The Ghosts of Cherry Blossom Avenue

"I even began to suspect we had a ghost," said Celandine.

Celandine Ivory and her husband, Cecile's cousin Coltsfoot, were visiting us and telling us about mysterious noises that they had started to hear in their house on Cherry Blossom Avenue.

"You know what I think about that," said Colt, exhibiting the practical engineer side of his personality. "There's no evidence of supernatural activity."

"And you know I'm not totally serious," said Celandine, pulling a face at her husband, "but you haven't found evidence of natural activity either. The noises must come from somewhere."

"What do you think, Jack?" asked Colt.

I needed more information. "About ghosts? Couldn't say. Weirdy stuff is more Mulder Honey-Fox's area of expertise. Anyway, what sort of noises are we talking about? If it's just creaks, then houses do that sometimes."

"He's an engineer," Cecile commented, "so he probably knows that. And the house isn't that old."

Cecile had a point. The upmarket homes on Cherry Blossom Avenue were only ten to fifteen years old. We didn't pay much attention at the time they were erected because Beverley wasn't long born and our attention was also diverted in the search for Cecile's brother Rowan who had gone missing. Letters and phone calls exchanged with places such as Purrchester (where he had been seen scant weeks before his disappearance) ensured we were not up to date with recent building work.

"Fair enough," I said, "but my question remains. What sort of noises? And when did this start?"

"We're talking about four or five weeks," said Colt. "Yes, quiet creaks at first but they don't sound like the house settling from temperature changes. We would have heard it before, anyway. I asked Maynard Chestnut and he'd heard nothing all the time he lived there."

Maynard Chestnut had been looking after the house all the time the Ivory family had been away. (*See Coltsfoot and the Autumn Colours)  

"What about insects or something like that?" said Cecile.  

"An infestation?" said Celandine. "Oh, I do hope not."

"I think that's unlikely," I said. "The houses were designed by Henry-Lloyd Construction. I used to work for them. Rowan did too. They are very careful in their choice of materials. They use bore-mite resistant timber and their designs are built to last."

"Maybe we should reconsider the idea of ghosts," Celandine teased.

"If your house is haunted, why would it suddenly start?" said Cecile. "Aren't ghosts supposedly tied into the history of the building? We've just agreed the house isn't that old."

"Some sort of anniversary, maybe. Maybe from before the house was built.."

"Goodness, Cel," said Colt, "we are not haunted!"

Celandine smiled at us. "It's so easy teasing my husband, sometimes."

"You may have a point," I said to her. 

    

Colt stared at me. "Ghosts? You too, Jack?" 

"No. But it could be something about the land. Not an anniversary, but from before the house was built. Perhaps we should have a word with one of the Henry-Lloyds..."

o 0 O 0 o

I expected to speak with Ben Henry-Lloyd on the phone, he being in charge of the firm these days, but his father Willard insisted on having a word, he being my old boss.

 

"Good to hear from you, Jackson. I heard Ben talking about Cherry Blossom Avenue. I handled that job. What do you want to know?"

I outlined the facts as told to me by Colt.

He made humming noises as he brought back his memories. "Well, you probably don't remember, but the houses are built on rock flats. The surface was originally at an angle so we had to bring in stone smiths from outside the county to do the levelling before construction could begin. In case you're wondering, they did a good job and we checked their work. But it was a natural surface so we had to adapt to the final result. Minor changes to the architect's designs to ensure maximum stability. Rowan did a brilliant job. The last work he did for us before he left the firm. A sad day for Henry-Lloyd Construction when he gave up the job."

"Rowan designed the houses?"

"He did indeed. Best materials. Custom adaptations to each prospective house to meld into the landscape. Those houses are a credit to him and added to the reputation of our company." 

"Well, I didn't expect Rowan to be involved. But what about the actual building work? That was after his time."  

"Yes it was, but the builders were told to follow his designs to the letter. You must remember it was at a time when we had an influx of new people coming to the county. We wanted the houses completed as soon as we could. For that reason we supplemented our builders with reputable workers from John Beavers and Monkey Homes - both trustworthy firms. All quality checks were done by Henry-Lloyds. Architecturally and geologically I can think of nothing that would account for the noises you mention."

There was some small talk before the telephone conversation ended and then I returned to relate my information to Cecile and the others.

 

o 0 O 0 o

"Rowan designed our house?" exclaimed Colt.

Cecile looked at him. "You don't think... as a payback for our prank..."

"What?" I said. "Surely you don't think Rowan would spend weeks making ghostly noises simply because you'd hidden that Colt had been a long-term resident during his absence? How likely is that?"

"It does seem overkill even for him," Colt acknowledged. "Still..."

"Go on," said Cecile. "What are you thinking?"

