The Ghost's Call, page 18
‘Sure I did. I had to make sure you were all right and in safe hands. Since clearly the nurse couldn’t do anything.’ He rolled his eyes and we both laughed.
‘Yeah, some help she’d been. But I guess at least she told Mr Hazelock. I feel bad grassing on Tessa.’
Dominic frowned. ‘Don’t you dare feel guilty for that! She deserves whatever punishment she gets.’
‘Does she? Maybe it was an accident.’
‘Edie, come on.’
‘I guess I’m not used to fighting fire with fire,’ I said.
‘Sometimes there’s no other way.’
Mum finished pretending to look for whatever was in her handbag – meaning she got bored – and climbed into the driver’s side. ‘Ready to go?’ she said to me. ‘I’ll drive carefully, promise.’
‘Take care,’ said Dominic, closing the passenger door without saying anything else. No asking for my phone number or suggesting we should keep in touch. Nothing. Odd. Very odd indeed.
29
Niamh
Doc instructed Edie to rest, but gave her a couple of exercises to do to stop her back from seizing up. There seemed to be a fine line between her doing too much and triggering her pain, and her doing too little and taking longer to heal. As if we didn’t have enough to worry about already.
‘Are you sure you’ll be fine if I go see Maggie for a bit?’ I asked her for the twelfth time that afternoon.
Edie lay on her side, Tilly curled up in front of her. She stroked the dog’s head. ‘Yes, go! Nurse Tilly will look after me.’
Since we’d gotten home, Tilly hadn’t let Edie out of her sight. It was like she knew something was wrong. I’d put her on the bed with Edie, and she’d immediately curled up beside her, as close to her coccyx as she could get. The little dog had a habit of trying to lie as close to the injured part of you as possible. Sometimes it was cute and helpful, sometimes she got into really awkward positions and made things worse, bless her.
In this case, we’d had to tell Tilly she needed to lie at Edie’s front, not her back. Even the slightest touch upset Edie’s back. Given how much Tilly liked to wriggle, that didn’t bode well. Tilly had eventually settled in front of her and hadn’t moved since.
Tilly licked Edie’s hand, then tried to snuggle even closer to her. It didn’t work. She couldn’t get any closer.
‘She’s a good puppy,’ I said.
Edie grinned. ‘See? I’ll be fine. I’ve had food, I have my TV, I can’t move. I’ll be fine. Go see Maggie. Send Josh with some of Maggie’s cookies when he finishes college, if you want.’
I smirked. Even though she’d been enamoured with the guy who’d helped her earlier, nobody could replace Josh in her eyes. And she did a terrible job of hiding her crush.
‘Will do.’ I kissed her forehead, then left her and Tilly to nap while I walked to Maggie’s. We lived in an older part of town filled with terraced houses built for the miners, while the Morgans were in a newer build about a five-minute walk away. The contrast between the two was stark: from faded red brick houses, cramped on streets that didn’t have parking, to a quiet estate with garages and pedestrian-only paths. I didn’t begrudge their money – they worked hard for what they had – but sometimes I did wonder what mine and Edie’s lives would’ve been like if I’d had a more normal, stable career.
When I got to Maggie’s, the kettle had already been boiled, and a steaming mug of tea was waiting for me, along with some of Maggie’s signature dark chocolate and pistachio cookies. I bit into one. Heaven.
Maggie sat opposite me at the breakfast bar, taking one of the cookies from the pile.
Once I’d eaten my cookie, I filled Maggie in on what had happened. There were probably still gaps in my knowledge, but I knew enough to be angry on Edie’s behalf.
‘Those little bitches,’ said Maggie when I was done.
‘It’s not even that. Look at how Edie and Josh turned out. Why are some teenage girls such brats?’ I grumbled.
‘Entitlement,’ said Maggie with a sigh. ‘Think they own the sodding world.’
‘Didn’t we think that at one point?’ I said, laughing.
Maggie started laughing too. ‘Yeah. How did our kids end up so different to us?’
‘We must’ve learnt from our parents’ mistakes after all,’ I said.
