The Secrets Of Ghosts

Then she saw it. A magpie, sitting on the wire fence a few metres ahead. It was looking straight at her.

‘Good morning, Mr Magpie,’ Katie said. She felt faintly ridiculous but that was the problem with superstition. It was hard to know which ones were based in fact.

The magpie didn’t move. It continued to stare as she drew closer. Katie kept expecting it to get startled, to fly away, but it didn’t. It shifted from foot to foot, twitched a wing, but continued to watch her approach. Katie was just thinking how weird it was when she was distracted by the warmth of the morning sun flooding through her. The cloud of cold air had disappeared and Katie stopped walking from the shock of it. She’d got used to it and suddenly the heat of the day was there, on her skin. She could smell burning, too. Like a struck match. Then the magpie spoke to her. ‘Watch. My watch. My watch.’

Katie looked at the bird. Magpies could imitate sounds, Katie knew, but those hadn’t just been sounds. Those were words. Clear words.

Katie resisted the sudden urge to say ‘pardon?’ to the magpie. Perhaps she did have the flu after all. She put a hand on her forehead, tried to work out if she was running a temperature.

‘My watch. My watch,’ the bird said again. There was something urgent in its tone. Something pleading. It was staring at her as if willing her to understand something. And then she did.

‘Mr Cole?’

The bird cocked its head. ‘My watch.’

‘What about your watch?’ Katie said.

The magpie squawked and flew away.

Chapter 4

Katie slammed through the back door at End House. She’d phoned in sick to work and changed direction, heading to End House as fast as she could.

Her mobile buzzed as she half walked, half ran, and she slowed down to answer it.

‘Please tell me you’re not really sick,’ Anna said. ‘I wanted to go to the pub tonight.’

‘I’m not really sick,’ Katie said, out of breath. ‘Sorry to leave you short-staffed for breakfast.’

‘That’s okay. There’s hardly anyone here,’ Anna said. ‘Are you running?’

‘Going to Gwen’s.’

‘Secret family stuff?’

‘Kind of,’ Katie said, feeling bad. Whatever Anna said, however accepting and chilled out she appeared to be, Katie still found it difficult to talk to her. Gwen had painted such colourful portraits of the dangers of telling people about their magic, but it was more than that: Katie was always waiting for Anna to realise that she wasn’t such good friend material, after all. That the weirdness wasn’t worth it. Katie wanted to be honest, didn’t want to live a lie, so she ended up being cagey.

At End House she crashed through the back door and shouted, ‘Gwen!’

‘What’s wrong?’ Gwen was in a silk blue dressing gown, her hair up in a messy ponytail and a miniature rocking horse in one hand.

‘Sorry, you’re working.’ Katie tried to push down on her panic, squeeze it into something manageable.

‘Woke up with an idea,’ Gwen said, pulling the door to the hall shut. ‘Cam’s still asleep.’

Katie winced. ‘Sorry.’

‘It’s fine,’ Gwen said. Then, ‘What’s wrong? You look pale.’

Katie laughed but the sound turned into a kind of hiccup. ‘I had a really bad dream. About the man who died.’

‘A man died?’ Gwen said, her face draining of colour. ‘Who?’

‘At the hotel. Just a guest.’ Katie shook her head, realising that she hadn’t told Gwen. She’d planned to and then had heard her and Cam arguing and the weirdness of that had shoved it right out of her mind. ‘I found him.’

‘Oh, sweetheart.’ Gwen put down the rocking horse, her face softened in sympathy. ‘No wonder you had a nightmare.’

‘And something weird just happened. A bird spoke to me. With a man’s voice.’

Gwen put a hand on Katie’s forehead. ‘Do you feel sick?’

‘I’m not ill. I think it was Mr Cole’s voice. The guest. He had a heart attack.’

‘Sit down,’ Gwen said. ‘I’ll make some tea.’

Katie sat at the kitchen table, feeling comforted by the familiarity. Gwen’s kitchen. A mug of tea. In a moment, Gwen would explain it all. Maybe the Harper powers always began with a chat with a magpie. ‘Have you ever heard a magpie talk?’ Katie said, over the sound of the kettle boiling.

Gwen was getting milk out of the fridge and the bottle slipped from her hand. Smashed on the floor.

Katie got up to help but Gwen stepped through the spreading milk and grabbed her hands. ‘Are you sure it was a magpie?’

‘Yes.’ Katie would’ve felt insulted, they’d covered bird identification when she’d been fifteen, but Gwen sounded too freaked out. ‘It said something about a watch. I think Mr Cole wants me to find his watch. Or do something with his watch. Or watch something, perhaps—’

Gwen’s complexion had gone grey and her mouth was turned down. She suddenly looked much older than usual. ‘A man who recently died spoke to you through a crow?’

