The Cornish Cream Tea Christmas: Part Three – I’m Dreaming of a Hot Chocolate

THE CORNISH CREAM TEA CHRISTMAS

PART THREE

I’m Dreaming of a Hot Chocolate

Cressida McLaughlin

Copyright

Published by HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd

The News Building

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk

First published in Great Britain in e-book format in 2020 by HarperCollinsPublishers

Copyright © Cressida McLaughlin 2020

Cover design Caroline Young © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2020.

Cover illustration © May Van Millingen

Cressida McLaughlin asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

Source ISBN: 9780008408718

Ebook Edition © October 2020 ISBN: 9780008408763

Version: 2020-09-09

Dedication

For Kate, Tim, Clara and Pete

Contents

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Part Three: I’m Dreaming of a Hot Chocolate

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Acknowledgements

Cressy’s Christmas away from home …

Keep Reading …

About the Author

Also by Cressida McLaughlin

About the Publisher

‘I don’t believe this. Where is it again?’

Hannah Swan chewed her lip as Daniel Harper stared at the photo on the phone, shaking his head while the others in the room – Charlie, Noah, Reenie and Audrey Benson, orchestrator of the night’s ghost hunt – gathered round him.

The snug at the Crystal Waters Spa Hotel looked stark with all the lights blazing instead of the usual mood lighting, as if they were all craving brightness after spending so long sitting in the dark. The Christmas tree twinkled gently in the corner, and every time Hannah glanced at it, it lifted her spirits.

‘Down by the outdoor swimming pool.’ Noah answered Daniel’s question. He was Hannah’s colleague, a local freelancer working with her on transforming Crystal Waters into an eco-hotel. Things had been going well between them until that moment, that kiss, mid-ghost hunt. Not that Hannah hadn’t wanted to, but Noah had a girlfriend. ‘On one of those pieces of rock that borders the flowerbeds,’ Noah continued. ‘Hannah and I thought you’d probably used some of the stones from the demolished Clifftop Hotel in the gardens.’

‘I did, but …’ Daniel exhaled. ‘I would have noticed. It’s not exactly subtle, is it?’ He gestured to the phone, which was showing the photo Noah had taken of the scrawled graffiti they had found. Or, rather, Spirit the stray dog had led them to.

‘But if you weren’t looking for it,’ Hannah said, ‘you might well have missed it.’

‘You didn’t oversee the placement of every single pebble when the garden was constructed, did you?’ Reenie arched an eyebrow.

‘I wish you’d mentioned there were still pieces of the original hotel in the grounds,’ Audrey said. ‘This is a fantastic discovery.’

Daniel ignored the comments. ‘So this proves the story is right? H telling Anna that she has his heart and he’ll see her again. It could be anyone.’

‘It fits so neatly,’ Charlie said. ‘And if it’s true, then it’s heartbreaking. It clearly wasn’t just a fling for him: he loved her.’

‘And we’re absolutely sure that Jonah Kerr doesn’t know about this story?’ Daniel asked. ‘Because if he does, if you’ve told him about the Pursers and the fisherman, Reenie, and he knew we were doing the investigation tonight, then I can easily see him planting something like this. He’s far too creative for his own good.’

‘I’m sure Jonah didn’t do this,’ Charlie said softly. ‘It doesn’t look freshly carved, and it would take some serious strength and patience to gouge the rock this deeply. It’s not like it’s sandstone or anything.’

‘No, you’re right.’ Daniel ran a hand through his dark hair. ‘Bloody hell.’

‘And it was Spirit who found it,’ Hannah reminded him, shooting Noah a look. ‘He went straight to it.’

‘Not a chance,’ Daniel said quickly. ‘That was a coincidence. I am not having psychic dogs as well as ghosts. He was looking for the most sheltered spot, end of discussion.’

‘Did anyone else see or hear anything?’ Charlie asked. ‘Daniel and I saw zilch in the pool room, apart from a couple of the solar lights flickering outside, but I’m sure that was the storm.’

‘It got cold at one point,’ Daniel admitted. ‘There was an icy blast that we couldn’t explain. No vents nearby, nothing else that might have caused it.’

‘Oh yes – there was!’ Charlie nodded. ‘That was so strange.’

‘We had a bit of luck, actually,’ Audrey said. Hannah saw that she was only just containing her excitement. ‘But then I had, very selfishly, positioned us in the spot where activity had already been reported.’

‘You heard the footsteps?’ Hannah asked.

