Ghostcatcher Read online

  Contents

  Title Page

  The Potkin and Stubbs Trilogy by Sophie Green

  Dedication

  Chapter 1: Chinatown

  Chapter 2: The Final Ghost

  Chapter 3: The Most Important Meals of the Day

  Chapter 4: The Docks

  Chapter 5: A Familiar Road

  Chapter 6: Long Overdue

  Chapter 7: The Peligan City Paranormal Society

  Chapter 8: The Lick and Spittle Boxing Club

  Chapter 9: We Need to Talk about Roland Selznick

  Chapter 10: The Golden Loop

  Chapter 11: Undercover Baker

  Chapter 12: Sam Tangiers

  Chapter 13: The Drop

  Chapter 14: Old Towels

  Chapter 15: The Team Works

  Chapter 16: Babyface Gets Spooked

  Chapter 17: Under the Wire

  Chapter 18: Rorschach Research Facility

  Chapter 19: EGON

  Chapter 20: Tea for Three

  Chapter 21: The Dead Connection

  Chapter 22: Peace at Last

  Chapter 23: This Bitter Earth

  Chapter 24: The Whole Truth

  Chapter 25: The Definite Article

  Epilogue: One Month Later

  Acknowledgements

  About Sophie Green

  About Karl James Mountford

  Copyright

  THE POTKIN AND STUBBS TRILOGY

  BY SOPHIE GREEN

  Potkin and Stubbs

  The Haunting of Peligan City

  Ghostcatcher

  For Luke

  Chapter 1

  Chinatown

  Private Investigator Abe Mandrel gazed past the plastic coconuts dangling from his rear-view mirror, through the rain-splattered windscreen, and then down into his coffee. He tightened the grip of the new cup-holder attachment on his Swiss Army hand and took a tentative sip.

  Chinatown’s lights dazzled behind him. The rain roughed up the puddles and scattered the reflected neon of the signs for every kind of noodle bar. Red silk lanterns, faded pink, were strung across the road like bunting, and the aroma of sesame and soy carried all the way to where Abe’s Ford Zodiac was parked shoulder to shoulder with the kerb, in the shadow between street lamps.

  With his trilby tilted down low, all that could be seen of Abe was a hat, a heavy, stubbled jaw and a grim, set mouth. On the passenger seat, his small, sand-coloured mongrel, sniffed the air and let out a faint whine.

  Abe tilted his wristwatch towards the lights and said, ‘We’ll give him another few minutes, Margaret.’

  The house across the street was in darkness. Number forty-one was tall, thin and leaning slightly to one side. It was weather-boarded, like it was made of matchsticks, with steps up to the front and alleys on both sides.

  Abe watched the ragged net curtains swell mysteriously in the windows. ‘Come on, kid,’ he muttered under his breath. A gold-coloured lucky cat sat on the windowsill with its paw raised, though whether in greeting or warning Abe couldn’t tell.

  He angled the rear-view mirror to focus on the nearest chop suey restaurant. His stomach growled and Margaret frowned at it.

  ‘If he’s not out in five, I’m sending you in.’

  Margaret looked purposefully ahead. She licked her nose to keep it sharp. The curtains in the window fluttered; the lucky cat’s paw swung. Abe peered closer. ‘What’s he doing?’ His eyes were drawn to the cat waving hypnotically to him. Margaret’s ears had pricked up.

  ‘What is it, girl?’ Abe turned to face forward again, scanned the road ahead and then checked the rear-view mirror. A parking space that had been empty was now filled by a car, one that had rolled in with no lights.

  He saw a glimmer of moonshine on a sleek-looking bonnet, then there was a sharp rap on the window. He whipped around to see a face jump into view inches away from his own.

  ‘Gah!’ Abe yelled, flipping the contents of his mug into the air and catching it on his shirt.

  Lil Potkin gestured impatiently for him to open the window. Abe glared at her as he wound the handle. She was wearing a navy fishing hat pulled down low to hide her bobbed hair and cup-handle ears, but the signature yellow rain mac gave her away every time.

  As soon as the window had dropped irreversibly into its slot in the door, Lil popped her head through it and scanned the car. ‘Nedly isn’t with you?’

