The Forgotten Cottage

by Helen Phifer

  ‘But it wasn’t you because she had a face but her fingers were just bone. I know it sounds stupid and they sound as if they’ve been overdosing on the old cannabis, but I swear to God they’re good lads who’ve been working for me for years. I’ve never heard them talk like this before or, to be honest, refuse to go in and finish a job because, trust me, we’ve worked in some right shit-holes.’

  ‘No, it’s fine. I believe them. Tell them thank you and not to worry. I know who she is, although I’m not too sure what it is she wants except maybe her house to herself. I’ll sort it out. I’ll let you know when it’s been done so they can finish off. Thank you.’

  ‘As long as you know what you’re doing, love. I’ve never seen grown men with faces so white; I’d have taken the piss out of them if they hadn’t been so deadly serious. Be careful, whatever you do.’

  He ended the call and she sighed. What had she just said about taking some time out, away from all the drama? If she didn’t sort Betsy Baker out once and for all they would never be able to live in their dream home and she wasn’t about to let some two-hundred-year-old ghost take that away from her. She sipped on her latte, which was still steaming-hot, and then went back outside to phone Father John.

  ‘It’s Annie.’

  ‘Evening, my lovely; how is Will? Fabulous news that you got him back almost in one piece. Lily phoned to tell me earlier.’

  ‘He’s in Theatre, having a plate put in his ankle, but he’s fine, apart from a sore head and aching foot, thankfully. John, we need to sort Betsy Baker out; the builders are refusing to go back inside because they saw her in the bedroom.’

  ‘Right, then. I’ve dug a hole more than big enough to put her in; as long as she’s in a box, contained, I think it will work. I’ve had to come up with some cock-and-bull story about someone’s dearly beloved pet that has died but they didn’t ask any further questions so it’s all good at this end. I’ve blessed the box and a cross for you to put in it and there’s a bottle of my special holy water. If you and Jake dig her up and bring her to me I’ll do the rest; is that okay?’

  ‘Perfect. As soon as Will is out of surgery I’ll drive straight up to yours with Jake and collect the box. What time will it be light until? I’d rather not do this in the dark.’

  ‘Probably about ten-thirty. I’ll be ready for you. Give Will my best and I’ll see you soon.’

  ‘Thank you, John, I will.’

  Before she could phone Jake, as if by magic he appeared, walking across the grass towards where she was standing.

  ‘I need you.’

  ‘Not here, in front of everyone. Have you no self-control, woman?’

  ‘As if, but seriously, we need to do it tonight.’

  ‘Erm…am I being dim or what? What do we need to do tonight?’

  ‘Dig up Betsy Baker and take her to St Catherine’s, where Father John is going to bless her and give her a proper funeral.’

  ‘Oh, is that all? And here was me thinking you wanted my body, but what you want is for me to help you dig up the skeleton of a two-hundred-year-old serial killer who is scary as fuck then drive her to the church to be buried. Well, you know how to show a guy a good time; I dread to think what you have in store for Will. How is he?’

  ‘He should be coming out of surgery any time soon. Don’t say a word to him. He doesn’t know anything about it and I don’t want him to because he won’t let me do it. But if we don’t we’ll never be rid of her. Please, will you help me?’

  She fluttered her eyelids at him and he pushed her arm.

  ‘Oh, go on then. You know I’m a sucker for a pretty lady. Is it going to be dangerous, though? I mean, that Shadow Man was scary as hell; I proper shit myself for months after that.’

  ‘I don’t know—possibly. I don’t think she’ll come quietly but I don’t have a choice because if they actually take the time to exhume her properly she’s never going to get a proper burial for months, maybe years, and that means she’ll be tied to my house for ever.’

  A nurse called Annie’s name and she turned to see her, smiling.

  ‘Will’s back on the ward now if you want to come and see him for five minutes.’

  Annie and Jake followed her up to the surgical ward, where she led them to the small private room Will was in. He opened one eye. ‘Take me home.’

  ‘No, I will not; you need to rest up tonight. I’ll rescue you tomorrow but, unlike someone I know, I’ll actually keep my promise.’ She winked at him.

  ‘True, but technically that wasn’t my fault; am I forgiven?’

