The Wicked Game of a Psychopath

by Stan Hendriks

  “Isn’t that clear?”

  “Yea, I may have forgotten to mention that every time the members of the club get together, one always ends up with his throat slit. There’s always one person who consumes a little too much of the delicious blueish beverage. But tell me, which number was it this time?”

  “Fifteen I believe.”

  “Ah, number fifteen. He actually lasted longer than I thought to be honest. I predicted he would have gotten his throat slit a year ago, but oh well. Anyway, how was the experience?”

  “I’ve never been around so many malicious and delusional people in my life. It was horrible.”

  “Delusional?” Mr. Miller chuckled. “Oh, sweet Susie, you still have so much to learn about this world and the society we live in. But in time you will come to see the world for what it truly is. Right now, however, I suggest you get some sleep. It’s been a long day. I will speak to you tomorrow again. Night, night,” Mr. Miller said as he then hung up.

  Susan slammed the phone down, lied her head back, closed her eyes, and quietly said, “Please take me out of this hell, I beg you.”

  About an hour and a half later, the limousine stopped as it got stuck in traffic, and Susan woke up by the flashing lights and sirens of police vehicles and fire trucks. She rubbed in her eyes, yawned, and then moved over to the other side of the limousine and took a look outside. The police vehicles and fire trucks were standing underneath a billboard and the police officers and firefighters were all looking up and shining their flashlights at the billboard. Three men were hanging from the billboard with ropes tightly wrapped around their necks and they all missed their left hand. It was horrific, but when Susan noticed that the three men were her blind dates, she lost it. With tears rolling down her cheeks, she tried to get out of the limousine, but the door wouldn’t budge. She then resorted to try and kick out a window, but the bulletproof windows were far too strong. But she didn’t give up, and as she was screaming and trying to break the window, the door all of a sudden opened up. The driver then came in with a syringe in his hand and before Susan could even react, the driver pressed the needle in her arm and injected a sedative substance. He then pressed her against the seat and within seconds, everything faded, and Susan’s eyes closed.

  Chapter four Day four

  The evidence

  The following morning, Susan’s door was once again left unlocked. Marco shook his head as he entered her house and walked into the living room. But what he saw there left him in quite a shock. On the walls was, “Why?” written in big letters with red lipstick, the furniture was smashed in half with a sledgehammer, shattered mirror pieces were laying all over the floor, and Susan—who was still wearing the red dress—was seated on her knees in front of a glass vase which had the red roses in it. “Susan… what… what in the hell happened here?” Susan turned her head back with a blank face but as soon as she noticed that it was Marco, she ran into his arms and cried her eyes out. “Hey… hey, it’s all right. I’m here, it’s okay.” Marco held her tight and gave her a kiss on her head. When Susan eventually calmed down a little, Marco asked, “What happened?”

  “I met someone… someone even the devil fears. And now… now I’m trapped, I’m completely trapped and there’s nothing I can do. My life is over.”

  “What do you mean? Who is this person you’re talking about?”

  “I… I can’t tell you,” Susan replied as she wiped away her tears. “I’m… I’m sorry. It all got a little too much you know. Kyle and this whole situation it’s… I don’t even know. Why are you here anyway?”

  “Well, I came to bring you some good news.”

  “Good news?”

  “Yes, Detective Rogers couldn’t get a hold of you so, I told him that I would check up on you and see if you were home.”

  “So, what’s the good news?”

  “The bartender that was working behind the bar on the night that Kyle and his friends were there has finally come forward and said that she actually took a couple of pictures and made a video with Kyle, his friends, and a man which no one who works there has been able to identify yet. Detective Rogers believes that that man might be Kyle’s murderer.”

  “Oh my god, that… that is amazing!”

  “I know, he’s finally going to get caught. Detective Rogers is already on his way over to the motel to have a look at the pictures and the video.”

  A bright smile appeared on Susan’s face, was Mr. Miller finally going to get caught? But then she realized that Mr. Miller wouldn’t let himself get caught that easily and that this was far too good to be true. Her smile quickly disappeared again and right at that moment; the phone rang. It was Mr. Miller. Susan froze up and as the phone kept ringing, Marco said, “That may be Detective Rogers.” He then grabbed the phone off the floor but before he could answer it, Susan snatched it out of his hands and said, “It’s not, trust me.” She then raised the phone to her ear and answered, “What?”

  “Have you heard the fantastic news already?”

  “I have.”

  “Wonderful. Although it’s inconvenient, it doesn’t come as a surprise. Anyway, you and I both know that if good old Detective Rogers gets his hands on the phone of the bartender that this game is forced to be cut short, and that is the last thing we want, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, we definitely don’t want that.”

  “Precisely. So, I’m going to give you two options. You’re either going to let me do the work, meaning that Jack and the bartender will lose their lives in the most horrific and gruesome way you can possibly imagine, or you are going to get inside your car, drive over to the motel, and make sure that the pictures and the video on the phone of the bartender get removed. So, what’s it going to be?”

  “How… how am I possibly going to make the second option work? I’m far too late for that already.”

  “You’re not, I can delay Detective Rogers.”

