The Manne Lund Josef had found lived in Malmö, and was almost a hundred years old.
‘Just bear in mind when you call him that he might not be the right person,’ Josef cautioned. ‘The Manne you’re looking for could well be dead.’
Billie knew that, but still she had a strong feeling that this was the right man. Manne Lund had lived in her house. He must know a great deal. She just hoped he wasn’t senile and confused, given how old he was. If that was the case, he wouldn’t be able to tell them much at all.
‘We’ll be eating in half an hour,’ Josef said. ‘Could you and Aladdin set the table, please?’
Billie did as he asked. First they would have tea, then they would call Manne. And then Billie hoped they would have the information they needed to convince Mum that they had to move out.
Because time was short now. Shorter than it had ever been. After the visit to Martin, Billie was absolutely certain: there was something dangerous in this house, and there had to be someone who knew what it was all about.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
‘The glass children,’ Aladdin said.
They had bolted their food then raced up to Billie’s room, where they were now sitting and talking quietly.
‘You think this is all about the glass children who died?’ Billie said.
‘Yes, and about the girl who hanged herself in the living room – Majken.’
‘But what do they want?’
‘Who?’
‘The ghosts.’
Aladdin was fiddling with a book on the bedside table. ‘What if there aren’t any ghosts?’ he said slowly.
Billie was confused. ‘I thought we both believed the same thing – that the ghosts were causing all the problems. That’s what you said, like, two seconds ago!’
Aladdin shook his head. ‘I think everything that has happened is to do with the glass children and Majken,’ he said. ‘But this business of ghosts . . . I’ve been thinking about it a lot ever since you told me about those glass figures on the windowsill. Do ghosts really do that kind of thing?’
‘But who else could it be?’ Billie said, slightly louder than she had intended. ‘Who would be able to get into the house without us noticing, and do weird stuff like putting out comics, leaving messages and arranging glass figures?’
‘Someone with a key. Just as we thought right at the start, when neither of us believed in ghosts.’
‘And who would that be?’
‘Just think about it. This is an old house, and loads of different people have lived here. Did you change the locks when you moved in?’
Billie shook her head. No, they hadn’t changed the locks.
‘So you think one of the former owners has kept a key, and is creeping around here day and night just to scare me?’ Billie said doubtfully.
Aladdin’s expression grew serious. ‘Does a ghost sound more likely? Be honest, Billie. Does it?’
Billie looked away. She didn’t know what to think any more.
Manne’s voice sounded really old. Sometimes Billie had to press the phone right against her ear so that she could hear him. However, he wasn’t in the least confused, and seem pleased that someone had called him.
‘To think that that house is still causing problems,’ he sighed when Billie explained why she had rung him.
Billie looked at Aladdin, who was sitting right next to her on the bed trying to hear what Manne was saying. They had closed the door of her bedroom for privacy.
‘I read an old newspaper article about a fire,’ Billie began cautiously.
She didn’t know how the old man would react. He might get very upset when he was reminded of the fire.
‘That’s right,’ he said. ‘My wife died, but my son and I survived.’
Manne didn’t sound particularly distressed, so Billie ventured a few more questions. Perhaps it was so long ago that it didn’t hurt to talk about it any more.
‘What happened to the house after the fire?’ she asked.
Manne sighed. He probably was a bit sad after all.
‘The boy and I moved to Malmö. I couldn’t afford to fix up the house in Åhus, so it just stood there. The neighbours complained, of course. They didn’t want a burned-out building next door. But I didn’t care.’
‘So you sold the house?’ Billie said.
‘No, I didn’t. I left it standing there for over fifteen years, and then my son moved back to Åhus to work as a fisherman. I signed the house over to him on the understanding that he would renovate it and rebuild the parts that had been damaged by the fire.’
So after the fire the house had just stood there rotting for more than fifteen years before anyone bothered with it. If Billie had been a ghost, she would have been angry too.
‘Did your son live in the house, or did he sell it?’ she asked.
For the first time Manne seemed hesitant. Eventually he said: ‘He sold it. But . . . the thing is, my son was never really himself after the fire. Even though he was so young when his mother died, I think he went a little bit funny that night. He still thinks the house is haunted.’
Billie thought he wasn’t the only one.
‘Did he ever mention dead children?’ she said.
‘Are you thinking about the glass children, the ones who drowned?’ Manne said. ‘Yes, he talked about them. He claimed that they didn’t want anyone else to live in the house, and that they were the ones who had set fire to it. But . . . that was complete nonsense. The fire started because I was careless with the fire in the stove that night. And those dead children . . .’
Billie waited, holding her breath.
‘Well, what can you say? Their deaths were a terrible accident, but to say that they are still here in our world, among those of us who are living and breathing – no, I don’t believe that. I mean, that’s like saying they became evil when they died, and that’s just so stupid it’s ridiculous.’
It sounded so sensible when Manne put it like that. Why should those children have turned nasty when they died? Why would they make people sick and unhappy, just because they wanted the house for themselves? It was, exactly as Manne said, a really stupid idea.
