The House on Widows Hill

by Simon R. Green

  ‘I don’t think I like the sound of that,’ I said.

  ‘How else can we protect you, Mr Jones?’

  ‘I can look after myself.’

  ‘Only if you see them coming.’

  ‘Why are you dressed like that?’ Penny said suddenly. ‘For a secret agent, you’re not exactly blending in.’

  ‘When I dress this way, people only remember the outfit,’ Whisper said comfortably. ‘This is merely what I look like today. Tomorrow, I will look like someone else. Now, I am here to ask you and your partner to take on a new assignment.’

  I glared at him. ‘We are guaranteed proper downtime between missions! I’ve seen too many good agents burn out from trying to take on too much, and I’m not going to let that happen to Penny and me.’

  ‘Normally, that would, of course, be the proper procedure,’ said Whisper. ‘But this is not a normal case. If I might be permitted to sit down and explain?’

  I nodded reluctantly. Whisper pulled a chair over from the next table and sat down opposite Penny and me. Up close, he looked even larger and a great deal more solid. I half expected the chair to collapse under his weight. Whisper folded his white-gloved hands on the table in front of him and fixed me with a steady gaze.

  ‘Is this another emergency?’ said Penny, before he could even start. ‘We’ve only just finished dealing with the last one. And why does it always have to be us? Doesn’t the Organization have anyone else they can call on?’

  ‘Of course, dear lady,’ said Whisper. ‘But I do not talk about them, any more than I talk about you.’

  ‘Well, that’s good to know,’ I said. ‘I’m not committing myself to anything, but … What’s so important about this case?’

  ‘Indeed, indeed, Mr Jones, let us immerse ourselves in the business at hand, and not use up any more of the time that is fast slipping away.’ Whisper leaned forward conspiratorially. ‘This new assignment is not an official emergency, as such, but your assistance is most urgently required. You are being offered this case simply because you are here. No one else is even close. Please believe me when I say that you should in no way consider yourselves under any pressure or obligation to agree; this particular case should be seen as more of a personal favour. The Organization would like you to investigate a supposedly haunted house, right here in Bath, and determine what is really going on there. The name of this unfortunate residence is Harrow House. Perhaps you’ve heard of it?’

  I glanced at Penny, and she shook her head quickly.

  ‘Should we know it?’ I said.

  ‘I am told the haunted house on Widows Hill is spoken of most respectfully, among those with an interest in such matters,’ said Whisper.

  ‘Ghosts aren’t really our territory,’ said Penny.

  ‘Right,’ I said. ‘We investigate mysteries and security problems. We don’t deal in things that go boo! in the night.’

  Whisper nodded solemnly. His dark face remained completely impassive, but I thought I detected a certain embarrassment in his body language.

  ‘It seems that a certain high-up member of the Organization was planning to buy a house here in Bath. He thought he’d found exactly what he was looking for, but the price turned out to be so low that it aroused his suspicions, and when he questioned the estate agents, they were forced to admit that Harrow House has a long history of being very seriously haunted.’

  I had to raise an eyebrow. ‘And this high-up member of the Organization actually believes in things like that?’

  Whisper met my gaze unflinchingly. ‘He is often required to believe in stranger things. It comes with the job. Your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to check out and confirm the true nature of the house before he commits to buying it.’

  I was already shaking my head. ‘I’m not the one you need for something like this. I don’t even believe in ghosts.’

  ‘All the better, Mr Jones!’ Despite Whisper’s apparent enthusiasm, his voice never once rose above the rough murmur that gave him his name. ‘A sceptical mind is exactly what is required here. The gentleman in question wants nothing more than to be reassured that this is all nonsense. Apparently, he feels the need for hard evidence to back this up, from someone he can trust.’

  I grinned at Penny. ‘What are the odds it’ll all turn out to be just the caretaker in a scary mask, frightening everyone off so he can concentrate on searching for the hidden treasure?’

  ‘And he’d have gotten away with it too, if it hadn’t been for us pesky investigators,’ Penny said solemnly.

