The Room of Arches Read online

  I slid Olivia’s cup—a pretty floral number—onto the desk beside her computer screen. Then I set mine down too, taking a seat and moaning loudly as I rubbed my eyes. When I opened them again I felt the hard stare of Olivia next to me and made a mental note that I couldn’t be outwardly tired here. “Fine.” I held up my hands. “I’ll stop.”

  “Good. I have a lot of work to do today.”

  I knew she wasn’t lying but I fought the urge to mimic her words. As the main—and before me, sole—receptionist, she had been responsible for all things paperwork plus had to do all the phone calls and greetings. Now that I was here, the hours that I worked mainly consisted of greeting clients, making them coffee and taking phone calls. I’d typed the odd letter when Olivia thought I was capable enough. I grinned. She was such a control freak.

  Her attention turned to the computer screen, she took a sip of coffee and already at this early hour, her hands were whizzing over the keyboard and she was lost. Olivia was almost like a different person at work. Almost. She was always organised, dedicated and hardworking at whatever she put her mind to but at least outside of work I could have a laugh with her. Here she had her blinkers on.

  Sighing, I settled into my seat, took a sip of my coffee and hoped that today would pass quickly.

  I took plenty of calls through the day, directing people to the office, making appointments for Stubbs and Oakley, cancelling appointments in some cases and even arranging payments. At least the options were varied. The first client came into the office at ten that morning. He walked in with an air of authority wearing a suit that looked pretty expensive and smelling strongly of whatever aftershave he had bathed himself in that morning.

  “Good morning,” I greeted him, drawing his attention away from Olivia, who was still typing furiously while trying not to cough. The odour was so strong it caught the back of my throat. “How can I help?”

  “I have an appointment with Stubbs.” He stared down at me. From the way he barely tilted his head and instead gazed past his nose like I was something undesirable on his shoe, I guessed he thought he was better than me.

  I stifled the inner rage that began to build and exhaled slowly. “What time?”

  “Ten.”

  “Okay. I’ll let him know if you’d like to take a seat. Would you like a coffee?”

  “Black, two sugars.” He turned away and marched to a seat in the small waiting area as I tried to hide my anger at his obvious snub. The guy was a meathead.

  I made the call upstairs and told Stubbs his client was here and then I put the kettle on, making suit-man a coffee. I meandered out through the reception door, into the reception itself and handed the cup to the man who looked at it like I was handing him something contaminated.

  “Thanks.” The word dripped with sarcasm.

  Resisting the eye roll that hovered at the surface, I turned my back. Olivia met my eye and a tiny smile played on her lips before she turned her attention back to the screen. I’m glad I wasn’t the only one who noticed the guy was an officious prick.

  It wasn’t long before the man himself, Stubbs, came down to collect his client. He was a short, balding man carrying far too much weight in a suit that was in dire need of an upgrade. He shook the man’s hand, gave me a flat smile that didn’t reach his eyes and then they were on their way upstairs, coffee left untouched on the small table in reception.

  Olivia looked the same way I felt with a twist on her lip and her head turned as she watched them leave. I scooted closer to her, pulling my chair over and ignoring the obvious wave of irritation that rolled over her before she looked at me. “Do you think he’s creepy too?”

  “Who?”

  “Stubbs.”

  Moving herself away slightly she glared at me over the rim of her glasses and then finally nodded, “Yes.”

  “At least I’m not the only one.”

  And our day went back to normal—phones ringing, people calling in, and me making plenty of coffee with the aim to keep me awake.

  At lunchtime two women came in to see Oakley. I took their names and telephoned through to the man upstairs before offering them a coffee. They both accepted and while I was making theirs, I made sure to make both myself and Olivia one too. It must have been my fifth coffee—not that I was counting—but I wasn’t going to worry about that. Hell, at least I was just counting coffee intake rather than pints.

  I took the cups out for the women first, handing them over and receiving smiles in return before they went back to their conversation. Then, moving back behind the narrow counter, I set the last two cups down next to our computers on the desk.

  “Thanks,” Olivia said without turning to look at me.

  I took a sip of my coffee and sat down, sighing a little too loudly. It wouldn’t do to be thought that I was bored. After all, despite the fact that I didn’t like either one of them, they were paying my wage. It was going to go a long way to forge a new pathway for me going forward, not to mention getting Thumper back up and running.

  I shuffled some papers and took another sip. There wasn’t a lot for me to do until the phone rang or someone came in. It wasn’t long before I began to overhear snippets of the conversation going on across the room.

  “So do you think he’s going to try and take the house from you, Christine?” The woman with the short blonde hair asked. Her legs were crossed and directed toward the other woman.

  Christine, a brunette with amazing legs, sighed. “I have no idea. I wouldn’t put it past him but that place is my home. He’s the one who should move out. After all, he’s the one who cheated.”

  “Definitely. I’m sure Oakley can make that happen. I’ve heard good things.”

  I suppressed a smile. I didn’t want them to know I was listening. I might have been facing the desk but I was doing nothing and my ears were pricked. Both Stubbs and Oakley had a good reputation and out of the two, the latter was certainly more amenable in my opinion.

