by Stuart James
‘Good luck with that one, pal.’ She went to the freezer and helped herself to a tub of ice cream, poured herself a glass of Coke and sat out on the bench in the garden. She lit a cigarette and inhaled. Jessica had tried her best to give the habit up. Patches. Chewing gum. A vape stick. Nothing felt like the real thing. She lived close to town but preferred it out here. The peace and quiet. Tranquility. Jessica had more than one job. She babysat most weekends. Easy money. Run of the house. Cash. She also waitressed in a cafe in town four mornings a week and moonlighted three evenings a week in the Flag. Ramsbury’s liveliest pub. She was twenty now, and it didn’t bother her where her life was going. She had drive, but no passion for the big time. As she inhaled the smoke right to the back of her lungs, she heard a deathly scream. A woman. Close by. Too close. The fag dropped out of her mouth. It could have been kids. No. Too late. Jessica knew how they sounded. This was different. It wasn’t the sound of a female finding out of her partner’s infidelity. A love making session. Someone falling and grazing themselves. This was a cry for help. Blood-curdling. Pure pain. She ran inside and locked the door. She paced up and down the kitchen. The house was quiet, only the sound of the telly in the living room on low. Sean was sound asleep. She checked to make sure he was OK. He didn’t even stir. She made her way back down, the old stairs creaking as she stepped on them. The hollow clunk of the wood with each movement she made.
Once at the bottom, she made her way into the living room. The light was off. The only glow coming from the screen showing a chat show. She grabbed the remote and switched it off. The standby button illuminating. A shiver went through her body as she clung her arms around herself. Suddenly, the porch light came on.
She made her way slowly to the window, hoping to see a cat or a fox making their way across the drive.
Cupping her hands, she peered out, the cold glass against her fists, she couldn’t see anything but the big security gates which were closed in the short distance.
She waited at the window. Nothing stirring outside. All still.
The outside light went off making her jump.
As she moved her head back, Jessica saw a shadow. A silhouette to the left of the gate on the drive. It looked like someone in a coat staring back at her. Maybe the darkness was playing tricks.
As the light came back on, she saw the figure to the left side of the window, around fifteen feet away, wearing some sort of mask. She could see it now.
She moved backwards one step at a time as slowly as she could manage to the middle of the room. Froze. She imagined the figure running and jumping through the glass, bashing her head in before the Morley’s came home.
She quickly turned and ran to the kitchen fearing the intruder would be inside already.
Jessica needed to get out. Sean was the only thing stopping her. She couldn’t leave him. She wouldn’t. As she huddled onto the floor, there were footsteps outside. The gravel crunched, the sound of heavy boots moving around the side of the house. Jessica held her breath. Cupped her hands over her mouth to silence her whimpering. She felt her body shaking. She’d never felt so scared. She wondered if her screams would be heard next. After another minute or so, she pulled herself slowly up, holding onto the kitchen door handle for support. Looking out of the large framed glass to the back field, she raced out of the kitchen and through the downstairs hall.
She heard the handle of the back door clunking up and down letting her know someone was trying to enter the house. Suddenly there was a thump on the glass followed by a much louder one like someone throwing themselves against it. She was sure it hadn’t broken. No sound of glass being smashed. She’d hear the shards spilling and scattering across the tiled floor.
As she made her way up the stairs, a light blinded her coming from the drive.
∞∞∞∞ Jake and Kate returned and found Jessica sat on the bottom step, visibly shaken.
She could smell the drink from where she was sitting. ‘How did it go?’ Kate asked. ‘Fine. Can you order me a taxi please?’
‘Did Sean get to bed all right?’
‘Yes, he was no problem. Look, I need to go. Can you please order the taxi?’ Jake pulled out
his phone, and ten minutes later, Jessica dashed out to the waiting taxi so fast, she forgot her glasses and handbag.
‘What was that all about?’ Asked Jake.
‘God knows.’ They checked on Sean and returned to the living room. Jake started up the fire again. He grabbed some wine from the kitchen and settled down. The flames danced, reflecting shadows off the wall. Every so often, a crack penetrated as the heat slowly rose.
