The House in the Woods, page 14
‘What does it say? I can’t see in this light,’ said Uncle Rufus scrunching his eyes together.
‘It looks like a lot of numbers,’ said Tom.
‘I know what they are!’ cried Clovis excitedly.
‘What?’ whispered Eve.
‘They’re coordinates.’
‘Coordinates?’ asked Tom, looking confused. ‘Coordinates for what?’
‘Look here.’ Clovis read out the numbers and letters slowly.
They were: 51°03’41.1”N 1°18’32.5”W
‘So, the line of latitude is fifty-one degrees, the oh-three is minutes and the forty-one point one is seconds, the N stands for North. The line of longitude is one degree, eighteen minutes, thirty-two point five seconds and the W stands for west.’
‘Yes, that’s great, Clovis, but I still don’t understand what it all means,’ said Eve, becoming a little impatient.
‘What Clovis is trying to say is that Finlay has left us some coordinates to find something. What that “something” is, we won’t know until we leave here. We have done what we came here to do. We’ve found Finlay.’ Uncle Rufus smiled sadly.
‘What do we do now, Uncle?’ asked Eve.
‘We go back up to the surface and I’ll telephone the police. Then I suspect they’ll come and recover Finlay’s remains and Jane will be able to know that her father is at peace at last.’ Uncle Rufus took the stone and put it into his rucksack.
Just as they began to walk out of the room, Boris barked, his little bottom wiggling with excitement.
‘Uh oh, we know what that means,’ said Tom, looking about nervously again.
The cold rushed in suddenly, a huge draught of iciness that took everyone’s breath away. Clambering together, they waited for a ghostly presence to make itself known.
‘Just when I thought we could go,’ muttered Tom, rolling his eyes.
Boris seemed to agree and backed up so far that he plonked his furry bottom on top of Tom’s foot and farted.
‘Boris!’ cried Tom.
Normally the others would have laughed, but something was happening in the room that was far more interesting.
A shadowy figure walked slowly into the cell. No one could make out what it was. A ghostly German soldier? Or the spirit of the secretary? Everyone backed up until the cold wall stopped them moving any further.
‘Please don’t be that ghost with the gas mask,’ whispered Tom.
‘I don’t think it is,’ said Uncle Rufus, stepping forward slightly.
The figure was closer now, and they could all make out who it was. Finlay. Standing before them in his soldier’s uniform. And he wasn’t angry any more. He looked at them all slowly and then suddenly a huge bright light came from above. It was so bright that everyone shielded their eyes. It flooded the tiny room, seemingly making the dirty walls and floor disappear. The atmosphere changed from a claustrophobic damp, black tomb into a space filled with love, peace and ethereal light.
‘Oh my God, what’s happening?’ cried Eve.
‘Don’t worry, chaps, I’ve heard about this. I think we are about to witness something quite extraordinary,’ said Uncle Rufus, looking like he might explode with wonder.
Indeed, something extraordinary did happen. Finlay spun around as if someone were calling him. Then he turned back and walked slowly towards Eve, Uncle Rufus, Tom and Clovis. Everyone held their breath, not quite believing what they were seeing. Tom rubbed his eyes, Clovis quickly wiped his glasses and Eve just stared, tears welling up in her eyes.
Finlay’s handsome young face was just inches away from the group. It was like looking at something through clear rippling water, not quite of this Earth and yet still somehow seemingly connected by thousands of silver threads. The apparition gave the most beautiful smile and then he said faintly: ‘Thank you.’
And with that, Finlay turned around and walked into the centre of the bright white light. Just as quickly as the light had arrived, it disappeared, taking Finlay with it.
The awful prison-like room that had been where poor Finlay met his death had been unexpectedly flooded with a feeling of love and joy and then just as quickly, it was plunged back into feeling like a dark, evil place once more.
Everyone stood in silence, stunned, yet overjoyed at what they had just seen.
‘Did we all just witness that?’ asked Clovis in a daze.
‘Yes, we certainly did,’ replied Uncle Rufus proudly.
‘I can’t believe it, I really can’t,’ said Tom.
