She turned on her computer, and began sorting through a pile of paperwork while it loaded.
Dawn appeared at her side, handing her one of two plastic cups of water she’d fetched from the water cooler.
“Oh, thanks.” Hannah nervously took it from her.
“Sorry about before, Hannah. I should know better than to listen to idle gossip. I hope we can still be friends.”
Hannah pursed her lips to one side and eyeballed the other woman. “That depends.”
“On what?”
“On whether or not you tell me what’s being said.”
Dawn shrugged. “That you got Angela Beanie fired because you want her job. And that you’re thick as thieves with Mr Myers.”
Hannah placed the cup down on the desk, and sighed. “I am seeing Max, I won’t lie to you. But, I had nothing to do with Angela losing her job. She did that all by herself, and I definitely don’t want it.”
“Good for you,” Dawn said. “He’s quite a catch, that one. And I know for a fact nobody would blame you. In fact, plenty of them have tried to get him to notice them in the past, and failed miserably.”
“Thanks, Dawn. But, I want it to be known I won’t be getting any special treatment. I’m here to do my job, just like you. Max and I are still early days, and chances are we might not see the week out, so I’d prefer it if things could stay as normal as possible.”
“Fair enough, and speaking of work, we’d best get to it.”
***
When he got back to his office, Max angrily called a meeting with all the department managers for that afternoon. There was no way he’d allow anybody else to interfere in his private life, and if it meant he had to fire the fucking lot of them, then that was what he’d do.
Chapter 32
Engrossed in a backlog of paperwork, Hannah was surprised to find it was almost twenty to one.
“Shit, shit, shit!” She grabbed her handbag, and rushed to the canteen.
Max got to his feet to greet her when she entered. “I thought you’d got a better offer.”
Hannah grinned, and slipped into the seat opposite him. “Better than you? Impossible.”
A smile played at the corner of his delicious lips. “I hope you don’t mind, but I ordered for you. I figured you’d be on a tight schedule.”
“Yeah. It’s my boss’s fault—he’s a slave driver. What did you order?”
He slid a paper menu over the table to her. “What would you have ordered?”
She glanced over the menu, but only one item stood out. “Macaroni cheese,” she said, crossing her fingers.
Max smiled and raised his eyebrows, then focussed on a point just over her shoulder.
Startled, Hannah spun around as a member of the canteen staff reached them, and placed two generous servings of macaroni cheese before them.
Thrilled, Hannah waited until the waitress turned, and was out of earshot. “You remembered.”
“Of course I remembered, you told me only yesterday it was your favourite.”
She picked up a fork, and tucked in—her eyes rolling.
He was clearly amused. His phone vibrated beside his plate, and the smile dropped from his face, as he quickly rejected the call.
“Something wrong?” she asked, another forkful of stodgy pasta paused halfway to her mouth.
He shook his head, and shrugged. “It’s Angela. She’s been calling all morning.”
“What does she want?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t accepted her call.”
No longer hungry, she dropped her fork, and shoved her plate back a few inches. “You should call the police. She’s been told not to contact you.”
“I know, but she’ll soon get the message when I don’t respond.”
His phone beeped.
“She’s left a message, hasn’t she?”
He nodded, digging into his food.
“Aren’t you going to listen to it?”
He wiped his mouth on a napkin. “I wasn’t going to, no.”
She glanced at his phone again.
“You want to listen to it, don’t you?”
“I’m just curious to know why she did it.”
“Oh, that reminds me. Don left your gym bag in my office.”
“My gym bag? You mean my missing gym clothes?”
He shook his head. “No. I mean bag, clothes, and sports shoes, too.”
“Can we go and see it? Maybe it’s not even mine. I’m only missing a few items of clothing.” She got to her feet, and downed a glass of water in one.
“What about your food?”
“I’m not hungry anymore.”
He took another couple of mouthfuls, and threw his napkin down on top of his plate. He picked up his phone, and followed her from the canteen.
They travelled up to the top floor in silence.
In his office, he reached down the side of his desk, and withdrew her Adidas gym bag.
Hannah gasped.
“What? Is it not yours?”
She shook her head. “No, that’s not it. I’m shocked, because it is mine. But, why?” She opened the zipper of the bag and took out the contents. “You see, I only suspected some of my clothing had been replaced, not everything.” She shook her head confused, as she inspected one of the Reeboks. “But, these are definitely mine.”
Max sat on his leather office chair. “Maybe Angela was telling the truth about having a crush on me. I think it’s more likely she has a crush on you. Why else would she go to such trouble? Not to mention the expense.”
“Can we listen to the message, Max?”
He dug his phone out of his trouser pocket. After pressing a few buttons, Angela’s no-nonsense tones filled the room.
“Max, this is ridiculous. You know I’d never do anything to hurt you. I admit to warning Hannah off, and it was wrong of me, but I honestly had your best interests at heart, you’ve got to believe me. However, that’s all I’m guilty of. The bag in my locker had been planted there. I’d never seen it before yesterday. I want to help sort all this craziness out, but how can I, if I’m banned from entering the building? Please call.”