  ‘I think we would all be happy to settle for such an outcome,’ said Whisper.

  I leaned back in my chair and looked at him thoughtfully. ‘Why hasn’t the Organization reached out to one of the underground groups who specialize in these matters?’

  ‘Hold it right there! Stop the car and throw on the handbrake,’ said Penny. ‘There really are such groups? That’s a thing – an actual thing?’

  ‘So I am assured,’ said Whisper.

  ‘It takes all sorts,’ I said.

  ‘You should know, Mr Jones,’ said Whisper.

  ‘But if there are such groups, does that mean ghosts definitely are real?’ said Penny.

  ‘The answer to that question is most certainly outside my area of expertise,’ Whisper said carefully.

  ‘And what area would that be?’ I said.

  Whisper flashed me another empty smile. ‘I am no more inclined to discuss the secrets of my life than you are concerning your own, Mr Jones. Now, if we could please concentrate on the matter before us … It is vital that this delicate business is sorted out as quickly as possible, before other groups in our line of business discover what’s happening and start spreading the news.’

  ‘That a high-up member of the Organization is scared he might have spooks in his belfry?’ I said.

  ‘That he might be in danger of being taken advantage of,’ said Whisper.

  I looked at Penny. ‘And that’s why he didn’t reach out to the so-called experts. He can’t afford to be seen as indecisive – or gullible. Perception of strength is everything where security is concerned.’

  ‘Exactly, Mr Jones!’ said Whisper. ‘You have embraced the essence of the situation in a nutshell.’

  ‘You still haven’t made it clear why I should agree to get involved in such a dubious case,’ I said.

  Whisper paused, choosing his words with great care. ‘I have been instructed to assure you that your accepting this assignment will be regarded as a personal favour, both to the individual himself and to the Organization. In return, they are prepared to grant you a favour. Anything you want, apparently … Within reason, of course.’

  I smiled slowly. ‘Your timing couldn’t be better, Mr Whisper. I could use some assistance in tracking down a very hard-to-find individual. This isn’t connected to any current Organization case, but the person concerned is someone with a lot of experience when it comes to hiding from people like us.’

  ‘I don’t see any problem there,’ said Whisper. ‘I am sure the Organization will be only too happy to place all its resources at your disposal. Once you’ve got to the bottom of whatever it is that’s going on at Harrow House.’

  ‘And no questions asked?’

  ‘Of course, Mr Jones, that is both implicit and understood. So, do we have an understanding?’

  I turned to Penny. ‘What do you think? Do you feel up to taking on another case so soon after the last one?’

  ‘Are you kidding?’ said Penny, all but bouncing up and down on her seat. ‘I’ve watched every haunted house movie there is, including the comedies. I’ve always wanted to have a crack at investigating a real one!’

  ‘All right, then,’ I said. ‘Just for you.’ I nodded to Whisper. ‘We’ll do it.’

  ‘Splendid!’ said Whisper. ‘I have assembled all the information you will need to get you started.’

  He set his briefcase down on the table, opened the lock with a flourish and pulled out a large manila f
older. He patted it approvingly with one large white-gloved hand and then pushed the file across the table.

  ‘This contains full details on Harrow House, including its troubled history and all the extraordinary stories currently associated with it. Please make yourselves familiar with the information as quickly as possible … because the Organization has already arranged for you to spend the night at Harrow House. Starting at eight o’clock this evening.’

  I considered the sheer size and weight of the file. ‘How much of this is actually relevant?’

  ‘That is for you to decide, Mr Jones,’ said Whisper. ‘Now … I’m afraid I do have some bad news to share with you.’

  I gave him my best raised eyebrow. ‘Why did I just know you were going to say that?’

  ‘Years of experience, I should think,’ said Whisper. ‘It will, unfortunately, be necessary for you to work alongside a small group of fellow investigators into the unknown. All of them amateurs, but each and every one a specialist in their own chosen field. The high-up member of the Organization was most insistent that he wanted all the angles covered.’

