The Case of the Haunted Cot

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen

Keith Fullwood watched as his wife waited the entire day. He never really thought of waiting as something that could actually be done, at least not for more than a few minutes. More often than not, it was an emotional state as somebody busied their minds with other things. But Sophie literally spent the entire day waiting. She sat at the dining table in the living room, listening to the radio static and watching the clock. But as far as he could tell, none of her other senses were in use.

Occasionally Keith tried to take food to her, or attempted to start a simple conversation. She was unresponsive the majority of the time. Whether because she was so tuned out she didn’t notice him, or because she reviled him so much he didn’t exist to her, he wasn’t always sure. On the rare occasion she did speak, it was to talk about tonight.

‘He should get here about seven,’ she said several times throughout the day.

The first time she’d said it, Keith had taken it as an opportunity to have a conversation, to try and learn what was going on in her mind.

‘OK. What’s he going to do?’

‘He’s going to talk to our daughter.’

‘Yes I know that, but what is he actually going to do?’

‘How the hell should I know?’ There was that hate again. The sign that kept telling Keith his marriage was over. ‘I’ve not spoken to the dead before. Just listened.’

On that last sentence her voice dropped and her attention returned to the clock and radio.

Keith couldn’t just wait. He wasn’t even sure he wanted Joseph Miller to come at all. What if he somehow made it worse? He still held out hope that none of this was real, just a figment of their imaginations. But he couldn’t deny the constant feeling of dread rising in him over the last week. And he couldn’t ignore the constant feeling of being watched, and the occasional flickering of movement in the corner of his eyes. And every day these headaches worsened, now accompanied by nausea.

There were still three hours to go. Keith sat down at the dining table, facing Sophie, instantly forgetting everything he’d planned to say.

‘Sophie.’ He paused, giving himself time to think. ‘Do you really think this is such a good idea? We don’t really know what’s going on here.’

‘And how else will we find out?’ Her eyes would not leave the radio, as if she could see the horrendous sounds to come from it.

It’s not real, he wanted to shout at her, but it would do no good; she would never believe it and he didn’t know whether he fully believed it. Just let it go. Let Tia go. He certainly couldn’t say that. He was lucky she came back after their last argument, next time she’d probably just throw him out.

When Keith returned from his mental wanderings, he realised Sophie was staring at him, her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

‘Do you believe this is real?’ Sophie asked.

No. I don’t want it to be real, and I’ve seen nothing to make me a hundred per cent sure it’s real. I’d rather we both just moved out and never came back here again.

‘Of course I do,’ he said. ‘Something is happening here, we can’t deny that.’

‘I never denied it. So what else can we do about it, if not this?’

Keith couldn’t think of an answer to that — at least not one he could say to her. He did, however, wonder if Price ever got any further developing a new theory. If there was a logical explanation to all this, then maybe their relationship stood a chance. But then, he thought as he stared into Sophie’s distant eyes, maybe she would hate him all the more for not believing her, and for lying to her. Not that it mattered; if Price had anything, he’d have soon appeared to prove how stupid they all were.

‘Keith,’ Sophie said, demanding his full attention with the one softly-spoken word.

This was by far the longest she’d looked at him in days, and the most she’d said to him since their argument. And there was hope in that expression; for a moment he saw a glimpse of the same woman he’d married. The happy, optimistic, smiling person.

‘Yeah?’

‘Keith, please give this a chance. Just one chance, that’s all I ask.’

It was impossible to refuse. Especially when Sophie looked at him in that way.

‘OK,’ he said, ‘I will.’

And with that, her expression changed again, as though her emotions were instantly drained. Her attention was back with the clock or radio, now that she’d gotten Keith to agree with her.

Keith leaned back in his chair, wondering what to do until tonight.

I need a drink.