“Ellie’s case is genuine,” Ness was quick to defend. “And it was never proved that the Enfield case wasn’t genuine either. If someone like you is doubtful, Ruby, how can you blame the rest of the world?”
Ruby bristled. She didn’t need to be told off like a small child. She wasn’t doubtful; she was being realistic, or at least trying to be.
Cash broke a tense moment of silence. “So, we can’t walk away, we’ve established that much. When are we going in again?”
“We?” Ruby queried.
“That’s right, if this ship’s going down, I’m sinking too.”
“Cash, no, stay out of this—”
“I agree with Ruby,” Theo spoke up. “You don’t need the hassle.”
Cash shook his head; he could be as stubborn as the spirits at times. “I’m not psychic, I know that, but you’re my friends.” He turned to Ruby. “My girlfriend. I want to be there with you. And you know what else?”
“What?” said Ruby, feeling tears start to prick at her eyes again.
“That bag of yours, the one with the smudge sticks in, the crystals and all that jazz, it’s getting bloody heavy lately. If I’m only there as your roadie, to fetch and to carry, to get you a sandwich or something in-between Benjamin getting all princessy and hurling missiles at you, then that’s my privilege.”
Theo was misty-eyed too. “Do you know what you can bring to Gilmore Street that we’re going to need a ton of, Cash?”
“What?” he asked.
“Your sense of humour. If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times, we not only go in with love and understanding even for the most pain-in-the-backside of spirits, we go in with a lightness of heart. It’s one of our most effective weapons. And we treat the press in that way too.” Both Ruby and Corinna screwed up their faces in puzzlement as she said that. “I don’t mean belittle what we do,” Theo explained, noticing, “I mean don’t fight them. You can’t. Not the media. Not only the newspapers, it’ll be all over Facebook and Twitter soon enough too. Shrug your shoulders. Say ‘yep, I’m a ghostbuster, it’s a fair cop,’ but say it with pride, not embarrassment. Ruby, it’s a bona fide service we provide, as valid as any other on the high street. That’s your business message, stick to it. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”
Ruby’s heart sank again. “Facebook and Twitter? I didn’t think about them.”
“Yep,” Cash agreed, “it’ll spread faster than butter on toast.”
“If we fail it will be an embarrassment,” Ruby lamented.
“But we’re not going to,” Theo contested. “That’s not something we do.”
Ness smiled at the conviction in Theo’s voice. Turning to Ruby, she asked the same question that Cash had earlier. “When are we going in again?”
“This afternoon. I agreed with Samantha we’d meet her there at three.”
“And the press are camped outside?” asked Theo.
“Apparently.”
Reaching down to retrieve her handbag, Theo started rummaging inside it.
“What are you doing?” Ruby asked, puzzled again.
“Checking I’ve got my lipstick,” Theo replied, retrieving a burgundy tube with a gold rim. “If we’re going to make headlines, I want to look my best. Anyone for a slick of Parisian Passion?”
Chapter Seventeen
Knowledge was armour too. The more they knew about Benjamin Hamilton the better. It might help them to find his weak spot. Before facing the world and those with flashing cameras who inhabited it, the team spent their time in Ruby’s office trying to find out a few more details. Ruby and Cash searched online records, both Corinna and Theo spoke to different people at Southern Rail again and Ness phoned her contact at Sussex Police, who was going through police records for any mention of him. Jed was still present, but he was slumbering. She admired how unfazed he was, wished she could take a leaf out of his book. Despite realising the wisdom behind keeping a sense of humour, she found it difficult when all efforts proved fruitless.
“God!” she exclaimed when even Ness’s contact drew a blank. “Why are some people so damned anonymous?”
Ness shrugged. “Because they are, Ruby. They intend to be.”
“But he must have had family, been married or something.”
“I’ve never married,” Ness continued. “Never had children either. Some people don’t.”
“Are your parents still alive?”
Ness coloured as she answered. “No.”
“Have you got brothers and sisters?” Ruby knew she was probing but in the context of their conversation she thought it was okay to do so.
