Page 88 of Murder Most Haunted

[Harsh laughing]

Rendell:Of course, mutual parting. If you say so, son.

Noah:I’m not your son.

Rendell:Speaking of which, I imagine Daddy wasn’t too happy about you buggering up this job as well, was he? Bit of a pattern there Noah... dropping out of the cadets, then out of university. What was it, computers or something? And now this! You literally can’t stick at anything can you?

Noah:He... doesn’t...

Rendell:Oh my God, you haven’t told him, have you?

Noah:No, and you better not tell anyone else.

Rendell:Is that a threat?

Noah:All I need is one good recording and the listeners will come flooding back. The sponsors and the platforms will be right behind them.

[Pause]

Rendell:Well, in that case, you better hope this weekend goes with a bang.

Chapter57

By the time Midge had made her way downstairs, it wasn’t the acrid smell of developing solution that filled the hallway, but rather the aroma of Noah’s baking – cookies again, if her nose was any judge. In the kitchen, Noah had abandoned his cookies to the oven and was immersed in the shadows of the pantry, being ordered about by Bridie. Harold, however, was not being much help.

‘I don’t think this is a good idea,’ he said again, when she walked in.

Bridie shooed him out. ‘The pantry is the best place, no windows or natural light to worry about.’

‘Not the pantry,’ said Harold. ‘I just don’t think we should be wasting time looking at these photos.’

‘Did you get the ingredients?’ Midge asked Noah.

He nodded and held up hands covered in a pair of yellow marigolds. ‘Yup. Managed to find everything on the list with Bridie’s help.’

Bridie looked very tired, in Midge’s opinion, and the activity had aggravated her cough. ‘I think you should go and rest too,’ said Midge, thinking that Bridie was the third woman she had sent to bed in as many hours. ‘Rona isn’t going to be awake any time soon.’

‘Neither is Gloria,’ said Harold. ‘I think she must have taken a load more of the sleeping pills. They’ve knocked her right out.’

‘I think I will go and have a sit-down upstairs,’ agreed Bridie.

‘Harold, can you take those cookies out of the oven when they’ve finished?’ Noah nodded at Midge and extended his arm towards the pantry. ‘Shall we?’

The smell of the homemade chemical solution overwhelmed her as soon as she stepped inside, disorientating her almost as much as the darkness.

‘I’m going to shut the door,’ said Noah, appearing behind her. ‘It will take your eyes a little while to adjust to the dark. I find keeping them closed and counting to ten helps.’

With that, he shut the door with a slam and the two of them were plunged into instant darkness. Squeezing her eyes shut, Midge could hear Noah counting out loud next to her. ‘One Mississippi... two Mississippi...’

When he had reached ten, she slowly opened her eyes, blinking a couple of times to let them adjust. There was just enough light to make out the pantry shelves and a long counter at waist height. Laid out on it, next to Noah, were three baking trays. The one on the left was filled with the foul-smelling liquid. The space was restrictive and the smell potent.

Her heart jumped as something brushed against her forehead. A small length of washing line had been strung up from the ceiling with several plastic pegs dangling from it.

Beside her, Noah was fiddling with the canister, trying to pull out the roll of film. ‘Have you done this before?’ she asked.

‘Mmm. Yes. Sort of. I hope I don’t ruin all the photos.’

‘Strange to use film,’ Midge wrinkled her nose. ‘Seems a bit old-fashioned.’