Nine Steps to Sara (35 page)

“I’ve a plan to make myself completely indispensible to her, that way she’ll always want to keep me around.”

“I think you’ve already done that this morning, that stunt on the roof is going to be pretty hard to top.”

“Ah, well then, seeing as how I’ve already made my quota for the day, I reckon I can turn in,” he tossed the tape measure he was working with aside into a worn tool bag as Sara approached. 

“Seriously, Will… I don’t know how to thank you enough for what you did for Jack today.  There aren’t words enough to…”

“No thanks necessary,” his hands came up in a supplicating gesture.  “I told you I’d do anything to keep him safe.”

“Yes, but that was really going above and beyond the call of duty stepping out on that ledge like that.  I don’t think many men would have done it.”

“I thought we’d already established that I’m not most men?” he grinned, his hands settling to rest on her hips.

“
Y
ou’re not wrong there.  Listen, do you think we could take a little walk?”

“If you like,” he agreed amenably, “did you have a destination in mind?”

“Not really, just… away,” she looked up at the house. 

Catching on to her meaning, Will nodded, and they
strolled
side by side for a bit in companionable silence.  After they left the gardens, Sara reached for his hand, twining her fingers with his. 

“I couldn’t help feeling like…
like we were being watched back there, I hope you don’t mind.  I wanted to talk, but I didn’t want to actually leave in case Jack needed me for something.”

“Of course I don’t mind, love.  What’s worrying you? 
A
part from the scare you had today, of course?”

“Like I said, I can’t help feeling like she’s watching us all the time at the house.  Maybe it’s stupid to think she won’t see us here, but it’s better than nothing,” Sara laughed nervously.  “Will, I feel like we have to do something to protect Jack.”

“What did you have in mind?”

“That’s just it, I have no idea.  But it’s already gotten way out of hand.  I’m starting to think the biggest danger to Jack is…her.”  Loathe to say Gemma’s name out loud for fear it might attract
the ghost
, Sara trusted Will to understand what she meant. 

“I’m starting to agree with you there, only what can we do but instruct Jack to ignore her?  Clearly she can’t h
urt
him directly; if we rob her of her influence over him, what harm can she do?  You’re not thinking of leaving, are you?” A kernel of fear appeared behind his eyes and Sara reached out to touch his cheek.

“No, no this is my house; we’re not leaving unless we run out of options.  I think it’s time
she
moved on.”

“What… do you mean like ridding the house of her, for good?”

“Why not?  Couldn’t we hire someone to exorcise her spirit or something?  Help her finally find peace and leave us to ours?”  A month ago she wouldn’t have believed in such a thing, but it started to look like their only real option. 

“I… suppose we could.  I expect we could find a spiritualist in
London
or perhaps even
Weymouth
.  I could make some inquiries.”

“Could you?  I think it’s best if it was done away from the house.  Maybe you could go to your father’s place and make some calls?”

“Alright, I’ll get on it first thing in the morning,” he promised with a brief kiss to her forehead.  “Of course you know, we mightn’t find the real thing on the first go.  I don’t suppose there’s much of a vetting system for this sort of thing.”

“I guess that’s true, but I don’t know what else to try.”

“Maybe we should get away for a few days?  Run up to
London
and we could look together?”

Sara shook her head, even though that sounded like heaven.  “I don’t think that’s a good idea.  I couldn’t leave Jack just now and I don’t want to raise any suspicions.”

“We could take Jack with us then,” Will countered and Sara loved how he didn’t bat an eye at including Jack, but she didn’t think it was the best plan of attack.

“If she gets desperate or thinks I’m taking Jack out of here for good, there’s no telling what she might do.  No, I think it’s best if we play it cool and not let on to what we’re planning.”  Besides, Jack might not go for it, he’d been freaked out by the sight of the Ouija board; there was no telling how he might feel about a full fledged exorcism. 

“Right then, seeing as how we’re not letting on that we’re planning anything, perhaps we should head back and find another distraction for the night?” his hands went around her waist, pulling her to him and Sara’s hands found their way up to rest on his shoulders, an inviting smile on her lips.

“That all depends on how distracting you intend to be.”

“Distracting enough to make you forget about all of this, and have a nice evening all to ourselves?”

“I like the sound of that,” Sara tipped her face up to be kissed.  “Come on then, let’s head back and you can show me just how distracting you can be.”

* * *

It took a few days for Will to find someone who didn’t laugh him out of the room when he asked about getting rid of a ghost.  Sara started to lose hope, until he called from
Weymouth
with good news for a change. 

