Free The Forgotten Cottage by Helen Phifer

but he took one look at Eric,, who had been working for him for the last ten years, and changed his mind.
    ‘You look like you’ve seen a ghost; are you winding me up or is it for real?’
    ‘I’m telling you now, Paul, there’s something in that house and, whatever it is, it tried to choke me. I’ve never been so scared. I’m not going back inside but the woman who owns it is still in there; someone needs to tell her it’s not safe in that house, not on her own.’
    Paul nodded. ‘And do you think she’s going to pay us for not finishing the job because you got spooked over something? I promised her the kitchen would be finished today, ready for the units to be fitted, and if it isn’t I’ll lose money because I gave her a set price. What if I come in with you and all three of us get the job done—is there much to do?’
    Callum looked across at Eric, who was shaking his head. ‘Not really, boss, just a couple of bits. I’ll go back in with you to finish off and Eric can wait out here. Whatever it was, it didn’t touch me, just him. It was probably your aftershave; I told you it stunk.’
    Eric gave him the finger then stuck his hands in his pockets and watched them walk back into the house. He realised that he didn’t really want to be stuck out here on his own either. Safety in numbers and all that, so he followed them in and they began to finish off what it was they were doing. The house was quiet now; there was no raspy breathing coming from out of nowhere and the house didn’t feel quite as cold as it had before. Eric stayed close to Paul, who mucked in and pretty soon the last bits of plaster were smeared on the wall. Paul told Callum to start cleaning up and gathering the tools together; he went to the staircase and shouted to Annie. There was no reply and Eric looked at him with panic across his face.
    Paul began to climb the stairs with Eric close behind. Callum took the tools out to the van and began loading it up, not wanting to be inside any longer. The two men reached the master bedroom, where Annie was so engrossed in her painting with her headphones firmly in place that she hadn’t heard any of the commotion. Paul stepped in and touched her arm to catch her attention. She jumped off the floor and both Eric and Paul jumped back, scaring themselves.
    ‘Jesus Christ—you gave me a heart attack.’ Annie pulled the headphones out and started to laugh.
    ‘Oh, my God… Sorry—I never heard you; did you shout me?’
    ‘Yes, and I think you’ve almost killed me off—bloody hell, my heart’s racing. We just wanted to tell you the kitchen is finished, the plaster’s going to need a while to dry out but this weather should speed it up.’
    ‘Eek, I can’t believe it! Thank you, guys. You’ve been great.’ She grinned at them and Eric smiled back at her.
    It was Paul who spoke. ‘You’re very welcome. There’s something the lads have asked me to talk to you about; have you got a minute?’
    ‘Of course. It sounds serious; what’s the matter?’
    The two men looked at each other and Paul gave Eric the chance to speak, but he didn’t.
    ‘Well, they’ve told me that there’s been some strange things happening in the house while they’ve been working—tools keep getting moved and all sorts. This afternoon Eric felt as if someone was choking him and he couldn’t breathe.’
    Both men held their breath and waited for the backlash from Annie. Instead, she put the paintbrush down and nodded.
    ‘What else? Have you heard anything like the sound of nails scraping against a chalkboard or glass?’
    Eric nodded frantically. ‘Yes, all the time, and breathing, heavy breathing, and it filled the room; even Callum heard it. At first I thought I was going mad but when he heard it I guess it sort of made me think it had to be real.’
    Paul looked at her. ‘You don’t seem too surprised or shocked.’
    ‘I am, but not too much, and I don’t want you to think I’m nuts because this isn’t