  She walked over and kissed him. ‘Yes. I love you. Now get some sleep and I’ll see you tomorrow.’

  Jake patted his arm and Will closed his eyes.

  ‘Don’t forget about me.’

  ‘As if. See you in the morning.’

  They left him drifting off to sleep and made their way to Jake’s car.

  ‘Am I to tell Alex what we’re doing—that we’re going to dig up Mary Rose, or whatever her name is?’

  ‘No, I don’t think so; he panics too much. Tell him you’re taking me to pick up some stuff and you’ll be home in a couple of hours.’

  Jake sent the text then looked at her. ‘I hope we’re doing the right thing. I haven’t got a good feeling about this. I don’t know about you, but I’m man enough to admit that I’m scared and I don’t want to go to prison when we’ve just been given the date that we can bring little Alice home.’

  ‘Aw, you’ve called her Alice; what made you pick that name?’

  ‘Alex chose it. He said he likes old-fashioned names. Do you like it?’

  ‘I love it. I knew an Alice and she was a wonderful, strong, courageous woman.’

  ‘Good. I wanted to call her Annie but then I didn’t want to curse her with all your bad luck—one Annie in my life is more than enough.’

  ‘You’re right; you couldn’t call a kid Annie but it was a lovely sentiment, thank you. You know, if I’m honest, I’m scared too, Jake, but we really don’t have any other choice.’

  ‘Trust you to buy a house that was haunted by a psychopathic witch.’

  ‘She wasn’t a witch, just a murderer.’

  ‘Oh, well, that makes it all right then. I don’t know what I’m so worried about.’

  ‘I’ll make it up to you, I promise.’

  ‘I should hope so. You can start by not getting involved in anything remotely violent or scary for at least the next six months. I swear you’re turning my hair grey. Alex found a grey hair last night and it’s all your fault.’

  ‘I’ll try my best. I’m not exactly chuffed about it all. I’d love a quiet life; I can’t remember much of what my life was like before I met Mike so it must have been pretty normal.’

  Jake shut up; he didn’t want her remembering the bad times. They sat in comfortable silence all the way to St Catherine’s presbytery, where a fully robed Father John was pacing up and down the garden.

  ‘See, he should be ready to retire and you’ve got him working overtime as well.’

  ‘Shut up, Jake; don’t you think I feel bad enough as it is?’

  John went inside the house and came back carrying a large plastic box that had a sheet inside and a wooden cross. He opened the boot and put the box in it. Jake wound the window down but it was Annie who spoke.

  ‘Thank you, John. I’m sorry to drag you into this.’

  ‘Annie, you saved my life; it’s the least I can do to repay the favour. I’m just a bit jumpy tonight and I’m not sure why.’

  Annie knew why but didn’t say it out loud; she felt the same. Her stomach was churning so much she wanted to throw up but she hadn’t eaten anything for hours so there was nothing inside to bring up. There was one thing; she’d never been so thin so her wedding dress should fit like a dream.

  ‘We’ll be back soon.’

  John leant into the car and made the sign of the cross on her forehead, blessing her. Then he did the same to Jake, who nodded his approval. He passed Annie a
bottle. She didn’t need to ask what it was; she knew it would be holy water John had blessed. Jake wasn’t really into religion but he would take all the help he could get.

  ‘Remember to stay close to each other; you are both stronger than you think. Whatever she may say or do, ignore her. It’s not going to be easy because she might put up a fight but get her here and I’ll do the rest.’

  Annie watched the colour drain from Jake’s face and knew exactly how he felt. She thanked John and nodded at Jake, who started the engine.

  ‘That’s if we make it here; you do know if we were to get stopped with a plastic storage box containing a skeleton we’d be in deep shit, don’t you?’

  ‘Look on the bright side; whose beat is it from the cottage to here?’

  ‘I don’t know.’

  ‘Mine, you stupid sod, and I’m off sick so no one will be covering it. What could possibly go wrong?’

  Jake declined to answer that question and they drove to the cottage in silence. He noticed that Annie kept fiddling with the tiny gold cross on a chain around her neck. If she was scared then it was serious. As they turned into the lane which led to the cottage the sun disappeared behind a huge black cloud, shrouding everything in shadow.

