Dead Drunk

by Alice J Black

  I sucked in a breath as an image of an old man stumbling around the kitchen came to me.

  “It’s just like he used to do when he’d come home from the pub. I know that sound all too well.”

  “Okay.” I nodded. “I think we have enough information to be getting on with now. If you don’t mind, Eileen, we’ll take a look around the property, perform a few cursory tests.”

  “Not at all.” She waved her hand. “I loved my husband, and burying him was the hardest thing I ever had to do. But having his spirit here is making it impossible to put my own mind to rest. I need to know if he truly is still here.”

  “I understand.” I nodded and reached down to pick up the bag. “We’ll start upstairs.”

  “If you need anything, just shout,” Janice suggested. “I’ll hear you from here.”

  “Thank you.” Olivia flashed a smile as we made our way back towards the small square passage and up the stairs that seemed to thunder with every step.

  Behind us, in the living room, I heard Janice telling her mother that the kettle was going on and they would have a nice cup of tea. I smiled. So terribly British and so very caring. While Eileen and Janice appeared to have a tumultuous relationship at times, the love was there. That was something I missed as I continued to grow older—having my parents around.

  “So what do you think?” Olivia asked as we reached the top landing.

  I paused, surveying the scene. Four doors and no indication of which room could be Eileen’s. They’d been happy for us to not only come over, but roam through their house, so I figured they didn’t mind me playing pot luck. I took a gamble on the first door.

  “I think that they’re right.” I looked into a bathroom.

  The units were a vile green, and the shower curtain had been hanging so long the mildew crept up to almost halfway. I wrinkled my nose and closed the door, cutting off the smell. Even in the midst of chaos, I don’t think my bathroom ever looked that bad.

  “Really? I get the impression that Eileen is struggling to cope without Eric and there’s a hint of wishful thinking.”

  I shook my head as I tried the second door. The back bedroom. There was a single bed with the sheets slightly ruffled, and several boxes and bags had been dumped in the room. I suspected this was technically the junk room.

  “I know what you mean, but they’re right, Olive. I felt something in this house when I stepped through the door. It’s not the worst thing I’ve ever experienced, but it’s dark and it’s there.”

  “Oh.”

  I tried the third door and found a medium-sized bedroom that had been converted into a sort of mini library. I wondered when Eileen had last picked up a book. I recalled the way her hands looked, the knuckles disjointed and out of place. If I was to guess, I’d say she was riddled with arthritis and she wouldn’t be able to hold a book up if she tried.

  “This must be it.”

  The fourth door led into the master suite. A double bed took up much of the space, with an ugly headboard pressed against dark wallpaper which had clearly been up for several decades too long. Wardrobes had been built into the space at the foot of the bed, tall and imposing. One of the doors crooked as it hung from the hinges. The curtains, like the ones downstairs, were as dark as the carpet.

  “Do you feel like you walked into the past, coming into this house?” Olivia whispered, glancing behind her, at the door to make sure Janice hadn’t suddenly crept up on us.

  “Yeah.” I nodded. “She’s either living in the past, or she really likes old-style décor.”

  “I’m guessing the latter. Maybe she’ll want to keep it the same, too. Now that Eric is gone, this will be one of her last memories of him.”

  I tossed the bag on the bed and opened it up.

  “What are you going to start with?” Olivia asked as I rummaged and came out with the EMF metre.

  I held it up. “A simple test to see if there are any electromagnetic fields nearby.”

  I switched the machine on and watched as the first light flashed green to show it was working and then went off. The first thing I did with my EMF was to control test it against something electrical. For that, I moved to a small boxed TV stuffed in the corner of the room, beside the wardrobe on top of a thin chest of drawers. As I did, the metre flashed again. Good, it was working. Now it was just a case of seeing if anything else came up.

