Robbie frowned hard. ‘But I found the spray paint in her car.’
Effie shrugged. ‘I don’t believe Liv would do something like that.’
‘Hmm.’ Robbie didn’t sound so sure.
‘Did you want a drink?’ she asked.
‘I am in need of a large hot chocolate,’ he said, leaning on the counter opposite her.
‘Was the accident horrible?’ she asked, unsure whether she really wanted to know any details as her mind found it easy to paint vivid pictures.
‘Absolute carnage,’ he said shaking his head and Effie feared the worst. ‘Low bridge, large lorry, driver not paying attention and hundreds of adult toys and lingerie all over the road.’
That wasn’t exactly what she’d pictured when he’d said carnage. ‘But nobody hurt?’
‘Thankfully not but it took a lot of sorting out, let me tell you.’ Robbie got a mug out of the cupboard.
‘I’m sure it did.’ Effie tried not to giggle at the image in her mind.Poor Robbie,she thought as she passed him the cocoa and a spoon.
‘Did the evening go to plan?’ he asked, as he made his hot chocolate.
Effie had a think about all that had happened. ‘Not entirely.’
‘Poor Fraser – at least he tried,’ he said.
‘That bit was fine. It’s the other stuff.’
Robbie looked interested. ‘Do you want to share? Off the record of course,’ he said, sitting down and hugging his mug.
She paused for a second. She did trust Robbie but she knew how quick people were to judge. ‘I thought I’d met a decent man. One of the good guys, but he turned out to be a scammer and now I feel like a numpty. But I’m hoping to put a curse on him. Nothing deadly – just warts, scabies or athletes foot, that sort of thing.’
‘Have you got his details? Because we can prosecute if there’s any wrongdoing.’
She waved at him to stop. ‘You said off the record. And he’s not committed a crime exactly. He just said lots of nice things and like a fool I believed him. But thanks to Liv I didn’t hand over any cash.’ She rubbed at the corner of her eye where a tear was threatening to fall.
‘There are some terrible people out there. I know. In my line of work you see the worst of society. I’m sorry this happened, but you mustn’t blame yourself. Okay?’
She had been beating herself up but Robbie was right – she needed to stop. ‘I’ll try.’
‘You need to do something that makes you happy, to take your mind off it,’ he suggested. ‘Are you still ghost hunting?’
‘It’s not exactly ghost hunting.’ He gave her a questioning look. ‘It’s more trying to connect with the spirit world.’
‘Most people are terrified of that.’
‘But they’ve not lost someone,’ said Effie. ‘It’s different for me because I’ve lost a loved one.’
Robbie seemed hesitant. ‘Are you expecting to see their ghost?’
Effie sighed heavily. ‘Wouldn’t that be the loveliest thing? To see my dad again. Even if it was only for a moment. To see his face, his smile and maybe even hear his voice.’ She saw Robbie’s expression. ‘No, I don’t expect to see his ghost but if I saw someone else’s ghost that would be cool too. Sort of proof that they live on somewhere, somehow.’
Robbie nodded. ‘I see what you mean. But I always thought ghosts were troubled souls, in which case it’s a good thing that your dad’s not here. It means he’s at rest.’
‘I’d not really thought about it like that. I was a bit too caught up in what I wanted. But I definitely want him to be at peace.’
‘I’m sure he is,’ said Robbie. They sat in silence for a while. Each time they caught the other’s eye they smiled. It was a comfortable, easy silence and for once Effie’s mind wasn’t too noisy.
‘Thank you,’ she said and she meant it.
