Lay Me to Rest Page 4

  Peter seemed to shudder at the memory.

  ‘Of course, there was a good deal of giggling and messing about. We each put an index finger on the glass and started asking questions: daft things like “will it rain tomorrow?” and “will we ever win the pools?” at first,’ he went on. ‘I think we were both pushing the glass ourselves to begin with. Glyn was keen on this girl that he went to school with and he wanted to know if she fancied him, too, so that seemed like a more interesting question. I pushed it to spell “you must be joking”, just to wind him up. But after that the glass started to move by itself. And then, suddenly, it wasn’t answering our questions any more – just spelling out horrible messages … in Welsh.’

  ‘What did it say?’ I prompted Peter. His words seemed to have dried up, as though he were lost in some disturbing recollection.

  He stared at me blankly. ‘Glyn translated. He didn’t want to tell me at first, but I insisted. It said … that my parents were going to die,’ he said, simply. ‘That I would be left an orphan.’

  I had no knowledge of Peter’s family, only that he lived alone. ‘Was it – did it come true?’ I asked, hesitantly.

  He lifted his face to look at me, his expression betraying no emotion. ‘Oh, yes. They were killed shortly after we returned to the Midlands. An armed robbery that went wrong … and they’d had an appointment with the bank manager. Something to do with their mortgage, I think …’

  I had a vague recollection of hearing about an incident some twenty years ago, when several people had been seriously injured in a bungled bank heist. The manager himself and two customers had perished when the gunman ran amok.

  ‘Oh God, Peter. I’m so sorry.’ I felt guilty for making him relive his loss and reached out to clasp his hand. His palm was clammy and he was shaking.

  He resumed the story. ‘We thought it was pretty sick, but didn’t take too much notice. Perhaps he’d read it wrong. Anyway, then it said that Glyn would never get married. And when we asked why not, there was just one word: “M-A-R-W.” It means “dead” or “death”. Of course, you know the outcome of that prediction.’

  Peter shook his head and gazed into space. ‘When we asked who was giving us the messages, the glass started going crazy, darting around all over the place. But then we heard a voice – a creepy, disjointed, childlike voice. It just said “Mae hi’n gwybod”. And then the glass shattered.’

  ‘What’s that? Somebody’s name?’

  ‘Oh no. It means: “She knows”.’

  Chapter Three

  I felt a little stunned by Peter’s revelation, but at the same time relieved that I had not completely lost my faculties. What puzzled me was why, if there had been no recent recurrence of any preternatural activity at the farm, it had suddenly reared its head once more.

  Peter seemed to have an explanation.

  ‘To tell you the truth, I’ve had a bit of a morbid fascination with the paranormal ever since,’ he told me. ‘Apparently, the arrival of someone new at a haunted location can sometimes stir things up again. I didn’t mention anything before, as I didn’t want to put you off coming. And as nothing’s happened for donkey’s years, I saw no need to bring up the subject. Which was why I was a bit cross with old Will.’

  ‘So – d’you think that what I saw – and what spoke to you – was the ghost of the girl that Mr Parry was telling me about last night?’

  ‘It seems pretty likely, yes.’

  ‘But didn’t you say you’d never actually seen anything yourself?’ I looked into Peter’s face and his cheeks flushed as he stared down at his shoes.

  ‘Seen – no.’ He looked a little sheepish. ‘Heard – well, it was as I’ve just explained … There were a few odd happenings after that: things being moved from their proper place, pictures falling off the wall; but nothing particularly sinister. And after Glyn died it all just fizzled out.’

  ‘What happened to Glyn?’

  ‘He died of a sudden heart attack. I was staying here at the time, as it happens. Right out of the blue – we’d just come back from taking some sheep to market and he’d seemed absolutely fine, laughing and joking as usual. It was a terrible shock for everyone, especially since he always appeared so fit and healthy. Just makes you realize – you have to live for the here and now.’

  Peter glanced at his watch, his eyes widening. ‘Shit, I really don’t want to seem rude, but I must hit the road. I’ve got a meeting to attend this afternoon.’

