Since Ben and Joss Beckett took over The Fair Maid and Falcon, they have had to deal with ghosts, gangsters and well dodgy goings-on. Despite that they have their own family of twin daughters and dogs, and a fabulous ‘found family’ of friends.
Finoula seemed to be communicating with a person, or persons, nobody else could hear, but whatever she was hearing seemed to be easing a tension in her. She turned her sightless gaze on me.
“You may remember,” she said slowly, “that I was summoned to the Memorial Garden to speak with those who reside there.”
“I do remember.”
“Well. I was told that there was something of untold value hidden nearby. But that I wasn’t to mention it and I was not destined to find it. I asked why I was being told, and got the usual guff about how I would know when the time came.”
“And now is the time?”
“Apparently. And the spirits say that ‘ratting out’ one group to the other is precisely the correct thing to do.”
Mark’s smile just about split his face. “I don’t remember ever having my actions sanctioned from the other side.”
The air became a little thicker and a vague aroma of roses tinged with decay made my nose itch.
“Is that you Esme?”
My ghostly ‘daughter’ laughed. “It is. I’m here to tell you that the young ones will find treasure.”
I felt the touch of cold lips on my cheek and she was gone.
Jonas and James looked at me as if I had grown a second head.
“It ain’t my fault,” I said, “we found Esme’s remains in a well and she was grateful to be able to move out of that place of pain and degradation. For some reason she has never chosen to explain she decided to stick around, and she sees me as a sort of surrogate mother.”
Finoula opened her mouth and I quickly intervened.
“If you were about to tell me why Esme is still here, please don’t. Let her keep this one secret. She had bugger all in this life, so the least we can do is allow her her privacy in the next.”
She reacted as if I had slapped her and I felt awful, but Jed leaned across and said something to her in Rom. She rested her forehead against his shoulder and I could feel her absorbing strength from the gentle young giant. He smiled at me and I was warmed by the depth of his understanding.
Finoula lifted her face and turned to look at me. It was as if her sightless eyes saw through my skin, but it wasn’t as creepy as that sounds.
“Sorry Joss,” she said. “I was about to overstep. I needed a reminder that being able to do something doesn’t necessarily mean doing it is a good idea.”
“It’s not a big deal. But I wouldn’t feel right walking through Esme’s mind.”
“No. And I have no right to do so. Which she just reminded me. I think she might have been angrier had she not understood that I meant no harm and had not her mother showed me the error of my ways.”
I felt the touch of Esme’s little hand on my cheek. She spoke in my mind. ‘Tell the clairvoyant to mind her own business, or I will be angry with her.’
I replied in kind. ‘She knows already. And you will do well to remember that she is under my protection.’ I palliated the severity of the reminder by blowing her a mental kiss. Her giggle sounded all around the room, but only I could hear her promise to behave.
“Have you marked Esme’s card?” Ben asked.
“I have. And she has promised to behave.”
“That’s okay then. But I think you’ve scared some of our visitors spitless.”
I looked at Jonas and James and saw their struggle.
“Look you pair,” I said severely. “It’s no use you looking at me like that. I didn’t ask for the supernatural stuff. In fact, given the choice, I’d have had bugger all to do with it. Only I never got the choice. So I deal. And you get to deal too unless you’d prefer me to clip you round the ears.”
Jonas laughed, at first it was the dry sound of bravado, but then his sense of humour raised its head and he chuckled.
“I don’t reckon you could reach to clip me round the ear.”
I regarded him with mild belligerence. “I can jump.”
For some reason, all the men found this extremely funny and they laughed loud and long.
Finoula reached for my hand and I grasped her fingers.
“Why are they all on the edge of hysteria?” she whispered.
“It’s okay,” I said, “The ghost thing put the shits right up the Spanish contingent. The loud laughter is their way of reaching for balance.”
“I thought that might be it, but it’s sometimes frustrating not to be able to see.”
I moved my chair closer to her and we leaned on each other while the boys got themselves together.
Once they had rearranged their faces, Mark took over. At first I thought Jonas might be a bit difficult about being elbowed aside by his son, but Esme had spooked him so badly that he was glad to step aside and let Mark deal.
“We have fairly strong indications of who both sides of the equation may be. I have no love for either group, but in the interest of protecting my family and friends, I’m willing to contact the right people and drop the involvement of the others into their, hopefully receptive, ears.” He stopped talking and turned his diamond bright gaze on me. “The thing is, Joss, they are bound to want to talk to you.”
“Why me?”
“Because you are known to be the business brain around here.”
“And…”
“And they are going to need convincing of your motivation for buying the land.”
“Oh well. That’s going to be easy isn’t it.”
“How do you mean?”
“I mean that we bought the land because it was going cheap. Because the field will be a useful addition to our thriving market garden. Because I wasn’t a bit keen on anyone buying the orchard and paddock as they adjoin the pub – the spectre of someone greasing someone’s hands and a few overpriced houses full of Karens and Kens getting built on my doorstep. Oh and because my husband is a quixotic bastard, who also had a pipe dream about buying our children ponies. Which is NOT happening.”
“If you put it like that, I’m guessing they’ll buy it.” James smiled at me.
“Who are ‘they’?” Ben asked.
Finoula spoke softly. “The spirits of the garden tell me they are the people who had the stone bench carved.”
I felt cold fingers touch my spine.
“That’d be the men with the musical accents and the cold dead eyes, then. The ones whose patronage scared a stonemason with hands like feet absolutely shitless.”
“Yes. Them.” Mark bit the words off as if they tasted bad.
Esme spoke in my head. ‘It’s okay. They will believe you. They are bad men. But they understand truth.’
I came back to the room to find an argument already blowing up. I put my fingers in my mouth and whistled sharply. Everyone turned to look at me.
“According to my ‘daughter’ on the other side, the ‘bad men’ will believe me. So you lot can quit it with the macho stuff and tell the man who needs to know. I can do the rest.”
Jonas opened and shut his mouth a couple of times before grinning ruefully.
“I don’t remember you being so bossy when you were beating my arse at backgammon.”
I lifted a shoulder. “Your place. Your rules. But this is my place. So we play by my rules or we don’t play.”
“Does your husband have no say in the matter?”
Ben snorted. “It ain’t me being asked to deal with a very bad guy.”
“But if you had a say. What would you say?”
Mark chuckled. “Very little if he knows what’s good for him.”
It was Ben’s turn to laugh. “Something like that. If Joss and me didn’t have trust in each other we couldn’t be…”
Jed ran a big hand over Finoula’s head. “That’s the truest thing anyone has said today.”
Which about adjourned our meeting. Jed and Finoula went to meet some pygmy goats, the Brown contingent went to talk to some bad men, and me and Ben went to work.
There will be more from Joss, Ben and their friends, courtesy of Jane Jago, next week, or you can catch up with their earlier adventures in Who Put Her In and Who Pulled Her Out.
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