Ghosts

Chapter 15

The swing seat was unoccupied, at least by Grandma. The smell of the dope still lingered. Cyclops stared at her with his one eye, his cage in its usual place on the seat. Apart from seeing everything in mono vision, he had a pretty good life, thought Violet. Continuously pampered and cosseted, never having to concern himself about mealtimes, and in a permanently stoned state. 'You got it easy, mate,' said Violet, opening the front door. She had left everything at the house, not wanting to spend another minute in the place. She heard a noise from the kitchen. With her nerves jangling, she went in and saw her mother making a hot drinking chocolate. 'I couldn't sleep,' she said. 'Hot chocolate?' 'Yes, please. I'm not surprised you can't sleep. I had to get away.' They sat at the kitchen table together. 'I shouldn't have left...' 'Mom. It's okay. I ran, the first time I saw one. I just wish I knew what to do.' 'Did you see anything else?''Yes. I spent a little time with Harmony, when you'd gone. I feel so sorry for her. I don't think she's with her mom and dad.' 'They've gone? Please tell me they've gone.' Violet shook her head and sipped the hot drink. 'After Harmony went, I tried to sleep. I heard a noise upstairs. 'God.' 'I went up.' 'Violet...' 'I know. It was stupid.' 'And brave.' 'There was a sort of light, like a strange blue glow coming from the bedroom. It was Aunt Daphne.' 'What did she say?' 'Hello. I was going to try to talk to her, but she vanished again.' 'Perhaps that's just as well.' 'No, Mom. I need to talk to her. See if I can get them to move on. There's something else. Mrs Friar saw it again.' 'That's all we need.' 'Tell me about it.' 'We're in this together from now on. Not your dad, the useless prick. We'll leave him out of it. But from now on, I'll be right by your side.' She gathered up the mugs and placed them in the sink to wash up later. She turned to face her daughter, leaning against the sink. 'I feel ashamed of myself that you've been left to sort this mess out. I'm sorry.' Violet got up and hugged her mother. 'It's okay, Mom. If it was just selling the house, no worries. But this ghost thing. I'm out of my depth.' 'We'll sort it out. Together.' Together they opened the front door at a few minutes after nine the next morning, to find two uniformed police officers on the porch. Grandma had seen them and had taken herself off to her room with her stash of dope. 'I'm Sergeant Moore and this is constable Handley. Are you Mrs Shaydes?' 'Yes. What is it?' 'A neighbour called us, very concerned about goings on in your property across the lane from her, Number twenty nine? Would that be your property?' 'Yes, Sergeant. Well, to be more precise, it was my late brother in law's house. They died, and we are selling it.' 'I see,' said the sergeant, eyeing the one eyed ferret suspiciously. 'Only the neighbour noticed strange lights in the house, in the small hours of this morning.' 'That would be me,' said Violet. She noticed the young constable was smiling at her. She decided to take advantage of that and pouted at him. 'I was there last night, keeping an eye on the place. There's no electricity, so I had a torch. That's probably what the neighbour saw.' 'What's going on?' 'Nothing, Dad. And go and put a vest on, will you?' The officers were staring at his artificial leg sticking out of the boxer shorts. 'Are you Mr Shaydes, sir?' 'Yes, sergeant. What's going on?' 'Somebody reported lights in the other house. Violet's just explained to the officers that she was there last night.' 'Perhaps we should take a look at the property, while we're here,' suggested the constable. 'Okay,' said Violet. 'Come on. I'll let you in.' Leaving her father at home, Violet and her mother led the way to the house. Naturally, David Chambers was touching up the paintwork of his front door when they passed his gate. For once, he didn't interfere, but watched the odd procession turn up Crabtree Lane. Curtains twitched at Mrs Friar's house, but the old lady didn't venture out. Violet unlocked the front door and they all went inside. 'As you can see, the place is empty.' 'What about all this stuff in the lounge?' asked the sergeant. 'We brought it here. Like I explained. I was here most of the night, keeping an eye on the place. We don't want it vandalised by some yobs before we manage to sell it.' 'Makes sense,' said the constable, admiring Violet. 'Can't be too careful.' Behind the officers, Harmony appeared, looking confused and frightened. Violet shared a horrified look with her mother. This was not good timing. 'I err, wonder if you wouldn't mind taking a look at this for me. The damned thing packed up on me last night.' She handed the torch to the constable as her mother slowly made her way past the policemen while her daughter distracted them. 'Just got to go to the toilet. I'll be back in a minute.' She closed the door behind her. 'Hello, Aunty.' 'Harmony. This isn't a good time. The policemen mustn't see you.' 'Do they know where my mom and dad are?' 'No. But if you go now, I'll ask them, okay?''Can I come and stay with you, Aunty?' 'No. Look. Harmony. Just go away until we've all gone and we'll come back and have a little chat, right?' 'But... 'Just for a little while. I promise we'll come back and see you very soon. Now you be a good girl...' 'Right then,' said the sergeant, opening the door the second Harmony vanished. 'I think that covers everything.' 'All done?' 'Yes, Mrs Shaydes. I'm satisfied everything is fine here.' 'Perhaps we should check the house?' said the constable. 'No. I mean, no need. I just had a quick look around. Everything's good.' 'Right, Mrs Shaydes. We'll be off then. Thanks for your cooperation.' 'And thank you for your help, sergeant.' The constable turned to Violet. 'Remember to invest in a decent torch, Miss. That one's stuffed.' 'I'll get one this afternoon. Thanks.'