The Darkest Veil Read online

  “I’ve had a boss like that.” Diana said. “Absolute nightmare. No point talking to him after lunch, you’d never get one word of sense out of him. In the end, he got fired when someone from Head Office turned up unexpectedly and found him passed out cold, with an empty bottle of Scotch next to him.”

  I smiled. “I don’t think I’ll have that problem. My boss is a tyrant, but at least he’s a sober one.”

  “Any decent blokes in your office?” Suzie asked.

  “Some, but they’re the married ones. There’s this guy called David who is single, but you kind of know why. He’s a total drip. Keeps making snide comments and staring at my chest.” My flesh crawled with an army of ants as an image of greasy-haired, shiny-suited David Lipscomb flashed into my mind.

  “Have you got a boyfriend, Alice?” Vicky asked.

  I shook my head. “Not now. I did have back home, but we split up in the summer. It wasn’t really going anywhere so it was probably for the best. He’s gone off to University. Going to be an engineer. How about you?”

  “No. Mick and I called it a day last month. I couldn’t trust him after I caught him chatting up a girl in the pub. He didn’t know I’d turned up and I caught him writing his phone number on her arm.”

  “Ouch!” I said.

  “Ouch, indeed. Especially when I landed a punch in his face.”

  Suzie giggled. “She broke his nose.”

  “What? Really?”

  Vicky nodded. “Bruised my knuckles. They hurt for days.”

  Even through the cacophony of noise around us, heads turned to see where the guffaws were coming from.

  When we eventually recovered ourselves, Diana wiped tears from her cheeks. “I know who I’d employ if I ever needed a bodyguard. Vicky, you’re hired.” She raised her glass. “And now a toast, ladies. To Alice, our latest housemate. May she spend many happy months at number four.”

  The following Friday, we had all been paid, and Suzie joined us in the kitchen. She grinned and shook a little package wrapped in tin foil at us.

  Diana patted her on her back. “You got it. Good girl!”

  “Got what?” I asked.

  “Look, don’t tell Anita,” Suzie said, “because she’ll probably do something stupid like call the police.”

  All sorts of thoughts collided in my mind, until I settled on one. “You mean?”

  Suzie nodded. “A nice little package of hash for us to enjoy this evening. Come to my flat around eight. Bring a bottle.” She raced upstairs.

  “Have you ever tried it?” Vicky asked.

  I shook my head. “No. Never. You?”

  “It’s the only time I smoke, but not often. It’s a great feeling though. Getting high.”

  We were interrupted by the sound of someone coming down the stairs. Diana stood nearest the door. “It’s Anita.”

  Vicky briefly put her finger to her lips. “Hi Anita,” she said. “How are you?”

  “Okay, thanks.” I could barely hear her.

  “Got any plans for the weekend?” I asked.

  She responded with a mere shake of her head. Out of sight of Anita, I exchanged glances with Diana, who rolled her eyes.

  Anita opened her small cupboard, removed a packet of crisps, and closed it again. Then she half-ran out of the room and back up the stairs.

  “She couldn’t wait to get out of here,” I said.

  Diana nodded. “I don’t know what makes that girl tick. You can never have a conversation with her. Maybe it’s shyness, or that she simply doesn’t like us.”

  “Shyness, I reckon,” I said.

  “You’re probably right,” Diana said, “Shame she doesn’t make more of an effort to overcome it though.”

  I nearly told her how hard that could be. How every day I had to play the part of a self-confident young woman called Alice Lorrimer. Then I realized. Making the effort to reinvent myself had paid off. It felt like me now. Not simply some role play. My mind filled with a sense of achievement.

  “What are you smiling at?” Diana asked.

  “Oh, it’s … it’s Friday evening. No work ’til Monday. That’s plenty to smile about.” I slapped some cheese between two slices of buttered bread and ate my sandwich.

  Later, the four of us lounged on cushions on the floor of Suzie’s flat. The room contained an unfamiliar aroma. Sweet, a little heavy, clinging.

  Suzie took a long drag on the misshapen joint. “Ah, the sweet, sweet smell of Mary Jane.” She passed the weed to me. “Come along, my hash virgin. Try some of that. It’s good stuff.”