  ‘Angles?’ I said suspiciously. ‘What else is there, apart from simple logic and common sense?’

  ‘Alternative viewpoints,’ Whisper said smoothly. ‘You said it yourself, Mr Jones: this isn’t your area of expertise. Everything you need to know about your new colleagues can be found in the file. Now, you will be required to spend the entire night on the premises, whatever happens – until our people come to pick you up first thing in the morning. At which point, Mr Jones, you and Ms Belcourt will make your determination known directly to me, and only to me.’

  ‘We only get one night to make up our minds?’ I said.

  ‘I have been assured that one night is all you will need,’ said Whisper.

  Penny clapped her hands delightedly. ‘Oh, this is going to be such fun!’

  While I was looking at her, Whisper got to his feet. ‘Allow me to wish both of you the very best of luck. Given some of the more disturbing tales associated with Harrow House, it would seem likely that you’re going to need it. I will meet with you again tomorrow morning. Assuming you survive the night, of course.’

  He chuckled richly, inclined his large head to both of us, turned with magisterial grace and strode back out of the dining area. The door closed silently and very firmly behind him.

  ‘At least we got our hotel bill paid,’ said Penny.

  ‘I am not happy about having to work with Team Ghost,’ I said. ‘I do not play well with others.’

  ‘I have noticed that,’ said Penny. ‘And Ishmael … I have to say I’m really not sure that getting the Organization involved in your search for the other crash survivor is such a great idea. I mean, how much can you safely tell them, without putting yourself in danger?’

  ‘It’s a risk I have to take,’ I said. ‘I need the kind of resources a big organization can throw at the problem. They can cover a lot of ground, and get answers from the kind of people who would never open up to someone like me. And … the Organization was able to find me, originally – at a time when I didn’t think anyone could. Who better, then, to locate someone like me?’

  ‘But what can you tell them?’

  ‘I can give them the date the ship crashed and the general area,’ I said. ‘Then ask them to search for weird happenings associated with that, and see where it takes us.’

  Penny shook her head. ‘They’re bound to get suspicious about why you want to know.’

  ‘They’re always suspicious,’ I said. ‘I just hope I’m valuable enough to the Organization that they won’t want to risk scaring me off.’

  Penny nodded reluctantly and turned her attention to the file.

  ‘How do you want to approach this? You’ve always been very emphatic that there are no such things as ghosts. Even though our previous cases have seen us going up against vampires, werewolves and psychics.’

  ‘That’s different,’ I said.

  ‘How?’

  ‘They’re all to do with the living. The science may be a bit extreme, but it’s still part of the real world. Paranormal, as opposed to supernatural. Do you believe in ghosts? I mean, honestly?’

  ‘I’ve never seen one,’ said Penny. ‘But I’m intrigued by the possibility.’

  I shook my head firmly. ‘Once you start accepting the existence of things like ghosts, where do you stop? I’m prepared to accept the phenomenon: that people see things they take for ghosts. Images of people, and places, from the past. But that could be down to stone tape recordings, psychic impressions, timeslips … All of them more than a little unlikely, but a lot easier to believe than that the dead sometimes return to walk among the living. Dead is dead. In fact, given the sheer number of appalling people I have found it necessary to do away with down the years, they’d better stay dead or I could be in serious trouble.’

  ‘Let’s see what the file has to say,’ Penny said diplomatically.

  She moved her chair in beside me, and we worked our way through the pages together.

  Harrow House had apparently been the scene of many unpleasant stories, dating all the way back to Victorian times. And yet I couldn’t find any reports of sightings of actual ghosts. No dim figures walking through walls, or staring out of mirrors, or standing at the foot of someone’s bed in the early hours. Nothing that could even pass for poltergeist activity. I said as much to Penny, and she looked at me amusedly.

  ‘For someone who doesn’t believe in ghosts, you seem to know an awful lot about the subject.’

  ‘I have read the occasional book,’ I said. ‘Just out of curiosity.’

