Chapter 46
PHYLLIS
Slate was sitting at the kitchen table, a cold mug of coffee in front of him, deep in thought when Phyllis came into the kitchen, carrying Cobweb. She sat down opposite him and Cobweb curled up on her lap.
‘You look troubled. Want me to read your leaves for you?’ she teased, knowing that it wasn’t Slate’s thing.
‘Heavens, no,’ he replied.
‘I don’t need to read your leaves to know that the problem is your feelings for Nancy.’
His jaw dropped. ‘What do you mean?’
‘One would have to be blind not to see that you and Nancy are both attracted to each other,’ she said gently.
He shrugged. ‘Maybe, but there’s no future in it.
We’ll all be moving out in a couple of months and Nancy will be selling up.
It’s a shame because it’s been great living here, but things change.
’ He finished his coffee and picked up his mug.
‘Nancy might find it difficult to sell the house if Clifford is still here, though. I bet he’ll make it very awkward for her.
And won’t he be classed as a sitting tenant? ’
‘Oh, he’ll be gone well before then,’ Phyllis said. ‘I think he’s cracking already.’
Slate chuckled. ‘I reckon you’re right. He looked pretty rattled this morning. Phase one of our plan certainly worked.’
‘Cobweb played her part well,’ Phyllis said, with a smile as she stroked Cobweb. ‘Didn’t you, Cobbie? And your ghostly cackles really freaked him out, Slate. That was a brilliant idea!’
Slate had told them that when he was making space in the bedroom for Clifford to sleep there, he had hidden a speaker on top of the cupboard and linked it via Bluetooth to the microphone app on his phone.
‘I’ll keep whispering loudly or cackling into it throughout the night,’ he’d said. ‘That will shake him!’
‘Yeah, I’d love to have seen his face when the whispering started. I did it a few times, allowing enough time between whispers for Clifford to doze back off, then I could wake him up again. He looked exhausted this morning.’
‘You look tired too,’ Phyllis observed.
Slate yawned. ‘I am a bit tired but it’s worth it.’
* * *
The next day, Decaf and Oxo turned up for band practice again as soon as Jackie and Nancy had gone off to work.
Phyllis had the day off so was going to put the second part of her plan into action.
Knowing that the loud music would soon wake Clifford up, she took her crystal ball down from her shelf, placed it on the small table in her room and carefully arranged candles around it.
Then she waited for the sound of Clifford’s bedroom door opening. She didn’t have to wait long.
When she heard him stomp across the landing straight to the bathroom, she lit the candles and opened her door wide. Clifford came out of the bathroom, trudged past then paused. He peered into her darkened room. ‘What are you doing?’
‘Scrying. I want to see what the future holds for me.’
‘I don’t believe in that stuff…’ he stammered. ‘It’s all a load of rubbish.’
She gazed into the crystal ball then back up at Clifford. ‘Really? Well, that’s a shame.’
‘You don’t frighten me. I know that you haven’t seen anything.’
‘So you don’t believe in ghosts or spirits either?’ Phyllis asked. ‘Never heard strange noises or seen shadows in the night?’
Clifford’s eyes widened and he shook his head wildly. ‘No, I don’t! And don’t think you can scare me with talking about them either.’
Phyllis nodded. ‘There are always the unbelievers.’ She draped her cloth over the ball and covered it up.
‘What did you see?’ Clifford demanded, his voice wobbling a little.
‘Nothing you would believe,’ she told him with a smile.
‘Well, maybe I’ve been a bit hasty…’
She cocked her head onto one side. ‘So, do you want me to scry for you?’
He fidgeted nervously with the collar of his pyjamas. ‘I’m not sure…’
‘Come on, what harm can it do? You must have a question you want answered. Or something you want guidance with. The universe is there to help us; there’s nothing to be afraid of.’
‘Can you really tell the future?’ he asked.
‘The ball provides guidance, it’s up to you if you want to accept it,’ she told him solemnly.
He paused then nodded. ‘Okay. Let’s give it a whirl.’ He walked tentatively into her room.
‘Sit down on the pouffe, gaze into the ball and empty your mind apart from the question you want to ask,’ Phyllis told him.
‘Do I have to tell you what it is?’
‘No, just think it. The ball can read your mind. Concentrate very hard and keep your eyes focused on the ball.’
Clifford placed his elbows upright on the table and rested his chin on his hands then gazed intently at the ball.
I bet he’s asking if Nancy will take him back, Phyllis thought.
She waved her hands in front of the ball. Then she gasped and sat up straight.
‘What is it?’ Clifford faltered.
Phyllis shook her head. ‘Nothing. Nothing to worry about at all.’
‘I know you saw something.’
Phyllis’s eyes rested on his. ‘I can’t tell you, but I can give you a bit of advice, if you want it.’
Clifford folded his arms. ‘Go on then.’
‘Never stay where you aren’t wanted, or one injury after another will befall you until… well, until it’s too late.’ Phyllis said darkly.
Clifford jumped. ‘If you think you can scare me away with your stupid nonsense, then you’ve got another think coming. You’ll have to do a lot better than that!’ He marched out of the room and across the landing.
Phyllis got up and closed the door. ‘Oh, I intend to,’ she said softly. ‘I haven’t even started yet.’