Free The Rattler (Rattler Trilogy Book 1) by P. A. Fielding

the floorboards – the start of a ghostly
manifestation.
    3
    “I’m
back; right, let’s see if this works.” She tried to loosen the boards with the
aid of a rusty, flat-head screwdriver, which she found in a rotten toolbox.
“Success,” she said, lifting the floorboards. She reached for the phone.
“There’s something in the hole! Yeah, you guys definitely need to see this.”
Zoe moved the phone to show the gap in the floor before her. She propped up the
phone again, removed a parcel, unwrapped a dirty piece
of cloth, and found the first issue of the Daily Express newspaper.
    “I
totally don’t believe it!”
    She
moved her fingers delicately over the paper. “According to the date, this paper
is over a hundred years old. Wonder how much this would fetch on eBay?” Zoe sat
with her back against the damp wall, cold conditions forgotten, and started to
read the paper. A dirty thumb mark next to an article about the Manor
Murderer caught her eye. She was just reading about the tragic deaths of
the Clifford family when her phone beeped. She jumped. “OK peeps, I’m running out of space on my phone, so I’ll have to stop now. Zoe out.”
    Zoe
picked up the phone and newspaper and walked back up the stairs into the
kitchen. She poured some milk into a mug, shoved it into the microwave, and sat
at the table. Questions flooded her mind. Who, or what, had whispered in her
ear? Was it a ghost? And what the heck had led her to the basement? Whatever
the reason, she struggled to believe what had just happened. It wasn’t long
before the microwave pinged; she stirred some powdered chocolate into the hot
milk. “Right, time to go back to bed,” she said, carrying the newspaper under
her left arm. Sleep would certainly be out of the question now, but at least
she’d be warm and comfortable as she read the story.

12 : Rediscovering the past
    1
    It
was 3.30 am by the time Zoe arrived back in her bedroom. She turned on the light,
closed the door, placed her laptop on the bed, and got under the duvet. The
first thing she did then was to connect her iPhone to the laptop and transfer
the video files across. Whilst the phone was transferring the data, and
updating software, Zoe continued reading the newspaper article about the Manor
Murderer . After a swig of hot chocolate, she put the paper down.
    “Time
to find out about this Manor Murderer, and who he actually was,” she
said, moving the laptop up onto her thighs. She definitely wasn’t tired now;
her head absolutely buzzed with the night’s experiences, and she was desperate
to know...
    Zoe
had loved history during her school years and enjoyed researching and studying
historical events. Every summer, Zoe, James and Aunt Sally, would visit the
vast beach at Holkham Bay, Norfolk. The trio would spend hours roaming in the
fresh air and digging in the sand, hoping to find some buried treasure. They
never discovered anything of great importance, but it didn’t stop them
searching.
    “Right. Here we go. Internet
search. The Manor Murderer . That was
quick!” The website results flooded onto the screen. “Where shall I start?” She
quickly scanned the list before clicking on the first link. The website was
solely about the Manor Murderer . It covered locations, victims, and
timelines, all with their individual tabs on the menu bar.
    Zoe
read the well-documented reports of the Mather and Clifford families and how
they had perished. There was only a small article referencing the demise of Charles
St Claire. The website also had disturbing pictures of Victoria, taken in
Whitechapel. Zoe covered her mouth in horror. “Poor woman;
what a way to go. I hope you found peace,” she said, as her mouse
scrolled further down the screen. It was a very interesting article and
detailed the whole case. Zoe rested her head against the headboard, and
breathed slowly through her slightly opened mouth whilst her eyes wandered over
the room. She drank the final mouthful of hot