“Great, Dad not back yet?” Jess dumped her bag by the kitchen table and hung her coat on the back of the chair.
“Take that lot upstairs please.”
“Where is Topaz?”
Lee glanced around the kitchen. She had not seen or heard the cat for a while now. “I don’t know, love.”
Jess walked into the living room calling her name. But there was no sign.
Jess.
“Coming.” She walked back to the kitchen. “You called?”
“No. Did you find the cat?” asked Lee.
Jess lifted her bag. “No, I’ll check my bed.” She went upstairs.
Jess.
Jess stopped and looked around, she was sure she could hear someone calling her. She continued up the staircase and went into her bedroom. She checked under the bed and behind the dresser, but there was no sign of Topaz. She walked from room to room looking under beds and in closets to see where the kitten had decided to take her evening nap. The oak clock stood at the bottom end of the hall ticking away the seconds, the only sound breaking the silence of the upstairs. Jess walked to the end of the hall, through the arch to the staircase leading to the attic. The old floorboards groaned slightly under her slight weight. Jess looked up at the slightly open door. She knew this was just the type of place a kitten would have fun, filled with dust and boxes.
Jess.
Jess climbed the stairs to the attic.
Jess.
Boxes stood piled high. Jess was the third generation to live in this house. Boxes that had belonged to her mother and grandmother surrounded her. She called out for Topaz, listening intently for her tiny movements.
JESS!
The hairs on the back of her arm stood on end as she straightened up. There was no disputing she had heard someone call her name. The atmosphere felt charged as she felt her stomach begin to knot.
The dark shadow slid invisibly down the wall. It slithered across the window blocking the slight dusk light that was seeping through the glass.
Jess turned.
“Is that you, Topaz? I’m going to leave you up here if you don’t come out.” Filled with discomfort, Jess turned to leave when a chill went through her, almost a wind, a small box fell from the top of one of the towers scathing her leg. Jess let out a yelp, and headed briskly for the door. Another gust blew through the old attic slamming the door closed in front of Jess. The panic began to rise in her stomach, she could feel eyes following her every move.
The shadow slid silently across the floor to where the small box lay.
Jess ran to the attic door, the chill causing her limbs to feel stiff.
“Aunt Lee! Help!” The tears ran down her face as panic gripped her removing all sense of rational thinking, all thoughts of Topaz were gone, all Jess could think of was getting out, too afraid to turn her head to look behind her she could feel the presence of someone or something watching on at her horror.
In the kitchen, Lee had given up the search for the kitten and was stirring the pot of chilli. She lifted the bread from the oven and turned the sticks out on to a rack to cool. Turning to put the try back in the oven she saw Topaz standing in the kitchen stretching her back legs out and yawning.
“There you are. Jess, I found her,” she called “Jess, I found Topaz.” Lee walked into the hall she could hear banging and yelling from upstairs. “Jess?” A muffled cry came back. Lee ran to the upstairs hall and looked around her. She could hear Jess clearly now, she was in the attic. Lee ran up the stairs and pushed the door open. An hysterical Jess fell through the door and down the staircase to the hall.
“I got locked in, Aunt Lee, I heard someone call and then the door closed.”
Lee put her arms around her. “It’s all right. You’re out know, it’s an old door they stick sometimes, your all right.” Lee noticed a gash on her leg. “What happened?”
Jess looked down. “A box fell on me just before the door closed, it hit my leg.”
Lee stroked her hair as she hugged her. “Oh, honey, you must have been scared to death. It’s just been a draught, then the door jamming. Why were you up there?”
“I was looking for Topaz.”
“Ah, now that I can help with, she is in the kitchen.”
“Aunt Lee, I heard someone call my name. It wasn’t a draught.”
Lee looked at her niece, her eyes like saucers and her face as white as a sheet. “Jess, there isn’t anything in the attic, you simply got scared to death and imagined all sorts, I would have too, if I had found myself locked in up there. It’s a creepy place.”
