A Tidy Ghost

12 Pages·1.654 MB·English

by  Viney Peter.

A Tidy Ghost
1 Looking for a house
I
t's all right, Rick. It's only the post,' she called.
Six or seven thick brown envelopes lay on the
doormat. Marilyn picked them up and took them into
the kitchen. Rick was sitting at the table. He was
finishing his breakfast.
'Is there anything for me?' he asked.
'They're all from estate agents,' she said. 'I hope
there's something this time.'
She put three envelopes down in front of Rick, and
began to open the others herself. They had been
looking for a house for three months. They were tired of
the small flat, and they were tired of paying rent every
week. They had been saving to buy their own house for
nearly two years. They began looking through the
letters from estate agents.
Rick looked up. 'Here's one,' he said. 'Listen. Perfect
first home. Two bedrooms, large living room, modern
kitchen, bathroom, garage, small garden. And it's in
Balmoral Avenue, on the new housing estate. £68,000.
What do you think?'
'What number is it?' she asked.
'Er . .. let me see. Thirty-five. Yes, thirty-five
1
Balmoral Avenue.'
'That's funny,' she said. 'I've just been reading about
the same house. Look, here's an advert from Norman
'.yadretsey meht denohp I .rolyaN dna
'Ah, my advert's from Burchill and Bradley. Yes, it's
eht tup ev'yehT .lamron s'taht ,lleW .esuoh emas eht
house with two estate agents. Which one shall we 35 Balmoral Avenue, High Trees Estate, Sandbourne
Detached house, built about two years ago It has gas central
phone?'
heating, superb modern kitchen, and a nice garden
'It doesn't really matter,' said Marilyn. 'Give me the
ROOLF DNUORG
'.krow ot teg I nehw enohp ll'I .strevda
LIVING ROOM (3.8m x5.55m) Two radiators, 6 electric points,
.kciR dias '?ti si emit tahw ,sey ... kroW' TV point, fitted carpet Nice view from window
'Oh, no! It's nearly half past eight. Come on, we KITCHEN/DINING ROOM (4m x3.42m) Modern cooker and
fridge, washing machine point, 4 electric points, tiled floor and
'.niaga etal eb ot tnaw t'nod uoy fi ... yrruh dluohs
walls Excellent fitted units Radiator
Rick and Marilyn hurried out to the car. On the way HALL (1.72m x4.1m) Electric point, telephone point, fitted
carpet Large storage cupboard under the stairs. Radiator
to work they talked about the house. A lot of their
GARAGE 1 electric point Window
neeb d'yeht dna ,etatse gnisuoh wen eht no devil sdneirf
FIRST FLOOR
eht fo eno ni ro ,eunevA laromlaB ni esuoh a rof gnikool
BEDROOM 1 (3.51m x3.76m) Radiator, 2 electric points, fitted
.yaW enrobsO ro evirD mahgnirdnaS ,ti raen sdaor
carpet Fitted wardrobe
Marilyn stopped the car outside Rick's office. BEDROOM 2 (3.19m x3.27m) Radiator, 2 electric points, fitted
carpet.
'I'll call the estate agent, and I'll call you later,' she
BATHROOM: (2.5m x2.75m) Modern bath, sink, shower Small
ehS .s'kciR raen eciffo na ni dekrow nyliraM .dias
radiator
gnikrap erom saw ereht esuaceb rac eht dah yllausu TOILET.
space at her office, and because she finished work half 35 Balmoral Avenue is in the middle of the High Trees Estate,
.kciR naht reilrae ruoh na three miles from the town centre. The High Trees Shopping Centre
is a short distance away, and so is the High Trees First School.
PRICE £68,000
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3
2 Appointment to view
M
arilyn hurried into her office, and put the two
ESTATE AGENTS 54 High Street, Sandbourne, Wessex
612315 enruobdnaS :leT .ksed reh no nwod strevda
.enin tsap evif ta yeldarB dna llihcruB denohpelet ehS
enruobdnaS ,etatsE seerT hgiH ,eunevA laromlaB 53
A modern detached house, built two years ago, with full .eciov a draeh ehs neht ,semit lareves gnar enohp ehT
gas central heating, excellent modern kitchen, and
'Hello, this is Burchill and Bradley Estate Agents. This
attractive garden.
