Hiding From the Light by Barbara Erskine Read Free Book Online Page A

indistinct face, then a child shouted suddenly in the street below and the moment was over. The figure was gone – a mere trick of the light – the room was empty.
    She felt a knot of fear tightening in her chest. Sternly she dismissed it. Hurrying downstairs she limped towards her chair and flung herself down in it, shaken. ‘You weren’t upstairs just now, were you?’
    Mark glanced up from the notebook he was writing in. ‘No. Why?’
    She shrugged. ‘I thought I heard someone up there.’ Cautiously she began to rub her ankle.
    He scrutinised her face for a moment. ‘Really?’
    She nodded. ‘It was a bit spooky, to be honest!’ She gave a small apologetic laugh. ‘It was probably my imagination. Did you say you were making a film here?’
    Mark nodded. ‘A documentary.’
    ‘And what is so special about this place? I mean, I can see it’s very old and attractive, but presumably that’s not enough to warrant a film?’
    Mark shook his head. ‘No. Well, as I think you might have guessed, it’s part of a series on haunted buildings.’ He gave a wry laugh. ‘You weren’t thinking of buying it, were you?’ He nodded towards the keys lying next to her bag. The estate agent’s tag was large and obvious.
    She shivered ostentatiously. ‘Good Lord, no. I was on my way to see a country cottage.’ She frowned uncertainly. ‘Perhaps I’m going mad, but I think I might have seen your ghost up there. A figure, by the window. Does that sound likely?’
    Mark stared. ‘It’s possible. What did it look like?’
    ‘Sort of wan and transparent!’
    He grinned. ‘Sounds fairly authentic. I’m jealous. I haven’t seen a thing yet.’
    ‘It could have been a trick of the light.’
    ‘True.’ He was watching her closely.
    She raised an eyebrow. ‘So, who is this ghost?’ And quite suddenly she didn’t want to know. She quite desperately didn’t want to know. But it was too late. Mark was launching into his story.
    ‘OK, I’ll tell you the full sordid tale. This shop is so haunted it has been owned or leased by about a dozen different businesses in the last few years. No one stays long and now its reputation goes before it so it’s been on the market for three years.’
    ‘And you’re going to film the ghost?’ Without realising it Emma had wrapped her arms around herself tightly. She glanced up at the ceiling.
    ‘That’s the general idea. We heard about it in a roundabout way through one of our scouts who had worked on House Detectives just up the road, and after a bit of research we felt it would fit our series really well. Ah, Colin, sustenance!’
    The Welshman had appeared in the doorway with a tray. On it were three large cups of coffee and a plate of cakes. He slid the tray onto the counter. ‘If this project takes more than a day or two I’m going to want danger money for cake overload.’ He passed Emma the plate. ‘Please take the chocolate one because if you don’t I will and I mustn’t.’ He patted his stomach ruefully.
    Laughing uneasily, Emma helped herself to a large sticky slice. ‘Anything to oblige.’ She glanced round the room. The atmosphere was better now. Normal. ‘Have you seen it, Colin?’
    ‘It?’
    ‘The ghost.’
    ‘Ah,’ Colin glanced at Mark. ‘No, not yet. And I’d be grateful if you didn’t spread it around why we’re here. We’ve told the café people we’re surveyors. Which I suppose, if one were being a little bit disingenuous, one could say was true. They know the story of course, and they’ll find out in the end why we’re here, but I don’t want every bored kid in town tapping on the windows and wailing at the locks the moment it gets dark if I can help it.’
    ‘Have you filmed ghosts before?’ In spite of the distraction of the chocolate cake, she couldn’t stop herself thinking about the silent upstairs room with its shadowy occupant.
    ‘Yup.’ Mark took a bite of coffee and walnut. ‘With mixed results and open to all sorts of