The Girl from the Corner Shop by Alrene Hughes

Author:Alrene Hughes [Hughes, Alrene]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781788543989
Publisher: Head of Zeus

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Ken was waiting for her in the car. ‘Well, how did that go?’

Helen sighed and tried to release the tension in her body. ‘It was a very strange experience. To tell you the truth, I’m not certain what went on in there. I need to think about it a bit more, so much happened in a short space of time. But don’t worry, you’ll have my report on Monday.’

‘That’s great,’ said Ken. ‘Just an outline of what happened and any sign of trickery, distress to the women, asking for money – that kind of thing.’

Helen didn’t even try to sleep, instead she relived the event from the moment she entered the house to when she left. The waiting in the parlour for the sixth person to arrive gave the women a chance to speak about their dead relatives. She sifted the facts they revealed: a name, cause of death, a place. Were there enough clues there for the medium to fashion a reading? But she hadn’t been in the parlour. Besides, she herself had been careful not to give anything away and said only that she was hoping to connect with her husband. Then there was the girl who didn’t speak in the parlour at all. Could someone not in the room have heard the women’s conversations? Was the door left open a crack? She didn’t think so. There could have been a hole in the room somewhere, but she didn’t see anything suspicious. Maybe it was hidden with a picture or… a barometer?

The dining room had been very cold, but the medium could have left the windows open all day to make it chilly. She recalled where everyone sat and wondered why there wasn’t an empty chair either at the table or set to the side for the person who didn’t turn up. Maybe there never was another woman on the list. And, come to think of it, the woman with the cameo brooch had kept the conversation going all the time they waited.

Once the seance began, the medium had been kind and most things she told the women were comforting.

Then it was her turn… and the whole whiff of smoke thing. Even though she didn’t smell it at first, the suggestion was enough to evoke memories of Jim. Even now, as she thought of it, she could conjure up the smell in her mind. But that wasn’t the same as actually smelling it.

She lay awake thinking of Jim, recalling how the smell would linger in their bedroom, especially at night when he came home after a late shift. He’d take her in his arms in their narrow bed and the smell of smoke in his hair would forever remind her that she was safe and loved.

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