Last Rites, part 1

The Diary of Thomas Grady

Thursday October 22nd

08:00 Mary phoned Lucie today to inform her that her Grandfather had taken a turn for the worst and that she should make her way to Cliffside to say her final fairwells so we set off right away.

 

21:00 Drive up was exhausting and we arrived in time for Lucie to be able to see him before he passed.

 

Friday October 23rd

03.27 Lucie’s beloved grandfather passed on and it has hit Lucie very hard. Not surprising as he is her last surviving blood relative and for much of her life served as a father. Unfortunately this passing was inevitable as her grandfather was eighty-two and had been deteriorating rapidly and following on from the recent loss of one of his oldest friends he seemed to lose the will to fight on.

 

Lucie spent most of the day with her grandfather while I discovered by talking to Mary that most of the funeral arrangements were already in place. I would of course need to acquire a copy of Saturday’s Times as there would be an article in the paper chronicling all his achievements and the woes of his and Lucie’s tragic family life.

 

Saturday October 24th

I acquire two copies of The Times one which I present to Lucie while the other I keep pristine. The paper states that the Wake is by appointment only and Mary has a number of envelopes that she asks me to post. However I note that there are several envelopes that she holds back.

 

While the wake is appointment only I suspect that most of the village will be attending the funeral as Sir Lionel was well liked.

 

Sunday – Thursday October 25th – October 30th

Drummond House is a hive of activity as Mary, Donald and I prepare for the wake on Friday we were expecting a number of the invited guests to be staying over in Drummond House so the rooms needed to be prepared. Only Freddie Wincanton takes up the offer however. Other invited guests have made their own arrangements and are coming from home, staying at the Lobster Pot or in one of the holiday cottages.

 

Lucie is not eating or sleeping properly which is not good for her as the death of her beloved grandfather continues to hit home. I still try to do my best to be there for her when she needs me hopefully once the funeral is over she will be back to her old self.

 

Friday October 31st – Day of the Wake

Sunrise is at 07:30 it is clear but not terribly cold.

 

Mary has done herself proud laying on a buffet of predominantly Scottish fare including haggis.

 

Sir Lionel is laid out in the dining room in an open coffin and I note that someone has laid a wooden plate on his chest with a small pile of soil on the right of the plate and a small pile of salt on the left. Apparently this is a tradition in Scotland so I do not say anything.

 

Lucie is still not eating but hopefully she can get through this difficult day. As her husband I hope to serve as her rock.

 

16:00 I take up my greeting position by the front door as the first guests begin to arrive for the wake. Just the locals at this stage. Only notable at this stage is Dougal McInnes, Sir Lionel’s friend, local history buff and chess partner.

 

17:00 First of the invited guests arrives, Ms Emilie Parker who runs a tea shop in the next village. Must be an excellent tea shop otherwise I can’t understand why she would have been invited. Followed soon after by Mr Wincanton, who appears to show a lot of interest in the display of the body, apparently he is an expert in folklore.

 

18:20 Four more invited guests arrive named in no particular order.

First there is Ms Jenna Sampson and Mr Oswald Overton, who are apparently Sir Lionel’s protégés, arrive together, they appear to be linked to the British Museum in some way. The next notable is Ms Amanda Kensington, early-thirties, physically fit and no wedding ring. Last of the four is Mr James Elliot, who appears to be a computer expert and, like me, has an intense dislike of the incumbent government.

 

18:30 A distinguished looking American gentleman arrives, Mr Green who has a Boston accent but does not appear to have a first name which just screams ‘spook’ to me.

 

19:30 Two ladies arrive together: Dr Belinda Durham, who looks like a University lecturer, and Ms Barbara Smythe, who is a apparently has something to do with English Heritage security, both of whom are as nervous as long tailed cats in a room full of rocking chairs.

 

19:45 last two invited guests arrive and they are a strange pair: Ms Mavis Enderby, who is an old lady with the aroma of old lady, and Mr Marmaduke Forbush, who looks like a typical 1960’s civil servant, including umbrella and bowler hat.

 

It appears most of the invited guests are known to each other and that Forbush is attempting to introduce them to Mr Green, who I note appears to be handing out business cards. I also overhear Mr Green hint that he had already recruited some of their follow colleagues.

 

20:15 Donald begins his search for pall bearers, and he soon has: six he and I as the two strongest would take the head end while Dougal and Mr Wincanton would be the middle bearers while Mr Forbush and Mr Elliot would take the feet – would prefer a bit of a rehearsal here, hopefully we can keep in step.

 

22:00 Lucie comes to me and asks me if I could read a poem over her grandfather’s coffin as it is being lowered and I am only too happy to comply. I take a quick glance at the paper and note that the poem is ‘And Death Shall Have No Dominion’ by Dylan Thomas. I sense nothing ominous in this and suspect this to be one of his favourites. She then requests that she be allowed to sleep in her old room tonight. I inform her that this was not an issue as I had already decided to stand vigil over her grandfather as I can honour Sir Lionel by fulfilling this role. This seemed to please her, revealing the girl I fell in love, who has been sadly missing this week. She then retires to bed.

