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

having trouble sleeping, I think,’ Liz said. ‘Can’t blame her, to be honest, with the weirdness that’s been going on over there since she lost her mum. And I think something’s up with her son, Anthony, as well.’

‘How do you mean?’ Harry asked.

‘Not sure really,’ Liz said. ‘He was off school with a migraine when Jen and I were over there, but I think there’s something else going on.’

‘School stuff probably,’ said Jadyn.

‘Yeah, I reckon,’ Liz agreed.

Harry said, ‘Perhaps it’s best if we have a quick run-through of what’s going on, with the family I mean, what happened last week, what we’ve been called out there for. Just so we’re all aware.’

‘But we all know, don’t we?’ Jadyn said.

‘I know we all know,’ Harry nodded, ‘and that’s because we’re a small team that actually communicates, which is rarer than you’d believe, trust me, but it’s still best to make sure we all have the facts straight, I think.’

‘You reckon it all might be relevant, then?’ Matt asked.

‘Everything’s relevant right now,’ Harry said. ‘Even if it doesn’t look like it is at the moment. And there’s no denying that it’s all been a bit odd.’

‘So, where do you want to start then?’

‘With you,’ Harry replied, nodding at Matt. ‘If that’s okay? You attended the accident. And although it’s not directly linked to the fire, it does give the background to how James was and how the family is, I think.’

Matt relayed what they knew from the accident, that James and Helen had been returning from Kendal, Helen driving, when a bright light, most likely from an oncoming car, had caused Helen to lose control of the car. ‘It was pretty awful, if I’m honest,’ Matt said. ‘Nothing ever prepares you for something like that, you know? Nothing at all.’

‘Ruth said something about her mum not liking to drive in the dark,’ Liz added. ‘But I think it was just James trying to blame himself for what happened.’

‘How do you mean?’ Harry asked.

‘She drove because she wanted him to have a drink on his birthday, and apparently, she would really only ever drive at night if it was a special occasion.’

‘Maybe she just didn’t like driving,’ Jadyn said. ‘My Gran’s like that. Gets a brand new car every year, never drives the thing though. Just has it sitting in the drive.’

Next, Gordy spoke about when she had visited the family in the morning and the very apparent trauma they were suffering in light of the event. ‘There was a real, palpable sadness to the house,’ she said. ‘I sat with them for a good while, talked things through, advised them on what support was available. They’d already been in touch with the Methodist minister, and James’ eldest daughter was turning up the next day. So there was a support structure in place.’

‘Then we had the intruder,’ Matt said, and went on to quickly relay what he and Harry had dealt with when they had gone over.

‘James was convinced he’d seen his wife,’ Harry said. ‘Which clearly he hadn’t. There was no evidence of an intruder, and we checked with the rest of the family, and none of them had been out where James had apparently seen this woman who he claimed was his wife.’

‘Poor bloke,’ Jadyn said, pausing for a moment from writing on the board. Harry glanced at it and wished that he hadn’t, because right now all it seemed to be was a sea of squiggles and lines, and he felt then that if he stared at it too long he would end up being hypnotised.

‘Then Jen and I were out there again,’ Liz said, ‘and I think it had only gotten worse, to be honest.’

Liz then told everyone how Ruth had told her about the visit by the medium, Beverly Sanford. ‘James wasn’t just convinced he’d seen his wife, he wanted to communicate with her, have proof that she was still around. It was a bit weird, if I’m honest. His daughter, Ruth, she was clearly exhausted by it.’

‘I had a look around the property again, like you did, Matt,’ said Jen, ‘and like you, found nowt.’

‘You’ve seen how similar they all are though, right?’ Liz said. ‘Ruth and Patricia, even Ruth’s son, Anthony. They all look like each other, like Helen. It’s uncanny.’

‘So, you think it was just a case of James seeing them, and considering his state of mind, turning it into something else?’ Gordy asked.

‘It’s the only answer that makes sense,’ Liz said, holding her hands up. ‘Again, none of the family was where he said he’d seen Helen, but the way he was acting, I’m not sure it really mattered. And there’s that weirdness with Ruth and Anthony.’

‘Then we have the episode at the funeral,’ Harry said, ‘and now this fire, which has taken the life of James.’

‘Actually, that’s not everything,’ Liz said.

The team all turned to stare at Liz.

‘There’s something else?’ Harry asked. ‘How can there be? You were out there with me last night and I don’t recall anything else being mentioned.’

‘It only came through to me this morning,’ Liz said. ‘I got a call from Patricia. She was still very upset and kept apologising for not mentioning it last night, but anyway, you know that medium who James had out to see him?’

‘Yes,’ Harry said. ‘What about her?’

‘Turns out that she was there last night, before the fire.’

‘What?’ Harry said. ‘Why?’

‘They held a séance,’ Liz said. ‘And apparently, it all went just a little too well.’

Chapter Twenty-One

Harry was outside, grabbing some fresh air to clear his head. He was sure he could still smell the fire from the night before on his skin, despite scrubbing himself raw in the shower when he’d got back and throwing his clothes in the wash. What was worse, though, was that his brain was telling him there was another smell beneath it, even though there wasn’t, and that was a smell he could remember from being back in the Paras, seeing burned-out vehicles, broken tanks,