harm in playing a few games, it was fun.”
Grace
didn’t say anything, she had an awful feeling that she knew where this was
going.
Emily
said, “You can probably guess what happened, I became addicted. I played more
and more. I had trouble sleeping, I used to think I could hear ghosts in the
house, particularly in the library. I know it sounds silly. Anyway, I used to
be up until the early hours most days, gambling away. I won occasionally but
mainly I lost. I thought there was plenty of money in the bank but it began to
go down. I was so silly. I even went on other gambling sites, it’s so easy
online!”
“It’s
too easy,” Grace added. “Did your son know?”
Emily
shook her head vehemently. “I couldn’t tell him, I was too ashamed. The money
had been promised to him and there I was, gambling it away at the click of a
button. I started to sell some of my jewellery to pay for my gambling debts. I
felt awful taking them into shops to sell, I felt so grubby. Luckily, I didn’t
have to do that for long. That woman got in touch with me and sorted everything
out.”
“What
woman?”
“This
woman phoned me up, I don’t know how she got my number. She said her name was
Janet Smith and she’d heard that I was having trouble paying my debts. She was
so understanding, she told me I shouldn’t be ashamed about my gambling if it
gave me enjoyment. She gave me the website addresses of other sites, she said I
would be more likely to win on them. Then she said she could help me pay my
debts without me having to leave the house to sell items. She knew where I
lived ...”
“How?”
Grace interrupted. This Janet Smith was sounding highly suspicious.
Emily
shrugged. “I think you can find out all sorts on the Internet. Janet Smith said
I must have some old furniture that I didn’t need anymore. She offered to have
it collected and sold on my behalf. Wasn’t that kind of her? There were some
old pieces that I didn’t like so I agreed to it. Some men came round and collected
quite a bit.”
“What
did you tell your son? Wasn’t he suspicious?”
Emily
looked towards the window. “I told him I was having them restored. I’m so
ashamed, I didn’t want to lie to him. I happily carried on gambling. That Janet
was wrong about the new sites, I didn’t win at all. And I needed more money to
gamble with. She phoned me again to say she knew about a loan company that
would be able to help me.”
Emily
stopped talking. She sighed deeply, her eyes glittered with tears.
Grace
said softly, “You don’t have to go into details. I’m guessing that your debts
got higher, you took more loans out to meet the costs?”
Emily
nodded. “And don’t forget the part about lying to my son, that was the worst
part. I could barely sleep with worry. It wasn’t just the ghosts at Heathville
that were keeping me awake, it was my guilt. I joined an online support group,
I had to do something. That’s where I met Ted, my boyfriend. He was so
supportive, didn’t judge me. The first thing I did was close down all my memberships
on the gambling sites. Ted told me to get legal advice about my debts. He’d
gone through something similar. Well, I didn’t need to. Janet Smith phoned me
the day after I closed my last account. She said she understood exactly what I
was going through and that she had an easy solution for me, one that would
clear my debts in one go.”
Charlie
spoke. Grace had almost forgotten he was there. He said in a dull voice, “She
told you to sell Heathville.”
Emily
said, “She told me to sell my house. She already had the name of someone who
might be interested, a Charlie Ford.”
Grace
looked at Charlie, he gave a slight shake of his head as if this was the first
he’d heard about it.
“I
was shocked at first, I couldn’t leave Heathville! It had been in the family
since it was built. I told Janet I’d have to think about it. I actually slept
better that night knowing a solution was near to hand. I
Grace
didn’t say anything, she had an awful feeling that she knew where this was
going.
Emily
said, “You can probably guess what happened, I became addicted. I played more
and more. I had trouble sleeping, I used to think I could hear ghosts in the
house, particularly in the library. I know it sounds silly. Anyway, I used to
be up until the early hours most days, gambling away. I won occasionally but
mainly I lost. I thought there was plenty of money in the bank but it began to
go down. I was so silly. I even went on other gambling sites, it’s so easy
online!”
“It’s
too easy,” Grace added. “Did your son know?”
Emily
shook her head vehemently. “I couldn’t tell him, I was too ashamed. The money
had been promised to him and there I was, gambling it away at the click of a
button. I started to sell some of my jewellery to pay for my gambling debts. I
felt awful taking them into shops to sell, I felt so grubby. Luckily, I didn’t
have to do that for long. That woman got in touch with me and sorted everything
out.”
“What
woman?”
“This
woman phoned me up, I don’t know how she got my number. She said her name was
Janet Smith and she’d heard that I was having trouble paying my debts. She was
so understanding, she told me I shouldn’t be ashamed about my gambling if it
gave me enjoyment. She gave me the website addresses of other sites, she said I
would be more likely to win on them. Then she said she could help me pay my
debts without me having to leave the house to sell items. She knew where I
lived ...”
“How?”
Grace interrupted. This Janet Smith was sounding highly suspicious.
Emily
shrugged. “I think you can find out all sorts on the Internet. Janet Smith said
I must have some old furniture that I didn’t need anymore. She offered to have
it collected and sold on my behalf. Wasn’t that kind of her? There were some
old pieces that I didn’t like so I agreed to it. Some men came round and collected
quite a bit.”
“What
did you tell your son? Wasn’t he suspicious?”
Emily
looked towards the window. “I told him I was having them restored. I’m so
ashamed, I didn’t want to lie to him. I happily carried on gambling. That Janet
was wrong about the new sites, I didn’t win at all. And I needed more money to
gamble with. She phoned me again to say she knew about a loan company that
would be able to help me.”
Emily
stopped talking. She sighed deeply, her eyes glittered with tears.
Grace
said softly, “You don’t have to go into details. I’m guessing that your debts
got higher, you took more loans out to meet the costs?”
Emily
nodded. “And don’t forget the part about lying to my son, that was the worst
part. I could barely sleep with worry. It wasn’t just the ghosts at Heathville
that were keeping me awake, it was my guilt. I joined an online support group,
I had to do something. That’s where I met Ted, my boyfriend. He was so
supportive, didn’t judge me. The first thing I did was close down all my memberships
on the gambling sites. Ted told me to get legal advice about my debts. He’d
gone through something similar. Well, I didn’t need to. Janet Smith phoned me
the day after I closed my last account. She said she understood exactly what I
was going through and that she had an easy solution for me, one that would
clear my debts in one go.”
Charlie
spoke. Grace had almost forgotten he was there. He said in a dull voice, “She
told you to sell Heathville.”
Emily
said, “She told me to sell my house. She already had the name of someone who
might be interested, a Charlie Ford.”
Grace
looked at Charlie, he gave a slight shake of his head as if this was the first
he’d heard about it.
“I
was shocked at first, I couldn’t leave Heathville! It had been in the family
since it was built. I told Janet I’d have to think about it. I actually slept
better that night knowing a solution was near to hand. I
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