The Watcher : A Chilling Serial Killer Thriller

by Netta Newbound

  Hannah greeted them both with a handshake, and they introduced themselves. She didn’t take in their names.

  “Can I get you a drink?” Hannah asked, as they sat side-by-side on the sofa she’d just vacated.

  “A cold drink would be appreciated,” the man said, wiping his forehead with a handkerchief.

  Hannah glanced at the other officer, who nodded in agreement.

  From the kitchen, she listened as Max explained the two incidents.

  Hannah returned with a jug of orange juice and two glasses. After pouring the juice out, she knelt on the carpet beside Max, who was sitting on the only other chair.

  “And do you have any idea who might hold a grudge against you, sir?” the male officer said.

  Max shuffled in his seat, and placed a hand on Hannah’s shoulder. “Well, there’s more, actually. But, I didn’t know about it until yesterday.”

  The officer lifted his head, suddenly interested. “Go on.”

  “Well, Hannah works for me in Manchester. She moved from Shropshire a few weeks ago, and since then, she’s experienced a few unexplained occurrences.”

  The officer looked at Hannah and nodded. “Can you tell us about these occurrences, miss?”

  Hannah cleared her throat. “They started out as just a feeling someone had been in my flat. Nothing I could pinpoint, but there was a strange smell, especially in my bedroom.”

  “Go on.”

  “Then, my gym bag went missing from my locker at work, and, when I got it back, it appeared to have been tampered with. Everything was there, but different—as though several of the items had been replaced by similar but newer stuff.”

  The female officer’s eyebrows furrowed, as she continued to jot in her pad.

  “Strange,” her colleague said. “Anything else?”

  “Yes. The same thing happened with a new and very expensive dress I bought in a sale. I got it for a fraction of the original cost, as one of the bones was missing from the bodice. But, a couple of weeks later, when I wore it for the first time, I noticed the bone wasn’t missing. It seemed like a totally different dress.”

  The officers glanced at each other, as if to say, ‘Is this chick for real?’

  “I’m aware of how crazy it sounds, believe me. That’s why I haven’t reported it before now.”

  “It is strange, but carry on,” he said.

  “On Friday, I noticed someone had definitely been in my flat. The bed had been moved several inches. The indents in the carpet were a dead giveaway. It’s a heavy antique bed, and won’t move easily, so it had been moved on purpose. But, I’d just discovered my neighbour had been murdered at work, and so, I didn’t really pay it much attention at the time. Max had told me to pack a bag, and we would come here for the weekend.”

  “Yes,” Max said. “I took her back to my apartment in the city for the night, and the next morning, we left to come here. The only person who knew we were together was my PA, Angela Beanie. She saw us in the carpark before we left. Then, I discovered a deep scratch along the passenger side of my new car. After we found the scratch, Hannah told me about Angela warning her off me a few days prior.”

  “So, you think this Ms Beanie is responsible for today’s damage?” The female officer spoke for the first time.

  “I’m not certain. I would’ve said I trusted her with my life until yesterday. But, the fact is, she told lies about me, and cautioned Hannah to stay away. This is totally out of character for the woman I thought I knew, so, until I’m convinced otherwise, I have to believe she’s possibly behind all the other things, too.”

  “I see.” The officer scratched his head. “Do you have Ms Beanie’s address, by any chance?”

  “No. But, I’ll give you my Head of Security’s details at AdCor, and he will assist you with everything you need.”

  Chapter 27

  Don listened to the police interview. He suddenly had a new respect for his boss, when he heard Max tell the cop to contact him, his Head of Security!

  Within moments of the police leaving, his phone rang—it was Max.

  He puffed out his chest, and smiled before answering. “Don Henry.”

  “Don, it’s Max Myers.”

  Don first heard Max’s voice in his ear, and then the delay from the speakers. He winced, and quickly ducked out of the room. “Hey, Mr Myers. What can I do for you?”

