Mr Kierney didn’t seem half as inclined to argue with Theo as he was with Ruby.
“And what am I supposed to do in the meantime?” he muttered, his eyes refusing to meet the old lady’s, his mouth a grim line.
“I believe you’re sleeping downstairs at the moment,” Theo continued, “and that you feel relatively safe doing so? I suggest you continue in that manner until we return.”
“Or I could get another team in,” said Mr Kierney, rallying.
“Indeed you could,” sanctioned Theo, “but Psychic Surveys has made significant progress with your case, whereas another team would have to start from scratch. I believe your best bet is to stick with us, although, of course, it’s your decision entirely.”
His pallid complexion flushing red with fury, Mr Kierney conceded but not with good grace.
“I want the entire use of my house!” he thundered. “And I want it soon. One more chance, that’s all I’m prepared to give you and at no extra cost to me.”
“Mr Kierney, I...” Theo began, a rise in her voice signalling it was time for Ruby to butt back in.
“One more chance is all we need Mr Kierney, we’re very grateful to you. I intend to devote myself personally to this case, to find out what the problem is, what grounds Cynthia. We’ll be back as soon as possible to try again – later this week or early the week after.”
“You’d better!” Mr Kierney growled before indicating he’d like them to leave.
Outside, Corinna turned to Ruby.
“Bloody idiot! Why didn’t you just tell him to get lost?”
“First, because it wouldn’t do Cynthia any good, and second, Mr Kierney’s a journalist. If we fail to evict Cynthia, he could use the media to harm our reputation considerably. We’ve spent two years getting people to take Psychic Surveys seriously; we don’t want the work that we do devalued by an arrogant arse like him.”
At the thought of everything she’d worked so hard for suddenly being under threat, Ruby started to feel emotional and – psychic, sensitive or not – all around her felt it.
“Mr Kierney said there’s a pub somewhere close?” Cash reached out his hand to rest lightly on Ruby’s shoulder.
“Yes,” confirmed Ness, “I passed it on my way here, The Rainbow Inn it’s called. Follow me, I’ll lead the way.”
***
A typical Sussex country pub, the taller among them had to duck as they entered The Rainbow Inn, its doorway was so low. Inside, the ceiling, complete with blackened oak beams, was also low. The sense of enclosure, however, ensured an intimate and cosy atmosphere, a respite from the weather. The bar shone like a beacon in the gloom, and on the chalkboard menu a member of staff with an artistic bent had drawn holly leaves and berries in the top corners, green and red a festive contrast against the black. Cash took orders whilst the others settled themselves round a large, battered table, not too far from the fire that danced in the grate.
Seeing the drinks lined up on the bar, Corinna jumped up to help Cash bring them over. A coke for Ruby and her, a half pint of bitter for Cash, gin and tonic for Theo and tomato juice for Ness, heavy on the Tabasco and Worcester Sauce.
“Well, that was interesting,” she said, returning.
“That’s one way of putting it,” Ness mumbled, clearly savouring her drink.
Ruby was about to speak next but movement at the bar caught her attention.
“You can see him too?” said Theo, leaning towards her.
“Yes,” said Ruby, smiling again at last. “But I don’t think he’s earthbound. He looks too content. I get the impression he just enjoys propping up the bar every now and again.”
As Corinna and Cash looked to the bar intrigued, Theo changed the subject.
“So, what next?”
“Next, we find out who Lytton is.”
“Lytton?” enquired Ness, pushing a rogue strand of black hair behind her ear.
“Yes, Lytton,” answered Ruby. “When I first made contact with Cynthia, she mentioned someone called Lytton, she wanted to know where he was. She sounded desperate at the mention of his name. We need to find out who he is. What relationship he had with her.”
“And his name hasn’t come up in the research you’ve done already?” enquired Ness.
