Rachel glared at the old man. “Well good old Mrs Gallagher ran back to Ireland after she was supposedly attacked, so she’ll know nothing of this.”
“I hope so, Miss, but please let me give you a few words of warning,” Ray said.
“If you must.” Rachel rolled her eyes. “But make it quick. I’m a busy lady and have deadlines to meet.”
“If you see the man, you need to run and get out of here as fast as you can.”
“The man that lives down the well?”
Ray laughed in Rachel’s face. “He’s always there you know. He talks to me sometimes and frightens the life out of me ‘cause he seems to come out of nowhere. As soon as I go into the back garden he’s there, and always in the same place too.”
“Does he live in the house?” Maybe this man was worth talking to after all, Rachel thought.
“No, Miss. Nobody lives in that house, Mrs Gallagher’s orders. I’m the only person authorised to go inside and I only do that when I need to go to the toilet. I’m sure he goes inside when I’m not there as things are moved around in the master bedroom, but the rest of the time it lies empty.”
“So who is he?” Rachel asked as the thought of selling a million copies of the weekend edition ran through her mind. “If he’s always there, why haven’t the police found him?”
“I don’t know, but he’s been there as long as I have. One minute he’s there and the next, gone, just like magic.” He gestured with his hands.
“So, you’re telling me, Harry Houdini is hiding in the garden?” she said sarcastically.
“There’s no need to be funny, Miss.”
“Well, all this mumbo jumbo is getting on my tits. I’ve got stuff to do so if you’ll…”
Ray interrupted her. “Another warning, Miss. Stay away from that old doll house. He won’t like you going near that at all.”
“All your warnings are starting to get on my nerves. You’ve got your money, so save your warnings for somebody else, old man. I have important stuff to do. Now move.” Rachel shoved him out of the way.
“On your own head be it,” Ray shouted back as he walked away. “Don’t say you weren’t warned, lady.”
“Blah blah blah,” she said dismissively as she walked through the gate. “Dean, are you going to sit in there all night?” Rachel shouted.
Dean hesitated before jumping out of the car and he followed Rachel through the gate.
Chapter 24
Sandra went through the explanation over and over in her head whilst driving to Hilary’s house, but knew whatever she said, her best friend would not be happy.
She was kidding herself – she’d been lying to her best friend, even after promising she wouldn’t go back to the lane.
Sandra hated arguing with Hilary but had to find a way to make her realise why she had returned to the lane without her.
She pulled up outside the house. “Here goes nothing,” Sandra said aloud.
***
Hilary was sitting at the kitchen table, looking up at Sandra and shaking her head. Sandra knew she was stunned by what she was hearing.
“You promised me you wouldn’t go near that place again, Sand. How could you?” Hilary’s cheeks flushed red and Sandra knew how angry she was with her.
“I know and I’m sorry, but I couldn’t put you through that again. You were so scared last time.”
“And so were you as I recall,” Hilary bluntly reminded Sandra.
“I know. I had no choice. I needed to go back and speak to him.”
“I’m not sure I’m hearing you correctly? You actually went back to that horrible place and spoke to that creepy man?”
“Yes, you’re hearing correctly and yes, I did speak to him. His name is David.”
“Oh, how nice that you made formal introductions,” Hilary spat.
“Don’t be so bloody sarcastic. You’re my best friend, not my mother.” Sandra was annoyed at being spoken to like a child.
“Well, I’m sorry, but what do you expect me to say? He frightened the shite out of us last time, and you go back and introduce yourself. What for?”
“I had to, Hils. I needed to know what happened to Sarah and, now I know, I can begin to move on, but I can’t stop thinking about him being stuck there.”
Hilary stared at her friend. “Hang on a moment and backtrack. What do you mean, now you know? Now you know what exactly?”
“I know what happened to Sarah. I know she’ll never come home. She died in that garden and her body was taken down the well.”
“You’re not making sense, Sand. This is crazy. How are you so sure Sarah died in that garden?”
“David told me what happened to her. That’s why he said he didn’t want me to suffer the same fate as my sister.” Sandra bowed her head.
Hilary banged her hands on the table, making Sandra jump. “That’s it! I love you too much to let you put yourself in any more danger. We’re going to go to the police, and you can tell them what this David has told you. Shit, Sand, how do you know he wasn’t the one who hurt her?”
“Because I know it wasn’t him. I saw her remember.”
“Not this again. I feel like I’ve slipped into the twilight zone. Listen to me please. I’m not trying to hurt or upset you, but he’s playing some weird game with you.”
“Do you really believe that, Hils, or are you just trying to convince yourself? You heard the noises that night.”
“I know what I heard and haven’t slept properly since, so forgive me if I don’t understand why you went back there, alone?” Hilary’s voice quivered.
“I know he won’t hurt me.” Sandra got out of her chair, walked towards Hilary and knelt on the floor in front of her.
“You don’t know that. Sand, you’re too involved in this. I’m worried about you.” She tucked Sandra’s hair behind her ear and leant forward, pulling Sandra’s head towards her breast.
Sandra wrapped her arms around her waist. “I know he’s a good person. You have to believe me. I know what I’m doing.” Tears formed in her eyes as she spoke.