eht ta ereh enoyna t'nsi ereht ,yrros m'I .gnidrocer a si
GROUND FLOOR
Living Room (3.8m x 5.5m) Large picture window, moment. The office is open from nine thirty until five
.teprac dettif ,tniop VT ,stniop cirtcele 6 ,srotaidar 2
uoy llac ll'ew ,egassem a evael ot ekil dluow uoy fI .ytriht
Kitchen/Dining Room (4m x 3.5m) AEG cooker, Indesit
back.'
delit ,stniop cirtcele 4 ,enihcam gnihsaw rof tniop ,egdirf
.rotaidaR .stinu dettiF .sllaw dna roolf Marilyn put the phone down. She didn't like telephone
dettif ,tniop enohpelet ,tniop cirtcelE )m4 x m7.1( llaH answering machines. It was easier to call the other estate
carpet. Large cupboard under the stairs. Radiator.
,saw ti erehT .niaga trevda eht ta dekool ehS .tnega
tniop cirtcele 1 egaraG
Norman and Naylor, 513216. She called the number.
ROOLF TSRIF
,stniop cirtcele 2 ,rotaidaR )m57.3 x m5.3( 1 moordeB 'Good morning. Norman and Naylor. This is Mrs
fitted carpet. Fitted wardrobes.
'.gnikaeps smadA
Bedroom 2 (3.2m x 3.27m) Radiator, 2 electric points,
'Oh, good morning,' said Marilyn. 'I've been looking
.teprac dettif
etarapes ,knis ,htab nredoM )m57.2 x mla5.r2o( m moloarhBtaB 53 ni detseretni m'I .strevda ruoy hguorht
.revahs cirtcele rof tnioP .rotaidar llamS .rewohs Avenue. I wonder if I could see it?'
Toilet With modern WC.
fo srenwo ehT .ysae s'tahT' .smadA srM dias ',sey ,hA'
tuoba ,etatsE seerT hgiH ralupop yrev eht ni si esuoh ehT
35 Balmoral Avenue are both out at work all day.
3 miles from the town centre, with an excellent bus
service. It is about 1/2 mile from the nearest shops at the They've given us a set of keys. I can take you round the
seerT hgiH morf elim 4/3 dna ertneC gnippohS seerT hgiH
house at any time. Today, if you like.'
First School. £68,000
'Could you show us at lunchtime?' asked Marilyn.
morf eerf er'ew tuB .oot krow htob I dna dnabsuh yM'
twelve thirty until one forty-five.'
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... ta esuoh eht edistuo uoy teem ll'I .thgir lla s'tahT' '.si tniap egnaro dna neerg eht ecin woh uoy llet yeht
one o'clock. Will that be all right?' Mrs Adams laughed. 'That's true ... now let me find
'That's OK, yes. We'll see you then.' the right keys. I've got so many sets of keys in my bag.'
srM dias '?si eunevA laromlaB erehw wonk uoy oD' Mrs Adams found the keys, and opened the door.
Adams. ekil tsuj esuoh a rof gnikool neeb dah kciR dna nyliraM
'Oh, yes. We've been looking for a house on the High it.
,smadA'.e tastsEr seMerT dias ',oga sraey owt revo tsuj tliub saw tI'
droF eulb a ni esuoh eht edistuo eb ll'I .thgiR' a ,gnitaeh lartnec ... deen ll'uoy gnihtyreve sah ti dna'
'.neht ,kcolc'o eno ta oednoM modern kitchen, and it's been decorated very well. The
etihw a ni eb ll'eW' .nyliraM dias ',uoy knahT' dna rekooc eht dna ,oga sraey owt ni tup erew steprac
.lufituaVeoblk ssw'angeenh. cSteiek y oeuh aTt o n.ee.'cirp eht ni dedulcni era egdirf
Marilyn felt very excited. They had seen a lot of '.uoy wohs ll'I ,no emoC
houses in the last few weeks, but she felt really yna tog uoy evaH' .nehctik eht otni tnew yehT
dna ,krow ta kciR denohp ehS .eno siht ni detseretni .smadA srM dias '?nerdlihc
told him about the appointment. They agreed to meet Marilyn and Rick looked at each other. 'No ... not
outside Rick's office at twenty to one. yet,' said Marilyn.
