Ghostwriting (13 page)

‘You know how your husband died then?' Shannon hated to interrupt but her curiosity got the better of her.

It was my appearance at the poolside that caused his massive heart attack,
Katlin confessed, with a cool smile of satisfaction.
I watched with great pleasure as he drowned in the construction that he treasured more than any living soul.
The smile slipped from her face.
I didn't realise that by facilitating his death and my revenge that I would be unleashing his horrid spirit on to the property to which my soul was bound. My marriage in death with him proved far longer and more torturous than our living days of hellish matrimony.

The whole story only made Shannon feel like a heel for her query. ‘Please forgive my morbid cur —'

You deserve to know what you have been party to. I feel that I've been punished for my part in this sordid affair and have now been rewarded with a new start.
She looked into the eyes of her true love a moment, before looking back to Shannon.
I forgive
Heartley for his wrongs against me for I have no desire to inflict the same grief on him in the next life. That is why this next instruction is so important.

Shannon could tell Katlin wanted to say more about her life, but the daylight was fast fading and so were the apparitions; thus they had to stick with the topic most pressing. ‘I am listening.'

Heartley's grave, which is on the property, must be fenced in and blessed by a priest.

Or a good psychic will also know the procedure for containing a spirit within a desired area,
Timothy added.

But I wish Heartley to have flowers and kind wishes recited over his grave to speed his spirit on the way to its next life and free him from any karmic entanglements with me.

‘But he was a complete prick!' Shannon couldn't believe the woman's compassion.

No, my friend, he was and still is a lost spirit,
Katlin corrected.
But he, like me, can find peace and go on to more beneficial pursuits.

‘If that is what you wish, Katlin, then it will be so,' Shannon vowed, eyebrows raised as she pondered what nice things she could possibly dream up to say about Heartley. ‘And what was the third requirement for Heartley's peaceful rest?'

Change the name of the house!
Tim and Katlin announced at once, laughing as they waved farewell and darkness fell.

Suddenly, Shannon was very aware of being alone and in the middle of a gravesite. ‘Thanks guys,' she whispered ahead of making for the gate in haste.

7. Banishing the Heart

The next morning Shannon awoke on the floor in front of the fire in Sean's lounge room. The fire had gone out, but as she was snuggled in front of Sean and a large fluffy blanket covered them, Shannon didn't lack for warmth.

They were fully dressed under their cover; nothing more than a kiss and a cuddle had taken place between them, although these brief interludes had proven the most inspiring moments in an evening that was filled with magic tales and intrigue. The relationship could have progressed further, and clearly they had wanted it to, but as they were both aware of Shannon's imminent departure, neither wanted to put the other in an awkward predicament. And besides, they hadn't stopped talking long enough to get more intimate.

Billie hadn't showed up yet and Shannon hoped her friend hadn't assumed too much and racked off to Australia without her. She removed Sean's hand from her thigh, where it had been perched all night, and managed to slide out from underneath the cover without waking him.

Out through the windows at the front of the house, Shannon spied the hire car. Billie was not inside, however.

‘The grave.' Shannon rugged up and headed outdoors.

 

In the cemetery, Billie was planting flowers. She'd covered the gravesites of the lovers with two colourful flowerbeds that met in the middle.

‘Oh, Billie!' For some reason her friend's sentimental gesture moved Shannon to tears. ‘What a beautiful thought.'

Billie pretended not to notice how over-emotional Shannon was this morning, for it had been expected. ‘Katlin liked it,' she commented to Shannon, though remaining intent on her chore.

‘You've been chatting with Katlin then, have you?' Shannon queried playfully, fully expecting that Billie was bullshitting her.

‘Yep,' she glanced up at Shannon. ‘Katlin gave me a message for you.'

‘Did she now?' Shannon tried not to sound sceptical, figuring that if she had a message for her, Katlin would have mentioned it yesterday.

Billie nodded, squinting to look at her friend, who was standing before the rising sun. ‘Katlin said you have to find a way back here, to Ireland.'

