The Horror of the Crowford Empire Read online

  For a moment, she felt calm again.

  “Stop them!” Winifred Thorpe screamed, suddenly appearing in Susan's place in the mirror, her face twisted with fear and anger. “You can't let them do it again!”

  Terrified, Susan stepped back and tripped, landing hard on the floor and almost smacking her head against the side of the toilet. Staring up at the mirror, she could see nothing reflected now except the bathroom ceiling, but at first she was too scared to move a muscle. The woman's face had seemed somehow to be superimposed upon her own in the reflection, as if Winifred Thorpe had been screaming from within Susan's own body, and at the same time her headache was becoming sharper and more persistent, drumming against the inside of her skull.

  “Susan?” her mother shouted, banging on the door. “Listen up, girl, I need to get in for a wee or I'm going to have an accident! Your dad and I are due down the pub in five minutes, come on, be fair and let me in. Whatever you need to do, you can do it after we're gone!”

  Susan hesitated, before forcing herself to slowly get to her feet. To her immense relief, she saw only her own reflection in the mirror, although she was shocked by the fear she saw in her eyes. Trembling slightly and still worried that at any moment the horrific face might return, she swallowed hard and tried to remind herself that there was no such things as ghosts, that she'd merely imagined the frightful vision.

  “Susan!” Her mother slammed a fist against the door. “Get out of there! I'm gonna wet myself!”

  ***

  “Dad, do you remember when the old music hall burned down?”

  As he adjusted his tie in the hallway mirror, Bill Jones turned to his daughter with a puzzled expression.

  “The music hall,” Susan continued. “You know, the one that's the cinema now. It burned down in -”

  “1936,” he replied, “aye, I remember. I was sixteen.”

  “Did you see it happen?”

  “No, but it was all anyone could talk about for weeks after.” He turned back to the mirror and got to work once more on his tie, which was proving reluctant to hold together properly. “Everyone knew what'd happened, but of course the police didn't look into it too carefully.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Old man Grace wanted the place turned into a cinema,” he explained, “and anything old man Grace wanted around this place, he tended to get.”

  “So you think the fire was started deliberately?”

  “I know the fire was started deliberately,” he replied, before muttering something under his breath as he pulled the tie undone and started again. “It was an open secret, especially in the crowd I used to hang about with. Some lads from the welfare club were bunged some cash to go up there and set light to the place.”

  “Why weren't they caught?”

  “I told you, the police were... I don't quite know how to put it.” He paused. “They were motivated to overlook the evidence.”

  “Someone bribed them?”

  “You'd be surprised what goes on round these parts, love.”

  “Let me do that,” she replied, stepping over to him and grabbing the tie, which he'd so far failed miserably to sort out properly. “Did something like that really happen here? In Crowford?”

  “Eric Grace was a powerful man,” he told her. “Now, you might call that corruption, or you might call it getting the job done, but either way, he didn't take no for an answer.”

  “But someone died in the fire, didn't they?”

  “Aye, they did.”

  “Was that an accident?”

  “No-one knows what she was doing there that night. The music hall was supposed to be completely empty, but for some reason Winifred Thorpe was in there and she couldn't get out once the flames took hold. She was a nice woman, I used to get sent to her shop to pick up a few bits and pieces for your gran.” He looked down at his tie as Susan continued to work on the knot. “I happen to have known the lads who were started that fire. One of them never got over the fact that someone died. He drank himself to death inside of a year.”

  “And then the cinema was built, wasn't it?”

  “Didn't take them long. Part of the old music hall was still standing and they managed to use it, I think the building was about half new in the end. Shame, really, because that old music hall was a real gem. I never went in, I was too young, but it looked bloody great from the outside. Pardon my language.”

  “There,” she said, stepping back so that he could turn to the mirror and check his tie. “Did the people who started the fire really never get caught? That seems so crazy, especially if everyone kind of knew who they were. Did this Eric Grace guy really have so much power in Crowford that he could get away with having someone killed?”

  “It's a little more complicated than that,” Bill admitted. “Her death was an accident. And besides, Eric wasn't the only one involved in the cinema project, he was more the front-man for a consortium. There were a lot of very powerful people who also wanted the cinema to go ahead. From what I heard, they used to sit around at that golf club and hatch their plans.”

  “Okay, I'm ready!” Susan's mother Millie announced happily as she bounded down the stairs. “Susie, are you sure you don't want to come with us to the pub tonight? You never know, you might bump into a nice young man who'll sweep you off your feet.”

  “Thanks, but -”

  “It'd do you some good!”

  “I'd rather save the money.”

  “What are you saving your money for, anyway?” her mother asked as she grabbed a coat from the rack. “It's not like you ever go anywhere!”

  Unable to admit that she was planning to move away, Susan tried to think of another excuse.

  “I'm tired, thanks,” she said finally. “Have fun, and please try not to bring anyone home for a party this time. You know how much the neighbors hate it.”