‘Me neither, it was just incredible, wasn’t it? I mean wow !’ said Eve. Her voice was getting louder and louder with excitement.
‘Right,’ said Uncle Rufus in a purposeful voice. ‘We have to go back upstairs and call the police. They will need to come and sort out poor Finlay’s body.’ They all looked down at the skeleton. ‘But before we do, I just want to check something.’
He took out the EMF device and turned it on. It was the first time that it had remained silent. No lights flickered.
‘I thought as much. No activity,’ he said, placing the device back into his rucksack. ‘The atmosphere seems to have changed too. I wonder if Finlay’s spirit leaving has pushed the other spirits away too?’ Uncle Rufus seemed to be talking to himself as he made his way towards the door.
‘Well, that’s a relief,’ said Tom. ‘I don’t think I could cope seeing any more ghosts right now.’
‘I think Finlay has definitely gone,’ said Eve, smiling.
‘I wonder where to and what it’s like there?’ wondered Tom.
Clovis remained silent. His brain was whirring as he just stared at the wall.
His friends knew something was on his mind.
‘What’s up?’ asked Tom.
‘I’m just thinking about those coordinates and what they could mean.’
‘Well, let’s get back, and we can start putting everything together. The sooner we get the police down here, the better.’ Uncle Rufus led the way out of the small, claustrophobic room.
The others were only too pleased to leave the cell behind and go back towards the elevator. Everyone was relieved not to have any further paranormal encounters on the way. Maybe it was true. Maybe all the ghosts had now left.
Never had the friends been so happy to see an old elevator. It sat waiting for them. The door was open just as they had left it. They all squashed in, closed the rusty old gate and pressed the button to go up. At first nothing happened, and everyone looked to each other nervously. But just like before, the lift jolted suddenly into action and slowly it began to rise.
Once at the top, they disembarked and walked out of the house without a backwards glance.
Eve breathed in the fresh air, and turned her face up to the cold drizzling rain. ‘That feels so good,’ she said, smiling.
‘What a night,’ yawned Tom.
‘Absolutely fascinating,’ said Clovis. ‘I can’t wait to go over all our footage and plug our watches into Messenger One.’
‘That’s something we will definitely do tomorrow, but for now,’ said Uncle Rufus, unlocking the car door, ‘I want you all to sit in here while I phone the police.’
Eve, Clovis and Tom were all woken up by the flashing blue lights of police cars and vans. Boris didn’t move a muscle. He continued to snore softly, comfortably splayed out over Tom and Clovis’s knees.
‘That’ll be the police, then,’ said Tom wryly, closing his eyes and resuming his sleeping position on Clovis’s shoulder.
‘Who’s the professor talking to?’ asked Clovis, leaning closer towards the windscreen, much to the annoyance of a dozing Tom.
‘Dunno,’ replied Eve. She too was squinting her eyes to try to get a better look.
Uncle Rufus was standing on the road in front of a police car’s bright headlights. He was clearly explaining to a strange-looking lady just what they had found. Then he handed over the stone, before hugging her, which seemed a very peculiar thing to do.
The woman in question was small in stature and comfortably round. They couldn’t see her face, as her back was turned to them. Her attire was unusual for a police officer: a scarlet cape billowed about her in the wind, and her matching hat sat lopsided on her short grey curly hair.
Uncle Rufus walked quickly back to the car, opening the door and letting in the rain and wind. He spoke quickly, shouting over the horrible weather.
‘I won’t be long, I’m just taking the police below, they need to see Finlay’s remains. Stay here, won’t you, and don’t move,’ he ordered. Shutting the door, he dashed back over to the strange-looking lady, where they exchanged more words, then walked through the trees, followed closely by several police officers.
As the birds began to sing their dawn chorus, Uncle Rufus climbed back into the car. He started the engine, and in doing so, woke up its sleeping occupants again.
‘Everything all right, Uncle?’ asked Eve, yawning.
‘Yes. It’s all sorted. I can’t wait to get home, can you? I think a cooked breakfast first, followed by some sleep.’ Uncle Rufus began to hum a tune as he drove the car out of the forest.