“I’ve got five.”
“Five?” That astonished Ruby, somehow she expected the answer to that to be ‘no’ too. “There you are then, you have family.”
“But none that I keep in contact with,” Ness replied.
None? Ruby was about to comment further but Theo broke in, effectively stopping her – deliberately so?
“Bloody Southern Rail! They’re so unhelpful. People don’t want to go the extra mile nowadays do they? Jobsworths, the damned lot of them.”
“So nothing at all?” Ruby sighed as she said it.
“Nothing. No idea of how long he worked the railways for, whether he was liked by his colleagues, abhorred by them, no insight at all.”
“So, all we’ve got to go on is that Ben’s a publicly pleasant albeit shy man, who’s actually a writhing mass of hatred, anger and fear behind closed doors. We’ve no idea whether this was because he had Asperger’s and was frustrated, or whether there’s a much darker reason.”
“Asperger’s?” said Cash. “I reckon he’s more likely to have Tourette’s!”
“That too, probably,” Theo replied. “No, we know very little about him, but sometimes that’s just the way it is. Oftentimes. We mustn’t let it get us down.”
Cash nodded, deep in thought.
“What is it?” Ruby asked him.
“Have you considered that maybe it isn’t Ben haunting Gilmore Street, that perhaps it’s someone else?’
“Who else?” Theo did the asking this time.
“I don’t know, but if the cap doesn’t fit and all that…”
“’If the cap fits, wear it’, that’s the expression,” Ness pointed out.
“You know what I mean.”
Ruby looked at Theo, at Ness. “But the cap does fit, in many ways.”
“Even so…”
“Cash, with all due respect, we’re the psychics. Trust us on this.”
Theo took over. “Look, it’s a male energy, and Ben, who died a very lonely death there, is the most likely candidate. We haven’t got long before we have to be at Gilmore Street so let’s not waste time complicating matters. We need to visualise white light and get our armour in place.”
“And then what?” queried Cash.
“Then we do what the armoured do, dear chap, we go into battle.”
The first people to do battle with were the reporters. As the team descended, there were more than two of them outside – there were four, and who knew how many there’d be in another hour or two.
It was a bright day but the camera flashes were brighter, blinding in fact.
“The light, the light…” Cash whispered in Ruby’s ear, causing her to smile instead of cry. What they had done inside, spent time tuning into the light, it had bolstered her, made her feel strong again. The light did that. It lifted you when you could feel yourself sinking. Cash had the same effect.
“Miss, Miss, it’s Ruby isn’t it? Ruby Davis? Can you tell us about the phenomena occurring at Gilmore Street? Is that where you’re off to now? Is there really a ghost there? Do you think you’ll be able to get rid of it? How will you get rid of it? Are you really psychic? Have you got rid of ghosts before?”
On and on the questions went.
“Just walk,” Theo fell into step beside her. “Your head held high and a smile on your face. You’ve nothing to be embarrassed
about.”
Ruby shouldn’t need her to keep reiterating that but somehow it helped. She was proud of what she did and some day soon she might have to speak to the papers too but not now. They had more pressing matters to attend to.
Cash drove her Ford from Lewes to Brighton, insisting she focus solely on the task ahead, not expend her energy negotiating traffic. Corinna agreed, climbing in the back and sitting alongside Jed. Theo and Ness took Ness’s car. They’d already agreed to park at Brighton Station.
“How are we going to approach the house?” Ruby had queried. “En masse or in two groups.”
“Let’s go together,” Theo decided. “Bold is beautiful.”
And now they were only metres away, Ruby making a conscious effort to keep her breathing steady. What kind of mood would Benjamin be in? Foul as usual or perhaps he was repentant, sorry even for his antics, ready to leave everyone in peace. If they ever needed a miracle, today was that day.
Samantha hadn’t exaggerated, as Ruby half-suspected, half-hoped. The press were out in force in Gilmore Street, attracting members of the public, who were also standing and staring.
