The Ghost of Josiah Grimshaw (9 page)

Brightly coloured fabrics of satins, silks and velvets adorned the space which was far bigger than the eye could have imagined. Golden Asian inspired paintings hung from the walls, while several large sofas covered in pretty intricately patterned scatter cushions sat around the room. It even smelled divine, both sweet and spicy notes caressed their noses and tempted their taste buds.

Saleena walked through the living area towards the kitchen space, where she removed the lid from a pan and very lovingly stirred it, causing more aromas to fill the air. Emma's stomach grumbled loudly and she looked at Declan before her face began to colour.

Smiling, he picked up their bags and gestured for them to follow him. 'Come on, you can put all your stuff away and then we can have something to eat. I'm starving too.'

Saleena smiled as they walked past, 'Give me fifteen minutes and the food will be ready.'

Pushing open a door to the back of the boat, Emma gasped at the size of the room that greeted them. 'How is it possible? This boat looks so small from the outside and then, this! It's like the Tardis,' she exclaimed at the room which contained two large single beds, a large wardrobe and a dressing table. One bed was covered in a brightly coloured funky bedspread while the other was decorated in a more sombre black and purple cover that had little skulls and crossbones on its edges.

Emma smiled, 'How did you know?' she asked as Declan laughed and shrugged his shoulders.

'Just make yourselves at home. We'll give you a shout when the food is ready,' he said as he slowly stepped backwards and closed the door behind him.

As soon as he was gone, the girls looked at each other silently before they both leaped up and screeched loudly, jumping up and down happily.

Josiah sat quietly on the floor in the corner, watching and smiling.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

After they'd eaten a meal of delicious Indian food, Declan gave the girls a map of London and let them go off and explore by themselves.

'I know you're probably dying to get out and have a good look around. Just be careful. Here's my number in case you get lost or if you need anything,' he said, handing them a card that Emma had tucked into her pocket without even glancing at it.

Saleena stepped off the boat with them and pointed out the general direction they should head.

'Please try not to go too far. Just stay safe,' she said as she hugged them both before disappearing back indoors.

'Right, where shall we go first?' asked Emma as she turned the map around and began inspecting it closely.

'Big Ben, I wanna see Big Ben,' giggled Lana as she hooked her arm into her sister's and pulled her away from the water's edge.

'But it's right there,' said Emma with a sigh. 'We're practically there already.'

'I know that,' she tutted, 'but I just wanna get right up close, c'mon.'

The girls exited the pier and headed across the road where the world renowned clock stood magnificently in all its glory.

'I wanna hear it,' yelled Lana above the traffic noise.

'But, I don't think that's going to happen for another thirty-five minutes,' moaned Emma, 'I want to go for a walk. We'll still hear it wherever we are.'

'Okay. Let's just walk slowly and not go too far then. How about we cross the bridge to the Eye?'

'No, let's save that for another day and just wander around here, the Houses of Parliament are just there, look... and Westminster Abbey over there. There's plenty to keep us busy.'

Lana stopped abruptly and crossed her arms, almost dropping the map in her hand, looking at her sister as if she was mad, 'We come all the way to London and you want to look at the boring Houses of Parliament? After Big Ben, I wanna go see Trafalgar Square and then head down to the greatest shopping streets in the world,' she huffed.

Emma tried not to laugh. 'We come all the way to London and all you want to do is go shopping?'

'Well... yeah. It's not like we ever had much of a choice back home, is it? Thank God for the Internet is all I can say.'

Shaking her head, Emma leaned back against the wall overlooking the Thames and chuckled, 'I guess so. But we've got a couple of weeks. I know we're doing work experience most days, but we'll have the evenings and weekends free. Can't we just take in some of the sights first? Please?'

Big Ben surprised them by chiming even earlier than they thought it would while they were wandering around the outskirts of the Palace of Westminster, the home of the Houses of Parliament and even Lana was stunned by its impressive architecture.

So deep in concentration were they, that when the bells did begin to chime (after just fifteen minutes), they both jumped and giggled nervously while they stood and looked across at it in admiration.

'Boo!' came a voice behind them, making them both jump again.

Turning, Lana and Emma were face to face with the ghost of Joe who had disappeared during lunch.

'God... don't do that, Josiah Grimshaw' scolded Lana. 'Where have you been anyway?'

'Oh just wandering around the streets of London. I've seen almost all of it.'

'Already? But that's impossible.'

'Not when you're dead,' he added, smiling sadly. 'I did find something intriguing though...'

'What?' asked Emma.

'Erm, not sure how to explain. Why don't you just follow me and you'll see what I mean...' he said as he drifted off into the distance.

'Joe... wait for us,' they yelled as they ran after him, not noticing the strange glances they'd been receiving from a group of Japanese tourists who had witnessed them talking to nothing but empty space.

After fifteen minutes of running, Lana and Emma came to a standstill at a set of traffic lights. Joe stopped, waiting patiently in the middle of the road.

Forgetting that he was in fact, a spirit, Lana screamed when a double decker bus slammed right into him.

'Oh My God, Oh My God.... Joe... Josiah,' she mumbled to herself, her eyes wide open in shock.

Emma, on the other hand, glanced around at the strangers who had all taken a step away from them, looking at Lana as if she were a one-eyed monster.

'He's already dead, Lana. Remember?' she whispered out of the corner of her mouth as she grabbed her arm and pulled her quickly across the road at the turn of the lights.

Lana pulled herself together pretty quickly after that, blushing and trying to hide her face from the onlookers.

