Page 6 of Dead Serious Case 5 Madame Vivienne
“There’s always something weird going on.” I sigh. “That seems to be our default setting these days.”
“What are you doing here anyway?” she asks, glancing at the brass plaque. “Hadley and Mason…” she reads aloud. “They sound like solicitors.”
“They are, apparently.”
“What do you need a solicitor for?” She wrinkles her nose in distaste.
“I don’t. Apparently, the current Mr Hadley was Viv’s solicitor. He was at the funeral and asked Danny and me to attend the reading of her will.”
“Why?”
I shrug.
“Just you and Danny?” Dusty says curiously.
I shrug again. “I have no idea.”
Danny looks down at his watch. “We should probably…” He nods towards the door.
Knowing he’s right and that we can’t stand out here all day while I converse with my spirit guide in training slash dead bestie, I lift my hand. Not seeing a door handle, I reach for the brass knocker, but before I can grasp the ring, the door opens slowly and a middle-aged woman appears.
Her ash blonde hair is pulled back in an immaculate chignon and she’s wearing a cream-coloured blouse with a pale pink cardigan. Her skirt is iron-grey and her shoes sport a low, sensible heel.
“Mr Everett, Mr Hayes,” she says in a cordial tone, the greeting more of a statement of certainty as to our identities than a polite guess. “If you’ll follow me, Mr Hadley is expecting you.”
“Um… thank you,” I reply, casting a quick glance at Danny, who shrugs slightly and meets my eyes with a curious expression of his own.
When she steps back we climb the two shallow steps to the door as we enter and find ourselves in a hallway. She closes the door behind us with an unsettling click. Edging past us, she starts walking, leaving us no choice but to follow in silence. The soles of our shoes click against the wooden floors as we pass down a narrow corridor, the walls of which are decorated in dated but immaculate wooden panelling and duck egg blue silk wallpaper adorned with tiny flowers and songbirds.
I know Dusty’s following along behind us because I can hear her absently humming the song “The Other Side” fromThe Greatest Showman. She always manages to make my heart feel lighter without trying.
We pass by a couple of closed doors until finally the corridor opens into a slightly larger anteroom with a large curved wooden staircase leading upwards, its steps covered with a rose-coloured carpet runner secured in place with shiny brass rods. As we climb, the treads groan beneath our weight, the way old buildings do. Cold daylight seeps in through large windows and the air smells musty overlaid with an air freshener that reminds me of potpourri.
Finally, we reach the top of the staircase and I’m practically wheezing. Seriously, the only cardio in my life usually involves me and my fiancé naked, getting hot and sweaty.
Fiancé.
I can’t help the smile that tugs at my lips. Even in our current situation, I still get a little thrill at the thought that Danny is going to be my husband.
The woman who never bothered to introduce herself stops abruptly, startling me from my contemplation. Raising her fist, she raps smartly on the wooden door we’re standing in front of, then folds her hands neatly and waits.
It’s so reminiscent of being back at school and marched to the headmaster’s office that I expect a voice to ring out from theother side, commanding us to enter. So I’m quite surprised when the door opens and Mr Hadley is standing on the other side to welcome us rather than sat behind his desk.
“Ah, Mr Everett, Mr Hayes.” He smiles. “Right on time. Thank you, Mrs Middleton. That will be all.”
“Very good, Mr Hadley,” she answers, her tone formal and filled with respect, and for a moment I almost expect her to curtsey. Instead, she turns and heads back down the staircase.
“Please.” Mr Hadley steps aside and indicates for us to enter his office.
Danny and I have just crossed the threshold when I turn and catch a glimpse of Dusty. She’s standing on the other side of the doorway looking extremely put out. I watch in surprise as she lifts her hand and a strange shimmering ripples across the opening, preventing her from entering.
My mouth falls open and I blink slowly.
“My apologies, Mr Everett, but I’m afraid your… friend will have to remain outside. These offices are warded to allow for total privacy.”
Even more stunned, I turn my gaze to Mr Hadley. “Bloody hell. You… you can see her?”
“Of course I can. However, spirits and other supernatural creatures are not allowed to cross the threshold,” he says almost apologetically. “It’s company policy and has been in effect for over two hundred years. I’m sure you understand.”