6.0 - The Face Behind The Mask

by Helen Phifer

  She looked around to see which direction he’d gone and felt a cold shiver as what little light there was disappeared. He was standing directly in front of her and she’d never seen anything more terrifying that was human. She let out a scream and wondered if this was it. He looked confused as if he thought he’d heard a sound, but couldn’t be sure. Lifting her hand to her mouth she bit down on her knuckles, realising that he couldn’t see her. He could sense her and knew someone was there, but he couldn’t figure out who or where they were.

  She stayed perfectly still in case any movement gave her away. He began to turn ever so slowly. What if he can see you, Annie, then what? He stopped dead in his tracks, staring directly at her. Tilting his head to the side he tried to decide if he was hallucinating and then he whispered, ‘I know you’re there. I can’t find you right now. I don’t know how, but I will. I’m looking for you so you better start to run and pray that I don’t catch up with you. Get out of my head now.’

  Terror filling her veins, she watched as he lifted the huge butcher’s knife and slashed at the air right in front of her. Her reflexes making her jump back, she started. She almost jumped straight off the sofa, nearly letting go of Alfie, who began to cry at his rude awakening. Annie could feel her hands shaking and her heart was racing so much. The coffee and cake from earlier threatened to come back up.

  She laid Alfie on the chair and tucked a cushion behind him. Disorientated, she stood up and looked around the room. It was still daylight. She hadn’t been asleep for very long. Alfie was crying louder by the second and she rushed across to the kitchen to grab a sharp knife from the butcher’s block. She couldn’t shake the feeling that the scary clown man was nearby. She ran to each window and door, checking they were secure, and then she checked every room to make sure there was no one hiding inside her house.

  Alfie was almost at screaming point now; satisfied the house was empty she ran back downstairs and picked up her son. She did her best to hold him close while feeding him, despite her whole body trembling. She felt as if her insides were churning the contents of her stomach into butter. What was going on? It was freaking her out; she needed to tell Will when he got home, just in case.

  Just in case what? Just in case these dreams are some kind of fractured reality and it’s all real. The clown man might come looking for you and then what are you going to do? She didn’t know what she would do. She did, however, know that Will was going to be so angry with her for getting involved with something, even though it wasn’t her fault.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Will decided to call it a day. He’d had a showdown with the bosses over what little evidence they had and he needed to go home and calm down. Spend some time with his family. Sometimes this was how it worked. You couldn’t always solve a murder within the first forty-eight hours, and they needed to stop pinning their hopes on him and face reality.

  Adele had left along with Brad and Shona an hour ago. All of them had been going to The Black Dog for a drink and some food before heading home. As tempted as he was to go with them he couldn’t. The thought of drinking or smelling anything alcoholic made him want to puke. He was definitely off the drink for a couple of months.

  He left the station, hoping that somehow something would come up and they would find the killer before whoever it was decided that they’d enjoyed it much more than they’d imagined they would and struck up the courage to do it all over again. As the huge Tesco superstore came into sight, he indicated to pull into the car park.

  After he’d bought the biggest bunch of flowers they had for Annie and a toy car for Alfie, he grabbed a box of Indian takeaway and several bags of chocolate. He didn’t know if Annie would have made tea yet, but if she hadn’t, he would sort it out. He paid and went back to the car, the whole time racking his brains as to how much he should tell his wife when he got home. No doubt she would want to know how it was going.

  The drive home through the lanes soothed his troubled mind. The views and the surrounding countryside along the road to Hawkshead never failed to make him feel better. He wondered what it would be like to not have to go to work, not have the pressure of being responsible for finding the sickest individuals this part of the country had to offer, and he realised that he’d be lost without it. As much as it sometimes got to him he loved his job. He couldn’t imagine doing anything else.