  “I hope so,” Christine went on. “It’s my home. I’ve been there for seven years from when we got together and while yes, he was the one to fund it, I still think he’s the one breaking this marriage up, don’t you, Laura?”

  “Certainly.”

  “I mean I know that place is his and of course, the basement was his zone.” She curled her fingers in the shape of air quotes. “But I think I can just learn to ignore that.”

  Laura grimaced. “As much as I think you should have the house, Chris, I’m not sure I could. Maybe it would be better moving out. I mean, come on, that basement is creepy. Remember when we went down there and there was that room we couldn’t get into?”

  “Yes, but—”

  “And those noises you hear sometimes. What about those?”

  “I’m not going to let some superstition drive me out of my home.”

  My ears pricked up and beside me, Olivia shifted in her seat.

  “But don’t you remember—”

  “Good afternoon, ladies.” Oakley made his appearance. Counter to his partner, he was a tall man with short, fair hair. He wore a suit that fit his frame impeccably and had an air of warmth that surrounded him.

  Their conversation over, the two women hurried to set their cups down and stand. Christine held out her hand and Laura did the same. Then they were gone, treading up the stairs, the sound of a pair of heels reverberating on the stairs above us.

  “Don’t even think about it,” Olivia’s tone was warning.

  “What?”

  “I know you were eavesdropping.”

  “Then clearly so were you.”

  “And you can’t pursue this. She’s a client of the firm.” She turned to look at me from over her glasses and I suddenly felt like I was being chastised by a teacher.

  “I didn’t say I would. But don’t you think it’s odd?”

  “Odd? Of course. The poor woman is clearly going through a divorce because her arse of a husband cheated on her.”

  “I meant what they said about the hou
se.”

  “You’re reading too much into it.”

  “Maybe when they come down I should—”

  “No!” Olivia snapped. “Oakley would not like that, and come to think of it, neither would Stubbs. You shouldn’t have been listening in.”

  “Okay, okay. Fine.” I held up my hands in defence. “I was just going to have a conversation with them, that’s all.”

  “Yeah, I’ll bet.” She raised her brow and turned back to the screen and I was left to the quiet clicking of her nails on the keyboard. If that wasn’t the cold shoulder I didn’t know what was. Olivia had made her view on the matter quite clear. But from the sounds of it, something was going on with the house she shared with her cheating arse of a husband.

  Something weird. And usually weird meant paranormal. I wasn’t an expert but I had been spending a little more time with Sylvia to hone my skills. After deciding that I wasn’t getting rid of the gift just yet, I thought that maybe I could put it to use until a time that I decided I didn’t want it any longer. We had been working together for weeks now in order to help me separate the white background noise from those that really needed help, among other things. But with this I didn’t need to hone my skills—I know what I heard and that woman was terrified of some part of her house.

  When the phone rang, I jumped, startled, spilling a drop of coffee on my hand. Automatically, I brought it to my mouth and licked away the brown-coloured liquid, much to Olivia’s dismay, and then picked up the handset. “Stubbs and Oakley, how may I help?”

  “Hello, I have an appointment today with Oakley but I need to rearrange.”

  I went through the process, checking his diary on the computer and fitting the man into another day. When I ended the call Olivia was watching me.

  “What?” I asked, suddenly taken aback.

  “Nothing.” She shook her head with a slight smile. “You have a good phone voice.”

  “Um, thanks. And you have nice typist fingers.”

  “You could do this full time you know.”

  “I don’t think so.” I shook my head. “Besides, they only hired me as a favour to you.”

  “I didn’t mean here. I meant somewhere else.”

  “Trying to get rid of me already?”

  “I’m trying to tell you, you could make a living with this if you got something full time.”

  “I don’t know.” I puckered my lips as I thought. “I don’t really see myself as the secretary type.”

  “Well, you’re doing a good job. Maybe you should.”

  “Maybe.” I nodded. I had no intention of considering this as a full-time role. The thought of being stuck in a nine-to-five job, answering calls and dealing with odious people left nothing to the imagination. It was fine for now, until I got myself on my feet and doing something else, but I could not do this forever.

  The day continued to pass slowly and as finishing time rolled around, I was about ready to fall into bed. Napping on the sofa had neither been fulfilling nor comfortable. My neck was aching and I longed for a bath. I considered sending Adele a message to cancel but I didn’t. It would do me a world of good to get out of the house and do something a little social. Seeing her was always a good laugh. Besides, I was going to have to get over my fear of her house at some point. There was nothing left in there for my presence to aggravate so it would be fine. Olivia began to wind down beside me. The click of her fingers on the keyboard lessened and she came to a full stop half an hour before we were due to clock off.

  The last thirty minutes were spent tidying up, making sure everything was straightened, and washing out the coffee cups. I hoovered the small reception area in an attempt to wake myself up and then we left, locking the door behind us. Stubbs and Oakley would be working well beyond late and we normally left them to it.

  Outside, the air was warm and I took in a deep breath, letting it flow over me and smiling as I felt somewhat refreshed.

  “Someone’s happy,” Olivia commented as she unlocked her car.

  “Don’t tell me you’re not.”