Shannon rolled her eyes, thinking Billie was now surely playing games, and so she moved on to more
important issues. ‘Well, yesterday Katlin told me how we get rid of Heartley —'

‘Yeah, yeah,' Billie waved off the information. ‘Katlin told me her three-point plan, too.'

Shannon was shocked to her foundations. ‘You
have
spoken with Katlin.'

‘
Yeah
,' Billie stressed. ‘Didn't I just say that?'

Words escaped Shannon for a moment. Were even the ghosts out to torment her about Sean now?

‘Oh, I see.' Billie stood, having completed her gardening. ‘You think I'm playing cupid and that I'm bullshitting you about Kat?'

Shannon nodded, considering that half of the statement was probably true.

‘All I did was piss off yesterday,' Billie reminded her. ‘I didn't tell you to get all cuddly with the guy. Do you think you're just imagining how perfect he is for you? When even an unsentimental bitch like me can see you were meant for each other?'

‘How can you say that,' Shannon blurted out the question with a good serve of anger accompanying it, ‘when my work is on the opposite side of the world to his?'

Billie just served Shannon a cool stare. ‘Get over it, babe. You could work around it if you wanted to.' Billie shook her head at her friend's pathetic protest and cast off her gardening gloves. ‘That's the other thing Katlin said to tell you … “to obtain the things we truly love in life, we just have to work and
wish a little fucking harder.”' Billie headed for the house, annoyed that her friend could be so nonchalant about the fact she was falling in love. ‘I need some coffee … and a cigarette!'

‘No, Bill,
please
,' Shannon appealed to her friend, ‘not until we see to Heartley.'

‘I said I needed coffee and a smoke. I didn't say I was going to have them.' Billie turned back, forcing a smile as she held her hands up in truce. ‘Juice will do for now.'

Shannon knew why Billie was perturbed. Neither one of them had been highly successful on the love front, and now here Shannon was passing up what could be her only decent crack at it. But Shannon's work had been her primary desire for so long that it was scary to think of being divided between loves. Another day in Sean's company and it would be impossible to make the choice between him and her career — she had to leave Ireland, and quickly.

 

All the way home Shannon's thoughts lingered on the loveliness of the countryside she'd left behind. She hadn't really taken the time to admire the lush, misty hills, the wild sea and the tall groves of trees during her stay, but now that she was headed back to Sydney, the enchanting landscape of Ireland played on her mind.

Anything to keep her from thinking about Sean and what he must have thought of their rather hasty
farewell. Shannon had given him her phone number in Australia, in case he wanted to visit or just have a chat, but after the beautiful evening he had shown her, it seemed a rather inadequate thank you.

The business of taking care of Heartley kept the conversation off affairs of the heart and when the girls landed in Australia, they took their information straight to Simon, who was still residing at Billie's place in the city.

Billie's apartment was so spotlessly clean that it was barely recognisable, and Simon appeared much improved.

‘Well, perhaps I won't have to sell after all,' he concluded, upon hearing Billie and Shannon's continuing ghostly tale and the solution to his problem contained therein. ‘I've always thought the pool-house would make a fine greenhouse,' he decided flippantly. ‘Better still, pull the whole thing down and put in a tennis court.'

‘Do you know where Heartley is buried?' Shannon quizzed.

‘I should. It's marked by a bloody huge headstone.' Simon clicked his fingers. ‘And … as I doubt we'll get a priest on to my property, my psychic friends might be able to help us with a banishing ritual.'

‘It has to be beautiful,' Shannon reminded him, although Billie appeared disturbed by Katlin's request.

‘And so shall it be,' Simon promised.

 

A couple of weeks of surfing every morning, and chasing up productions to work on, didn't make the memory of Sean go away. It seemed he haunted Shannon more now than when she'd first arrived home.

In the car on the way up to Simon's place, Shannon didn't mention Sean. In fact, she didn't speak much at all.

Simon drove up with them and, dying to see the progress that the builders had made on his new tennis court, he kept the conversation flowing, talking about his plans and concerns. Simon was also nursing a new sign for his house that read ‘Wexford B&B', which he planned to hang as soon as the ritual was completed.