  He finally reached the small lane that led down to their cottage and smiled. He couldn’t wait to see them. Parking behind Annie’s car he watched as the front door opened and felt his breath catch in the back of his throat. He could never have imagined how motherhood would make the most important woman he’d ever known even more beautiful than she already was. Her hair was in a messy bun, her tanned, freckled face bore no traces of make-up, and in her arms was the cutest kid he’d ever seen. He jumped out, strode across and pulled her close, kissing her on the lips and trying his best not to crush Alfie.

  ‘Sorry, kid, your mum looks good enough to eat.’

  Annie laughed, but he noticed it wasn’t her normal hearty chuckle. She kissed him then pulled away, smiling.

  ‘I’m so glad you’re home now. It’s been such a long day. I was terrified you were going to roll up much later.’

  Will took Alfie from her, swinging him around a couple of times then planting a huge kiss on his forehead.

  ‘Why would you be terrified? Is everything okay?’

  ‘It’s fine. I just get fed up and lonely.’

  He nodded, passing Alfie back to her.

  ‘I’ll just grab the bits out of the car. Have you made tea yet?’

  She shook her head.

  ‘I wasn’t hungry so I didn’t bother. I would have if I’d known you were on your way home, though.’

  Will turned to look at her. Something was wrong. She seemed nervous, which wasn’t really Annie’s style, and he wondered if she had some bad news for him.

  ‘Is my dad okay?’

  She nodded.

  He grabbed the flowers, holding them towards her.

  ‘They’re beautiful, thank you.’

  __________________________

  She turned and went inside, leaving him to get the shopping. She put the flowers in the sink then took Alfie upstairs to their bedroom where she put him in his cot with his snuggle blanket. Leaning down to kiss him she whispered, Wish me luck. His eyes began to close and she watched him for a few minutes until he was asleep.

  She turned the night light on even though it was only dusky outside. Pulling her bedroom door to, she left the landing light on. She wasn’t sure why, but she didn’t want him being on his own in the dark. Then she went back downstairs where Will had unpacked the box of Indian and was busy putting it onto trays to put in the oven. She sat on one of the bar stools and watched him. When he’d finished he looked at her.

  ‘I’m going to get a quick shower. I won’t be long.’

  Annie nodded.

  __________________________

  He wanted to ask her what was wrong, but he needed to get out of this suit. He was hot and sticky. He’d have a cool shower and put on his shorts and a T-shirt, then he’d make her tell him what was bothering her. When he came back downstairs with towel-dried hair and smelling much fresher she was still sitting where he’d left her. The house was so quiet. Normally the television was on or the radio, but tonight there was nothing. He climbed onto the stool opposite her.

  ‘What sort of day have you had? Has Alfie been hard work?’

  She shook her head. ‘No, he didn’t come home until one. I met Jake for a coffee this morning.’

  Will wondered if her strange mood was because of Jake.

  ‘Has Jake said something that’s upset you? Come to think of it, have I? Are you still mad with me about the funeral?’

  Annie looked at him and shook her head. ‘Of course I’m not mad with you, and no, for once Jake was on his best behaviour.’

  ‘Well then I’m stumped, Annie. You’re going to have to tell me what’s wrong
because something is.’

  She sighed: a heavy, weary sigh that made Will feel bad. He waited for her to speak. She looked at him then looked away as if she was trying to find someone to tell her it was okay. She finally turned back to him.

  ‘That house the other day on the news – the white one with the bright blue door. I dreamt about it before I even knew about it. I dreamt I was inside watching through someone else’s eyes. As soon as I saw it on the news I knew something terrible had happened there.’

  ‘What do you mean, you were watching through someone else’s eyes?

  ‘I don’t know; it’s hard to explain. I felt as if I was there. It was so weird.’

  ‘Well, you’re psychic; maybe you saw into Pauline Cook’s future and didn’t realise. It doesn’t mean anything. I wouldn’t worry about it.’

  ‘I saw the killer run out of the house. He was dressed like a clown. The scariest damn clown I’ve ever seen.’

