Stalking Richard

The rain poured in an unrelenting fury as flashes of lightning streaked across the bleak sky that bore a harshness that was to be feared by most. The frantic pounding of his heart echoed through his veins, reaching his ears, nearly deafening him as the sky turned a bright blue for a split second above him. The lightning passed, like it had never appeared. The thunder crackled overhead. He shivered.

Water was pooling around his feet and it was gradually becoming a challenge to carry on walking. He glanced up, muttered a curse when he saw he was still far from his destination. One limp hand struggled to keep the umbrella upright as the forceful wind whipped around him, as if wanting to propose a battle right then. Curses after curses spewed from his half opened mouth as he wiped his brow with the other grimy hand. Pulling his worn out coat, that was a little too small to cover his frame, tighter around himself, he swivelled around, momentarily taking in his surroundings in a manner that one would have deemed suspicious. Certain that there was no one trailing behind him, he trudged along with his head ducked down and his hand fighting against the wind.

-

She stepped out from behind the bushes, brushing the sodden leaves that had stuck to her coat. Her soiled hands were hastily wiped on the edge of the coat that was just as soiled, if not more so than her hands. She cursed under her breath; the coat was new.

Then she remembered why she was there, why she had been hiding in such a forsaken place at such an un-Godly hour. Her phone vibrated in her coat pocket and she quickly glanced over the text, another profanity already forming on her chapped lips. Oh. what would her kids at that day care centre say if they heard the blasphemous words she was consciously uttering now ?

Richard Papen. Follow him.

The message was short and precise, seemingly rushed. Her hand brushed her cheek and she winced. There was blood on her palm. She was so flustered that she hadn’t realised the thorns from the bushes had been pricking her. She turned around. Shit. Where was that man now ?

The unopened umbrella that she had been grasping so tightly had been forgotten. She was already soaked to the bones, there was no more the use of an umbrella so she hid it behind the bushes. She would come back for it later, when her job was done. It would have been a hassle to carry along but then again, the umbrella was new too. She left it there, in such a sorry state as murky rainwater mixed with soil washed over it.

She had to hurry. Walking carefully, she trudged through the murky waters that had reached her ankles, towards the direction that the man had gone.

-

Footsteps. Did he just hear footsteps ? He turned around. There was no one, he shook his head. Must be the nerves. Suddenly, a shadow came into his view then disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared. No, he was just being paranoid. Taking a steadying breath to allay his fears and paranoia, he continued walking. He was nearly there now.

-

She breathed in relief. He had nearly seen her, hadn’t he ? Her hand pulled her cell phone out of her coat pocket sub-consciously. There was a new text.

Don’t lose him. Take note of the address. See who else there are at the house.

Who else would there be ? She shrugged, dispelling all her queries. She hurried to catch up, feeling increasingly anxious to get her task done and get home where it would be warm and welcoming. She shivered, sneezed. She’d better not catch a cold now.

-

He saw the house was dimly lit. There were the shadows of moving people behind the blinds. The rest had reached. Glancing one last time around him, he walked up to the porch. His nerves were troubling, he was so disturbed when he saw the black Pontiac parked casually by the side, a reminder of the events of yesterday. The murder, the blood, the smell of death lingering, the –

The door opened. Henry peered out. His eyes furtively checking the surroundings before he hurried Richard in, whispering secretively behind his ear as he closed the door.

-

She stepped out from behind the old oak tree as the thunder roared fearlessly. She quickly typed the address into her cell phone, her fingers trembling slightly. So Henry was there, and Francis too. She’d seen his unmistakable silhouette. That probably meant they were all congregated there tonight. She’d heard a feminine voice too, which meant Camilla was there too. She counted the shadows behind the blinds quickly, her heart thumping when she realised there was only five people. Where was Charles ?

-

Charles hurried to the house. He had been held back by his nosy neighbour who had been annoyingly suspicious of his daily activities since she’d noticed he and Camilla were barely home these days. With all the speculation and the drama surrounding Bunny’s murder, the people’s alertness were raised a notch. He wondered uneasily how long more it would take the police, sheriffs, state troopers to find the culprits. To find them.

Suddenly, he noticed the back of a person, a female wearing a coat. Was that Camilla ? No, Camilla would never don such an old-fashioned looking coat such as that. Besides, Camilla wouldn’t be staring so suspiciously in Henry’s house. Suspiciously.

Then he noticed the way the lady was looking into the house. She was taking notice of the people in the house. She raised a finger, seemingly counting the people in the houses as she hid partially behind that old oak tree.

Oh if he’d be damned, he’d say she was spying on them. Damn. Were they getting suspected already ? He felt his heart sinking and his stomach jolted. A black cat with eerie yellow eyes dashed past him onto the deserted road. A bad omen ?

He turned white with evident fear when the lady turned around and locked eyes with her. She seemed just as frightened to see him. Before he could shout a word, she sped across the road, vanishing in an instant behind the trees on the other side.

He raced down the pavement, reaching the porch of Henry’s house breathlessly rapping his knuckles on the heavy mahogany door. Henry opened the door and he pushed his way in, already beginning to speak of what he had seen.

-

Shit. He had seen her, now she was busted. Why did he look so shocked though ? It didn’t matter now, she’d done her job. It would be best if she left for home immediately.