The Ghost of Josiah Grimshaw
A Morgan Sisters Novel by Suzy Turner
For more information about the author and her upcoming books, please visit her website www.suzyturner.com
CHAPTER ONE
Lightning shattered the darkness. Not even Emma's thick purple quilt could shut out the light as it filtered through to her closed eyelids. A low echo of rumbling thunder made its way across the North Sea towards Andilyse Island and she shivered. Suddenly something landed on top of her head and she shrieked. The sounds of laughter emanated from the bed across the room.
'Lana, you cow,' shouted Emma as she threw back the covers and tossed the pillow back at her sister who just shook her head and giggled.
'It's only a storm. There's nothing to be scared of.'
'There is everything to be scared of,' she replied as she cowered beneath the quilt again.
'Oh come on, Sis. We're quite safe in here. This house has been standing for hundreds of years, it's not like it's going to collapse is it?'
'It nearly did the last time,' Emma croaked.
'That was like sixty years ago, Em, and none of the houses collapsed. The only thing that took the brunt of the storm was the pier.'
'And the church.'
'Exactly. None of the houses. Stop being such a coward. You're fifteen! It's a storm, it's rain, it's not the end of the world.'
'It was for all those poor people.'
'Oh stop being so dramatic. Things were different back in the 50s, Em. We're safe, now stop worrying.'
The sound of the front door slamming downstairs made both girls jump. Emma glared at Lana before they both hopped out of bed and ran to their bedroom door which they opened, looking down over the banister.
'Dad?'
Peering up at them from the bottom of the stairs stood an attractive grey-haired man in his early 50s, taking off his soaking coat.
'Shhh, we don't want to wake Greg and Lucy,' he said as he summoned them downstairs.
'Oh Patrick, they should be in bed too,' whispered a voice from the kitchen as the two girls skipped down to find out what was going on.
'You know what they're like, Audrey,' he said as he hung his dripping coat on the stand in the hallway. Tutting, his wife promptly removed it and placed it in the sink in the downstairs cloakroom before going back to give him a kiss.
'What's happened, Dad?' asked Emma as she sat huddled up to her sister on the bottom step. A clap of thunder made her jump and she shivered, her eyes wide open with apprehension. Lana rolled her eyes and put her arm protectively around her sister.
'Let's have a cup of cocoa,' Audrey said, recognising the look on her husband's face. There was bad news.
While they waited for the milk to heat up on the stove, Lana went into the lounge looking for candles as the lights continued to flicker, constantly threatening to go out for good.
'I've found some,' she said, setting them down on the kitchen table with a box of matches, 'just in case,' she smiled. 'So what's going on, Dad? Why did you have to go out so late?'
'He's the Chief Constable... it's his job,' answered their mother as she poured steaming milk into the four mugs, before stirring them as quietly as she could.