Jess pushed her away, not at all grateful for the rationality she was showing.
“This whole damn place is creepy, and no one will listen to me, I hate it here.” Jess turned and stormed down the stairs to the safety of the warm kitchen and her loyal companion, who had inadvertently caused the drama.
Lee glanced up the stairs to the open attic door. She had no intention of investigating her niece’s claims, that was the kind of thing the crazy person did in the movies. She knew Jess was telling the truth. Something was going on, she just wasn’t sure what, nor did she feel it would be prudent to go there with Jess. It would only serve to reinforce her fear. The feeling upstairs was distinctly uncomfortable. Hurriedly Lee stood and headed for the safety of the kitchen.
It was almost 7pm when Tom arrived home with Danny. The usual greetings were shared and they all sat down to dinner. Jess was quiet over dinner, she was still feeling dismissed over her feelings.
“How did things go with Scott?” Lee asked as they were finishing up with the coffee.
“Well, the good news is he doesn’t think we are all crazy up here, he is pretty sure the cases are all linked. The bad news is he will have to send it to the cold case team, and there will be a shit storm if the press find out that there was a serial at large and we didn’t even know there had been a murder.”
“Yes, I can imagine. And so you are convinced that there is a serial killer out there and all these women met him.”
“There are too many coincidences, and I don’t like coincidences,” stated Tom as he swallowed back his coffee.
“I have homework to do; I’ll see you in the morning,” announced Jess. She kissed Tom on the head as she walked toward the door.
“You haven’t finished your tea.”
“Not hungry, Dad. See you later.” Jess lifted Topaz and climbed the stairs to her bedroom.
“She’s quiet tonight.”
“She had a bit of a scare today,” Lee explained. “She was looking for Topaz in the attic and the door jammed, a box fell on her and grazed her leg, all in all she was hysterical when I got up there.”
“You’re joking. Is her leg ok?”
“Yes, but I think she is feeling a little miffed that no one seems to be taking her feelings seriously.”
“Take what feelings seriously?”
“You know fine, Tom. She thinks there is something in the house.”
“Load of nonsense. I will go up and talk to her later, see if I can reassure her.”
“Well, you can do the dishes, I’m off home tonight. You don’t need me tomorrow do you?”
“No, I’m working locally, isn’t tomorrow your night with Elsie?”
“Please, don’t remind me,” Lee said as she gathered her things together. “Give Jess a kiss for me, seeing as she didn’t offer one on her way to bed tonight.”
Lee left Danny and Tom to the clearing away. The two men took a beer from the fridge and walked through to the study. Tom gave Danny the story from Sara’s files.
“Eva Brook, wrote this?” Danny asked.
“Read it. I think if we can find her cousin, then maybe she could lead us to the killer. It could have been a stable hand or anything.”
Tom knew they had a lot of work in front of them. If they had any hope of getting new leads on any of these cases he would have to go through everything he had, including his wife’s files. He was only just sharing what he ha
d found with Danny. Tom knew two heads were better than one. The fact that the victim’s flat mate had become one of his late wife’s patients twenty something year’s later was another coincidence, and he did not like them. He was also concerned that he was too close to it, blind to something that maybe Danny would see.
It was much later in the evening when Tom went upstairs to check on Jess. Jess was lying in her bed dozing; she found it difficult to get in to a sleep now. She kept the lamp on by the bed.
The ever present shadow in the corner of the room, watching.
Jess saw her father in the doorway, his large frame filling it.
“I hear you had a scare today.”
“I know, it’s an old house, it’s draughty, I’ve heard all the explanations for what happened, Dad.”
Tom walked over and sat at the edge of her bed. He stroked her dark hair away from her face with his large hands.
“I don’t know what to tell you love. It is an old house. It is full of draughts. But I can say there is nothing in this house that can harm you, or that you should be afraid of.”
