Read Online The Midnight Hour by Neil Davies - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Neil Davies
Ads: Link
fears and insecurities get the better of her.
It’s just a piece of paper!
She opened it.
The handwriting was stronger, bolder.
WATCHING YOU.
Her fingers loosened and the paper fluttered to the floor, lying open on the carpet, the words screaming up at her ashen face.
The doorbell rang.
She snapped her head up, towards the sound.
My God, he’s out there!
It stopped ringing. It rang again. Stopped. Rang. Short, sharp rings continuing on and on until her head reverberated with the sound.
And as the ringing continued, the hammering started. The hammering of heavy fists on the door, bang bang bang , again and again. The door shook on its hinges with each blow, the locks rattling, the bolt jerking as if it would break free.
She slammed her hands over her ears, closed her eyes, fell to her knees and screamed.
She was still screaming when the banging and the ringing stopped. It had only lasted for fifteen seconds at the longest, but she felt it had always been there, filling her head, clawing at her heart and her stomach.
She was still screaming when her neighbours called the police.
They had to break the door down to get to her.
She returned to her apartment two weeks later, calmed by drugs, reasoned with by experts.
“Are you sure you’ll be ok?”
Jackie stood with her outside the apartment door, concern threatening to furrow her recently botoxed brow.
Karen forced a smile. “I’ll be fine.”
She had found her stay in the hospital frightening at first, each doctor, each nurse, each visitor seeming to wear a business suit and wide-brimmed hat. Later, she had relaxed. She felt safe surrounded by the hospital staff. And there were no photographs around her bed.
Now she felt better, recovered. She had accepted their explanations of stress, delusions, imagination.
The police had shared her first suspicion about the notes. That they could have come from Steven. She knew they had questioned him. She did not know if anything came of it.
One psychologist had suggested she wrote the notes herself, as part of her reaction to the stress she was facing.
She doubted that.
Nevertheless, she felt safe enough to return to her own apartment. Steven would send no more notes, having been warned off by the police. She felt it was time to return home and to her normal life.
She lifted the key towards the lock, hesitated and turned to her friend.
“Maybe you could just come inside for a minute or two?”
Check there’s no one there.
Jackie glanced at her watch and smiled.
“Of course I can. Listen, I’d have taken the day off if I’d known you were coming out today. I’m really sorry I’ve got to get back to work.”
“That’s ok. I understand.” She took a deep breath and pushed the key into the lock, turning it slowly, almost reluctantly. “And thanks for fixing the door.”
The door had been repaired. She knew Jackie had paid for that. It opened smoothly.
For a moment she thought about asking Jackie to go in first, but then, with the same stubborn resolution she had used when starting out in business on her own, she stepped into the darkness, her hand scrabbling for the light switch.
She breathed a sigh of relief as light flooded the living room. Everything seemed as she remembered it, and the familiarity helped calm her.
“I’ll have to just do a quick check and then get going,” said Jackie, following Karen into the apartment.
She hurried from door to door, turning the lights on in the bedroom, the bathroom. Karen wanted to ask her to check under the bed, in the shower cubicle, but she couldn’t bring herself to look such a coward.
Jackie came back to the living room, smiling.
“All clear.” She took Karen’s hands in hers. “I’m really sorry I’ve got to rush. Lock the door after I’ve gone. You’ll be fine here, and I’ll call round straight after work. Ok?”
Karen nodded and forced another smile.
“Thanks. You’d better get going. Can’t have both of us without a
It’s just a piece of paper!
She opened it.
The handwriting was stronger, bolder.
WATCHING YOU.
Her fingers loosened and the paper fluttered to the floor, lying open on the carpet, the words screaming up at her ashen face.
The doorbell rang.
She snapped her head up, towards the sound.
My God, he’s out there!
It stopped ringing. It rang again. Stopped. Rang. Short, sharp rings continuing on and on until her head reverberated with the sound.
And as the ringing continued, the hammering started. The hammering of heavy fists on the door, bang bang bang , again and again. The door shook on its hinges with each blow, the locks rattling, the bolt jerking as if it would break free.
She slammed her hands over her ears, closed her eyes, fell to her knees and screamed.
She was still screaming when the banging and the ringing stopped. It had only lasted for fifteen seconds at the longest, but she felt it had always been there, filling her head, clawing at her heart and her stomach.
She was still screaming when her neighbours called the police.
They had to break the door down to get to her.
She returned to her apartment two weeks later, calmed by drugs, reasoned with by experts.
“Are you sure you’ll be ok?”
Jackie stood with her outside the apartment door, concern threatening to furrow her recently botoxed brow.
Karen forced a smile. “I’ll be fine.”
She had found her stay in the hospital frightening at first, each doctor, each nurse, each visitor seeming to wear a business suit and wide-brimmed hat. Later, she had relaxed. She felt safe surrounded by the hospital staff. And there were no photographs around her bed.
Now she felt better, recovered. She had accepted their explanations of stress, delusions, imagination.
The police had shared her first suspicion about the notes. That they could have come from Steven. She knew they had questioned him. She did not know if anything came of it.
One psychologist had suggested she wrote the notes herself, as part of her reaction to the stress she was facing.
She doubted that.
Nevertheless, she felt safe enough to return to her own apartment. Steven would send no more notes, having been warned off by the police. She felt it was time to return home and to her normal life.
She lifted the key towards the lock, hesitated and turned to her friend.
“Maybe you could just come inside for a minute or two?”
Check there’s no one there.
Jackie glanced at her watch and smiled.
“Of course I can. Listen, I’d have taken the day off if I’d known you were coming out today. I’m really sorry I’ve got to get back to work.”
“That’s ok. I understand.” She took a deep breath and pushed the key into the lock, turning it slowly, almost reluctantly. “And thanks for fixing the door.”
The door had been repaired. She knew Jackie had paid for that. It opened smoothly.
For a moment she thought about asking Jackie to go in first, but then, with the same stubborn resolution she had used when starting out in business on her own, she stepped into the darkness, her hand scrabbling for the light switch.
She breathed a sigh of relief as light flooded the living room. Everything seemed as she remembered it, and the familiarity helped calm her.
“I’ll have to just do a quick check and then get going,” said Jackie, following Karen into the apartment.
She hurried from door to door, turning the lights on in the bedroom, the bathroom. Karen wanted to ask her to check under the bed, in the shower cubicle, but she couldn’t bring herself to look such a coward.
Jackie came back to the living room, smiling.
“All clear.” She took Karen’s hands in hers. “I’m really sorry I’ve got to rush. Lock the door after I’ve gone. You’ll be fine here, and I’ll call round straight after work. Ok?”
Karen nodded and forced another smile.
“Thanks. You’d better get going. Can’t have both of us without a
Similar Books