  ‘Yes, of course – don’t let me keep you. Well, have a safe journey and I’m sure I’ll see you when I get back.’

  ‘You aren’t worried – about going back to the cottage, I mean? It must have been pretty unnerving for you.’

  I thought for a moment. In the cold light of day I felt more rational about the whole experience – and after all, it wasn’t as if I had come to any harm.

  ‘No. I think it was just the shock of being woken like that and not really knowing what it was. I’ve only got another couple of nights till Sarah arrives, so I’m sure I’ll be all right. Although I’ll be keeping the light on at bedtime … and I might just borrow that cat for company,’ I added, with a grin.

  Peter smiled. He slammed the boot of the car shut. ‘Well, that’s me, then! See you soon, I hope; and enjoy the rest of your stay.’

  Mrs Parry came hurrying breathlessly over to the car, cradling a small cardboard carton. ‘Oh, I thought I’d missed you. I’ve just brought you a few eggs – fresh this morning! You can have them for your tea later. See you in August, shall we?’

  Peter nodded and hugged the old woman. ‘Thanks for everything, Gwen.’

  ‘Safe journey, cariad.’

  We stood and watched as the car rumbled down the rough driveway and eventually disappeared as it passed over the cattle grid.

  Mrs Parry turned to me. ‘Let’s get you some breakfast, young lady. Did you sleep well?’

  ‘Mmm … could have been better. Probably being in a strange bed, I expect. I’m sure I’ll have settled in properly by tonight.’

  I decided to say nothing for the time being about my disrupted night. We walked over to the farmhouse, passing a group of chickens oblivious to our presence, as they pecked with great concentration at the grain scattered for them in the courtyard.

  ‘Free range – make the best layers, you know. I don’t hold with that battery farming nonsense,’ declared the old woman. ‘How does crispy bacon and scrambled eggs sound?’

  It sounded surprisingly tempting and I followed Mrs Parry through the door, outside which an old-fashioned bicycle – the sort with a basket attached to its curved handlebars – was propped against the wall. We walked into the kitchen. Mr Parry was in his usual chair by the range and in mid-conversation with a thin, sharp-featured woman of around fifty, who was sitting at the table drinking tea. She eyed me with what I felt was disdain, casting a look at my rounded abdomen, and with a barely discernible nod of her head, muttered a perfunctory, ‘A’right?’

  ‘Bore da, Mrs Philips!’ Mr Parry beamed through his customary halo of pipe smoke. ‘This is Mrs Williams, one of our neighbours. Marian, this is Mrs Philips. She’s the friend of Peter’s I was telling you about, staying in Tyddyn Bach for a few weeks.’

  Pulling up a chair, I sat down opposite the woman, who was decidedly aloof. I extended a hand, which she shook with little enthusiasm.

  ‘Call me Annie,’ I said, in an attempt to break the ice. But this seemed to provoke an odd reaction. Mrs Williams stared at me as though I had slapped her. She made no comment but her cheeks flushed and her dark eyes narrowed into a hard stare. I felt her scrutinizing me from head to foot and it was not a comfortable sensation.

  ‘So you’re a friend of that Peter’s, are you?’ The voice was harsh and high-pitched.

  I nodded. ‘Well, strictly speaking he’s my sister’s work colleague. I don’t know him that well, to be honest.’

  ‘Huh, you’d be as well to keep it that way, if you want my opinion.’

 
‘Now then, Marian.’ Mrs Parry placed a cup of tea in front of me and gave Mrs Williams a knowing look. ‘Let bygones be bygones. Peter’s a good lad, you know. I won’t have you calling him …’

  ‘You can say what you like, but there’s plenty round here who think the same as I do, Gwen. He’s trouble, that one. Even when he was a boy, I knew there was something not right about him.’

  ‘Oh, Marian, not that again. Mrs Philips hasn’t come here to listen to us arguing.’ Mr Parry let out a sigh and rose from his chair. ‘I’m off to Caernarfon this morning. I’ve got to pick up a couple of sheep. Would you like to come along, cariad?’ He smiled at me. ‘Or do you have plans?’

