The Case of the Deadly Doppelganger: Volume 2 (Dr. Ribero's Agency of the Supernatural, 2, Band 2) - Softcover

Banks, Lucy

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1944995471 ISBN 13: 9781944995478

Verlag: Amberjack Publishing Company, 2018

Inhaltsangabe

A thrilling paranormal mystery set in a charming English town, where ancient secrets and deadly doppelgängers collide.

Only months after Kester Lanner's ghostly encounter, Dr. Ribero's supernatural agency faces grim prospects. A shared contract with rival Larry Higgins leads them to Lyme Regis, where elderly victims are seeing doubles before their demise. Are they dealing with a rogue doppelgänger, or something far more sinister?

As the team investigates, a connection to an ancient grave site emerges, hinting at a powerful, disturbed spirit. Can Kester and his team overcome their rivalries and stop the deadly spirit before it claims more victims? This suspenseful tale is perfect for readers who enjoy:

• Atmospheric settings and quirky characters
• Paranormal mysteries with a historical twist
• Supernatural investigations in small-town England

Prepare for a gripping journey into the realm of the supernatural, where nothing is quite as it seems.

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Lucy Banks grew up in provincial Hertfordshire, before fleeing to the wilds of Devon, where she now lives with her husband and two boys. As a child, she spent a disproportionate amount of time lurking in libraries, and prowling car-boot sales to feed both her hunger for books and her book collection. It’s fair to say that she’s bypassed being a bookworm, and become a book-python instead. Today, most of the available space in her house is stuffed to the brim with literature, which is just the way she likes it.

Regular forays into fictional realms at a young age created a desire for more, and she soon began to create alternate realities through writing. After teaching English Literature to teens, she set up her own copywriting company and turned her love for the written word into a full-time career. However, the desire to create never went away, so Lucy turned her insomnia into a useful tool—penning her novels in the wee small hours of the night and the stolen moments of the day.

Von der hinteren Coverseite

Only a few months have passed since the day Kester Lanner forced an angry ghost through the spirit door, but business prospects for Dr. Ribero's supernatural agency haven’t improved. Things are looking grim when the agency lands a contract which they must share with a rival agency headed by Dr Ribero’s sworn enemy, Larry Higgins. Desperate for the job, the team accepts and begins to investigate the seaside town of Lyme Regis, where elderly victims are dying.

The same mysterious clue links the horrendous deaths: the victims all see a double of themselves before dying. The teams wonder if they are dealing with a rogue doppelgänger, one that isn’t content just predicting deaths, but carrying them out as well. The victims’ connection to an ancient grave site leads to speculation that they may have disturbed a spirit more powerful than the two agencies can handle.

One thing is certain, the deaths won’t stop unless Kester and the others can overcome their rivalry and stop this deadly spirit.

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Dr Ribero's Agency of the Supernatural: The Case of the Deadly Doppelgänger

By Lucy Banks

Amberjack Publishing

Copyright © 2018 Lucy Banks
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-944995-47-8

CHAPTER 1

The Demise of Deirdre

Still partly pillowed in the comforting dregs of a dream, Deirdre Baxter opened her eyes. She looked up, and, to her surprise, found herself staring straight into a mirror, barely inches from her nose. She blinked in confusion. Her reflection blinked back, bemused, wrinkled around the edges and owlish with sleep.

This in itself wasn't strange. What was peculiar was that the mirror hadn't been there before. Even odder, the mirror seemed to be hovering in the air and glistened with a moist, shimmering light.

Deirdre winced. Her reflection winced in response. She held out a wondering finger, thought better of it, then burrowed her hand under the duvet.

"Errol?" she hissed. The reassuring hump of her husband grumbled in response, rolling like a minor earthquake. "Errol dear, are you awake?"

No, but I am.

Deirdre jumped. The voice was soft as a whisper in her head, though, simultaneously, it clanged as discordantly as a broken bell. She sat up as fast as her arthritis would permit, heart racing. Why didn't I hit my head on the mirror when I sat up? she wondered, eyes scanning the darkness. Where has it gone?

Im here.

"Jesus Christ, Errol, wake up!" Deirdre squawked and prodded her husband as hard as possible on the rump. He drew a deep breath. She waited for him to speak. Instead, he passed wind, a low, reverberating whine under the bed-covers, before exhaling in satisfaction. Deirdre pursed her lips, wishing, not for the first time, that she had divorced him back in the nineties when she'd had the chance.

"Whadd'ya want?" he murmured, still full of sleep.

"I can see myself!" she exclaimed, unable to tear her eyes away. "Right there, in front of me!"

The mirror quivered at the base of the bed. Except it wasn't a mirror. She could see that now. There was no frame around the reflection, no shine of glass in the milky moonlight, no flatness to the figure that floated in front of her.

