The Haunting Within (21 page)

65

Debbie sat staring emotionless at the screen. Why did he hate her so much? If only she knew so she could be a better daughter, a daughter like he wants her to be. She just wanted him to love her. She was so lost in her self-pity that she didn’t notice at first he had returned to the screen once more. He was dressed differently this time. He had on dark trousers and a pale coloured shirt underneath a darker cardigan. He didn’t look at all like the intimidating man that had stood before her shouting when she was a child. He looked haggard and depleted somehow. He looked old.

Taking his position in the chair again he began talking. “I have become much worse than before. I have committed a crime so unimaginable that to even speak of it makes my blood boil. I have many patients under my care and I have always helped them before now. The urges I have been having for a good
many
months now have become unbearable. I have found that beating my poor wife does not quench them any longer, nor does punishing my daughter, so I have had to find another way to deal with them. Two days ago I took one of my patient’s down to the therapy room where there was no one around. Oh, he came willingly with me, after all I was his doctor and everybody trusts their doctor don’t they? That makes this all the more horrific, he trusted me, thought I was going to help him, after all, that is what I told him I was going to do” he gave the camera a nasty smirk. Debbie wanted to turn it off so she didn’t have to listen to anymore but she knew she couldn’t bring herself to do that now, she had gotten too involved.  Besides, the man in her dreams said she would find the strength that she needed to do what she had to do from the reel, so she just
had
to watch it.

“It was like, and I know how absurd this is going to sound, believe me, but it was like I was possessed by something forcing me to do it and that is certainly not an excuse I am using. I understand just how terrible this is and right after I did it I felt so much remorse. My patient was suffering from delusions and I told him shock therapy would help him. He believed me so it was easy to get him to sit in the chair and he did not struggle as I strapped him in, nor did he struggle when I gagged him. Normally shock therapy is a safe procedure if done correctly, but I increased the voltage to a lethal level and subjected him to it for much longer than normal, two minutes longer than normal to be precise. He died almost instantly from the electricity. I stood and watched as the life drained from his jerking body. I enjoyed the sense of power I got. I told the police he had been given shock therapy for treatment of his illness many times before, which, of course he had, and I told them that he responded well to it this time, as always, yet when I went to unstrap him he had convulsed and died. Of course, before I went for help I removed his gag and I did not tell the police about that part.” He gave a little bemused sneer to the camera, went to it and again the screen went blank.

The screen came to life once more. Cold, icy chills ran the length of her spine. “Guess what? I have done it again, not once, not twice, but thrice! It gets easier every time and more enjoyable too. Not wanting to arouse suspicion I have changed my technique and I think I have improved on what was a great way to kill!” He smiled broadly into the camera. “Of course I have left a substantial amount of time between each incident so it does not appear too strange. I have started to use a method were I inject the patient with a drug that slowly shuts down all the organs in the body, and the best thing is it just looks like they have died from a heart attack. The drug does not show up in any tests that may be carried out after the death. It is not odd that I have the drug in my possession either because, when used correctly it is a sedative which we sometimes need to calm our patients. I always make sure I choose patients who have daily medication injected into their systems and go in through the most recent injection sight, therefore not causing any suspicions. A snivelling fellow who was suffering from severe delusions was my latest. This is getting too easy!”

The screen went blank and after a while of waiting to see if he reappeared again, Debbie rose from the chair, removed the wheel and turned everything off before calmly putting the reel back in the box and the box back under the floorboards. She knew now what she had to do. No-one would ever be safe as long as
he
was around, be it in this world or the next.
She walked downstairs with a purpose, a new sense of esteem and confidence she had never possessed before. As she walked into the kitchen Lisa turned wearily to greet her.

“How are you feeling now mum? Do you want something to eat?” Lisa hoped her mum had seen sense and was willing to take them home.

“No thanks love, I’m alright.”

Seeing she seemed her normal self again Lisa asked cautiously “Are we going to go home soon mum?” There was a slight waver in her voice as she asked because she didn’t want to upset her mum again and she was unsure how she would react to her question.

“Yes, love. We’ll all be able to go home soon. There’s just one thing I have to do first and then we’ll go home and never come back here again.”

