Fourteen Days by Steven Jenkins Page A

just loves teasing me.”
    “Don’t worry about Nicky. I know how closed her mind is. She gives me a hard time too.” She took a sip of tea. “So, Nicky’s been telling me that you think you saw a ghost.”
    “Don’t listen to her, Karen. I didn’t say that I saw a ghost. She’s just making fun. I said that I think I saw someone. A woman. In the kitchen.”
    “What did she look like?”
    “Does it matter? She’s not even real. I don’t believe in ghosts.”
    Karen smiled. “Well, they believe in you.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “I’m saying that they do exist. They’re all around us. But that’s not to say that every strange thing we see is something paranormal. But sometimes…”
    “Look, there are a million reasons to explain why I saw her.”
    “Such as?”
    He shrugged. “Like a trick of the eyes. Or the glare from the sunlight. Or stress from work. It could be anything.”
    “Describe her, Rich. Her clothes. Her hair. How old did she look?”
    “She looked about thirty-odd, and she had long, brown hair, all wet and greasy as if she was dripping in sweat.”
    “And what was she wearing?”
    “She had a white dress on. Like a summer dress. Like the ones Nic wears sometimes. But it was dirty, covered in stains.”
    Karen fell silent for a moment as she processed the information. “That doesn’t sound like a trick of the eyes to me.”
    “Why not?”
    “Because you described her so well.”
    “So? She still could be a hallucination. It doesn’t mean there’s a ghost in my kitchen.”
    “You’re right. I’m not saying that you saw a spirit, but there is a possibility.” She took another sip of her tea. “Has anything else been happening around here?”
    “Well, the smoke detector’s been going off on its own for the past couple of days, even after I changed the battery. But I suppose it could be faulty.”
    “It could be faulty. Anything else?”
    “I’ve been having weird dreams about the woman.” He thought for a second. “Oh, and Nicky’s keys went missing. The TV came on on its own with the volume all the way up. I mean, that was strange. Really strange.”
    “And has Nicky witnessed any of this?”
    He shook his head. “No—apart from the smoke alarm and the TV. Nothing else. It’s just always when I’m home alone in the day.”
    Karen sat back on the couch, chewing on this information. “This woman—did you recognize her? Maybe from work, or…”
    He shook his head again. “No. I’ve never seen her before.”
    “And you’re positive?”
    “Yes. One hundred percent. I’ve never seen her before in my life. That’s what’s so weird.”
    “Well, if that’s the case, then there’s a good chance that you did see someone in your kitchen. And that someone could well be trying to get a message across to you.”
    Frowning, he shuffled on the couch, half-hoping that she was talking complete nonsense. “Look, if I did see something—and I’m not saying I did—but if I did, then what might she want from me?”
    Karen shrugged. “Who knows? In a lot of cases it’s the previous owner of the house. Do you know anything about them?”
    “I think the house is about fifteen, or maybe even twenty years old. And the last owner was a man.”
    “How many other owners have there been? Maybe it was a woman that died before him.”
    He shrugged. “I’m not sure. My neighbour Ilene will know—she’s lived here for years.”
    “Ask her.”
    Richard chuckled. “Not a chance.”
    “Why not?”
    “Because it’s ridiculous. I can’t go ’round her house and ask her about a bloody ghost. She’ll think there’s something wrong with me. Plus, I haven’t been ’round in ages. And she’s old and lonely. She’ll make me feel guilty for not making more of an effort.”
    Karen grinned. “Well that’s perfect then. You’ve got an excuse to go and see her. You can have a cup of tea and a chat, and then you can just drop it into the conversation. You don’t even have