Reenie folded her arms. ‘I’m not one for flights of fancy, but these were bold as brass. From the corner by the Christmas tree over to the desk. They faded when they reached Daniel’s office.’

‘Bloody hell,’ Noah murmured. He was standing beside Hannah, their bodies close, and her hand tingled traitorously at the proximity.

‘What were they like?’ Charlie asked. ‘Did they just sound like normal footsteps?’

‘They were fast and determined,’ Reenie said. ‘Not someone who was worried about being overheard. It was peculiar listening to them, when Audrey and I were standing stock still and there was nobody else nearby. No wonder people find ghosts unnerving.’

Audrey smiled. ‘It was someone with purpose, and it sounded as if they were wearing boots; something hard-soled. I haven’t had a chance to check the recording device, but if they’re on there – and there’s no reason they shouldn’t be – then it will be incredible evidence. I’ll go through all the recordings tomorrow.’ She pressed a hand to her chest. ‘Right this moment, I feel quite giddy!’

‘And I feel exhausted,’ Reenie added. ‘I’m off to bed, if none of you minds? It’s already way beyond my bedtime, and I’ve had more excitement today than I’ve had in a long time.’

‘Of course. Night, Reenie.’ Charlie hugged her, and everyone wished her goodnight.

‘What about you two?’ Charlie asked, once Reenie had gone. ‘Any strange things happen down in the spa?’

The silence held for a moment longer than was comfortable, before Noah answered. ‘We heard a crash coming from one of the treatment rooms, but when we went to see what might have caused it, there was nothing.’

‘Nothing,’ Hannah repeated hurriedly. ‘Nothing at all. But the recorder could have picked something up, couldn’t it?’

‘It might have done,’ Noah said quietly, holding her gaze.

When Hannah tore hers away, Charlie was watching them curiously.

‘I’m eager to have a listen,’ Audrey said. ‘Thank you so much, everyone, for taking the time to help me with this. I’ve got lots to work with, and finding that message is hugely exciting – I can’t wait to look at the stone myself in the daylight. Now I suggest we all get off to bed. These investigations can be tiring.’

Goodnights were said and Noah picked up Spirit, who had stayed close at their heels since he’d come back from his enlightening foray into the gardens. Noah and Hannah went with Audrey to the lower floor, then stopped outside their adjacent rooms. Spirit scrabbled to be put down.

‘I’d better …’ Noah pointed at his door.

‘Sure.’ Hannah put her key in the lock, then looked up at him. ‘I had fun tonight,’ she said, giving him a warm smile. ‘I’m glad I got to investigate with you.’

The look on his face was pure relief. ‘Me too, Hannah. Goodnight.’

She went inside her room and closed the door, hoping she could put what had happened out of her mind and get some sleep.

The first thing Hannah noticed when she woke was the crack of light peeking through the gap in the curtains. She leapt out of bed and pulled back the heavy material. The sun was trying to assert itself, with patches of blue between clouds that were sparser, and less angry, than they had been during the night. The sea still danced and tumbled, the wind was still strong, but the storm was definitely abating.

She opened the Trainline app, knowing she couldn’t take advantage of Daniel and Charlie’s hospitality, or the Green Futures business account, any longer than was necessary. Having gone through every step of planning her trip home, however, she couldn’t help feeling relieved when she discovered that, because of the Dawlish collapse and slower track speeds, the journey to Edinburgh would take two long days. She closed the app and put thoughts of going home to the back of her mind.

Even though it was late, the restaurant was still serving breakfast, and she hovered in the doorway, wondering which table to choose when she saw Audrey waving her over.

‘Come and join me.’

‘If you’re sure?’ Hannah sat down and browsed the menu, knowing Audrey’s choice of muesli wouldn’t cut it. She decided on scrambled eggs and bacon, figuring she could use the protein. She wasn’t used to staying up into the small hours, and exhaustion was tugging at her from all sides.

‘Are you happy with how last night went?’ she asked, once she’d given her order to the waiter.

‘Very,’ Audrey said. ‘I can’t thank you enough for your contribution. For Daniel to put his uncertainty aside and embrace what I’m doing is one thing, but for him to have allowed the investigation to go ahead, and recruited his friends and family to help, was beyond anything I deserved. I’m like a cat with an extra nine lives!’

‘Have you listened to the recordings yet?’

‘No, that’s my task for today. I need to document everything, and with Reenie and me hearing the footsteps, and the discovery of H’s message to Anna in the gardens, I doubt it could have gone better. If I can back up our experience with solid evidence then this will be a thrilling chapter of the book.’