  I made my way around the room slowly, walking around the bed and moving the metre left and right as I did so. Every now and then, it flashed green and I figured I was walking past some wires or electricals. I needed concrete proof that there was something here so I could report back to Eileen and her daughter. I tended to find that my word wasn’t enough.

  I squeezed down the side of the bed by the window and moved towards the bedside table. There was a red table lamp covered with a thick layer of dust, a lip balm, and a packet of tissues. This had to be Eileen’s side of the bed. As I swung my EMF metre across the belongings, there was no change.

  Backtracking, I made my way around the bottom of the bed, scooting past Olivia, and up the other side. As soon as I passed the foot of the bed, the light flashed amber. Squatting, I checked the area for anything electric. A heated blanket, for example. I came up empty.

  “What does that mean?” Olivia asked, craning to be closer as she looked over my shoulder.

  “When there’s a spike in the metre, it means there’s an increase in the electromagnetic field around us. That means there’s either an electrical current or something else.”

  “Well, look at you go.” She patted me on the back. “A few months back, you wouldn’t have even dared come in here knowing there was a spirit, let alone know what you’re talking about.”

  I nodded. “Getting clean has been the best thing I’ve done.”

  I took another step forward, and the metre spiked again, the pin moving up to the second amber light. I glanced up. On the nightstand was an open glasses case with a pair of specs nestled neatly inside and a cup I suspected once housed Eric’s nightcap.

  “So he’s definitely here?” Olivia asked.

  “Something is here. Whether it’s him or not is another matter.” I turned around to face her. “Eileen said most of the stuff she’s experienced has come from downstairs, though. We should check down there and see what else we find.”

  Olivia nodded and grabbed the backpack.

  “Keep in mind, too, that although a client may think the spirit is a certain person, that may not always be the case.”

  Olivia led the way from the room, and I closed the door behind me. We made our way downstairs. The metre flicked to the second light as we descended, and I remembered they said they heard footsteps. As if Eric was going downstairs for a drink.

  “Did you find anything?” Janice asked as soon as we reached the doorway to the living room.

  Instead of sitting beside her mother in her dad’s chair, she took up a seat on the couch opposite. The two-seater old and sagging now due to its prolonged life. I wondered if anyone had dared sit in Eric’s chair since his passing and thought that perhaps this could be the issue. He was hanging around because they weren’t letting go, rather than the other way around.

  “A spike showed up on our metre, which suggests there are inconsistencies in the electromagnetic field. It could mean that what you’re saying is true, but I need to check something else out.”

  “Go ahead.” Janice nodded.

  “Okay. I hope this doesn’t sound rude, but absolute quiet is best at this time.”

  Mother and daughter nodded, and I flicked the metre on. The green light flashed once, then stayed on. I couldn’t say I was surprised. In this room, a more modern TV was set up in the corner, facing the chairs. Beneath it, I spotted a DVD player. In another corner, a small radio was perched on a table, and I guessed there would be other things.

  I swung around in a wide circle, holding the metre out and watching intently. Every so often, it would flicker amber when I passed an electri
c current and then drop back to green.

  Coming to the point I’d started, I stalked towards the chair. Instantly, the first orange light lit up. I glanced at Olivia, who stood close on my right, her brow twitching. I took another step, and the pointer went up a notch. Another, and the fourth light was lit. As my knees made contact with the chair, the first red light came on, the needle jumping.

  “Okay.” I nodded and turned the machine off.

  “What does that mean?” Janice asked. She craned her neck to stare at the metre and now looked up at me expectantly.

  “This suggests that there’s a strong field in this area. Your dad’s chair.”

  “Are there any electrical points behind the chairs at all?” Olivia asked. She was catching on fast.

  Janice shook her head. “No. When they originally got their chairs, we looked at rearranging the layout of the living room, but there was just no way. There’s nowhere else to put the TV because there are no sockets behind there.”

  “Okay. I’ll just check the kitchen.”