‘Uncle, who was that woman you were talking to? You know, the one with the cape?’
‘Oh, that’s Detective Inspector Rutherford. You’ll be introduced soon enough. She’s very keen to meet you all.’ Uncle Rufus smiled at his niece, and continued to hum cheerfully as he drove the little Mini all the way back to Whitechapel.
CHAPTER 22
Analysing the Evidence
After some breakfast and much needed sleep, everyone agreed to meet up in the attic later that afternoon. Uncle Rufus was already there by the time Eve, Tom and Clovis climbed the stairs and knocked on the door. They found him moving quickly between the equipment, writing things down on a clipboard; he looked very refreshed and incredibly excited. Boris was obviously still tired from his nocturnal adventures, and lay fast asleep in the middle of the floor, snoring loudly.
‘Well, I trust you all slept well and are ready to review our findings?’ said Uncle Rufus, organising some chairs in front of a TV screen. ‘Now, I’ve loaded all the footage from everyone’s cameras. I’ve already viewed most of it and sent a copy through to the inspector. I think you’ll find it makes for some very interesting viewing.’
He pressed the remote control and the screen lit up, showing four squares. In each square, film shot by everyone’s separate camera appeared. The footage began showing Uncle Rufus handing over their watches near the car, and then continued to follow everyone’s journey right to the end. From the discovery of the elevator, followed by their encounter with the first ghost in the guard room. Things started to heat up as they watched a replay of their spooky encounter with the German secretary. Eve, Tom and Clovis gasped in astonishment as the footage clearly showed the ghostly soldier seemingly staring straight at Eve.
‘Wow!’ exclaimed Tom. ‘The cameras really caught it all.’
‘This is fantastic, Professor,’ said Clovis.
The video continued to show the rest of their adventure. The worst part was when Clovis and Tom met the gas-masked ghost. Tom held his hands over his face, as did Eve, but even though Clovis had been completely terrified at the time, he was now utterly enthralled by the images the camera had managed to capture. The horrendous supernatural vision the boys had witnessed was there for all to see. Its black gas mask loomed large on the screen. The breathing and gurgling were loud and clear.
Eve screamed out in terror: ‘Oh my God, guys. I don’t think I would have been as brave as you. I would have just kept running till I reached the elevator.’
‘Listen, can you hear that?’ asked Uncle Rufus.
Everyone shook their heads.
‘All I can hear is my nightmare returning,’ moaned Tom.
‘I can hear words, German words, but they are definitely there.’
Uncle Rufus rewound the video and played it again. ‘There, can’t you hear it?’ He was clearly excited now, and frustrated that the others couldn’t hear it too.
‘It’s saying “Gefahr! Sie kommen.” ’
‘What does that mean?’ asked Tom.
Clovis stood up. He was excited now too. ‘It means “Danger! They are coming.” ’
‘Wow! So this ghost was actually warning you, not scaring you,’ said Eve.
Uncle Rufus was pacing the room again. ‘Yes, it’s most extraordinary. The ghost can clearly see you both and he seems to believe that the war is still happening.’
‘I wonder who he was trying to warn you about?’ said Eve, looking confused.
‘I’m thinking that maybe the Nazis knew their war rooms had been discovered and they had to make a break for it,’ said Uncle Rufus.
‘Yes, I think you’re right, Professor. I wonder if any of them made it back to Germany?’ said Clovis.
‘Well, I’d never like to see that ghost ever again. Makes me go cold just thinking about it.’ Tom sat back and shuddered once more.
‘Well, I for one thought you were both very brave. Well done, chaps,’ said Uncle Rufus, smiling. ‘You kept it together, well, almost. That’s very impressive.’
Then came the part where they discovered Finlay. No one said a word as they saw once more the remains of that poor man. Everyone’s face was downcast but it wasn’t long before the mood changed to wonder as they sat watching wide-eyed, the amazing and beautiful footage of Finlay moving towards the light. The fact that the cameras had picked up every detail was just fantastic.
