Chapter 22
Ian persuades the rest of the villagers to go back home, assuring them that he, Izzie and Callum can take it from here, and then Hunter shows everyone to the library/den, where we all crowd around one of the coffee tables, as if we’re about to have a business meeting.
‘The thing is,’ says Izzie, tucking into a toasted sandwich, which Dante has grudgingly had sent up from the kitchen.
‘Business has been dire this year for all of us. We really need the boost that a partnership with the hotel would give us. It’s a rural area, without a lot of opportunities for trade.
Us local business owners need to work together; a rising tide floats all boats, and all that.
And if the Bawbag isn’t willing to even consider that, then I’m sorry, but there’s only one option open to us. ’
‘A massacre?’ says Yasmin, leaning forward in her seat, her dark glasses propped on top of her head.
Izzie shifts her chair a little further away from Yasmin’s. ‘No, I mean a curse. Obviously.’
‘Now, Izzie,’ says Ian, clearing his throat. ‘We talked about this on the way here. We agreed there would be no curses.’
‘It’s too late,’ mutters Dante, making everyone jump. ‘I think this hotel is already cursed.’
He’s sitting in a high-backed chair in a shadowy corner of the room, and the combination of his pale face and shiny black hair makes him look so sinister that Millie lets out another small squeal of fright at the sight of him.
She really is particularly highly strung this morning, even for her.
‘Och, bite me,’ says Dante, scowling at her, and then widening his vampire glare to take in the rest of us. ‘I’ve had enough of trying to be professional with you lot. You’re all completely off your rockers. And one of you is up to something. Don’t even try to deny it.’
‘Up to something? What do you mean, “up to something”?’ says Daniel Foster, in the tone of a man who’s trying to re-establish his authority after he ran off and abandoned a group of women to their fate earlier.
‘Are you trying to accuse us of something? Because I’d like to know exactly what it is, if so. ’
He pulls his GoPro out of his pocket and thrusts it into Dante’s face, obviously intending to record him as evidence.
‘Um, I think Dante’s referring to the recent goings-on in the hotel,’ I venture, seeing the hotel manager swat at the camera as if it’s a particularly pesky fly.
‘The goings-on?’ says Bex blankly. ‘What goings-on? Am I missing something here? Is it something to do with the contest?’
‘Well, it’s just . . . some strange things have been happening since we got here,’ I say, feeling stupid now that I’m about to talk about this in front of them all. ‘To me.’
‘Is it the invisible woman?’ asks Millie excitedly. ‘You still haven’t told us about that? When did you see her, Rosie? Wait – how did you see her, if she’s invisible?’
Her brow furrows as she tries to figure this out.
‘Those from the spirit realm have ways of making their presence known,’ says Izzie darkly.
‘I wish ye’d told us about this yesterday, Rosie; I’d have brought some sage with me to flush her out.
Is the spirit in the room with us now? Are ye able to make contact with it? D’ye want me to give it a try?’
‘No,’ I protest, seeing Millie’s eyes flick nervously back to Dante, who doesn’t help matters by giving her a Dracula-like smile which is just missing a set of fangs. ‘No, there’s no ghost, Izzie. The goings-on are . . . well, it’s hard to explain.’
‘Why don’t you try us?’ says a cold voice from the doorway. Millie screams again, then blushes as she realises it’s just Sabrina, who’s chosen this moment to join us, Luna lurking behind her, looking terrified as usual.
‘Oh, good,’ says Dante from his corner. ‘It’s the Angel of Darkness.
That’s all we need. Look,’ he goes on, addressing Sabrina, who approaches us in her usual army general manner.
‘This is your problem. You’re the one who came up with the idea of a “pre-launch” event, or whatever you call it – I was just stupid enough to go along with it.
Well, enough is enough. This is your circus, Sabrina, so you better look after your monkeys. ’
‘Who are you calling monkeys?’ begins Daniel, but Sabrina waves him imperiously aside and turns to face me instead.
‘You were saying?’ she says, in a tone that would sound almost pleasant, if it wasn’t her. ‘Something about “goings-on”, I believe? Why don’t you enlighten us, Rosie?’
My stomach is churning so loudly it’s probably going to be providing the soundtrack to the video Daniel thinks no one can see him filming, but every eye in the room is locked onto me, so I haltingly tell them about the missing clothes, the stolen itinerary and, finally, last night’s turnip revelation; none of which sounds nearly as dramatic in my retelling as they all seemed at the time.
‘Well, I never!’ says Izzie in astonishment as my story comes to an end. ‘Can you believe this, Ian? A dirk in the turnip!’
