p align="left"I checked the detector straight away once Connor and I climbed down out my car when we reached the coordinates. There was an eerie sort of silence. The only noises were the wind in the branches and the water gushing in the river down the bank. /p
p align="left"'Fuck me,' I noted, as I passed the detector over to Connor so that I could put my mittens on, 'isn't that the Well House.'/p
p align="left"Connor winced. 'Don't,' he said, 'that book scares the shit out of me.'/p
p align="left"Mittens on, I headed back to the boot of my car and quickly reached inside to grab my rucksack. 'Really?' I questioned. I swung it onto my back, over the knife pouch, before I thumped the boot closed. 'I think it's brilliant.'/p
p align="left"'Just because it's brilliant doesn't mean it can't be scary.'/p
p align="left"Humming in agreement, I didn't get the chance to respond again before Jensen and Becker got out of the truck parked beside the Range Rover and slammed the car doors shut./p
p align="left"'We'll do a perimeter sweep,' Becker said, 'should take 10 minutes, no more. If that comes back negative, we'll meet you back at the A.R.C.'/p
p align="left"I looked down at the detector in Connors hands again, just to check, but there was still no sign of any anomaly. 'Okay,' I nodded, 'Connor and I'll head inside.' Before he could interrupt, I held up a hand, 'I know what you said, and don't worry; I can handle Nick Cutter. There's no anomaly, the most dangerous thing that could be in that house is the damp.'/p
p align="left"'And the dust,' Connor added./p
p align="left"'Dust?' Jensen questioned./p
p align="left"'We're really allergic,' he answered. 'It's called– oh, what, Anna?– Rhino…. Rhinot…./p
p align="left"'Rhinitis,' I said, 'and it's not gonna emkill/em us, promise.'/p
p align="left"Reluctantly Becker nodded. He told us to be careful before he and Jensen set off into the woods./p
p align="left"I turned my head to Connor. 'So…'/p
p align="left"'So,' he agreed. 'This is the place. This is where Cutter predicts the anomaly will open?'/p
p align="left"'That's what the evidence suggests,' I returned, 'it's where emthe science/em predicts the anomaly will open.' I looked across the river, past the arching bridge, to the abandoned house on the other side. 'We better check it out.'/p
p align="left"'Then we just sit, twiddling our thumbs until the anomaly appears?'/p
p align="left"I shrugged. 'We'll take some readings… and poke around.'/p
p align="left"'Hold me back. I don't know if I can take the excitement.' He followed me as I made my way over to the bridge. 'By the way, I was just thinking, are you gonna change your name when you get married? I just… I can't imagine you being anything other than a Havisham.'/p
p align="left"I'd thought about it myself; I wasn't going to be Anna Thomas once I had married Will. I'd said back then that I wanted to keep my name but things had changed and now I wasn't sure if I'd wanted to stay a Havisham after all./p
p align="left"We walked across the bridge./p
p align="left"'I don't know,' I answered, 'I don't think Anna Cutter sounds right.'/p
p align="left"'Maybe it just takes some getting used to?' he suggested. 'I mean… at first I thought it was weird that you stayed a Havisham, emafter your dad/em… but…'/p
p align="left"'It became Mum's name too,' I resolved./p
p align="left"We stepped off the other end of the bridge and walked up the porch towards the front door./p
p align="left"Out on the step there was a windchime, and as he passed Connor brushed against it, the wood tolled melodiously, and I found myself back in the halls of the old house on the hill./p
p align="left"'Oh, god, we used to have one of these,' Connor's voice cut through to me, like he was there with me in my unstoppable influx of melancholy memories, 'you remember?'/p
p align="left"'The southeast conservatory,' I answered. emSome conservatory/em. It was a huge room, vast, made entirely of crystal glass with marble floors and a dome on the top of the roof. We used to have parties in there, late into the night in summer. And in the winters we'd pull up the velvet armchairs to the window and watch the snow fall over the estate./p
p align="left"Nobody ever used to call it the conservatory, everyone just used to call it 'The sun room,' he said. Like he could read my mind. 'What happened to the windchime?'/p
p align="left"'Nana's got it,' I said. Or at least I thought she had. 'I think.' I reached out towards the front door and tried the handle. The doors rattled but didn't open. So I rang the bell./p
hr /