“No, it hasn’t,” said Ruby. Lowering her head, she continued. “Obviously I didn’t look hard enough. To be honest though, her passing was sudden, unexpected. I thought once we’d explained to her what had happened, helped her to understand, she’d go peacefully enough. Big mistake. There’s more than that holding her here.”
Cash leaned forward too. “Is that what you mean by going deeper? More research equals more knowledge equals the key to her being stuck here? Unlocking the secret equals all round-success?”
“Something like that,” confirmed Ruby.
Sipping at her coke, she continued “I’ll spend the next couple of days looking into it, shall we meet up again at my office on Thursday? Does that suit everyone?”
Even if it didn’t, Ruby knew they’d rearrange whatever they had planned to ensure that it did. A surge of affection for these people sitting around her, her team, her friends, rose up in her. She was lucky to have found them. Maybe Cash too as it was turning out.
That settled, their conversation turned to more mundane matters.
“Wonder if Lucy and Joey are going to get it on in EastEnders tonight?” wondered Corinna, an avid fan of the soap opera.
“How you can watch such rubbish, I don’t know.” Ness looked truly shocked. “No one ever talks to each other in that programme, they just shout. It’s full of such negative energy.”
Corinna smirked as she took another sip of coke.
“The present pile,” Theo joined in. “That’s what I’ll be wading through tonight.”
That’s all Theo ever seemed to spend her evenings doing lately. She had three sons and each son had at least two children. If Ruby remembered correctly, one of them had five – an impressive if excessive number in the modern world. Nonetheless, Theo adored each and every one of her grandchildren and delighted in spoiling them. All year she’d stock up on toys and then spend practically the whole of December wrapping them.
Drinks finished, everyone started grabbing their coats and saying their goodbyes, making ready to go. Whilst they did so, Ruby seized the opportunity to pop to the bar. Standing beside the outline of the man she had noticed earlier, she turned to look directly at him, trying to form a connection with him. Tuning in, she gathered he had been in his seventies; that his name was Albert, but he was known more commonly as Burt and that, in life, The Rainbow Inn was not just a pub to him but a home-from-home.
Are you stuck here or can you come and go? Ruby asked, not in words, in thought.
I can come and go, love, the old man replied good-naturedly enough. For a while anyway.
What are you drinking?
Harveys Old, that’s my tipple. He was grinning at her, she could sense it. There’s nothing like it.
Not even on the other side it would seem. It was one heck of an endorsement. The company that brewed it, Harveys Brewery in her home town of Lewes, would be pleased to hear that.
You’re okay then?
I’m fine. Burt winked at her.
Ruby couldn’t tell when he had passed exactly, but fairly recently, something to do with his liver. Although he had gone to the light with no problems, Burt was having trouble relinquishing his earthly pleasures – a beer with friends in a pub he loved. She didn’t know what happened on the ‘other side’, but from experience she had gleaned there were those who were allowed a certain amount of time to come to terms with leaving the physical world in which they had been so happy. As long as they didn’t make a nuisance of themselves, they could visit places or people every now and again until they felt ready to move on entirely, to wherever it was they were supposed to go – the next leg of their spiritual journey. Such visitations could not be considered hauntings as such as the spirits in question rare
ly needed help; they would do what they had to do, just in their own time.
Enjoy your pint, Ruby said, leaving him to it.
Cash had waited behind for her.
“Are you okay?” His voice was low, his eyes gentle.
“I’m fine,” she replied. “What about you? After what happened back there, all that banging and crashing?”
“I’m fine. Honest. I’ve never been better.”
She shouldn’t believe him, but somehow she did. He seemed genuinely unfazed by the more obvious elements of Cynthia’s tantrum, astonishingly so.
“Well, it’s over now,” she continued. “You don’t have to set foot in Highdown Hall ever again.”
“Are you kidding?” Cash looked genuinely put out. “I’m looking forward to it. But I can’t wait until the end of the week to see you again. Fancy a curry tonight? My shout.”