'Well, there's an excellent school just down the
nehctik eht morf nedrag eht ees nac uoy dna ,daor
esuoh tsrif riehT 3 window ...'
koot smadA srM gnineve tahT .ysae saw gnihtyrevE
R
.eciffo eht ta devirra nyliraM nehw gnitiaw saw kci eht fo srenwo eht ,yalcraB srM dna rM ees ot meht
He jumped into thgen ivcoamr, ereawnd y ehtThe .yel poderpo vecei n tyorev erew yehT .esuoh
Balmoral Avenue. They parked behind the blue Ford to a bigger house. Marilyn and Rick agreed to buy the
.meht teem ot emac dna ,tuo tog smadA srM .oednoM ni devom yehT !srieht saw ti retal shtnom owT .esuoh
ta t'nera srenwo eht nehw recin hcum s'ti ,wonk uoY' during September. They spent a lot of time painting and
uoy sa snoitseuq ynam sa ksa nac uoY' .dias ehs ',emoh decorating. The house didn't really need decorating but
want.' they enjoyed doing it. They had been living in rented
nehw eerga ot evah t'nod uoy dna' ,kciR dias ',seY' flats for years, and this was their first house. The
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Everything looked neat and tidy. She pulled back the said. 'A very tidy ghost.'
bed covers. Rick's pyjamas and herd lon niag thontd ,erseusosh wwene ar es'ti' ,dias ehs ',yllis eb t'noD'
folded neatly on the pillows. '.tsohg on s'erehT .eltsac
.dias ehs ',deb eht ekam t'ndid ew erus m'I' Suddenly there was a flash of lightning, and the noise
'Did you come home at lunchtime?' asked Rick. of thunder. It started raining. She looked out of the
hguone t'nsi erehT .od reven I .ton esruoc fo ,oN' window.
time.' 'Rick,' she said, 'there isn't a ghost, is there?'
'Well, you had the car,' he said. They both laughed then.
'No, I worked thronuegehb tdhaeh l uynechhT h .oesuirr ptorudsa ytx. Wene e whte trae hgual t'ndid yehT
busy,' she said. 'Richkto, bis ethreisw a y joehkTe? . eDtaidl eymouo h.. .t o?g' yeht dna ,rennid ot tuo
.dias eh ',rehtie emoh emoc t'ndid I' tired. They went into the living room.
'Then, we forgot,' said Marilyn. 'We made the bed anni kdool uoY' .nyliraM dias ',kciR ,aet emos ekam ll'I'
ew ,naem I .thgin tsal tol a knard eW .ti enod d'ew togrof the newspaper and see what's on television.'
'.oga skeew fo elpuoc a srettel esoht togrof She went into the kitchen.
'Marilyn,' called Rick, 'where's the newspaper? I can't
There were a few more surprises in the next few weeks. find it.'
Once they found the letters on the halle htt anob lsaew taI'g .maoionr. gnivil eht otni kcab emac ehS
saw kciR .no saw thgil moorhtab eht emit rehtonA '.gninrom siht ereht ti tup I .elbat eeffoc
.sllib yticirtcele eht tuoba deirrow syawla eH .deyonna 'It isn't here now,' said Rick.
'Did you leave the bathroom light oyenh?t 't uhbe , rseapaipds waenng erhilty ro.f erehwyreve dekool yehT
moorhtab eht ni erew uoy ,yawynA' .nyliraM dias ',oN' couldn't find it anywhere.
after me this morning. Rick, you're beginning to forget 'I'm tired of this,' said Rick. 'Let's have a drink.'
everything.' He went to the cupboard to get the bottle of whisky
Ano.tehreor fteimbe s trhaeeyy w oewret l aytae dfiolro hw omrko, rafn dk ctahbey tlhegftuorb dah yeht
their coffee cups on the table. When they got home, the They didn't usually drink whisky, and the bottle was
no gnidnats erew dna ,pu dehsaw neeb dah spuc eeffoc nearly full. Rick opened the cupboard, and there was the
the table. newspaper! It was folded neatly, and it was lying next to
Rick laughed. 'Maybe there's a ghost in the house,' he the bottle.