  ‘Thank you for the offer, Mr Parry, but I think I’ll stay here if it’s all the same to you. I’d like to have a proper look round the farm today, if that’s OK?’

  ‘Of course, you do whatever you like. Have a good morning.’ He turned to his wife. ‘I’ll be back for lunch about one, Gwen.’

  ‘See you later, then.’ The old woman planted a kiss on her husband’s proffered cheek.

  ‘I must be off now, too.’ Mrs Williams stood up abruptly. She was a good deal taller than I had expected, towering a good six inches above Mrs Parry, which accentuated her gaunt frame. ‘Thanks for the panad. So if you don’t need any cleaning doing today, shall I call again on Thursday?’

  ‘Yes, that would be fine. Ta-ra, then.’ Mrs Parry winked at me as the old man and Mrs Williams made their exit. We watched through the window as the two of them stood talking for a moment. There seemed to be a few heated words exchanged before the woman mounted her bicycle and pedalled furiously away down the driveway.

  ‘What was all that about?’

  ‘You mustn’t take too much notice of Marian. She’s become a bit bitter and twisted. Not a bad woman, don’t get me wrong; but she’s got some odd ideas.’

  ‘She’s really got it in for poor Peter, hasn’t she? What on earth has he done to upset her?’

  ‘It’s a long story. Marian’s daughter, Aneira, and our Glyn were sweethearts from when they were both in their late teens. She was a nice enough girl – a little scatter-brained, but good-hearted. They got engaged when Glyn turned twenty and, I believe I told you, they planned to move into the cottage once they were married.

  ‘Anyway, she never really got on with Peter for some reason, and his friendship with Glyn caused a lot of rows between the two of them whenever he was up here. She went missing last year, you know. They’ve never found her … terrible for her poor mother. It’s a cruel thing to lose a child – but not to know if they are alive or dead must be a living nightmare.’

  ‘That’s awful. What happened, exactly?’

  Mrs Parry looked around and lowered her voice as though someone might be eavesdropping.

  ‘There was talk – in the village – that she’d taken up with some rough chap from the other side of the island. I couldn’t blame her for that, mind. Glyn passed away years ago and you can’t expect a young girl to live like a nun for the rest of her life. But she still used to come and help me now and then, with cleaning and such, especially when the cottage was being rented out. She never spoke about her boyfriend, if that’s what he was, and to be honest I didn’t want to know.

  ‘Well, one night last summer, there was a bit of a rumpus outside. Peter had come up to stay in the cottage for a few days. It was pitch-black out there – you’ve seen how it gets yourself. Will took his torch and his shotgun – just in case – and went to find out what was going on. Aneira was screaming at Peter, who was standing in his pyjamas in the doorway of Tyddyn Bach. Will saw a van disappearing down the drive.’

  She paused. ‘I think poor Peter was quite shaken up. Will tried to calm Aneira down, but she was hysterical and ran off after the van. And that was the last time anyone saw her.’

  ‘But – why was she shouting at Peter?’

  Mrs Parry shrugged. ‘He didn’t seem to know himself. Said it was something to do with him staying in the cottage when it was going to be her home. Well, that may have been true while Glyn was alive, but she distanced herself from us for quite some time after he died, even if she did do odd jobs for me later on. Surely she didn’t expect to be moving in there on her own – and certainly not with some ruffian she’d fallen for!’

  ‘Oh, dear. But why is her mother so angry with Peter? Did he do something to upset her?’

  ‘Not that I know of. I reckon Marian just wants someone to blame. I don’t think she knew anything more about why Aneira was so upset with Peter than you or I, but made the connection with the fact that she’d been to see him just before she disappeared. I think she’s put two and two together and made five, to be truthful.’

  ‘What about the van? Did anybody manage to trace it?’

  The old woman shook her head sadly. ‘It was too dark for Will or Peter to see clearly, and neither of them got a proper look at the driver. I just hope that, one day, she’ll turn up. She might have just run off with the chap. But where they would have gone is anybody’s guess. The police have searched the whole of North Wales and beyond, but no one seems to have seen her anywhere.’