He’d found a gypsy woman who claimed she could rid the house of evil spirits; not who she thought of when talking about exorcism, but Sara was willing to keep an open mind.  All the arrangements were made, she’d arrive in three days time since it had to be done on the night of the full moon, according to Mirella, the gypsy. 

The thre
e days went by lightning fast. 
They
didn’t go out much, mostly staying around the house,
while Sara watched over Jack like a hawk.  There were no dreams or visions in the meantime, and Jack swore up and down that Gemma hadn’t appeared to him since the incident with the window. 

On the night of the full moon, Sara found herself nervous and irritable, waiting for the gypsy to arrive.  When the bell rang at half past six, she beat Thomas to it, throwing open the door, only to stare at the girl who stood on the other side.  Instead of an old gypsy woman dressed in brightly colored scarves with missing teeth and a cackle, as her imagination had run away with, a young woman in jeans and a
Van Halen
t-shirt waited, hair pulled back into a thick, black ponytail, an expectant look on her face.

“
Who’s ready for a party?”
s
he jangled her shoulder bag made of brightly woven tapestry depicting the sun on one side and the moon on the other.
 

“Thank you for coming, please come in,
”
Sara
invited, stepping back as she crossed the threshold
just as Will loped up, offering Mirella a solemn nod
.

“
Oh come on you guys, you’re acting like someone’s gonna die
,
” Mirella smirked, setting her bag on the floor. 
Sara figured her age to be somewhere in the mid twenties once she got a closer look at her, or maybe it was that there was a hardness to her, that robbed her of any youthful innocence. 

“Someone still could,
”
Sara murmured, unable to keep a feeling of foreboding from settling around her.  If Gemma figured out what they were up to, it was a safe bet she wouldn’t go gently into the great beyond. 

“Not if you do exactly what I say
,
”
Mirella replied
earnestly
, but Sara wasn’t so sure
.

“Alright,
when and where are we go
ing to do this?  Do you need a certain amount of space?
”
she
asked, figuring the more
she
could learn about the actual ritual itself, the more prepared
she
would feel
; the better to
kill some of the
butterflies swirling around in her
stomach.

“I
’
ll need a fair amount of open space
,
and
tonight
.
”

“When, at the stroke of midnight?” 
Will quipped, and Sara resisted the urge to pinch him.  If they ticked her off, they’d be right back where they started. 

“
Actually it’ll be closer to about one thirty a
.
m.”
Mirella replied, unbothered.

“That seems… specific,
why so late?” Sara asked.  At least Jack would be in bed by then and hopefully never know anything happened
.

“That’s when the full moon officially starts.  I
googled
it and the net
said one twenty three in the morning.”

“You c
an’t argue with that
,
”
Will shrugged. 

Remembering her manners, Sara directed her to the
study
. 
“Would you like something to eat? 
Or some tea?” 

Mirella shook her head.  “No, I’m good.  I like to do stuff like this on an empty stomach, it’s much prettier that way if something goes wonky.”

That didn’t sound so good.
  “Wonky… like…”

“Oh, nothing for you to worry about.”  She waved a hand back and forth,
as Will and Sara traded looks.  What did that mean?  Sara opened her mouth to ask, but fell
silent as
Mrs. Poole approached. 

“I didn’t realize you were expecting company, my Lady.  Would you like tea or other refreshments for your guest?” she watched Mirella with undisguised interest, but Sara shook her head.

“No thanks, Mrs. P, we’re good here.”  The less anybody knew about what they were up to, the better as far as Sara was concerned. 

“Perhaps a sherry then?” she tried again and Sara shot Will a helpless look.  It would never work if she stuck her nose into it. 

“That will be all, Mrs. Poole,” Will smiled benignly, laying a hand on the
study
door, drawing a scowl from Mrs. Poole, but she withdrew. 

Still on her quest for details, Sara f
orged on.  “
Will you
do it in here or do you need like a sacred space or…”

“Outside would be
better;
this could get a little messy.”

“
Right
,
”
Sara
swallowed, feeling a little queasy
as her imagination ran rampant.  What did a gypsy exorcism entail?  Maybe she had time to excuse herself and ask Wikipedia before it started?

“
I think there’s a space out back that w
ill suit
if you wan
t to come and take a look at it,
”
Will
offered
and Sara had a fleeting selfish thought that she hoped he didn’t have the space for the gazebo in mind.  If that’s where they did it, she’d never be able to enjoy it ever again
.
  Chasing that thought away, she tagged along while Mirella chatted with Will about the space and the composition of the ground.