Night Watcher (11 page)

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

The dark held him in its grasp. He luxuriated in the thick, pulsating blackness smelling of must and decay.

Scratching noises and the scrabble of tiny paws whispered to him as he stood in this, his special place. He stretched his arms until his fingers brushed the raw brickwork of the wall pressing against his back.

He held his crucifixion pose for a moment, imagining he was Christ, before relaxing and sliding down into a sitting position.

It had been an interesting day.

He leaned back against the wall in the corner where the dark was most intense, and dug his teeth into his bottom lip, chewing and grinding. He did not feel his teeth tearing at his own flesh.

He had often wondered whether it would make what he did more enjoyable if he could experience the pain they felt in the final stages of the game. But, when you are busy doing God’s work it would be a sin to experience enjoyment as well.

His hands flexed as he thought of the woman and her powers.

He had watched, from one of his secret places, as she dominated all those poor fools in the boardroom. It amazed him that they could not see through her evil spell, and he was convinced she was getting stronger.

And then there was that gross scene in her office where she tempted the other man with the sins of the flesh. And he, poor fool, succumbed, unable to see she was wielding her power over him?

Fools, all of them, and she was getting stronger and stronger as each minute went by. It would soon be time. But first she had to feel the fear.

Fear of the dark. Fear of the shadows. Fear of the unknown. Fear was such a positive emotion: one to savour while he went about his business.

He stretched first one leg and then the other. His knees cracked with the effort. It was always the same, he thought, as he rotated his ankles to relieve the aches and the stiffness he was plagued with after he had spent some time in the cramped space of the ventilation shafts.

It was dark in there as well. It was like being enclosed in a coffin, the only difference was it did not have closed ends which meant he could move undetected almost anywhere in the store and spy on anyone he chose.

He shivered with pleasure as he thought of the fear that could be generated if only they knew about the shafts.

He liked the shafts – they were almost as comfortable as this deep, dark place he had selected as his resting place. A place where the sun never shone and daylight could not reach – a place where he was alone with his thoughts and his plans.

The only problem was his plan was not going as he had intended.

Last night she had felt his presence. Although he had not meant it to be so soon she had seen his shadow at her window, and the slow growth of fear in her breast had started. She knew he was watching her, silently, invisibly. The shadow in the dark – the shape-shifting shadow – always out of reach, but near enough to cause fear. That fear should have taken seed last night, and by today it should have been growing.

It had started out well, but now, after listening to the other one, she was convinced her husband was behind it. The insult of it. Spittle gathered at the corner of his mouth. His fury rose clutching him in its hot grasp until he shook and clenched his teeth.

He was greater than her husband or any of her minions. And he would prove it. Oh yes, he would prove it.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

It had been a bugger of a day. Nicole’s eyes stung with tiredness as she sifted through the papers on her desktop and gathered together what she needed. She packed them in her leather briefcase and clicked it shut. After a final look round, she pulled the door of her office closed and turned the key in the lock, before heading down the corridor to the glass dividing doors. Barging through them she almost collided with a workman in a dirty tan boiler suit.

She glared at him. ‘What are you doing here? This is the executive floor.’

The man stood motionless, looking at her with impassive light blue eyes. ‘Sorry, miss, but the security guard said I had to check this floor.’

There was something about those eyes that made her uneasy. It was as if he was talking to her, but not really seeing her. Her insides shrivelled and she suddenly wished that someone else would appear. Anyone. Even Harry would have been welcome.

‘Where is the security guard?’ she snapped, pulling herself together. It would not do to let this unsavoury looking workman know he had unsettled her.

‘Downstairs, miss, in the guardroom.’ His eyes did not waver.

‘So why are you doing his job up here?’

‘It’s the traps, miss. I have to check the traps.’

‘Traps? What traps?’

‘The ones I had to put in the ventilation shafts. For the vermin, you see.’

Nicole shuddered. ‘Vermin? What vermin?’ She was aware she was repeating herself and her annoyance increased.