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.dias eh '?ereh ni ti tup uoy did yhW'
5 A visit to the library
I dna ,krow rof tfel ew erofeb ti gnidaer saw I .t'ndid I'
.nyliraM dias ',elbat eeffoc eht no ti tup
T
ot deirruh nyliraM ,ytriht evlewt ta ,yad txen eh
.kciR dias ',skeew rof draobpuc siht denepo t'nevah I'
ot revo tnew ehS .yrarbiL lartneC enruobdnaS eht
.ereh ni repapswen eht tup dluow su fo rehtien ,yawynA'
the man at the desk.
'?gnineppah s'tahW
tuoba skoob yna tog uoy evah' ,dias ehs ',em esucxE'
kniht t'nod uoy' ,dias ehs ',kciR' .nwod tas nyliraM
the history of Sandbourne ... old maps, anything like
there is a ghost here, do you?'
that?'
'.tsohg ydit a fo draeh reven ev'I ?tsohg ydit A ?tahW'
'?wonk ot tnaw uoy od tahW' .dias eh ',sey ,hO'
'Why not?'
'Er, I'm interested in the High Trees Estate area. I live
Rick sat down too. 'But it's a new house.'
'.yrotsih ni detseretni neeb syawla ev'I dna ,ereht
'Maybe someone died here. Maybe one of the
'Well, come over here, we'll have a look.'
Barclays' parents lived with them. Maybe they died
.nyliraM dias ',ereh
'Or maybe there were houses here before ... before
the High Trees Estate was built.'
rM ksa dluohs ew ebyaM' .nyliraM dias ',wonk t'nod I'
and Mrs Barclay. We've got their new address.'
'We can't,' said Rick, 'it sounds so silly. "Excuse me,
Mr Barclay. Did you leave a ghost here? Did you forget
to take it with your furniture?" I can't ask them.'
'Well,' said Marilyn, 'I'm going to the library
tomorrow lunchtime. I'm going to discover what was
'.tliub saw esuoh siht erofeb ereh
Marilyn followed the man to a shelf of books about
.aera eht fo yrotsih eht
... seirots tsohg ... seirots dlo ni detseretni yrev m'I'
things like that,' she said.
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'Ghost stories?' he said. 'There won't be many ghosteht tuoba nialpxe uoy naC' .nyliraM dias ',yadot litnU'
stories about that area. It's all new.' taht deb ehT ?srettel ehT ?draobpuc eht ni repapswen
'Er ... what was there before the housing estate?' was made? The clean coffee cups? The light in the
asked Marilyn. bathroom?'
'Well, that's easy. It used to be High Trees Farm. 'We've been very busy,' said Rick. 'We've been busy at
'.oga sraey xis ebyam ,evif mraf eht nwod dekconk yehT no emit eerf ruo ni drah gnikrow neeb ev'ew dna ,krow
'Have you got an old map?' she asked. '.lla s'taht ,sgniht gnittegrof er'eW .esuoh eht
'Yes, I'll find it for you,' said the man. 'I hope so, Rick,' she said. 'I hope so.'
dna rood eht denepo nyliraM .emoh devirra yehT
gnitiaw saw nyliraM ,eciffo eht fo tuo emac kciR nehW taen a saw ,elbat llah eht no ,erehT .thgil eht no denrut
.rood eht denepo ehS .rac eht ni .srettel fo elip
'Rick,' she said, 'I went to the library today.'
'Why?' he said. 'You don't believe there really is a
'?uoy od ,tsohg mraf dlo eht ta redruM 6
desu erehT' .dias ehs ',aera eht fo pam dlo na dnuof I'
to be a farm. The estate is built on an old farm.' siht dna ,esirprus rehtona saw ereht retal keew A
.kciR dias '?oS' time they had a row. It was the worst row since
erehw eb ot desu esuohmraf ehT .pam eht ta dekool I' xis ta ,lausu sa ,emoh tog yehT .deirram tog dah yeht
Balmoral Avenue is now. It used to be right in the o'clock. Rick went into the living room. 'Marilyn,' he
middle of Balmoral Avenue.' said, 'what's this?'
