‘Have you heard of aversion therapy?’
‘Don’t even go there,’ said Sam, raising his palm. ‘I mean it, Blythe. I don’t want to fall out with you over this.’
‘Okay.’ It wasn’t okay but she could see that pushing him on it wasn’t the answer. She didn’t have a clue what the answer was, which was a worry. She was firmly between a rock and a hard place and they were closing in like a scene from an Indiana Jones movie. It was either scary Leonora or unwavering Sam – she was going to disappoint someone.
‘I did want to speak to you about Turpin though,’ said Sam, changing the subject. ‘I’m off to London in a couple of hours and I’m not back until Tuesday night. I don’t want to banish him to the utility again so when you come to feed him, can you just check that he’s not trashed the place?’
‘Of course. I’d be happy to. You make him sound like a rock star.’
‘He does give off those sort of vibes.’ Sam ran his lip through his teeth. ‘Look, I am sorry about the whole anti-Christmas thing. I know you don’t get it and I know you think I’m being a pain about it. Can you just accept it?’
‘Or how about you think about it and, who knows, living here as Christmas unfurls around you, it might make you change your mind.’ He’d given her an idea.
He laughed. ‘I love your optimism.’
‘Ah, see, that wasn’t a no,’ she said, with a wag of her finger.
‘Come in for a second and I’ll show you how the alarm works.’
She followed him inside. ‘But won’t Turpin set it off?’
‘Nope, it has a pet-friendly mode so only big things will trigger it – like you.’
‘Rude,’ said Blythe.
‘Sorry, I wasn’t meaning anything about your weight…’ She raised her eyebrows. ‘You’re not overweight at all or a big thing…’
‘Stop digging the hole and throw away the spade,’ said Blythe. ‘I’m joking with you.’
‘Phew. You had me worried there. Right, this is the control panel.’ Sam took her through the basics and let her have a go at setting and cancelling it herself.
‘Do you think that woman has plans to come back then? I thought she was just a snooper.’
‘I’m not taking any risks. Although I do wonder if she had heard that Murray had died and thought the property might be empty.’
‘Ooh, now there’s a theory. Murray, if you’re listening we’re taking good care of your place,’ she said, with a giggle.
Sam looked alarmed. ‘You don’t think he’s…’ He looked up to the ceiling in an exaggerated eye movement.
‘What? Haunting the cottage?’
‘Do you?’ Sam gave a little shudder and it made Blythe smile.
‘I know someone with a Ouija board if you want to find out, or we could just see if we can contact him now.’ Sam’s eyes widened but Blythe was on a roll. ‘Murray, if you’re there send us a sign…’
They both listened carefully. At first there was silence. Then a strange whirring noise made them both jump.
‘What was that?’ whispered Sam.
‘Why are you whispering?’ asked Blythe, amused by his reaction and trying to hide that she was a little freaked out by the strange sound.
‘I don’t know,’ whispered Sam.
The whirring went again. It had a sort of rhythmic rumble to it and this time it carried on. ‘Murray?’ Blythe’s pulse was speeding up.
‘It’s coming from the back of the house,’ said Sam.
They inched their way through the kitchen and Sam opened the utility door. He was right; the noise was definitely coming from the utility because there was Turpin using the old tumble dryer like a hamster wheel. ‘What on earth are you up to, Turpin?’ asked Blythe, relieved to find the answer.