  ‘She knows we’re coming for her.’

  Jake gulped but carried on driving towards the freshly painted mint-green gate which led to the front garden. He parked the car on the grass verge and got out. Annie followed him. She walked around to the back of the car to get the plastic box out. She lifted the boot and was taking the box out when the lid slammed shut, narrowly missing her arm and hand. She dropped it back inside, snatching her hand away and turned to the house.

  ‘So this is how you want to play it, Betsy Baker? I’m not afraid of you so you’d best remember this. I told you before: this is no longer your home; it belongs to me now and it isn’t big enough for both of us to live in.’

  There was a huge rumble of thunder in the distance and Jake looked as if he wanted to get back in the car and drive off but he stood his ground.

  ‘Can you see her, Annie? Where is she?’

  ‘Not yet but she’s watching. Please can you hold the boot open while I take out the box?’

  Jake lifted the boot and held it with both hands, expecting a sudden weight to force it down, but nothing happened and he breathed out. Annie took the box and they stepped into the front garden as a crack of thunder echoed around the cottage. She put the box down and studied the ground, trying to work out exactly where the vegetable garden had been. She closed her eyes and went back to the vision of the handsome man with a grief-stricken face digging a hole.

  Her feet carried her to where she thought the exact spot was and she shouted to Jake, ‘There are some spades in the shed; go and get them.’

  He ran across to the small outbuilding and opened the door. It was dark inside; he reached inside to grab the spades and felt something cold and hard as skeletal fingers wrapped themselves around his wrist. He screamed and snatched his hand back, turning to Annie.

  ‘I can’t…there’s something in there; it touched me.’

  Annie strode over, leant in and grabbed the spades. ‘Don’t be scared of her, Jake; it’s what she wants.’

  She took the tools and walked back to where she’d left the box, Jake following. She handed him a spade. They both began to dig at the same time, just as the first heavy drops of rain began to fall. Within seconds it turned into a heavy downpour, soaking them both through to the skin. Annie kept on digging, even though it was hard to grip the spade and see through the rivulets of water running down her forehead and into her eyes. She lifted her arm to wipe her face and caught a glimpse of Betsy, who was now in the bedroom, her face pressed against the glass of the window with what was left of her hands flat against it. Her mouth was open in a silent scream that only Annie could hear and it ripped through her mind like a hurricane.

  Annie lifted her hands to her ears and shouted, ‘Stop that now! I’m telling you in the name of the Lord, Betsy, you have to stop this.’

  Jake paused. ‘Stop digging?’

  She shook her head. ‘No, keep digging. I meant for Betsy to stop screaming; she’s deafening me.’

  Annie began to sing the only hymn she knew. ‘All things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small…’

  Over and over again in her head so it blocked out the noise, then she picked up the spade and continued to dig. There was an almighty crack above them and a brilliant white flash of lightning illuminated the sky. Jake’s spade hit something hard and he shuddered, knowing fine well what it would be. He paused but Annie kept on going until she could see the dirty yellow of Betsy’s skeleton. Jake sensed movement behind him and swung around to see a pretty young woman hanging from the front porch of Annie’s cottage. He couldn’t move because she was swinging from side to side and grinning at him. She lifted a skeletal hand to the rope around her neck and Jake shuddered. Instinctively, he wanted to run and cut her down like he would for anyone and he found himself walking towards her. Annie looked up to see Jake, his eyes fixed on something only he could see, and she ran to grab him.

  ‘What is it? What can you see?’

  ‘She’s there and she’s choking, Annie… We have to help her. We can’t leave her hanging like that.’

  ‘She’s not real, Jake. Well, she’s not alive, and we can’t help her—she’s dead and has been dead for a very long time. It’s all a trick; she knows that she can’t stay and she’s doing everything she can to stop us.’

  Annie pulled him back towards the hole and he looked back over his shoulder but she’d gone. He looked down and saw that a ribcage and legs had been uncovered.

  ‘Open the box, Jake.’

