Gone Astray: Chapter 6- Murderer
I watch Jacob enter his house through my bedroom window. Ayy that was close! Really, really close! My heart felt like it had jumped off a trampoline when I saw Jacob approaching me by the open bedroom door. Man, what would have happened if he had looked in the room and had seen Keisha? I look at her from my bed. I hadn’t gagged her well enough, Jacob had heard her whimpering from the hall. She lay motionless on the floor, she doesn’t look like she can even move a muscle. I can’t believe she had the strength to make such a loud noise. I crawl off my bed and make my way over to her. Ugh, the smell. Jacob had caught the scent of it too. I’d forgotten to clean up after yesterday, after she peed all over herself. I wonder how I’m going to get her to the washroom now that she can’t walk. I’ll just have to drag her along the floor I guess. Looks like her wounds have dried up, she won’t be making a mess on the floor.
As I move closer to her I find her eyes following my movements, the rest of her body stays completely still. She doesn’t even flinch when I reach over to adjust her gag properly. No strength at all. Probably throwing her against the wall must’ve done the trick. Heheh. One way to break the spirit is to break the body. I look over at the rest of her physique. I clutch her hand and watch her expression change into that of a wince. There are a few areas on her arm that haven’t been bruised yet, I know what I’m gonna do tonight! I proceed to drag her along to the bathroom. All throughout the way she moans softly as her already hurting body rubs the hard floor. She can’t complain, it’s all her fault. I wouldn’t be doing all this if she hadn’t decided to pounce on me with my own screwdriver. Speaking of which, I look over at my thigh. She had done a number on it, shoving the screwdriver half way through it. Stupid James couldn’t explain how I got the injury to Jacob. He just said he couldn’t remember. Are you serious James? I get that you don’t know what happened but at least try not to look like an idiot in front of someone else, especially Jacob! I wonder why he was staring at my coat for so long though. He seemed to be shocked by something, maybe the blood on the sleeve? I’ll just tell him later that I cut myself somewhere, that is, if he asks. I reach the bathroom with Keisha in tow. I pick her up and chuck her into the bathtub. In the much closer space of the bathroom the smell she emanates seems to suffocate me. Better get done with this quick. But just as I turn on the faucet, I hear the doorbell ring. Who could that be…
I stop the water and hobble my way out of the bedroom. As I do, I knock something metallic with my leg. I look to the floor to see what it is and I stand shocked. It’s a crowbar covered in dried blood. Oh no… Had Jacob seen it? I really hope that he hadn’t… I can’t think of it any further as whoever is outside is ringing the bell vigorously. I limp my way to the front door and look out through the peephole. Ugh, it’s the police again. How many times are they going to come by and get nothing out of it? Persistence, I must say. Anyway, time for you to deal with this again James…
This isn’t the first time that I’ve wondered how I’ve gotten to places without my own knowledge. I feel like I’m teleporting around sometimes. Is it sleepwalking? But I never remember trying to sleep in the first place. Last thing I recall was drinking tea with Jacob, and now I’m suddenly in front of my door with someone on the other side trying to break my calling bell switch. My head hurts like crazy and the pain amplifies with the constant ringing of the electronic bell. It feels like as if someone tried stuffing something into my skull and had just taken it out. I’ve stopped thinking about it too much, any explanation never makes sense. In a hurry to cease my impatient visitor’s bell spree, I swing the door open to greet him. Turns out there are two of them, two cops. I recognise them, they are the guys who had interrogated me twice before. But their usually warm faces now seem stone cold. They hold out a form a some sort in front of my face. I squint my eyes to focus in on the letters… A search warrant? A search warrant for what? Without a word they brush past me, lock the door shut and systematically look over every corner of the house.
It’s a while before I can get one of them to talk. I catch one cop looking into the pantry in the kitchen and ask him what’s going on. After a little bit more pestering he finally opens his mouth. They had had a tip-off that the missing girl Keisha is in my house through an SMS. What? Absurd! Furthermore, they are acting upon this message that was sent from my cellphone. He stops what he’s doing and takes out his phone. Sure enough, a message was sent to his cellphone from what was exactly my number. I look at the time of delivery. It’s 9:26 AM today. It says, help im in james house keisha. I stare at it unbelieving till the cop silently resumes his duty. I can’t believe it, this is atrocious! Don’t they know I’m not so stupid as to prank them with such a text? And no one else could have done it… I haven’t seen anyone outside the house in days. The only person who had come to my house around the time of the sent text was Jacob, but he was here around 9:45, he couldn’t have done it either. Then what… I frisk myself for my phone, but to no avail. Where is it now? As the police continue their search, I conduct my own to find my missing cell. Only a few minutes go by and I hear a scream coming from within my bedroom. Without a moment’s hesitation I run into the room. I hear something knock around in the bathroom. I reach it and am frozen in terror. The policeman in there has his gun pointed straight at me, his face ashen with horror. I take a look in the bathtub at the mutilated thing that’s freaked not only the policeman, but me too…. Keisha?
Oh man this isn’t good. Well for one, thank God James put me back in control, I don’t know what he would have done if he was still conscious. I assess the situation I’m in. A cop with a gun pointed at me, another one rushing in possibly from the kitchen. I’ve got no time, and no choice. Why did it have to come to this? Without warning I lunge forward and grab the cop’s gun. BANG. Wow, that’s a pretty sweet sound. The cop collapses to the floor after getting slugged in the head. I turn around just as the other guy reaches the bathroom. BANG. My shot hits its mark on his chest, sending him sprawling to the floor. That was way more fun than I thought it would have been! Maybe murder isn’t so bad an alternative form of fun for me. I turn to the mirror and check myself out holding the gun. Man even James Bond would be impressed. I’m surprised at myself. I just killed two men and am taking it way too lightly. It’s sort of a serious matter, you know? As I wonder how I would dispose of the bodies, my mind drifts to how the cop had gotten that SMS in the first place. It obviously wasn’t me, nor was it James. It wasn’t Jacob for sure, then… As a thought suddenly strikes me, I glance over at Keisha huddled in the tub. I rush over and check all her clothes’ pockets. After a few seconds of searching, I finally find my cellphone tucked away in her jacket. When the hell did she take it? Immediately I switch it on and check my messages. I find the message that was sent to the cop earlier. I’m so going to kill her for this! But something else catches my eye. There’s another message sent a bit more recently, at 11:50 AM. im keisha, it says. I look for the recipient. God damn it, I murmur to myself as I read the name.
It’s Jacob.