No emotion showed on the man’s face, and his voice was calm and measured. ‘It was because of the noises, see. Scrabbling noises the typists said. So the traps were put in, and now I need to check them. See if anything’s been caught.’ He paused as if thinking. ‘Probably nothing there. Probably just the typists’ imagination, but I still have to check.’

‘Well, couldn’t you do it later? After everyone’s gone home.’ Nicole gritted her teeth. The man was so slow and deliberate she was sure he did not have all his senses.

‘Sorry miss, but I thought everyone was gone.’ His eyes appeared opaque giving the impression there was no intelligence or understanding behind them.

Nicole glared at her watch. ‘Damn, is it that time already?’ Glancing at him dismissively, she started to walk to the lift. ‘Well I suppose you’d better get on with it then, but make sure you don’t make a mess.’

‘Yes miss,’ he said.

Although Nicole was reluctant to admit it, even to herself, the workman had startled her. She had this odd prickle at the back of her neck, the one she had experienced frequently over the past few weeks. It was the strangest sensation which made her feel as if someone was watching her. It made her wonder if his eyes were following her as she walked away from him. Thankfully the lift doors were open when she reached them but, although she tried to resist it, she could not help glancing back along the corridor as she entered. She just had time to register that no one was there before the doors swished shut.

A laugh, half hysterical, half giggle, escaped from her lips. Scott was maybe right when he told her she was becoming paranoid, she really must pull herself together.

The basement food hall was gloomy and deserted when she got out of the lift. Only the security lighting was on, and it did little to illuminate the vastness of the area other than create pockets of shadows, which seemed strangely menacing. The back of Nicole’s neck was prickling again and she hurried past the aisles of food that led into the darkness of the interior. Reaching the door that led to the stairs she slipped through it and clattered upwards to the middle landing. The security guard would be in the guardroom in the back corridor so once she left the stairs she would be safe.

‘Harry?’ she shouted as the stair door clanged shut behind her. ‘Where are you?’ The light in the corridor fizzed and spluttered making the shadows dance.

Her heels clacked on the stone floor and she was halfway to the guardroom before Harry’s tousled head peered round the corner. ‘You’ve been sleeping,’ she accused. ‘Didn’t you hear me shout? I need you to let me out.’

‘Yes miss,’ he said, although she knew as well as he did that she could have let herself out.

‘And while you’re at it you can walk with me up the alleyway.’ Nicole hated saying it, but she could not shake this irrational fear she had that she was being watched. ‘I just want to make sure you’ve got rid of that tramp,’ she added as if this would explain her request.

‘The tramp’s long gone.’ Harry opened the heavy iron door and stood back to allow her to leave the building. Despite the sturdiness of the door it made no noise as it swung shut, apart from a soft click as the lock engaged.

A street light shone down the alley, not quite reaching the corners and alcoves. Nicole’s anxiety increased and, although Harry was at her side, she kept looking into the shadows expecting someone or something to materialize and take them both by surprise. She could have been in an alien world if it had not been for the muffled noises of pedestrians going about their business and the steady hum of the traffic drifting towards them down the deserted alley. Nicole did not feel safe, and for a moment she wondered if she had made a mistake asking Harry to walk with her. After all, what did she know about him, apart from the fact she did not like him.

Her footsteps quickened until they reached the main street. It was like entering a different world. A vibrant world. A world with people and cars and buses, and everything else that signified she was in a city centre. A world where she could be safe again. The tension seeped out of her body leaving her feeling slightly faint, and there was an ache where her muscles had slackened. ‘I won’t need you anymore,’ she said in the sharp tone of voice she reserved for people like Harry and, without looking back at him, she joined the stream of people on the pavement.

***

The shadows at the end of the wine row shifted and moved as Julie straightened from her crouching position. It had been at least three minutes since Nicole had vanished through the service door to the stairwell leading to the rear of the store. Nicole would not be returning now, so Julie felt safe enough to leave her hiding place.