p align="left"It was polite to wait at a big house. In the house on the hill we had someone who's main job was to answer the door when it rang. Because bad timing was always a factor in a house that big– where a journey from my bedroom to the kitchens was a 15-minute-long round trip./p
p align="left"People needed time to answer the door. I gave it about a minute, before I tried again./p
p align="left"The glass of the windowpanes in the door were grimy and almost opaque with dirt. I couldn't see anything on the other side. I cupped my hands around my eyes and squinted, trying to see something but all my efforts were in vain./p
p align="left"I had barely decided that I should pick the lock, rather than kick the doors in, and was halfway into my pocket halfway straightened up when there was a sudden noise, and before I could blink the front door flew open./p
p align="left"I jumped in fright as Connor appeared in the doorway and had to slam a hand over my beating heart. 'Connor! I hissed and gave him a harsh shove. 'Oh, fuck! emNever/em make a pregnant woman jump!'/p
p align="left"'Sorry,' he returned, plonking a hand down on my shoulder. 'Window was open. Nobody in.' He stepped back to let me in, and after taking a couple of calming breaths, I followed./p
hr /
p align="left"The inside was worse, somehow, than the exterior. There was a gross mixture of dirt and general waste all over the floor, dust sheets half covering the furniture, and there was a distinct smell about the place that I hadn't experienced since the time Connor tried to keep a field mouse in his underwear draw at the age of 9. The mouse had died. It was weeks before Connor realised and the decaying corpse was accompanied by the stench of the rotting food he had still been leaving for it./p
p align="left"'What happened to this place?' I asked. I wasn't really expecting an answer so when he didn't reply, I wasn't surprised. 'Why's it just been left?'/p
p align="left"'The smell?' he suggested. 'Maybe. Sewers? Maybe some damp?'/p
p align="left"'Smells like they've been keeping animals,' I replied./p
p align="left"He hummed. 'What sort,' he said, 'skunks?'/p
p align="left"'It's that fusty sort of hay and waste, you know. Like the old paddock after Christmas.' As I made my way to the staircase, he tossed the detector to me. 'Maybe the owners are abroad,' I called down to him./p
p align="left"I heard his footsteps echoing across the wood. 'Well maybe we should keep watch for a while you know,' he called back. Then, as I got even further, he raised his voice more. 'We can't stay here indefinitely just to keep Cutter happy.'/p
p align="left"I walked through the corridors and peered around doorframes in search for signs of any animals: scratches on the furniture or floorboard or baseboards, or excrement on the ground./p
p align="left"There was nothing./p
p align="left"The only thing that was clear to me, as I made my way into the back room and stepped across some yellow police tape, was that something had definitely happened here./p
p align="left" The back room was brighter than the others, but still felt the same. I did a quick circuit, keen eyes again searching somewhat expectantly, because it felt like there should have been something, but when I made it back to the door I had to consider that the smell was just emold/em. If there had been any animals there in the past they were long gone now./p
p align="left"I was almost out the room, stepping through the doorway when I heard it, like tiny pitter-patters, and I turned back just in time to see the soot from the chimney rain down into the fireplace./p
p align="left"em'Okay…'/em/p
p align="left"Could be a bird. A pigeon got stuck in the chimney at the house on the hill, got its feet caught in some string somewhere, and by the time we'd wiggled it out and we'd tried to cut it free, the poor thing had panicked and given up the ghost./p
p align="left"Connor had asked if we could eat it– he'd been 12– Mum had buried it instead in the garden./p
p align="left"I dropped to my knees on the hearth and stuck my head right up beneath the fireplace to peer up into the chimney./p
p align="left"It was almost completely black./p
p align="left"I couldn't see a thing./p
p align="left"I narrowed my eyes like I thought it would genuinely help but the only thing that was clear was the small square of daylight at the top but everything else was immaterial./p
hr /
p align="left"When I saw Connor in the kitchen from the end of the hallway, I couldn't resist./p
p align="left"'Get out of the fridge!' I slammed my hands down on his back and he jumped, glass bottle slipping from his fingers and smashing against the tiles at his feet./p