“You just won’t listen to me, Dad.”
“Ok, I’m listening.”
Jess took a deep breath. “I feel Olivia. Not just her, but other things, I have nightmares almost every night. When I wake, I can feel something in the room. And there was something in the attic with me.”
Tom paused, trying to think of the right thing to say. “You will feel Olivia. You guys were as close as sisters. Your Aunt Lee still feels your mother around her. As for bad dreams, it seems to be going around. After what you have been through the last couple of years, if all you are getting are bad dreams, then I don’t think that’s too bad. Being locked in an old attic would scare anyone love, no wonder you felt panicked. But that does not mean that the house is haunted, and if it was, do you really think Olivia would try to scare you? Come on, how about I make you a hot drink and we can have a chat?”
Feeling once again dismissed Jess didn’t answer. She lay back down and pulled Topaz closer.
“Hey, I think Aunt Lee left a cheese cake in the fridge, how about we share that?” Still Jess didn’t reply. Tom stroked her hair one more time. He was feeling incompetent as a parent. A renewed sense of loss washed over him as he wished Sara were here. He kissed Jess on the head and stood to leave.
“Don’t close the door.”
Tom sighed. “Sure, honey.”
*****
Jill Patterson dug her nails in to the dirty wooden arms of the chair. She couldn’t understand why he was doing this.
“Believe me, Jill; you will serve as a good warning. Now smile for the camera.” Her whole face was throbbing from the pain of the beating he had given her. The camera flashed incessantly in her eyes, causing her to feel even more nauseous. She couldn’t see him, but she could hear him.
Click, click, went the camera. It hurt to breathe; her ribs were so badly bruised, even if she weren’t cuffed to the chair she probably wouldn’t be able to move anyway. She tried to look around her to get some sense of where he had taken her. It felt damp …
*****
Lee woke the next morning with a pounding headache. The disjointed images of a dream that eluded her began almost instantly to float from her mind’s grasp leaving only an impression, a heaviness in her. She groaned and got out of bed. Her clock read 11.30am. She never slept that late. Slowly she padded to the bathroom and then downstairs to make coffee.
It had become almost part of her routine now to drink her coffee with the back door open. The cool spring air rushed in filling every crevice of the kitchen. The chill always took away the feeling of nausea and the headache, which more often than not she seemed to wake with when she slept at her own house. She sat for a long time with her elbows bent and her head resting in her limp wrists. Wracking her brain to find the dreams that seem to leave her feeling ill. She could only remember the dank dirt floor. A very large man, with huge hands. And sometimes, the fiery red hair of a young woman.
After a time she collected her thoughts. Today was laundry, Internet banking and a visit to see her Dad again. She stood and climbed upstairs to shower and dress.
The hot water felt good against her skin. She stood allowing it to rain down her back and neck. A scurrying sound came from the hallway. Lee turned of the shower and listened intently. Again came the sound. She hurriedly wrapped a towel around her and stepped out of the shower. She opened the bathroom door and looked down the long narrow hall in front of her.
“Hello?” No reply.
I hate old houses. She thought as she closed the bathroom door. She wiped the steam from the bathroom mirror.
The shock of red hair reflected back. A broken and bloody face. A tall slender woman.
Lee applied her moisturiser and began to get ready. A sense of uneasiness had settled in the room. She glanced around her. No one there. She quickly pulled on her jeans and her top and opened the door. Cool air filled the room mixing with the steam. She lifted her hair clip from her bedroom and walked down the stairs.
Silently the red haired woman followed. Her stare almost penetrating the back of Lee’s head.
Lee stopped and looked around her. She looked back up the stairs she had just descended.
The woman circled her like a mist. Staring close in to Lee’s eyes.
Blind but not oblivious to the presence Lee went back to the living room and turned the television on. The volume filled the room. She pulled open the curtains to allow the spring sun to cleanse the room. More coffee. Put on the washing machine, and then do the banking. She thought as she walked back into the kitchen.