  Motioning for Olivia to follow, I made my way towards the kitchen. As we stepped over the threshold, I pulled the door shut and continued in the same way, checking against the electrical points and then—feeling a bit like I was scavenging—checking the cupboards. There was one that was almost bare save for a half-empty bottle of port. The metre reached the top amber light at this cupboard.

  I switched the machine off for the third time as I turned to look at Olivia.

  “It’s not looking good, is it?” she asked.

  “Well, it’s looking good for us, but not Eileen. I think she’s right. I think Eric is still here.”

  “His spirit is lingering?”

  “That’s the only plausible thing I can take from these metre readings and everything they’ve described.”

  “So what do we do now?”

  “Now we have to tell them the news.”

  I knew that Janice and Eileen were going to be a bit more receptive to the update that there was indeed a spirit lingering in the home. More than most people anyway, which made my job a little easier. There were those who didn’t care to believe in the spirit world, no matter how obviously it was staring them in the face.

  Making our way back into the living room, I stashed the metre into my pack, ignoring the small family’s gazes for a few minutes. I needed time to pull myself together.

  “The evidence we’ve collected this evening,” I began, looking directly at Eileen, “suggests that there is a spirit here.”

  “I knew Eric was still here.” She smiled. Her sallow cheeks lifted.

  It struck me as the first time she’d probably smiled in a long time.

  “I can feel him.”

  “All I will say is that I can’t promise it’s your husband, Eileen. It could be that another spirit resides here.”

  “No.” She shook her head, certain that she was right. “It’s my Eric.”

  “So what do we do now?” Janice asked.

  “Now you have a decision to make. If you want us to clear the ghost from your home, we’ll arrange another date and a fee.”

  “Of course.” Janice nodded enthusiastically. “The sooner, the better, don’t you think?”

  “Now just hold on.” Eileen held up her hand. “This is my husband, so it’s my decision, Janice.”

  “Don’t tell me you want to leave his spirit here?” Janice stared wide-eyed. “It’s keeping you up. It’s keeping me up!”

  “But now that I know what, or rather, who it is, I feel a bit better. I only ever agreed to this because I wanted to know that there was something here, rather than the possibility that I might be losing my mind. Maybe I can settle now.”

  “You can’t be serious! You’re talking about letting a ghost stay here.” Janice laughed. “It’s ridiculous, isn’t it?” She turned to me.

  I glanced at Olivia out the corner of my eye. She gave a subtle shrug. This wasn’t our argument. Some people were comforted by the spirits that surrounded them. Eileen seemed to be one of them.

  “I’m afraid it’s not for me to decide.” I brought their argument to an end. “We have to go now, as we have another case to attend to this evening.”

  The words just rolled off my tongue, and I knew that Olivia was impressed by how quickly I was adapting.

  “You can’t leave us like this.” Janice shook her head. “There’s a spirit here. You can’t just leave.”

  “All you need to do is ring Soul Seekers if you decide you want to do something about the spirit in your home. Your case notes will be kept on file for six months. All we need to do now is arrange tonight’s payment.”

  I almost looked away as Janice met my eyes. It felt like a scam to be asking her for money for just a cursory glance around the house but we were running a business, and if I was going to stay afloat and make sure Olivia’s wage was made up, it had to be done.

  “Of course.” She nodded, defeated as she rummaged through her bag. “Will you take a cheque?”

  “That’ll work just fine. Make it out to Soul Seekers.”

  I watched as she scribbled the amounts and her signature on the small book before tearing off the slip and handing it to me.

  “Thank you for your help. And I can assure you, we’ll be in touch.”

  In the background, Eileen grumbled. Somehow I thought Janice had bitten off more than she could chew.

  “Goodbye, Janice. Nice to meet you, Eileen,” I called to the woman, who smiled warmly and offered a wave as we left. I pulled the door shut and took a deep breath of fresh air.

  “Wow, and I thought I could fight with Aunt Theresa.” Olivia shook her head. “Do you think we’ll hear from them?”

