Touched (25 page)

He handed over the money.

‘Oh yeah, that sounds better!’ Tess said.

The girl gave him his change, his ticket, a guide to the Abbey and a look of pity. 'There’s a tour starting in ten minutes if you’re interested. You just need to wait by the biggest of the crosses,' she said.

‘Oh right, yes thanks.’

Two large carved Celtic crosses stood near the main door to the Abbey. The carvings were beautifully intricate, the stone itself a perfect grey-green bridge against the contrasting blues of sky and sea.

Dan took a number of pictures of the crosses and the outside of the Abbey. He couldn’t resist taking some with Tess in the shot; she was stood next to the larger cross, tracing the swirls of the carving with her fingers. He lowered the camera and checked the images on the screen that he had just taken. There was no sign of Tess on them. He sighed and walked over to her, just as a neatly dressed grey-haired woman came out of the Abbey’s front door. She was in the green tweed skirt, green lamb’s wool jumper and black jacket which was the uniform of the staff.

‘Excuse me, are you the guide?’ asked one of the Canadian women who had just arrived.

‘Oh no dear, that’s wee Fiona today, she should be out in a moment.’

‘Ah thank you.’

‘That’s my pleasure my dear, I hope you enjoy the tour,’ said the woman with a smile.

The woman smiled at Dan and walked past them up the path to the kiosk where Dan had paid. They saw her exchange a few words with the girl, obviously passing on some kind of message. It was obviously a short one because she immediately turned and headed back towards the Abbey.

‘She’s from the Iona community,’ whispered Dan to Tess, ‘They are the people who live and work in the Abbey.’

‘It must be such a fabulous place to live,’ said Tess as the women passed by them, ‘It’s so peaceful and beautiful.’

‘Oh it is that my dear,’ said the woman, who was still smiling, ‘My you’re a brave girl! Aren’t you cold dressed like that?’

Chapter Seventeen

Monday afternoon

They were so startled that the woman had walked on several steps before either reacted. Then they both spoke together.

‘You can see me!’

‘She can see you!’

The woman stopped instantly. She turned around, her eyes darting straight to Tess, surprise showing in them.

Dan also noticed that all conversations around him had stopped and that everyone else’s eyes were on him. He realised that he had virtually shouted. Fortunately the woman recovered very quickly and came to his rescue.

‘Ah yes,’ she said, ‘I forgot. I can see you now, I have some time to spare.’

She ignored Tess and walked straight to Dan, her hand outstretched.

‘It’s
Mr…?’ she said.

‘
Mr Jackson,’ said Dan, taking her hand, playing along, ‘Dan.’ He added.

‘Glad to meet you Dan, I’m Susan Arnold. Now if I remember right you’re researching the St Columbia period?’ She was talking loudly; Dan
realised it was for the spectators benefit. She leant closer, ‘I think we all need to walk somewhere quiet don’t we, my dears?’ she whispered into Dan’s ear.

‘Yes that’s right,’ said Dan, also more loudly than normal. He was relieved to hear that the conversations had resumed.

They walked away from the cross and the entrance, walking alongside the Abbey. As soon as they were out of earshot of the group, Susan stopped.

‘My apologies,’ she said, ‘Even on Iona you sometimes need to seek out peace and seclusion.’

She turned to Tess, ‘Hello, my dear. I’m sorry I couldn’t speak to you down there. It is lovely to meet you. What’s your name?’

‘Tess Williams. You can see me?’

‘Oh yes. And hear you of course.’

‘And you know what I am?’

‘Oh yes dear.’

The questions from both Dan and Tess tumbled out.

‘Why can you see her?’

‘You’re not shocked? Only Dan has ever seen me before.’

Susan held up her hands. ‘That I don’t know. But, no, I’m not shocked or scared, why should I be?’

‘I thought you’d be surprised at least,’ said Dan.

‘You have seen someone like me before, haven’t you?’ said Tess.

‘You are very perceptive, dear,’ smiled Susan, ‘Yes I have, my husband. He came back to me; in fact it was he who persuaded me to come here and came with me to settle me in.’

There was an announcement from back at the cross.

‘All those booked on the tour…thank you…if you come over to me we’ll get started.’

A dark haired young women in the tour guides uniform was stood by the cross and had raised her hand to attract attention. The tour group was assembling around her.

‘I think you’re booked on that, aren’t you Dan?’ said Susan.

‘Yes, but…’ he began.

‘You go,’ interrupted Susan, ‘I’ll look after Tess.’

‘But…’ Dan started to protest.

‘Please,’ said Susan, her voice still kindly but firm.

Tess was looking puzzled but then she said, ‘Yes Dan, please go. For me. I’ll see you in a little while.’

Dan stood for a moment, ready to argue, but then
realised that when faced with not one but two determined women, his chances of winning were slim.

‘Well, OK. See you both later.’

He leant forward but Tess stepped away.

‘Don’t kiss me you
muppet!’ she giggled, ‘Off you go!’

When he had gone Susan turned to Tess.

‘Let’s walk my dear,’ she said.

She led them around the back of the Abbey in the direction of the beach.

‘Dan seems to be a really nice young man.’

‘He is – very.’

‘You were married to him?’

‘No.’

‘Then he was your boyfriend?’

Tess shook her head.

‘Actually no, I’d never met him before…well you know.’

Susan looked surprised.

‘That really is most amazing, How did you meet him then?’

‘He came to do a survey on my flat. He’s a
valuer. I didn’t know it at the time but I had been gone quite a long time by then, at least 6 months.’

‘And from the beginning he could see and hear you?’

‘Yes.’

‘Interesting, most interesting. Shall we sit and talk? My legs are not what they were I’m afraid.’