‘A magpie.’

Gwen shook her head as if she could erase Katie’s words. ‘No, no, no.’

Katie felt the hairs rise on the back of her neck. Gwen was usually so calm. This had to be bad.

‘Gwen?’

She was staring to the left of Katie, her expression grim. ‘I knew there would be consequences,’ Gwen said, her voice bleak. ‘This is my fault.’

‘What are you talking about?’

‘Blood magic.’ Gwen seemed to be forcing the words out. ‘I used blood magic. It’s serious stuff. Dark. I knew there’d be a price.’

Katie frowned. Why did Gwen have to be so negative? And when was she going to be able to stop paying for that one little mistake? ‘You don’t think this is my Harper family thing? Maybe—’

Gwen shook her head. ‘I don’t know. I don’t—’ She broke off and reached for the nearest notebook, began leafing through it. ‘I mean, I think there was something like this a long time ago, but—’

‘That’s it, then. I just inherited the crappest power. That’s it.’

‘None of them are simple,’ Gwen said, still looking as if she was about to throw up. ‘Lost things don’t always want to be found.’

‘I know that.’

‘And giving people what they need isn’t always fun.’ Gwen looked angry now. ‘Did you even read Iris’s journals?’

‘Of course,’ Katie said.

‘What about the stuff I wrote down for you? Did you read it? Did you take it in?’

‘Yes! Of course I did. You know I did. I’ve been training with you every week for the last seven years. You know.’

‘Well, it’s a shame you didn’t pay more attention.’ Gwen snapped the notebook shut and frowned at Katie. ‘Talking to a magpie? What were you thinking?’

‘Charming,’ Katie said, her anger matching Gwen’s. ‘What else was I supposed to do?’

‘You need to be more careful.’

‘I’m always careful,’ Katie said.

‘I’ll look into it.’ Gwen passed a hand over her eyes. ‘There might be someone who’ll know.’

‘Not Gloria.’

Gwen shook her head. ‘I won’t tell her, yet. I need to figure this out, first. Figure out what this means.’ She grabbed Katie’s hand. ‘Don’t tell anybody else.’

‘So, do I look for his watch? I feel like he’s asking for my help.’

‘No. Don’t do anything.’

‘But—’

‘It’s probably not him. It’s probably a curse or a hex or a rebalancing. This is not your power,’ Gwen said. ‘It can’t be.’

Katie felt the disappointment. She was a victim again. Cursed. Or whatever. She was so careful, she trained hard, she’d read Culpeper’s Herbal and The Modern Herbalist and everything else Gwen told her to read. She took notes in an A4 binder and never tried any magic unsupervised. She followed every rule Gwen gave her and now, when something had finally happened, Gwen was telling her to ignore it.

‘Sit tight and don’t do anything. I’ll sort it out.’ Gwen pulled her in for a quick hug. ‘And if you see a magpie, put your fingers in your ears.’

‘Are you being serious?’ Katie’s disappointment was rapidly growing into irritation. Gwen was dismissing her. It was like talking to her mother all over again.

‘I’m completely serious. If this is a side effect of some kind, you’ve got to resist it.’

‘Fine,’ Katie said. ‘I’ve got to go to work. I’m late.’ She headed for the back door.

‘I think you should stay away from that place. Just until things settle down.’

‘It’s where I work,’ Katie said. She kissed Gwen’s cheek and headed for the back door. ‘Don’t worry. I won’t do anything stupid.’

*

Katie crept along the upstairs passageway. She knew there weren’t any guests in the rooms and she’d checked the time sheet for housekeeping and they should’ve completed the rooms on this floor. She flipped all the lights on and headed straight for The Yellow Room. The yellow police tape had been removed as per Patrick’s instructions. Not letting herself hesitate, or think about what she was doing too much, she unlocked the door and slipped inside.

The room had been thoroughly cleaned since the incident. Housekeeping had done a bang-up job and the room looked just as it had on the day before Oliver Cole checked in, although someone had obviously knocked the thermostat as the room was freezing. She checked the en suite, not really sure of what she was doing, what she expected to find. The toiletries had been replaced, the loo roll was folded to a point, and the sink sparkled. Katie caught sight of herself in the over-sink mirror and grimaced. Pale skin, dark circles around her eyes and cracked lips. A frightening sight.

