Chapter Six

He’d had enough. He had to find out what had happened in his house. It was driving him crazy. After a lot of Yellow Pages searching, he’d finally found a paranormal shop that might be able to help him. He was down the back of one of the many closes that made Edinburgh the labyrinth it was, and he had walked past it five times before realizing it was there. Finally, he pushed his way in through the door. The inside was far more extravagant than the outside, and Matt may have been inclined to look around had he not been desperate to find out what was going on. He walked over to the man sitting behind the counter, flicking through a comic. “Excuse me?”

“Can I help you with something?”

“I don’t know. Maybe. I just bought a flat here, and there’s a man in my mirror.” Matt just said it all quickly, hoping the man wouldn’t think he was nuts.

He was mildly surprised when the man looked more thoughtful than disapproving. “Oh… So you bought the Simpson flat…” He turned to his computer, and keyed in a few commands. “Can you tell me, what the man looked like?”

“Well, he’s-”

“Hang on.” The man twisted his web cam towards Matt and took a picture. “Sorry. I have a file on this house. I like to keep track of who’s in it. What’s your name?”

“Matt Willis. No weird spellings.”

“Okay…” the man keyed that in as well. Then turned to him. “Okay. Description?”

“Yeah. He’s blond, but with a kind of black section at the front. His eyes are light blue. He’s got some light freckles. His name’s James, and he used to be married.”

“Bourne?” the man asked in shock. Matt shrugged. The man called up a picture on the computer, “This him?” Matt craned his neck to look at the monitor. There, on the screen, was a picture of James, but not as Matt had ever seen him. He was smiling, for a start, and he looked more alive than Matt had thought possible. He had his arm round a pretty blonde woman who was probably his wife.

“What can you tell me about the house?”

“Well, Bourne here. Went missing in 1996, and everyone thought he’d fallen victim to the house who had claimed so many before him. However, if he’s in the mirror, that means he might still be alive, but there’s no point in telling his wife, because the guy trapped in the mirror 1986-1996 was killed as soon as Bourne was imprisoned. They found his body in the living room. It would appear that only one can be trapped in the mirror at a time. And the house seems to pick a new person every ten years.” He spared a glance at Matt, “Could be you, mate.”

“What about the people who don’t get trapped in the mirror?” Matt asked him.

“They just get killed. Why? You got a ghost?”

Matt nodded. “Okay, I want to know how this all happened.”

The man sighed, “Can’t help you there, mate. I’ve been looking for ages for someone who knows how this all happened. But all I’ve dug up is information on the victims. Right back until 1946. This is one serial killing house.”

Matt’s insides felt hollow, “And I’m next…”

The man didn’t say anything for a moment. Then asked: “Who’s your ghost?”

“Jessica. Victim in 2000, I believe. Teenage. Dark hair, dark eyes.”

“Jessica Tait? Wow. You got two of the most famed victims with you.”

“Wanna swap places?”

“No, I’m good where I am thanks.” The man held out a business card, “Harry Nelson. You need any more information on past victims, come see me. Good luck.”