Lisa was so relieved by her mum’s answer that she didn’t think to ask what the “one thing” that she had to do first was. She was so happy that she began to hum to herself as she tidied away the pots. How nice would it be to get back to their own modest home? She would grab something to eat and then take a lovely long shower, something she hadn’t done since coming to the house. She would wash away all that had happened to them over the past couple of days and then she would phone Tom. She would arrange to meet him and tell him her feelings for him went deeper than friendship and everything would be alright because they would be away from this god awful place. Of course, first things first, they would make sure their mum’s injuries were seen to. That would be difficult to explain. She hoped they wouldn’t want to keep her in hospital overnight because she had self-harmed. Then it would be back to their normal lives. Well, it wouldn’t be their normal lives would it? The money they would get from the sale of the house would change their normal existence. They would move house, maybe she would even get a house with Tom in the not-so-distant future. Her mum would almost certainly buy herself a new car and Lisa had decided to take driving lessons as soon as possible. Everything would be so different! Everything except for them. Nothing could change them; they were a close knit family who would get through everything and anything. This experience had already proven that.

She was so busy in her own thought’s that they would all be alright, and
rich
, to top it off, and she would soon have Tom all to herself that she didn’t notice Debbie take the house keys and wander into the hall.

66

Debbie went down to the cellar. She knew they wouldn’t want to venture down here so the keys would be perfectly safe. She took them to the stacks of boxes and hid them underneath one. Curious, she peeled back the disintegrating sellotape and peeked under the flaps. Frowning, she pulled the box flaps fully open, coughing as plumes of dust covered her. Inside were faded newspaper clippings. Holding them close to the torch in her hand she read her discovery. It was from many years ago, the paper brittle and yellowed with age. The headline read “
Doctors Wife in Suicide Tragedy
”. A bad feeling settled in the pit of her stomach like a stone settling on a river bed, heavy and cold. There was a tiny black and white photo which was of very poor quality and it was quite indiscernible to Debbie in such poor light, but she knew that she knew the woman. Squinting, she tried to focus, moving the paper as close to her face as she could without it touching her nose. She looked so familiar but Debbie could not quite put her finger on why.

She silently mouthed the article as she read…

“The body of a woman was found today after a lengthy search. Emily Hendry, wife of the renowned psychologist Dr. Arthur Hendry, was found by police in the forest surrounding their home. Although it is yet to be confirmed, first reports are that she was found hanging from a tree. Mrs. Hendry who was said to be suffering from postnatal depression and had previously attempted suicide has left behind a daughter, Deborah….”

The words blurred as tears sprang into Debbie’s eyes. How could this be? Why hadn’t he told her? She had come as soon as he had phoned her. He knew what had happened but he had lied and told her that her mother had a heart attack. Why didn’t he tell her the truth? What could he possibly gain from lying to her? Was this just another way for him to exert some control over her? All those years she had spent mourning the loss of her beloved mother and she had never even known the truth about her death. Previous suicide attempt? Again, something she had never known. If she had then maybe things would have been different. Guilt welled up inside her as she pictured her lovely mum, left alone with a bitter, cruel bully of a husband. No wonder she felt like she had to end her life. What happiness could she have looked forward to? Certainly not seeing her daughter or grandchildren because Debbie never went down unless she absolutely had to. God, how could she have been so blind?! A searing headache pierced her between the eyes as she clutched at the old newspaper article and wished with all her heart she had been a better daughter. And the post-natal depression. Just another facet of her own mother’s life she was not privy to. Could it still be classed as post-natal depression decades after giving birth she wondered? Why hadn’t he helped her? He was a psychiatrist for God’s sake! He must have known she was suffering.

The more she thought about it, the more she began to suspect something was not quite right. Had he lied to save himself? Was it suicide or had
he
killed her? Hanging her from the tree and leaving her there, waiting to see if she would be found? He was certainly cruel enough to do it and shrewd enough to get away with it. The sick bastard had murdered her mother and he had gotten away with it for all those years. Well now she knew the truth and she would make sure he paid for what he had done. She didn’t know how to make him pay yet, but she would. She had all tonight to think about it because now she had locked the doors and hidden the keys, there weren’t going anywhere…