  Abe stopped grinding his teeth just long enough to say, ‘He’s working. Are you here to –?’

  Lil cut him off. ‘We have to get him out. It’s Ghostcatcher. They’re right behind us.’

  ‘What!’ Abe sat forward quickly, sloshing the coffee dregs over his sleeve. ‘How did they –?’

  ‘There’s no time! He can’t be here when they arrive!’ Lil insisted. ‘Which house?’

  Abe pointed across the road with his cup. ‘The one with the lucky cat. But it’s empty; he’s –’

  Lil interrupted again. ‘If it’s empty, then who called the Haunting Hotline?’ She gave Abe an exasperated look. ‘I’ve got to warn him! You cover for me.’

  ‘Wait! Where’s Quake?’

  ‘She’s still in the car. I’m just checking the back way for signs of the haunting. Come on, let’s go!’

  Abe only had a second to look confused before Margaret trod in his wet lap as she clambered over him and then jumped out of the window, following Lil across the street.

  Lil crouched and ran quickly down the alleyway between the buildings. Margaret scampered ahead with her nose to the ground and then disappeared into the crawl space under the house.

  The back garden was moonlit and festooned with abandoned shuttlecocks and tennis balls. A rusted swing was overturned and the decomposing wicker garden furniture looked like it was sinking into the ground.

  Lil waded knee-deep through the long wet grass and then ran up the steps to the porch. The old wood was slippery with algae. ‘Nedly?’ she whispered as loudly as she dared.

  The nearest window was painted shut. She tried the back door, rattling the knob back and forth and then, glancing furtively left and right, she applied a bit of shoulder pressure, but it was definitely locked. Lil was beginning to panic now; she cupped her hands round her eyes and peered into the darkness.

  The room was fuzzily dark and made ghostly by the net curtains, which cast shadows like torn spiderwebs. Pale sheets covered the furniture and dust bunnies rolled across floorboards. Lil knelt down at the keyhole and hissed, ‘Nedly!’

  Margaret’s sharp warning bark cut through the night followed by the crackling sound of tyres on a wet road, and then silence.

  There was no more time for subtlety. Lil thumped loudly on the glass. ‘Nedly! It’s time to go!’

  The hair on her neck prickled and rose in the wave of dread that Lil had got used to ignoring now. There was a sound like a pebble being dropped into a glass of water and Nedly appeared at the door.

  His large eyes looked like hollows in his pale, thin face and a lock of his roughly cut hair fell over his forehead.

  Lil half shouted: ‘Quick! You have to leg it.’

  On the street there was the sound of car doors slamming.

  ‘Ghostcatcher are here! Already?’ Nedly gasped.

  ‘You can make it. Just go!’

  Nedly ran into the middle of the garden. He started one way and then panicked and turned another. He looked back at Lil; she jabbed her thumb in the direction of the street and he gulped, nodded and then ran through the fence at the side of the yard.

  Lil puffed out her cheeks, took another deep breath to slow down her heart and make herself seem calm and then, keeping close to the shadows of the house next door, she snuck back down the alleyway to watch.

  The silver Ghostcatcher van had parked di
agonally to block any traffic, its hazard lights pulsing the street with orange. Three figures in white hazmat suits, protective boots and helmets with reflective visors were strapping harnesses onto each other’s backs, battery packs sprouting wires channelled into the shoebox-sized consoles that they carried.

  With synchronised strides they took the stairs up to the front door. One knelt down, pulled something out of their pocket, squashed it into the lock and then they all turned away. A puff of smoke later and the door swung open and dropped off its hinges and the figures stepped inside.

  Lil skirted behind the van to catch up with Marsha Quake, who had left her car, a smart Mercury coupe, and under the cover of a neat black umbrella was stalking towards Abe’s battered Zodiac. Quake’s long red hair was twisted up into a chignon and hidden under the hood of the silk scarf that was wound round her neck, but despite the elegance of her outfit her green velvet trouser suit was wearing thin at the elbows and her brogues were looking tired. She wore dark glasses and the colour of her lipstick was so deep it was almost brown.