‘Did you enjoy yourself?’ Jake asked.
‘Yeah. It was nice.’
‘But?’
‘I wanted it to be special, you know. Just the two of us.’
‘I know, baby.’
‘We never seem to get any us time.’
Jake filled both glasses. The wine glugged as it dropped.
‘Let’s watch some more of the recording.’
‘Oh, Jake. Do we have to?’
‘Come on. You must admit it’s intriguing. The family who were living in our house before? It’s like big brother.’ He jumped up, fetched the DVD, grabbed the remote, and pressed play.
The recording started in the same place with Julie asking her husband to turn the tape off. Him asking the kids to dance. Jake thought they seemed happy. An ordinary, loving family. The tape cut to a nativity play. Children dressed as biblical characters. A convincing donkey costume and Christmas carols. The three wise men. Proud parents clapping. Another gap. Cut to the garden. The snow thick on the ground. The family were out together. A snowman towered behind the kids who were wrapped in scarfs and woollen hats. Rosy cheeks. A snowball fight began. It looked like the father and daughter on one side of the garden against the other two.
White noise again. There was a gap of around two minutes. Jake was sure the tape had finished and went to turn it off. Suddenly the picture returned. The atmosphere seemed to change. The picture was grainy again, flicking in and out. It cleared again to show a woman running through the house. Their house.
Where Jake and Kate lived. Jake thought she looked scared. The camera operator was chasing her. She reached a room upstairs. The door locked. No sign of the children. No sign of Mark commentating. When the camera reached the door, whoever was filming tried to push it open. Running backwards and forwards against it.
Jake looked at Kate. She was sitting forward on the sofa. Horror on her face. Jake didn’t know what to make of it. The woman shouted from the room, ‘Please. I’ll do anything. Leave me alone. I beg you!’ She was crying at the same time. Fear in her voice. The camera followed the movement against the door. Jake recognised it. Sean’s bedroom at the end of the hall. Again, the woman shouted, ‘I beg you. Please. Stop this. Stop, stop, stop!’ The door burst open. The camera falling to the ground. A scream, unlike anything Jake and Kate had ever heard. It carried on until the white noise appeared a few seconds later.
Chapter Thirteen It was the middle of the night. The house deathly still. They had a visitor. An unwelcome guest. Jake heard a racket at the bottom of the stairs. He switched the side light on, dimly lighting the room. He listened. First, the sound of a heavy boot. Then a drag. It was coming from the ground floor. Another boot, possibly on the bottom step, followed again by the drag.
‘Shit.’ He lay, listening. Too frightened to move. As he turned towards the bedroom door, sweat dripping from his brow, it opened. Slowly. The figure moving in. The size of the guy. Jake noted he had three empty sacks. A fourth one, bulging. Punchy Man. ‘You really wanna know what’s in it?’
He was standing over Jake, a menacing look on his face. ‘Here. I’ll show you, arsehole.’ The sack split open, and the remains of a dog spewed out over Jake and his wife, covering them with intestines. Punchy Man was laughing as he produced the empty ones. ‘Who’s first?’
Jake woke with a scream. The room was empty only for himself and K
ate. He was dripping with sweat. Having heart palpitations. He turned to his wife, who was still awake. Just the two of them.
‘You OK, babe?’
He rubbed his face. Hard. ‘Just a nightmare, hun. Can’t you sleep?’
‘I can’t shake the DVD out of my head. The Prescotts. What are we going to do, Jake?’ ‘First thing tomorrow, I’ll call the police station. See what they make of it.’ Kate placed her arm around him. Jake continued, ‘Do you remember when we arrived here
last week? The conversation with Anton.’
‘Which part?’
‘He said the reason we could move in so quickly. The family who lived here before us.’ ‘Vaguely.’
‘Anton said they were missing.’
