The Poisonous Biscuit

by Paul Edwards

"Have a sleep John, that's fine."

  Next thing, he woke up. He tried to move and then he realised that his hands were tied behind his back and his legs were tied together. In fact, he was tied to a chair. There was a piece of tape on his mouth and no-one seemed to be around. He seemed to be in a well-lit room with white walls and a white floor, but no window. After waiting a good while, he heard someone coming down the stairs which were next to him. It was Andria.

  "Hey John, need a drink?" He tried to make noise but could not because of the tape.

  "Now, I'll take the tape of, but no shouting, OK?" She took the tape of and held a drink to his mouth which seemed to be water.

  "Where am I? Why are you doing this?"

  "Why am I doing this? John, you need to ask yourself, why did you do this to yourself. You see, you accused me of murder, and that hurt me John. Well, do you think I would kill someone?"

  "Well, you’re not acting very innocent now, that's for sure."

  "John, I could kill you right now if I wanted and nobody would ever know about it. I could soak your body in acid or chop you into pieces and put bits of you into somebody else’s bin and someone else would get the blame, but do you honestly think I'm that cruel John?"

  "I hope not. Come on Andria, this is ridiculous." Andria walked over and kissed John on the head and then started to leave the room.

  "Come back! Come back!" he shouted. But she went up the stairs and disappeared.

  It was phone call time in the prison, so Hannah decided to give John a call. She dialled the number and it rung and rung, but she got no answer. How awful, what could she do now? She decided to ring her best friend Andria instead.

  Andria: Hello, who is this?

  Hannah: Hi, it's me, how are things going? John didn't answer when I rung, please can you check up on him for me?

  Andria: Hey Hannah. Oh, don't worry, I will make sure that's he's just fine. There is no danger of anything happening to him on my watch. You can rely on me Hannah.

  Hannah: I am sure I can. When you speak to him, ask him if he managed to contact Jake about that investigator.

  Andria: What investigator would that be?

  Hannah: Someone who apparently always gets it right and works out who the real killers are.

  Andria: Oh, I'll make sure we speak about that, of course. That sounds great. I'll speak to you soon. Cya.

  Helen: Bye.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  At prison the following morning, Hannah was thinking of ways to please Ruffian that were not too much against her own conscience. Breakfast was coming up and a woman on the same corridor as she was walking on tripped someone else up as they were walking. After that this same woman pulled someone else’s trousers down. Hannah did not let on that she noticed that, but she whispered to Aly about her.

  "Who is that over there."

  "Oh, that's Beth, she can be a bit of a bully. Although those two she messed around with do deserve it because one of them mistreated children before they ended up in prison and the other, well, never mind what the other did. As they continued, this Beth spat on someone. That was the last straw, this made things much easier for Helen to decide on who to report. As far as Hannah was concerned, it was not Beth’s job to go around mistreating people, whatever their conviction might be. She felt that was the job of the prison and the law and that maybe Beth should keep to herself. Of course, most of the prisoners disagreed with her, but Hannah had not yet blended into prison life and saw herself as a civil person who was in favour of justice.

  As soon as breakfast was over, she went down to see Ruffian who acted delighted.

  "Hello Hannah, what have you come to see me for?"

  "I have a first name for you, it's Beth. On the way to breakfast, she tripped someone up, pulled someone’s pants down and spat on someone."

  "Yes, I hate her, thanks for that Hannah. I've got three things on her now, keep a close eye on her Hannah."

  Hannah had also seen someone stealing food while the chef was not looking but had decided they didn't deserve grassing up because they were probably hungry. As time went by, Hannah observed more and more people and found out more and more names. The only problem was, she did not know the names of everyone involved often. Perhaps that was for the best.

  Lunch was about to come up and then Mrs Trafford turned up out of the blue.

  "Hannah, come with me. The police are here to see you."

  They walked towards the visitor’s entrance of the prison and Hannah sat down in there where a police officer she had never seen before was standing before her. This was likely because this police station was not exactly around the corner from her home police station.

  "Hello Mrs Adersall, I'd like to ask you a few questions. I am Sargent Holdercroft. Are you aware that the sister of your deceased husband has died, and by sweets that were addressed as from you?"

  "I am, as John told me when he came to visit. But it can't be me as I was in here."

  "I'm sure it wasn't you, but I have to ask because people do get phones in these places believe it or not. Also, I understand that the lady who's died was threatening to take your house."

  "She was threatening that, but I knew that couldn't be right, surely. I was married, I had a right to half of that house I would have thought. And I've not been here long enough to know about this illegal phone business, have I Mrs Trafford?"

  Mrs Trafford was hesitant to directly involve herself in the situation but had grown fond of Hannah.

  "That's right officer. There's no way Hannah could have done this I am convinced."

  "Very well, we will be in touch. See you later Hannah." Sargent Holdercroft left, and Hannah started to worry.

  "Thanks for sticking up for me Mrs Trafford."

  "Hmm. Well, I like to think I care about all my girls in here, so, don't worry."

  Mrs Trafford was the ideal prison manager. Everyone seemed to like her apart from those who didn't like anyone, and nobody could really find a bad word to say about her.