Joe appeared by their side, a look of terror on his face, 'That was so strange,' he whispered, 'the scariest thing that's ever happened to me,' he mumbled.

'What? Worse than being washed up on the shore and then dying in the hospital?' asked Emma quietly as they continued walking through the streets at the same pace.

Joe simply nodded and then hovered on ahead, moving increasingly quicker and quicker until the girls had to almost sprint to keep up.

Lana had gone very quiet, not even mentioning the many shop fronts they'd passed, or Trafalgar Square which they'd since passed by ages ago.

'Where are we?' yelled Emma as she held firmly on to her sister's hand, while copying Joe's slowing pace up in front.

'I... I don't know. Let me get the map out.'

Before she could even open it, Joe was beside them.

'Forget about the map, Lana. I think this is far more important,' he said as he pointed to a tired old building across the street from where they stood.

'Yeah, so it's an old building... you dragged us all this way to show us an old building? This is crazy, Josiah Grimshaw. You know, I think maybe I should just call Declan and he can come and find us. Give me the card, Emma...' said Lana as Emma put her hand in her pocket and pulled out the now creased business card.

As she passed it to her sister, Lana's breath caught in her throat.

'What? What is it?' asked Emma as she glanced down.

'Oh My God,' she exclaimed, covering her mouth with her hands.

The business card, which had the words Declan Alexander written on it, also contained something else, something familiar, something that shocked the girls into silence.

There on the silver and white card was the same emblem that they too now had inked onto their bodies: the winged eye.

Even Joe gasped, 'But that's... that's.....'

'Yeah, we know Josiah, it's the same as our tattoos...' answered Lana.

'No, it's not that. I know that already.... it's just that... that...'

'That what? Spit it out, Josiah,' said Emma uncharacteristically bossy.

Indicating that they should follow him, Joe held out his hand and pointed once again to the old building. As they got closer, they realised what this was all about. Why he'd brought them through Central London in the first place. He'd brought them to this decrepit old house because right there, below an intricate wrought iron door knocker was the very same symbol.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

As they stood staring, mouths drooped, the door slowly opened in front of them.

Emma stepped backward while Lana tripped over the steep step that led indoors.

'Lana? what on earth are you doing?' whispered Emma desperately as her sister pushed the door further ajar and peered inside.

'What does it look like I'm doing? I'm going in.'

'No... you can't. We can't... that's trespassing...' she added rather pathetically.

Lana turned to look at her sister, 'Really? Oh come on. The door just opened for us. Whoever is here clearly wants us to come in. So come on, follow me...' she said as she disappeared inside.

Catching her breath in her throat, Emma turned to look at their surroundings. People went about their lives around them, walking in and out of an impressive large building just a little further down the street, but no-one seemed to be taking any notice of the two girls and the ghost. Not that they could see the ghost, of course.

Swallowing loudly, Emma stepped up onto the step, followed by Joe, and walked into the darkness that beckoned.

As her eyes adjusted to the lack of light, the door closed of its own accord behind them, making her heart feel like it was about to hop out of her chest.

'Sis? Lana? Where are you?' she said outstretching her arms and finding her sister directly in front of her. 'What are you doing?' she whispered.

'Just waiting for my eyes to adjust,' she whispered back, 'Joe can you see in the dark?'

'It's just an old disused room. There's nothing in here at all,' he said, 'But there's a door... follow my voice,' he said as the girls did just that, until eventually they came upon the door he'd mentioned. Holding Emma's hand tightly, Lana found the doorknob and turned, pushing it open slowly. They stepped forward into a room with a large window, daylight so bright that they had to shield their eyes for a moment until they re-adjusted once again.

Sparsely furnished, a rather elegant faded yellow chaise-longue stood just beneath a large bay window, covered in a thick layering of dust, giving the impression that the last time it had been used was decades ago. Standing to its side was a short little round table, gathering just the same amount of dust, although a tall champagne glass stood on top of it. Lana stepped forward and picked the glass up, gently blowing much of the dust away, leaving a semi-clean circle on the wooden table.

Emma began to cough loudly as little particles of dust entered her air stream.

'Oops,' said Lana as she patted her sister on the back. 'Look, there's another door,' she said, almost instantly forgetting about Emma's coughing fit as she walked across the room.

Opening the door, they were faced with a grand hallway, its centrepiece, a dramatic wrought iron spiral staircase, the bannister from which was also caked in dust.

'Please don't touch the dust again, Sis,' wheezed Emma as she followed behind Lana and Joe as they cautiously began to climb the stairs, not wanting to be left behind.

Reaching the top, there were several doors off to each side, and a double door directly in front of them.

Lana looked across at Emma and smiled before she put both her hands on the two doorknobs and pushed them open dramatically, expecting something impressive beyond them. But there was nothing except a large empty room, bar an old oak wardrobe that looked like it was falling apart.

Stepping inside the room, the three of them wandered around, looking out the window, with its own little balcony overlooking a tiny courtyard below.

Joe disappeared momentarily.

Turning, Lana looked disappointed, 'So this is it? Not really what I was expecting.'

'But what were you expecting, Lana? It's not like we knew this place even existed.'

Shrugging her shoulders, Lana pouted, 'I don't know. I guess I was hoping to find the answers, you know?'

'Well, perhaps the answers lie with Declan. We should just ask him about it.'

'I guess you're right.'

'I just checked the rest of the building and I can see nothing but dusty rooms that haven't seen the light of day for years,' said Joe.