Lisa had finally found some towels that didn’t stink of mustiness and that weren’t grey and threadbare. Now she really wanted a hot shower and to go home. If the car journey wasn’t as long as it was she could have waited until they got home to have a shower but the thought of sitting in the car for hours on end while smelling of old houses was not one that appealed to her. She had not even had the luxury of applying deodorant and she felt dirty. She would have liked some freshly washed clothes to get into after her shower but that was not to be. She could make do with what she had on for another few hours. As long as they were going home she could make do with almost anything right now. Passing her mum on the stairs she told her she was going for a shower and headed to the bathroom at the top of the stairs, singing under her breath. Today was going to be a good day. She had never been so home sick before. What she wouldn’t give to be back in their small three bedroom terraced. It felt like she hadn’t seen her bedroom for weeks. Checking the bath tub for spiders - she did not entirely believe the last spider was dead and gone - she climbed into the bath, wincing at the chill of the enamel on her bare feet. She was used to plastic baths. Although she could see the appeal of enamel baths if they were anything like the one she now stood in. It was huge. She could lay properly reclined and be fully under the warm soapy water which, being quite tall was easier said than done in their bath at home. She didn’t care she didn’t have her own shower gel and shampoo. Water would get her clean enough. She pulled the shower curtain closed behind her. Turning on the shower the water spluttered from the head that was clogged with lime scale. Stepping back she gave a small shriek at the coldness as it hit her naked skin. Gingerly testing the water with her hand she sighed when she moved under the hot spray. The water tingled on her scalp completely relaxing her as she stood with her head bowed. It was just what she needed.

As the water poured over her she thought of Tom. God she missed him. She hoped she wouldn’t get back to find him going out with someone else. Even if she did she might still tell him how she felt. Being so far away from him had shown her how much she loved him. He needed to know, even if he didn’t feel the same. As she let the water wash over her body and her thoughts wash over her mind she jumped at a noise. It sounded like the door. She thought she had locked it. Turning off the shower she slowly peeled back the curtain and peeped through the gap. There was nobody there, no-one in the bathroom with her. Of course there wasn’t. She had locked the door. Taking deep breaths and telling herself how stupid she was being she stepped onto the cold tiled floor and wrapped a towel around her. As she dried her hair she looked up into the mirror above the sink and her heart raced as she read the chilling message that was written in the steam;
you’re not going anywhere…

After dressing as quickly as her shaking hands would allow, Lisa rushed to find her mum or Aiden, just someone so she wasn’t alone. All the while she was silently praying that they would get home soon and they would all be okay.

67

Almost running down the stairs Lisa nearly collided with her mum who was sitting on the top step at the bend in the stairs. “Mum, we need to go now!” said Lisa frantically.

“No darling, we don’t need to go yet” Debbie said calmly with a serene smile on her face.

“Erm, yeah mum, we do! Something’s going on here and I have a really bad feeling. I just wanna leave
now
.” Lisa tried gently tugging at her mums sleeve like she used to when she was a little girl and wanted her mum’s attention.

“I don’t want to leave yet Lisa.” Debbie said while brushing off her daughters hand from her arm. “Let’s have a bit of dinner first. It’s a long drive home.”

“I don’t want any dinner mum! There’s something here, in this house with us! I’m so scared.” The last words came out in a whisper. Lisa told her mum about the writing on the bathroom mirror, crying as she came to end of the story. She was tired. Physically and emotionally drained. She didn’t know how much more she had left in her. Why was her mum so hell bent on not leaving? What was there to wait for? As far as Lisa could see things could only get worse the longer they were here. If she ever had any doubts that there was something evil here then they had all been dispelled now.

Putting her head in her hands she sobbed bitter tears. She just wanted to be at home with her mum and brother. She just wanted to be anywhere but here. She prayed silently and earnestly to a God who had never been a big part of her life. If she wasn’t so desperate she would feel like a hypocrite. She prayed with all of her heart that they would get out safe and sound and that their mum would be ok, that she would be their mum again. Even now as she sat weeping, Debbie who had stayed sitting next to her the whole time, got up and stood looking down on her daughter, indifferent to her tears. For some reason she felt alienated from them, as though she was on the outside. Why were they so insistent on leaving? Didn’t they know she had an important job to do first? Why was she crying? How dare she cry?! It wasn’t her who was on the receiving end of
his
temper. She had no right or reason to be upset.

Lisa looked up at her mum with red, pleading eyes “
Please
mum, please let’s go home.”