∞∞∞∞ The following morning, Jake woke early and was in the kitchen with the laptop open. He searched Ramsbury. Rectory Lane. There was little information. He found pictures, photos, and maps going back to the early twentieth century. A memoir, written by a resident who had since moved on, reporting of how life in the town used to be and recalling her school days. Family and friends. He searched for Mark Prescott. The Prescotts. Missing family in Ramsbury. He even considered searching Punchy Man. When the results drew a blank, he slammed the lid of the computer and walked out to the garden. It was still early, but he had to make the call. Now.
∞∞∞∞ The monitor kicked in. A split screen with eight boxes. It showed the woman fast asleep in the bedroom. Her son, at the end of the hall, starting to surface. They zoomed in. The father, downstairs in the garden. It was obvious he was on the phone.
∞∞∞∞ Jake remembered he had a direct number for Reynolds. The officer he spoke with the other morning. He dialled the number, and she answered on the second ring. ‘DI Reynolds.’ ‘Hi, yes. It’s Jake Morley.
She remembered him. ‘Hi, Jake. How can I help?’
He explained as briefly as possible what they’d found last night. The conversation with Anton. How quickly they were able to move in.
‘Look, I can come over now if you like? I’m at the station. Are you going to be in?’
‘We’re not going anywhere.’
‘Fine. I’ll see you in about twenty minutes.’ She hung up, and Jake went to wake Kate.
∞∞∞∞ The gate buzzer sounded, making Kate jump. The family were waiting in the kitchen. Jake checked the monitor and pressed the gate release, watching as they drove up to the house. He was pleased to see them and no flashing lights. Jake didn’t want to frighten his son. ‘Morning. Come in.’
Reynolds introduced herself and DI Marsden. ‘It’s good to meet you both.’ They followed him into the kitchen. Kate stood and greeted them both.
‘Kate Morley. Nice to meet you.’
‘And who’s this little man?’ Asked Reynolds.
‘I’m Sean.’
‘Good to meet you, Sean.’ Kate took him into the living room and put on a film.
‘I’m hungry, Mummy.’ He was climbing onto the sofa. No doubt he’d be on the floor in seconds.
‘Sean. We have a really important meeting. You know who those people are, don’t you?’
‘Policeman.’
‘That’s right. I’ll get you some chocolate just this once if you stay in here and be a good boy.’
When she returned to the kitchen, Jake was explaining about the DVD and Marsden was taking notes.
‘Where is the DVD now?’ Asked Reynolds
‘We have it in the living room.’
‘I’m going to need to take a look.’
‘Sorry, Sean. Change of plan.’ Kate lifted Sean up and brought him into the garden. Jake went to the living room, and the officers followed. Jake turned on the DVD player and pressed play. Once it had finished, Reynolds composed herself. ‘Can you play it again?’
Reynolds asked for the remote and froze it where she needed to. ‘I don’t know what to make of this, to be honest,’ she announced.
‘When did you find this?’ Marsden asked.
Jake relayed, in detail, how he had found the DVD.
‘We’re going to need to take this with us if you’re OK with that? We need to get it checked for fingerprints, DNA, and we’ll also need yours if you’ve handled it, just for elimination purposes.’
‘Be my guest.’
‘Can you show us the loft? I want to see where you found the DVD.’
Jake led them upstairs. The ladder was still down and the light on. Marsden made his way to the back. He found the box that Jake had stored. Shining the torch, he scanned it around the back, moving the container at the same time. When he was satisfied, he made his way back down. ‘There’s nothing else up there.’ Reynolds turned to Jake. ‘Listen. We’re going to check this out. It may be some sort of prank. I hope it is but, in the meantime, I need you and your family to stay safe.’
‘How do you propose we do that?’
‘Stay vigilant. If you see anything suspicious, anything at all, call us. Straight away.’
‘You can be sure of that.’
‘You have my direct number. Keep the alarm stabilised and don’t answer the door. To anyone. Unless of course, you know them.’ The officers headed off. They had the DVD bagged and in hand. Jake watched them leave the drive. When the gates had shut, he went back inside to fill Kate in on their strict orders.
∞∞∞∞ The top left box zoomed in on the monitor. It was such a clear picture this morning. The man was at the door. Two officers were getting into their car. The front door shutting. The woman sat on the bench in the garden. Joy on her face as she watched the boy running around. He never seemed to sit still. She gets up. The man entering the kitchen. They hug. Him, speaking. She turns, alarmed. Fear now as she lifts the boy up and takes him inside. The door shuts. The woman locks the door. They think they’re safe.