  “I’ve given a police officer your details. He will be asking you for some personal information on Angela Beanie. Please give him everything he needs.”

  “Will do, sir.”

  “Oh, and this is a little bit delicate, so I’d appreciate you keeping it to yourself, but if Ms Beanie comes into work in the morning, could you put her in the board room, and ask her to wait for Eric Gallagher, the company solicitor?”

  “Of course. Can I ask why, sir?”

  “I don’t really want to go into it at this stage, until I’m certain, but I’ll need you to assist Eric, if that’s alright. I know this will mean you staying behind for a few hours, but as you’re the senior member of the security team, I’d rather leave it with you.”

  “Not a problem, sir. Consider it done.”

  “Excellent. And one other thing. I’ll be working from home for a day or two. Could you call me once Ms Beanie has been escorted off the premises?”

  “No problem. You enjoy the rest of your evening, sir.”

  His night shift flew by, and Don was on cloud nine. It was only marred slightly when he watched Max carry Hannah from the lounge. And although he couldn’t see them in the spare bedroom, he heard them loud and clear. He reached for the new band on his wrist. Snap-snap-snap.

  *

  Angela Beanie’s priggish face was a picture the next morning when he met her as she breezed in from the car park.

  She barely spared him a glance, when he cleared his throat. “Good morning, Ms Beanie.”

  “What? Oh, good morning, Donald. Has Mr Myers arrived yet?”

  “Not yet. In fact, it’s my understanding he won’t be in for a few days.”

  She went to press the lift call button, but he placed his hand in the way.

  “What the…?”

  “I’m sorry, but I need you to accompany me to the boardroom. It’s important.” Eric Gallagher had called to say he was on his way in, but was running a little late.

  “Can’t this wait, Donald? I’m going to be extra busy today, especially now you tell me Mr Myers won’t be showing his face.”

  “This is at Mr Myers’ instruction I’m afraid, ma’am.”

  She did a double-take at him, as though he’d just spat in her face.

  It was all Don could do to maintain a professional demeanour, and keep his face from cracking into a broad, beaming grin.

  “What is this about?” she snapped.

  “I have no idea, I’m sorry. But, Mr Myers assures me we’ll find out soon. However, it’s imperative we go to the boardroom and await further instruction.” He loved the way the words rolled off his tongue, and the underlying sinister message behind the seemingly innocuous request.

  They travelled to the boardroom in silence. Angela Beanie gave several curt nods to a few of the staff they passed.

  She slammed her briefcase and keys down on the large oval table, and yanked her chair out with a pissed-off sigh.

  “Can I get you a coffee?” he asked.

  “No. Thanks. Can we just get this over with?”

  “I honestly don’t know what this is. We have to wait a little while. I’m sorry.” Don had to pluck at his wristband several times to stop him from grinning ear-to-ear. He knew he was getting far too much pleasure out of watching her squirm.

  It was a further twenty minutes before Eric arrived, and by then, you could cut the atmosphere with a pair of chopsticks.

  “Finally!” Angela said, as the middle-aged man breezed in.

  Eric’s mop of brown hair appeared windswept, causing Don’s lip to curl in contempt. Men should behave like men, in his opinion.
He had zero tolerance for namby-pamby shit, like designer clothing and hair stylists for men—that stuff should be left to the weaker sex.

  “Will you hurry up, and tell me what this is all about,” Angela snapped.

  Eric seemed to be stretching the whole ‘getting prepared’ performance out, just a tad.

  “All in good time, Ms Beanie.” He clicked open the clasp of his briefcase, and took out a burgundy diary.

  Angela’s face had turned scarlet. Tight-lipped, she huffed air from her nose.

  “So…” Eric hitched his chair forward, and placed his diary on the table. “It has come to my attention Mr Myers has been the victim of several acts of criminal damage.”

  Angela gasped. “Is he alright?”

  “As I said, he’s been the victim of criminal damage.”

