The House Next Door by Darcy Coates

Author:Darcy Coates [Coates, Darcy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Black Owl Books

16

The three of us banded together around the computer to search for a spirit medium. Lukas automatically rejected anyone who seemed to do it as a hobby or didn’t take it seriously enough for his liking, which restricted our options considerably. Turned out very few people conducted séances as their full-time job.

We eventually settled on an older man named Henry Lobbs. He lived a few towns away but was willing to travel. Anna was initially reluctant to invite a man into her home, but Henry had a photo on his site. His mop of wild grey hair and slightly-too-large cardigan gave him the air of a doting grandfather, which softened Anna. She agreed to have him visit as long as Lukas and I were there. Not that we would have had it any other way.

Henry’s earliest appointment time was two days later, on a Monday, so we settled in for a weekend of waiting. Lukas stayed with me instead of returning home, which I didn’t mind. I liked having company. Not that I got much of it; he spent more than half of his time in the Marwick house. He claimed to be watching the cameras, but several times, I heard laughter floating out of the house next door. Once, when I was hanging out my washing, I saw Lukas and Anna walking through her backyard. They had their heads inclined towards each other as they talked. It would have been almost picturesque if the ground had any colour and the plants weren’t all dead.

I spent a few hours with either Lukas or Anna in the Marwick house each day and filled in my spare time with baking. It was the only thing that kept my mind quiet. I specifically stuck to recipes I was familiar with and managed to avoid starting any more fires.

Monday seemed to take an eternity to roll around. Henry wasn’t due to arrive until noon, but both Lukas and I went to the Marwick house early. Lukas ducked into the dining room to check on the cameras while Anna and I prepared some sandwiches for lunch.

“Are you excited?” I asked.

She shrugged. “More nervous. What if he makes it worse?”

“He’d better not.” I snorted. “Not if he wants his bill paid.”

Anna laughed. She seemed to be in a good mood, and I thought I could guess why. “How’re the dolls going?”

“Great! I just finished this new batch last night. They’re really cute! I tried a few new styles, and I think people will like them.” She bit her lip. “Can I ask a stupid question?”

“It can’t be any stupider than mine. Go ahead.”

“Would Lukas like a doll? I mean—would he think I’m weird if I gave him one?”

I narrowed my eyes at Anna. “You’ve become very buddy-buddy with him, haven’t you?”

Bright-pink colour spread over her cheeks and ears. She wouldn’t meet my eyes. “No! I mean, he’s been so generous with his time—and I wanted to give him something to thank him—but I don’t really have anything to offer except the dolls…”

I nudged her with my elbow.

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