  “We'll try,” Bill said, kissing her on the cheek as Millie flung the front door open and stepped outside. “Can't promise anything, though. You know what your mother's like once she's had a few drinks.”

  “I sure do,” Susan said, stepping over to the doorway and watching as they headed out, then swinging the door shut and leaning back against the wall.

  “They have to pay!” she remembered the voice shouting in her head earlier. “You can't let them do it again!”

  Taking a deep breath, she told herself to stay calm and keep her feet planted firmly on the ground.

  “Mr. Gough was right,” she whispered, relieved that she had the house to herself for a few hours, and hoping desperately that there wouldn't be another party later. “I think I do need to relax a little more.”

  Heading upstairs, she went straight into her room and pulled the pack of money out from her drawer. Even though she knew how much she'd saved, she still took a few minutes to count it all out carefully. She was starting to build up a substantial little bundle, and she felt a flicker of hope in her chest as she realized that she was getting closer and closer to her goal. One day she'd be ready to leave Crowford forever and go out into the world. And when that day came, she told herself, she'd never look back.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Several nights later, as she handed over a couple more tickets to two girls in the foyer, Susan once again felt content. She'd neither seen nor heard the mysterious woman again, and she'd managed to put the unsettling incident out of her mind. Sure, something strange had happened, but she'd been careful to reduce her stress levels and now she felt as if she had everything under control.

  There was no ghost at the Crowford Empire.

  “I'll be up in the booth,” Harry said, stepping out of the office and making his way to the stairs. “How are we doing this evening?”

  “Pretty good,” she told him. “Ten people so far.”

  “Ten?” He chuckled. “If we keep going at this rate, I might actually be able to fix the damaged tiles round the back.”

  Smiling, Susan turned and looked out through the open door, and she saw the se
a glittering in the evening sun. There was something strangely calming about the scene, and she had to admit that at times Crowford had a very peaceful atmosphere. Even now, as she watched the light dancing against the water, she felt her worries starting to drain away. She knew that she could be highly-strung at times, and she'd been making a conscious effort to get some of the stress out of her life. While she still had a long way to go on that front, she felt that she'd been making progress.

  Taking a slow, deep breath, she tried to focus on the future.

  Suddenly she heard laughter outside, and a moment later several figures spilled through into the foyer. Immediately tensing, Susan realized that the new arrivals were some of the local kids who usually spent their days hanging out on the seafront or causing trouble in the parks, and she visibly bristled as they began to make their way over to the booth.

  “Tickets for tonight's presentation, my good lady,” one of them said, setting some money on the counter. “You're looking mighty fine today. Would you like to join us in the back row?”

  “No, thank you,” Susan said, taking the money and starting to sort out their change.

  “Are you sure?” one of the other boys asked. “You never know, you might actually have a good time.”

  “You sure look like you could use it,” another boy added.

  Susan turned and glared at him.

  “Only joking,” he added with a grin. “What's wrong? Did something crawl into your panties and die?”

  She opened her mouth to tell him to mind his own business, but then she turned just as several more people hurried through. She immediately saw that Angie and Charlie were part of the group, and she began to worry that they might be planning to cause trouble. Already, she felt that she was starting to blush.

  “I hope you're not annoying my very good friend Susie here,” Angie said, pushing her way to the front of the group and leaning against the booth. “Hey, sweet thing, we thought we'd come and liven this place up a little. I hope you've got something good on tonight.”

  “It's -”

  “Never mind,” she added, putting some more money on the counter. “To be honest, a few of us came into a little good fortune and we're out to celebrate. Crowford can be so dull and quiet sometimes, but not tonight, for tonight we party!”

  The others roared their approval.

  “You'll have to keep your voices down,” Susan told them. “There are other patrons already in the auditorium.”

  “Don't get your knickers in a twist,” Angie told her with a giggle.

  “Have you been drinking?” Susan asked.

  “Never!” Angie said quickly. “What kind of girl do you take me for, my darling Susie? My friends and I are simply here to see a good film and support our local picture palace. Now, are you going to give us our tickets?”

  Feeling increasingly flustered, Susan took a quick headcount and then began to work out the change. She could hear several of the guys whispering to one another, and she felt certain that she was the object of their mirth, but for the most part she was simply concerned that they might disrupt the screening.

  “Don't worry,” Angie said, leaning closer, “we really are here just to see a film. We won't cause trouble, I promise.”

  “Please don't,” Susan replied, before glancing over at Charlie. For a moment, she thought back to his appearance at the cinema with another girl, but she quickly decided that now was not the time to mention any of that to Angie. “Just try to keep them under control, okay? This is a family-friendly cinema and Mr. Gough really doesn't want any disruption.”

  “We're very family-friendly people.”

  “Do you even know all these people you're with?” Susan asked.

  “I know most of them, and Charlie can vouch for the rest. Damn it, Susie, you're starting to sound like my mother, always going on about the people I spend time with. Sometimes I swear you're an old woman trapped in the body of a twenty-one-year-old.”

  “I'm just thinking of my job.”