  “Who knows? I think if Janice has her way, we will. But you never know. Maybe Eileen just needed to have her mind put to rest.”

  “Maybe. Come on, we have another case to get to, remember?” She grinned.

  “We had to get out of there somehow.”

  I followed her back down the cracked path, towards the gate. It opened silently and clicked back into place with a dull finality.

  “Surely we don’t have to head back to the office now?” Olivia asked as we took our usual seats inside Thumper.

  She was happy enough to let me use the old motor as the run-around car for Soul Seekers. It saved her petrol and mileage. And besides, Thumper was pretty reliable, despite her age, due to some serious TLC.

  “No. It’s time for home. I could use something decent to eat and a shot of caffeine.” I slumped behind the wheel and stared out of the windscreen.

  Dusk was beginning to draw in. The sky lit up in dark blue hues.

  “Why not come over? I’ve got leftover lasagne and a percolator with your name on it.”

  “I thought you’d never ask.” I grinned while starting up the engine.

  After tea with Olivia, I was about ready to hit the hay, but it wasn’t quite time yet. It had been months since I’d picked up a drink, and I was getting to the point where I wasn’t craving every day. I could be around other people who were drinking, as long as it wasn’t shoved in my face. And now that I’d opened my own ghost hunting business, I was as busy as ever. But I still hadn’t forgotten my roots. Without AA and the friends I’d made there, I never would’ve gotten this far.

  So instead of heading home and falling into bed like I wanted to, as soon as I left Olivia’s house, I drove the short distance to the local meeting.

  As I entered the building, the smell of coffee hit me, and I smiled. I knew there’d be biscuits, too, but the thing I was most looking forward to was seeing Adele again. She was the woman who befriended me when I made my debut at the group, and we’d been inseparable ever since. I even helped her out of a tough spot when I riled up the spirits that had been brought into her home from the use of a Ouija board during a party a year prior.

  “Peyton!” She grinned and enveloped me in a warm embrace.

  I hugged her back, squeezing hard and inhaling deepl
y as the scent of her perfume drifted over me.

  “I’ve missed you. How’ve you been?” She pulled away, holding me at arms-length and looking me over, as if to assess that I was truly okay, before giving me a big grin.

  It gave me time to take a good look at one of my closest friends. A curvy woman, she carried it well and always looked great. Tonight, she wore a pair of blue skinny jeans and a plain grey t-shirt that was flattering. Her red hair was down. A slight curl flicked the ends of her tresses as they rested on her shoulders.

  “Good. Just busy.” I shook my head. “I’m at the office every day now, and I got my first call, thanks to you.”

  “You must mean Janice.” Her smile widened. “She’s been complaining about the goings-on at her mum’s for a month now. All I did was give her your number.”

  “Well, because of you, I got my first official case. Well, sort of.”

  Grabbing my arm, she led me towards the coffee table. “Spill.”

  I bit my lip, distracting myself for a second as I thought about the implications of talking about a client’s case with someone else. I didn’t have a confidentiality statement, but I figured most people wouldn’t be too happy about me disclosing information. Then again, Janice knew Adele and was referred by her, so I figured it was okay.

  I heaped two spoonfuls of instant granules into a cup and then pushed it under the boiler before pulling the tab down. “I went over and performed the initial inspection.”

  “And?”

  “And yes, there’s a spirit there. I can’t say whether it’s Eric or not, but there is a spirit.”

  “So did you get rid of it like you did mine?” Adele moved into my place as I poured some milk into the cup. She kept looking up at me, waiting for the gossip.

  “Not exactly.”

  She frowned. “What happened?”

  “Janice and Eileen had a disagreement.”

  “Oh. They do that a lot.” Adele nodded as she stirred her coffee.

  “Janice wants rid of it, but I think Eileen is comforted by knowing she’s not losing it. Her words.” I held my free hand up.