Murder, He Wrote

by R. S. Higham

  “What are you doing here?” His voice was a lot sterner than he expected.

  “I came to visit ya.” Stacey said. His face a shadow as the curtain blocked most of the light. “James.” He stepped forward and the light flashed across his brown teeth, exposed in a smile.

  “How did you get in?”

  “I jus’ up an’ walked in.”

  “The nurse wouldn’t have let you come in here whilst I was sleeping.”

  “You’re right. I let myself in.”

  “How did you know I was here?”

  “Word spreads fast, dun’t it?”

  “What else have you heard?” James asked.

  “I think ya know what else, don’tcha?”

  “How do you know?”

  “Red.” James was silent for a moment. “A tragedy.” Stacey continued.

  “I didn’t know you cared.”

  “I’m a nice guy, I care ‘bout everyone.”

  “What about when I was thrown in jail because of you?”

  “Jail? Nah, I didn’t know about that.”

  “ I thought word gets around?”

  “Naw, James. I didn’t have anythin’ to do with that. I been out of town for a week or else I would have helped ya’out.”

  “You haven’t been out of town.” James’s voice was hiss. Stacey knew where he was going with it.

  “Haven’t I?” He asked.

  Making the same mistake as Kate, James couldn’t control his lips, he was so fuelled by anger.

  “I know what you did, Stacey. And I’ve told the police. They’re looking for you, and they’re going to find you.”

  Stacey’s hands formed fists. His gloves squeaked as the fingers bent the leather. James realised he’d made a big mistake. This must have been how it ended for Kate; letting her heart rule her head, a needle of pain pierced his stomach as he thought of her. He remembered what O’sessive Susan had told him. Press the button next the bed for assistance. Surely, this was as good a time as any? He threw his body over onto his right side and swiped for it but as he reached out Stacey grabbed his hospital gown and pulled him back into the middle of the bed. He grabbed a pillow from under his head and pushed it with all his strength into James face. James pressed hard against it and forced it back but he was weak and Stacey was a heck of a lot stronger. James’s elbows collapsed under the weight and soon the pillow was smothering him. He searched again for the button but Stacey caught what he was doing and grabbed his arm. James saw his opportunity and knocked the pillow away over to the other side of the room. But it didn’t matter, Stacey clasped both hands round James’s neck and locked his fingers. He was crushing him. He’d never taken such a risk to kill someone but it was time he got rid of James and he wanted to get rid of him as best he could, he’d worry about escaping afterwards. James, his eyes bleeding with the pressure, stretched a shaking arm out in a final attempt to ring for assistance. His neck was numb with pain, his whole body was numb. He couldn’t feel his arm and had to guess if he was gripping the button or not. Stacey hadn’t noticed his stray arm yet but he needed to look to see if he had reached it, if Stacey saw his eyes move he’d know what he was doing and snap his neck in one. He quickly flashed his gaze over to his fingers, they were right on it. He pushed them down and a buzzing rang out through the room just as he fell unconscious.

  28

  When he woke three nurses and a doctor were flocked round him prying his own arms from his neck. He screamed and thrashed about and it took another doctor to restrain him. When he finally calmed down one of them brought a glass of water and helped him sip it.

  “What happened?” He croaked, his words scraping the back of his throat like cat’s claws shredding the curtains.

  “You were having a night terror, James, and you...well... you were strangling yourself! It gave the nurse quite a fright when she came in. Somehow the buzzer had been pressed you must have knocked it in a fit.”

  “No! There was someone else in here!”

  “Genny, did you see anyone when you came in?”

  “No, Doctor. Just him.”

  “James, there wasn’t anyone else in here.” The Doctor said as calmly as he could. But it just made James angrier.