He turned the phone off, and placed it face down on his desk. “So, what do you think of that?”
Hannah shrugged. “She sounded genuine. But, she’s hardly going to admit it, is she?”
He glanced at his watch and sighed. “Listen, sausage, I’ve got a meeting I need to get to. Shall I come around to your flat tonight? I could bring Thai food.”
Hannah didn’t want to offend him, but she just wanted to go home, fall into bed, and sleep. “Would you mind if we give it a miss tonight? I’m shattered.”
His forehead furrowed for a second, and then he smiled. “Of course I don’t mind. I could do with a good night’s sleep myself. But what about your weekend case? It’s still in my car.”
“I’ve got everything I need at home. Maybe you could bring it over tomorrow night, instead. We could order Thai then, if you like?”
“If I’m back early enough. I’ve got a meeting in Portland tomorrow afternoon, so it will depend on how soon I can get away.”
“No worries. We can play it by ear. But, can I leave this here, for now? I really don’t know what I want to do with it.”
He took the bag from her, dropped it to the carpet, then reached for her hand, taking her into his arms.
Hannah gasped, and turned to look out of the window into the corridor.
“Nobody can see us,” he said. “I need a kiss, if I’m not going to see you until tomorrow night.”
His luscious lips silenced any protests she might have.
Chapter 33
Hannah arrived home to a ringing phone. She knew it would be her mother—nobody else called her on the landline.
She dropped her things in the hall, and reached for the phone. “Hello?” she panted into the handset.
“I was about to hang up, sweetheart. Are you alright?”
“I’ve just walked throu
gh the door. Are you and Daddy okay?”
“You know us, same old, same old.”
A feeling of homesickness washed over her. “Oh, Mammy. I miss you both so much.”
“I knew it. Something’s wrong. What’s happened, sweetheart? You know you can tell me.”
Tears sprang to her eyes and rolled down her cheeks, as she looked around the cold grey flat. She realised she hadn’t been back since hearing about poor Diane’s death, and she couldn’t stop her tears now they were already flowing.
“You’re worrying me. What is it?”
After a few moments, Hannah regained a little control. “I’m just being silly, Mammy, that’s all. I’ve had a full-on weekend, and I need an early night.”
“There’s something you’re not telling me. I’ve seen you dead on your feet before now, but you wouldn’t cry. You’ve never been a crier.”
“Okay. I’ll tell you, but I don’t want you worrying about me.”
“I’m always going to worry about you, sweetheart. So you may as well tell me.”
“My friend, Diane, was killed last week.”
“Hannah! That’s awful. What happened?”
“I’m not really sure. She lived next door, and worked as a doctor at the local hospital. Apparently, some young thug attacked her, while she was trying to save his life. She died on the spot.”
“Oh, my poor, poor girl. When is the funeral?”
“On Thursday. I’m dreading it, if I’m honest. I don’t know any of her other friends or family.”
“What about your other neighbour? The man?”
“Simon? He’s left for Seattle, and won’t be back for ages. I haven’t even managed to get hold of him.”
“I’ll call you back in five minutes.” The phone went dead.
Hannah shrugged, and replaced the handset.
In the lounge, she opened the curtains, and picked up a couple of cushions from the carpet. They had been there since Max had been cooking a meal for her on Friday. It seemed crazy to think that was only a few days ago. So much had happened since then.
She warmed a cup of milk in the microwave, and carried it through to the bedroom, where she stripped down to her undies and threw her clothes in the laundry basket.
The phone rang again, and, grabbing her robe from the back of the door, she ran out to the hall.
“Hi, Mammy.”
“Hannah, I need you to meet me at Piccadilly bus station at six-forty tomorrow evening.”
“I can’t ask you to do that. What about Daddy?”
“Your father can manage without me for a couple of days. I need to be with you.”
“Oh, Mammy. You’re going to set me off crying again.”
“Don’t you dare. My beautiful daughter isn’t a cry-baby.”
“I won’t. I promise. I’m so excited. I can’t wait to see you.”
“Me too. I’ll get off now, sweetheart. See you tomorrow.”
“Gosh. Are you sure you want to come, Mammy? It’s a long way.”
“Four hours, that’s all. I’ll enjoy the peace and quiet. And besides, I’ll be able to catch up on some reading.”
Hannah hung up and ran to her bedroom. Bouncing up and down on the bed, she squealed like a pre-schooler.
Climbing under the sheets, she plumped up her pillow, and sat up against the headboard to drink the milk. Her phone buzzed beside her on the bedside table.
7.48pm - Goodnight, sausage. I wish you were here.
She smiled, and held the phone to her chest for a moment. Her feelings were so strong for him after such a brief amount of time, it made her feel dizzy.
7.48pm - Stop calling me that!
7.48pm - Okay, sausage.
Hannah barked out a laugh.
7.49pm - Ring.
Moments later, her phone vibrated on her chest. “Hello,” she whispered.
“Were you asleep?”
“Not really. Although I am in bed.”
Max groaned.