  She shook her head irritably. “And what’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Somebody has deliberately damaged his property over the weekend, and it appears to be personal.”

  “Oh my God. So, what does he need us to do?”

  Eric sighed. “Actually, Angela, he doesn’t want you to do anything. He’s standing you down, with full pay, pending a full investigation.”

  “What do you mean?” She jerked to her feet, sending her chair flying backwards. “Does he think I have something to do with it?”

  Eric said nothing. He didn’t need to—his face said it all.

  “Why? Why the hell would he think that? It’s ludicrous.”

  “He wants me to let you know the police have been notified, and will be contacting you this morning sometime. Now, if you don’t mind, Don will help you collect your belongings, and escort you from the premises.”

  “Eric, you’ve known me for years. I could no more go against Max than you could—surely you know that.”

  “It’s not up to me, I’m afraid. Apparently, he has reason to believe it could be you, and, as his solicitor, it doesn’t matter what I think.”

  “Then, the least you can do is tell me what I’m supposed to have done.”

  Eric ran his fingers through his girly hair, and reached for his diary again. “There are several things. He discovered a deep scratch on his new car.”

  Angela snorted. “Sorry, go on.”

  “A rock was thrown through the window of a cottage on his property at the lake, and yesterday, somebody entered his house, and tore up his mattress.”

  “This doesn’t make sense. Why would he think it was me?”

  “Apparently, you warned his girlfriend to stay away from him last week.”

  “His girlfriend! If you mean that little trollop he’s been drooling over—he’s only known her five minutes.”

  “Her name is Miss McLaughlin. Did you warn her off him?”

  She nodded. “Yeah, but…” She closed her eyes, and rubbed her temples. “I may have tried to put her off him. It’s not professional. But, how did he come to accuse me of the other stuff from that?”

  “Listen, Angela. I shouldn’t be telling you any of this, but somebody has been stalking Miss McLaughlin, entering her house, stealing her belongings, etcetera.”

  “Well, it’s not me. What’s been stolen?”

  He glanced at his diary. “A dress and a gym bag.”

  “Hang on, the gym bag was found. She’d put it in the wrong locker.”

  “Yes. But, the things had been replaced for new.”

  Angela looked around at Don for the first time. “Are you listening to this?”

  Don nodded.

  “They’re accusing me of stealing her clothing—what the fuck would I do with them—they’d bury me. Hannah’s hardly a lightweight; she’s twice my size.”

  Suddenly annoyed, Don stepped forward. “Can we get a move on? I’m supposed to be home in bed by now.”

  Angela’s mouth dropped open.

  “Of course.” Eric got to his feet, and began placing his things back in the briefcase. “Needless to say, don’t try to contact Max. He’ll be in touch, once the police have done their thing, and if you know you’re innocent, then you’ve got nothing to worry about, have you?”

  Don walked Angela to her office, where she collected several items off her desk. The receptionist on the top floor tried to get her attention over some crisis or other, but Angela just held her hand up, silencing the woman mid-sentence.

  Bitch, Don thought.

  On the way down to the car park level, Angela swung by her locker. The expression on her face was priceless when she spotted the gym bag, and she slowly pulled it out, glancing from the bag to Don, her mouth agape.

  “Well, what do we have here then?” he said, shaking his head. He took the bag from her, and opened it up.

  “I—I don’t know where it came from. I’ve never seen it before.” Her face had turned a sickly shade of grey. “You do believe me, don’t you, Don?”

  He shrugged one shoulder. “It doesn’t matter what I think, Ms Beanie. I’ll hand this in to the police when they arrive later.”

  “This is a set-up. Someone is trying to lose me my job. Surely you can see that.”

  Several people passing by stopped to have a nosey.

  “Calm down, Ms Beanie. You’re causing a stir,” Don said.

  “I don’t fucking care!” She was shouting now. “Let them see what the management is doing to me.”