A sound from the bedroom made Katie’s heart rate kick up. The door had been pushed open and there were footsteps, muffled on the carpet. Katie looked around wildly. She picked up the only portable item that wasn’t a travel-size bottle of shampoo and edged to the doorway. A slice of the room was visible and she saw a male shape.

‘Argh!’ Katie sprang out of the bathroom, brandishing the toilet brush.

‘Jesus, Mary and Joseph!’ Max spun round.

‘What are you doing in here?’ Katie felt ridiculous, which made her furious.

‘What were you going to do with that?’ Max pointed at the brush. He stepped forward, frowning. ‘Is that a—?’

Katie turned around smartly and stashed the toilet brush back in its rightful place. She washed her hands to give herself a moment to regroup, then ventured out to find Max on the floor, peering underneath the bed.

‘What are you doing?’

He shuffled backwards. ‘They’ve cleared out this place, then.’

‘Apparently,’ Katie said. ‘What’s it got to do with you?’ Then realisation dawned. ‘You wanted to look through his stuff.’

‘Don’t you?’ Max stood up, brushing down his jeans.

‘No!’ Katie said. The window was draped with heavy velvet curtains and they weren’t fully shut. There was a section of sheer voile visible in the gap and it was rippling, distracting Katie. She crossed the room to shut the window but it was firmly closed. Up close the voile stopped moving and she wondered if it had been a trick of the light. She turned to find Max disturbingly close. ‘You can’t be in here. You’re a MOP.’

‘I just want to check a couple of things.’ He shook the velvet curtains and then began searching the furniture — the bedside cabinet, the wardrobe, the chest of drawers.

‘It’s been cleared. His stuff is gone. It’ll be with the police. Or his family.’

‘Damn it.’ Max had pulled the bottom drawer of the chest completely out and was up to his shoulder as he searched the space. ‘Sometimes things slip down.’ He glanced over his shoulder. ‘Or, paranoid types tape their cash in unlikely places.’

‘If you find anything, you’ll have to hand it in. It’s stealing.’

Max looked over his shoulder, affronted. ‘I’m no thief. It’s my money I’m after.’

‘But he’s dead. He can’t pay you now.’

Max shook his head. ‘It’s my money. It’s a point of honour to pay your debts in poker. It’s the worst thing not to. I’m saving him from ignominy.’

Katie ignored the shiver that a good-looking guy using words like ‘ignominy’ gave her. She was going to keep her head. He was dodgy. And arrogant. And annoying. ‘It’s not right,’ she said.

‘Neither is not paying your gambling debt,’ Max said. ‘You play, you pay.’

‘But the man has passed away.’ Katie felt she was dangerously close to sounding like a Monty Python sketch, but she couldn’t stop herself. ‘He can’t give you the money because he is no longer with us. He’s dead.’ She managed not to add that he was an ‘ex-person’.

Max shrugged. ‘Some things transcend death.’

‘I can’t believe you,’ Katie said, revelling in the moral high ground. ‘A man has died.’

He was on tiptoe, now, running his hands along the picture rail. His T-shirt rode up and there was a glimpse of bare skin.

Katie looked away.

I didn’t say I didn’t care. I hardly knew the guy but I’m sorry and all that. I just want to conclude my business with him and be on my way.’

‘Well, you can’t.’ Katie was suddenly very glad of Patrick’s efficiency. ‘You’ll have to speak to his family or something. Maybe they’ll honour his debt. You never know.’

Max finished with the picture rail but was still looking around in a distracted manner. Katie thought that he’d zoned out of their conversation and was about to say something when he looked at her in a disconcertingly direct way. ‘I didn’t get the impression that his wife was all that forgiving of his gambling habit. I’m not sure she even knew.’

‘And you’re squeamish about that? Rifle through a dead man’s things, fine. Talk to his wife, no thanks.’

‘Widow. And, no, I don’t see the point in upsetting her. Upsetting her more, I mean. And it was his secret to keep or reveal, not mine.’

‘I think your moral compass is a bit off.’

‘I think you’re money-obsessed.’

‘What?’

‘You’re the one putting a man’s money over his feelings.’

‘How d’you know he didn’t have very strong feelings about his money?’ Katie shot back.

Max grinned. ‘Fun as this is, I’ve got to go. Don’t suppose you know of any poker games going on around here? Or blackjack?’

‘In Pendleford? Not likely.’

‘Oh, well. Something will turn up.’

‘What will you do?’

Max shrugged. ‘I have no idea. That’s half the fun, though.’

‘Funny kind of holiday.’

A strange expression crossed his face. At the door, he stopped and turned around. ‘What are you doing in here, anyway? Don’t tell me he owed you money too?’