She heard nothing but wanton mischief in her own giggle. “Come on over, if you like?”
“What? Now? I thought you were too tired.”
“Oh, don’t bother then, if you’ve got something better to be doing.”
“You’re joking, aren’t you? I’ll be there in twenty.”
The phone went dead in her ear, and she chuckled.
True to his word, Max tapped on her bedroom window twenty minutes later.
Wearing nothing but a skimpy black lace bra and a pair of almost matching undies, she crawled out of bed, and opened the door, before rushing back to the warmth of her duvet.
He was behind her in a flash and, kneeling on the mattress, she helped him tear off his shirt, throwing it in a heap on the bedroom floor. Then, he tantalised her by slowly removing the stonewashed jeans, which had an obscene bulge in the front of them.
“Hurry up,” she cried, trying to paw at him.
He batted her hand away. “Hold your horses, woman. I’m not a piece of meat.”
She chuckled at his mock offended expression, and held her hands up as a sign she was backing off.
Max continued to tease her, opening the button of his waistband, and slowly undoing the zip.
She gasped, as he quickly turned his back, and she watched as his jeans dropped like a denim curtain around his ankles.
Unable to control herself for a second longer, she jumped off the bed, spun him around, and pushed him backwards on top of the duvet. Then, straddling him, she took his wrists in her hands, and raised them above his head.
He groaned, his eyes fixed firmly on her heaving breasts.
Hannah had never felt so powerful and in control, as she took the lead, and showed him exactly what she had been planning for the evening.
Afterwards, they lay in each other’s arms. She told him of her mother’s imminent visit.
“So, will she go with you to the funeral?”
She nodded. “Is that alright?”
“Of course it is. I just didn’t want you to have to go alone.”
“But, with her being here a couple of days, you won’t be able to stay over. I’ve only got this one bedroom, and I can’t see Mammy being okay with you snuggling up to us.”
“Oh, you never know—and it could be an opportunity to cross off another thing off my bucket list.”
Hannah squealed, and pinched his nipple.
“I’m joking! I’m joking,” he cried, pulling her hand away. “But, seriously, I would like to meet her while she’s here, if that’s okay?”
“I’d love that.”
They spent the rest of the night sleeping in each other’s arms, and Hannah vaguely remembered him kissing her goodbye at the crack of dawn.
***
Enraged, Don watched every movement and listened to every sound coming from Hannah’s bed—the bed he’d slept in so peacefully just a few hours before.
He waited until they were both asleep, before venturing out of the hub. A sound from behind him made his feet leave the floor.
“Oh, there you are, Don,” Ken said. “I was coming to find you—thought you must’ve got lost.”
Don turned on the younger man, rushing towards him, and he body-slammed him into the wall. Then, he gripped the shocked man’s face, squeezing his cheeks so hard he could feel the outline of Ken’s teeth through the skin. The terror in Ken’s eyes spurred him on all the more. Although they were of similar build, Don was in no doubt he’d be able to drop the younger man on the spot. “I don’t answer to you—you understand?” he growled.
Ken nodded, clearly petrified.
“Never question me, or my whereabouts, again. You get me? Or you’ll wonder what the fuck’s just fucking hit you.” With a grunt, he shoved Ken away, and turned in the direction of the lifts. “Now, should you need to question where I am, I’m going outside for a bit of fresh air and to cool myself down. Is that alright with you?” he yelled over his shoulder.
“N-no problem, Don.”
Outside, he he
aded down the service alley, and walked along a short way, trying to calm himself down. As he passed a large green dumpster, a man cried out, and launched himself towards Don, an almost empty bottle of booze in his hand.
Don quickly stepped to the side, and shoved the drunk away from him.
The man fell sideways, landing on several overflowing rubbish bags, and closed his eyes—completely gone.
With a sneer, Don kicked the drunk repeatedly, feeling his frustrations flow out of him each time his foot connected with the prostrate man’s midriff.
Standing upright, Don steadied himself on the wheelie bin, and breathed out through pursed lips forcing his heart rate to calm down.
Snap-snap-snap.
The band disintegrated once again in his fingers. Irritated, he threw it to the ground. Then, he brushed a fleck of dust off his shoulder, tugged down the hem of his jacket, and walked back towards the front of the building—a renewed spring in his step.
Chapter 34
Hannah’s alarm sounded just before eight. After taking a few minutes to gather her thoughts, she flew out of bed, and began tidying the flat.
The plan had been to get up earlier, considering Mammy was coming for her first visit. She couldn’t allow her to see the place in a less than perfect state, yet twenty minutes wasn’t enough time to give it an overhaul, so it would just have to do.
On the train, her phone buzzed.
8.43am - Good morning, beautiful
8.43am - Hi
8.44am - I’m having breakfast with two business bores, and can’t drag my mind away from you
She laughed, and looked up self-consciously. A pretty, dark-skinned woman, with huge black eyes, smiled at her warmly. Hannah smiled back, and returned her attention to her phone.
The Watcher : A Chilling Serial Killer Thriller Page 18