  He took the bag in one hand and gripped her by her upper arm, forcibly escorting her to her car. She was clearly unhappy, but knew it was pointless fighting against him—he was far bigger than her. The powerful feeling this evoked in him gave him the stirrings of an erection.

  After taking her security passes from her, he watched Angela drive from the car park. Then, he turned to the crowd of spectators, which had seemed to appear from nowhere. “Carry on, there’s nothing more to see here.”

  He secured Hannah’s gym bag in the security hub, and dialled his boss’s number.

  “Oh, Don. Thank God. How did it go?”

  “She denied everything, of course, Mr Myers. But, when I accompanied her to her locker, she tried to say the gym bag she found in there was nothing to do with her.”

  “Gym bag? What’s in it?”

  “Several items of workout gear, some underwear and a black dress.”

  Max gasped. “So, it was her. I honestly thought we were barking up the wrong tree, but Hannah was right.”

  “It appears that way, sir.”

  “Have the police been in touch yet?”

  “No. But, I’ve left an envelope for them with Carlos. It has all Ms Beanie’s contact details, as well as mine. And I’ve told them I’ll be back here no later than six this evening.”

  “Great, thanks buddy. I owe you one. What did you do with Hannah’s bag?”

  “It’s in the security hub. Ken and Big Brian are the only ones with a security pass, so if the police want it before I return later, they’ll need to get hold of one of them. Unless you want me to put it into your office?”

  “No. That should be fine. You get off, Don. You must be shattered.”

  Chapter 28

  Max ended the call, and then turned to face Hannah, who was kneeling on the sofa, her hands clamped to her mouth. “Don found your missing gym stuff and black dress in Angela’s locker.”

  She shook her head, and stared at nothing in particular. Her mind was in chaos. Although she’d suspected Angela, she thought it would be a lot harder to prove it. “So, now what?” she eventually said.

  He shrugged. “It’s up to the police, I’d say. I’m in shock. I’d have trusted her with my life, you know?”

  She held her hand out to him. “Oh, Max. You must be devastated.”

  He sat down beside her. “I know it sounds stupid, but I honestly thought we’d discover it wasn’t her. I’ve always prided myself on being able to read people. I’ve worked closely with Angela for a few years now, and I didn’t even suspect. Then, you come along, and have her worked out immediately.”

  “Only because of the warning. I thought
she was really nice, up until then.”

  “The police haven’t even been to interview her yet. I thought they’d be there first thing this morning.”

  She glanced at her watch. “It’s only just gone nine. I’m sure they’ll be there soon.”

  When Max went to tell Lenny and Charmaine of the developments, Hannah checked her phone. She still hadn’t heard from Simon. She’d tried to call him the night before, but the phone was going straight to voicemail.

  She didn’t even know when the funeral was, if she had managed to get hold of him. She checked the internet for the hospital number and dialled.

  After being put through to three different people, she established that Diane’s funeral was to be held on Thursday, at 2pm – no flowers.

  ***

  Don let himself into Hannah’s flat, dropping his bag on the floor, and falling backwards onto the bed. He was exhausted. With everything he had going on, he hadn’t managed more than four consecutive hours’ sleep in weeks. It was catching up with him.

  He altered the position of his erection through the fabric of his trousers. It had been throbbing continuously since manhandling Angela from the building, and he knew it wouldn’t go away without assistance.

  He wearily got to his feet, and stripped off his clothing. Gripping the base of his cock roughly, he found Hannah’s skimpy red panties in his bag, and rubbed them across the glistening tip.

  He groaned and climbed into the bed. He tried to envisage Hannah standing before him, stroking her milky white tits seductively. But, it was no use. Thoughts of another beautiful redhead came into his mind, as she always did as soon as he got aroused.

  He suddenly slapped his penis hard, and groaned again, as he wrapped his hands tightly around himself.

  As he closed his eyes, he was transported back almost forty years.

  The woman cuddling him was naked, her full, pink-tipped breasts crushed against his nine-year-old chest.