Fic: St. Trinian’s: Who You Gonna Call?

[kiki_eng]

Title: Who You Gonna Call?
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 2,436
Ship: Chelsea/Chloe/Peaches
Summary: Chloe, Peaches and Chelsea investigate a haunting.
Notes: Written for amaresu for femslash12. Many thanks to readbystarlight for betaing. ♥
AO3 | femslash12 |

Mac's one of her regulars, and one of her favourites, really, because he's a nice old man even if he is a politician, pays well, and he isn't asking for a lot, not really. He just misses his dogs and wants someone to talk to, wants reassurance. So Chloe makes tea for him once a week and pushes the piece of wood about the Ouija board for him, coming up with personal advice for his fifth dog named "Pat" to give him as the sandalwood incense burns down.

(None of Mac's dogs, even his favourite, have much personal advice to give. Dogs usually don't.)

"Don't get into too much trouble before then," Mac says, winking. "I need you in top shape."

Chloe smiles and threads her voice with laughter. "I'll try not to, Mac. You take care of yourself, too. Bye, now!"

"Bye, Mac!" Peaches says, coming out from behind the desk.

"Bye, girls!" He says, and the door closes behind him.

Peaches stops behind Chloe and winds her arms around her affectionately. When Chloe presses back against her chest a little, Peaches kisses the side of her face.

"I just got in a bit ago," Peaches says. "Do we have weekend plans?"

"Brother and sister in the south, haunted estate."

"Nice," Peaches says, still wrapped around Chloe.

"Mmmm," Chloe agrees, content. "Notes are on the calendar. Chelsea is researching at the library. She should be back soo-"

There's the sound of the doorknob turning and the latch sliding open.

"Now," Chloe finishes as the door opens and Chelsea comes through. "Hi," she says, "I was just starting to tell Peaches about Mrs. Thynne's call."

Chelsea locks the door behind her and drops her bag on the side table. "Right," she says. She bends and kisses both Chloe and Peaches on the cheek before winding her arms around them. "Elizabeth Thynne,” she says, resting her head on Peaches’. “She lives with her brother, the marquess. The estate's been haunted since the 19th century, like she told you. There was a brother - Henry - who eloped with the family governess and was disinherited. He died penniless, according to his obituary. The earliest stories about the study being haunted date to a little after that time; he only appears before family members, apparently."

"Body?" Peaches asks.

"I can't find a record of his burial. I think someone may have smuggled his remains onto the estate and buried him there."

"It would explain the localised haunting," Chloe agrees from within the tangle.

"What I don't understand," Chelsea says, scrunching her face up, "is why he's acting up now. He's been non-violent for years."

"The marquess is getting up there in years, maybe he's thinking of selling the estate and our ghost is trying to get in all the haunting he can before the last of his relatives packs up and he's all alone." Chloe says.

"Might be." Chelsea says. "We should be ready to head out tomorrow morning, if that's alright with the marquess and Mrs. Thynne."

"I'll let her know," Chloe says, and disengages from Peaches and Chelsea.

"I'll start packing the car," Peaches says, running a hand along Chelsea’s arm as she goes.

~*~

When they arrive at the estate, Peaches driving and Chloe navigating, they're greeted by Mrs. Thynne. Elizabeth Thynne is a very particular make of woman. She's of the same generation The Queen is, and looks it. They probably get their clothes from the same place. She's decked out in sensible earth tones - a brown skirt that falls below her knees, and a beige pullover and jacket. She's out front with a pair of pruning shears when they pull up the drive.

"Good morning," she says, "Thanks so much for coming so quickly. Which one of you is Chloe?"

"I am, and this is Peaches and Chelsea," she says, nodding to each of them in turn. They all shake hands with Elizabeth.

"Gertrude's told me so much about you," Mrs. Thynne tells Chloe. "You'll be staying here, of course. Let's get you all settled in, shall we?"

~*~

Elizabeth has them put their luggage in one of the spare rooms - a suite really, with two adjoining bedrooms - then gives them a tour of the house, going over what she'd told Chloe earlier on the phone.

"...and this is the study, of course," she says, opening the door to reveal an elderly gentleman at the desk.

"Hello, John," she says.

"These are the girls?" He asks rhetorically, nodding to himself. "I've just finished here," he goes on, "I'll be out of your hair in a minute."

"John's never seen the ghost," Elizabeth explains.

"I've stopped using the study after dark, anyway, though, after what happened to the door frame," he says, waving at it as he gets up.

