Page 74 of Hot Ghost Summer

A message flashes up on Hollis’s phone screen.

Do you have the answer? How are our ghosts connected?

“You’re taking the piss now.” I sit back down, just in case. “No, I don’t. And if you’d listened t’ a single word I just said, you’d know why.”

Then you’ll stay right where you are until you have something we can use.

I aim my best scowl right at his camera, but the screen has already fallen dark.

Unsatisfied, I stick up two fingers. What if the answer to your question isn’t even in your stupid database, eh?

Pausing, I follow that thought through. What if it isn’t?

The Bowens have owned that land since forever. The Old Dairy is listed. So I bet them selling it made the local news.

Opening an internet screen, I look up Bowen’s Farm, and sure enough, countless search results appear. Ha, Hollis.

I use keyboard shortcuts to open the first link.

In nineteen ninety-four, the Land Registry recorded the sale of Bowen’s Farm, by owner and proprietor Jim Bowen, to the Clawson & Stoker Land Development Group.

Well, hello Jim, nice to finally know your name.

Navigating back a screen, I select the next link. An article from the Enfield Gazette, dated March of the same year.

Police and Community Launch Desperate Search for Missing Local Farm Owner

Dairy farmer Jim Bowen, 59, has been officially reported missing after failing to check in with friends for several weeks. Authorities have launched a major search operation and are pleading for public assistance to retrace his last known movements.

Leaning forward, I prop my chin in my hand and navigate to the next link. Another article from the same newspaper, this one dated December nineteen ninety-three.

Tragedy as “Mad Cow” Strikes Local Dairy Farm

Bowen’s Farm yesterday confirmed that its herd of prize British Friesians showed the telltale symptoms of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE): loss of coordination, violent tremors, and vacant staring. For Jim Bowen, a sixth-generation dairy farmer, this diagnosis marks the end of a proud family legacy.

No way.

I’m too young to remember this, but my parents and everyone else their age do. It’s living memory. The BSE outbreak of the nineties devastated communities, and many still haven’t recovered. Mum said that’s why Dad trained up as a mechanic. They eventually lost their house to the repo men, and after I was born—a decade later and as a last attempt to save their marriage—ended up divorced because of the financial strain the cattle culls and beef ban put on them.

At least I have an answer as to why Jim sold off his land. Makes sense now. He was lucky that he lived in an area worth investing in.

My lips press into a thin line, and I move on to the next link.

Borough of Enfield Farmer Suspected of Mad Cow Insurance Fraud

Local dairy farmer Jim Bowen is accused of fraudulently declaring his herd contracted BSE amid the height of the crisis. He has been requested to appear before Enfield County Court to answer charges of submitting false cattle control documents and defrauding the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food (MAFF). The case highlights the immense financial pressure placed on the agricultural sector during the epidemic.

My jaw hangs open—catching flies, my mum would say. Jim Bowen, you weasel. How many families genuinely suffered, and you did what?

I choose the next link.

Police Probe £2M Bowen’s Farm Land Sale as Fraud Enquiries Deepen

Detectives are investigating allegations of a multi-million-pound fraud following the sale of Bowen’s Farm. The greenfield site was purchased by major developers, Clawson & Stoker, in February 1994, but questions have now emerged regarding irregularities and conflict of interest surrounding how the land came to be available for sale.

Fevered, I move on.

Bowen’s Farm: Land Frozen in Time