  “There was someone in here! He strangled me!” He gripped his neck in his hands, the pain was excruciating. A couple of nurses stepped forward thinking he was about to do it again, James saw and took his hands away. He felt ashamed, even though he hadn’t done anything, at least, he was sure he hadn’t. The doctors must have been wrong. They thought he was hurting himself. But James knew he was here. Stacey was here in the hospital, or he had been. He could have been long gone by now, scampered off into the night like a hound. James thought the best thing to do would to go along with them, claim it was a nightmare make up some “I’ve had them since I was a child” tale and get out of this place as soon as he could, God forbid Stacey might come back to finish him off. But he would phone Mike. The Doctors had nothing to do with it, he had no reason to tell them but he’d ask to speak to his friend, for comfort.

  “I’m sorry, I’m fine now. What time is it?” He asked.

  “Are you sure you’re all right? You seemed adamant just a moment ago there was somebody in your room.”

  “I was still half asleep and I thought there was, of course there wasn’t.” He forced a smile although it was more like baring his teeth, still it seemed to do the trick.

  “Well, it’s nearly lunch time, although I don’t think you’re fit to eat with that injury, the redness on your neck is, phew, pretty bad. It’ll be bruised for a week at least.”

  “It’s fine. Can you just call my friend Mike, he’s a police officer. Phone the station and ask him to come over, please?”

  “Er, of course, police office?.”

  “He’s a friend, that’s all.” Hi voice faltered, a few more conversations and he’d be out for the count. But he didn’t want anything keeping him here. The thing he hated most about being in hospital was being out of control. Had the Doctor even phoned mike? How could he possibly know? And they could sedate him and do what they liked to him, although he didn’t know who ‘they’ were, he knew he was being irrational but still, no one had even checked the room for an intruder. James couldn’t get his brain around how Stacey had managed to escape so fast. Unless, he hadn’t escaped. James’s gaze landed on the metal closet over the other side of the room; it was for hanging patients clothes up and storing their belongings inside.

  “Don’t be stupid.” He whispered to himself, noticing that he whispered and cursing himself for it. Even so, if he was in there James wouldn’t want him to know that he knew. “But he’s not in there.” He said a little loudly but still keeping his voice low. “But what if he is?” A voice in his head asked. “What would you do, James? What could you do? Would you run? How could you fight back?” “I don’t know.” He answered himself. The door to his room had been left propped open and he had a perfect view of the corridor. It was just blank white wall opposite him but if anyone walked past left or right he would see them and be able to shout if he was in trouble. There was a light on the ceiling he could just about see from his position. A big, garish moth eater. It flickered. He hadn’t noticed a flickering light outside his room before. It flickered again. Then again, then it went out. James drew a startled breath and opened his eyes wide. His room was still lit but the whole corridor had gone black. The doorway was just a black hole. Then his light began to flicker. “No!” He whimpered silently. “Don’t go out!” Forgetting about the could-be man in the closet he shouted out for help.

  “Somebody! Is there anyone there!?” Then he heard the creak. It was a heart stopping, fear inducing, blood-runs-cold creak. It came from the metal closet. He held his breath and kept perfectly still in some primal hope his predator would ignore him but then a bang came from within the box, the cage. Or was he caged? He felt like it. The outside world had vanished, all was left was this room. And the beast. Something large hit the metal
door causing a huge crater. James yelped, his body was frozen, he couldn’t move. Another bang crumpled the metal even more until the door was set to fly off. James flung the thin bed sheet off and jumped up but his legs buckled beneath him and he dropped to the floor. He tried to stand but he couldn’t, he was paralyzed. Lying on his stomach on the floor he looked beneath his bed and over to the closet. A wet and muddy boot stepped out. James pushed himself back in an attempt to hide. Another boot squelched down. The beast was out. James bit his knuckles to hold back his screams. Tears were running down his cheeks. He knew he couldn’t hide forever. The man took another step close to him. He was toying with him, he knew where he was. James began to propel himself forward with his arms dragging his dead legs behind him. He didn’t look back, he didn’t look at Stacey, he just went for the door. Like a penguin on a block of ice he crawled further toward the freezing ocean. It was so close but still so black. Inches from escape a pair of clammy hands grabbed his ankles. All the feeling came back to his body and he wriggled his legs to try and get away but they were clamped. He felt himself sliding backwards away from the corridor and back into the room. He turned and looked at him. His face was black but for two glowing red eyes deep inside the sockets. James screamed and closed his eyes and thrashed about on the floor then he felt his legs drop and smack down on the marble. He opened his eyes cautiously. Stacey was gone. Replaced by a Doctor. Two men behind him lifted him onto his feet and guided him back to his bed. James stared open mouthed at him, too shocked to speak. A squeak rose from his throat but there were no words.