  “How?”

  “Not by murdering him, if that’s what you’re thinking of. But, Susie, we’re running out of time here so, make up your mind.”

  “I will go over there myself.”

  “As expected, anyway, I strongly suggest that you leave immediately. And bring your ex-husband along as well. Let’s see what you’re capable of in terms of lying and deceiving. My curiosity is definitely sparked now, I actually can’t wait to see how this is going to turn out. Good luck, Susie. And oh, I highly forbid you to view the pictures or the video, just keep that in mind,” Mr. Miller replied as he then hung up.

  “What was that all about?” Marco asked.

  “It’s nothing. But we should go to the motel.”

  “To the motel? Why?”

  “Don’t you want to see the footage?”

  “I do but I’m sure that we will eventually get to see it.”

  “I’m not going to wait for ages until Jack finally decides that we can see the footage for ourselves so, I’m going there. You can either come with me or stay here,” Susan replied as she grabbed her car keys out of her pocket

  “I… fine, I will come with you. But you do realize how long we’re going to be on the road, yes?”

  “I’m well aware, but we have to go, immediately.”

  That evening, Susan—who had changed her clothes before she left the house—and Marco arrived at the motel and as Susan parked the car, Marco’s phone rang. “It’s Detective Rogers,” Marco said as he then picked up and answered, “Hello.”

  “Hey, Marco, somehow I managed to get a flat tire on my way to the motel earlier which means that it’s going to take me a little longer to get a hold of the phone. But I promise that first thing tomorrow morning I will show both you and Susan the footage.”

  “Oh, that won’t be necessary anymore. We actually just arrived at the motel.”

  “Excuse me? Who is we? And what are you doing there?”

  “Susan and I came here to see the video.”

  “Marco… you have to be kidding me? I thought we discussed this.�
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  “I know, I know, but things weren’t really going well, and she insisted,” Marco quietly said.

  “I see,” Jack sighed. “Fine, you have my permission to see the video and get a hold of the phone, but please know that if something happens to that phone or the content on it, that this case will once again come to a dead end. Meaning that the murderer of Kyle will not get caught.”

  “I completely understand, but we’re only going to take a look at it and that’s it. After that, we will wait for you to arrive. I promise you.”

  “Good, see you soon then.”

  “See you soon,” Marco replied as he hung up.

  “What did he have to say?”

  “He got a flat tire earlier meaning that he will arrive later. However, he did give us permission to view the video on the phone.”

  “Great, let’s go then,” Susan said as she then got out and walked over to the bar with Marco closely behind her.

  The bar was empty and as Susan and Marco entered the bar, a nineteen-year-old girl—who was cleaning the tables—looked up and said, “Welcome, can I get you anything?”

  “No thanks, we’re actually here to see the footage that was recorded on someone’s phone. Someone who works here,” Susan replied.

  “Are you detectives?”

  “No, but we spoke with Detective Rogers, who will be here shortly, and he gave us permission to take a look at the video. We’re Kyle’s parents,” Marco replied.

  “Oh, well sure then, follow me. And my name is Lisa, by the way,” Lisa said as she walked over to the bar. There she grabbed her phone and searched for the pictures and the video. Susan’s heart rate went through the roof, Lisa was about to show the pictures and that couldn’t happen. Anxiously, she looked around, trying to come up with a way of removing the pictures and the video that were on the phone. And then she saw it, the sink behind the bar was filled with water and filthy plates and right when Lisa tried to give the phone to Marco, Susan pretended that she tripped and hit the phone out of Lisa’s hand and the phone fell right into the sink. “Oh my god!” Susan said.

  Lisa immediately took the phone out of the sink and Marco asked, “Please tell me that your phone is waterproof?”

  Lisa tried her best to get the phone to work again, but it was broke. “I’m afraid not,” Lisa sighed as she slightly shook her head.

  “Oh my god, I’m so sorry. I… I… sorry,” Susan said as she then nearly ran out of the bar.

  “Oh boy,” Marco said as he let out a deep breath. “I… we will get you another phone, okay? My sincere apologies for this.”

  “It’s fine. But the pictures and the video are gone. I haven’t backed them up anywhere, I’m so sorry.”

  Right at that moment, Jack came in and asked, “Is everything all right? I saw Susan run towards her car crying.”

  Marco then took Jack apart and said, “Right when Lisa tried to show us the pictures, Susan tripped and accidentally hit the phone out of her hand, which then landed into the sink.”

  “Good Christ, you’re kidding me, right?”

  “Sadly, I’m not. And as you probably expect already, the phone wasn’t waterproof. So, the pictures and the video are gone.”

  “This was the only piece of evidence that we had,” Jack sighed. “I knew this was a bad idea. You should have at least waited on me.”

  “I know, and I should have listened. But Susan, she was in such a bad state. I mean, she completely wrecked her living room and… I couldn’t stop her. I simply couldn’t. And never in a million years did I expect that this would happen.”

  “I understand but… let’s just hope that Lisa is still able to describe what the man looked like.”