  Will studied her face to see if she was joking and couldn’t tell. He laughed.

  ‘I’m not joking. This is serious, Will. I saw a clown wearing a black and white costume with a scary mask run down the stairs and out of the front door.’

  ‘Stop clowning around Annie. Oh God, that’s a good one. Ha-ha, clowning around.’

  She stood up, her hands balled into tight white fists. She was so angry with him for not taking her seriously.

  ‘Will, I’m scared. Today when I was sitting on the sofa with Alfie I drifted off and it happened again. I was there and saw him come out of a house on Abbey Road wearing that same costume. I followed him into the park. Only he knew I was there. He couldn’t actually see me, but he knew I was watching him and he told me he was coming to get me.’

  ‘For Christ’s sake, Annie, it’s just a dream. A bad dream. There is no clown man coming to get you. Have you been reading scary stories again? This is a serious murder case and it’s not right taking the piss out of Pauline Cook with this bullshit.’

  For a fleeting moment Annie looked as if she wanted to pick up the vase of flowers next to her and launch them at his head she was so angry. ‘What’s wrong with you? Why don’t you believe me?’

  He looked at her face and realised she wasn’t joking. He felt the seriousness of the situation come crashing down on his shoulders. His laughter turned into anger. Why, for God’s sake, was this happening to them? Hadn’t they been through enough? He began to pace up and down, anger and frustration making it hard for him to concentrate.

  ‘This has to stop, Annie; it can’t go on. What is wrong with you? How many times have I almost lost you because of this stupid shit? I can’t stand it any more and now we have Alfie to think about. Why would you even consider getting involved and letting a killer know that you’re watching him? I mean, Christ, is that even possible? Do you know how crazy this sounds? And what about Alfie? It’s not fair dragging him into this kind of life. You have to stop it. Stop getting involved in things that have nothing to do with you.’

  This time Annie did reach for the glass vase and threw it in Will’s direction, her face a mask of fury.

  ‘You stupid prick, do you think I want this? That I asked for this? That I want a stupid, fucked-up life? That I want to be scared shitless ninety per cent of the time? Get out of my sight, Will; you have no idea, do you?’

  Unable to think straight and in shock that she’d actually thrown a vase at him he picked up his car keys from the table and stormed out of the back door, slamming it hard behind him. He was furious. He’d never felt so angry with her and he needed to go somewhere to cool off. He got into the car and reversed out of the drive at speed, not caring if a tractor was coming the other way he was so mad.

  __________________________

  Annie watched him speed off, only realising it was dark outside when his headlights illuminated the country road that led to their cottage. Terror filled her insides along with regret. What had she done? Why had she got so angry with him? It wasn’t like her; she wasn’t a violent person. She looked at the mess of broken glass, water and flowers and began to cry.

  She ran outside to see if he’d stopped further up the lane. She couldn’t see anything except for the blanket of approaching darkness and she felt a cold tendril of fear snake up her spine. Alfie – she’d left him alone. He’d wonder what all the noise was. She ran to the front door, terrified it had somehow locked and she would be outside, unable to get in with no key or phone. The fear was crushing her chest, making it harder to breathe. She reached the front door and fell through it, she slammed into it that hard.

  The house was silent; unbelievably their arguing hadn’t woken the baby up. After locking the front door she ran upstairs to check on him. He was asleep in his cot. Annie felt her legs tremble. What was wrong with her? She wasn’t acting like a sane person. Was she finally losing her mind? She’d wondered each time she’d ended up in hospital with yet another brain injury or life-threatening wound whether it would be the one to send her over the edge.

  She couldn’t shake the image of the clown who had told her he was coming to find her from inside her head. Even though she tried to tell herself it was just a dream, it was far too real to take a chance and now she was on her own. Will had left her on her own when she needed him. She’d never seen him so angry either. They never argued like this. Of course they weren’t perfect and had their ups and downs, but not to this extent.

