was red from the cold. ‘Is she your girlfriend?’ she demanded.
‘Of course not,’ he said, knowing it was true but feeling as if he was lying. ‘I’ve only met her a few times.’ No, that wasn’t good enough. It was unfair to all three of them. ‘But I do like her,’ he added.
‘I thought you liked me,’ she wailed.
‘I do,’ he answered. When had she taken hold of his hand? ‘But I’m too old for you and …’
‘I don’t care.’
‘… and you need to get well again before you start any sort of relationship.’ He had to get his hand back. He had to retreat to a safe distance.
‘I could get well quickly if I had you, I know I could.’
He had to tell her. She had to know it was never going to happen.
‘Gillian, I know how difficult today must have been for you, seeing people visiting graves, having others around to comfort them. Believe me, I know what it’s like to be alone.’
‘I’m not a slag, you know. There hasn’t been anyone since Pete.’
‘I don’t doubt that. But trust me, that is not the way to get over Hayley. What about your GP?’
It wasn’t going to work. She was taking a deep breath, getting ready to …
‘You have no idea!’ she screamed at him.
She was right. He had no idea. He was completely out of his depth.
‘What about a friend?’ he offered. ‘Is there anyone who lives nearby?’
‘She won’t leave me,’ said Gillian, speaking to a point somewhere in the middle of his chest.
‘Who won’t? Do you mean Hayley?’
She nodded. ‘She’s dead, I know that,’ she said. ‘I’ve known for a long time, but she won’t go away.’ She grabbed his hand again. ‘She’s haunting me.’
‘Gillian …’
Her head shot up. Her eyes looked terrified. ‘Please help me,’ she begged. ‘You can do something, I know you can. Make her go away. You can do a – what do you call it? – an exorcism.’
The girl was unbalanced. She needed serious help.
‘Gillian, I’m going to call someone. You can’t—’
‘Listen to me.’ She’d grabbed both his hands now, had fallen off the sofa and was kneeling in front of him. ‘This is the Day of the Dead, right? When lost souls who can’t find their way to heaven come back to where they used to live. I never used to believe in all that, but I do now. She was here today. She took the toy, Pink Rabbit, and put it in our old house. I found it just now, where the kitchen fireplace used to be.’
‘Gillian …’
‘She talks to me all the time. I hear her voice, calling “Mummy, Mummy, help me.” It doesn’t matter where I am. In here, asleep, out on the moors, she’s always there, always talking to me. “Mummy, Mummy,” she says, “find me.” She moves things around, here in the flat, leaves little presents for me. Every time I turn round, every time I wake up in the night, I think she’s going to be there, just as she was the last time I saw her, in her Beatrix Potter pyjamas.’
Harry realized he was shaking.
‘She’s with me every day. She’s driving me insane.’
‘Gillian, you know, don’t you, there are no such things as ghosts?’
There was a loud banging on the outside door.
‘Sit down,’ he told her. ‘I’ll go and see who that is.’ She was still holding his hand. She clung on, unwilling to let go, but Harry headed towards the door and she had little choice. Overcome with relief at being away from her, even for a few minutes, he jogged down the stairs and pulled open the door. The middle-aged woman with the dyed-red hair was standing outside.
‘Vicar.’ She inclined her head and stepped forward, clearly expecting him to move aside and let her in. ‘Edith Holcome phoned me,’ she said. ‘She saw you bring Gillian home. Said I should probably get down here.’ She moved forward again.
‘Are you a friend of Gillian’s?’ asked Harry. Had reinforcements arrived after all?
‘I’m her mother. Gwen Bannister. Nice to meet you, Vicar. Don’t worry any more, I’ll look after her now.’
Her mother? Oh, thank God.
‘Well, if you’re sure …’ Had he left anything upstairs? Did it matter? Were his keys in his pocket? Yes.
‘She’s extremely upset,’ he offered, not wanting anyone to go up those stairs unprepared. ‘I think she may need to see a doctor.’
‘I know, I know, I’ve seen it all before.’ The woman had pushed her way past him and was already