  “You worry too much,” Angie said, before surprising her with a kiss on the forehead and then pulling back. “One day, Susie, you're going to realize that you need to live a little.”

  “I live just fine,” Susan replied, but Angie and her gang were already bundling through to the auditorium. “Please don't cause trouble,” she continued, as she felt a sense of dread starting to tighten in her chest. “Please, Angie, I'm begging you...”

  ***

  Booms rang out from the film as Susan sat at the ticket booth reading a book. She'd checked the auditorium a few minutes earlier and, to her relief, everyone had seemed to be behaving themselves. Now, as she took a bite from an apple, she found herself engrossed in the novel she'd picked up a few days earlier, and she was actually beginning to relax.

  A moment later, however, she heard a door creaking open in the distance, and she turned just in time to see that a man was marching out of the auditorium.

  “You there!” he called out, stopping and gesturing for her to follow. “You have to do something about the miscreants in the back row! They're ruining the film for everyone!”

  Trying not to panic, she set the book down and got to her feet, before grabbing her flashlight. She fumbled slightly, and already she was imagining the worst possible scenes unfolding in the auditorium. She told herself that Harry would have been down to let her know if anything too bad had occurred, but that thought was of little consolation; she knew that if she was found to have let chaos break out, especially at the hands of a friend, she might well lose her job.

  “What's wrong?” she asked as she hurried over to the man. “What's happening in there?”

  “They're shouting at one another in the most uncouth manner,” he explained, “and when I politely asked them to keep their voices down, one of them threw an empty cigarette box at me.”

  “I'm so sorry,” Susan replied, horrified by the thought that she was going to have to go through and tell them to behave themselves.

  “I might encounter such behavior at a cinema in a big city,” the man continued, clearly warming to his theme, “but I expect better in a town like Crowford.” He paused. “Well? Are you going to go and throw them out or not?”

  “I'll talk to them,” she replied, somewhat flustered, as she began to make her way along the corridor. Her mind was racing, but she knew she had to somehow take charge of the situation.

  “I've never had anything thrown at me before,” the man grumbled as he followed her toward the double doors. “What's wrong with these brutes, anyway? Not content with terrorizing our streets, now they're determined to break into our cultural spaces and interfere with our attempts to enjoy art.”

  “I'll talk to them,” she said again, before stopping at the doors and trying once again to come up with a plan. She reached for the handle, but her hand was trembling and she felt as if she might be about to faint.

  “Well?” the man snapped angrily. “Are you going to do something about them or not?”

  She took a deep breath and prepared to pull the doors open, but at that moment she heard a voice shouting in the auditorium. She told herself that she had to get in there and deal with the situation before it got out of hand, but a moment later the door swung open with such force that it almost hit her in the head.

  “There you are,” a woman said, grabbing her by the arm. “You work here, don't you? Would you mind dealing with these fools who are ruining the film for the rest of us?”

  Chapter Seventeen

  “Hey,” Susan said a couple of minutes later, once she'd made her way to the back row and found Angie, who fortunately was sitting in an aisle seat.

  “Hey,” Angie replied, “I know what you're going to say, and I'm already on it.”

  “We've had complaints,” Susan told her as she crouched down next to the seat.

  “And I told you I'm on it,” Angie said matter-of-factly. “Look, I've already calmed them down.”

  Peering past her friend, Susan saw that eve
ryone else on the row was now watching the film, although after a moment one of the guys turned and waved at her.

  “It's not our fault that some of the other customers are so stuck-up,” Angie added. “Sometimes I think the whole of Crowford is populated entirely by killjoys and morons. This film is supposed to be a comedy, right? So why does everyone else in here lack a sense of humor?”

  “This is a cinema, not a playground,” Susan pointed out.

  “This is a cinema, not a playground,” the guy next to Angie said, mimicking Susan's voice.

  “Shut it!” Angie hissed, elbowing him in the ribs.

  “Are you going to throw them out,” a man shouted from one of the other rows, “or do I have to call the police?”

  “You're putting me in a really difficult spot,” Susan said firmly.

  “No, that moron's putting you in a really difficult spot,” Angie replied, rolling her eyes. “Just chill, okay? I've got everything under control here, so you just go and calm those idiots down and we can all get back to watching the film. Honestly, no-one needs to be calling the police.”

  “Why don't you sit down and mind your own business?” one of the guys yelled at the man near the front.

  “How dare you speak to me like that?” the man replied. “You're lucky I don't come up there and wallop you!”

  “Come and give it a try, mate,” the guy said, before putting his feet up on the back of the seat in front. “You know where to find me.”

  “This is getting out of hand,” Susan said with a sigh, before looking up at the beam of light coming from the projection room. She felt certain that Harry must have heard the commotion already. “Angie,” she continued, “are you sure you and your friends don't want to leave? Aren't there lots of other things you'd rather be doing right now?”

  “We're trying to watch a film,” Angie replied.

  Before Susan could answer, she saw something flash past her. To her horror, she realized that several of the guys near Angie had started throwing things toward the customers near the front of the cinema.