned, floating up and down a few times with excitement. It was like dealing with a child. Honestly.
He puffed his chest out and grinned. The crowd gasped.
‘I see someone!’
‘Is it—who is it?’
‘Oh my god, what the hell?’
‘It’s just a trick of the light.’
Ben walked to the light switch and turned it on. The circle gasped again; Javi was still visible. Of course he was. The whole darkness thing was just a spectacle. People insisted on sitting in darkness because it added to the atmosphere and most just did seances to be scared witless.
‘Happy now?’ I grumbled.
‘Ecstatic!’ said Javi, still grinning.
‘Did he just speak?’
‘What did he say?’
‘Was it in reply to what the medium said?’
Always nice to have a name.
They groaned in disappointment as Javi’s power drained and he disappeared from their view. Making himself visible to those who couldn’t normally see ghosts was draining. And the few shows of power he’d exhibited were too much, even for him. ‘Keep in touch, Neevie,’ he said as he faded away.
Ben turned the light off again and sat back down beside me. A few seconds later, a frail old woman, with her hair wrapped in a purple turban, appeared in front of me. In her barely visible state, she wasn’t even close to as powerful as Javi. I was surprised she didn’t resemble a white orb, which was what most ghosts who were too weak to maintain physical appearances looked like.
She noticed me staring at her and floated over. ‘You. Who are you?’ she asked, pointing.
‘I’m here to ask questions on behalf of your family,’ I replied.
‘She’s here,’ Ben told the circle.
‘Who is? Grams?’
The ghost turned in the direction of the voice, a small smile creeping over her lips. She reached out her arms. ‘My child.’
‘She’s near you, Candice. Holding out her arms. And she just called you her child.’
The woman beamed, wiping a rogue tear as it fell down her cheeks.
‘Ask her where the money is! Before we lose her!’ said Kai.
I rolled my eyes. Impatient.
The woman floated back over to me. ‘That’s why they wanted you to summon me? My money?’
I nodded.
‘It’s all gone,’ she said.
Ben and I exchanged worried glances. That answer wasn’t going to go down well.
Her nostrils flared as she floated over to Marcel and pointed at him. ‘He spent it. Check his bank. You’ll find some interesting transactions when my health was failing me.’
‘What’s she saying?’ asked Candice.
I glanced at Ben, hoping he’d tell them so that I didn’t have to. He was good cop, it seemed. He didn’t take my hint. Dammit.
‘She’s saying that Marcel took it.’ I pointed at Marcel. ‘She said to check his bank, because you’ll find some interesting transactions. She’s claiming he stole it when her health was failing her.’
‘I’m not claiming it! I’m telling the truth!’
‘Sorry, sorry,’ I said to her. I turned back to the circle, who looked confused: ‘She told me off for saying she claimed it. She says she’s telling the truth.’
‘No she’s not! I’d never steal from her!’ said Marcel.
‘What reason does she have to lie?’ said Candice.
‘The medium is just trying to con us out of our money!’ said Marcel. Still not using my name. ‘That’s why she asked us to pay upfront!’
I clutched the bridge of my nose. There was always one. Some things never changed.
The old lady’s face filled with rage. Her form became more visible, until she looked as clear as Javi had. She was so clear the circle saw her, just for a second. The circle gasped.
‘I saw her!’
‘Where’d she go?’
‘She isn’t strong enough to maintain visibility,’ said Ben. ‘I can barely see her,’ he whispered to me.
‘Yeah, she’s pretty translucent for me, too,’ I said.
The old lady lowered her head, clearly sad she couldn’t make herself visible for longer. My heart went out to her. I wished she could’ve resolved the conflict herself, too, but sometimes, death was just as complicated and heartbreaking as life.
‘How do we prove what she said?’ asked Candice.
‘Check his bank account!’ said Kai.
‘Where’s his phone? Doesn’t he use mobile banking?’ said Candice.
Marcel edged towards the door, his hand covering his pocket. Where his phone was stashed, probably. ‘No! I don’t give you permission to look through my phone!’ He opened the door. A couple of the men chased after him, breaking the circle.
The matriarch maintained her presence for a moment. Just long enough to apologise to us for their behaviour before she disappeared.
18
Edie
In an effort to try to earn favour with Mum – and to get out of the house and clear my head, since it just kept trying to work out how to get the ghost out of Melanie – I took Tilly for a walk. There were a few parks nearby, so I chose Tilly’s favourite.
It was your average early morning, with not that many people out beyond dog walkers. I didn’t really blame them. The weather was definitely colder than usual in the autumn. Or was that because it was a town full of ghosts?
I let Tilly off her iron lead and she ran off, did a couple of loops, then carried on walking near me as I ambled along the path. I always carried her iron lead in my pocket because it was inconspicuous but good for warding off evil.
It was one thing to know that Melanie was possessed. It was something else to try to free her. There was also the moral dilemma of if it was worth it. Ghost or no ghost, she was a bitch. Was it really worth the effort to help her?
It didn’t help that her bestie was my arch nemesis. Who was right in front of me.
I tried to change course, but she spotted me and made a beeline for me. Frazzle.
Tessa got right in front of my path. Tilly stood by my side like a guard dog, ready to pounce on Tessa at my signal. What she thought she’d do as a walking teddy bear I had no idea, but it was cute that she thought she could protect me – and that she realised I needed it.
‘Can I help you?’ I said to Tessa, since she refused to move.
‘You know, you and Josh won’t be friends forever,’ she said.