p align="left"He gasped in fright, reeling around though already guessing it was me, and swiftly proceeded to send a glare my way. 'What the hell was that!?'/p
p align="left"'Revenge?' I shrugged. But when he didn't immediately smile back at me, I nudged him. 'We're you scared?'/p
p align="left"'That was childish!' he returned, a little out of breath, 'and no... Maybe a little bit.'/p
p align="left"'Okay. Sort of sorry?'/p
p align="left"He waved it off. 'No, its fine, you're right that I deserved it from the– you know. Can we get out of here?' he then asked rather quickly. I cocked my head. 'There's something about this place, I'm getting some negative vibes. Maybe it's just me.'/p
p align="left"I shook my head. 'It's not,' I replied. 'There's some serious bad energy in this house. And I don't think it's from any sort of anomaly. I think you're right; we should get out its way.'/p
hr /
p align="left"Connor opened the front door and held it out for me to pass through. 'Well, that was eventful,' he complained./p
p align="left"As soon as I stepped out onto the porch I froze./p
p align="left"Behind me, Connor let the door swing closed, but not having anywhere else to go he wasn't far enough out the way and it hit him, causing him to stumble and crash right into the back of me and he had to steady himself./p
p align="left"I kept my attention cautiously trained on the stranger– a man– who was now standing on the porch and leaning against the railing but looking out across the river. 'It's a nice place, isn't it?' he said, flipping out his wallet to flash a police badge at us. 'Care to explain what you're doing here?'/p
p align="left"I raised an eyebrow. 'Just visiting,' I replied. I stuffed my hands into my pockets./p
p align="left"'Well, the way I see it, you're either burglars, or trespassing.' He turned around, and immediately his eyes fell on me./p
p align="left"He took a moment to look at me. emReally/em look at me. He started with my face, his own expression neutral so I couldn't read what he was thinking, before he glanced down my body somewhat suspiciously. Then his gaze flitted back to Connor./p
p align="left"'Do we look like burglars to you?' I returned./p
p align="left"Connor laughed, or more rather emgiggled/em because that idea no doubt excited him a lot more than the reality of this./p
p align="left"'Fairly sure I've seen laughing boy on a wanted poster.'/p
p align="left"Immediately Connor went quiet. I felt his breath by my ear as he leant in and through a smile asked, 'is he talking about me?'/p
p align="left"I walked down the porch steps. 'Officer–'/p
p align="left"'Detective Constable, emQuinn/em,' he corrected./p
p align="left"'Nice badge, Quinn,' I returned quickly, 'we've got one too.'/p
p align="left"'And you are?'/p
p align="left"'Anna Havisham,' I answered, then pointed back to Connor. 'Connor Temple.' I patted down my pocket– and seemingly catching on Connor started doing the same. We found the wallets at the same time and pulled them out./p
p align="left"The badges were Connor's idea. It was a shock when Lester had agreed that it was a good one. Within the week we had all received Security Service I.D. – Lester had even made a point of explaining that the Prime Minster himself had agreed that the A.R.C should be allowed to move around uninhibited but remain essentially entirely confidential and so had administered official M.I.5 identification. Connor had screamed in excitement./p
p align="left"Quinn glanced at the I.D. /p
p align="left"He looked instantly amused and rolled his eyes. 'You're lying, emAce/em.' I frowned. 'I should arrest you both but to be quite frank I can't be bothered; you people aren't worth the paperwork. Now go.'/p
p align="left"He stepped aside, and I held his gaze, nonrespondent, like I wasn't going to move./p
p align="left"But it wasn't worth it; we were finished here. There weren't any signs of an anomaly, and we could always come back if one opened. So I took a step around him and back in the direction of the bridge./p
p align="left"'What do you mean, you people?'/p
p align="left"Connor's voice made me glance back./p
p align="left"'Murder tourists,' Quinn answered venomously. Connor and I shared a look, wide eyed and knowing. emI knew there was something dark in that house. /em'You make me sick. Now get out. And if I see you around here again your feet won't touch the ground, do you– '/p
p align="left"'What happened here?' /p
p align="left"His nose curled. 'Like you don't know.'/p
p align="left"'If I knew I wouldn't have to ask,' I replied frustratedly./p
p align="left"'Get out.'/p