Maggie’s phone rang, making us both jump.
‘Sorry, just a minute,’ said Maggie. She went into the other room to answer her phone. I couldn’t hear the conversation, but through the doorway that separated the kitchen and living room, I could see Maggie’s face go from neutral to fuming in less than ten seconds. She hung up, slamming the phone onto the table beside me.
‘Abigail picked a fight with someone at school.’
Fiddlesticks. If I’d done a better job of the exorcism and replaced the wards sooner, whatever was possessing her never could’ve done that. Was the creature trying to up the ante to get our attention?
It’d been quiet for the last couple of days, since my injury. Had it lulled us into a false sense of security on purpose?
Maggie ran around the room, looking for something. ‘As if I didn’t have enough going on already, now this? Are you kidding me? Am I missing something? Am I a bad parent? What did I do to deserve all this?’
I dove out of my seat, blocking her path. Grabbing her shoulders, I really hoped I could talk some sense into her before this spiral continued. ‘You are one of the best parents I know. How could you ever think that?’
‘Am I not already in enough pain already?’
I pulled her into a hug. Maggie was the kind of person to bottle up what she was really feeling, grief included. Of course she was still an emotional wreck; she’d just done well to hide it while we talked about ghosts and Edie and Ben. If anything, I was a bad friend for not putting her grief above my stupid ghost crap.
She hugged me back, resting her head on my shoulder. I rubbed her back, hoping I offered her some comfort, even if we had to rush out of the door and get Abigail – or whatever looked like Abigail – from school.
‘What do you need?’ I said as she pulled away from me.
‘Handbag.’
Not what I’d meant. I’d meant emotionally, but that was Maggie. She was shutting down and going back into business mode. I guess I couldn’t blame her. She needed to focus on getting things done; there was no time to wallow in whatever she was feeling.
‘Table. Where you were sitting.’ I pointed to the polka dot Cath Kidston bag by the table leg.
‘Dammit,’ she said, sinking back into the chair. ‘I don’t even have a car. It’s at the bloody garage.’
‘I’ll give you a lift. It’ll probably be safer than you taking the bus if she’s picking fights with everyone,’ I said.
‘Everyone?’ she echoed. ‘Who said she was picking fights with everyone?’
Oops.
‘It was a bad joke, sorry,’ I lied. ‘Where’s your car seat? Let me just check in with Edie then I’ll help you fit it.’
‘OK,’ she said, nodding. ‘OK.’
While Maggie finished getting her bag ready, I rang Edie. ‘I need to go with Maggie to pick Abigail up from school. Will you be all right?’
‘Everything OK? Is it to do with the other day?’
‘Quite possibly. We’ll see,’ I said. ‘Ring me if you need anything.’
‘I’ll be fine. Look after Maggie and Abigail.’
‘Will do.’
I hung up. Maggie was standing by the door and ready to go. She’d wrapped her Ted Baker trench coat around her and was hugging herself.
I couldn’t even begin to imagine what she was going through. It was scary enough knowing ghosts existed, but one of them – one capable of telekinetically catapulting a fully grown woman across the room – possessing your kid? Now that was terrifying.
And of course it was my job to fix it.
I’d done plenty of of exorcisms before, but this wasn’t the same. This was Abigail. And I’d already failed once. The next step was trying a spell or potion I’d never tried before. If something went wrong, I could kill her. Or worse, she could kill me. Or Edie. Or—
Nope. Did not have time for those thoughts. We had to get to the school and find out what had happened.
‘Ready to go?’ I asked.
‘Let’s go.’
*
We pulled up at Abigail’s school a few minutes later. Thankfully it wasn’t too far away. Maggie grew increasingly fidgety the closer we got, I guess because she didn’t know what to expect. I had a pretty good idea based in previous clients, but I didn’t want to tell her and worry her even more. It felt like every hour we couldn’t find something was borrowed time.
‘We’re here for Abigail Morgan,’ said Maggie as we reached the reception.
The receptionist looked up at us, her coral lips pursed. Her expression screamed judgment, the old cow. How dare she judge Maggie for what was happening with her daughter?
