The Shadow Box: Paranormal Suspense and Dark Fantasy Thriller Novels

by Travis Luedke

  ‘No one can control me,’ Tommy said defensively.

  ‘So you killed him on purpose? You murdered him?’

  There was a pause. Tommy seemed unsure of how to answer. He looked around uncertainly. Then his face hardened. ‘What I don’t understand, Nick, is why you didn’t kill him! He stabbed our mum to death. Why wouldn’t yuh want to kill him?’

  The two of them bracing their bodies and clashing their egos repelled Juliet. Before, she had liked the idea of getting to know Nicolas. Now it frightened her. His brother’s a murderer; I can’t be involved with any of them. She tried to stand still, to quell the buzzing in her limbs. Her mind began to repeat one thought.

  I didn’t do it. I’m not going to jail for this.

  ‘Because I’m not a murderer, Tommy.’ Nick squinted horribly and shook his head. ‘Where did you even get that knife?’

  Juliet glanced around in search of Samantha. The spirit was gone; she’d disappeared as soon as Nick and Juliet found their way back to this area.

  ‘I got it from inside the manor …’ said Tommy, as if it were obvious.

  A welcome interruption came: Tom stepped forward. ‘I’m fed up of you two arguing. We have a dead body now, and if we don’t deal with it, then we’re all in the shit.’ He paused to let the seriousness sink in. ‘Any suggestions?’

  Juliet respected his practical-mindedness … but no. She was innocent; she couldn’t help dispose of a corpse. The itching under her skin now encompassed her entire body. It was telling her to move, to run, to get away, to stop making dangerous mistakes! ‘Take me home now, Nicolas,’ she suddenly demanded.

  Nick looked like a struck puppy, deflated and almost guilty for not paying her attention. ‘But, Juliet … We need to get rid of this body.’ He pointed behind himself. Neither of them peered over at the lifeless thing against the tree.

  ‘No, we don’t. Tommy killed him; he can deal with it.’ Dismissively, she waved a hand in Tommy’s direction. She didn’t want to look at him and became a little frightened after realising she’d antagonised a murderer.

  ‘What did you say?’ yelled Tommy.

  She refused to answer, but noted how he could pronounce ‘you’ properly when he wanted emphasis. Joining the itchy buzzing, an ache flooded her mind. It was like a hammer beating on her brain, trying to mould her thoughts: I have to get away. I didn’t do it. I’m not going to jail for this.

  She managed to fight those instincts enough to consider what the sensible and legal things to do were. She wished they were the same thing. Eyeing Nicolas, she said, ‘If you don’t take me home, I’ll have to call the police. I’ll tell them you dragged me into this, that … that you threatened me …’ After some more of her thoughts avoided the moulding hammer, she realised that calling the authorities was a ridiculous idea. She took out her mobile and stepped backwards anyway.

  Tommy noticeably tensed, ready to chase after her, but Nick gave him a scolding look. He turned away.

  ‘Juliet,’ Nick said softly. He extended an arm towards her. ‘I’ll take you home, okay. Just let us sort this out first. I swear that if we get caught, I’ll plead your innocence … I’ll even say I threatened your life, if that’s what you want from me. Okay?’

  He came closer to her, but she snapped, ‘Don’t touch me! I don’t want to be near any of you right now.’ The irritation under her skin seemed to increase when in proximity to other people. ‘It’s cold and it’s getting dark. If you’re really going to deal with this, then I’ll wait inside the manor.’

  She walked away, but Nick called after her. ‘Juliet, please. It’s not a good idea to split off …’

  With a great deal of self-restraint, she paused. She didn’t turn back around but simply waited and refused to reply. The thought of seeing that body was unbearable.

  Here she was again, waiting and listening out for the next drama.

  ‘We could chuck him over the cliff edge,’ Tom suggested.

  ‘It’s a long way to carry him, Tom.’ Nick sounded weary. ‘And it’s getting too dark.’

  ‘What else can we do? Wait until morning?’

  ‘No,’ Juliet interrupted without turning around.

  ‘Okay …’ said Tom. ‘Well, I’m not digging a grave, and we can’t just leave him here. The cliff is the best idea.’

  ‘We’ll need a torch or something,’ said Nick, ‘or one of us might fall over the edge.’