Katie wasn’t about to explain that she’d seen Mr Cole in her dreams last night and then a magpie had asked her to find his watch. ‘Just checking that the room’s ready,’ Katie said, not able to meet his eyes. She’d always had a policy of being as honest as possible, partly because she was completely useless at lying. She felt a blush begin on her neck, travelling up towards her cheeks.

‘Right.’ Max was looking at her intently, as if he knew full well that she wasn’t telling the truth. Which he probably did.

He took a step towards her. ‘Did you know Oliver? Mr Cole?’

‘I didn’t even know his name was Oliver,’ Katie said, glad to be back on honest ground.

‘You were at the wedding. Did you see him give anybody anything?’

‘Like what?’

Max was still staring at her in an unnervingly calculating manner. Then his face cleared and he gave her a charming smile. ‘Never mind. Don’t worry about it.’

‘I won’t,’ Katie said, irritated. The voile was moving again. Then the mustard velvet twitched. It billowed outwards as if there was something behind it, a figure hiding. Which was daft. Her eyes were playing tricks. Perhaps her blood sugar was low or something.

‘Okay, then,’ Max said. ‘See you around.’

He left the room but Katie was distracted by the change in temperature. The room had been cool but now it was freezing cold, the skin on her arms goose-pimpling. She walked to the window but there was no breeze. The fabric of the curtain was moulding, funnelling into a solid column. There was definitely somebody hiding inside. Somebody moving.

‘Hello?’ Katie forced herself to speak, her voice coming out reedy and thin. Her insides went liquid with fear, but she stamped down on the urge to run. She certainly didn’t mean to scream, but the curtains had billowed inwards, all towering thick cloth, which had suddenly seemed full of malicious intent.

Now, with Max back in the room and saying, ‘What?’ they were lying flat. Playing dead. She backed away from the window.

‘I think there’s someone in here, but I can’t see them.’

Max didn’t laugh, as she expected. He stepped up to the curtains and, before Katie could stop him, pulled them away from the window. Then he checked the bathroom, inside the wardrobe and under the bed. ‘You’re just a bit freaked out. After finding Cole like that.’

‘No.’ Katie shook her head. ‘Look at the curtains.’ The floor-length curtains had gone lumpy again, in the shape of a column or a person. She blinked and they fell slack.

‘Did you see that?’ Katie moved closer to Max. She looked around the room. ‘Where’d they go?’

‘Just some air or something,’ Max said. ‘I’ll close the window.’ He stepped forwards but Katie grabbed his arm.

‘Don’t!’ Katie sounded properly panicked. ‘Stop mucking about,’ she said to the curtains. ‘It’s not funny.’

‘It’s okay,’ Max said soothingly. ‘There’s nobody here.’

‘I think there is. And it’s really cold.’ She was shivering and now her teeth clattered together. She felt Max’s arm go around her shoulder and she wanted to lean into his warmth. But he was a stranger and a thief, so she stepped away.

‘Let’s go outside,’ Max said. ‘You’ll feel better in the sunshine. Warm up a bit.’

‘Something’s wrong,’ Katie said quietly. She turned her head, sniffed the air. ‘Can you smell burning? And—’ She broke off. Shook her head.

‘There’s nothing in here,’ he began. Then a chair tipped over. ‘Fuck!’ He swore in surprise and moved to the door, Katie already a step ahead of him.

Max pushed Katie into the corridor and slammed the door shut behind them.

‘Oh, my God,’ Katie said. She took a ragged breath and leaned against the wall.

‘That was odd,’ Max said. His voice was level but he looked pale and his eyes were wide. ‘Shall we go out for that sunshine now?’

Outside the air tasted good and the afternoon sunshine warmed the skin on Katie’s face and arms, chasing away the chill. They walked around to the front of the hotel and down stone steps to the lower lawn.

Katie flopped down on the grass near to an enormous rectangular pond, the surface choked with lily pads.

Max sat carefully next to her. ‘You okay?’

‘Not really,’ Katie said, but she smiled, to reassure him.

‘Do you know anyone who would do this? To frighten you?’

Katie shook her head. ‘I don’t think so. I’m pretty popular.’ She stopped, realising how arrogant that sounded. ‘I mean. My aunt, Gwen, is something of a local celebrity. People either like her or they want something from her and I’m just kind of known by association. But people are nice to me.’

‘You haven’t fallen out with anyone? No big arguments?’

‘Not my kind of thing.’

‘Did you steal someone’s boyfriend? Something like that?’

Katie snorted. ‘No.’