  “Are you hurt?” The Doctor asked. But James was still in shock. His mouth gaping and his eyes bulging as though he was staring Lucifer in the face. James managed to move his eyes to the metal closet. It was back the way it was, no chewed up metal and the doors closed. The Doctor lay him down and muttered something to the male nurse beside him who hastily left the room. James’s hearing faded and the Doctor’s words became muffled. Then his vision started to blur. He felt like he was going to faint but he didn’t want to sleep. When sleep came he came. Too bad, he couldn’t fight it. He went out like a light.

  29

  When Mike arrived James was finishing the last of his fast cooling coffee (his third so far as he was hoping it would keep him awake). He caught him come in out of the corner of his eye and clanked the cup down on its saucer.

  "Hey!" James beamed, wiping the remaining coffee from his lips. "Thanks for coming."

  "Sure, James. So what's up? The doctor told me you've been having some bad dreams?"

  "One bad dream. I had one. The first time was real."

  "What happened the first time?" Mike asked.

  "Stacey nearly killed me that's what."

  "The Doctor said you were found strangling yourself."

  "It was Stacey! I've never strangled myself in my sleep and I'm not planning on starting now!"

  "So what he came in here tried to kill you then left, unseen?"

  "Basically." James answered.

  "And you wonder why we're finding it so hard to believe you?"

  "Don't you think I know how it sounds!? But I'm not going to change anything to get you to believe me this is one hundred per cent true."

  "I believe you believe it’s the truth. The mind is a powerful thing."

  James wanted to argue his case that he wasn't insane but it was true he'd been losing control lately. Maybe the stress was affecting him.

  "I'm not saying you're crazy." Mike continued almost as if he'd read James's mind. "I just think you should speak to someone who knows what they're talking about. You've lost a friend and have a head injury, no one can completely cope after that, not right away ."

  Mike was right. James knew he was right. He was tired of being defensive, it was time he put down his weapons.

  "How do I arrange to see someone? Might as well do it since I'll be here for a while."

  "I'm glad. And don't worry I'll sort it out, I'll speak to the Doctor on the way out."

  "Thanks." James put his hand out. He wasn't sure why but as an American it came fairly natural to him. Mike shook it and left. Not long after the Doctor came in.

  "Quite a friend you've got there, being so concerned about you. You wanted to speak to a psychiatrist, is that right?”

  "That’s right." He sighed.

  “No problem James.” The doctor kept the door open when he left, James guessed they couldn’t trust him on his own, honestly he was glad. It was too easy to get swallowed up in here.

  He spent the remainder of the day seeing nurses and having tests taken to make certain there was definitely nothing wrong with him and for dinner he had a pork chop, ready mix mash potato and a side of garden peas. It must have been getting late as the usual hospital staff he saw walking back and to outside his door had switched to what James figured must be the night staff. He had turned his bedside clock to face the wall as the flashing green lights were annoying him, the coffee was doing its job as his eyelids were heavy but his brain was very much active. His thoughts were racing around like a bullet train and kept pinging his eyes back open. He started to regret his plan but he wasn't sure he could take another bad dream.

  "If it was a dream." He reminded himself. He was the only person who believed it and even he was starting to have doubts. The lights had been switched off in his room but the lights from the corridor illuminated it which was comforting, although it made him sleepier. His mind started playing tricks, a little noise or a shadow had him peeling his eyes wide and surveying the black corners of the room. When he finally did drop off, it was some time in the early hours, he had a few dreams but no nightmares, Stacey never returned. At least not this night.