  I ate my breakfast and turned the information over in my mind. I felt terribly sorry for Peter, who seemed to have been made the scapegoat, but at the same time sympathized with Mrs Williams, even if she was rather sour. I reasoned that, after all she had been through, it was understandable.

  Thanking Mrs Parry for the food, I asked if I might explore the farm.

  ‘Of course. Will you be joining us for lunch? I could make you a few sandwiches if you prefer …’

  I puffed out my cheeks, patting my stomach. ‘Never mind eating for two – I’ve been putting away enough to keep an army going since I got here!’

  ‘Nonsense!’ The old woman laughed. ‘That’s what you want – fresh air and home cooking. Set you to rights in no time.’

  I agreed to return in time for lunch, which left me a good three hours to look round. I walked back past the cottage, but kept my eyes firmly trained on the path beaten before me. Gingerly climbing the stile at the far edge of the field, I found myself in a vast meadow filled with wild flowers: buttercups, delicate blue cornflowers, cow parsley and poppies as bright as drops of blood.

  The air was still and humid. I walked for what seemed like an age, alone with my thoughts and the perfect peace of the seemingly endless countryside. Butterflies hovered in their droves. A red admiral alighted on my arm for a moment and then floated dreamily away.

  The heat was not conducive to walking any great distance and, feeling increasingly breathless, I decided to head for the shade of the large oak tree in the centre of the field. My feet almost ran away with me as I descended the slope. I laughed out loud, grateful that I had no audience, since I must have looked a comical sight, waddling down the hill in such an ungainly fashion, with my beach ball of a stomach. The baby wriggled within, obviously stirred by this sudden bout of activity.

  I lay down on the cool turf, gazing beyond the tree’s welcome umbrella at the miles of unbroken blue sky above. The only sound was the almost hypnotic whirring of the crickets concealed within the long grass. My phone bleeped without warning, shattering my reverie. It was a text message from my colleague, Kate.

  ‘How r u? What’s the weather doing?’

  I smiled to myself. I didn’t hear from her often but we had always got on well at work. I knew that she would still be at school as the term wasn’t due to end for another fortnight. I couldn’t believe how little I’d thought about my job since Graham died. It seemed so trivial now. I could no longer envisage myself delivering a lesson or chairing a faculty meeting, much less marking books and handing out detentions. I couldn’t even see myself returning to the role after the baby was born. It had all paled into insignificance.

  I sat up, lifting the mobile to take a photograph, by way of an answer. But a sudden shadow passed overhead. The temperature had cooled noticeably and the scent of the field’s flowers was immediatel
y overpowered by that of a sickly, musky odour. I felt a terrible sense of foreboding. Slowly lowering the phone to reveal what had caused the occlusion, it fell from my hands as I started in fright.

  I could scarcely believe what I was seeing. My heart began to pound and I let out an involuntary scream. Floating above and a little in front of me, no more than two feet from the top of my head, was the outline of a woman, featureless except for a pair of intense, dark eyes that seemed to look straight through me – a grey, translucent vapour.

  How long I lay there, I do not know. Time seemed to stand still as, powerless to move, I felt compelled to gaze in horror upon the shadowy figure that seemed to be pinning me to the ground. It felt suffocating.

  The penetrating eyes suddenly shifted their focus and locked with mine. It was as though I were staring into an abyss. I was gripped by an awful, cold dread as I acknowledged the blatant contempt in their expression. Fleetingly I wondered if I would leave the field alive; did she mean to take my life and that of my unborn child? I was completely helpless.

  The figure’s hand was extended as though pointing towards something behind me. As I turned stiffly to look, I noticed that there were several sets of initials carved deep into the trunk of the old oak.

  ‘Anni wyf i.’

  Immediately, I recognized the same disembodied voice that had whispered in my ear the night before. My stomach turned over. As though released from a vice, I felt suddenly able to move properly, and jerked my head back to examine her more closely; but the apparition had faded away. My quivering arms covered in gooseflesh, I scrambled to my feet and looked around me. All was still. I was alone once more.

  I stood frantically scanning the field, hardly daring to believe that she had definitely gone. My whole body was quaking with fear. Taking deep breaths to regain my composure, I peered at some of the letters on the tree.