Upon arrival at the house and to Simon's great relief, the damage to both his grounds, where the tennis court was having turf laid, and the interior of his house, trashed by Heartley, was minimal. Simon wouldn't venture inside to investigate, however. He took Billie's word for it.

A purple stretch limousine entered the drive and eventually stopped in front of the house. Billie and Shannon stood gaping as Simon urged the young, male chauffeur to open the door.

‘Isis! Jupiter! How wonderful of you to come,' Simon exclaimed, as the chauffeur performed his duty and Simon greeted his guests.

A middle-aged couple emerged from the car, playing up their regal airs and graces. They were both attired in outlandish outfits made of satin and lace, that were both olde-worlde and yet modern and expensive at the same time. Isis' outfit was entirely purple, Jupiter's outfit entirely orange, and together they appeared incredibly exotic.

‘I've been telling you to put to rest the spirits in this house for ages, Simon,' the silver-haired woman told him as she held Simon at arm's length, before kissing both his cheeks. ‘I had to come and meet these wonderful girls of yours.'

As Isis' eyes turned to Shannon and Billie, the girls looked at each other, sceptical of the psychic help Simon had hired.

‘Oh, I know how I must look to you both,' Isis eyed the little hippie and the body builder as she approached, ‘and I wouldn't expect either of you fiery angels to bear witness to this event without proof of my capabilities.' She beckoned the two young women to accompany her on a little walk.

Intrigued, the girls followed.

Isis came to a stop once they were out of the earshot of the two men. The psychic turned to her sceptics and said with a smile, ‘I have a message for you.' She directed her comments to Shannon. ‘You have to find a way back to Ireland, for to obtain the things you truly love in life you just have to work and wish a little harder.'

Both women's jaws dropped.

‘That's word for word almost.' Shannon turned to Billie and hit her in the shoulder. ‘You told Simon about that!'

‘No, I did not!' Billie reared up, insulted by the accusation, and looked at Isis, wary and annoyed with her. ‘I don't know how she knows, but it didn't come from me or Simon.'

‘That's why I brought you both aside, as I was told that this information was for you two alone,' Isis began explaining, but Billie interrupted.

‘Told by whom?'

‘I simply asked my spirit guides for a piece of information that would validate my expertise in your eyes,' Isis said, but Billie began shaking her head to let the psychic know she wasn't buying it.

‘She must be legit, Billie,' Shannon reasoned. ‘If you didn't tell Simon about Sean —'

‘Who is Sean?' Isis asked, but came up with an answer before Billie or Shannon could reply. ‘Your future husband.' Isis clicked her fingers in Shannon's direction.

Shannon was completely floored by her claim; the extent of the conspiracy to make her feel guilty about Sean was unbelievable.

‘That's a pretty standard guess,' Billie scoffed.

‘You want to know more about him?' Isis posed her challenge and although Billie wasn't interested, Shannon jumped at the chance.

‘Go ahead, we're listening.'

‘He's a farmer,' she began. ‘He is also very psychic and has an interest in the paranormal. He feels ostracised by those around him because of this.' Isis gave a funny little chuckle, obviously relating to that plight. ‘He has a deep love of music and plays the fiddle.'

‘Does he?' Shannon was delighted by the insight. ‘Come to think of it, I think he did mention something about having a string fixed on his instrument.'

Isis closed her eyes as she nodded and smiled, caught up in Shannon's enchantment. ‘All you have to do is know what you want, child,' she informed Shannon gently and then took up her hand and held it tight as if to instil in Shannon a sacred creed. ‘You don't have to figure out how to make what you desire come to pass, neither do you have to worry about how you will fit this new man in around the rest of your life. All you have to know is that you want this man and that your career will not suffer for your love. In fact, it will prosper.'

Shannon choked on a lump wedged in her throat, for this woman knew her silent torment. ‘Will my career prosper?' She asked, desperation sneaking into her query.