MAGDALENA'S GHOST: THE HAUNTING OF THE HOUSE IN GALLOWS LANE

MAGDALENA'S GHOST: THE HAUNTING OF THE HOUSE IN GALLOWS LANE by PEPPI HILTON Read Free Book Online Page B

Book: MAGDALENA'S GHOST: THE HAUNTING OF THE HOUSE IN GALLOWS LANE by PEPPI HILTON Read Free Book Online
Authors: PEPPI HILTON
he come in, you said he came in at seven o’clock?” Anton asked the barman, knowing full well that he’d had no intentions of opening at seven.
    “I don’t have control over his time.”
    The barman didn’t sound much pleased as he slid the two glasses of lager across the counter and took the money from Anton.
    “Well tell me where he lives and I’ll go and drop them off.”
    “Can’t do that,” he said.
    “Why can’t you?”
    “Because I have no right to disclose a customer’s address, after all, you wouldn’t like me to give your address to any Tom, Dick or Harry now would you?”
    “But I’m not any Tom, Dick or Harry.  After all, he gave me the keys and he’ll want them back. If I disappear with them, surely he’d be more annoyed at you for not telling me where he lives?”
    But Anton was being ignored and he was feeling tetchy.
    “How come he has the keys anyway? Does he own it?” Anton had never thought of that before. But his question still didn’t prompt an answer. There was something fishy about the whole thing.
    “I don’t get involved in that old place, and if you take my advice you won’t either. Leave it alone,” he growled. “No good will come of it, mark my words.”
    Anton picked up the drinks and sat down beside Lucy, who was sitting taking it all in.
    He remained quiet as he sipped at his drink and they both sat in silence. Lucy was the first to speak, but only in a whisper: “I don’t know what’s going on around here, but I think we should leave and go home. I don’t like this place, I don’t like this hamlet and I certainly don’t like that house.”
    Anton never spoke, he was deep in thought. Lucy looked at him and decided to drink her lager and keep quiet. She wished they’d never chosen to try out the new route. If they had gone their normal way they would never have known about that house, and they wouldn’t be stuck here like two prunes. It had been such a miserable week-end up to now, the first bad one they’d had since buying the van and Lucy was feeling downhearted.
    “We’ll just leave the keys and go when we’ve had our drink. He can’t do a thing about it,” Lucy whispered again in an attempt to break the silence. But it didn’t do any good, as Anton seemed to be in a world of his own.
    A few minutes later the old man appeared at the bar and Lucy breathed a sigh of relief.
    “There he is – the old man’s just come in,” Lucy exclaimed, giving him a sharp nudge in the ribs to jolt him back to reality.
    Anton perked up immediately and a big smile spread across his face.
    “I’ll just pop over and give him the keys,” he said with gusto. He took his lager with him, his face still beaming.
    Lucy rolled her eyes as she sighed deeply. Thank God something’s wakened him . She pinned her ears back and listened carefully to their conversation, as she heard Anton offer to pay for the old man’s beer.
    Anton dropped the keys on the bar and sipped at his lager. He waited awhile before saying anything as he didn’t want the old man to clam up again. He chose his moment carefully.
    “I’m really interested in that old house. I want to buy it and do it up. I can do the work myself and I know I can bring it back to the home it must have once been. It needs a lot of loving care and attention, and I know I can give it that. It shouldn’t be left in that state, it’s going to deteriorate badly over each winter and then it will crumble. It must belong to someone and you know who it is, otherwise you wouldn’t have the keys.”
    The old man picked up his glass and took a long drink before placing it back on the counter slowly. He seemed to be deep in thought after the young man’s words and he was considering them carefully. He liked him, his freshness, his enthusiasm, his innocence. He’d been like that once.
    Anton didn’t pressure him, but waited patiently whilst keeping him company with his drinking. He couldn’t help wondering who the old man was.

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