‘Follow me,’ she said, standing up and heading down a corridor to our left.
We did as she asked. The corridor was dark and stifling, and completely not welcoming in a primary school. Or anywhere. Was it supposed to be like that?
She reached a door and stopped, then tapped. ‘Ms Minchin? Mrs Morgan is here to see you.’
‘Thank you,’ came a booming female voice.
The receptionist gestured for us to go inside. We did so. I had flashbacks to when I was at school, getting told off for seemingly talking to my imaginary friends. I’d had so much flack for that, and even when I’d tried to explain to them the real reason, they hadn’t believed me. But then, who would?
Ms Minchin was a broad woman with a jolly smile. Her smile quickly turned once we’d exchanged pleasantries, though.
‘I’m afraid Abigail’s behaviour has become most problematic,’ she said.
‘Problematic how?’ said Maggie.
‘It started off with her disrespecting teachers a few weeks ago. Now, she’s started picking fights with her classmates.’
Yep. It was like I could’ve written it myself.
‘No. That’s not my Abigail!’ said Maggie.
Ms Minchin leaned forwards, clasping her hands on her desk. ‘I’m sorry to inform you, but it’s very much true. She almost set a young girl’s hair on fire during lunch.’
I forced myself not to laugh. That was not a laughing matter. But it did raise the question: ‘How does a five-year-old get her hands on a lighter or match at school?’
Ms Minchin pursed her lips. ‘We believe she picked the pocket of a dinner lady.’
My eyes widened. Oh fiddlesticks.
‘No. Abigail has no idea how to do that kind of thing!’ said Maggie.
But whoever – or whatever – was inside of her clearly did. Could things get any worse?
Don’t answer that.
‘It would appear that she does,’ said Ms Minchin.
‘So what do we do? How do we fix it?’ I asked.
I reached over and squeezed Maggie’s hand. It was pretty clear from the quiver in her voice that she was struggling to hold it together. Not that I blamed her. It wasn’t her fault – or Abigail’s – what had happened, but they’d both have to suffer the consequences long after the ghost was toast.
‘I think it’s wise that Abigail takes some time away from her classmates. We’ll say until the end of next week. Then we can come up with a plan of action for her return.’
‘You’re suspending her?’ said Maggie.
‘What kind of action plan?’ I said, trying to focus on the positives. Not that it would matter if we couldn’t get out whatever was inside of her.
‘Perhaps she’ll need a dedicated teaching assistant, or return part time.’
‘I see,’ said Maggie. Except she didn’t. She was on the verge of Hulk Smashing the whole bloody office.
‘Where’s Abigail now?’ I asked, trying to change the subject.
‘In the library, being supervised by a TA. We thought it would be wise to put her somewhere quiet for now.’
‘Can I take her home now?’ said Maggie. Her voice was wobbling more than ever. I needed to get her out of there and somewhere she could let go. A meltdown was coming, and I didn’t blame her.
*
Abigail wasn’t happy about going home. She wasn’t happy about doing anything. Once she was fastened into her car seat, she crossed arms and drew her mouth into a tight line.
‘Don’t wanna go home,’ she said.
‘Tough,’ said Maggie. ‘You’ve been naughty so you have to do what you’re told.’
‘No!’
Maggie slammed the rear passenger door on her daughter. ‘Sorry,’ she said, meeting my eye as she got in the front passenger side. ‘Shouldn’t take my mood out on your car.’
I shrugged. ‘It’s seen worse.’ It was an old car. I was surprised it was still running.
‘Thanks,’ she said, leaning her head against my shoulder. ‘God, what am I going to tell Harry? He’ll be fuming!’
‘One thing at a time. Let’s deal with the mardy child first.’
‘How? How do we deal with her?’
I opened my mouth to reply, but before I could, I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. Abigail was having a fit.
‘Abigail!’ said Maggie. She was out of the car and pulling Abigail out of the car seat before she’d finished what she was saying. ‘What do I do?’ she asked me, putting her daughter into the recovery position.