  Juliet didn’t know what Tommy was doing during the conversation … Standing around looking belligerent, most likely. For a moment she imagined him sinking the knife into Aldrich’s heart. She grimaced.

  ‘Aldrich must have a torch in the manor somewhere. We should look.’

  ‘And get our fingerprints everywhere?’

  ‘We’ve already done that,’ said Tom. ‘I searched the house for a blanket; my fingerprints must be on something. Juliet leapt onto the floor, so that’s her hand prints too. She got Aldrich a glass of water. We handled the shotgun. A bullet scraped Tommy’s arm, remember? There are probably tiny specks of his blood on the walls and the floor. We’ve left forensic evidence all over the place.’ He said this all quite calmly, seeming to calculate a next step.

  Nick sounded less centred. ‘We’re going to have to clean everything we remember touching. That’s the best we can do. If we find a torch, we’ll come out here and chuck the shotgun and the … the body, Aldrich, whatever, over the cliff edge. Okay?’

  ‘I have a pair of gloves in my pocket,’ said Tom. ‘I’ll put them on. Don’t touch anything else from now on. Let only me handle objects, and we’ll clean everything down as we go.’

  The space around them grew turbid. The sky was at the stage where dark boldly crept forward and could envelop them at any moment.

  Juliet’s black jumper no longer offered much warmth against the late autumn afternoon. The icy air seeped through the fabric of her jeans too.

  ‘It took a while to walk here.’ Tom’s voice was very matter-of-fact. ‘We should head back to the manor. But first, cover up the body, just in case.’

  Juliet heard rustling sounds. When her curiosity got the better of her, she turned and saw Tom bending down and scooping up fallen leaves to hide the body under. The brief glance at the corpse twisted her stomach. She looked away fast.

  For some time she waited and listened to Nick and the twins camouflaging Aldrich.

  ‘Right, let’s go,’ she heard Nicolas say.

  They walked through the twilight. Juliet could barely detect the trodden path they’d followed on the way. Time stretched on forever, or maybe the distance had doubled itself. I didn’t do it. I’m not going to jail for this. I need to get away. I didn’t do it. I’m not going to jail for this. I need to get away. I didn’t do it. I didn’t do it. I didn’t do it.

  Grendel Manor was a giant black monster in the dark, growing as they marched closer. Juliet’s mantra managed to subjugate some of the frustration in her body. Or maybe this trek burnt off the excess adrenaline.

  When they arrived, Tom used a gloved hand to let them all inside. Juliet ignored all three of them, avoided eye contact, and walked towards the entry hall. She passed the statue of the man with a bull’s head, and felt again as if it might jump to life. The hallway seemed longer this time. Blackness had snuck into the manor.

  After reaching the dried pool of Aldrich’s blood, Nick asked Tommy to search for a cleaning cupboard and to locate a mop. Begrudgingly, Tommy turned to do as asked, and Nick reminded him not to touch anything directly with his hands.

  Before Tommy could make any progress, though, Juliet whispered, ‘Wait. Can you hear something?’

  A metal clicking sound. With no time to hide, all of them stared at the front door. It swung open and a man walked through—an ugly, stubbly ginger man.

  He paused in his step, the slightest flinch crossing his face as he looked at Nick and the twins. His eyes lingered on Tommy’s large frame, then flicked to something on a step of the staircase. He darted for it.

/>   Juliet had gone unnoticed so far, but Nick and his brothers stood paralysed as the ginger-haired man grabbed the shotgun and aimed broadly at them.

  ‘Why are you here?’ he shouted, his voice rough. Spittle appeared to spray from his crooked teeth.

  ‘Whoa!’ Nick gasped, holding up both arms. ‘You don’t need to aim that at us. We’re not dangerous.’ The twins mimicked his stance, though Tommy’s face was confrontational.

  ‘Why’s there blood on the floor, then?’ he demanded. ‘Where’s Aldrich?’

  ‘Ryan, they’re with me,’ said Juliet. The ugly man appeared startled to hear his name aloud, but he finally noticed Juliet.

  ‘Juliet? What’re you doing here?’ His face transformed, becoming perplexed.

  ‘What are you doing here?’ she replied. ‘Does Kim know you’re here?’

  ‘Errrh … Where’s Aldrich? Is that his blood?’

  ‘Aldrich’s dead,’ announced Nick. Tom squeezed his eyes shut as if waiting for the pull of the trigger.

