Page 62 of Riding High

ChapterThirteen

The suit of armour topped out at more than six and a half feet.It was wide and broad– the dude who used it back in the seventeenth century must’ve been a giant– and a perfect place to hide.Eden rested her back against the wall, her shoulder touching the arm plate.Her hiding place wasn’t that far from the kitchen, and she could still hear Mick fretting about returning to her patients.The kids were both home because of a head lice outbreak at the school and Justin was looking after them for the afternoon.Justin had asked Mick, twice in ten minutes, whether they were bug-free.

Down the passage, she could see Troyden standing in the entry hall with the Bancrofts, still entreating them to stay.As they talked, Eden wondered how the investigation was going.With her phone on silent, she sent a message to the detective in charge, asking for an update, then jumped when her phone vibrated with his almost instant reply.

Still reviewing the evidence.Interviewed the Bancroft bookkeeper, she confirmed some dodgy transactions but didn’t want to rock the boat.They are coming in for an interview later this afternoon.

Right, that was why they couldn’t stay for lunch.Since he was being chatty, she risked asking another question.Well, two.

Has the search warrant been served?And when will you press charges or not?

She stared at the phone, but nothing appeared on her screen.Dammit.She considered running up the stairs and trying to call him but knew he probably wouldn’t answer.Ugh, she hated feeling small and insignificant and unimportant.

‘We really must go,’ Vince said, and Eden heard the hint of impatience in his voice.‘We have a meeting back in the city.’

A meeting?That was a hell of a euphemism for an interview with the police.

‘It’s been lovely seeing you,’ Troyden said, opening the front door and ushering them out.Thank God.‘Jed will be sorry to have missed you.’

Please stay in the kitchen, Jed.Please assume Troyden is talking them into staying for lunch, don’t come out.

Annoyed, Eden shifted, and her arm clanked against the suit of armour, and it released a loud squeak.Eden immediately plastered herself against the wall and held her breath.Shit, shit, shit.Why did this house have to have such amazing acoustics?

‘What on earth was that?’Tara demanded from outside the front door.

‘That’s Elspeth, our resident ghost,’ Troyden replied, without missing a beat.

Tara’s oh-so-familiar laugh sounded a little strained.‘Oh, really, what nonsense.You know I don’t believe in ghosts.’

‘You should,’ Troyden told her.‘As you know, I’ve seen Elspeth many times, and she sometimes moves things.That suit of armour is her favourite thing to play with.’

Through the open door, she watched the trio disappear from view.Car doors slammed and an engine purred.They were on their way, thank God.

Her phone vibrated against her hand and she looked down to see the number of the Metropolitan Police on her screen.What?They never called her unless it was an emergency.

She swiped, lifted the phone to her ear and whispered a hello.Detective Gosling’s voice boomed in her ear.‘Gosling here.Battery on my cell died.Working on the warrant.’

He never spoke in full sentences and Eden blinked.‘Okay.Do you know when this will be over?When they will… you know?’

‘Be arrested or acquitted?Not sure.Keep your head down.’

‘Okay, but—’ Eden heard the phone beep and knew she was talking to dead air.Dammit.Would it hurt him to give her a little more information?An end date?Something more to keep her from climbing the walls?

Desperate to scratch an itch on her ankle, she placed her hand on the suit’s shoulder to keep her balance, smiling as Jed stepped into the hallway from the kitchen, at the same time as Troyden walked back into the hall.She felt herself beginning to teeter.She recovered only to watch, horrified, as the suit of armour toppled sideways and crashed against the hardwood floor, the sound bouncing off the walls.The various plates fell apart and skittered away.

Oh, shit.Why did these things keep happening to her?

The door to the kitchen widened, with Mick, Alistair and Justin standing on the other side, looking astonished.Gemma and Liam pushed past the adults, expressions of horror on their faces.

‘Oh, oh,’ Gemma said, slapping her hands on her cheeks.

That didn’t sound good.

‘Was it Elspeth?’Mick asked, jamming her hands into the pockets of her doctor’s coat.

The ghost?Was she taking the piss?Eden pushed her shoulders back and shook her head.‘No, it was me.I bumped it.’

‘Why were you hiding?’Mick asked.‘Why didn’t you come back into the kitchen?’