“How do you know which item he’s bound to?”
I shrugged. “I don’t. I’ll need to listen really closely to everything and if that fails, I’ll have to burn the lot.”
After travelling below deck, we moved along the corridor, stopping at each antiquated item that hung on the wall. Each time we stopped, I leaned in and tried to get a reading from the object to figure out if it was keeping Whitby’s spirit around.
I saw maps on yellowed paper, the creases as much a part of the tale as the red cross marked on the island. There were pictures of caves that stretched long into the cliffs, and I wondered if they were used by smugglers to bring possessions on land. A few old maps depicted several tiny islands dotted together, circled in ink which had faded over time. I speculated on what people sought on those pieces of land.
Each of the items were unique, telling a story in their specific period. But each time I walked away empty. I didn’t know whether to be glad or not, and I was starting to get strange looks by staff and passers-by at my intense staring.
“So that’s it. We’ve searched the whole ship and come up empty.” Jake shrugged.
“Not the whole ship.” I shook my head.
“No?”
“We haven’t searched the captain’s quarters.”
“So tell me again why I’m doing this?” Olivia stood in front of me, gawping in the mirror. She had colour back in her cheeks, thanks to the blusher I’d doused her with, and she wore a skirt and silky tank that hinted at her assets.
“You have to distract the captain so we can get into his room,” I said.
“Why is it always me?”
“Yeah. Why is it always her?” Rob said.
The four of us were in my cabin. Rob and Jake sat on the bed closest to the door while I fussed over the finishing touches of Olivia’s outfit.
“I’d like to remind you both that it’s usually me putting myself in awkward and dangerous situations for the sake of ghost hunting. Now it’s your turn.” I smiled at Olivia in the mirror, but she didn’t smile back.
“Dangerous? Nobody said anything about dangerous.” Rob’s brow creased.
“It’s not dangerous for Olive, don’t worry. I’m the one who has to get rid of the spirit. Olivia is going to lure the captain to the bar. You should tail her.”
“I will.” Rob straightened.
“So, are we all set?” I glanced around at the gang.
Jake was going to be my partner in this, and it was Olivia’s job to make sure the captain’s quarters were clear.
She nodded. “Let’s do this.”
The captain’s quarters were on the topmost deck, just outside of the bridge where the ship was controlled. We just needed to get him out of there and distract him long enough for me and Jake to slip in. What could possibly go wrong?
Olivia took the lead. Rob hung back, looking suspicious, while he waited for her to return with the captain. Then he would follow them to the bar, all being well.
I followed, with Jake at my side, and apart from our footsteps, all was silent.
We reached the quarters, and just as Olivia was about to knock on the door, it opened. I kept walking past, feigning indifference as Olivia began her act.
“Oh, hi. I’m sorry. I think I’m lost,” she said.
I turned and saw her finger pressed to her lips, covering a seductive smile.
“Oh, hello . . .”
“Call me, Olivia.” She beamed, dropping her hand.
I had to hand it to the woman, she could act.
“Hello, Olivia. I’m the captain. Where is it you’re trying to get to?”
“I was looking for the bar.”
He pointed. “If you just head back around this way—”
“Would you be able to show me? It’s just, I’m terrible with directions and I’m scared I might get lost again.”
“Of course.” He stepped out of the doorway, and Olivia linked her arm through his. “It’s this way.” He led her back the way we’d just come.
Moving as quietly as I could, I sprinted back towards the captain’s quarters and stuck my hand between the frame. The door closed on my fingers, and I sucked in a hiss of air rather than howling like I wanted to. Then I pushed it in and stepped into the room, hoping the captain had been alone. Jake followed me inside and then the door shut behind us.
“That was a close one.” Jake let out the breath he’d been holding.
“You think?” I held up my hand and saw that it was already bruising.
“Ouch.” He winced.
“Feel sorry for me later. We have to get this map.”
“A map?”
“Andy, one of the guys who works here, told me that the map is an original. It should be hanging up somewhere. It’s got to be the anchor that’s holding the spirit here.”
“There!” He pointed to a framed print of a map hanging on the wall.
The paper was yellowed with age and scorched black in one corner.
I hurried across the room, dismounted the frame, and set it down on the sofa in front of me. After removing the back of the frame, I took the map out. The scent of tobacco bombarded me, and I wrinkled my nose.
“It sure smells old.” Jake also wrinkled his nose as he took a closer look.