They had reached a bench that looked out over the water. On warmer day’s this area would probably have been full of picnickers but the chill breeze had seemed to keep people moving.

‘So can you communicate with anyone else?’

‘No. It just seems to be him. And you now.’

‘And yet despite this, and the fact he has only ever known you this way, he has fallen in love with you?’

Tess nodded, her face grim.

‘Apparently so. I tried to stop him, I tell him he's crazy but yes, I think he does love me.’

Susan smiled.

‘Love is such a rare thing it should be celebrated wherever it is found, don’t you think?’ she said.

Tess pulled a face.

‘I used to think so. I’m not so sure now,’ she said.

‘But you love him too, don’t you?’

Tess shook her head firmly, ‘No. I can’t.’

‘But you do. It’s obvious. You just think that you shouldn’t.’

‘Well of course I shouldn’t! How can I? How can he? It’s just not right is it?’

Susan held her hands open. ‘Who is to say what is right? That you shouldn’t be in love? I know I can’t.’

‘But I’m a…I’m a…ghost,’ said Tess.

‘Is that what you think you are?’ said Susan.

‘Well, yes of course, what else?’

‘Do you believe in ghosts Tess?’

‘Well no, of course…’

Tess stopped, realising the difficulty she was getting into with the argument.

‘No,’ she said firmly at last.

Susan nodded. ‘Do you believe in God then?’ she asked.

Tess frowned slightly.

‘I’m not sure,’ she said, ‘I went to church as a child and was confirmed and everything but by the time I went to uni I was a real sceptic. But later though – before I was attacked – I started to think about things a lot more, whether I actually did believe or not. I started to go to church again, not every Sunday, just from time to time. I never told anyone; I guess I was a little embarrassed but I found such, well, peace there, I think that’s the best way of putting it. So yes, I think I do believe, yes.’

Susan smiled again.

‘It’s good that you are exploring and questioning your faith. It is better to be seek than to be blind, and that applies to both sides of the belief line,’ she said. ‘I have faith, I believe. I believe that God guides me and helps me, and also that He has a purpose for me, though I’m never quite sure what that is. I believe that it is He that has brought you and Dan to me so that I can help you.’

Tess looked into Susan’s eyes and then nodded, though she said nothing.

‘You see I may be the one person who can help you because I have personally experienced what you and your young man are experiencing, this miracle, this gift.’

Tess gave a ruthful laugh, ‘Is it a gift? Sometimes I think it’s a curse.’

‘It’s what we make it, my dear.’

Tess nodded slowly.

‘Tell me about your…gift,’ she said.

Susan smiled broadly. Tess could see that she was remembering, and that the memories were pleasant ones.

‘Oh mine was definitely a gift, a wonderful bonus that God granted me. I’m not saying that your experience will be like mine but I will say one thing above all: make the most of it whilst you can, you may not be here for long.’

Tess found herself actually trembling. Susan seemed to notice.

‘Please do not let that worry you, my dear, who knows how long you will have? Peter, my husband, was sent back to me a few months after he was taken. I was alone, lost, angry. I wanted to die myself.’

Tess had recovered her composure.

‘Did Peter die suddenly?’ she asked.

‘Yes. He went off to work as usual one day and never came back. He had sat down at his desk and had a massive heart attack.’

‘I’m so sorry.’

‘I was so angry with God. He had worked so hard, had done all his life, but he was going to retire the next year, we were going to travel. It seemed so unfair. But then he did come back to me though, when I was at my lowest. He was my Peter, calm, patient, talking to me, helping me, guiding me.

‘I hadn’t been out of the house for weeks but he got me out again, just to the shops at first, then to our church. That, just that, helped me so much.

‘Eventually he encouraged me to come here, to Iona and the community. He knew that I had always wanted to do it but had never had the chance.’ She gave a little, quiet laugh. ‘He almost had to bully me to come. Peter! Bullying! He was really no good at it but he did his best.

‘He came with me, settled me in, calmed my fears. And then one day…’

She stared wistfully across the water and then sighed. ‘One day he was gone. No goodbyes. He just knew I was in the right place, that I was at peace. He did that for me.’

Tess reached her hand across to Susan’s and tried to hold them but found that she felt nothing and nor did Susan appear to notice any touch. She quickly moved her hand away.

‘So he saw to it that you were happy and safe and then he went away. You think that was why he came back to you?’ she said.

‘I am sure of it. He was my angel,’ Susan turned away from the view and looked at Tess again, ‘and I think that you are Dan’s’

‘An angel? Me?’ Tess laughed, ‘I’m no angel.’

Susan smiled. 'I guess that you are thinking of the classic image of an angel; the winged messengers of the bible?'

Tess laughed. 'Exactly! What other kinds are there?'

'If you read the texts of the world's religions you'll find they come in many forms.  One theory is that they are an extension of God to produce effects in this world. Basically, they are sent to a do a task.'

Tess nodded, thinking over what Susan had said.

‘I don’t know,’ she said at last, ‘I’m not sure I believe in angels either. But it is another way of looking at it, in fact the reverse of what both Dan and I have thought and it does make more sense. I think Dan believes he has to help me find my killer.’

‘Your killer? You were murdered?’

Tess nodded.

‘Oh my poor dear, I’m so sorry.’

Tess shrugged.

‘It looks like that doesn’t matter,’ she said, ‘not if I’m here for Dan. So what can I do for him?’

‘My dear,’ said Susan gently, ‘I don’t have the answer to that I’m afraid. I’ve had the time to think about what happened to me but your course will almost certainly be very different. Only God knows his purpose in sending you to Dan. But, I do believe He does have a purpose for you though.’