  The name Marsha Quake was an alias; all the Klaxon reporters had them. Lil’s mother was known as Randall Collar; Lil herself was Stellar Darke. Their real names were kept secret to protect their identities for fear that City Hall would find a way to silence them, as it had with the intrepid reporter Roland Selznick.

  Previously Lil had only known of Quake as the author of her favourite book, McNair and the Free Press, a biography of her childhood hero. Since then Lil had discovered that McNair was a fiction, a fake name that, for a while, had protected not one but a whole group of reporters when speaking the truth became too dangerous and the freedom of the press was outlawed.

  ‘Absolom Mandrel.’ Quake addressed Abe in her usual clipped, confident tone and then propped herself up against the car beside him. ‘We must stop meeting like this.’

  Abe was leaning stiffly against the bonnet, his arms folded over his coffee-stained shirt. He clenched and unclenched his jaw a few times and then tried to smile with it. ‘Marsha Quake. What a coincidence.’

  As she approached them Lil made her own half-hearted attempt at a look of surprise. It was becoming an old routine.

  When Logan Mackay, librarian and the editor of the Klaxon, finally agreed to take on Lil as a trainee reporter, everyone expected that she would want to work with her mother, Naomi, investigating the political corruption stories that Randall Collar was famous for, but Lil had surprised them all by asking to shadow Quake instead.

  Lil’s choice had been clear. Ghostcatcher was Quake’s story. Lil had to follow it to ensure she always got an early alert about Ghostcatcher’s movements through the radio scanner on Quake’s car. This way she was able to dog their every call-out without arousing suspicion and arrive in time to warn Nedly to flee whenever they got too close. The irony was that Naomi had only passed up on the first Ghostcatcher scoop to spend more time with Lil, but things didn’t turn out the way that either of them had hoped and her plan had backfired.

  Quake arched an eyebrow at Abe and said breezily, ‘The Klaxon is here because Ghostcatcher was alerted to some haunting activity at this address and we’re investigating. How about you?’ She opened a bag of nuts and passed them around.

  Abe took one, ignored the question and asked one of his own. ‘Who do you think called it in?’ He squinted up and then down the darkened street. ‘The place looks empty to me.’

  Quake chewed distractedly. ‘You tell me; you were here first. Care to comment, detective?’

  ‘I was just passing.’

  ‘You were parked when we pulled up.’

  ‘It was a slow pass. I was considering getting some noodles.’

  Lil huddled under Quake’s umbrella; rain trickled off Abe’s trilby and fell to the ground in front of him in threads. They all stood facing number forty-one and watched with interest. The windows lit up, glowing green with a ghostly light, like a haunted house at the funfair.

  Quake turned to Lil. ‘Find anything interesting out the back?’

  Lil shrugged. ‘I don’t think anyone lives there. The door was locked but it all looked calm inside,’ she added. ‘My money is on another false alarm.’

  Quake sucked some air through her teeth. ‘There’s got to be some reason they came out here. What do you say, Mandrel? Since I’ve been on this story everywhere I look you’re there. What’s your angle? Did you get a tip-off?’

  Abe rubbed his cheek with his rubber palm. ‘We got a lead on another matter but turns out it was a squib.’

  ‘Here they come!’ Lil straightened up, ready for business, as the scientists filed out of the building through the now permanently open doorway, their shoulders sagging, the consoles hanging down from their straps.

  ‘Have you got a handle on this lot yet?’ Abe murmured to Quake, keeping the brim of his hat low as he watched them make their way towards the van. ‘What was their background before City Hall put them on the payroll? Eggheads?’

  ‘Something like that.’ Quake’s sunglasses hid her eyes and a good deal of her face. She gave a nod and Lil pulled out her notepad, flicked it to the right page and gave Abe the lowdown.

  ‘That first one is Magdalena Virgil.’ As Lil spoke, Virgil climbed down the steps, undid a strap to release her helmet, removed it and shook out her long steel-grey hair. Her thick black brows were arched over piercing eyes. ‘She’s a maverick physicist.’

  Virgil was followed by a tall man who removed his own helmet to reveal a closely shaved head, circular copper-wire-framed glasses and a generous mouth and nose. Round his neck was a second strap, which held a two-handled device, like a large macro-lens camera, which he was using to scan back and forth across the street. ‘Arcos Marek,’ Lil whispered. ‘Quantum engineer.’

