P.I.E Limey Rivalry – Part Four

The foreign man rose from his chair with a delighted expression. He held himself with a rare amount of self-confidence, which was lacking in so many paranormal investigators. His outfit was probably helping his sense of aplomb; Ghost would never be seen with such an 'out there' wardrobe and Toast – while wearing his typical shirt and waistcoat – never usually kept it as neat and tidy as he could have.

He made his way over to the two 'Johnnys' and began to shake Ghost's hand. He began talking enthusiastically, though neither of them were particularly listening. Toast hazarded a guess, assuming this unknown man was saying it was a pleasure to meet the two of them, or was just rambling about nothing important. Ghost, despite having his own arm shaken up and down – the man hadn't let him go yet – did not react. Nor was he aware of anything that was happening around him.

Ghost felt like there was a raging storm within his own head; he was thinking about so many things so fast. According to Sophia, this bizarre British man was her first choice. Who was this person, if he was so special that he was the go-to choice before paranormal investigators within the same neighbourhood?

After a solid twenty seconds of Ghost and Toast not talking, the man looked at Sophia for some sort of explanation. She was obviously as confused as he was and the man began to click his fingers in front of their faces. That snapped them out of their internal battles and they returned to the land of the living.

The man spoke again quizzically, though wearing a smirk, "Are you alright, sir? You looked as though you saw a ghost." He started snickered to himself at his less than impressive joke.

"Y-yes. We're fine," Ghost answered shakily. His mind was still woozy. He turned to his partner, asking urgently, "Toast, can I have a word with you for a minute?"

Without an answer, Ghost sped off with Toast close by, leaving the man and Sophia alone in the room.

"…Well," the man said loudly whilst simultaneously clapping his hands together, "Whilst they're preoccupied, I should really start my investigation." He turned to Sophia, who was perplexed over what had just transpired. "Sophia, was it– Do you mind me calling you 'Sophia'?" he asked innocently.

"Umm, yes. Sophia's fine," she responded, finding it odd to use her own name.

"Excellent," He said and sat back down on the chair he came from. He tapped the chair next to his own, instructing her to sit. She timidly moved to the chair he had suggested and sat down. The man spoke again, "Tell me about the place. Anything you know, or anything you've been told."

Ghost was hyperventilating outside. He would've done anything for a brown paper bag. Toast, meanwhile, was rubbing his back.

"Sir, I need you to calm down," Toast advised his panicked partner, "you and me both know that we can't work officially when you're like this."

"What's the point," Ghost angrily responded, "We weren't wanted for this case, anyway."

Toast was taken aback by Ghost's outrage, causing him to continue, "You heard her. He was her first choice and we were the backup."

Looking away, Toast gently warned Ghost, "Don't say stuff like that."

Ghost either didn't hear Toast or didn't care, because he continued ranting, "It barely surprises me that an upscale woman like that would want penniless hooligans like us in her house when she has that fetching gentleman to help her. Who are we kidding anymore, Toast?"

Ghost's voice cracked and he turned away from Toast, looking intently on the fountain ahead of him. Despite Ghost looking the other way, Toast could sense that he was tearing up. "Sir. Please… Don't be like this," Toast advised weakly. He kicked himself for being so bad at emotional support, "C'mon, sir… We came all the way here and… I'm sure that we'll still be needed. I'm sure."

"Yeah, right. Toast, we don't even have flashlights, thanks to you," Toast looked down to the floor when his mistake was resurfaced, "As if she's still going to want us when she has someone else. It's like they say, Toast: two's company, three's a crowd."

Toast and Ghost spent the next short while standing there, absolutely silent. The only noise came from the trees; the wind was picking up. It also seemed to be cloudy too. Toast considered putting the roof up on his convertible, but Ghost's sudden movements distracted him before he could follow through with his idea.

Ghost turned to face the door and slowly walked towards it, with a huff, "I suppose we should stay. I'd hate to have travelled here for nothing. C'mon Toast."

Toast followed gleefully, happy to see that Ghost had not entirely given up.

They both returned to the dining room, where the man and Sophia were still siting. They were having a discussion, from what Ghost could see. The man stopped talking when he noticed the two entering the room for a second time. He cheerfully greeted the two of them by raising a hand and giving a large smile, "Ah, it's nice to see you again. I trust you had a fulfilling 'word'," he asked while directly quoting what Ghost had previously said.

When he noticed the faint redness of Ghost's eyes, along with the evidence of tears on his cheeks, the man's expression changed, his eyes softened and he cleared his throat before changing the subject, "I should probably go over some things with you." He leaned back in his chair and looked up at the ceiling.

Without any worded go-ahead, he decided to recap regardless, "Whilst you were outside, I've been probing Mrs Gumball for information. I asked her about her connection to the family – whether she knew them closely or not – and she said she was related through marriage and not through blood. I then asked why someone who was actually related to the family didn't inherit the place instead of her," he placed his hand on Sophia's shoulder whenever he used her name or a pronoun relating to her. "She said that there weren't any blood relations. They had all died through one way or another, along with her husband – who died a few years back due to decease – and her sister-in-law – who went missing and a body was never found."

Ghost and Toast, while still in a gloomy mood, did take notes about the information. Toast was surprised that he had managed to absorb that much information and relay it without needing to rethink.

Ghost perked up at what the man was saying, "That is a clear connection. Do you think it connects with the possible entity – or entities – here?"

The man replied, as if he knew Ghost was going to ask that, "I also spotted that. So I had also asked Sophia about what she knew of the Gumball family. Supposedly, they only became wealthy due to their coal mining business. Before then, they were mostly poor and unsuccessful. According to the sources I found on the internet, The Gumball mining company was founded in 1885. They developed mild success for a few years before suddenly booming in 1888. The company was owned by Alexander Gumball –"

"The husband of Fiona Gumball, the woman who owned the estate before Sophia," Ghost blabbed, interrupting the man.

"Exactly," the man said, clearly not annoyed by Ghost's interruption, "to cut a long story short, the mining company lost most of its popularity many years after and officially went bankrupt in 1955. Despite that, Mrs Fiona Gumball, without her husband, managed to live out her life without many hardships, using the money the company had once earned to get by. She died relatively recently."

"Do you think she's the one haunting the place?" Ghost asked, arranging the information into patterns and groups within his head.

"It is a possibility. A likely one, too. She never reported anything out of the ordinary to the officials when she was alive, as far as I know."

"But if everyone in the Gumball family died, why didn't she die until recently?"

"Let's not forget, Sophia's husband died but she didn't. Why… Because she was only a Gumball through marriage and not genetically related. Likewise, Fiona was only the wife of a Gumball. Therefore, she would have been unaffected by this family curse."

"Why do you think members of the Gumball family are dying, anyway?"

"That alludes me, unfortunately."

Toast and Sophia watched the two men bounce ideas off one another. Sophia was impressed by their quick thinking and investigative abilities. She had a sneaking suspicion that she had chosen the right people for the job. Toast, on the other hand, felt slightly uncomfortable. Usually, he had gotten involved with something – whether it be interrogating the client or coming up with hypothesises with Ghost – but those had both been done and Toast felt like dead weight at that moment.

The two of them turned their heads, in perfect unison, to look at Sophia. Likewise, they both said, "We need to see the basement," in the same firm tone. Sophia gracelessly made her way out of the dining room and the others prepared to follow.

Ghost suddenly realised that he still didn't know this man's name, nor did he ever introduce himself. "What was your name again," he asked.

The man gave a toothy smile and held out his hand, "Bryn. Bryn Underhill – Supernatual Examiner Connoisseur.