  Ryan slowly lowered the shotgun until it was aimed at the floor. He fell silent, then peered at each person in turn.

  What is he doing? What is he thinking?

  Then he laughed. Juliet watched the faces of Nick and the twins shift and twist. She was equally confused. Ryan’s eyes reddened as he choked on laughter, his chest convulsing. ‘He’s dead? You’re sure?’

  ‘Yes,’ Juliet answered seriously.

  He guffawed some more, uncontrollably it seemed. ‘You’re not joking, are you?’ Nick shook his head in response. Ryan sighed, visibly relieved … or at least acting relieved. ‘Finally …’ He put the palm of his free hand against his forehead, then looked up and smiled, as if giving silent praise to the heavens.

  Juliet watched Nick and the twins exchange puzzled expressions.

  ‘You’re glad he’s dead?’ asked Tom.

  ‘I’ve worked for him for over ten years. He … he forced me to.’ Ryan rubbed the deep wrinkles on his forehead. ‘I’m finally free of him.’

  It would have been an awkward silence, but almost every gap in dialogue had felt long and hostile today—making it the new norm. So this was just another normal silence.

  Tommy stepped forward. ‘I killed him.’

  Juliet unintentionally tutted at Tommy’s cry for acknowledgement.

  Keeping the shotgun in one hand, Ryan eagerly moved forward and hugged Tommy. ‘Thank you. Thank you so much!’

  Tommy stiffened and didn’t hug back, but laughed in a manly kind of way, as if to say, ‘Sure, anytime, mate.’

  When Ryan moved back, he said, ‘So you avenged your mother then.’

  Tommy’s expression changed. ‘What? What do you know about that?’

  Their voices carried well in the large entry hall, giving Juliet the feeling that they were on a theatre stage.

  ‘I don’t know much. Just that she disappeared and that Aldrich had something to do with it.’ Ryan’s voice was as coarse as his stubble. ‘I recognised you three as soon I walked in here.’

  Nick kept suspicious eyes on the ginger man, and Tom looked fixedly down to one side and seemed to be listening attentively.

  ‘I was about … twenty, I think, when Aldrich made me work for him. He took a fancy to me, showed me what he could do to people. I … I’m guessing you all know what he could do … with his eyes.’ Nick and the twins nodded. ‘Well, I was afraid. Then a couple of years later, I saw on the news about your mother’s disappearance. And … and I saw your father on tele. Aldrich made me keep an eye on your family. He was scared, and I’d never seen him scared before that. He made me keep tabs on you lot for a good few years.’

  ‘You didn’t go to the police?’ asked Tom without raising his head, no judgement in his voice.

  ‘Of course not. Aldrich would have killed me and then tricked the police. For some reason he was afraid of you three boys. I … I didn’t have a choice.’

  ‘How do you remember all of this?’ Nick looked impatient and worried, twiddling his fingers. ‘Did he not use his ability on you?’

  ‘I don’t think so. But all my memories could be fake, to be honest. He could have made me do anything, but if he did, I don’t have any gaps.’ He squinted. ‘I can’t believe he’s dead.’

  Juliet stood dumbfounded, appalled by how casually they were all discussing murder; they even seemed happy. Ryan still had the ability to send shivers down her spine. Creep. This was the most she’d ever heard him speak. When he’d picked Kim up the other night, he’d been extremely curt.

  Harry! She remembered the spirit who had visited her in her kitchen. Don’t trust Ryan. Ryan’s not who he says he is.

  ‘Harry Cracknel,’ she said abruptly. It was a test; she threw the name at Ryan to take him off guard.

  He acted bemused and awkwardly laughed. ‘Huh?’ he played innocent, but Juliet could see the worry in his eyes and could sense his mind squirming in a desperate attempt to figure out what she knew and how she knew it.

  Juliet said aloud what Ryan’s body language had confirmed. ‘You got Aldrich to kill Harry, didn’t you?’ She gave piercing eyes.

  He shifted on the spot; the shotgun swayed at his side. ‘How do you know about Harry?’

  Juliet let out a tense breath and shook her head in horror. ‘Put down the shotgun, and I’ll tell you.’

  Ryan glanced at the weapon regretfully, as if it were a limb he would lose forever if he parted with it. But eventually he put the gun down where he’d found it. He stood in a position that blocked off the others and gave him quickest access to the dangerous instrument.