He was beginning to sound tired. Billie realized that she didn’t have much time left. He would soon want to end the call.
‘So if it isn’t the children who are haunting the place, why have so many bad things happened to people in this house?’ she asked.
Manne couldn’t possibly know the answer, but it would be interesting to hear what he thought.
Manne coughed down the phone, and for a while Billie wasn’t sure if he was going to answer. Eventually he said: ‘They say that the girl who hanged herself has come back as a ghost, and that she drives people away. But I don’t believe that either. I think it’s a coincidence, something that just happens. My beloved son is still afraid of the house you live in, but that’s just foolish. There is nothing to be afraid of. Not if you don’t believe in ghosts, which I certainly don’t.’
Billie got quite excited. ‘So your son is still afraid of the house?’ she said. ‘Has he moved away from Åhus, or does he still live here?’
‘Oh, he’ll never move away,’ Manne said. ‘He’s retired now, but he’ll never leave Åhus. It wouldn’t surprise me if he’s still keeping an eye on your house even now, he was so obsessed with the place.’
‘What do you mean?’ Billie said.
There was another burst of coughing at the other end of the line, and the sound of running water in the background. Manne was probably having a drink to try to get rid of the cough.
‘As I said, he went a bit funny when his mother died. When he went back to Åhus and rebuilt the house, he got the idea that it had to look exactly the way it did when we bought it. The previous owners had left behind lots of old furniture which I stored in the cellar when we moved in. It had belonged to the children’s home, and both my wife and I thought everything was too old and grubby. When my son returned to Åhus and renovated the house, he dug
out all those antiquated pieces and sold the place furnished. It was a way of keeping the glass children away, he insisted. If the house looked exactly the same as it used to do, they wouldn’t be as displeased.’
Billie heard Manne laughing quietly to himself.
‘Can you imagine anything more ridiculous?’ he said.
Billie wasn’t so sure. Because now she realized where all the old furniture in the house had come from. A new idea began to take shape in her mind, and when she asked the next question her voice was no more than a whisper.
‘What’s your son’s name?’
Manne answered equally quietly.
And suddenly Billie started to understand how everything hung together.
When she had ended the call she turned to Aladdin and said: ‘Now I know who’s been haunting this house.’
Chapter Twenty-Eight
During the night following Billie’s conversation with Manne Lund, it absolutely poured with rain. She lay awake for a long time listening to the heavy drops hammering on the roof, but she still didn’t feel tired when she got up in the morning.
‘I’ll get the bus to school today,’ she said to Josef. ‘We’ve got a late start – I don’t have to be in until ten o’clock.’
Josef looked surprised and glanced at her timetable, which was stuck on the fridge.
‘No you haven’t,’ he said.
‘Yes we have – Maths is cancelled because our teacher has a doctor’s appointment. He’ll be back for English at ten.’
Billie wasn’t a good liar, but right now she was lying as if she’d never done anything else in her entire life.
Josef still looked doubtful. ‘Don’t you have a supply teacher when someone’s away?’
‘Not when it’s only a couple of lessons. If you don’t believe me, why don’t you ring the school and check?’ she said, trying to sound slightly annoyed.
‘Of course I believe you!’ Josef said. ‘Are you sure you’re happy to go on the bus? Otherwise I can always go into work a bit later – it’s no problem.’
Oh please, please, just go! Billie thought.
Josef put on his shoes and jacket and slipped his work bag over his shoulder. ‘Tomorrow afternoon we can pick up your mum and bring her home, OK?’ he said with a smile.
Billie nodded. It was definitely OK. Everything was going to be fine. Everything.
As soon as Josef had driven off, Billie left the house. She was wearing her jacket and rucksack exactly as if she was going to school. Her hand shook as she turned the key, then cycled off towards the bus stop. If anyone saw her they would assume she was going to catch the bus to school.
But she wasn’t. Aladdin was waiting for her in the trees behind the bus stop.
‘Did anyone see you?’ he said.
‘I don’t think so,’ Billie replied.
A little while later the bus from Kristianstad pulled up on the other side of the road and Simona got off. As soon as she had joined them, they set off back towards Billie’s house.
It was now or never; they were going to unmask the ghost. They were going to catch it red-handed.
The plan was Billie’s, and it was very simple. They would keep the house under surveillance all day, waiting until the ‘ghost’ tried to get in without anyone noticing. They would then try to talk some sense into the ‘ghost’, and if that didn’t work they would call Josef and ask him for help.
Billie was so nervous that she had a pain in her tummy. It was a good job there were three of them.
‘How do we know the ghost will turn up today?’ Simona said.
‘We don’t,’ Aladdin replied. ‘But with a bit of luck, it will. Otherwise we’ll have to think again.’
Each of them had managed to avoid going to school that morning, using different ways and means, and it felt both exciting and scary. Before leaving home, Billie had called the school and said that she wouldn’t be coming in because she had to go and visit her mum in hospital. Her teacher knew that Billie’s mum was ill, and was immediately concerned. Had her mum taken a turn for the worse? Billie felt really bad when she said yes, her mum was a little worse, and that was why Billie wanted to be with her.