  John woke up in his chair the following morning, still stuck in the same chair. The room was empty, and he could not wait to get free, if ever that would be. Nobody had any idea where he was and he seemed to be locked up in the hands of a psychopath, a real disguised one at that. All sorts of thoughts were running through his head, like 'what if she kills me?' or 'what if she keeps me here forever.' It was only a matter of time before something was about to happen.

  That time was now approaching when footsteps started coming down the stairs.

  "Hello John, time for breakfast."

  Taking a spoon, the apparent murderer or psycho started feeding him a bowl of cereal.

  "I hope you like cornflakes."

  "Why are you doing this?"

  She carried on trying to feed him and he spat in her face. Andria looked shocked and stood up, then she started to walk away.

  "Come back!!!"

  "I've been nothing but nice to you John and this is how you repay me. I'll be back in another hour. Maybe by then you will have learned not to criticize ME. Ok?"

  After she left the room, he started moving, trying his best to break free. Suddenly, the chair fell sideways. His arm was released as one of the panels had broken.

  Using this arm to untie the other, he then untied his feet. Finally, free at last he headed upstairs, then opening the door. He realised he was in her basement. Arriving in the spotless kitchen, he shut the cellar door behind him and walked slowly towards the front door. There was no sign of Andria anywhere. He put his hand gently on the front door and then he suddenly heard a voice.

  "Going somewhere?" The door appeared to be locked. He kept pulling and pulling and while he was doing so, Andria was smiling and walking closer and closer towards him from the other side of the room. He was breathing heavily and desperate to get out, but there was no sign of any hope.

  After pulling and pulling, the door suddenly opened. He ran for it, as fast as he could, full speed down the road. As he was running, And
ria was running behind.

  "I'm going to catch you in the end you know."

  John kept looking behind him and then looking forwards again. He turned the corner and kept running. Suddenly, there was no sign of Andria. After having almost half circled the house by running and then turning left, he started walking. He thought he was safe at last, until... Out of nowhere Andria jumped out of a bush and pushed him down to the ground. Maybe she went around the other way?

  "Helllllllp" he shouted at the top of his voice."

  "Ssssshhhhh. I'm not going to hurt you; I'm only messing with you."

  "Helllllllllp."

  "Your still alive, aren't you?"

  He managed to get up and start running again. What about the car? He went back in the opposite direction and just about managed to get in the car. As he was driving, he eventually realised there was another car behind him following. He looked over his shoulder, and it was her. She waved to him from where she was sat. His heart was beating fast, up and down inside his chest. The traffic lights turned green and he pushed his foot to the bottom of the gas.

  As he turned the corner, she followed. He managed to get through the amber light and then it turned red. Andria been a 'play dangerously' kind of woman decided to just risk it and drive through, putting her foot on the gas. Round corners and bends, and over hills there was a trail of two cars. Finally, he got some luck and there was a train line. The lights were flashing amber and the barriers were starting to come down. Gassing it he got through just on time! Behind him, he looked back and noticed that Andria was not completely stupid, she stopped naturally, and got out of her car and waved at him from the distance, probably thinking 'there's always next time.'

  As he arrived home John ran to the front door while panting like crazy. He got in and then bolted the door shut, then going around the whole house bolting all the doors and making sure all the windows were shut. He picked up the phone and called the police, fearing for his life, who then agreed to pay a visit to Andria, when they had time.

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Helen was happy as today was going to be the first day of their marriage guidance and she could not wait. She dropped Sally of at school and knew she didn't have to worry about her until the following day. It was finally settled that Sally would stay at Josephine’s for the night, after a little argumentation. As a consequence of Josephine’s generosity, Helen would not even need to pick her up from school. They were together as a couple at last.

  Kwiatoslaw gave Helen a hug, and she had an idea going through her head meanwhile. It had to come out.

  "Let’s go to a hotel tonight. It was Josephine’s suggestion. Maybe after we've been to marriage guidance, we can go to the seaside, have a walk along the beach and then finish in a hotel."

  "That sounds like a lovely idea. How does she come up with these things? No wonder her marriage is so successful."

  "I think there's lots of reasons their marriage is successful, but don't you be getting any ideas."

  As time went by, since the seaside was not too far, they decided to go and look for a hotel now rather than later when all the vacancies were gone. In fact, the seaside just about happened to be nearer to the church they were having guidance at than their own house was, as it was not their geographical parish, but was the 'latin mass church' as some called it. Getting in the car they headed to the seaside but needing the toilet they stopped on the way at the service station. While going in they bumped into a lady who they did not know.

  "Hello" she spoke to them, "you was at the party weren't you?"

  "Which party?"

  "The one where Hannah's husband died. I know Hannah from of old, but she doesn't seem to know me."

  They sat down and had a coffee before carrying on to the seaside.

  "I'm Helen and this is Kwiatoslaw, what's your name?"

  "Erm, I don't like giving my name out. Sorry."

  "That's alright, you've only just met us. Does Hannah know your name?" Helen asked.

  "No, she doesn't. But you can tell her we bumped into each other if you want."