Chapter Nine
The atmosphere at Chaula’s, a local Indian restaurant near Waitrose in Eastgate Street, was quiet. Quietly perfect, thought Ruby, she’d had enough drama for one day. Looking at the man sitting opposite her, she was glad she had agreed to go, if only to give him the chance to offload about what had happened earlier that day. As she expected, Cash broached the subject of Highdown Hall within minutes of sitting down.
“This spirit stuff, it’s real, isn’t it?”
“As real as you and me,” agreed Ruby, wondering why Jed, who was sitting by her side looking longingly at her, had chosen this precise moment to show up.
Jed, you don’t eat anymore. And especially not curry. Stop staring!
Jed wasn’t buying it though. He wagged his tail expectantly and his eyes were almost heartbreaking, they were so hopeful.
Since there was nothing she could do about the dog’s phantom hunger pangs, she decided to ignore him and concentrate on Cash instead. The waiter had delivered their food, a chicken jalfrezi with extra chillies for him and a prawn dhansak with boiled rice and a side of chilli pickle for her. His eyes widening, Cash lost no time in wading in.
“You like it hot too?” he noted, watching her dollop a spoonful of pickle onto the side of her plate.
“I’m addicted to the stuff, chillies I mean. I can’t get enough.”
“Me too,” he replied. “Raised on them.”
“Have you tried the food at Wham-Bam?” he continued, referring to a food vendor that set up regularly in the pedestrian square that ran from the bottom of School Hill to the old bridge that crossed the river and took you to the beginning of Cliffe High Street, a pretty stretch of the town dominated by Harveys Brewery, antique shops and cafés.
“No,” replied Ruby intrigued. She had always meant to try the food from there, vegetables deep-fried in spicy batter, a sort of Indian tempura she supposed. The smell whenever she passed by made her mouth water.
“The chilli pickle there, it will blow your head off. I’ve tried to cajole the recipe out of them several times, but they won’t give it, it’s a closely guarded secret.”
Before she could reply, he was back on the subject of Cynthia again.
“So, Cynthia, do you think she’s evil?” he said, in between mouthfuls.
“I’ve told you before; I choose not to believe in evil. Cynthia’s frightened, that’s all, and a frightened spirit can be dangerous to deal with, in much the same way a frightened living person is. The way she acted today, lashing out, it’s got something to do with Lytton.”
“Yeah, the mysterious Lytton. I wonder who he is.”
“Was,” Ruby reminded him, and then, more to herself than him. “I’ll have to check.”
For the next few minutes they ate in companionable silence, the food really too good not to give it their full attention.
Cash was the first to finish, pushing his empty plate to one side.
“So,” he said, picking up the threads of their previous conversation, “this choosing not to believe in evil business, I’m really not convinced you know. I could name some pretty evil people out there, an endless list of them.”
Ruby pushed her plate aside too; she was too full to eat any more.
She paused a few moments before attempting to explain.
“Have you ever looked at a newborn baby and thought, crikey, you’re an evil little sod, aren’t you?”
Cash looked horrified.
“No, of course not.”
“No, me neither. There is only innocence in their eyes, a purity.”
“Until they reach teenage years that is.”
“Ah, teenagers,” Ruby couldn’t help laughing too. “The less said about them the better. Seriously though, people aren’t born with a propensity for evil, whatever they become in life, whatever choices they make along the way, perhaps as a result of injustices they’ve suffered, perhaps not, once they were good and that goodness remains at core, even if it does become buried under layers and layers of crud.”
Cash raised an eyebrow at this but remained silent.
Ruby finished her half pint of lager. “Look, I’m no expert on what happens on the other side, Cash; I don’t really know to be honest. But from what I’ve seen, what I’ve felt, love is the ultimate force. Evil doesn’t stand a chance against it. The light, or home as we call it, is pure love, with no conditions attached. We come from it and, at the end of our human journey, we go back to it. Despite what we get up to in between, there’s no judgement in the light, no fear or damnation. What there is, is unconditional love and understanding.”