  She shrugged. “I like work.”

  “So do I but come on, don’t you get a little bored in there?” I pointed back to the building.

  “Nope. It’s orderly and that’s good.”

  I sighed. “You’re such a geek.”

  “I know.”

  I had tea with Adele as planned. This time the house was as light and airy as it looked—even her twin boys, Peter and John, seemed much better in themselves. Maybe the darkness had been weighing on them too. People say that twins can talk telepathically. What if there had been something else in their minds when the darkness was in their house?

  Two weeks passed before I saw the women again. Two weeks of the same routine. My life had fallen into habit and I loved the normality that it brought. There were plenty of things going on in my life that were still chaotic—including the fact that the dead talked to me. No matter where I went it seemed there was always at least one wanting to chat, to offer their advice or ask for help. Occasionally I heard a darker voice and usually those were the ones I avoided.

  The funny thing about the dead is that I can’t exactly hide from them. Often, I don’t see them and believe me when I say the dead are everywhere. Don’t get me wrong, not everyone who has passed over stayed in the veil instead of moving onto the other side but plenty have and they are the ones that reach out to me as I walk past. Something I was forever grateful for was the fact that my house, despite its extensive history, was free of any restless spirits. That’s one of the reasons why I chose it. My home was my moment of clarity in a busy world. There was no way I could have dealt with someone in there with me night after night.

  It was noon again on a Wednesday as I sat in Stubbs and Oakley with Olivia beside me tapping away at her keyboard, when the two women came back in. My stomach flipped when I caught sight of the brunette, Christine. She walked across to the bench and announced that she had an appointment with Oakley. I nodded, promised to give him a call and asked if they wanted coffee. This time they both declined. I wrinkled my nose as I watched them take a seat. Was my coffee bad the last time?

  I boiled the kettle anyway, making one for myself and Olivia and hung around listening hard for any sign of their previous conversation. Instead, all I got was a replay of the last conversation she’d had with her husband.

  “I think he’s finally given in now. He knows I’ve got my feet planted.”

  “So he’s giving you the house?” Laura asked, hopeful.

  “Giving me? No. I’m taking it. I’m taking what’s rightfully mine.”

  Laura grinned. “I always knew you’d win.”

  Christine shrugged. “His fault. If he hadn’t been caught out with that woman I wouldn’t even be having this conversation.” The words came out as a hiss and I knew she meant the affair.

  “Do you think they’re still together?”

  “Who knows? When I confronted him he said it was a fling. She was clearly a gold digger. Why else would anyone have sex with Tom?”

  “Well you guys . . .”

  Christine shook her head. “I think on last count—before the split, of course—it had been around seven months.”

  “Seven months! Jeez, Chris, you must be dry as a bone.”

  “Don’t worry, it won’t last. As soon as the paperwork is through and Tom is gone, I’m a free woman, and I plan to use that to my advantage.” She grinned and Laura erupted into laughter.

  It wasn’t long before Oakley made his way downstairs and summoned the two women. He shot Olivia and I a smile, warm and friendly, before disappearing upstairs.

  “Isn’t he lovely?” Olivia sighed as she watched him disappear behind the partition wall and follow the two women up the stairs.

  “Don’t tell me you’ve got a crush on old man Oakley.”

  Her smile dropped and she gave me the dead-pan stare. “No. I was just mulling over the fact that he’s probably one of the last gentlemen in the world.” />
  “Come off it, there have to be some. Somewhere.”

  “Where?”

  “I have to admit I haven’t seen any lately, but then I’m not exactly looking. Are you?”

  She shrugged and turned away and I realised with a sort of giddy feeling in my gut that she was defensive. That meant she was looking. “You are!”

  “Am not.” She shook her head, refusing to meet my gaze.

  “Then why are we blushing?”

  “Fine,” she snapped. “Maybe I am hoping to meet someone.”

  “Not Oakley, I hope.”

  “Not him.” She sighed. “But someone.”

  “Well, that’s progress.”

  “I’m not willing to jump into bed with just anyone you know.”

  “If I didn’t know any better I’d say that scathing remark was aimed at me.”

  “Of course not.” She slapped her hand on the bench and wheeled her chair out. “You didn’t sleep with just anyone. Just the men in your house.”

  “Ouch.” I shook my head. “That was a low blow.”

  “Yeah, well I’m going for lunch.” Pulling her bag from under the desk, she hoisted it onto her shoulder and marched out of the building.

  I couldn’t help but watch her leave. Olivia was my best friend and I was no stranger to her cutting words, but that was hurtful, even for her. I knew she didn’t mean it. Bringing up the relationship question had put her on the back foot and she was just trying to divert attention. It didn’t matter that inside my stomach was clenched or that my palms prickled. I had to let it go. Olivia put up with enough shit from me so I could forget about this on her behalf. Nobody was perfect, least of all me.

  I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I just needed a moment. I took it, flushing the comment from my mind and then letting my breath out slowly. When I opened them again I felt better. I took a sip of my coffee and ignored the growl in my stomach. I had been going to ask her to get something for me, but then she stormed out like a banshee. Oh well. One day wouldn’t kill me.