The Secrets Of The Shadows. Helen Phifer
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it was they used to play the damn music on. However it was a pretty safe bet that they didn’t come home between the hours of eight and nine pm. They were the only ones left in the street; the other houses had been bought by the council and boarded up. There had been talk about regeneration and knocking the houses down to build an urban park but that was over two years ago now. The council had run out of money and now the last few residents were making the best of what they had until a better opportunity came along.
He looked at his watch; it was almost eight – time to put his plan into action. His truck was on the small drive directly in front of the house, he had made a point of taking things on and off the back of the truck to avoid arousing suspicion when he actually had more than some planks of wood or bits of old furniture. He slipped on his thick, black leather gloves and opened his front door. It was a dry night which was all part of the planning; he wouldn’t be able to do this in the rain. He unlatched the tailgate of the truck and let it drop down. He moved some of the old bits of wood around and took the folded up plastic sheeting he had in the cab into the house. He began to wrap the plastic around his sleeping angel, tucking it around her and rolling her from side to side to make sure she was completely covered, then he took the roll of duct tape he had left on the table and began to secure the plastic, being careful not to use too much – he didn’t want to make it harder than it was already going to be when he got her to the church. He bent down to pick her up, it was quite a struggle and much harder than he’d imagined. The plastic sheeting made it difficult to grip and even though she was a tiny little thing she was a dead weight – he smiled to himself at the pun. With everything he had, he threw her over his shoulder and made his move. He walked out of the house and placed her in the back of his truck. He didn’t look around to see if anyone was watching because he never did, he relied on his senses to alert him. Slamming the tailgate shut he went back inside his house and shut his front door. Give the neighbours time to come over and investigate if they thought he had put anything untoward on the back of the truck. He left the hall light on and the front door unlocked. He was breathing heavily from the exertion but he was buzzing with excitement. He went into the darkened living room to sit down and wait in the chair, giving the police a chance to arrive in case anyone had called them. He couldn’t go around suffocating girls in public places; it had to be done in private. He couldn’t abide mess and it would have been too risky killing her at her house so it had to be here.
Ten minutes passed with no police cars flying into the street with blue lights and sirens wailing. Perfect, he just hoped he could manage to get her out of the truck at the church without anyone noticing. He had been a busy boy this last month because he had a red book with every activity and service that was held in the church. Thursday nights were quiet, no tap-dancing teenagers in the church hall or flower-arranging pensioners in the church. Thursday was an unpopular night in St Mary’s Church social calendar, which suited his needs just fine. He left the driveway and drove the short distance to the church. Recently he had done a few odd jobs in the area so his truck was a regular sight parked near to the church. If he said so himself he was a very organised person.
There were no houses which overlooked the church, just the presbytery a short distance away. He noted that the blinds were closed. The front of the church was illuminated but the rear was in darkness. He parked at the side as close to the gate as possible. There wasn’t anyone in the area but he got out and had a stroll around to make sure. Reassured, he unlatched the back of the truck and dragged her out, throwing her over one shoulder. He had to duck as he went through the gate to make sure he didn’t catch her on the low branches which hung over the entrance, not wanting to get her caught in them, dangling like a life-size puppet. His hands began to sweat inside his gloves, making it harder to grip her but a few more paces and he would be at the grave he had chosen. It was in the perfect position, it couldn’t be seen from the street because of its close proximity to the wall and it was sheltered by a huge oak tree. Panting now, he bent and tried to put her down without dropping her but she slid from his grasp and he grunted as her body hit the gravel. Pulling the knife from his pocket he sliced open the plastic. Working fast, he pulled it off and screwed it up – tossing it to one side. He undressed her, taking every item of clothing off, then he laid her on her side, taking the time to position one hand under her face, palm upwards, her other arm across her chest, so they were as close together as he could make them without fastening them together. He then set about picking up leaves, branches and twigs to cover some of her nudity, wanting her to look tasteful. Posed in death as if she was a sculpture, this had taken him a lot longer than he had anticipated but when he finally finished and stepped back to admire his work he felt like applauding. She looked truly beautiful in death; he pulled his gloves off and took his phone out of his pocket, snapping a couple of photos. He didn’t think he would see her again but he wanted to remember everything about his first angel. Dragging himself away he turned and began picking up her clothes and the plastic sheeting, they smelled of her and he would keep them hanging up in his office in the wardrobe he had bought specially. He lifted the blouse to his nose and inhaled her perfume, unsure what it was but knowing it was something expensive. He knew every time he smelled it on a woman he would be reminded of these precious memories. His heart pounding with excitement and exertion, he forced himself to walk away from her. As he reached the gate he turned to steal one last glance and blew her a kiss. Then he climbed into his truck and drove away. He was pumped full of adrenalin, nothing could destroy how he felt at that moment. Gloating but not stupid, he drove around the empty streets aimlessly for the next twenty minutes – he didn’t pass one police car, which didn’t surprise him. When he was ready he began to drive home and back to his mundane life
The Black Dog was quiet. Will went to the bar and bought himself a double vodka and drank it neat. Then he ordered two pints of lager, a large glass of wine and three bags of salt and vinegar crisps. There were two men playing pool in the corner and them, that was it. At least it saved time at the bar – he wanted to get drunk and forget that tonight had ever happened. In a couple of weeks he might see the funny side of it but he doubted it, he might even throw a sickie tomorrow so he wouldn’t have to face the eight hours of piss taking. He carried the drinks over and went back for the crisps. Laura was telling Stu about some festival she was going to in a couple of weeks with a minibus full of mates. Stu asked who was headlining and Will downed his pint before they had had a chance to sip their drinks. He got up and went to the bar for another shot of double vodka and a pint. He swallowed the vodka at the bar and knew that they would be whispering about him; he never usually drank more than a couple of pints on shift nights out, preferring to stay sober and not be the cause of any gossip. He took out his phone and called Annie, even though he was mad with her he’d still rather be with her than stewing in the pub getting pissed. This was the first time they’d really fallen out and he didn’t like it. If she answered he’d get a taxi home and leave Laura and Stu to it He let her phone ring and ring until it went to voicemail. He didn’t leave a message because he wasn’t sure what to say, ‘Stop being stubborn and come home’? He tried again, still no answer, so he rang Jake who didn’t answer either. Now Will felt even more angry off than before and ordered another shot of vodka, downing it he turned and stumbled back towards the table to join the others. He caught the look which Laura gave to Stu but ignored it and began talking about any old crap that came into his head.
After twenty minutes Stu looked at his watch. ‘I really should get going, Debs will kill me if I’m really late.’
Will nodded. ‘You’re a lightweight Stu, what’s that on your forehead? Hang on it’s beak marks – henpecked is what you are.’
Laura stifled a giggle and held her empty glass towards Will. ‘Well I’m not in a rush, same again.’
Stu frowned, shaking his head at her but Will stood up to go back to the bar and she rubbed her finger and thumb together and whispered, ‘You’re going to owe me a lot more than a tenner.’
Stu shrugged. ‘I seriously doubt it, he’s going to get so tanked up you’d need a flagpole to strap to his dick.’
She let out a loud screech which made everyone including Will turn to look at them. Stu lifted his hand and walked out of the door leaving them to it.
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