p align="left"The tone of his voice just made me roll my eyes. He wasn't going to tell us anything, so there was no point sticking around./p
p align="left"I'd started back towards the bridge when Connor's voice stopped me again. 'Do you know what, can I just say I think the police do a fantastic job,' he said quickly, before his tone started to change, 'and you know the occasional lapse into clichés: completely understandable under the circumstances.'/p
p align="left"I reached out, put my hand around his wrist and gently pulled him back. 'Connor…'/p
p align="left"Frustrated, he turned, jaw set and eyes hooded as he followed me back to the bridge. 'There's something strange going on in there, A,' he said. 'I can emfeel/em it.'/p
p align="left"'Me too,' I agreed. We walked back over the bridge and down to the bank on the other side. 'We need to find some answers.'/p
p align="left"'How we gonna do that then?'/p
p align="left"And I'd only paused to take a second to think about it when my phone started ringing. I pulled it straight out my pocket and up to my ear. 'Yep,' I answered./p
p align="left"'emAnna/em,' Nick's voice crackled down to me, and I prickled, hand tightening around the device because there was something in his tone that made me uncomfortable./p
p align="left"'What is it?'/p
p align="left"'emThe cleaner/em…' he replied. I felt my forehead furrow. It was only half an explanation but still, it felt like I had all the information I needed to complete that statement. 'emHe's here/em,' Nick continued, 'emhe's in the A.R.C/em.'/p
p align="left"'We're coming back.' I hung up, snapping my phone closed and shoving it back into my pocket./p
p align="left"I looked up to meet Connor's confused expression. 'What?' he asked. I started back towards my car and he followed after me. 'What is it?'/p
p align="left"'The cleaner,' I answered simply, 'he's been seen at the A.R.C.'/p
p align="left" /p
hr /
p align="left" /p
p align="left"Our route took us back through a housing estate. And while I knew that we were technically in a bit of a hurry, as soon as I noticed the man trying to wrestle the "for sale" sign out the back of his car, I immediately indicated and pulled over./p
p align="left"'What you doing?' Connor questioned, as I pulled the keys from the ignition and threw my door open./p
p align="left"'Come on,' I answered./p
p align="left"He scrambled to get his seat belt undone and slid down off the seat into the road./p
p align="left"'Excuse me!'/p
p align="left"The man looked briefly back over his shoulder at me, still trying to pull out the sign with the Estate Agents' logo on it and smiled. 'Hello,' he said warmly, as we crossed the road./p
p align="left"'Hi,' Connor replied./p
p align="left"'Hi.'/p
p align="left"'Can I ask you some questions about a property?' I asked./p
p align="left"'Oh, yeah, which one?' He yanked at the sign, it slid right across the coarse fabric of his car boot and he hauled it up into his arms./p
p align="left"'The abandoned–' I had to cut myself off as I stepped back, ducking out the way just in time before the sign could hit me in the face. 'The abandoned house on the island,' I said./p
p align="left"'You interested?'/p
p align="left"'In some way. Wondered why it hadn't sold yet,' Connor continued./p
p align="left"'Markets a bit soft,' the estate agent replied./p
p align="left"'Is that the only reason?' I returned. 'Did something happen there?'/p
p align="left"He wrestled the sign onto a nearby lawn. 'You mean the kids?' he asked./p
p align="left"'Kids?'/p
p align="left"'Three of them, local lads, they broke into the house for a laugh,' he explained./p
p align="left"'What happened?'/p
p align="left"'They disappeared. Not a trace of them. 14 years.'/p
p align="left"emAnd there we go…/em Connor and I shared a look again. 'There must be some explanation,' Connor returned, but his eyes didn't move off me./p
p align="left"An anomaly. Maybe our calculations were a little off./p
p align="left"'Only one of them ever came out,' he said, 'Ryan Mason.'/p
p align="left"'Mason?' Connor repeated. I suspected he was trying to memorise the name./p
p align="left"'Ryan,' the man said again. 'You know, some people say it's still haunted. They hear screams, noises… If you're interested I can get you a killer deal, now.' He pulled out his card and passed it over to us./p
p align="left"'We'll think about it.'/p
p align="left"As we smiled a thank you and turned back to the car, Connor leant in towards me and lowered his voice. 'Do you think there was an anomaly 14 years ago and something came through and ate them?' he suggested, 'I mean… if they died there maybe that's that bad juju we can feel.'/p