Ten minutes later, she was sitting in front of her computer. Painfully slow, it began to log her on to the banking web site. Then blank. Then the bank home page flickered on to the screen.
Damn it, she thought as she input her details and passwords again. Again, the screen went blank.
“Screw it; I’d be as well just going down there,” she said aloud. Another flickering on the screen and then writing began to appear before her eyes.
Susannasusanna susannasusanna. Find me find me find me find me.
The words filled the screen in front of her. Lee let out a scream and pushed the lap top closed, jumping up she knocked the chair over behind her. A pale white light seeped out from the edges of the closed computer. Hurriedly Lee grabbed her bag and headed out the door without looking back.
*****
“Sorry I’m late,” Tom said as he walked in to the police station. “Jess forgot her change of clothes for after school, she goes up to the stables with Gemma every day now.”
Danny looked round from his computer. “Isn’t Matt away on business this week?”
“No, it’s just an overnight he’s on. The girls look after the horses for him. I don’t think he so much needs them to do as much as they like to. Anyway, have you got anything?”
“I think I have a contact number for Eva Brook. She doesn’t have a record or anything.” Danny handed him a piece of paper with the details on it and stretched his legs and leaned back in his chair. “You know, Tom, I was thinking last night. That story Eva wrote, do you think it was purely imaginative?”
Tom sat in the chair opposite him. “Not for a second, Danny. I think Eva witnessed the murder of Susanna Wheeling when she was six years old. When her flat mate went missing sixteen years later, I think it brought it all back to her. I would like to know why it took her twenty years to seek therapy though, what happened that drove her to see Sara?”
“Don’t you think it’s a big coincidence that she witnessed a murder as a child and then years later her friend is murdered? The majority of people are never connected to a murder investigation in their lives; this woman has a connection to two.”
Tom thought about it. “Maybe it’s not a coincidence, maybe her flat mate’s disappearance was a warning to her. Anyway, I think if we can find out who her cousin was we will be a whole lot closer to finding our killer. He must have l
ived or worked on the cousin’s property.”
Danny cleared his throat. “Tom, don’t you think that Sara would have recognized Coppersfield in the story?”
Tom swallowed hard. “Yes, I think that may have been why she was trying to get hold of me the day she died. She wouldn’t have known anything about Susanna Wheeling, but she was most likely wanting me to check it out to find out if the story was simply part of her imagination.”
Danny straightened in his chair. “Well, I tried to check to see if she had family in Coppersfield, but I can’t find anything.”
Tom walked over to the computer. “Nothing at all.”
“No, it’s always difficult when you’re dealing with female members of a family, if they marry they change their name and if the relative is on their mother’s side, it can be another surname again. You would be better speaking to her. See if she will give it up. Don’t tell her what your investigating, just ask if she has family up this way.”
Tom looked at him with raised eyebrows. “Thanks for the heads up, I wouldn’t have wanted to make any mistake with this.”
Danny flashed a cheeky smile at him.
Tom pulled his mobile from his pocket and dialled the number Danny had given him for Eva. A woman’s voice answered at the other end.
“Hello, Miss Brook. I’m DS Hunter; I understand you have some relatives in the village of Coppersfield?” Tom raised an eyebrow at Danny.
“I’m sorry, no. I’ve never even been to Coppersfield. What is this about?”
“I’m looking into the disappearance of Jill Paterson back in 1984. I understand you were friends.” This time it was a statement not a question.
“She was my flat mate.”
“I have a few questions for you, Miss Brook.”
The voice at the other end of the phone paused. “It was a long time ago; I don’t think I can help you.”
“You may be surprised at what you can tell me when you start thinking back.”
“I’m sorry; I have to start work in an hour I have to go.”
“When would be a better time to speak with you?” Tom persisted.
“I really don’t think I can be of any help to you, Officer.”
Echoes of the Past Page 14