She had made it a habit never to leave the store before Nicole, although she was not sure what good it did apart from giving her the satisfaction of observing the other woman’s unease as she passed through the gloom of the empty building. Her mouth twisted into a smile as she remembered Nicole’s frequent glances over her shoulder. Maybe Nicole was not wrong about her feeling of being watched, because Julie constantly watched her, making sure she always knew what the other woman was doing. She did not want to miss the chance of taking her revenge on Nicole if the opportunity arose.

Julie bent down, and lifting her coat from where it lay on the floor she slipped it onto her shoulders. If she hurried she would be able to follow Nicole to the car park and observe her reaction when she saw her beloved car. Julie shivered with anticipation as she thought of the pleasure it had given her when she had gouged it with the small penknife she kept on her keyring. It had been worth missing lunch to perform that tiny act of revenge. She could still hear the screeching noise the knife made as it bit into the shining blue paintwork of Nicole’s favourite possession. It echoed in her head, setting her nerves on edge, making her close her eyes until a vision of the knife biting into Nicole’s flesh forced its way into her consciousness. Her eyes snapped open at the force of her vision. She shivered. Hate had taken her to depths of emotion that frightened her with their intensity. Even now she was never entirely sure if she could carry out everything she wanted to do. Nor was she sure she wanted to sink to the level of Nicole’s depravity.

Her fingers caressed the penknife in the depths of her pocket. It was like caressing Dave. ‘My dad gave it to me,’ his voice echoed in her head. ‘It’s all I have left of him.’ And now, it was all she had left of Dave.

The corridor echoed with her footsteps as she ran to the back door, almost colliding with it as it opened.

‘Sorry, Julie.’ Harry grasped her arm as she staggered backwards. ‘I didn’t know you were behind the door.’

Julie leaned on his arm, quickly regaining her balance. ‘That’s okay Harry, I should have taken more care, but I didn’t expect anyone to be coming in at this time of night.’

A fleeting smile crossed Harry’s sad features. ‘I was just seeing Mrs Ralston up the alley, seemed a bit nervous like, she did.’ He held the door open for her. ‘Would you like me to walk you up to the main road, as well?’

‘No, I’ll be fine. Who’d bother me there when a good shout would bring people running to see what was happening?’

‘You sure, Julie? It’s no trouble like?’

‘I’ll be fine, Harry.’ Julie turned and gave him a wave as she walked towards the street.

Harry watched her for a moment and then entered the building. As soon as the door closed behind him Julie started to run. She couldn’t be very far behind Nicole now.

***

A sense of unease crept over Nicole and for a moment she was hesitant to enter the gloomy area of the car park. The car bays, dark caves under the overhanging roadway, made a perfect hiding place for muggers and car thieves. Suddenly Nicole remembered she had forgotten to send someone to put up the hood of her car. The spurt of fear that her precious car might no longer be there overcame her nervousness and she ran towards her parking space.

An exiting car roared past her in a cloud of exhaust fumes and a cheeky toot of the horn. She jumped sharply to the side of the path with a muttered, ‘Cheeky bugger.’

A disturbing thought crept into her mind. He must have seen her in his headlights, but he had kept coming straight at her. She shook the thought away. No one would be foolish enough to mow a pedestrian down in an empty car park. She hurried to her sports car, which the menacing car’s headlights had illuminated as it drove past.

At least the car was still here, she thought, although her feeling of unease had not decreased. She imagined eyes watching her and glanced nervously over her shoulder, but all she could see were shadows. The sooner she got out of here the better, she thought, rummaging for the car key in her handbag.

Her key was in the door lock before she spotted the dark shape on the driver’s seat, but she was used to rubbish being dumped in her car when she forgot to close the hood, so she leaned over ready to scoop it out onto the ground. Her hand closed over the shape before she realized what it was. A shudder rippled through her body, freezing her, before an involuntary scream, shrill and despairing, erupted from her throat.