Restless Echoes
Peg thanked the children for collecting and washing up
all the coffee cups. Andy, eager to rush away to explore,
looked back and said that the Kitchen Lady had done it.
Being busy, Peg didn’t follow up his flippant remark – it
sounded like a joke anyway. It wasn’t until other odd
things happened, and the children exchanged puzzled
glances when censured, that she began to worry.”
Dave related the incident they had already heard
from Gavin. He and Peg were astonished when the
child’s toy was found on a high shelf in the airing
cupboard, which even he could only just reach. “Could
your son, or one of the little girls, have thrown it up
there?” Polly asked. Dave said they had thought of that,
but it was so carefully placed that it seemed unlikely. The
three children spoke of the Kitchen Lady naturally –
taking it for granted that their parents were aware of
her presence. Polly acknowledged that it must have been
disturbing but was eager to hear why they were now
even more uneasy about the apparent haunting. Had
something bad happened?
“Well,” Dave shook his head, “nothing really bad, but
if anyone with a weak heart sees what Pete and I have
seen, it could be serious.”
He spoke quietly, sticking to the facts, obviously
trying not to sensationalise. “Every evening, about half
an hour after the kids go to bed, Peg goes up to check
that all is in order and lights are out but, when Pete took
over one night, he heard the rumbling sound of an
animal growling. Halfway up the stairs, he froze. When
he decided he’d imagined it, he went on to the landing.”
With a shudder, Dave paused and quaffed a few
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