p align="left"I hummed. 'We need to track down Ryan Mason,' I returned./p
p align="left" /p
p align="left"'We can use the database back at the A.R.C.'/p
p align="left"'Fuck me,' I noted, as I passed the detector over to Connor so that I could put my mittens on, 'isn't that the Well House.'/p
p align="left"Connor winced. 'Don't,' he said, 'that book scares the shit out of me.'/p
p align="left"Mittens on, I headed back to the boot of my car and quickly reached inside to grab my rucksack. 'Really?' I questioned. I swung it onto my back, over the knife pouch, before I thumped the boot closed. 'I think it's brilliant.'/p
p align="left"'Just because it's brilliant doesn't mean it can't be scary.'/p
p align="left"Humming in agreement, I didn't get the chance to respond again before Jensen and Becker got out of the truck parked beside the Range Rover and slammed the car doors shut./p
p align="left"'We'll do a perimeter sweep,' Becker said, 'should take 10 minutes, no more. If that comes back negative, we'll meet you back at the A.R.C.'/p
p align="left"I looked down at the detector in Connors hands again, just to check, but there was still no sign of any anomaly. 'Okay,' I nodded, 'Connor and I'll head inside.' Before he could interrupt, I held up a hand, 'I know what you said, and don't worry; I can handle Nick Cutter. There's no anomaly, the most dangerous thing that could be in that house is the damp.'/p
p align="left"'And the dust,' Connor added./p
p align="left"'Dust?' Jensen questioned./p
p align="left"'We're really allergic,' he answered. 'It's called– oh, what, Anna?– Rhino…. Rhinot…./p
p align="left"'Rhinitis,' I said, 'and it's not gonna emkill/em us, promise.'/p
p align="left"Reluctantly Becker nodded. He told us to be careful before he and Jensen set off into the woods./p
p align="left"I turned my head to Connor. 'So…'/p
p align="left"'So,' he agreed. 'This is the place. This is where Cutter predicts the anomaly will open?'/p
p align="left"'That's what the evidence suggests,' I returned, 'it's where emthe science/em predicts the anomaly will open.' I looked across the river, past the arching bridge, to the abandoned house on the other side. 'We better check it out.'/p
p align="left"'Then we just sit, twiddling our thumbs until the anomaly appears?'/p
p align="left"I shrugged. 'We'll take some readings… and poke around.'/p
p align="left"'Hold me back. I don't know if I can take the excitement.' He followed me as I made my way over to the bridge. 'By the way, I was just thinking, are you gonna change your name when you get married? I just… I can't imagine you being anything other than a Havisham.'/p
p align="left"I'd thought about it myself; I wasn't going to be Anna Thomas once I had married Will. I'd said back then that I wanted to keep my name but things had changed and now I wasn't sure if I'd wanted to stay a Havisham after all./p
p align="left"We walked across the bridge./p
p align="left"'I don't know,' I answered, 'I don't think Anna Cutter sounds right.'/p
p align="left"'Maybe it just takes some getting used to?' he suggested. 'I mean… at first I thought it was weird that you stayed a Havisham, emafter your dad/em… but…'/p
p align="left"'It became Mum's name too,' I resolved./p
p align="left"We stepped off the other end of the bridge and walked up the porch towards the front door./p
p align="left"Out on the step there was a windchime, and as he passed Connor brushed against it, the wood tolled melodiously, and I found myself back in the halls of the old house on the hill./p
p align="left"'Oh, god, we used to have one of these,' Connor's voice cut through to me, like he was there with me in my unstoppable influx of melancholy memories, 'you remember?'/p
p align="left"'The southeast conservatory,' I answered. emSome conservatory/em. It was a huge room, vast, made entirely of crystal glass with marble floors and a dome on the top of the roof. We used to have parties in there, late into the night in summer. And in the winters we'd pull up the velvet armchairs to the window and watch the snow fall over the estate./p
p align="left"Nobody ever used to call it the conservatory, everyone just used to call it 'The sun room,' he said. Like he could read my mind. 'What happened to the windchime?'/p
p align="left"'Nana's got it,' I said. Or at least I thought she had. 'I think.' I reached out towards the front door and tried the handle. The doors rattled but didn't open. So I rang the bell./p
hr /
p align="left"It was polite to wait at a big house. In the house on the hill we had someone who's main job was to answer the door when it rang. Because bad timing was always a factor in a house that big– where a journey from my bedroom to the kitchens was a 15-minute-long round trip./p