 

23:00 wake breaks up and the guests either go home or back to their hotels. Ms Enderby is one of the last to leave. I find her with the body and it appears she is talking to it, which causes me to suspect that this lady is not dealing from a full deck.

 

23:30 Mary and Donald have cleared everything away and head home, leaving me to my vigil

 

Saturday 1st November

06:30 Mary and Donald arrive to begin setting up for after the funeral and I am able to get showered and changed in preparation for the day ahead.

 

07:30 Lucie emerges

 

08:30 The other four pallbearers arrive and Donald goes over what needs to be done. He also gives each pallbearer a small dram so as we can toast the dearly departed.

 

09:30 The Funeral party moves to the church – No untoward incidents. Fortunately it appears nearly all of the village are at the church yet it still feels empty as it used to be a priory. I inform the Reverend Rook in regard to Lucie’s request from the previous evening and he tells me this is already in hand.

 

10:00 Blood and thunder Rook delivers a moving service where he lists all of Sir Lionel’s accomplishments for once shorn of his usual rhetoric.

 

11:30 Sir Lionel is finally laid to rest and I fulfil my obligation to my beloved by reading the poem over the coffin. A few of the invited guests appear disconcerted by this and are later to request permission to see the poem, but I do not know why and they are not forthcoming as to why this is.

 

However, as I read I note a lone dark figure observing the interment from a distance. When Lucie sees this figure she stiffens and curses. So I inquire as to who this person and I am informed that it is Mr Maurice Talbot, a retired local detective who believed that Sir Lionel was implicated in Sophie’s death back in 1990, which made the old man’s life a misery and halted any investigations that might have led to the apprehension of the true culprits. Following the interment Lucie invites everyone back to the house.

 

Mr Forbush, Mr Green, Ms Enderby, Ms Kensington, Ms Samson and Mr Overton excuse themselves at this time and head out of town. Several villagers also head home, the most noteworthy being Ms Smythe (a different Mrs Smythe from one who works for English Heritage) who is the local magistrate.

 

 12:00 As we arrive back the remainder of the invited guests are requested to accompany Mr Hamish Blawke (Sir Lionel’s trustee) with Mary, Donald, Lucie and I into the study for the reading of Sir Lionel’s will.

 

As expected, Drummond House and the vast proportion of Sir Lionel’s holdings, including a large portion of the Morven Peninsular, will pass on to Lucie as his last living relative. Sir Lionel’s housekeeper, Mary, who acted like a mother to Lucie, and her husband, Donald, will receive £50K. While Belinda, Barbara, James, Freddie and Emilie would each receive £5K if they agree to stay in Cliffside for the next forty-eight hours.

 

After concluding the will, Mr Blawke then takes a final item from his briefcase which appears to be a heavy shoebox wrapped in brown paper and hands this item to Lucie who clutches it to her chest and swiftly retires to her room.

 

12:30 – Lucie returns to her guests but she still seems a little on edge.

 

12-30 – 16:00 – Lucie continues to circle and appears to getting more like her old self however there are two incidents of note. The first when she loudly requests that young Robert Patterson leave her alone. The word ‘gimp’ is used yet I am led to believe that they may have been close and that he at one time held a candle for her. This being said Lucie is a married woman these days and Robert should show decorum.

 

The second being with Mrs Springer, who loudly proclaims that Lucie has hurt her. Lucie appears to regret this and apologises. Yet Alan the local doctor looks clouded and appears to be checking Mrs Stringer’s hands. It appears Lucie is staring intensely into people’s eyes and gripping their hands very firmly.

 

I decide that I had better take Lucie to one side in an effort to calm her down a little and I am able to get her to not grip people’s hands so tight yet she insists that she must thank everyone personally. She is still grieving so I will not stop her but I will have a word with Mary.

 

16:00 People are starting to leave when a grey-haired man arrives at the door who she quickly thanks before pushing him out of the door. I don’t catch much but he appeared to be called David and that she would see him and his wife later. However I note that she appears much paler when she returns to the house and that she seems really on edge.

 

When Alan approaches her she snaps and states very loudly that she does not require his services which appears to embarrass him. Shortly afterwards he leaves and returns home. Lucie then returns to her own room and requests that I do not accompany her. However she also requests that I ensure everyone has left and that everything is locked up before retiring.

 

17:00 All of the guests have returned home with the exception of the invited guests, Mary and Donald. Mary and her husband leave once they have finally cleaned up, but not before handing me the keys to Drummond House.

 

17:00 – 22:00 The invited guests, however, requested permission to stay and search the house as they were Lionel’s friends and they wanted to conclude his investigations into Sophie’s death and in doing so find the real culprits, which was why I was willing to work with them as Lucie was still deeply affected by the loss of her sister and I will do what I can to make my beloved happy.