  Annie knelt down and began to scrape the last of the soil away with her fingers until she was faced with the whole of Betsy Baker’s skeleton; there was a broken cross next to her hand. Apart from that, she was complete; her long black hair was still attached to her skull. Annie couldn’t help but notice how long her fingernails were. No wonder she liked scraping them along things; they were lethal weapons. The storm began to rage above their heads and the rain began to lash them both. Annie leant in to try and lift her out and felt the skeletal fingers gripping her arm. Those sharp nails began to dig into her flesh, dragging her down. Annie lost her balance and tumbled into the shallow grave on top of Betsy’s skeleton. Annie opened her mouth to scream and the bony fingers wrapped themselves around her neck, sharp nails digging into the soft flesh and drawing blood.

  Jake watched in horror as Annie began to thrash around on top of the skeleton. He couldn’t see the bony fingers that were wrapped around her neck and didn’t know what to do. He knew something was wrong; the only thing he could think of was to take the bottle of holy water out of the box to throw it all over Annie and that scary bag of bones. He emptied the bottle then threw it to one side and leant down, taking hold of Annie by her armpits. With one almighty tug he yanked her with all his force out of the hole, bleeding and covered in mud, and they landed in a heap on the ground.

  ‘Fucking hell, Annie, what was that about?’

  Annie couldn’t speak she was so shocked, and pointed to the skeleton and the box. Jake grimaced but knew what she meant and leant down into the hole and began to scoop up the now broken bits of skeleton and put them into the plastic box; he picked up her arms first then her skull. Once they were inside the box Annie leant in and began to help him scoop up the rest of it, whilst the rain kept on pouring and the thunder kept rolling. Eventually they had every piece of her and the broken cross. Annie picked up the almost empty bottle and sprinkled the rest of the holy water all over the remains and then Jake slammed the plastic lid down onto them. They carried it towards the car and put it into the boot, where Jake took the tow rope and wound it around the box as many times as it would go before knotting it and slamming the boot down. Annie got into the car, not realising how much her hands were trembling until she tried to slide the cover back on t
he sun visor to look in the mirror at her face. Jake clambered in and started the engine.

  ‘Oh, my God…how? I mean, just how? It’s not even possible, is it? And you’re bleeding; Jesus Christ, that thing has scratched all your neck. You’re going to need a tetanus injection, when’s the last time you had one? I can’t believe it.’

  Annie opened the glove compartment and took some tissues out to wipe away some of the blood and soil from her face.

  Jake put his foot down; he didn’t want that thing in his car for any longer than it had to be. ‘What if she haunts my car? Alex will go mental if every time he gets in it there’s a dead woman sitting in the back, trying to choke us all to death.’

  Finally Annie smiled, snapping herself out of the shock that had been trying to take over. She still couldn’t speak but inside her head she kept reciting the Lord’s Prayer over and over again. She didn’t even complain about the speed Jake was driving through the country lanes to get to Father John. Annie wondered if she’d ever speak again, to be honest. There was a loud thump from the boot of the car and Jake looked into the rear-view mirror.

  ‘Please tell me I just ran a dog over and it’s not the dead woman in the box trying to escape.’

  He put his foot down and drove, in his own words, like a maniac to get to the church, glad the roads were quiet, with no slow-moving traffic to hold him up or any buses to run into and kill them all instantly. Finally, the church spire loomed in sight and both of them let out a sigh of relief. There was no more banging from the boot and Jake screeched the car to a halt, almost crashing through the church gates.

  Father John came running over, took one look at Annie and crossed himself. ‘Come on, no time to lose; let’s get her buried.’

  Jake got out of the car and put his hand on the boot. It was freezing-cold to his touch and he withdrew his fingers, leaving fingerprints on the paintwork.

  Annie shook her head. ‘No way; we’ve come this far. We have to finish it.’

  She opened the boot and reached in to get hold of the box, which was frozen. Jake took the other side and they followed Father John, carrying Betsy Baker to her final resting place. The box got heavier with every step they took and Jake, who was not the smallest of guys, began to sweat with the exertion. Annie wanted to drop the box and forget about the whole thing, forget she’d ever heard of Betsy bloody Baker, but then she thought about Will and how he’d looked to find them the perfect family home and she decided that she wouldn’t let some jealous murdering ghost stop them from living there.