There's a deep gouge scored into it.

"I don't want to be what's found in the morning with a letter opener stuck in it."

Elizabeth smiles at him.

"The ghost was peaceful before, you said?" Chloe asks Elizabeth.

"He used to just move things around a little. I came in here one night and found him just sitting at the desk straightening papers, looking like he belonged there. I just left him to it. He's never harmed anyone, but lately that's had much more to do with us getting lucky than his behaviour. He's been throwing all sorts of things about in here, making a lot of noise."

"A right racket," the marquess confirms. "Ladies," he says, nodding, and departs.

"John's not very social," his sister says, a beat later.

"Of course," Chloe agrees smoothly, "and you've only ever seen the ghost here, in the study?"

"That’s right," Elizabeth says.

"Would you mind if we had a look around in here?" Chelsea asks. "There's no record of his burial and - between that and how localised the haunting is - we think that someone may have placed his remains somewhere here in the study."

"John and I used to play hide and seek in here, and we looked for secret passages all over the house, but we never found a skeleton."

"Oh, it wouldn't need to be a whole skeleton," Chelsea says.

"Did you find a passageway?" Chloe asks.

Mrs. Thynne smiles enigmatically at Chloe and tells Chelsea, "Feel free to poke around the house. I'm going to settle in for a nap so that I can be awake with you tonight. I'm not as young as I used to be, you know. Of course, you know where to find me if you do need me, and you're welcome to help yourself to the kitchen and in the meantime."

"Thank you so much," Chloe tells her.

"You're more than welcome," she says. "I'll see you later."

"Well?" Chelsea says, turning to Peaches when the door closes.

"There's a lot of rage in this room," Peaches says, worriedly.

"We'd better get working, then." Chloe says.

~*~

There's a knock on their room door later when they’re all sitting on one of the beds together, going over Chelsea’s notes again.

"Come in!" Peaches calls.

"Hello," Mrs. Thynne says. "Did you have any luck in the study?"

"We did," says Peaches.

"There's an alcove hidden behind one of your book cases, and what does, in fact, look like all the pieces of a full skeleton," Chelsea says. "We should be set for tonight, just as soon as we lay the salt lines to keep both of you protected."

"Ghosts don't like salt," Chloe explains.

"Hm," Elizabeth says. "You all have salt guns, I suspect, then?"

"Yes," says Peaches.

"I'd like to borrow one, if you have a spare."

Peaches grins. "Of course," she says.

~*~

They barricade the Marquess in his room for the night - no reason for him to be up, after all - and install themselves in the study. Mrs. Thynne sits at the desk holding one of their guns in one hand and a sandwich in the other, a thin hula-hoop filled with rock-salt around her waist and another circle of rock salt around the desk. The hoop's there just in case, really. There's no harm being careful, especially with ‘civilians’, as Kelly would say.

Though, they find, that label is less aptly applied to Elizabeth than most of their clients.

"Your aura reminds me of Ms. Fritton, our headmistress at St. Trinian's," Peaches says, when Elizabeth asks about auras after Peaches explains about her empathic abilities.

She smiles. "I'm a St. Trinian's girl myself, you know."

"That's probably part of it," Peaches says, smiling, unsurprised.

Elizabeth entertains them with stories about St. Trinian's then and her life as they sit in the study in the dark with their torches, waiting.

A little after one it becomes very obvious that they've gone into a job without knowing all the relevant details.

"Fucking kill him!" A man shouts, suddenly appearing in the room. "Fucking killing me! Fucking end Jeremy."

"What the fuck are you doing here?" The ghost asks, sobbing. He's not from the 19th century. That's evident. There's nothing about him that fits with that and everything about him indicating how new he is, as new as the violent nights in this room.

"You shouldn't be here," he says, and lunges for Chloe. Peaches shoots him, and he disperses.

"Well done," someone says. "I wish I could do that," he adds, a little wistfully.

Chloe turns slowly. "Hello, Henry," she says. "Has that been what all the fuss in here has been about?"

"He refuses to leave," Henry says. "I'm afraid there have been arguments. I won't let him hurt anyone."

"He said 'Jeremy'," Mrs. Thynne says.

"Yes, I'm afraid our nephew has done a bad thing," Henry says, dryly.

"Jeremy's our grand-nephew." Elizabeth says. "His parents have passed on. He's to inherit when John and I go."

"The ghost - he wants revenge," Peaches puts in.

"Who is he?" Chelsea asks.