  Hesitantly, I took the joint between my thumb and forefinger, raised it to my lips and took a drag. My mouth filled with the acrid taste of tobacco tempered with another taste that mirrored the aroma around me.

  “Draw the smoke in deeply,” Diana said. “Hold onto it, don’t exhale straightaway.”

  I tried, but unused to unfiltered, non-menthol cigarettes, I could only manage a couple of seconds before I spluttered. I passed the joint onto Diana. Next time around, I passed. I resolved to try again another day. Especially when, all around me, my new friends grew pleasantly mellow.

  I poured myself a glass of dry white wine and took a gulp. My taste buds objected to the acidity of the cheap alcohol, but a couple of glasses later and I felt as relaxed as my housemates.

  Vicky interrupted my thoughts. “So, Suzie, has anything been happening in your flat? You’ve not mentioned any weird noises for weeks.”

  “A bit of tapping at the window but nothing much else.”

  “Maybe whatever it is has gone away,” Diana said. “Oh, sorry, Alice, you probably don’t know what we’re talking about, do you?”

  Before I could answer, Suzie stepped in. “I told her a bit on the day she moved in.”

  “Have you any idea what’s causing the noises?” I asked.

  Everyone shook their heads. “Haven’t a clue,” Diana said. “It only seems to happen in Suzie’s room.”

  “Well, not in my room exactly. More on the roof and at the window, and then it’s the bedsit not the kitchen. Never in the daylight either. Always in the middle of the night or early hours of the morning.” She stood up. “Anyone else got the munchies?” Diana and Vicky nodded. “I’ve got a load of crisps and stuff in the kitchen. I’ll go and get them.”

  She returned quickly and handed out potato chips and peanuts. She, Diana, and Vicky attacked theirs with a vengeance. I opened a packet of salted peanuts and munched away steadily.

  “About those noises you heard, Suzie,” I said. “Do you believe in the supernatural?”

  Suzie smiled. “I didn’t used to, but I’ve got no explanation for any of it, so I don’t know now.”

  “Have you ever thought of trying to talk to it?” I asked. “Like a séance?”

  Suzie stared for a moment, then burst out laughing. “Are you kidding?”

  “No,” Diana said. “Hang on a minute. Alice has got a point.”

  “Are you serious?” Vicky stared at her and then at me.

  Diana leaned forward. “Why not?”

  “It’s all a load of mumbo jumbo,” Suzie said.

  Diana nodded. “Maybe, but you would have said anything supernatural was a load of mumbo jumbo until those noises started.”

  The smile froze on Suzie’s face. Vicky continued to stare, her mouth slightly open as if she felt she had somehow wandered into a parallel universe.

  Diana turned to me. “Alice, do you know how séances work? Would you be able to set it up or whatever?”

  I shook my head. “I can always get a book out of the library. There’s bound to be one.”

  “Great. What do you think, Suzie? At the worst we could have a bit of fun. If there really is something in it, you could finally get some answers.”

  Suzie puffed her cigarette for a moment. “Oh, why the hell not? It’ll be a laugh.”

  “You lot really are serious, aren’t you?” Vicky said. “I can’t believe we’re having this conversation.”
<
br />   “Oh, don’t get all sensible and po-faced,” Suzie said. “It’s a bit of fun, that’s all. Nothing’s going to happen. Let’s face it, it’s a load of nonsense.”

  Vicky seemed about to respond but settled for shaking her head and sipping her drink.

  “Will you join in?” I asked her.

  She blinked her clear green eyes, then a smile twitched the corners of her lips. “Oh, what the hell? What are you going to do? Use a Ouija board?”

  “How do you do that?” I asked.

  “You’ll need to make a circle with letters of the alphabet, the words ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ and ‘Goodbye’ I think.” The rest of us stared at her.

  Suzie said what we were all thinking. “For someone who’s skeptical about this stuff, you certainly seem to know a lot.”

  Vicky grinned. “I read Dennis Wheatley and a load of other scary books in my teens. I grew out of it.”