“You’ve fallen for him, haven’t you?”
“Don’t be so ridiculous.” Sandra pulled away, looking at her curiously.
“I’m not being ridiculous, but I know you better than you know yourself sometimes.”
She couldn’t argue, but Sandra was too stubborn to admit it.
“What about, Nathan?”
Sandra knew her best friend was trying to spark a reaction and got up from her knees and returned to her seat before answering the question.
“What about him? He was out of my life the moment he screwed somebody else.”
“But you still live in the same house.”
“Only until the divorce comes through, and you know that as well as he does.”
“Sandra, I’m so scared for you. I know that once you get something into your head, there’s little chance of you changing your mind, but this is your safety I’m talking about. I couldn’t stand it if something were to happen to you. You’re my sister.”
“Nothing’s going to happen to me, silly. I know what I’m doing. David told me I’d be safe so long as I never go back when it’s dark.”
“I wish you could see the madness in all of this. You really believe there’s something supernatural in that place, don’t you?” Hilary put her head in her hands. “There’s no such thing as ghosts, Sandra.”
Sandra knew why Hilary was upset. They had always protected one another, but there was nothing she could say or do to make her change her mind.
Sandra opened her mouth to speak as her phone began to vibrate. The noise knocked her train of thought.
“Who is it?” Hilary asked.
Taking the phone out of her pocket and staring at the screen, she rolled her eyes and pulled a face.
“Oh fuck, it’s Rachel.”
“Send her to voicemail,” Hilary said.
Sandra knew she hadn’t given up trying to convince her to stay away from the lane.
“She’ll keep on ringing.”
“Then let her ring. I could throttle her with my bare hands for putting you on this story.”
“Now, now, Brown Owl, that’s not very Catholic of you, is it?”
“I’ll give you frigging Brown Owl in a minute, you cheeky bitch. I’m terrified.”
“I know you are, and I love you for worrying about me, but I promise you I’ll be fine.”
Sandra’s phone began to vibrate once again. The interruption visibly annoyed Hilary. “Just call her back and tell her to piss off, or let me do it. There’s plenty I’d like to say to that bitch.”
“I wish she would piss off if I’m honest. She’s permanently on my back. I think it is about time I started looking for another job.”
“I wonder what she’s calling for?” Hilary asked.
“First you tell me to divert her, and now you want to know what she wants.”
“Well, a girl can change her mind can’t she?”
“Hang on, let me listen to this message, or it’ll keep buzzing me.”
“Put in on speakerphone. I wanna hear what she sounds like,” Hilary ordered.
“Hi lovely, it’s me.” Rachel’s snooty voice boomed from the speaker. Hilary put her fingers into her mouth and made retching sounds.
“Ssshhh.” Sandra batted at her, rolling her eyes as she clicked the speakerphone off and listened to the message herself.
“What?” Hilary impatiently asked her
“It’s Rachel. She’s gone to the lane to have a look around.” Sandra felt her stomach somersault and began to panic. What if she finds the doll house? She couldn’t stand Rachel, but she wouldn’t wish harm on anyone.
“Are you kidding me?” Hilary laughed out loud and clapped her hands. “That’s the best news I’ve heard all year. If there is some loony there, let him throw her fat arse down that well. It’ll teach her a lesson.” She tittered to herself, obviously finding her own comments amusing.
“Hils, that’s not even remotely funny. If she looks inside of that doll house…”
Hilary sat silent as Sandra dialed Rachel’s number. She could hear the voicemail message before Sandra ended the call and tried again. Still voicemail
“Shit, Hils, this is bad.”
“Try again.” Hilary looked worried.
Sandra knew her friend didn’t believe in ghosts, but a part of her obviously thought Rachel was in danger.
“She’s probably ignoring you,” Hilary stated.
Sandra called again as Hilary watched in silence.
“Rachel, its Sandra, please listen to me. You have to leave, it’s not safe. If you get this message, please don’t go near the doll house.” Hilary could tell her friend was scared and was worried she sounded unhinged.
“You’re not seriously going there now? Its pitch-black. You said it wasn’t safe for you to go there after dark.”
“I have to go. Rachel could be in big trouble.”
“Not without me you’re not.” Hilary got up out of the chair.
“No way. You have to stay here. If I don’t come back, you have to warn the police.”
“What do you mean if you don’t come back?” Hilary had obviously lost interest in Rachel.
“I know you think I’m mad putting myself in danger for someone who doesn’t give a shit about me, but I can’t just let her wander around there. You know what’s there. If anything happens to me, it’ll be up to you to make sure the police know what’s been going on there.”
“And I’ll be locked away in a nuthouse if I told the police half of what you’ve told me.”
“Look, I have to go. I’ll be fine. I promise. You stay here and wait for my call.”
“Sand, you can’t go back there alone.”
“I’ll be fine. David will protect me and I’ll keep my phone on. I promise I’ll call you as soon as I’ve got Rachel out of there.”
Hilary threw her arms around her best friend.
“I’ll be fine, I swear.”
“You’d better be or I’ll kill you myself.” Hilary kissed her on the cheek before letting her go.