“This has to be it. Now come on, let’s get out of here and burn it.”
We hustled to the door. Jake stepped out first and checked that the coast was clear. Then I followed. We hurried down the hallway, past the wheelhouse, and around to the other side. We rushed down the corridor, to the bar, and stepped inside.
I was hit with the pungent smell of alcohol. I balked and almost turned and walked out before I saw Olivia sitting on a bar stool, the captain beside her and Rob a table behind, his eyes never leaving the pair. I smiled inside. He made a good guard dog, too.
“There she is,” I whispered, shoving the map behind my back. “Can you go and get her?”
“Sure.” Jake stepped into the bar with confidence, aimed straight for Olivia, and introduced himself to the captain.
A few words were exchanged, Olivia apologised, and then she and Jake left together. Rob followed.
“Well done, Olive,” I said as we exited the bar.
“I thought you were done for at one point. When I asked him to come to the bar with me, he insisted on going back for his wallet.”
“How’d you get out of it?”
“I turned the charm up a notch.” She ran her hand through her hair.
Beside her, Rob growled.
“You didn’t have to put on so much of a show,” Rob grumbled.
“I had to make it look real.”
“It looked way too real from where I was sitting.”
“Relax. That’s the first and last time I’ll ever see him.”
“Guys,” I said, “it’s time to deal with this ghost, and then you can argue all you like, okay?”
We traversed to the top deck. There were no crew members nearby.
“Jake, can you hold this?” I handed him the map and took the lighter from my pocket. “Can everybody please say goodbye to Whitby “The Nightmare” Sutton?”
“Goodbye,” Olivia chirped.
“Bye,” Rob grumbled, still in a fettle over the perceived flirting.
I rolled the spark wheel and brought the flame to the map. It lit like dry kindling. Jake dropped it to the deck, and as the fire consumed it, a scream of rage blasted my mind. The voice wasn’t as strong as it had been earlier, and I knew the spirit was crossing over.
I’ll get ye, landlubber!
I glanced at the others, but no one flinched. They hadn’t heard it.
I watched the map until it became ash, and then let out a deep breath.
The ghost was gone. The Jolly Dodger no longer haunted.
And I had spent another vacation weekend fighting the dead.
“So tell me,” I said to Olivia as we stood together on the deck of the Jolly Dodger, “did you enjoy it more than you thought you
would?”
“Actually, I really enjoyed it. Well, everything apart from the hangover and the murderous ghost.”
There was a shout and another splash and then a round of applause. I took a step a little closer to the side of the ship, peering down at the sea. I saw a few ripples in the water.
“What would a weekend be without a ghost?”
She turned to me. “Fun?”
I grinned. “You’d be bored. Hell, I’d be bored. Let’s count ourselves lucky.”
“Something like that.” Another splash as someone walked the plank. “I can’t believe those two idiots are getting on board this.”
“Tell me about it.” I shook my head and located Jake in the crowd. He and Rob stood close together, both in trunks and lifejackets. I was cold just standing there watching, I hated to think what it was like for them.
“Rob is going for the biggest splash. He reckons he’s got this.”
Rob stepped up to the front of the queue and when given the signal, stepped up onto the plank. Beside me Olivia’s hands went to her mouth and together we watched him creep along the board until he reached the end, spring on it once, and then jump. A few seconds later there was a splash and cheers rang up on the ship.
“I’d say he won that one.” I grinned.
“Jake’s up now.” Oliva pointed.
I watched as Jake stepped up onto the plank. He turned around and waved at me before strutting down it’s length. Then, his whole body tensed as he jumped and then dived forward into the water below. My heart froze for an instant and then I heard the splash followed by the sounds of laughter coming from below. I relaxed and smiled.
“And hey, Olive?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m looking forward to going back to the office. I feel pretty refreshed.”
About the Author
Alice lives and works in the North East of England with her partner and slightly ferocious cats! She writes all manner of fiction with a tendency to lean towards the dark side. Most of her work is rooted in darkness, her inspiration coming from a macabre selection of reads as well as the dreams that frequent her sleep.
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Also by Alice J. Black
The Leak of Madness
The Darkness Within
The Room of Arches
The Beginning
Dead Drunk
Shadows At Starlight
Murder On The Sapphire Bay
Under The Big Top
The Parliament House
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The Jolly Dodger (The Soul Seekers Book 8) Page 6