  The wine ran out and we headed for the pub—noisy and crowded as ever. We managed to grab the only available table while its previous occupants were still getting ready to move. Once Diana had brought the drinks, we carried on where we left off.

  “I’ve got a pack of Lexicon cards,” I said. “That’ll give us the letters of the alphabet.”

  Vicky nodded. “Good. We’ll need a table, a sturdy glass tumbler, and four chairs. Oh, do you think we should invite Anita?”

  Suzie pulled a face. “Why bother? She always says no whenever we invite her anywhere. Strange girl.”

  “She told me she’s thinking of becoming a nun,” Diana said.

  “You’re kidding,” Suzie said. “Really?”

  Diana crossed her forefinger across her heart. “I swear it. I was washing my dishes a few days ago and she sidled in, the way she does. Gave me the fright of my life. I didn’t hear her.”

  Vicky shivered. “She gives me the creeps.”

  “She said ‘sorry’ in that little mouse voice of hers, and when I’d put my heart back in my chest, she started talking to me. It must be the first time I’ve ever had anything resembling a conversation with her. Anyway, she told me that’s what she’s planning to do.”

  “You mean, she just came out with it?” I said.

  “Pretty much, yes. I can’t remember how we got onto the subject. I may have asked her what she does for a living, but if I did, I can’t remember what she told me, except she wants to take holy orders.”

  “Probably best not to invite her to a séance then.” I failed to suppress a fit of giggles—and so did my friends.

  Vicky picked up her purse from the seat beside her. “My round,” she said. “Same again?”

  “I’ll come with you,” Suzie said.

  “Oh, good, I could do with our resident homing missile.” We laughed and the two left.

  Diana stubbed out her cigarette and leaned closer towards me. “Suzie may be laughing about it this evening, but I’ve seen her genuinely terrified. She woke and saw something in her room one night. A tall man, dressed in black, with long white hair. She told us he stood in the middle of her room and stared at her. She didn’t dare move. Then he faded from sight. That’s when she screamed. I came racing up the stairs. I think I was the only one in at the time. She opened her door and practically fainted in my arms. I just caught her in time and broke her fall. The next day she said she must have dreamed it but, I tell you, if that’s true, it was one hell of a realistic nightmare.”

  “I think if that had been me, I’d have moved out.” I shivered. “Has anything like that happened since?”

  “I don’t think so. But plenty of other stuff has. Suzie reckons there’s a logical explanation that she hasn’t come up with yet. Maybe that’s right. Maybe the footsteps on the roof are those of a bird. The window tapping, too. I’ve known seagulls do that. At work we had one that used to come and tap on the window every morning for weeks.”

  Suzie and Vicky returned, bearing drinks.

  “I’ve been telling Alice about that man you saw in your room. The one that wasn’t really there.”

  Suzie smiled and reached for her cigarettes. She offered the pack around and then lit one. “Bad dream. I get them sometimes.”

  “Anyway,” I said, “About this séance—”

  Vicky interrupted. “I’m having second thoughts again.”

  Suzie gave an exasperated sigh. “Oh, come on, Vick, it’s just a bit of fun.”

  Vicky shook her head. “Dennis Wheatley always said not to mess about with Ouija boards and summon spirits. He urged people not to do it because you might get more than you bargained for. Let in something really evil and then not be able to control it.”

  I spoke up. “I reckon Dennis Wheatley was a pretty good salesman. It’s simple psychology. Tell someone something is bad for them, that they shouldn’t do it and they immediately want to give it a go. Oh, and by the way, they’d better buy one of his books to find out how it’s done.”

  “Alice has got a point there,” Diana said. “I vote we do it anyway. But I won’t buy one of his books.”

  “I’m up for it,” I said.

  “Me, too,” said Suzie.

  We all looked at Vicky who shifted in her seat. “Oh, all right then, if you must, but we’d better do our homework first and make sure we do everything we need to in order to protect ourselves.”

  Suzie, who had taken a gulp of her drink, spluttered, spraying us with lager and lime. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to do that. Vicky, come on. Nothing is going to happen, right? Not unless we make it happen by pushing the glass and we must agree that none of us will do that.”