"We did manage to keep the truth from him until a few weeks ago. Close to the time we first heard the noises. Coincidence maybe, but Jack - do you think Ben Henry-Lloyd will let us look at the architectural designs and plans for our house?"

o 0 O 0 o

Ben was more than happy for Colt to see the general plans but the detailed work was held in the council archives. Maybe the general plans would suffice until the others could be retrieved. As an ex-employee I tagged along in case I was needed - I wasn't, but I was privy to any information that came to light, and there was something. 

 

We returned to 18 Cherry Blossom Avenue with the knowledge we learned. The plans seemed to showed a gap in one of the walls - possibly a doorway. In an unusual place.

"Under the stairs at the back," said Colt. "Can you see anything?"

"No," I said, then, "Oh, wait. There's a clear space on the floor. Should that be there?"

"We tend to stack things all the way back, so it sounds as though things have been moved. Can I get in to see?"

We changed places and Colt felt around. After a few minutes, using his engineering knowledge and remembering the plans, he reached to a bracing joint and grasped it.

 

"There's no reason why this joint should be here. It also feels a bit loose. I think it will pivot."

 

A twist of the cosmetic joint resulted in a subdued click. I looked over Colt's shoulder towards the back wall. A panel appeared to have moved back an inch or so. 

"Something's opened!"

Colt reached back and found he was able to slide the panel sideways into the wall, revealing a passageway. It was large enough to enter without squeezing. Furthermore, to the left, a small alcove held a spark-fly jar dimly illuminating the way forward. An indication someone - not ghosts - had been there recently.

"Shall we?" said Colt, and I admit my curiosity had eliminated any minor fears I might have had.

The passageway led behind the walls of the sitting room and I heard Colt mutter, "Explains the noises if someone came along here without trying to be quiet. I wonder where it leads?"

We didn't have to wait long to find out. We came across even stone steps leading down. 

 

There was evidence of more lighting below and as we carefully descended we became aware of low voices punctuated with restrained laughter. Colt shot me a glance and upon reaching the bottom step we both emerged as one into the area beyond.

 

It was a compact tiled chamber empty except for three upended boxes, a broom, a tin of cookies and two young rabbits. Our sons! They were using the two smaller boxes as seats, and the third supported a board game. Upon seeing us the youngsters beamed.

"Oh hi dad," said Chervil, "you've found us!" He turned to Brendan. "There. I told you they would eventually."

"You did. I was beginning to wonder if they would," said Brendan, winking at me. "Hi, dad. It's alright here, isn't it?"

 

"I think some explanation is due," said Colt.

"It's your secret wine cellar," said Brendan. "We've been using it as our secret hideaway until you found it."

"Wait. Go back," said Colt. "How did you find it, and more to the point, why didn't you tell us?"

"Ah," said Chervil, "that would be Uncle Rowan. He told us about it."

"Details, Chervil."

Slowly the details were revealed. On one of Rowan's visits to the house he had mentioned to Chervil how each house on the avenue was slightly different due to variations in the supporting rock foundations. He had said how number eighteen had space for a cellar. Rather than build over the space he had incorporated an additional room into the house. As Cherry Blossom Avenue was his last job before leaving Henry-Lloyd Construction, he decided to make the designs interesting. Houses that had space for unplanned rooms would have inventive entrances. He figured it would be a nice surprise for the eventual owners.

Chervil had said, "So we've had a secret wine cellar all the years we've been here," and in that unguarded remark Cecile's prank had been revealed. Rowan's cousin had been a resident for years and they had been pretending Coltsfoot and his family were newcomers. Rowan hadn't visibly reacted, processing this and in response had volunteered to show Chervil the hidden door. The unused cellar was revealed. "But," he had said, "don't spoil the fun for your parents. Let them enjoy finding it themselves."

"You chose to keep it a secret?" said Colt to his son.

"Well, I told Anise and Brendan. We cleaned out the cobwebs and stuff. Anise wondered if we should say something but I told her what Uncle Rowan had said. We decided you should have fun finding it."

"What if you'd got blocked in here?" I asked.

"The other end of the passage leads to another door in the outhouse where the lawnmower is kept," said Brendan. "We temporarily wedged it open so that we could get the broom and stuff."

Colt began to laugh. "Well, Rowan got the better of me this time."

The children looked at each other, confused. "What do you mean, dad?" asked Chervil.

"Never mind, lad. Do you know your mum was beginning to think we had ghosts?"

"Ghosts?"

"Unexplained noises. From you two creeping about."

Brendan waved his arms slowly. "Wooooh! We are the ghosts of Cherry Blossom Avenue..."

 

Well. It seemed Mulder Honey-Fox's services would not be required.

o 0 O 0 o