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Chapter 3The Visitor, Part 3
He quickly glanced across at the living room clock & saw that it was only 22:35. It occurred to him that his mother & his sister had returned home much earlier than he had expected, but what was he to tell them? They were sure to realise, by the ashen look on his face, when he opened the door, that something terrible had happened; especially his mother, she always knew when the smallest of things were bothering him. Perhaps, just for once, he would be lucky in his attempt at shield his feelings from her. He would make some excuse - that the kitchen was off bounds due to the floor being up, which it was -in part. This would stall telling them until the morning, after which they could discuss it before calling the Police - he decided.
He hurried back into the kitchen & quickly spat the remainder of the vomit from his mouth into the sink & washed it away before he tried to calmly make his way to the front door.
The stranger had travelled a long way! First he had ridden the near-empty train to Highgreen, before catching the Highgreen to Bockford bus. From the Bockford M30, junction 14 intersection, where he had been dropped off, he had walked the old road, which meandered its way around the town’s outskirts, before joining the A202 main road, approximately 200 meters south of the entrance to Abbots House. Not many people used this road anymore, it was used by more live stock & wild life than men these days & as a result it had fallen into a state of disrepair. Therefore, as he had planned, it was mainly due to this that he arrived almost unnoticed.
As John Drew opened the door the stranger stepped from the shadows into full view. Sometimes in life events can occur just at the right instance, as a matter of luck, or coincidence. This by pure chance was not one of those times for John. If only he had kept his mouth shut. Under entirely different circumstances the outcome could have been altogether another story, but not on this night! Unknowing to John the stranger had already decided his fate, as they chatted at the door, even before he had revealed his identity.
The boy was in shock & it was to be expected that it would all just come out. John invited the man inside & closed the door. Once inside the stranger obtained the information he required.
It was almost 23:50 when Nancy & Jane Drew pulled up in the gravel court yard, at the front of the house, in their dark blue Volkswagen. They were both very tired as they began to unload the car, so the shopping bags seemed to weigh heavier than when they bought the items earlier that day. However, they were happier than they’d felt for a long, long time & they laughed at the funny hat they’d bought as a gift for Johnny. From the opened boot they lifted the shopping bags on to the porch & rang the bell, hoping for help from John with the load. After a couple of minutes without reply Jane impatiently slipped her key into the door & found it unlocked. She went in & her mother followed her into the hallway. Once in, they called for John again, but he didn’t come! Nancy pondered that it was a little odd as they entered the low lit living room together in search of an explanation.
The waiting, uninvited visitor had quietly locked the front door behind them, after already disconnecting the telephones. He followed the mother & daughter into the living room unannounced & closed the living room doors firmly.
Their terror, unlike poor Johnny’s, was short lived. The remnants of the Drew family were soon to be reunited with the dead father in a better place, away from such evil.
The visitor, some five hours later, left Abbots house as he had found it & drove off in the Volkswagen into the early misty morning. It had been an unexpected pleasure for him & he was still shaking with excitement. More importantly though, he had got what he came for. He was pleased with himself & he smiled a wicked smile as he sped along the A202 towards Highgreen. It was not long before the Volkswagen had changed direction & was headed west along the A205, which lead to Ridgegate.
Before most of the people in the area had awoken the dark blue Volkswagen had been safely disposed. With that the stranger was gone, but not without trace. However, the Drew family’s occupancy had abruptly ended & Abbots house lay in dark silence once more in its picturesque setting, as the unsuspecting folk of nearby Bockford awoke.
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Written by T.R.Vinnicombe (aka Dr. Peter Hodgkins) ©2009 all rights reserved & none of the contents of this site can be copied or used in any way without the written consent of the author. Published online by MicroHotStar 2009.
Abbots House? Drawn by the Author.
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