p align="left"People needed time to answer the door. I gave it about a minute, before I tried again./p
p align="left"The glass of the windowpanes in the door were grimy and almost opaque with dirt. I couldn't see anything on the other side. I cupped my hands around my eyes and squinted, trying to see something but all my efforts were in vain./p
p align="left"I had barely decided that I should pick the lock, rather than kick the doors in, and was halfway into my pocket halfway straightened up when there was a sudden noise, and before I could blink the front door flew open./p
p align="left"I jumped in fright as Connor appeared in the doorway and had to slam a hand over my beating heart. 'Connor! I hissed and gave him a harsh shove. 'Oh, fuck! emNever/em make a pregnant woman jump!'/p
p align="left"'Sorry,' he returned, plonking a hand down on my shoulder. 'Window was open. Nobody in.' He stepped back to let me in, and after taking a couple of calming breaths, I followed./p
hr /
p align="left"The inside was worse, somehow, than the exterior. There was a gross mixture of dirt and general waste all over the floor, dust sheets half covering the furniture, and there was a distinct smell about the place that I hadn't experienced since the time Connor tried to keep a field mouse in his underwear draw at the age of 9. The mouse had died. It was weeks before Connor realised and the decaying corpse was accompanied by the stench of the rotting food he had still been leaving for it./p
p align="left"'What happened to this place?' I asked. I wasn't really expecting an answer so when he didn't reply, I wasn't surprised. 'Why's it just been left?'/p
p align="left"'The smell?' he suggested. 'Maybe. Sewers? Maybe some damp?'/p
p align="left"'Smells like they've been keeping animals,' I replied./p
p align="left"He hummed. 'What sort,' he said, 'skunks?'/p
p align="left"'It's that fusty sort of hay and waste, you know. Like the old paddock after Christmas.' As I made my way to the staircase, he tossed the detector to me. 'Maybe the owners are abroad,' I called down to him./p
p align="left"I heard his footsteps echoing across the wood. 'Well maybe we should keep watch for a while you know,' he called back. Then, as I got even further, he raised his voice more. 'We can't stay here indefinitely just to keep Cutter happy.'/p
p align="left"I walked through the corridors and peered around doorframes in search for signs of any animals: scratches on the furniture or floorboard or baseboards, or excrement on the ground./p
p align="left"There was nothing./p
p align="left"The only thing that was clear to me, as I made my way into the back room and stepped across some yellow police tape, was that something had definitely happened here./p
p align="left" The back room was brighter than the others, but still felt the same. I did a quick circuit, keen eyes again searching somewhat expectantly, because it felt like there should have been something, but when I made it back to the door I had to consider that the smell was just emold/em. If there had been any animals there in the past they were long gone now./p
p align="left"I was almost out the room, stepping through the doorway when I heard it, like tiny pitter-patters, and I turned back just in time to see the soot from the chimney rain down into the fireplace./p
p align="left"em'Okay…'/em/p
p align="left"Could be a bird. A pigeon got stuck in the chimney at the house on the hill, got its feet caught in some string somewhere, and by the time we'd wiggled it out and we'd tried to cut it free, the poor thing had panicked and given up the ghost./p
p align="left"Connor had asked if we could eat it– he'd been 12– Mum had buried it instead in the garden./p
p align="left"I dropped to my knees on the hearth and stuck my head right up beneath the fireplace to peer up into the chimney./p
p align="left"It was almost completely black./p
p align="left"I couldn't see a thing./p
p align="left"I narrowed my eyes like I thought it would genuinely help but the only thing that was clear was the small square of daylight at the top but everything else was immaterial./p
hr /
p align="left"When I saw Connor in the kitchen from the end of the hallway, I couldn't resist./p
p align="left"'Get out of the fridge!' I slammed my hands down on his back and he jumped, glass bottle slipping from his fingers and smashing against the tiles at his feet./p
p align="left"He gasped in fright, reeling around though already guessing it was me, and swiftly proceeded to send a glare my way. 'What the hell was that!?'/p