‘What will you do after that?’ Hannah asked, wondering if she could add any more pieces to her own puzzle: the photograph, the strange feeling she had that Porthgolow was special, and the flash of a memory she’d had in the Seven Stars.

‘I’m going into Truro to look at the local records,’ Audrey said. ‘Richard hadn’t got round to making the trip down here, and there could be more to find.’

‘Does it feel sad following in his footsteps, knowing that he never got to complete his last project?’ Hannah poured coffee, and then milk, into a mug.

Audrey’s gaze flitted to the window, then back to Hannah. ‘I am terribly sad that he died. He had a long-term condition that affected his immune system, and he knew he was on borrowed time for the last few years of his life. But, as you would expect from someone who was fascinated by what happens after you die, he wasn’t scared of it. He was a brilliant man, a breath of fresh air, and I miss him very much. But,’ she continued, her smile lighting up her eyes, ‘I feel very proud to be continuing his work. It’s a huge privilege that he trusted me with the research, that he believed I could fulfil his wishes. I want to do his book justice, which is why I’m so grateful to Daniel, and the rest of you, for your help.’

She spoke calmly, and it was Hannah who found her throat thickening with emotion. ‘I’m so glad it’s going so well, and that Spirit found that message.’

‘Ah yes, wonderful Spirit. Daniel wasn’t particularly pleased with that detail, was he?’

‘I can see why it’s hard for him to accept what you’re doing,’ Hannah said carefully.

‘He’s been a lot more understanding than most. I have met many, many people who think the whole thing is nonsense, and won’t entertain me even for a couple of minutes. It’s why I don’t usually announce my intentions at a location until I’m sure I have enough to put in the book. And I often get no cooperation whatsoever, and have to limit the hauntings to our research files. Not everyone wants it known that their hotel or restaurant or shop is haunted.’

‘I wonder if Daniel will fancy renaming this place the Haunted Waters Spa Hotel?’ Hannah grinned.

Audrey’s smile was mischievous. ‘I doubt that very much, despite all he’s done for me. But what about you, Hannah? I get the sense that you’re very much on the fence.’

‘I have an open mind,’ she said slowly, ‘and that message is very compelling. But even if it’s proof of the Purser tragedy, it’s not proof of the ghosts.’

‘You’re right, but that’s the joyful part of all this: the history is as interesting as the hauntings. They feed off each other, the unusual experiences sometimes corroborating what might only be snippets of a story, and the stories fleshing out – as it were – the ghostly activity. It’s all about history and how we understand it; how it never really goes away.’

‘It doesn’t, does it?’ Hannah murmured. Her scrambled eggs and bacon arrived, and she thanked the waiter and added a grind of pepper. ‘And you think it’s worth pursuing it – the history – even if you only have hints that something might have happened? Even if you’re not certain there’s anything major to discover?’

Audrey rested her elbow on the table, her chin in her hand. She appraised Hannah openly, and Hannah dug into her breakfast to avoid meeting her gaze.

‘I absolutely think that,’ she said eventually. ‘You have to be tenacious, follow even the thinnest threads offered to you. And trust your instinct. If you believe there’s something to uncover, then more than likely, there will be. It’s just that sometimes you have to tread on a few toes to get there.’

Hannah returned to her room, full of buttery eggs and crispy bacon, and with a plan forming. She would not look at Trainline any more; she had a place to stay and permission to be in Porthgolow. She also had a few thin threads to start unravelling. She took out her iPad, opened a new note and made a list of everything she had so far: the photo of her, her mum and Mike with Reenie’s house in the background; the tiles in the Seven Stars; the feeling she had about Porthgolow; her mum’s evasiveness.

They were wispy cobwebs, barely there, but Audrey had told her it was instinct, more than anything, that should guide her. She would speak to the locals she’d already been introduced to, find out a bit more about the village at the time when she would have been a visitor. There were also Myrtle’s photo albums, and while it was unlikely she would find anything significant in them, she thought that talking to Porthgolow residents and seeing old pictures of it might trigger some of her own memories from those long-ago holidays.

While she didn’t really know what she hoped to find, it was somewhere to start. And she was looking forward to delving into the history of a place for which, even in the midst of an unforgiving winter storm, Hannah felt a huge amount of warmth. She had been inspired by Audrey’s words and Spirit’s discovery. If a scruffy dog could uncover such an important piece of history, then surely she could find out a bit more about her own past. After all, what did she have to lose?

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