 

However, I noted that for the most part these people seemed to be obsessed with the occult, much like Lionel. Even though I allowed them access to Lionel’s safe, desk, locked book cabinet and even his gun case, I was clear that they were not doing so except under my direct supervision.

 

Note – Lionel has an impressive collection of firearms in his cabinet: two beautiful Purdy shotguns and a pair of antique duelling pistols. There is also a Walther PPK and Beretta 418 in the safe with licences (one for Lionel and one for his ex-wife, the Beretta out of date due to his wife having died over twenty years ago) and ammunition to match. Oddly there are also a collection of balls for the antique pistols ranging from wood to gold.

 

One of the group requested that I load Lionel’s weapons but I drew the line at this for I was not willing to arm these people.

 

These people seem to believe that Lucie is planning a ritual which will result in Sir Lionel being brought back as some sort of vengeance creature called a ‘Sluagh’ and the creature will then gain revenge for the murder/sacrifice of his granddaughter. I am seriously starting to question the sanity of these people.

 

I think that this is crazy in the extreme but Lucie is clearly grieving and believes this cockamamie ritual will work so I am willing to play along. The only driving factor in this is that I am willing to try anything to get my Lucie back, hence I am willing to see this crazy plan to fruition. It is decided that each person would take watch during and follow Lucie if she went outside making sure that she does not injure herself.

 

22:00 I was to take the final watch so took the opportunity to get some rest

 

Sunday 2nd November

02:00 I was awoken and informed that Lucie had left the house and Freddie and James were following her, so I headed downstairs with the intention of joining them. However it appears that a fog has rolled in as the visibility is very poor.

 

We know that they were heading for the churchyard so I set out with Emily and Barbara for company. The intention is to skirt the Eastern side of the church to the transect and from there to Sir Lionel’s resting place. Arriving at the transect we encounter the others heading back. It appears Lucie has completed her instructions and had already passed us by.

 

02:30 – We arrive home and it was clear from the dirt on the stairs that Lucie has also returned and that she had gone up to her room. I too was about to retire when Freddie asked me if he could look in the basement as he appeared to believe there was a door down there.

 

To appease him I agreed to take a look and we discovered he was correct, as there was a locked door behind some old carpet rolls. As we tested the lock we discovered that the door was linked to the only key we had not till then been able to identify. The lock had not been used for many years and was seized-up but I had the skills to be able to open it. So with the aid of can of WD40 and hammer I was able to release the lock but made a lot of noise doing so.

 

Just as I was about to open the door I heard Lucie call out from above so I locked the door and headed up to see what she needed. Lucie gave me a look then requested the keys which I gave to her we then retired to the master bedroom leaving the others standing in the kitchen.

 

08:00 – Toby is banging on the door and shouting so I head downstairs to find Mary, Donald and Freddie already talking to Toby in the kitchen when I arrive with Lucie we are informed that someone had apparently desecrated Sir Lionel’s grave. Lucie appears to accept this stoically and almost seems to have expected it as I had anticipated more of a reaction.

 

09:00 – Reverend Rook joins us in the kitchen together with Emily, James, Barbara and Belinda and informs us that he will raise this issue in his sermon. We would have reported this to the Police but it appears that once again the phones are out and with the fog still lingering we would likely need to wait till Monday before we can report the crime.

 

10:00 The Reverend Rook is true to his word for he was back at his blood and thunder best promising that the wrath of god would be brought to bear on whoever it was that had partaken in this heathen act.

 

11:00 – With the exception of the reverend we all return to Drummond House where Lucie then asks Mary and Donald to return home. Lucie then requests that we all sit down at the table. Lucie then reveals her belief that it is she that has caused the desecration but that she was only following her grandfather’s wishes. I should note that while she appears to have no regrets in regard to what she has done she appears somewhat surprised to discover that the ritual she had performed had actually worked.

 

Lucie appears to believe that three people were involved in the ritual sacrifice of her sister Sophie and that the retired bank manager David Frasier was one of these, which implies that Mr Fraser may be in imminent danger. So while I remain with Lucie to both comfort her and hopefully acquire the other two names, Freddie and Belinda set off to warn Mr Fraser.

 

12:00 – Freddie returns looking rather pale while Belinda is clearly even more shaken. It appears Mr Fraser has been murdered and that they had discovered his decapitated body. What was worse was the condition of his poor disabled wife for it seems Mr Fraser has been committing heinous acts upon her for many years.

 

They had left the poor woman in the care of Alan, the local doctor, and they stated that he too was badly shaken by what they had uncovered.

 

To be honest I think she is probably better off without him as he is clearly sub-human if he does this to a woman he supposedly loves. If I had known what he was up to I would have very likely given him a good kicking and growing up with my dad and his criminal buddies I know that even the worst criminals hold people like this in contempt.

 

Apparently Freddie also found a number of books by the Marquis de Sade and other authors, all focusing on sadism, and he had selected one in particular to bring back with him named the Night of the Goat.