‘It’s no way to treat a turnip,’ says Ian gravely. ‘No way at all. That one would’ve made a fine soup, too.’
‘Why didn’t you tell us about any of this at the time, though, Rosie?’ says Zara. ‘I mean, we obviously knew about the thing with the sauna, but I thought that was just an accident. Wasn’t it?’
‘Yes,’ says Hunter firmly. ‘It was absolutely an accident.’
‘Um . . . I’m not sure,’ I say, staring at my feet in their paper spa slippers.
‘I was starting to think it probably was, but then the turnip turned up with the dirk in it, and now I’m not sure.
I’m not sure about any of it, though,’ I add hurriedly.
‘That’s why I haven’t mentioned any of it until now. ’
‘Oh,’ says Yasmin, wrinkling her nose. ‘Right. I just assumed you hadn’t told us because you thought it might be one of us doing it.’
Millie gives a gasp of horror, and Daniel turns his camera on her.
‘Well, it’s the most obvious explanation, isn’t it?’ goes on Yasmin. ‘We’re all in a competition together. It would make sense for the person who wants to win it most to start bumping off the rest of us, one at a time.’
Everyone immediately looks at Bex.
‘Oh, come on,’ she says, putting her hands on her hips. ‘You want to win as much as I do, Yas. How do we know it’s not you who’s been doing it?’
Everyone switches to Yasmin.
‘No, that’s a fair point,’ she says, patting her hair in its slicked-back bun. ‘It could be me. It could be any of us, really.’
‘It’s true that none of us have been particularly nice to Rosie,’ puts in Zara. ‘I don’t think we can really blame her for suspecting us.’
‘This is ridiculous,’ says Sabrina, who’s been listening to all of this with her arms crossed and one foot tapping impatiently. ‘Of course we can blame her! This isn’t some kind of murder mystery, for goodness’ sake.’
‘Isn’t it?’ says Yasmin seriously. ‘Or is it just that the murder hasn’t happened yet?’
The room falls silent, with the exception of Daniel Foster, who’s still shuffling around, trying to get close-ups of everyone’s faces.
‘They thought it would be a relaxing break in a Highland castle,’ he says in a voice-over tone. ‘Then things suddenly took a darker turn . . .’
He thrusts his camera into my face and I push it away, my heart suddenly speeding up.
Could Daniel be the person behind the goings-on? I know he and Bex really need to make some money, after all. Maybe he thinks he can make some kind of found-footage-style spooky documentary and get rich that way? He does always have that camera on him . . .
‘Gosh, this is thrilling,’ says Millie breathlessly, shifting a little closer to Callum, who turns as red as the cooked tomato in his breakfast. ‘It’s like we’re in a horror movie or something.’
Daniel and Bex exchange glances at this, and my spidey senses tingle alarmingly. What if they’re all in on it? What if I’ve unwittingly become part of some kind of psychological experiment? Or one of those hidden-camera comedy shows?
‘Have you seen any signs, Rosie?’ says Izzie, seriously, interrupting my downward spiral chain of thought. ‘Black Shucks, stopped clocks, wailing winds . . . Anything like that?’
‘Um, the wind was wailing quite a bit last night,’ I say. ‘I thought it was just stormy outside, though.’
‘It was just stormy outside,’ says Hunter firmly. ‘There’s an even bigger one forecast for tonight. And the sauna door was just stuck.’
‘And the dirk?’ I point out, annoyed that he seems to be trying to downplay my fears again, after everything we talked about last night. ‘How do you explain that?’
Hunter opens his mouth and then closes it again, a sheepish look on his face.
‘If I may,’ says Luna timidly, from her position behind Sabrina.
‘Can I ask if anyone else has experienced any of these goings-on? It’s for our insurance,’ she adds, as Sabrina spins to face her.
‘We have a duty of care to the people we invited here. So, has anyone else found any dirks in their bed, say?’
Everyone shakes their heads except Izzie, who puts her hand up as if she’s in class.
‘Aye, I have,’ she says brightly. ‘Not since I was young, though. I actually wouldn’t mind finding a dirk in my bed again.’
‘I meant anyone in the influencer party?’ says Luna, looking even more scared.
Everyone shakes their heads again.
‘OK,’ says Sabrina. ‘I’ve had enough of this. We need to start getting ready for tonight. We’re supposed to be going to the village fair, remember?’
‘Where were you last night, Sabrina?’ says Dante suddenly, leaning forward in his chair. ‘I don’t suppose you know anything about this business with the dirk, do you?’