  What was she going to do? She felt safe when he was here and now she was on her own. She went down to the kitchen and took the two biggest knives out of the butcher’s block. Then she went into the utility room and opened Will’s toolbox, taking out a roll of silver duct tape. She taped one knife underneath the kitchen island; the other she kept with her. The whole time her hands were shaking and her legs trembling.

  Taking the heavy-duty rolling pin out of the drawer, she placed it behind the silver dish on the sideboard by the front door where she could get it should she need to. She went back inside the utility room and came out with a handful of large screwdrivers, which she placed strategically around the house, pushing one into her dressing gown pocket. She felt better knowing she had weapons to use to defend herself with should she need them.

  Next she carried the monitors and CCTV base system out of the utility room and put them on the breakfast bar so she could watch the outside of the cottage and see if anyone tried to creep up on her. Then she hid the rest of the knives so they couldn’t be used as weapons against her; although she had a feeling that the clown liked to use his own as an image of the huge, sharp knife he’d waved in front of her filled her mind.

  She was either being paranoid and cracking up or she was being cautious. Whatever it was, it made her feel a touch better. There was no way she would take this without a fight; Will’s voice echoed in her head: for Christ’s sake, Annie, it’s just a dream. A bad dream. She whispered aloud, I hope you’re right, Will, I really do. Please come home. I’m sorry. She picked up her phone and tried calling him, but it went to voicemail.

  After making sure she had a clear view of the perimeter of the house and that everything was locked up tight, she sat down and realised she could smell burning food. Jumping up she ran to turn the cooker off. As she opened the door the smell of burnt tikka masala and blackened naan bread filled her nostrils. She slammed the door shut again; the smell reminded her of the block of flats the clown lived in. That had smelt of Indian food. It made her feel queasy and she normally loved an Indian.

  She felt the world’s biggest fool. The anger she’d felt towards Will had subsided into cold fear and she hoped he’d calm down and come home soon. How had that escalated to that degree? Not knowing what to do with herself, she picked up her phone and rang Jake. He’d make her feel better.

  ‘Evening, Annie, are you missing me?’

  ‘Yes, funny you should say that. I just wanted to check you were okay. I’m bored.’

  ‘Is he not home yet? Bless him, he’s working far too hard. Do you want to come down here?�
�

  ‘No, thank you; Alfie’s flat out. I’m sure he’ll be home soon.’

  They chatted about the kids for five minutes. Annie realised that Jake had had a glass of wine – probably several – and it wasn’t fair to drag him into her mess again. He deserved some peace as well. She told him Alfie was crying and she had to go.

  ‘Goodnight, flower.’

  ‘Night, Jake.’

  She ended the call with a heavy heart. It was so tempting to get Alfie up and drive through to Jake’s house in Barrow. Getting Alfie’s pram out of the hall, she put it in the kitchen. Then she went upstairs and carefully lifted him out of his cot. If Will wasn’t here, she didn’t want him on his own up there. She wanted him where she could see him.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Alex came downstairs with a towel wrapped around his waist, his hair tousled. ‘Who was that on the phone?’

  ‘Annie.’

  ‘What’s wrong? Is she okay?

  ‘Nothing was wrong; she just wanted a chat.’

  ‘Really? That’s strange. How often does she ring this late? Did she sound okay to you?’

  Jake sat up. ‘I think so. What do you mean, Alex?’

  He shrugged. ‘Nothing, I don’t know. I’m probably being stupid, but it just seems strange. She’s been through a lot lately and we both know how much hard work having a baby is. Was Will there? He works such long hours. Maybe she could do with a break?’

  ‘Fuck me, Alex, why did you have to say that? Now I’m worried and I can’t drive there because I’ve had a bottle of wine.’

  Shaking his head, Jake picked up his phone and dialled her straight back.

  ‘Are you okay? Seriously, tell me if there is something wrong because mother bloody hen Alex has it in his head that something is.’