Read Online Deadly Deeds by Kathryn Patterson - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Kathryn Patterson
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companies.’
‘ How long have you been together?’ I asked.
‘ We tied the knot five years ago and moved to Port Melbourne eighteen months ago because of his work. It’s much closer to the city and easy for him to find work. He hates wasting time driving.’
‘ Can you tell us about the night of the attack?’
‘ I’ll try.’ She glanced at Frank and then at myself. ‘It was late, and Jeremy was finishing a plan he had been working on all day for a company. His deadline was coming up soon, and the project had taken him more time than he’d first anticipated. I was watching television, waiting patiently for him to finish so we could go to bed. When he finally did, I made two cups of hot chocolate, and we had them in the kitchen. A nightly ritual. Warm milk made us sleep better. Really, it was an excuse because we are both chocoholics.’
I smiled at her comment.
She smiled back and went on, ‘We made small talk while drinking our chocolate, working out what was ahead of us for the following day. Bedtime was the only time we really got to talk, to spend some quality time together. We were both very busy. After the hot chocolate, we went straight to bed.’
‘ And?’
‘ I was almost asleep, and I think Jeremy was too because he was snoring when I heard some kind of noise in the hallway. At first I didn’t know what the hell it was, but after listening attentively, I thought it sounded like someone trying to break into the apartment. I woke up Jeremy, and he heard the noise too. It sounded like cracking wood, and Jeremy said someone was breaking in through the front door. I’d never been so scared in my life. Jeremy jumped out of bed completely naked. He raced down the hallway without bothering with his dressing gown. I panicked and reached for the telephone. The line was dead.’
I remembered the telephone cable in the hallway of the Port Melbourne apartment had been ripped from the wall.
Teresa went on, ‘Then I heard Jeremy scream his head off, so I jumped out of bed, put on my dressing gown, and grabbed a stout metal ruler from Jeremy’s drawing tools. He always kept some tools in the bedroom in case he came up with an idea overnight and wanted to do a quick sketch. Always had work on his mind.
‘ I rushed into the hallway, and this tall man came crushing on me. He lifted me from the floor and threw me back in the bedroom. I knocked my head against the lower edge of the dressing table and passed out.’
‘ How long were you unconscious for?’ I asked, now totally absorbed by Teresa’s story.
‘ I don’t know. I can’t remember. Ten minutes. Maybe half an hour. It’s hard to say.’
‘ What happened when you regained consciousness?’
‘ The overhead light of the bedroom was turned on. The man who attacked me was kneeling on the floor in front of the bed, making broad sweep movements with one hand while holding something down with the other. I looked up from the bed and felt this terrible pain at the back of my neck. I thought I was going to pass out, but I forced myself to stay awake. I looked down my body and saw the same man who attacked me in the hallway. He was bent over and cutting something. It took me at least fifteen seconds to realise the thing he was cutting was Jeremy.’
She stopped for a few seconds, waiting for our reaction. But we said nothing, so she went on, ‘He had this huge knife, and the noise was dreadful, like chalk hissing on a blackboard. It sent a jolt through my entire body. A hissing and squelching sound filled my ears. The weird thing was that Jeremy wasn’t trying to fight back, as if he was already dead.
‘I managed to get on my feet, but the pain at the back of my head was unbearable. I felt dizzy, and I thought I was going to pass out once more.
‘ I moved closer to the man, and then I saw Jeremy’s neck opened like a horrible red mouth. I swear to God, it was the most horrid thing I had ever seen in my life. Less than half an hour ago, he was
‘ How long have you been together?’ I asked.
‘ We tied the knot five years ago and moved to Port Melbourne eighteen months ago because of his work. It’s much closer to the city and easy for him to find work. He hates wasting time driving.’
‘ Can you tell us about the night of the attack?’
‘ I’ll try.’ She glanced at Frank and then at myself. ‘It was late, and Jeremy was finishing a plan he had been working on all day for a company. His deadline was coming up soon, and the project had taken him more time than he’d first anticipated. I was watching television, waiting patiently for him to finish so we could go to bed. When he finally did, I made two cups of hot chocolate, and we had them in the kitchen. A nightly ritual. Warm milk made us sleep better. Really, it was an excuse because we are both chocoholics.’
I smiled at her comment.
She smiled back and went on, ‘We made small talk while drinking our chocolate, working out what was ahead of us for the following day. Bedtime was the only time we really got to talk, to spend some quality time together. We were both very busy. After the hot chocolate, we went straight to bed.’
‘ And?’
‘ I was almost asleep, and I think Jeremy was too because he was snoring when I heard some kind of noise in the hallway. At first I didn’t know what the hell it was, but after listening attentively, I thought it sounded like someone trying to break into the apartment. I woke up Jeremy, and he heard the noise too. It sounded like cracking wood, and Jeremy said someone was breaking in through the front door. I’d never been so scared in my life. Jeremy jumped out of bed completely naked. He raced down the hallway without bothering with his dressing gown. I panicked and reached for the telephone. The line was dead.’
I remembered the telephone cable in the hallway of the Port Melbourne apartment had been ripped from the wall.
Teresa went on, ‘Then I heard Jeremy scream his head off, so I jumped out of bed, put on my dressing gown, and grabbed a stout metal ruler from Jeremy’s drawing tools. He always kept some tools in the bedroom in case he came up with an idea overnight and wanted to do a quick sketch. Always had work on his mind.
‘ I rushed into the hallway, and this tall man came crushing on me. He lifted me from the floor and threw me back in the bedroom. I knocked my head against the lower edge of the dressing table and passed out.’
‘ How long were you unconscious for?’ I asked, now totally absorbed by Teresa’s story.
‘ I don’t know. I can’t remember. Ten minutes. Maybe half an hour. It’s hard to say.’
‘ What happened when you regained consciousness?’
‘ The overhead light of the bedroom was turned on. The man who attacked me was kneeling on the floor in front of the bed, making broad sweep movements with one hand while holding something down with the other. I looked up from the bed and felt this terrible pain at the back of my neck. I thought I was going to pass out, but I forced myself to stay awake. I looked down my body and saw the same man who attacked me in the hallway. He was bent over and cutting something. It took me at least fifteen seconds to realise the thing he was cutting was Jeremy.’
She stopped for a few seconds, waiting for our reaction. But we said nothing, so she went on, ‘He had this huge knife, and the noise was dreadful, like chalk hissing on a blackboard. It sent a jolt through my entire body. A hissing and squelching sound filled my ears. The weird thing was that Jeremy wasn’t trying to fight back, as if he was already dead.
‘I managed to get on my feet, but the pain at the back of my head was unbearable. I felt dizzy, and I thought I was going to pass out once more.
‘ I moved closer to the man, and then I saw Jeremy’s neck opened like a horrible red mouth. I swear to God, it was the most horrid thing I had ever seen in my life. Less than half an hour ago, he was
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