'Yes?' eht raen flehs eht no yllausu saw hcihw ,yarthsa ehT
'Well, our house, number thirty-five, is right in the radio, was on the coffee table. A cigarette end was in the
erehw tsuj si esuoh ruo spahreP .eunevA eht fo elddim ashtray.
the farmhouse used to be. I looked in another book. The .kciR dias '?ereh neeb s'ohW'
'.oga sraey derdnuh owt tuoba tliub saw esuo,dhimasr eahfs ',kciR ,kooL' .yarthsa eht pu dekcip nyliraM
'That doesn't mean there's a ghost! There are 'you told me that you had stopped smoking. You know
thousands of old houses with no ghost stories. Anyway, '.gnikoms ekil t'nod I taht
I don't believe in ghosts. And neither do you.' 'It's not mine,' he said. 'I haven't had a cigarette for
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more than two years. Have you been home today?' Marilyn walked along Balmoral Avenue. All the
ev'I .sah ydobemos tuB' .dias ehs ',t'nevah I ,oN' houses were the same. They had all been built two
'.taht wonk uoY .dekoms reven otni renroc eht dnuor deklaw ehS .erofeb sraey
She picked up the cigarette end. There was red Osborne Way. There was one older house at the end of
saw etlaiptsstieck oenh itt. Sehreo sfheowbe de itr teoh Rtic kn.eeb dah tI .yaW enrobsO
,gnineppah s'tahW' .dias ehs ',ereh neeb s'namow A' built. An old man was working in the garden.
Rick? Who is she?' .nyliraM dias ',gnineve dooG'
'Good evening,' he replied. 'It's a lovely evening, isn't
it?'
gnol a rof ereh devil uoy evah ... rE' .dias ehs ',seY'
time?'
'Oh, yes, my dear,' he said. 'I've been living here for
'.sraey ytriht
desu taht eno eht ... mraf dlo eht rebmemer uoy oD'
to be here before the estate was built?'
krow ot desu I .od I esruoc fO ?mraF seerT hgiH'
.reh ot revo deklaw nam dlo ehT '.ereht
'Who lived there?' said Marilyn.
'Why are you interested in High Trees Farm?' he
'?uoy t'nera ,sesuoh wen eht fo eno morf er'uoY' .dias
'Er, yes,' said Marilyn. 'I'm very interested in history
'.aera siht fo yrotsih eht ...
'Well, the farm belonged to old Giles Varley. He lived
eh ',setteragic oroblraM sekoms taht tsohg namow A' there by himself - since his wife died, that is. He was a
eHs a.itd'.ndid I .hcum yrev mih dekil ydoboN .nam egnarts
'It isn't funny, Rick,' she said. She went to the door. dah gnihtyrevE .ees uoy ,ssob tluciffid yrev a eb ot desu
'I'm going out for a walk. Don't come with me. I want to to be in the right place. "Don't put that on the shelf!" he
think.' used to say to me. "Put it in the cupboard!" And the
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house ... I've never seen a place as clean and tidy as thank you. It's been very interesting.'
that house. His wife had always been a very tidy woman, 'Good night, then,' said the old man. Marilyn turned
and he wanted to keep the house the same. Yes, poor round and walked home very slowly.
old Varley.'
'What happened to him?' said Marilyn. When she got home, Rick was in the garden. They had
'Don't you remember?' said the old man. 'It was in all bought a small tree at the weekend, and Rick was
the newspapers six or seven years ago.' putting it in the front garden. He called to her.
'We didn't live in Sandbourne then,' said Marilyn. 'Marilyn! Come here. Look at this!'
'It was sad,' he said, 'very sad. They never found the She walked over to him. There was a hole in the
murderer, either.' ground for the tree. There were a lot of old bricks in the
'The murderer?' said Marilyn. hole.
'So,' he said, 'there was a building here before they
built this house. Do you think it was the old farmhouse?'
ll'eW .edisni emoc' ,dias ehs ',kciR' .dloc tlef nyliraM
have a cup of tea. I've got something to tell you.'
7 The ghost appears
A few days later, both Marilyn and Rick caught flu.
They felt terrible all weekend. On Monday neither
of them felt well enough to go to work. They telephoned
their offices, and decided to spend the day at home. It
was a boring day. They both had headaches, and they
'That's right. He was murdered in the old farmhouse. spent the day in the living room. Rick watched videos,
A robber, that's what the police thought. I found the Marilyn read a book from the library, Ghosts of
body, you know.' Sandbourne and East Wessex. At half past two Marilyn
,lleW' .dias ehs ',ees I' .dloc ylneddus tlef nyliraM suddenly looked up.
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