  We all nodded. None of us would do that.

  “You’re holding a séance?” Jackie, one of my new colleagues at the bank, passed me a digestive biscuit as she, another girl called Lena, and I sat in the coffee room on our morning break.

  “Have you ever done it before?” Lena asked.

  I shook my head. “One of my housemates read up a bit about it.”

  “You need to be careful,” Lena said.

  “Oh, it’s a lot of nonsense really,” I said, but Lena’s expression grew more serious.

  “No, I mean it,” she said. “If you mess around with this stuff, you can unleash something you really don’t want around.”

  “You sound as if you know all about it,” I said.

  “Oh, she does,” Jackie said. “She’s a bit psychic, aren’t you Lena?”

  Lena shrugged her shoulders. “I see things sometimes. Shadowy things. I’m never quite sure if they’re real or in my head.”

  “You knew when my brother was going to have an accident, even though you’d never met him.”

  “Did you?” I asked.

  Lena nodded. “I had this image in my head of a teenage boy with a bicycle, and a car moving too quickly towards him. Someone screamed at him to get out of the way and he just caught the front bumper, but he was thrown clear.”

  “That’s pretty much what happened a couple of hours later,” Jackie said. “Lena warned me, but I didn’t believe her, so I didn’t ring my mum to tell her to keep Richie off the road. I won’t make that mistake again.”

  “Somehow, I knew the boy I’d seen had a connection to Jackie.”

  “That’s impressive,” I said. “You wouldn’t be able to come over to ours and conduct this séance for us, would you?”

  Lena closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them. “No, I’m sorry, but I tell you what I will do. You bring those Lexicon cards in and, after work tomorrow, you, Jackie and me will have a short Ouija session here. That way, you’ll know what to do.”

  “You’re on,” I said, excitement already building inside me. “Is there a specific reason why you don’t want to come over to Suzie’s flat?”

  Lena hesitated. “Look, no offense, but you’re going to do this anyway—with, or without my help. At least this way I can maybe show you some of the right ways of doing things. Help you protect yourselves. But, believe me when I say you would
be far better advised to leave it all well alone.” Without warning, she took hold of my hand and dropped it as if I had burned her. “There’s something in your house, Alice. Something evil.”

  Chapter Two

  “Be serious. Always say ‘goodbye’. Never use it at home.” Those were Lena’s words of advice. Well, the third one had to be a non-starter. Where else could we use it except at home? We needed to find out if any spirits were hanging around there. They would hardly come and find us anywhere else.

  Suzie’s bedsit was under the eaves. Chintzy curtains hung at the single window which looked out over the road and across to the pub. For this evening, she had positioned a square table in the middle of the room and arranged four chairs around it. On the table, my Lexicon cards had been placed in a circle and Suzie had written ‘Yes’, ‘No’ and ‘Goodbye’ on some pieces of white card. A chunky tumbler stood upside down in the center.

  “So what happened at your séance yesterday?” Diana asked as we sat down.

  I shrugged. “Nothing much. The glass didn’t move, but at least it gave Lena a chance to explain what we’re supposed to do—and what to do if things go wrong.”

  “Wrong?” Suzie’s voice trembled slightly. “What could go wrong exactly?”

  “If a negative energy gets through.”

  Suzie gave a nervous giggle.

  “I think we should probably get started, if we’re going to do this.” For the first time, Diana sounded unconvinced. Whether she transmitted that uncertainty to me, or whether I already felt it, I didn’t know, but the time had come. Seeing the table set out that way, a niggling doubt began to snake its way up from the pit of my stomach. Lena’s warning flashed through my mind. With sheer force of will, I suppressed it. Stuff and nonsense. That’s all.

  I took a deep breath. “Okay, Vicky, have you got a notebook and pen with you?”

  She waved both at me.

  “Great. As we agreed, you write everything down, but you don’t need to touch the glass and you shouldn’t ask any questions of anything that may make contact with us. The rest of us should each place a finger lightly on the glass.”

  Suzie coughed. “Should we turn the main light out or something? I could put the table lamp on so we can see the cards.”