Sandra turned and smiled then walked out the door.
Chapter 25
Rachel grinned as she watched Dean walk around the garden. She knew he was scared, but didn’t care. He couldn’t even sit and watch a horror movie without covering his face, so she knew hanging around an overgrown garden, in the dark, where a young child had been murdered, wouldn’t be his idea of fun. She wished she had the ability to read his mind – she was certain he would be cursing her right about now.
“Shit, Rach, it’s proper creepy out here. Did you notice all the cats on the wall?” Dean pointed to the walls around the garden.
Cats didn’t scare Rachel. “Grow a pair, Dean, and shush will you. I’m trying to listen. If the old man was right, he’ll be here somewhere.”
“I’d prefer he wasn’t here at all.”
“I’m sure you would. Now shush.” Rachel didn’t like to repeat herself’.
“Let’s just hurry and get out of this place. I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”
Rachel glared at Dean and rolled her eyes. He was really beginning to get on her nerves. She took in her surroundings and made a tutting noise. She was already bored.
“If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear somebody was taking the piss out of me. There’s nothing to see in this shithole.”
“Well, if there’s nothing to see, let’s go home and I’ll give your feet a rub.”
The thought was appealing to her, especially since she was more than aware he hated touching her feet. He must be desperate to get out of there if he was volunteering to tackle her feet.
“Tempting as that may be, Dean, I need to find that doll house first.” Rachel continued to look around the garden.
“He told you to stay away from that,” Dean warned her.
“Did he?” she said, sounding miffed. “Well I can’t have been listening.”
“Look, Rach, this place is freaking me out. Don’t you feel weird even being here?”
She could tell he was scared and she wasn’t ever going to let him forget it.
“I wish I’d come on my own. Your constant dithering is getting on my tits so shut up will you while I look for this doll house and then we can go.”
She wasn’t the least bit scared. She wasn’t Editor-in-Chief of a hugely successful national newspaper for nothing and was famous for getting her hands dirty as and when she needed to.
“I’m sorry, Rach, but I’ve got bad vibes about this place.”
“The only vibe I’m getting is that Sandra Miller is deliberately trying to keep me away from here, and I want to know why, but she’s ignoring my calls. She knows I’m onto her and I know she’s hiding something.”
“Why would she do that?”
“Probably because she knows more about her sister’s disappearance then she’s ever let on. She’s pissed off I put her on the story and is feeding me misinformation to keep me away from the truth. Quite clever really -- I’d never credit her as being smart enough.”
“What if this is a wind up and she knew you would hack her work computer?”
“I don’t think it is, and I doubt she would leave anything there if she knew I’d have access, but she’s in for a big shock regardless when security escorts her from the building tomorrow morning.” A maniacal grin spread across her fat face.
She smiled and looked forward to the following morning. Sandra wouldn’t know what had hit her. There was no way anybody would make her look foolish and get away with it.
“Ok, let’s see what all the fuss is about with this doll house and get out of here. Agreed?”
“If you say so.” Rachel would never admit it, but she would be glad to get out of this creepy place. “But you better think of something that’ll entertain me tonight, or else.”
“I’ll do anything you want as long as we can get out of this place.”
“You take
the bottom end of the garden and I’ll take the top,” Rachel instructed. “I can’t manage that grass in these heels.” Dean stared as she looked down and admired her purple suede designer shoes. “If these shoes get damaged, I’ll make Sandra pay for another pair out of her final pay.”
The thought of her falling flat on her face amused him. Rachel walked off as Dean focused his torch on the bottom end of the garden.
Rachel could see a square structure covered in blue plastic next to the main house and headed towards it. She smiled as she pulled at the cover revealing what she was looking for.
Even with the torch, she could only just make out the miniature furniture within the compartments of the doll house. Admittedly, she found it quite beautiful and thought it would look better in her own well maintained back garden than hidden under plastic sheeting in this over-grown jungle. She made a mental note to ask the guard if she could buy it.
Suddenly, her eyes were drawn to the doll that sat inside one of the compartments. It looked odd in comparison to the miniature furniture. Rachel reached in and pulled the doll out of its compartment. She didn’t want to touch it, but was curious to know what all the fuss was about. The thing was filthy and looked ancient. She noticed the remaining clumps of hair sticking out of the porcelain head and screwed her face up in disgust. She thought it was only fit for the bin. Still, something about the doll pulled her in and she continued to scrutinize it carefully. Rachel tilted the doll and its eyes unexpectedly opened, startling her. At that moment, a cat screeched in the background, making her jump. Rachel was annoyed at how frightened she felt and told herself not to believe the silly stories people told about the doll house.
“Dean, you have to see this.” He didn’t answer her straight away. “Come here,” Rachel ordered.
She could just make Dean out at the bottom of the garden and could see his torch jumping from place to place. She laughed under her breath knowing he would be terrified. He was a poor excuse for a man, and maybe after tonight she would have no further use for him.
***
“Ok, give me a minute,” he shouted. He’d had enough of the place and wanted to go home, especially now he could see a few of the cats jumping down from the walls. He didn’t have a problem with cats and quite liked them, but felt unnerved with so many around.
Promised Land Lane Page 15