Read Malice for Free Online

Captain Greenlowe built it. Nowadays,’ he continued, with an unpleasant chuckle, ‘it’s more like a ghost ship.’
    â€˜I’m Winter Frey,’ I said and I didn’t put out my hand for him to shake. ‘What’s the problem with the house? Has it been vandalised?’
    â€˜Winter Frey, eh? Well, the house is neglected because nobody’s lived here for ages. The garden’s overgrown too, as you can see. But no, you don’t need to worry about vandalism here. No-one would
dare
to go inside there,’ he added in a whisper, pointing to the house. From an upper storey, a tattered curtain blew through a broken window pane.
    â€˜Too scared of you, eh Curly?’ asked Ryan, grinning.
    Curly’s eyes shifted from Ryan back to me.
    â€˜Scared of a harmless old coot like me? What a joke! People don’t come to this place because it’s
haunted.
Bad things happened here a long time ago.’
    â€˜What bad things?’ I asked.
    â€˜Dreadful things. So bad that now—’ he lowered his voice to a whisper ‘—she
walks.
Captain Greenlowe’s daughter, Perdita. That’s where the house gets its name, you know. Something terrible happened and she died. Locals round here call her the White Lady.’
    â€˜You’re not seriously telling me that you believe in ghosts?’ I asked. ‘I hope I don’t look like the sort of person who’s scared off by silly stories.’
    â€˜Yeah, are you kidding us?’ asked Boges.
    Curly gave us a sly look. ‘You suit yourselves. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.’ With that, he turned around and walked off, out the overgrown gates.
    â€˜That’s the third weirdo local we’ve met,’ said Ryan. ‘Are they
all
loopy round here?’
    â€˜Maybe it’s something in the water,’ Boges joked. ‘Come on, let’s go meet the White Lady.’
    I let the boys walk ahead as I wondered about Perdita, Captain Greenlowe’s tragic daughter. What had happened to her?
    Worn stone steps led up to a black and white marble verandah that ran around the front and sides of the house as far as we could see. Westepped up onto it and I tested the wide front door, set between two panels of lead lighting. It was locked, but the tall window on the right of the door was slightly open and with Boges and Ryan’s help, I was able to open it wide enough to climb through. I straightened up, brushed the dust from my hands and looked around. In the fading daylight, the tall windows and the grand carved fireplace set deeply in the timber panelled wall of the large front room were spell-bindingly beautiful, despite the coating of thick dust. Like the stage setting for some wonderful play.
    â€˜Oh,’ I breathed, ‘it’s magical!’
    â€˜
Was
magical,’ corrected Boges, as I let the boys in the front door.
    Old-fashioned wallpaper festooned the walls, some of it peeling a little, and the floorboards creaked as we walked. Dust sheets shrouded lumps that looked like armchairs and other bits of furniture.
    â€˜Looks a bit spooky,’ said Ryan.
    â€˜I hate to break the spell,’ said Boges, ‘but how come that window you got through was unlocked?’
    I took a closer look at the window and stepped back, alarmed. ‘It wasn’t unlocked. It’s been forced open. Look. You can see where the wood’s splintered here. And those look like footprints in the dust,’ I said, pointing to a series of faint tracks across the room. ‘Someone’s been in here quite recently.’
    â€˜She walks!’ Ryan reminded us. ‘But I didn’t know ghosts left tracks … ’
    â€˜Curly?’ Boges asked.
    â€˜Could be. So why is he snooping around?’
    â€˜Curious maybe,’ suggested Boges.
    After checking out the main room, we went down the hallway. The footprints petered out so that it was impossible to tell where the