  Penny nodded understandingly and turned back to the file.

  ‘I’m not seeing any of the background stories you’d expect from any respectable haunted house. No unsolved murders, no strange disappearances, not even a suicide … Ghosts don’t just come from nowhere.’

  I leafed through the remaining pages, glancing ahead. ‘Why is everyone so convinced Harrow House is haunted, when no one’s reported seeing anything that could even pass for a restless spirit?’

  Penny pulled the file away from me and turned back to where we’d stopped.

  ‘The one thing everyone describes is an overwhelming sense of dread and horror that affects anyone who stays in the house. Feelings so unbearable that they literally drive people out. That’s why the place has remained empty for so long. Look at this report, from 1927: “The house was full of horror, and a sense of death. I honestly felt that I would die if I stayed. Some terrible voice seemed to be warning me to get out while I still could. There is a spirit inhabiting Harrow House, and it is not human.” No wonder the local community won’t go anywhere near it.’

  ‘Most of these stories come from local people,’ I said. ‘Usually youngsters, whose curiosity took them too close to the house. Tales of lights blazing in windows, when the house was known to be empty. Strange sounds from inside, which might have been voices, though no one could understand what they were saying. All very spooky, I’m sure, but you don’t need a supernatural presence to explain things like that.’

  Penny nodded slowly. ‘The only thing that everyone seems to agree on is the awful way the house makes people feel.’ She sat back in her chair and looked at me. ‘Well, what do you think?’

  I did Penny the courtesy of taking her question seriously and gave the matter some thought.

  ‘If you believe you’re in a bad place, you’re bound to get bad feelings,’ I said finally. ‘All the people who entered or even approached the house did so expecting to be scared. Jumping at every moving shadow or unexpected sound. I think Harrow House is probably nothing more than a really big Rorschach inkblot, where everyone sees what they expect to see, and feels what they’ve been told they’ll feel. Once we get in there, it shouldn’t take us long to prove that nothing out of the ordinary is going on. We won’t be so easily frightened, because we’re used to facing real threats.’

  ‘Assuming Team Ghost doesn�
�t get in the way,’ said Penny. ‘They’re bound to have their own ideas as to what’s happening.’

  I nodded grimly. ‘Let’s see what the file has to say about these people.’

  There were individual reports on all four amateur experts, including a number of clippings from the local press. Someone at the Organization had gone out of their way to do a thorough job.

  Lynn Barrett was a celebrity psychic who specialized in cleansing haunted houses. How much she charged for this service wasn’t made clear. I studied the publicity photo provided; she looked every inch the glamorous professional. Apart from the heavy Goth makeup and a definite propensity for the dramatic pose.

  ‘A psychic,’ said Penny. ‘Like the one we met yesterday?’

  ‘I very much doubt it,’ I said. ‘Mr Nemo was a member of the British Psychic Weapons Group. Lynn Barrett is just a self-appointed miracle-worker; only one step up from reading tea leaves and telling people they’ve got a lucky face. What does cleansing a house mean, anyway? That could involve anything from feng shui to aromatherapy.’

  ‘I’m guessing you don’t believe in those, either,’ said Penny.

  ‘I’d believe in ghosts first,’ I said. ‘At least she doesn’t call herself a medium. They’re never anything more than confidence tricksters, using cold reading techniques to separate the vulnerable from their life savings.’

  ‘By any chance, did you have a bad experience?’

  ‘Keep reading,’ I said.

  Tom Shaw was an amateur ghost-chaser, who spent all his spare time searching for evidence of life after death using special scientific equipment.

  ‘You’ve got that look on your face again,’ said Penny. ‘Stop frowning, before you give yourself wrinkles.’

  ‘Using science to look for ghosts,’ I said, ‘is like using a telescope to look for angels.’

  ‘There’s quite a lot of clippings about him,’ said Penny, leafing quickly through them. ‘It does look as if he’s tried to help people … And at least he seems to be putting his faith in technology, rather than just holding hands in the dark and asking if there’s anybody there.’