“So, everyone gets away with it you mean? Murderers, rapists... politicians.”
Ruby smiled again as she shook her head. “No, I don’t think anybody gets away with anything. There are always consequences to actions. I’m sure murderers, rapists and yes, even a fair few politicians, have to undergo intensive re-education of some sort; a form of rehabilitation if you like. My feeling is that wrong-doers have to suffer every suffering they’ve ever inflicted; not just on their victims, but the families of their victims, their friends, everyone their actions have touched, no matter how remotely. In doing so they take responsibility, experience the sorrow – and the weight of that sorrow must be horrendous. Hell enough I should think.”
Coming to the end of her sentence, she noticed that it wasn’t only Jed staring at her.
“What?” she said, feeling her face start to burn.
“You,” said Cash. “You’re amazing.”
“No I’m not!” snorted Ruby, crimson now.
“You are,” Cash insisted. “I’ve never met anyone like you before. Not only are you gifted but you’re compassionate too. I don’t know, you shine with it.”
Ruby was glad the waiter chose that exact moment to come over and clear their plates. His compliment had rendered her speechless.
Having ordered coffee for both of them, Cash said, “So, reincarnation, I presume you believe in that too?”
Ruby nodded her head. “Don’t get me started on reincarnation,” she said, “we’ll be here all night. It just makes sense to me, that’s all, to have more than one life; we’ve so much to learn.”
“You mentioned your mum was a psychic too, does she believe as you do?”
Ruby stiffened. Had she mentioned that? She must have done, when they first met.
“My mum is psychic and my grandmother, and her mother before that. In fact, my great-grandmother was quite renowned in Victorian times. Rosamund Davis. Google her, there’s quite a bit about her on the internet. She documented meticulously all her psychic experiences. Quite austere she was to look at but Gran assures me she was as soft as a kitten inside. It was my grandmother who brought me up though, she taught me to respect the gift we have, to use it wisely and to help. And yes, I tend to agree with my grandmother’s beliefs, not just because she taught me, but instinctively.”
Cash continued to hold her gaze, a talent of his she decided.
“Tell me to shut up if you want, that it’s none of my business, but is... is your mum okay?”
Ten out of ten for percepti
veness. As tempted as she was to tell him it was indeed none of his business, she felt she should say something, to stop future prying if nothing else.
“My mum is fine,” she said carefully, “my grandmother looks after her.”
“Where do they live?”
“Hastings, they live in Hastings.”
Knowing she should elaborate at least a little bit, she continued “Like me, my grandmother taught my mother to use her gift wisely. Unlike me, my mother didn’t listen. She was a real live wire when she was younger.” Ruby smiled at the memory. “I remember her always laughing. Unfortunately, she had a bad psychic experience, when I was still a child. She didn’t protect herself properly. She retreated into herself after that, had what you might call a breakdown. Rarely laughed again. I miss that sound.”
“I’m sorry,” said Cash, reaching across the table and covering her hand with his.
“Don’t be,” said Ruby, surprised at how comforted she was by his touch. “I don’t know the ins and outs of what happened to my mother – my grandmother says it wouldn’t help me if I did – so, I can’t tell you much more than that I’m afraid. You know as much as me.”
His hand still on hers, Cash said, “That’s fine. I feel privileged you’ve told me what you have. I’d like to meet your grandmother and mother one day.”
“Really?” said Ruby, it was the last thing she had expected him to say.
“Really,” he replied. “They sound as special as you are.”
Feeling a stirring inside her chest, a sensation that both scared and excited her, they paid the bill and left the restaurant, Jed less hopeful but ever loyal, trotting behind them.
Although Cash lived close to Chaula’s, he had a flat in Fullers Passage, he insisted on walking her home. Instead of cutting through back streets, they decided to take the more scenic route, through the heart of town. Linking arms as they walked, he quizzed her about various historical buildings, eager to know if they were haunted or not.
The Haunting of Highdown Hall Page 9