“Forge ahead. If we turn back now, they’ll have a field day.”
“They’ll have a field day anyway, Theo,” Corinna commented.
“Whatever,” Theo continued. “This is our job, what we’re paid to do.”
And how many of those who had parted with money for services rendered, wondered Ruby, would stick up for them if it came to it? Who would come forward, stand by their testimonials, given so freely when it’s just a surname, a location and a quote needed? Like Benjamin Hamilton, like Ness, she knew some people wanted to remain anonymous, but she hoped it would be enough of them to make a difference – to dispel the charlatan myth if it exploded. It wouldn’t only be Psychic Surveys that suffered if they didn’t, it would be the haunted and those that haunted them too. People would dismiss help instead of seeking it and so many would remain grounded.
As they pushed their way through, Samantha rushed forward.
“Oh Ruby, Ruby, you’re here at last!”
The mention of her name was enough for the press to start jostling forward too, cameras clicking away again, questions fired at her. How big name celebrities put up with this kind of nonsense she didn’t know. But then some people craved that sort of attention, encouraged it. She wasn’t one of them.
“Excuse me, keep your distance please. Stop crowding us.”
It was Cash, boyfriend, bag carrier and now bodyguard.
“I said,” he continued, trying to keep his temper, “keep back.”
When still they ignored him, he threw his hands up in the air. “Bloody hell, what the fuck am I, invisible or something?”
Samantha took over.
“STOP IT!” she yelled, jostling her way through to stand in front of Ruby and blowing fury through her nostrils. A petite woman, not much taller than Theo, she suddenly had the same magnificent presence. Her voice, a little on the shrill side at times Ruby had to admit, was loud and resonant. Certainly it stopped those holding cameras and digital recorders in their tracks. Knowing she’d succeeded in capturing their attention, Samantha continued, her eyes wide and intent. “I want you to remember that this is my house, my ghost and my life you’re dealing with here. I don’t know which one of my neighbours called you but when I find out, there’ll be hell to pay. You’re acting like vultures. Meanwhile, I have a problem, and it’s these people I want to deal with it. Now get out of their way and let them go inside. If one of you dares set foot on my property I’ll prosecute for trespassing, I swear.”
Only a brief silence ensued before, yet again, a chorus of voices erupted. “But why don’t you get the church to sort it? What’s so special about these people? How do you know you can trust them? What are their credentials?”
“Come on,” Cash said. “Let’s just get inside.”
Despite it being a tight squeeze, they managed to push their way into the house, Samantha closing the door firmly behind them. For a moment she leant against it, closing her eyes briefly as if relieved she’d got that far.
Ruby asked if she’d been back in the house since Saturday night.
“No, we’ve made do with what we’ve had and Delia’s being so kind. To be honest, I think she loves having us there. The Scots are like that aren’t they? They’re so hospitable. She’s making such a fuss of the kids, baking cakes and biscuits for them, they can’t believe their luck. Jeff’s a bit miserable though. No change there then.” Samantha laughed as she said it, but it was a nervous sound. She looked around. “Is Ben still here?”
He was but the atmosphere wasn’t as charged as it had been on Saturday night. Then again the house had lain empty for a couple of days – he’d got his way, got them out. It might ramp up though – now that they were back.
“The mess in the kitchen…” Theo queried.
“It’s still there I think,” answered Samantha.
“Then we’ll go and clear it up,” replied Theo. “Samantha, you don’t have to come with us.”
“I want to, it’s my house.”
“Will Jeff be over any time soon?”
“He’s staying with the kids, someone has to.”
Not strictly true, Ruby thought. They had Delia to keep an eye on them. “Samantha—”
“Call me, Sam,” she interrupted. “All my friends do.”
Ruby was touched that this woman was considering them friends, her faith in them untarnished. “Sam, if it starts to get a bit rough in there…”
“I’ll get out, I promise. Leave the experts to it.”
The experts? Ruby appreciated that sentiment too.
“To the kitchen,” Theo instructed.