Repulsed by the sight of her daughter with a snotty nose and swollen eyes Debbie spat out “Stop snivelling you stupid little bitch! We will go when I fucking well say so!” with that she turned and stomped off down the stairs, leaving Lisa to sit and cry harder than ever.

Aiden had the uncomfortable feeling he was being watched. He could feel the prickles on the back of his neck as his hair stood on end. The urge to turn and see who was there was overwhelming, but at the same time he dared not for fear of what he might see. Instead he walked into the front room, determined not to look. His will power lasted all of a few seconds once he sat down and realised he still had the feeling. Whatever was watching him had followed him. Plucking up all the courage he had he slowly turned his head. He was relieved to see his mum standing in the doorway. Letting out the breath he had been holding in he closed his eyes and thanked God it was only his mum. Glancing back to her he saw her tensed stance, the way she had both her fists clenched, the way she stood with her legs apart, the way her eyes gleamed with malevolence at him.

“Mum?” he ventured warily. “Are you okay?” Nothing. No response. Not even the slightest acknowledgment that she had heard him. He may as well have not uttered a word. Frowning with concern he slowly stood and walked towards her with his hands out in a placating way, worried she might lash out at him. “Mum?” he asked again when he was right in front of her.

Her eyes suddenly searched the space around him until they landed on his face and focused fully on him. “Oh, it’s you son. I thought you were somebody else.” She told him as she walked over to the couch.
Jesus, here we go again
, thought Aiden. As if things weren’t weird enough.

He joined her on the sofa and reached out for her hand. Instinctively she grasped it like a mother would grasp onto her falling child. It still amazed her sometimes how he had grown into a strapping young man. His babyish plumpness replaced by thickening muscles, his chubby cheeked smile replaced by prominent cheekbones and square, strong jaw which was lightly peppered with stubble, his hands which were once chubby and had dimples instead of knuckles now held her hand so securely in his with an underlying power of manhood. How did she make him? How did she make either of them? They were both so perfect it was hard to believe they came from her. There had not been a man in her life since John had left them but she had never needed one. Now she had one in her son. He already stood taller than her. She felt safe when she was with him, well usually, and she knew that was a selfish thing to feel, it should be her making him feel safe but she was no match for this young man who now sat next to her. She knew he was more than capable of looking after himself. One day he would make a wonderful husband. Just please God, not any time soon. Let her have him for a good while longer yet. She was not ready to let go of her only son, her baby. She adored both of her children but there had always been a special bond between her and Aiden. Whether it was the old saying of ‘mummy’s boy’, or whether it was because he was her baby she didn’t know, nor did she question it. She just enjoyed it, revelling in their bond and their closeness. She loved them both equally and she rejoiced in the bond she had with her only daughter also - they had such good girly shopping trips and often sat with some chocolate watching the soaps together - but she felt like Lisa needed her to look after her, whereas Debbie liked, no she
loved
the looks she would get from people as she walked down the street with her tall, handsome son who was fast becoming a man. Aiden seemed more independent, more sure of himself than his sister. He looked like John, there was no denying it. The older he got the more he looked like him. He didn’t have any of his personality though thank the lord. No, he would never abandon his wife and children.

Squeezing her hand gently Aiden offered a small smile that filled Debbie with pride but at the same time, for some reason, broke her heart. Looking away quickly she said “You know I love you my darling don’t you?”

“Course I do mum. I love you too.” Aiden replied in earnest.

“I know you don’t believe what I have been telling you” she held up her hand when he started to protest “no Aiden, you don’t believe me. But that’s okay. It will all be over soon and then we can go home. But I have to tell you something so that maybe you can understand your Grandfather a little better.” And she began to tell him all about the film she watched in the secret study.

Once she had finished telling him Aiden sat in shocked silence. He didn’t know what to say, what to make of her revelations. She’d told him it wasn’t really his fault. He just could not get his head round that. Of course it was his fault and he couldn’t believe his mum would think otherwise. After all he put her through when she was young, yet here she was trying to explain it. She had always told him you always had choices in life. Always. Yet now she was quick to change her tune. Nah, no way was he going to agree and say he understood why he had done what he had done. He was a nasty, evil man and that’s all there was to it. He wondered what Lisa would make of it when he told her.