Read Online Sam: A Novel Of Suspense by Iain Rob Wright - Free Book Online

harder, and then flinched in
his seat.  The picture suddenly snapped back into focus. Sammie was no longer
at his desk. The boy was now just ten feet away from the CCTV camera lens,
staring up at Frank and grinning.  His eyes were dark orbs and his teeth jutted
out from swollen, brown gums.
    Frank
leant closer to the screen, trying to work out what the boy was doing.  Sammie
was inching closer and closer to the camera, which Frank knew for sure was a
good eight feet off the ground.  It was almost as if the boy was levitating. 
Getting closer and closer…
    Crack! 
    The
monitor’s screen split from corner to corner, a deep furrow carved into the
glass.
    Frank
leapt back in his chair.  The screen was shattered, struck by an invisible
hammer.  Frank was silent.  There was nothing that he could say, alone as he
was in the room.  Instead he chose to sit and think for a moment, twiddling his
fingers as he processed the facts in his mind.  From the way things were going
it could well turn out to be another twenty-four hours before he got any sleep.

 
    CHAPTER NINE
    Angela
was still freaked out by the picture Sammie had drawn her – and the incident
with Tim and the pond had done nothing to calm her nerves – but she was now
determined to take charge of the situation.  She would not be manipulated or
frightened.  If this was all just one big set-up then she would make sure those
responsible regretted it, and if not…  Well, if not then Angela was determined
to get to the bottom of things.
    The
only person she trusted right now was Tim, and that was only because he seemed
as freaked out as she was.  There was little doubt in her mind that he was here
for the same reasons that she was (primarily money) and for now she was willing
to work with the dishevelled young man.
    She
and Tim were back inside Raymeady Manor now, standing in its vast foyer.  There
was no one else around.
    Tim
put his fingers in his mouth and whistled.  “It’s a bloody nightmare trying to
find people in this place,” he said.
    “I
know,” Angela agreed.  “I’m not surprised Jessica’s on edge.  Empty houses have
a way of making people skittish – especially old empty houses.”
    “You
think that’s what’s going on?” Tim asked her.  “Simple paranoia?”
    “I
hope so, because what’s the alternative?”
    Frank
appeared from the east side of the foyer, his polished work shoes clicking on
the marble.  “Miss Murs, Mr Golding.  I was beginning to wonder where you two
had gotten to.”
    “Yeah,
sorry about that,” said Tim.  “We’re ready to see Sammie again now.”
    Frank
nodded.  “Okay.  You may be wasting your time, though.  The boy likes to watch South
Park during the afternoons.  He can be quite unresponsive.”
    Frank
led them back towards Sammie’s room on the first floor.  Even before they got
there, Angela could hear the television blaring.  She’d never watched South
Park herself, but she knew it was popular.  She also knew it wasn’t
suitable for a ten year old boy.
    “Why
do you let him watch the program?  Isn’t it meant for adults?”
    “It
is, yes, but he gets violent if you turn it off.”
    Tim
scoffed.  “Violent?  Can’t you control him, a big man like you?”
    Frank’s
expression was impassive.  He did not rise to the insult.  “Sammie is stronger
than he looks.”
    They
arrived at Sammie’s door and Frank unlocked it, allowing them to step inside. 
Frank grinned at Tim and said, “I’ll leave you ‘experts’ alone to do your work.”
    The
door closed behind them and suddenly Angela felt very claustrophobic – trapped
even.  The room was humid and tropical like a Florida storm.  Sammie was lying
in his bed, wrapped up to his neck in sweat-stained bed sheets.  A wall-mounted
television flashed in front of him, brightly-drawn cartoon characters
frolicking across the screen.
    Angela
waved a hand.  “Hello, Sammie.  How are you feeling?”
    The
boy said nothing.