My god, it really is me, she realised, momentarily fascinated into silence. There I am, standing, looking at myself, by the foot of my bed.

"Go back to sleep, you daft woman," Errol mumbled, then tugged the duvet over his head. His snoring resumed with impressive ease. Deirdre fought the temptation to clobber him with the nearest heavy item to hand.

The other-Deirdre smiled, raising a hand. Her fingers were laced with a grey-blue aura, as spectral as wisps of spider web in the air. Deirdre didn't quite know what to do, so she raised her own hand in response.

I'm sure this is a dream, she thought, forcing herself to calm down. After all, things like this don't happen in real life, so it must be. She studied her mirror image and felt somewhat depressed at the size of her bosom, which was so much larger and nearer to her waist than she'd realised. The other-Deirdre smiled again before obligingly folding her arms under her chest to hoist it a little higher.

That was kind of me, Deirdre thought with a dreamy rub of the eyes. Almost like she can read my mind.

Maybe I can, the ghost-twin whispered inside her head.

What am I thinking then? she thought back as she chuckled at the sight of her own self, grinning in the half-light. It was too absurd a dream to take seriously, so she may as well enjoy it while it lasted, until the morning light brought her back to consciousness.

You're wondering when you'll wake up.

I suppose so, Deirdre acknowledged, warming to the strange experience, now she knew she was safe. Now what am I thinking?

You're wondering when this will all be over.

She frowned. That hadn't been what she'd been thinking at all. In fact, she'd been wondering what to make for breakfast, and whether there were any eggs left in the fridge or not.

Do you want to know the answer?

What, whether there are any eggs? Deirdre thought back.

No. When you'll wake up.

Deirdre glanced at the alarm clock. 5:30 a.m. It'd be at least another two hours before she got out of bed, providing Errol didn't get up to go to the toilet. These days, you could guarantee he'd get up at least once before eight to urinate noisily in the bathroom next door. She thought these thoughts as clearly as she could, then waited for her other self's response. To her surprise, other-Deirdre began to snigger.

Why are you laughing at me? Deirdre thought. A vague tinge of panic crept over her, though she wasn't sure why. After all, it wasn't real. Or is it? she wondered, feeling the first cold fingers of doubt take a grip deep within her stomach.

The strange creature laughed harder, until it started to shake. To Deirdre's alarm, the shaking didn't stop but became more urgent, until her ghost-twin was quivering uncontrollably in the shadows like a wet dog. It was a curious movement, rather unnatural, especially when it failed to stop. Deirdre stared.

"Are you alright?" she whispered aloud, quite forgetting she was dreaming.

The thing continued to convulse. In fact, the movements were speeding up, until it was vibrating as fiercely as a pneumatic drill. Deirdre felt the bed shudder with the force of it and blinked in astonishment. This may well be a dream, she thought, feeling sweat prickle her forehead, but it feels very real.

"Errol?" she whispered again and hastily patted his side of the bed. "Errol, can you wake me up? I'm having a bad dream."

It's no dream, Deirdre.

The voice rattling in her head didn't sound like her own voice anymore. It was colder, grainier, and reminded her of a rusted engine, hoarse and hostile. Her heart began to thump against her ribs.

Stop shaking like that! she thought, fear suddenly choking her. The sight was unbearable; the blur in front of her was out of control, like a boiler about to explode. I don't like this anymore. Please, someone wake me up!

NO.

"Errol, help me!" Deirdre tried to shake him awake, but her fingers were useless sticks, poking him as ineffectually as twigs in a breeze.

NO. NO HELP FOR YOU, DEIRDRE.

"My god, what are you?" Deirdre gasped. Her words faded into the early morning darkness like dissolving mist. The thing — she could see quite clearly that it was a thing now — not a Deirdre at all, was changing. Changing horribly, shifting and warping into something unspeakable, something from her worst childhood nightmares. Her heart throbbed and pulsed, and she fumbled for her angina pills on her bedside table.

I WANTED TO GO HOME.

"What? I don't understand!" Deirdre clutched at the lid of the medicine bottle, but her hands were shaking so much, she dropped it on the floor.

SHE WAS MEANT TO TAKE ME BACK I'LL HAVE TO FETCH YOU INSTEAD.

Deirdre started to cry. She felt as though cement had been poured down her throat, hardening around her heart and stopping her lungs. God help me, she thought without any real hope.

The thing changed. Its mouth stretched, wider than any human mouth reasonably should, and something crawled out. Something rank. Something vile and made of mist, which seeped into the air like a stain. Something so dreadful that her heart ceased to beat entirely. And Deirdre fell backwards, into complete darkness, a final sigh escaping her lips.

Errol...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Amberjack Publishing Company
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2018
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 1944995471
• ISBN 13: 9781944995478
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 328
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar