Free The Spirit Murder Mystery by Robin Forsythe Page B

spirit.”
    â€œBut you surely don’t think an evil spirit could kill a man, Miss Thurlow?” asked Vereker, amazed at this suggestion, and regarding his companion with sharply awakened curiosity.
    â€œWhy not?” asked Miss Thurlow with unruffled calm. “At a séance I’ve seen a heavy table, weighing sixty pounds, turned over as if it had been a toy, the medium being a fragile woman of sixty years. Then there’s the Biblical example of the Gadarene swine. Spirits, like their human counterparts, may be irrational, insane, even murderous. As I’ve said, it’s difficult to discuss the subject with people who’ve no knowledge of spiritualism. They simply think you’re a candidate for Bedlam.”
    â€œYes, I confess that’s the general attitude,” commented Vereker thoughtfully.
    â€œNow Mr. Orton of Church Farm is inclined to agree with me that there may be something in the theory of an evil spirit. He is, of course, a confirmed spiritualist. I’ve just called on him, and he says that Old Hall Farm has always been associated with evil spirits. All the villagers know it, and the older ones can recount very strange things that have happened there.
    â€œDon’t you think that it’s merely country superstition?”
    â€œNo, certainly not. People who live isolated lives, like the East Anglian peasantry, are in much closer touch with this hidden world or whatever you like to call it. There’s a lubberfiend who plays all sorts of mischievous pranks at Mr. Orton’s farm. Mr. Orton used to have great difficulty in keeping his men till he gathered his present staff, who are not scared by such things, and accept them as part of the many inexplicable things of life.”
    â€œHave you known Mr. Orton long?” suddenly asked Vereker.
    â€œEver since we came here. His farm belongs to my uncle’s estate.”
    â€œWhat kind of a man is he, Miss Thurlow?”
    â€œHe’s not a typical countryman. He’s much better educated, has been abroad a good deal, and is very musical. He’s a good farmer and a shrewd hard-headed business man, but rather reserved on the whole, especially where villagers are concerned.”
    â€œYou get along well with him?”
    â€œOh yes. To put it bluntly, I think—I think he rather likes me,” replied Miss Thurlow, smiling and blushing informatively.
    â€˜â€˜Was he on friendly terms with your uncle?”
    â€œOn the best of terms. He often came round in the evening to see my uncle and have a chat with him.”
    â€œNow I’m going to put rather a pointed question to you, Miss Thurlow. If you think me rude, just say so. Are the relations between you and Mr. Orton anything more than mere friendship?” asked Vereker, and furtively watched his companion’s face to see the effect of his words.
    Miss Thurlow’s lips were suddenly compressed and then twitched as if she were suppressing a smile. A merry light stole into her large brown eyes and faded out as quickly.
    â€œNothing more than friendship at present, Mr. Vereker. I feel sure Mr. Orton admires me. A woman can always tell when a man admires her, though she rarely admits it from fear of being thought conceited. I’ve admitted it frankly, because I feel sure you think you ought to know. As for my feelings, well, at first he faintly repelled me. Now I’m quite certain I find him—er—likeable.”
    â€œThank you. Now I’ve got over that difficult fence, I feel relieved. To return to the subject of spirits; have you ever seen a spirit, ghost, call it what you will, about Old Hall Farm?”
    â€œNo, but Miss Garford tells me that villagers have seen an apparition on several occasions on the road between Old Hall and the village.”
    â€œYou’re referring to Miss Dawn Garford?” asked Vereker.
    â€œYes.”
    â€œYou’re very great friends, I hear?”
    â€œNot