It was indeed a mess, Samantha mourning the loss of some of her prized china as she gazed around. “It’s not expensive stuff but some of the mugs he’s destroyed are my favourite. Tea just tastes better in them, you know?”
Everyone set about clearing up.
Wielding a broom, Ness said, “As the kitchen seems to be the centre of activity, why don’t we move some of the stuff in here to the living room?”
“Anything sharp especially,” suggested Ruby.
Theo agreed. “Knives can do a lot of damage.”
“Anything can when hurled at high speed,” Cash pointed out.
Samantha stopped what she was doing and straightened up. “It does feel a bit better in here though, doesn’t it? Maybe it’s safe to come back?”
Ruby shook her head. “He’s still here, I can feel him but at the moment it’s in a remote sense. It could be that he’s still recovering from the amount of energy Saturday night required. Or, that he’s had time to think and is calmer. We won’t know until we’ve emptied this room and tried to connect.”
Samantha nodded towards Cash. “Good job we’ve got a strapping lad with us isn’t it? Someone to help lug all this stuff.”
“He has his uses,” Ruby answered, smiling.
“Glad you think so,” Cash batted back.
Ferrying stuff to the living room, they had to turn the light on. Not because it was a dull day, far from it, the sun was shining bright enough outside. It was because reporters were crowding round the windows, peering in, cameras held aloft and ready to catch the action – that goldfish bowl effect she’d worried about earlier. Doing their best to ignore them, they carried on with the job in hand, Ruby thankful that the kitchen was at the back of the house and therefore inaccessible to prying eyes – so many pairs of them.
An hour later, the team were satisfied that the kitchen was safe enough.
“Many hands make light work,” commented Ness.
“I hope this works,” Samantha sounded genuinely worried. “As lovely as Delia is, it’s your own home you want isn’t it?”
“Of course it is,” soothed Theo.
“Sam,” Ruby continued, “I really think you ought to stay in the living room whilst we try and connect with Benjamin. Just in case.”
>
Samantha held up her hands. “Your call. I don’t want to be in the way.”
As she turned to leave, Ruby turned also, back to the spot where she’d previously seen Benjamin crouching by the table. Pointing to it, she said, “That’s where the spirit manifested, not fully, but an outline of him, although his eyes were clear enough.”
“It’s always the eyes isn’t it?” Cash said.
“Seems to be,” agreed Ruby.
“I suppose an arm or a leg doesn’t have quite the same effect,” Theo commented. “It’s nowhere near as scary.”
“His backside might be though,” Cash countered.
Theo bellowed with laughter. “That’s it, Cash,” she said. “That’s the way to go. Anchor us with that humour of yours.” Growing serious again, she asked Ruby if they should go ahead – communicate with Ben again.
“Yes, let’s, but it’s strange isn’t it? The atmosphere does seem a bit lighter. Maybe he’s not so angry.”
“Let’s just see, shall we?” It was Ness, obviously not convinced.
“Should we smudge first, get a bit of a cleansing underway?”
“Perhaps afterwards,” Theo answered, “although we could do with opening a window, it smells so damp in here.”
“I noticed that on my first visit here,” Ruby replied. “It’s kind of musty isn’t it? Although Sam did say all damp problems have been treated.”
“Old houses though, as much as you try, you can’t fix everything.”
“But we can try and fix this,” Ness muttered, referring to Ben.
“We can at that,” Theo agreed.
After opening the window by the sink, pausing to take a lungful of fresh air, Ruby started the address, reiterating that they were not here to harm Ben but to help. “You’ll notice we’ve cleared the kitchen of potential missiles. I’d be grateful if you could refrain from attack in any other way too. Physical attack I’m talking about: blows to the stomach. Benjamin, we’re trying to understand you, why it is that you’re grounded, that you’re so full of hate and fear. Fear being the dominant emotion, no matter how hard you try and disguise it. What happened to make you that way? In life, did you do something you’re ashamed of? Is it retribution that concerns you? Talk to us. We’ll listen.”
44 Gilmore Street Page 15