p align="left"'Revenge?' I shrugged. But when he didn't immediately smile back at me, I nudged him. 'We're you scared?'/p
p align="left"'That was childish!' he returned, a little out of breath, 'and no... Maybe a little bit.'/p
p align="left"'Okay. Sort of sorry?'/p
p align="left"He waved it off. 'No, its fine, you're right that I deserved it from the– you know. Can we get out of here?' he then asked rather quickly. I cocked my head. 'There's something about this place, I'm getting some negative vibes. Maybe it's just me.'/p
p align="left"I shook my head. 'It's not,' I replied. 'There's some serious bad energy in this house. And I don't think it's from any sort of anomaly. I think you're right; we should get out its way.'/p
hr /
p align="left"Connor opened the front door and held it out for me to pass through. 'Well, that was eventful,' he complained./p
p align="left"As soon as I stepped out onto the porch I froze./p
p align="left"Behind me, Connor let the door swing closed, but not having anywhere else to go he wasn't far enough out the way and it hit him, causing him to stumble and crash right into the back of me and he had to steady himself./p
p align="left"I kept my attention cautiously trained on the stranger– a man– who was now standing on the porch and leaning against the railing but looking out across the river. 'It's a nice place, isn't it?' he said, flipping out his wallet to flash a police badge at us. 'Care to explain what you're doing here?'/p
p align="left"I raised an eyebrow. 'Just visiting,' I replied. I stuffed my hands into my pockets./p
p align="left"'Well, the way I see it, you're either burglars, or trespassing.' He turned around, and immediately his eyes fell on me./p
p align="left"He took a moment to look at me. emReally/em look at me. He started with my face, his own expression neutral so I couldn't read what he was thinking, before he glanced down my body somewhat suspiciously. Then his gaze flitted back to Connor./p
p align="left"'Do we look like burglars to you?' I returned./p
p align="left"Connor laughed, or more rather emgiggled/em because that idea no doubt excited him a lot more than the reality of this./p
p align="left"'Fairly sure I've seen laughing boy on a wanted poster.'/p
p align="left"Immediately Connor went quiet. I felt his breath by my ear as he leant in and through a smile asked, 'is he talking about me?'/p
p align="left"I walked down the porch steps. 'Officer–'/p
p align="left"'Detective Constable, emQuinn/em,' he corrected./p
p align="left"'Nice badge, Quinn,' I returned quickly, 'we've got one too.'/p
p align="left"'And you are?'/p
p align="left"'Anna Havisham,' I answered, then pointed back to Connor. 'Connor Temple.' I patted down my pocket– and seemingly catching on Connor started doing the same. We found the wallets at the same time and pulled them out./p
p align="left"The badges were Connor's idea. It was a shock when Lester had agreed that it was a good one. Within the week we had all received Security Service I.D. – Lester had even made a point of explaining that the Prime Minster himself had agreed that the A.R.C should be allowed to move around uninhibited but remain essentially entirely confidential and so had administered official M.I.5 identification. Connor had screamed in excitement./p
p align="left"Quinn glanced at the I.D. /p
p align="left"He looked instantly amused and rolled his eyes. 'You're lying, emAce/em.' I frowned. 'I should arrest you both but to be quite frank I can't be bothered; you people aren't worth the paperwork. Now go.'/p
p align="left"He stepped aside, and I held his gaze, nonrespondent, like I wasn't going to move./p
p align="left"But it wasn't worth it; we were finished here. There weren't any signs of an anomaly, and we could always come back if one opened. So I took a step around him and back in the direction of the bridge./p
p align="left"'What do you mean, you people?'/p
p align="left"Connor's voice made me glance back./p
p align="left"'Murder tourists,' Quinn answered venomously. Connor and I shared a look, wide eyed and knowing. emI knew there was something dark in that house. /em'You make me sick. Now get out. And if I see you around here again your feet won't touch the ground, do you– '/p
p align="left"'What happened here?' /p
p align="left"His nose curled. 'Like you don't know.'/p
p align="left"'If I knew I wouldn't have to ask,' I replied frustratedly./p
p align="left"'Get out.'/p
p align="left"The tone of his voice just made me roll my eyes. He wasn't going to tell us anything, so there was no point sticking around./p
