Restless Dead (Harry Grimm Book 5) by David Gatward (english reading book TXT) 📗

an empty road. And I couldn’t see. That’s what I saw.’

Then she turned and was gone. And the chill Anthony had felt earlier came at him once again and for a moment he really wasn’t sure which was worse: walking back into a house of ghosts, or back to his bedroom somewhere out there beyond the dark. He decided to go with heading back to the lounge, at least then he would be with his mum.

‘Is that mad bitch gone?’ Patricia asked, looking over to Anthony who watched as she handed large glasses of whisky to his granddad and uncle.

‘Yes,’ Anthony said.

‘Please, don’t use that kind of language around my son,’ Ruth said, and Anthony saw the look his mum sent at his aunt bullet-quick as she came to stand next to him. ‘We’re going now. We’ll see you all tomorrow.’

‘Sorry it all got a bit strange,’ James said.

‘No, it was fine,’ said Ruth and Anthony nodded in agreement.

‘Think I might head out to the shed for a while,’ James said and stood up, walking over to pick up the whisky bottle Patricia had poured the drinks from.

‘Don’t stay out there too long,’ Ruth said.

Dan yawned. ‘Well, I’m going to bed.’

‘I’ll come with you,’ said Patricia.

Anthony felt his mum’s hand on his arm. ‘Shall we go?’

‘Yeah, Mum,’ Anthony said.

Outside the house and walking back to the cottage, Anthony thought back to everything that had happened. ‘Mum,’ he said, ‘do you think that was Nana? I mean, the tapping, the weird voices?’

‘I don’t know what it was,’ Ruth replied. ‘I just know that I need to get to bed and get to sleep. It’s been a very strange day and I’m exhausted.’

Anthony agreed and followed his mum home. Later, when he was lying in his bed, staring into the darkness, all he could think about was what Beverly had said to him before she’d left. If the light she’d apparently seen hadn’t been Heaven, then what?

Chapter Nineteen

Harry woke in darkness, his groggy brain being attacked by a thin, metallic shrill sound, as though somewhere in the flat, Ben had decided that the middle of the night was a really good time to put up a shelf. Rubbing his eyes, he reached for his phone, which seemed to delight in informing him that it was just coming up to one-thirty.

‘What . . . I mean, Grimm,’ he said, his voice cracked with tiredness.

‘It’s Liz,’ came the reply. ‘We’ve got a fire.’

‘Who’s on duty?’

‘Just me,’ Liz said. ‘Jadyn’s around, but he’s been called off to something else down dale with Gordy.’

Harry yawned and stretched with all the aches and grumbles of a bear waking from hibernation.

‘Where is it?’

‘Other side of Appersett,’ Liz said. ‘I’ve called Matt and he’s on his way over. Told me to call you.’

‘What about Jim and Jen?’ Harry said, then, ‘Actually, scrap that. We’ll be fine with the three of us. Then those two can be all fresh for tomorrow if needs be. Where are you?’

‘Just heading back from a reported break-in up in Gayle, which turned out to be nowt,’ Liz said.

‘What, nothing at all?’

‘Owner’s dog,’ Liz said. ‘It had got out and was trying to get back in. Mad little bugger it was.’

‘I’ll meet you outside the community office, then,’ Harry said.

‘On my way,’ Liz said.

Harry went to kill the call, but something hooked him back, something Liz had said about where the fire was.

‘Did you say beyond Appersett?’

‘Yes,’ Liz said. ‘Couple of miles out the other side.’

‘Where, exactly?’ Harry asked. ‘Black Moss House?’

‘Yeah,’ Liz said. ‘How—?’

‘A hunch,’ Harry said, and closed the call.

After somehow managing to dress himself without tripping too often over his tired legs, Harry headed off through the flat.

‘Something up, Harry?’

Ben was at his bedroom door.

‘The joy of police work,’ Harry said. ‘High stress, no sleep, early death.’

‘No change there, then,’ Ben replied, then looked at his watch. ‘It’s not even two in the morning!’

‘No consideration, some people,’ Harry said and let himself out.

Outside, Harry found Hawes to be a place of almost serene quiet, the kind he had only ever really found in cathedrals. Not that he made a habit of visiting places of worship, but it had always amazed him the places where police work had taken him. And what had that one been? he thought, trying to recall a long-ago case, eventually giving up and instead just settling back to taking in the bright, icy air.

As he walked down towards where one of the response cars was parked, windows stared back at him from shops and pubs, hotel rooms and cafes, their glass eyes impenetrable pools of deep black. On the wind, he heard the hoot of an owl, and behind that the far off, almost haunting bleat of sheep on the fell.

Ahead, movement caught his eye, then he saw light shine out from a car door being opened.

‘Away then,’ Liz called out. ‘I’ll drive.’

Harry didn’t argue and dropped himself down into the passenger seat.

Liz climbed in next to him and said, ‘So, have your hunches always been uncannily accurate?’

‘Sadly, no.’

‘Then how did you know?’

‘Things clearly aren’t right up there, are they, after the accident? And you were there at the funeral with Matt and me, so you saw what happened. I just put two and two together, as they say.’

‘If I do that, I usually end up with five,’ Liz said, starting the car then kicking them forward with a sharp tap on the accelerator. ‘And how was your afternoon?’

‘My what?’ Harry replied.

‘After the funeral,’ Liz said. ‘You had to head off. In a bit of a rush, you were, too.’

‘Oh, that,’ Harry said, thinking back to the job interview. ‘It was fine.’

‘Important, was it?’

‘A little.’

Leaving Hawes, Appersett was soon rushing towards them.

‘What is it we’re actually dealing with?’ Harry said, rubbing sleep from his eyes and keen to not talk about the interview. ‘Who called it in?’

‘We’ll find out soon enough,’ Liz said, as she swept them over the bridge on the other side of the village.

Harry