Max looked as if he were trying to work out an algebraic equation. ‘Anyone you know likely to play a joke like that? For fun?’

‘That wasn’t a joke.’

He shrugged. ‘Maybe we’ve got heatstroke. Or we’re drunk.’

‘I haven’t been drinking,’ Katie said. ‘Have you?’

‘Not that I remember.’

Katie stood up, brushing grass off her skirt. ‘I’m going to look for a watch.’

‘What?’ Max shaded his eyes and looked up at Katie.

She shrugged, looking embarrassed. ‘Mr Cole’s watch. I just need to find it. I’m going to check Lost Property.’

‘Hang on,’ he said, getting up. ‘How do you know about the watch? Did he give it to you? I wouldn’t put it past the old letch—’

Katie’s eyes widened slightly. ‘What do you know about his watch?’

Max put his hands on his hips and they stared at each other in silence for a moment or two. Max broke first. ‘I need to find it.’

‘Well, so do I,’ Katie said. She turned and walked towards the hotel.

‘It belongs to me. I won it,’ Max said. He followed her across the grass.

‘I don’t know anything about that,’ Katie said.

‘What’s your claim to it?’ Max said.

Katie didn’t answer.

‘If you find it, you need to give it to me. It’s mine.’

This wasn’t good. Was Mr Cole’s spirit asking her to get his watch off Max, because that seemed dangerous. Max seemed like the kind of person who wasn’t going to give up in a hurry. Unless Mr Cole’s spirit really did feel bad about not paying his gambling debt. Maybe he did want Katie to find the watch and hand it over to Max. If only the magpie had been a bit clearer. That was so often the problem with magic. It was so bloody cryptic.

Inside the hotel felt blessedly cool after the scorching garden. Anna was behind the reception desk, fanning herself with a brochure.

‘Hello,’ Max said, bypassing Katie and smiling at Anna. ‘I’ve lost something and I was hoping you could help me?’

‘Of course,’ Anna said, putting the brochure down.

‘I’ve lost a handkerchief,’ Max said, leaning on the desk and gazing into Anna’s eyes. He smiled a little. ‘It’s not worth anything, but it’s of sentimental value.’

‘You could look in Lost Property,’ Anna said, dimpling back at him. ‘I could show you—’

‘A handkerchief,’ Katie said. ‘Really?’

‘Katie was just on her way there. I’ll tag along,’ Max said. ‘But thank you. Everyone has been so helpful.’

‘We aim to please,’ Anna said automatically, looking from Katie to Max.

‘No chance,’ Katie said, her hand on the door. ‘Staff only. No MOPs.’

‘What is this MOP business?’ Max said.

Katie opened her mouth to tell him not to change the subject but Anna answered him: ‘Member Of Public. MOP.’

‘What about “lifer”?’

Anna frowned. ‘Have you worked in a hotel?’

Max shook his head. ‘I heard Katie say it.’

‘Permanent resident,’ Katie said. ‘Like Hemingway or Fellini.’

‘Yeah,’ Anna said. ‘Patrick would love a couple of those but I keep telling him this isn’t London or New York. We don’t get people with that kind of money.’

‘Really? This place is pretty swanky.’

‘Okay, say you were a millionaire with a yen to live in a hotel, with all the choices you’d have, would you choose this one? In Wiltshire?’

‘Fair point but some people want the quiet life.’

‘If you want it quiet, you don’t live in a hotel. You live on an island or on your own private estate or something.’

‘But there’s quiet and then there’s silent. If you live in a hotel you get to be around people, but not have to interact with them — at least, only on your own terms. You get to be alone but not lonely.’

‘You sounded almost wistful then,’ Katie said. She pushed open a door marked ‘private’, then turned to Anna. ‘If I’m not back in five minutes, send out a search party.’

Anna gave her a thumbs up.

Katie stepped aside so that Max went in front of her down the short flight of stairs. If you walked in front of people on steps they could push you down them.

‘You know, we don’t keep any cash in Lost Property,’ she said, wanting to distract herself from the fact that she was entering an enclosed space with a strange man.

Max shot a charming smile over his shoulder. ‘Handkerchief, remember?’

‘Of great sentimental value,’ Katie said, her voice heavy with sarcasm.

He nodded. ‘I’m distraught.’

‘I can see that,’ Katie said.

Downstairs, underneath the kitchen and next to the wine rack, was a short, wide corridor.

One side was completely filled with shelving and boxes.

Max pulled one out a little way and put his hand inside.

‘I wouldn’t do that.’ Katie pointed to the handwritten label on the outside of the box, faded from time and barely legible.