  “Yes, but there is actually something I want to talk to you about. It’s regarding Susan. She… she hasn’t been herself lately. And I know that she hasn’t been herself for quite some time already, but things have taken a turn for the worse. Something is going on and I can feel it. I mean, earlier today she received a strange phone call and she also mentioned to have met someone who even the devil fears.”

  “That is—”

  But before Jack could get another word out, Lisa’s eyes rolled back and she fell and, on the way down, she hit the edge of the bar with the back of her head. Jack and Marco immediately ran over to Lisa, who had foam coming out of her mouth and was trembling, and Jack immediately called 911. Sadly, it was already too late. Lisa died not even a minute after.

  Susan saw it all happening from her car and right when she opened the door, her phone rang. She raised the phone closer to her ear with her shaking hand and Mr. Miller said, “I’m so proud of you, my dear Susie. You did a fantastic job.”

  “You… you killed her.”

  “Of course, I had to. She could have described what I looked like and I couldn’t allow that to happen. But on the bright side, we can continue with the game again. Which is fantastic, is it not?”

  “I swear to god that by the end of this sickening game of yours, I will literally take your head off and feed it to a couple of starving dogs.”

  “I look forward to it. But do you think that you have what it takes to commit such a violent act? Because I seriously doubt it. In fact, only a small percentage of humanity is capable of committing such acts. And even a lesser percentage takes pleasure out of it.”

  “Oh, trust me, it will be the best day of my life.”

  “I have to admit that the way you’re talking right now arouses me quite a bit. But we cannot afford to waste any more time. I have a new task for you which you will receive in approximately sixty minutes. But as of right now, all you need to do is simply drive away without looking back,” Mr. Miller said as he then hung up.

  “Sick son of a bitch!” Susan shouted as she hit the steering wheel a couple of times, trying her hardest to hold back the tears. Right at that moment, an ambulance and two police cars drove up to the bar and the officers and ambulance personnel rushed inside. Jack had covered Lisa’s upper body with his jacket and Marco stood there with his hands on his head. But then Jack looked outside, directly at Susan. Susan’s eyes widened and panic struck when Jack walked out of the bar and came towards her. “Shit, shit,” Susan said as she anxiously looked around. She had to go before Jack got any closer. After all, how could she possibly explain why she had to leave without breaking Mr. Miller’s rules and simultaneously risking more lives? But then she noticed a roadmap on the backseat and luckily, there was a pencil laying on top of it. She immediately grabbed the map and the pencil and pressed the map against the steering wheel. She quickly wrote something on the map and then crumbled it in her hand, rolled the window down, and threw it out. After that, she started the car, and drove off and past Jack with squealing tired, who stood there with his arms spread, wondering where the hell she was going. However, Jack noticed the crumbled map that she had thrown out of the car. He squatted down, grabbed the map off the ground, and unfolded it. On the map was, “Jack, the murderer of Kyle is blackmailing me. If I tell anyone about the game he is playing with me, he will murder the people that are close to me. Please help me, I’m begging you”, written. Jack didn’t know what to think of it and read it again at a slower pace. Marco then came running up and asked, “Where is Susan?”

  “You said something was going on with Susan, right?”

  “Yes, why? What happened?”

  “After this is taken care of, we need to have a talk,” Jack replied as he gave Marco the map and walked back towards the bar again.

  About sixty minutes later, and anxious and nervous Susan was still on the road, waiting for Mr. Miller to call. Another ten minutes passed, and Mr. Miller still hadn’t called. After biting her lip, her nails, and having a reddish neck from fanatically scratching it, she had enough and parked the car next to the road. She turned the volume of the radio down, turned the lights off, and rolled the window down while taking a deep breath. It’s was peaceful outside, not a person in sight and a pleasant mild breeze entered her car. She li
ed her head back against the seat and stared at the never-ending road in front of her. This was the first time in a long time that she felt this certain sense of peace. It was if as she was granted a break from reality and taken to a peaceful and worry-free place. But it was short lasted as a car parked right behind her and turned on the hazard lights. Susan wasn’t going to find out who it was, neither was she interested in what he or she wanted. So, without the shadow of a doubt, she immediately turned the car back on, but then she saw it. The old lady from the mansion and the nearly seven feet tall bouncer stepped out of the car behind her. The bouncer then walked up to her with a furious expression on his face and wanted to open her door, but Susan put her foot down on the gas pedal and raced off. However, when she looked in the mirror, she noticed that it didn’t bother the old lady and the bouncer one bit. They just stood there, staring as she drove further away. Something was off, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. nonetheless, she kept on driving further away. But it didn’t take long for it to become clear as to why the old lady and the bouncer didn’t immediately chase after her as a van—that was coming from the opposite direction—rammed into her car and put her to a halt.

  In the meanwhile, Marco was seated on the edge of the sidewalk—a couple of feet away from the bar—with the crumbled map in his hand, looking up at the sky. Forensic investigators were still walking around in the bar and as Jack shook hands with a police officer, he walked out of the bar and over to Marco. He grabbed a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and asked, “Do you smoke?” Marco shook his head and as Jack lit up a cigarette, he continued, “She was poisoned.”