  30

  James must have slept late as the hospital was buzzing with noise and action when we finally woke. His breakfast had been left on the table but it was stone cold, he wondered why the nurses had let him sleep, they mustn’t have needed to do any more tests. He drank his glass of bitter orange and ate a few of the grapes on the tray before laying his head back on the warm pillows. His bed was surprisingly comfortable despite the mattress being plastic but he’d found an extra blanket in the chest of drawers next to him, it was a soft cotton one in pale yellow, not much thick and couldn't keep him warm but it was soft and cosy. When someone walking passed noticed he was awake they came in and took his tray of food swapping his empty glass of orange juice for a cold glass of water. James wasn't used to drinking orange juice in the morning, or at all really, and he didn't plan on getting used to it. He sat on the edge of his bed and looked down at his hairy man feet, they were still fairly numb, he could just about wiggle his toes. He slipped off onto the floor putting his hands on the bed for support. Each step sent tingling pain shooting up his calves. The nurse hurried over to him and placed her arms under his to keep him upright.

  "What are you doing?" She asked.

  "Going to the toilet, or trying.

  "Why can't you use your bed pan? We pay people to change 'em don't you be puttin' them out of work." She laughed but James didn't find it funny, he was desperate.

  "I'm not doing that. Please just help me."

  The nurse sighed and called for another nurse to help her, a man came over and took the other side and they both carried him (James was barely touching the floor) to the disabled toilet down the hall. They waited outside whilst he relieved himself after offering to come in with him but he'd strongly refused. In the toilet there was a cheap plastic mirror that distorted your reflection like a funhouse and beneath it a sink that had seen better days. “I thought hospitals were supposed to be spotlessly clean.” Behind him was a shower head and a drain on the floor, he smelled his armpits, they were pretty bad but he didn't think he could stand up for much longer so a shower would have to wait.

  When he came out the nurses slung his arms over them again and dragged him back off to his room, he was now aware of his smell and hoped they hadn't noticed. It was unlikely, though, they would be more concerned w
ith his 15st weight.

  After about twenty minutes of practising walking and flicking through his book (turns out it wasn't as great as he had thought) the Doctor popped in with a wheelchair.

  "Ready to go to your first session?" James nodded and hoped into it, the Doctor didn't push him but had someone else do it whilst he walked beside him. James thought it a bit of a waste of the other man's time but perhaps it was for health and safety reasons.

  "Any better this morning? I've been told you've had a wander about."

  "Maybe, I've been trying to walk but I can't manage much more than few steps."

  "Not to worry, your legs are just still sleeping, Doctor Hare will have you up and about in no time. How's the neck?"

  "Better, actually, I don't think it was that bad." He was really starting to doubt the Stacey theory now.

  "That's good."

  This part of the hospital was a lot nicer and a lot less like a hospital. There was a gym, not for recreation of course, and a small pool. James's room was quite small, he didn't need anything extreme since he hadn't broken his spine or legs. In fact he felt embarrassed being here and not being able to walk properly after lying in bed for four days but the sooner he could leave the better. There was Kate's funeral which would be soon, not as soon as usual with the case still on-going but he couldn't miss it.

  "Hi, James right?" Doctor Hare said as she sat opposite him, clipboard in hand. "You can call me Julie."

  The Doctor and his assistant left. "So it says here you're down for one session with me, well that's good! Let's get started then. First hope up onto this table and lie on your back, I'll do some quick tests to see how strong your muscles are." She held his legs up to his chest, then up in the air, then had him move them in circles and repeated until she was happy.

  "You're very strong James I don't think it will be long before you're back on your feet. It might take a few days of relaxation before you can go running or walks longer than an hour at a time but I assume you'll want to stay home and chill out when you get back anyway so no worries." She smiled. James went to smile back but realised that wasn't exactly the case, he wouldn't relax until Stacey was rotting in jail, but the hardest part would be convincing the police he even existed.