"A former business partner of Jeremy's, I think. He's been here for a little over a fortnight now." Henry says. “I think he wants Jeremy to inherit,” he says, looking at Elizabeth, “so that he’ll come here. He’s not the most coherent person.”

"What's Jeremy's last name?" Chelsea asks, mobile in her hands.

"Stuart, with a 'u'," Elizabeth says.

"He'll be back," Peaches says, "and we don't know where he's buried." She twists the ends of her hair worriedly.

"Thank god for the internet," Chelsea says, typing. "His name's Arthur Radcliffe," she says, less than a minute later. "He's missing. No one knows where he is. Let me see if I can find... I've lost my internet connection."

"Bugger," Elizabeth says.

"I'll call Lucy," Chelsea says, turning away as it dials through.

"How are you doing, Henry?" Chloe asks. "Apart from your unwanted housemate? Are you happy here?"

Henry looks at her. "You found my body, didn't you?" He shakes angrily and the room vibrates a little.

"Now, Henry, we were just looking out for your relatives. You know they've never had a problem, having you around; they don’t mind. I'm just asking for you," she says.

Peaches nods sincerely, backing her up.

"Of course," Elizabeth says. "You're more than welcome to stay here."

"I- Thank you," he says, overcome, and disappears.

Chloe bites her lip. "Oh dear," she says. "He's gone."

"I think he just needed to be accepted by his family," Peaches says.

"That is such terrible timing," Chloe says.

"But quite funny," Peaches finishes for her.

"What?" Chelsea asks.

"We're down to the mean ghost now, I'm afraid," Chloe says.

Chelsea stares at her for a bit. "That is so inconvenient," she says, finally.

"Arthur's probably not confined to the study the way Henry was, is he?" Peaches asks after a moment.

"No," says Chelsea. "That seems unlikely."

"No reason for us to be in the dark here, is there, then?" Mrs. Thynne asks.

"Only that we're already here," Chelsea says, indicating the salt around the desk. "You're right about the dark, though."

Chloe turns on the lights. They drink tea from the thermos Mrs. Thynne brought, as Chelsea periodically checks her phone and waits for Lucy to call back.

When she does it's not with a lot of information, but it's just maybe enough.

"He's got some metal in his leg from a surgery he had," Chelsea says, after.

"The metal detector's in the boot of the car," Peaches says.

"So we could do it tonight or tomorrow, in the light, when he isn't here."

"He's very strong," Chloe says.

"And very angry," Peaches adds.

"Tonight might be safer," Chloe says, glancing at Elizabeth.

"So this isn't going to the police," Chelsea sighs. ‘Since we’ll be destroying the evidence,’ she means. "If you distract him..." Chelsea says to Chloe, carefully.

"Yes," Chloe says.

"I could give you a tour of the grounds, now, Chelsea," Mrs. Thynne says. "There are some very nice secluded areas that few people ever see, and we have this kind of motorised cart. It wouldn't be any trouble at all."

"How wonderful," Chloe says. "Keep your radio on you," she says seriously.

Chelsea smiles wryly at Chloe and says, “You, too.” She shows Elizabeth how to hold onto the salt loop while staying entirely inside it and they make their way down the hall and out of the house.

"Right," Chloe says five minutes later. "Let's do this."

They’re all going to get through this. Peaches takes Chloe's hand in hers and they step over the salt line together.

~*~

'Stuart arrested in Arthur Radcliffe case' the bottom news scrawl reads. Chloe turns the television off.

"So we did get him, after all, even after the salt and burn," Peaches says, sitting on the couch in their flat, her head on Chloe’s shoulder.

"Lucy said she'd get a few friends to help," Chelsea says from the kitchen. "An anonymous file was delivered to police headquarters this morning."

Peaches grins, and Chloe leans into her shoulder, happy.

"She told me," Chelsea says, coming out of the kitchen holding three mugs expertly, "that if we ever wanted to televise what we do, she would help." Chelsea hands Chloe and Peaches their mugs of tea and settles down on Peaches’ other side.

"We couldn't," Chloe says, a moment later. "We'd have to be extremely careful to do everything strictly legally, or not get caught."

"We are already pretty careful," Peaches says. "We couldn't," she says, after a beat.

"We couldn't," Chloe says.

"We could," Peaches says, thoughtfully.

"We could," Chloe says.

"We could," Chelsea agrees.

"How would that work?" Chloe asks. "And what would we call it?"

"Maybe," Peaches says, "'Supernatural'."

"'Supernatural'," Chloe tries out. "I like it."

Peaches smiles.