When Uncle Rufus stopped the film, they all sat and talked about what they had just seen and experienced.
‘Would you do it again?’ asked Uncle Rufus.
‘Absolutely!’ cried Clovis.
‘It was just the best, even though I was pretty scared all the way through,’ said Tom.
‘I think so,’ said Eve quietly, ‘but I have to admit I didn’t like that ghost whispering in my ear.’
‘What about the watches?’ asked Clovis. ‘Have you loaded the material into Messenger One yet, Professor?’
‘I have,’ said Uncle Rufus, ‘but let’s review that tomorrow. I want us to listen to the EVP material along with someone else, and they’re not coming here until then.’
Everyone looked at each other, excited as to who this mystery person could be.
‘Is it Jane?’ asked Eve, the others nodding in agreement.
‘No, but you have reminded me to do something. Let’s phone her and tell her about us finding her father,’ said Uncle Rufus.
He took his phone out and found Jane’s number. On speaker, the phone rang only a few times before it was answered by a faint voice.
‘Hello.’
‘Hello, Jane, it’s Rufus.’
‘Oh, hello, Rufus, what a lovely surprise.’
‘The kids are here with me too.’
Eve, Clovis and Tom all cheered their hellos, and then Uncle Rufus cleared his throat, took a deep breath and began to tell the delicate story of how they had discovered Finlay’s remains.
After Uncle Rufus had finished, there was a long silence. Everyone looked at each other, worried that Jane had not heard or had collapsed from the news.
‘Are you still there, Jane?’ whispered Uncle Rufus. ‘Jane!’ He looked worried now, but his anguished face relaxed as he heard Jane’s soft voice come through the phone’s speaker.
‘I can’t tell you what this means to me. I can rest now, and so can my father. You have all done such a marvellous thing. I can’t thank you enough.’ Everyone heard Jane sniff; they could tell she was crying but also detected that she seemed to be happy in the knowledge that her father had been found at last. In the distance they could hear Mister Pig the parrot squawking away.
‘Shall we come and visit you soon?’ asked Eve, pushing her face closer to the phone. ‘We could show you some of the footage we took.’
‘Arse!’ squawked Mister Pig.
‘That would be lovely. I think I will be quite busy arranging a funeral, so perhaps you could come over sooner rather than later?’
‘Of course,’ answered Uncle Rufus. ‘We can help you with the funeral arrangements if you like?’
‘That would be super,’ answered Jane. ‘You’re all too kind.’
‘Big hairy bum!’ squawked the parrot.
Eve, Tom and Clovis covered their mouths in a desperate attempt not to laugh out loud at the potty-mouthed bird.
‘I’m sorry about Mister Pig. I think I’ve given him too much to eat today. When I do, he gets so naughty.’ Jane was obviously embarrassed by the rude bird. ‘Naughty boy, stop it at once but... Mummy still loves you.’ Her voice cooed and ahhed at the foul-mouthed animal.
The others could just imagine the scene on the other end of the phone and began to giggle.
‘How about we come over tomorrow evening?’ suggested Uncle Rufus.
‘Perfect, I shall have the tea and cake ready,’ replied Jane.
After they had all shared their condolences and repeatedly asked if Jane would be all right on her own tonight, and once she had convinced them all that she would be, Uncle Rufus and the others said their goodbyes and rang off.
‘That bird is hilarious!’ shrieked Tom. ‘God, I’d love to take him home with me one day. Just to see the look on my dad’s face when he calls him an “arse”!’
Everyone fell about laughing and even Boris barked loudly.
‘Jane was shocked about our discovery. But then she seemed pleased that we’d found her dad, didn’t she, Uncle Rufus?’ said Eve when the laughter had died down.
‘Yes, I have to admit, I was dreading having to tell her that we had found her father and that he’d been murdered, but I suppose she can rest now, knowing that he is at peace and can have a proper burial.’ He stood. ‘Right then, I don’t know about you chaps but I’m starving. Shall we go and cook up a nice big supper? Then, I think a movie and an early night. I suspect we could all do with a good rest.’
CHAPTER 23
An Inspector Calls