  ‘Kim told me she and Harry were head over heels,’ Juliet began to explain, ‘then out of the blue, he dumped her. He said he never wanted to see her again, among some other nasty words, and then vanished from her life.’

  ‘Errh …’

  ‘You got Aldrich to use his trick on Harry, to make him dump her, then you killed him and made him disappear, like you both made Samantha Crystan disappear.’

  ‘I … I love Kim. I wanted her for myself.’ He fumbled his words. ‘I spent too much time with Aldrich. I was younger then. He told me my job had to have some perks. He was extremely old and lonely, just wanted a companion … and, and … he told me he’d never use his ability on me.’

  ‘Stop talking about Aldrich; it’s not about Aldrich!’ yelled Juliet. The itchy-buzzing feeling was back with a vengeance. ‘Why should I let Kim stay with a murderer? I should tell her about you.’ With a bitter laugh, she continued, ‘Kim thinks you’re such a sweetheart, you know, doing support work!’

  ‘Don’t tell her, please. Aldrich paid me a lot … I have money. I can give her everything she wants. And … and …’ He paused and looked at the dried blood on the floor. ‘Where’s Aldrich’s body?’

  Nick butted in. ‘Who’s Kim? Who’s Harry?’ He frowned. ‘How do you two know each other?’

  Juliet clenched her teeth, not wanting to talk to any of the Crystan boys. There was a hot pain in her heart every time she looked at Nicolas. After sucking up her pride, she speedily explained how she knew Ryan.

  ‘Where’s Aldrich’s body?’ Ryan asked again.

  Tom looked up and told him how to find the corpse.

  ‘Juliet,’ Ryan began, ‘I’ll clean up Grendel Manor, I’ll get rid of any evidence of you lot being here, and I’ll dispose of Aldrich’s body. Just don’t tell Kim anything. Please … I love her. I did what I did because I was young, and … and I was afraid of Aldrich. It was his idea. And … and Kim was so beautiful.’

  As input, Tommy said, ‘Sounds like a good deal to me. Just sayin’.’

  It was obvious to Juliet that Ryan deeply loved Kim—or was at least unhealthily obsessed with her—but could she let her best friend stay with a man like him? Did she have a choice? The sensation under her skin had escalated, making her even more intolerant of being around other people right now. On top of that, her body ached and throbbed. I must be bruised all over.

  ‘This m
ay be the best option we have, Juliet,’ said Nick. ‘Can we trust him?’

  ‘You can trust me,’ Ryan said in a desperate tone. ‘I’m in your debt. Aldrich would have forced me to work for him for the rest of my life.’

  ‘I’ll trust you if Juliet trusts you.’

  Is that meant to flatter me? Her mind was the fiery pit of Hell. Don’t trust Ryan. But I have to; how else will we get out of this? What about Kim? She can’t stay in a relationship built on blood and lies. But I don’t want her to go through the pain of breaking up with her boyfriend of four years! And Nicolas … I was falling for him. Now all I see is his lies and his murderous brother and Aldrich’s gruesome body.

  She hated it; she strongly believed that telling the truth was the moral thing to do. But now she had no choice but to lie to her best friend. What would Ryan do if she took Kim away from him? Would anyone here be safe?

  I have to get away from all of this. ‘We can trust him,’ she said.

  In a whisper, Ryan said, ‘Thank you.’

  ‘Okay, then, let’s leave this place.’ Nick nodded at Ryan and headed to the front door. The twins followed, but Juliet waited.

  ‘You better treat Kim like royalty,’ she threw at Ryan.

  ‘I will. I swear.’ He looked down at his feet. His shifty eyes were too creepy on that pale, blemished face. Juliet would never know what Kim saw in him. He kept his head lowered but peered at her, smiling, and from the angle he was at, it seemed almost like a sneer. Confused, Juliet gave him a neutral look.

  As she exited Grendel Manor, she felt that awful paranoia again, like earlier when she’d realised the shotgun had been left on the step, and when she’d considered if leaving the twins with Aldrich was a good idea or not.

  Is this another mistake?

  She sure hoped not.

  She got in the front of Nick’s car, because Tom and Tommy were already in the back, and said, ‘Just take me back to Chanton.’

  Chapter Twenty-One