Chapter Fourteen Reynolds and Marsden were heading back to the station. ‘What do you make of it?’ She asked. Marsden was staring. Thinking about what he’d just seen.
‘You want me to be truthful?’
‘You always are, partner.’
‘It’s pretty weird shit if I’m honest.’
‘What do we do?’
Marsden was thinking.
‘First, I’d suggest we look closer into the disappearance of this family. Someone must know
something. A friend, or family member. I’d say we go back to the office, pull up the missing person’s file and take it from there.’
The file was extensive and harrowing to look at. Every missing person within a seventy-mile
radius was listed there. Pictures with headlines. Have you seen this man? He’s five feet five, of large
build and hasn’t been seen for more than three weeks. He’s on medication. His family are extremely
concerned and just want him home.
Carol Kennedy. Forty-three. Mother of two. Missing for eight months. Went out to pick up a
takeaway and hasn’t been seen since. She has long blonde hair and speaks with a Scottish accent.
Her family are distraught. Please contact us with any information. The number underneath.
Reynolds was stunned by the number of local cases. ‘All these people. No one knows where they
are.’
She searched Mark Prescott. His picture came up immediately. Possibly his passport photo.
The whole family were missing. The story rang a bell. There was so much to keep on top of. Burglaries. Crime. Attacks. Drink drivers. Reynolds was sure she had heard about this one. She read the
file out loud. ‘The Prescott family have been missing from Ramsbury since 6th of January. That’s
nearly nine months.’
Marsden was leaning over her shoulder taking a closer look. There was a picture of Mark
Prescott’s wife just underneath.
‘What the hell is happening?’ She asked as she continued reading.
‘Despite numerous attempts to contact the family, they remain unaccounted for. We would
urge anyone w
ith information to come forward as a matter of urgency.’
There weren’t any pictures of the children. Reynolds turned to Marsden, ‘It’s them.’
∞∞∞∞ Jake sat Kate down and explained everything. He left nothing out. When he’d finished, she burst into tears. Sean was in the living room playing. They made sure the doors were open to keep a check on him. ‘What are we going to do?’ She sobbed.
‘Look, I think we just sit tight. Wait to hear back from the police.’
‘And in the meantime?’
‘Kate. We just need to be vigilant. We have a top of the range security system in place. We
don’t answer the buzzer unless it’s someone we know, and we don’t leave the house unless it’s entirely necessary.’
‘Sean starts school on Monday. Shit, Jake. I can’t cope with this.’
‘Look, we’ve just got to be careful. It will blow over. You’ll see.’
She tried to look positive. Jake had to lead. Take charge. Be the strong one for his family. He knew he had to keep it together. She asked him about the guy up the lane again. If the truth be told, this is what scared her the most. Kate had been told stories as a kid. Her father, tucking her in at night, loved to end the day with a story. There was one person he mentioned lots as she was growing up. The Boogeyman. She imagined the house up the Lane, now. The sack in the pit. She hoped he hadn’t come back to haunt her.
∞∞∞∞ Reynolds found a family member. Mark’s brother, Jason Prescott. She was looking further into the case of the Prescotts'. At first, there was little information. No one had come forward. No sightings. Mark had worked in an office in the town of Sotwell, roughly twenty-five miles from Ramsbury. He was a bookkeeper for a call centre and had been there a while according to the records. His wife, Julie, retired early from teaching at a nearby school to spend more time with their children. Marsden made a note of both addresses. He also jotted down the brother’s number, who lived in London. Reynolds looked up the number for the school and made an appointment to speak with the head teacher, Mrs Cracknell. She sounded most obliging on the phone, inviting them in any time they needed and wanted to do all she could to help. She explained to Reynolds it would be better for them to come to the school as she could dedicate time to them. They tried the number for the brother and left him a voicemail. Reynolds didn’t want to tell him what it was about over the phone. It was too delicate.