My usual answer was an exorcism. But we’d already tried that. ‘I’ll call an ambulance,’ I said, hoping the hospital could do something. Anything.
A fit was the host’s way of trying to fight off whatever was inside of them. It was a physical manifestation of the two souls fighting it out. There wasn’t always a clear winner. But, statistically, when it was a child who was possessed, the odds weren’t in their favour.
30
Edie
‘Why are you curled up in the foetal position, with Nurse Tilly trying to get to your arse?’ said Josh, walking into my room while I watched bad TV. Bored in my incapacitated state, I’d texted him to keep myself entertained. He’d come over during his free period after lunch to keep me company.
I switched the TV off and tried to turn to face him, but immediately regretted it when a sharp pain shot through my spine. I yelped. Nurse Tilly sprung into action, jumping all over me and making it harder for me to sit straight and calm my back down.
Josh picked her up, holding her wriggling form to him. Her gaze was fixed on me; she did not want to leave me alone. It would’ve been adorable if it wasn’t so painful.
‘Thanks,’ I said.
‘So what happened?’
I sighed. ‘Smacked my coccyx on concrete. Wouldn’t recommend it.’
He sucked in air through his teeth.
‘Yeah. It’s that kind of pain.’
‘How?’
As much as I loved Josh, he actually liked Tessa. Occasionally they hung out together with a group of others. I wasn’t invited to these things. Well, Josh had tried, but I’d declined for obvious reasons. I had more interesting conversations with dead people. Tessa and her friends were most definitely not my kind of people.
‘Tessa pushed me.’
He put Tilly on the bed and perched on the end of it. She galloped over to me, jumping up and licking my face. I tensed my body, holding her still so that she’d calm down.
‘She wouldn’t do that,’ he said.
‘And yet she did,’ I said. Why didn’t he believe me? Did he have a thing for Tessa? No. He wasn’t that much of an idiot. Was he?
Tilly calmed down, settling into the crux of my hip. Cutie.
‘It was probably just an accident,’ he said.
‘You know what? Just go. I’ll be fine.’
‘Edie—’
‘No, really. Please.’
Please stop defending that bitch, you’re breaking my heart.
As Josh stood, his phone rang. A frantic Maggie was on the other end, telling him to meet her at the hospital. Something about Abigail having a fit.
I pulled back the covers, startling Tilly and my injury. How long would I have to put up with the pain? Could I get stronger painkillers?
‘Where are you going?’ said Josh.
‘Something’s wrong with Abigail. I’m coming with you.’
*
‘Mum! Mum!’ I called, limping my way towards where she, Maggie, and Harry were standing. It wasn’t my best look, but I couldn’t not go and see Abigail. And obviously Josh wouldn’t leave her, either. So he’d helped me into his car and driven us to the hospital. Sitting in his car had been painful but necessary. He’d driven as carefully as he could, but it still stung. Abigail needed me, so I had to suck it up.
‘Edie!’ said Mum, coming over to Josh and me. She put her hands on my arms. ‘You didn’t have to come.’
‘Yes we did,’ said Josh. ‘How is she?’
‘Asleep at the minute,’ said Mum. ‘The doctors aren’t sure what caused it, so they want to do some more tests.’
‘Do they think it’s anything bad?’ he asked, his eyes pleading with Mum to give him answers. He wouldn’t like it if she did…
‘We’ll get answers soon, don’t you worry.’
Josh folded his arms and turned away from us. Mum put her hand on his arm. ‘She’ll be OK.’
He snivelled. ‘’Scuse me.’ He walked away, leaving Mum and me alone in the corridor.
‘Should I go after him?’ I said.
Mum shook her head. ‘No, I don’t think he wants us to see him so upset. Better to leave him.’
‘I hate this!’ I said, waving my arms in the air.
Mum hugged me. ‘Me too. But we’ll sort it.’
I pulled away and looked up at her. ‘So what really happened?’
Mum guided me to the chairs a few feet away and we sat down. Well, I perched at a forty-five degree angle so that my tailbone didn’t touch the plastic chair. Mum sat properly.