  The last of the trio was already carrying his helmet under one arm. He had an asymmetrical bob of soft bouncing curls and a wide forehead which tapered all the way down to a little square dimpled chin. ‘Laszlo Yossarian,’ Lil reported. ‘Experimental philosopher.’

  As Yossarian approached the van he turned his head slightly and their eyes met. Lil thought she saw a smile.

  She looked at Abe and Quake but neither had clocked it.

  Virgil opened the sliding van door and took the weight of Yossarian’s backpack as he shook his shoulders free of the harness, but Marek bypassed them completely and kept walking; his eyes were glued to the device in his hands.

  Virgil called out as he passed them, ‘It’s off, Marek. You’re going to have to recalibrate.’

  But Marek ignored her and continued walking slowly towards Lil, muttering, ‘Something caused the spike.’ And then more loudly, ‘It’s here, Virgil!’ Holding the apparatus in front of him like a divining rod, he started tweaking the dials. ‘I’m picking up a residual EMF trace.’

  ‘It’s not working properly,’ Virgil snapped. ‘Leave it.’

  Marek turned and looked up the street. Quake regarded him, one eyebrow curved with interest as he wandered past. Lil watched with mounting panic. He was heading towards Quake’s Mercury.

  ‘Hey, professor!’ Lil blurted desperately. ‘We have some questions for you.’

  Ghostcatcher were notoriously wary of the press. Although Lil and Quake had been observing them for weeks they had never attempted an interview. These scientists didn’t like questions if someone else was asking them.

  Quake turned her eyebrow on Lil and one side of her mouth went up in an amused smile.

  But Marek ignored her and called over his shoulder. ‘It’s a clear signal, Virgil. I’m sure of it.’

  ‘Time to go, Marek. That means now!’ Virgil insisted.

  Reluctantly Marek turned and made his way past Lil and back to where Virgil was stripping the harness from her own shoulders before hurling it into the back of the van and slamming the door loudly.

  ‘Hey,’ Quake called out to Lil. ‘If we’re going to do this, let’s go straight to the boss.’ She darted towards Virgil. Casting a last relieved look ba
ck at the Mercury, Lil quickly selected a pencil, spun it once between her fingers and then joined Quake at the van.

  Virgil dodged past them but Quake pursued her to the driver’s side with Lil hot on her heels. ‘Did you find anything in the house, Professor Virgil?’

  Virgil paused with her hand on the doors. She glanced sharply at them, pursing her lips. ‘We found a small scruffy dog.’

  Lil cut in: ‘A stray maybe? Do you think that’s what caused the panic? Someone heard it howl, thought it was a spook and called you?’

  Virgil’s gaze lasered past Lil and locked on to the Zodiac where Margaret was sitting bolt upright in the front seat staring purposefully out of the windscreen. Her eyes narrowed as she saw Abe leaning against the bonnet. She called out to him, ‘Haven’t I seen you somewhere before?’

  Abe dropped his chin, shading his eyes under the brim of his hat. ‘I’ve got one of those faces.’ He exchanged a quick glance with Lil and then got into his car. After a couple of strained engine sounds the Zodiac bunny-hopped away, sputtering black exhaust fumes behind it.

  Virgil unlocked the van door and yanked it open.

  ‘Has Ghostcatcher had any success in apprehending a ghost since the doll hospital case?’ Quake asked quickly.

  The professor climbed in behind the steering wheel. ‘There is only one ghost that we’re looking for.’

  ‘And when does your contract with City Hall expire?’

  ‘No comment.’

  Lil tried again. ‘What do you think of the Herald coverage on the so-called Final Ghost, Professor? The spook they claim has been stalking Peligan City.’

  Virgil frowned. ‘I don’t read it.’

  Lil nodded approvingly and then gave her the Penetrating Squint. ‘What would you say are your chances of catching him?’

  Virgil returned Lil’s Squint with an ice-cold stare. ‘I’d say ninety-nine per cent.’

  Quake dropped her chin and peered over her sunglasses. ‘Can I quote you on that?’

  Virgil turned the key firmly but paused just before she shut the door on them to reply: ‘Absolutely.’

  Chapter 2