  "OK, but should I not give her some contact details?"

  "No, that isn't necessary. I will be in contact with her. You can give me her number."

  "OK, I'll write it down, but she's in prison at the moment. We need to get going now, alright."

  They carried on to the seaside whilst wondering who this mysterious person could possibly be. Why not reveal her name? That did seem very suspicious. It was too late to do anything about it now, so they carried on, in their nice green car, to the seaside. After a long drive, they drove past a few hotels and decided to pull up and have a look at them. They started at one hotel and went to the door. As they got to the door the handle would not go down. Helen was shocked.

  "We can't even get in this one." Then she realised there was another entrance, not that distinguishable from the other. They walked in and nobody seemed to be at reception.

  "Come on Hannah let’s leave it" Kwiatoslaw said, to suddenly be interrupted by someone behind them just before they got to the door.

  "Hello, are you looking for a room? It will be £20 a night for two."

  "Wow that's cheap, can we see what the rooms are like?" Hannah knew this sounded too good to be true, but they had to check anyway. As they arrived upstairs, the man showing them around opened their potential bedroom and they had a look.

  "I'll be back in a minute" he said. As they looked around, Helen pulled her face.

  "These are two single beds, that's no good." Then she walked into the bathroom.

  "Ewww, don't even look in that toilet. Come on Kwiatoslaw we're going."

  As they got near the front door the man approached.

  "We've thought about it and we need a double bed" Helen said, putting it politely.

  "I can push the beds together if you wish?"

  "It's kind of you to offer, but we can't stay, sorry." They carried on looking around for a good while.

  "Let's have a rule, never pick one for £20 a night as that's asking for trouble" Kwiatoslaw suggested to her. They approached another hotel; no price was displayed in the window, but the outside was nice. As they walked in, someone greeted them.

  "Hello, welcome to 'The Melting Carrot,' may I take your bags?"

  The man greeting them carried Hannah's bag and spoke to them on the way to the desk.

  "Here we have a swimming pool and full buffet breakfast. Would you like to see your room before paying?"

  "Yes Thank you" Helen replied.

  As they entered the room, after going into the extremely clean and shiny elevator, they noticed the room was perfect. All the furnishings were spot on and the bathroom this time was shiny as could be. There was a modern grey carpet and the curtains were dark blue. There was a lamp on each side of the double bed, both matching, and the wall pictures looked classy. There was a nice sea view and a balcony they could sit on and as well as that everything was perfect.

  "This is lovely. How much?" Helen asked.

  "The cost for this room per night is £200."

  "Helen" Kwiatoslaw interrupted, suddenly turning around "I don't think this is for us."

  They left the hotel, after having apologised.

  "£200 a night? That's ludicrous" Kwiatoslaw said as they were walking. Helen was not happy as she loved that room, but she did not like the idea of paying so much.

  "Also, who calls their hotel the melting carrot? Hahaha" Kwiatoslaw added, and they both laughed. Next, they found another hotel, titled 'The Carpet of the Sea.’ They went in and walked over to reception. A lady sat down spoke to them.

  "Hello, are you looking for a room?"

  "Yes, thank you" Helen replied. The lady gave her a set of two keys.

  "Here you are, room three zero one on the third floor." They went upstairs and viewed their room. This time, the room was of a medium kind. Things were nice, but not as classy. It was hygienic, but not as modern. Luckily for them they liked slightly traditional. One th
ing was for sure anyway, it was much nicer than their house.

  Heading downstairs Helen spoke to the lady at reception.

  "How much is the room?"

  "£130 per night, is that OK?"

  Kwiatoslaw thought to himself for a second and then spoke.

  "If it's alright for Helen then it's alright for me."

  "Great, we'll stay" Helen responded and she paid by card. Then they headed to the car to bring in the rest of their things before being thanked at reception.

  "Please enjoy your stay here at 'The Carpet of the Sea.'

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  In the police car, Pc McDermott and another officer went to see Andria. No knowing what to expect they drove down while thinking about who this Andria might really be. From what they had heard, Andria was best friends with Hannah and wouldn’t hurt a fly. So, this was all a bit of a shock for the police, as it was for John no doubt. Arriving outside her house Pc McDermott spoke to his colleague.

  "Who's going in, me or you? Maybe one of us should wait here, just in case."

  "Erm, no you don't. I'm not going in there and getting manhandled while you sit here peacefully in the car."

  "Come on, lets both go in. We should be alright then." As they got to the door there was a war about who should even ring the bell between them. While they were arguing, the door opened anyway as they were looking at each other.

  "You ring" one said, while the other said "you ring" and Andria was looking at them as they were saying it, stood right in their faces. Suddenly they paused and noticed she was there, smiling.

  "Oh, oh. Hello" the assistant officer said."

  "Hello, how can I help you officers? Do come on in." Carefully they went in, but hesitantly, while looking around as if their life was over.

  "Do you want a coffee?"

  "Yes please" the assistant replied.

  Nervously, they looked at her as they started drinking the coffee. Pc McDermott then started talking.

  "So, the reason we are here is, John Adersall tells us that you tied him to a chair, holding him hostage, is that true?"