‘Why?’ The longer I stood in front of Tessa, the more my throat constricted, and the more I hated myself. What was it about her that made me implode?
Tilly growled, but from her it sounded more like a purr.
She scoffed. ‘Look at you. We both know guys like Josh don’t bother with girls like you.’
‘Then you don’t know Josh,’ I managed to say before my throat closed up again. I’d wanted to finish with ‘as well as me’ but my throat had had other ideas.
Tessa reached out and pushed me over. I landed backwards, hitting my head on a rock behind me. She gasped, then ran away. Fucking brilliant.
I put my hand to the back of my head. Blood.
‘Are you all right?’ said a kind, female voice. I looked up to see a young mother in her twenties standing beside me with her son next to her, licking a lollipop.
‘You should be ashamed of yourself!’ she shouted after Tessa. She didn’t reply, just carried on running away. How did she still have friends?
The young mother reached out and helped me up. ‘Come on, let’s get you cleaned up.’
‘Th-thank you,’ I said in between cries. At least I hadn’t applied makeup that morning. Who needed it to walk the dog?
The lady guided me into the toilets nearby, her son and Tilly following us. She sat me on the edge of the sinks, then used some paper towels to dab at the back of my head. ‘It’s not too deep. Just a surface scratch by the looks of it. How do you feel?’
‘Fine.’
I didn’t have it in me to tell a stranger that I was utterly mortified and wanted to die of embarrassment. It seemed like she knew, though, because she gave me a look that said she’d totally been there.
The little boy sat on the floor, playing with Tilly and giggling. She always was good with kids, and he seemed like no exception.
I turned back to the mum. ‘How much blood is in my hair?’
‘If you give it a couple of hours before you wash it, it should be fine,’ she said. ‘You’ll want it to dry out first and be gentle with yourself when you do wash it.’
‘Are you a nurse?’
‘Just the first aider at work. First time I’ve used my skills since my training five years ago,’ she said with a laugh.
‘Well, thanks,’ I said, smiling. It wasn’t often total strangers helped each other anymore.
‘Of course. If someone saw a bully do that to my Peter, I’d hope they’d step in and help him, too.’
I hoped so, too. He seemed like a nice kid.
‘Grrrrrrr.’
I looked back at Tilly and Peter. Tilly was standing in front of Peter, growling at something by the door. Gulp. The good thing about dogs was that they could always see ghosts. Even if they made themselves invisible to people like me. Sometimes it was like dogs could sense a ghost before they became visible. That’s why Tilly often growled before Mum or I knew what she was growling at.
But this ghost was perfectly visible. And looking straight at me.
He was dressed in dungarees and wore a yellow hardhat with a smug grin on his face. I met his eyes and his smile grew. He flew at me, causing a gust of wind so powerful it slammed the toilet door. I jolted forwards, falling into the kind woman who’d helped me and almost grabbing her boob. The ghost disappeared. Panting, I leaned on my knees. Tilly jumped up at me, scratching at my legs.
‘I’m OK, Tills,’ I told her. ‘Sorry,’ I said to the woman, brushing myself off and jumping off the side.
‘What happened?’
‘The wind caught me off guard. That was some gust, huh?’
‘But what upset your dog? She looked like she was trying to protect Peter from something.’
I shrugged, faking a laugh. ‘You know dogs. Think everything is out to get them. Especially when they’re this small. Typical westie. Thinks she’s a guard dog.’ I swooped Tilly up into my arms. ‘Thanks again for your help!’ I said, scurrying off without looking back.
*
I felt bad leaving her like that, but she was starting to ask questions I didn’t have time to answer. And ones I wouldn’t be able to answer, since they’d involve responses like ‘don’t worry, it’s just a creepy ghost flying in my face.’
Still feeling shaky, I sat on the grass for a minute and hugged Tilly. She could tell I was still shaken, so she hopped onto my lap and licked my cheek. She was a terrible guard dog but a great nurse.
The sound of laughter carried through the park and caught my attention. I looked over to see Josh sitting on a bench, taking to Tessa. She’d gone from trying to kill me to flirting with my friend in less than five minutes. Psychopath.
Josh saw me and gestured me over. I tried to shake my head no, but it hurt too much.
When Tilly spotted him, my decision was made, as the traitor dove out of my arms and ran to him. He picked her up and hugged her.
‘What happened? You look rough,’ said Tessa as I reached them.
I didn’t say anything, just glared. She looked at me all innocent.
Tilly wasn’t so quiet about what had happened. Still in Josh’s arms, she growled at Tessa again. I looked at the dog, then back at Tessa. Could she sense something that I couldn’t? Was Tessa possessed too? Or did she just think Tessa was a bitch? Both were possible.
‘Something’s obviously upset Tilly. I should get her home,’ I said.
I grabbed Tilly from him, then ran off without giving him a chance to reply.
*
‘Mum!’ I shouted as I ran in the front door. Tilly came in behind me, skidding to a halt at my feet so that I could unfasten her lead.
‘Garden!’ she called.
I went out and found her sanding down a kitchen chair. She put the sander down and took off her safety mask. ‘What’s wrong?’
I looked down at Tilly, who’d followed me outside. She lay by the back door, oblivious to what she’d done.
Mum walked over to me and picked up a lock of my hair. ‘Is that blood?’
‘I, uh, I’m fine. That’s not the point. Tilly and I saw a ghost while we were out!’
‘What kind of ghost?’