p align="left"I'd started back towards the bridge when Connor's voice stopped me again. 'Do you know what, can I just say I think the police do a fantastic job,' he said quickly, before his tone started to change, 'and you know the occasional lapse into clichés: completely understandable under the circumstances.'/p
p align="left"I reached out, put my hand around his wrist and gently pulled him back. 'Connor…'/p
p align="left"Frustrated, he turned, jaw set and eyes hooded as he followed me back to the bridge. 'There's something strange going on in there, A,' he said. 'I can emfeel/em it.'/p
p align="left"'Me too,' I agreed. We walked back over the bridge and down to the bank on the other side. 'We need to find some answers.'/p
p align="left"'How we gonna do that then?'/p
p align="left"And I'd only paused to take a second to think about it when my phone started ringing. I pulled it straight out my pocket and up to my ear. 'Yep,' I answered./p
p align="left"'emAnna/em,' Nick's voice crackled down to me, and I prickled, hand tightening around the device because there was something in his tone that made me uncomfortable./p
p align="left"'What is it?'/p
p align="left"'emThe cleaner/em…' he replied. I felt my forehead furrow. It was only half an explanation but still, it felt like I had all the information I needed to complete that statement. 'emHe's here/em,' Nick continued, 'emhe's in the A.R.C/em.'/p
p align="left"'We're coming back.' I hung up, snapping my phone closed and shoving it back into my pocket./p
p align="left"I looked up to meet Connor's confused expression. 'What?' he asked. I started back towards my car and he followed after me. 'What is it?'/p
p align="left"'The cleaner,' I answered simply, 'he's been seen at the A.R.C.'/p
p align="left" /p
hr /
p align="left" /p
p align="left"Our route took us back through a housing estate. And while I knew that we were technically in a bit of a hurry, as soon as I noticed the man trying to wrestle the "for sale" sign out the back of his car, I immediately indicated and pulled over./p
p align="left"'What you doing?' Connor questioned, as I pulled the keys from the ignition and threw my door open./p
p align="left"'Come on,' I answered./p
p align="left"He scrambled to get his seat belt undone and slid down off the seat into the road./p
p align="left"'Excuse me!'/p
p align="left"The man looked briefly back over his shoulder at me, still trying to pull out the sign with the Estate Agents' logo on it and smiled. 'Hello,' he said warmly, as we crossed the road./p
p align="left"'Hi,' Connor replied./p
p align="left"'Hi.'/p
p align="left"'Can I ask you some questions about a property?' I asked./p
p align="left"'Oh, yeah, which one?' He yanked at the sign, it slid right across the coarse fabric of his car boot and he hauled it up into his arms./p
p align="left"'The abandoned–' I had to cut myself off as I stepped back, ducking out the way just in time before the sign could hit me in the face. 'The abandoned house on the island,' I said./p
p align="left"'You interested?'/p
p align="left"'In some way. Wondered why it hadn't sold yet,' Connor continued./p
p align="left"'Markets a bit soft,' the estate agent replied./p
p align="left"'Is that the only reason?' I returned. 'Did something happen there?'/p
p align="left"He wrestled the sign onto a nearby lawn. 'You mean the kids?' he asked./p
p align="left"'Kids?'/p
p align="left"'Three of them, local lads, they broke into the house for a laugh,' he explained./p
p align="left"'What happened?'/p
p align="left"'They disappeared. Not a trace of them. 14 years.'/p
p align="left"emAnd there we go…/em Connor and I shared a look again. 'There must be some explanation,' Connor returned, but his eyes didn't move off me./p
p align="left"An anomaly. Maybe our calculations were a little off./p
p align="left"'Only one of them ever came out,' he said, 'Ryan Mason.'/p
p align="left"'Mason?' Connor repeated. I suspected he was trying to memorise the name./p
p align="left"'Ryan,' the man said again. 'You know, some people say it's still haunted. They hear screams, noises… If you're interested I can get you a killer deal, now.' He pulled out his card and passed it over to us./p
p align="left"'We'll think about it.'/p
p align="left"As we smiled a thank you and turned back to the car, Connor leant in towards me and lowered his voice. 'Do you think there was an anomaly 14 years ago and something came through and ate them?' he suggested, 'I mean… if they died there maybe that's that bad juju we can feel.'/p
p align="left"I hummed. 'We need to track down Ryan Mason,' I returned./p
p align="left" /p
p align="left"'We can use the database back at the A.R.C.'/p