‘Wouldn’t it be good if you and your mum could stay in Åhus when we’ve unmasked the ghost?’ Aladdin had said the previous evening when they were sitting on Billie’s bed, planning what to do.
Billie hadn’t known what to say. It wasn’t just because of the ghost that she wanted to move back to Kristianstad. There were so many other reasons – her friends, that kind of thing. Or was there a chance that she might be able to settle in Åhus? Could she be happy living here?
That was too big a question, and it would have to wait until they had unmasked the ghost. Only then would she know what she wanted.
They approached Billie’s house through the grove of pine trees on the other side of the road. The trees were close enough together to provide a good hiding place. Billie had left her bike at the bus stop. She opened her rucksack and took out her dad’s old binoculars. They were some distance from the house, but with the binoculars they could see quite clearly. Simona had brought a small telescope.
‘Cool,’ Aladdin said, his voice full of admiration.
Simona smiled.
They sat down on the ground on picnic blankets they had brought with them; all three had also packed plenty to eat. Billie was happy as long as it didn’t rain, but she wished it was a bit less windy and that the sky wasn’t quite so grey. It would be cold sitting here hiding among the trees all day if the sun didn’t come out.
After only an hour or so Billie decided she was getting quite uncomfortable sitting on the ground, and stood up. She handed the binoculars to Aladdin while she stretched her legs. The only sound was the birds, flying from tree to tree.
What if the ghost didn’t come? They couldn’t sit here day after day. And tomorrow Mum would be home, which meant Billie could forget any further attempts at bunking off school. On the other hand, Mum would be signed off work for several weeks; the ghost was bound to stay away while she was at home.
Billie shivered and stamped her feet up and down. How come it was so cold? It had been summer not so long ago!
‘Look!’ Aladdin hissed excitedly, and Billie immediately sat down.
‘What’s happening?’ Simona whispered, looking through her telescope.
Billie reached for her binoculars, but Aladdin wouldn’t give them back.
‘I can’t see anything out of the ordinary,’ Simona said.
Aladdin started giggling, and passed the binoculars to Billie. ‘Neither can I – I just wanted to check that you two were awake,’ he said.
Simona burst out laughing as well, and Billie playfully hit Aladdin on the arm. ‘Pack it in,’ she said, trying not to laugh.
Then they settled down quietly among the trees and carried on waiting.
It started to rain, and they got out their raincoats. After a while it stopped, but the sky had changed from grey to black, and Billie was afraid they might be in for a thunderstorm. If that happened they might have to give up and go indoors.
There was another shower, then it stopped again. Aladdin announced that he was hungry, so they all had a sandwich. Then they waited again, taking turns with the binoculars and the telescope. Billie had an apple for dessert, and a rabbit hopped past their hiding place. Billie was starting to feel tired, and so were her two friends.
There’ll be no ghost hunt today, she thought. It was a stupid idea right from the start. How could we possibly think it would work?
Then she heard Aladdin whisper: ‘Quick – look!’
She could tell from his voice that he was serious. Her stomach tied itself in knots, and she could hardly breathe as she looked over towards the house. Someone was walking up the steps.
‘Give me the binoculars!’ she hissed.
Reluctantly Aladdin handed them over.
And it was true. Someone was standing on the patio fiddling with the lock. The door swung open,
and the ghost went inside. Even though it was raining again, Billie could see that she had been right.
Martin, the man who had shown Billie and her mum around the house, was the ghost.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
As soon as Martin had closed the door behind him, they were up and running. They leaped to their feet and raced towards the house. Billie had never run so fast in her entire life, and she had never been so angry. How dare Martin ruin things for other people? She was so furious that the fear that caused the pain in her tummy earlier on completely disappeared.
They hadn’t thought through this part of the plan very carefully, which immediately became obvious. They had simply decided that they would go into the house and catch the ghost red-handed. But as they thundered up the steps and onto the patio, Billie wondered whether that would be enough. Why should Martin be afraid of three kids?
But he was afraid. That was very clear. Simona yanked open the door and went in first. Aladdin and Billie were right behind her, and none of them made any attempt to be quiet or cautious.
‘Stop right there!’ Simona shouted when they found Martin in the spare room clutching a cardboard box.
He looked terrified, and dropped the box with a crash. Then he simply stood there staring at them, but by then his expression was neither frightened nor angry. He just looked sad. When Billie looked him in the eye, she saw so much sorrow that she felt like crying.
On the little table with the coloured tiles lay another of the drawings that Billie had put away on the very first day when she and her mum moved in. Billie went over and read the words on the drawing.
Final warning.
If you don’t stop searching right now, it’s all over.
‘Did you write this?’ she said crossly, pointing at the drawing.
It looked as if a child had formed the letters, but Billie didn’t think that was the case.
‘Yes,’ Martin said quietly. ‘It was me.’
Billie’s anger was mixed with pity. What was Martin up to? And why?
‘And is it you who’s been sneaking in here and messing with things? Is it you who’s been tapping on the windows at night?’
The Glass Children Page 10