FOUR
TEWKESBURY, 2022 AD
Through the net curtains of the bedroom, I peered at Aria driving away unaccompanied. Not stopping to wonder where he was off to, I bounded downstairs to catch his wife alone.
“Morning, Ishbel. That’s a pretty name, by the way, Scottish, isn’t it?”
“Yes, my mum was a Scot, from Ayr. It means Oath of God.”
“Does it, indeed! Does that mean you always tell the truth, Ishbel?”
She looked up from breaking an egg into a pan,
“Is there something bothering you, Jake?” I swear she had a guilty expression.
“There is. I have the distinct feeling that Aria has brought me here for reasons other than his concern about a ghost and you know what they are, don’t you?”
She bit her lip and took two slices of wholemeal bread from a packet,
“Whatever you may suspect, I’m not
