The Ghost Of Gleeful Manor (A Short Reverse Falls Story)

Chapter 5: Evidence

Mason snuck out of bed as soon as the bedroom door to Fords room closed and quickly made his way to the basement door he knew was on the lower level. The door was locked when he tried to turn the handle, and he shook it angrily, realizing that it was silly to even think it would be open. He was about to turn around when he heard a click and the door opened by itself, creaking softly as the rusted hinges gave way. He turned around, his heart beating wildly, and nudged the door with his foot. But the steps were empty of whoever had opened it, and he knew deep down it had to have been Will.

The stairs were old and rickety as he held the torch in his grip tightly, and his breath came out in cold puffs despite the heat from the furnace that was heating the rest of the home nicely. The room he came to next was thankfully empty of people and dark except for the copper furnace producing the light from its hot contents. 

Chains hung on the wall, rusty and old and blood stained, illuminated by the light from the fire. A box lay on the floor in the corner, a sleeve from a long-sleeved shirt poking out. He went over and put the torch in his mouth, opening the cardboard folds. Inside were Will's clothes, bloodstained, torn and dirty. They stunk rather badly, and he felt pity in his heart as he picked it up, "Don't worry, William, I'll get you the justice you deserve" he said, smiling as the chains on the wall rattled a bit.

He left the basement and stored the box under his bed, getting back under the covers of his bed and switching off the torch. He set it down on his bedside and closed his eyes, his body still bubbling with nerves and adrenaline. But he had done it, he had gotten the evidence he needed to put his Great Uncle behind bars for life.

~

"I'm going into town today, to check the place out, if that's okay?" he asked, munching on some toast his great uncle had insisted he spread with the mashed avocado rather than the banana and cinnamon sugar he had wanted. Ford looked up from his newspaper and studied him, "Town?"

"Yes sir"

"Very well, take one of the servants with you if you wish to buy anything. You have the card I gave you?"

"Yes sir"

"Good lad" and with that Ford went back to his newspaper, leaving Mason to finish his food in quiet and hurry to his room once he had done. He looked around to make sure he was alone before he pulled the box out from under his bed and stuffed it into his large duffel bag. Mabel knocked on his door just as he was about to leave and gave him a smile, "That's a big bag, you sure you're going to need it? What are you even planning on buying?"

"Uh, stuff, new clothes, things" he said quickly.

"Right, well have fun, dork."

Mason watched her go and let out a breath of relief, making his way to the front door and across the driveway, waving a hand at the servants as they asked if they'd be needing them. The gates opened for him as he pressed the button and he sprinted through, feeling a lot better now he was free from the Manor.

~

The police station wasn't too busy, and he smiled as he was next in line, "Hi, I'd like to report the murder of William Rephic" he said, feeling nervous and relieved he was able to help. The policemen sitting down, put his pen on top the notebook he was writing in and looked up. 

"Evidence?"

"I found a box of bloodied clothes in my Great Uncle Stanford's basement" he replied, setting the duffel bag onto the counter. The policemen looked behind at the others, all of them coming over as he put on some gloves and unzipped the bag. The bloodied clothes met their gaze, and they took it from him, "Thank you, your name is?"

"Mason Gleeful, my sister and I recently moved into our Great Uncles Manor, after our parents died."

"This helps the case Mason, William has been missing since last year, Stanford acted so distraught and we hadn't really had him on our suspect list. How did you know these are William's things?"

"He visited me, he's a ghost, and I know its hard to believe, but without him I wouldn't have been able to find these things. He just wants justice. Afterwards I believe he'll finally be able to move on."

"We live in Reverse Falls boy, we see weird every day. Ghosts are everywhere, I believe you, we have old James haunting the cells, he likes to sing out of tune." the policeman said with a chuckle, "Now, off you go, stay out of the house for a while, while we do out jobs."

"Yes, sir!" Mason said, pulling the credit card Ford had given him from his pocket and heading into town to check out the stores. He knew that once they arrested his Great Uncle, they would place him and his sister into foster care. So, he might as well spend the money he had left on some nice things.