The Devil on Davis Drive

Copyright 2023 Blackwych Books All Rights Reserved This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, events, entities and places are either products of the author's imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual people, businesses, entities or events is entirely coincidental. Kindle edition First published in March 2023 by Blackwych Books, London Mercy Willow thinks the house on Davis Drive will be her easiest sale yet. After all, the property's well-maintained and perfectly positioned, so buyers should be desperate to snap the place up. There's just one problem. The sellers have a daughter named Samantha, and Samantha claims to have been possessed by the Devil. Although she initially ignores Samantha's warnings, Mercy soon comes to realize that there's something very wrong with the girl. As she tries to help the family sell their home, Mercy discovers that after facing up against several ghosts, she might not have to deal with the most powerful evil that has ever existed. Or is the house on Davis Drive hiding another, even more shocking secret? The Devil on Davis Drive is the ninth book in the 13-part Mercy Willow series, about an estate agent in deepest Cornwall who develops the unusual ability to communicate with ghosts. Readers are advised to start at the beginning of the series. This book ends on a cliffhanger. Contents Prologue Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen Chapter Seventeen Chapter Eighteen Chapter Nineteen Chapter Twenty Chapter Twenty-One Chapter Twenty-Two Chapter Twenty-Three Chapter Twenty-Four Chapter Twenty-Five Chapter Twenty-Six Chapter Twenty-Seven Chapter Twenty-Eight Chapter Twenty-Nine Chapter Thirty Epilogue The Devil on Davis Drive (Mercy Willow book 9) Prologue Twenty years earlier... “Hello Mercy Willow. How are you today?” Sitting in the same chair I've sat in so many times before, I stare at Doctor Ross and find myself wondering exactly what he wants me to say. I've long since come to the conclusion that these meetings are completely pointless, and I feel as if we're going round and round in circles. Sometimes he talks to me when I'm Mercy, sometimes he talks to me when I'm Jessica, and sometimes he talks to me when I'm Annabelle; at the end of the day, however, I really don't think that he's making any progress at all. “Are you not going to answer?” he asks. “I don't know what to say.” “Just say whatever comes into your head.” I swallow hard. “Do you find it hard to differentiate between the thoughts of these three different minds?” he asks as he leans back in his chair, which once again creaks loudly beneath his weight. “Do you have separate thoughts, or is it more the case that you share them with the others?” “They're mine,” I tell him, before pausing. “I think so, anyway.” “But you're not sure?” “No, I'm sure,” I lie. “They're separate thoughts.” “And can you control when and how the different aspects of your personality take over?” “I think so.” “You only think so?” “Can I be excused, please?” I ask, as I feel the first creeping flicker of an oncoming headache. “I'd like to go back to my room.” “Why's that?” he asks quickly, almost as if he'd been expecting my response and had his counterpoint all lined up. “Does this conversation make you feel uncomfortable, Mercy? Are you perhaps struggling to reconcile the three parts of your personality?” “No!” I snap back, perhaps a little too hastily. Sure enough, he makes a note. “What are you writing down?” I ask. “It's really nothing.” “I want you to tell me.” “Is this still Mercy I'm talking to?” he replies. “You seem agitated, and I'm used to Mercy being the calmer of the three personalities. Is this maybe some kind of... evolution?” I open my mouth to reply, and then I hesitate for a few seconds. I always hate it when Doctor Ross comes up with all these silly theories, and I hate playing into his hands. I adjust my position in the chair again, causing it to creak more loudly than ever beneath my weight, and then I sit up a little straighter. “I'm Mercy,” I say calmly, “and I don't rise to the bait. Not the way Jessica or Annabelle might. I'd much prefer to have a pleasant conversation, but if that's not possible today, I'd really rather go back to my room. I'm sorry, Doctor Ross, but I'm not feeling up to very much today and I'd like to find some time to just get my thoughts together. You can understand that, can't you?” “I understand that you're growing up,” he replies, “and that this must be a very confusing time for you. We're going to have to think about how best to handle things as you stop being a little girl and start becoming a woman. For example, it's quite natural for you to want to rebel and if -” “I don't want to rebel,” I tell him, although in that moment I realize that I'm lying. I feel a faint twitch on one side of my face, although I'm not sure whether that's something that Doctor Ross would necessarily have noticed. “I'm quite happy here. I think it's the best place for me. Really, I can't imagine how I'd cope in the outside world.” *** Later, once I've finally been left alone, I sit on my bed and stare at my reflection in the window. Night is falling outside, and I can see my own face staring back at me. At the same time, I know that behind those eyes there are three distinct personalities, and they're still jostling for control. “You've taken over too much,” I hear Annabelle's voice saying. “It was never meant to be like this. You're just my imaginary friend, that's all.” “You're a murderer,” I whisper out loud. “You didn't stop