The Suicider

Simon had split from his long term girlfriend and was very unhappy where he was living and decided to move away to a new area where he could forget and start afresh. Simon realised that as he had no ties, he could live anywhere he chose.

Employment would not be a problem to Simon, having gained impressive qualifications after three years at college where he majored in sociology and psychology.

Simon moved to Loughborough, a large town in Leicestershire. He found a small reasonably priced flat to rent and used his savings as a deposit.

Simon's flat was sparsely furnished so he decided to stroll around the local second hand shops to find some bargains. He came across a small shop called "Cheryl's" at the end of the High Street. The window was brimming with just such bargains and there were quite a few pieces of furniture which caught his eye.

On entering the shop a girl approached him and offered her services. Simon was instantly attracted to her and went into flirt mode.

"Hi, I'm new to Loughborough and I am looking to fit my flat out. I've seen quite a few bits of furniture I'd like to buy. Do you deliver?"

The girl smiled at Simon and walked towards him.

"Yes, we deliver and it's free of charge if you spend over a hundred pounds"

"Thank God for that. It would be a bit of a struggle to carry that large wardrobe on my back through town!" Simon thought a joke would break the ice. He took out his tape measure and asked her to help him measure the old Edwardian double wardrobe at the rear of the shop.

Simon stayed over half an hour in the shop talking and joking with Cheryl, who possessed the same wicked sense of humour as his. He wanted to stay longer, but he was careful not to overstay his welcome.

Simon paid for his purchases and left the shop. However each time he walked past the shop he always popped in to say hello and to his delight, Cheryl's face always lit up.

Simon got to know Cheryl pretty well over the next week or so and discovered she had a boyfriend called Tommy, but was unhappy with him as he was extremely possessive and prone to fly into jealous rages. She admitted to Simon that she wanted to end their relationship but was too frightened to leave him. He learned they had been together for three years, that she once left him for another man, but he terrorised her new boyfriend to such an extent she returned to Tommy in fear of her new boyfriend's life. Apparently Tommy was a local drug dealer and stories about Tommy's exploits were legendary in Loughborough. She told Simon about the time Tommy visited a house with some of his mates, kicked the door down, held a young lad by his ankles and took a baseball bat to the soles of his feet. All this because the boy was late paying for his drugs. She recited several similar violent incidents, each one worse than the other. Everyone feared Tommy. Even the police feared him.

Simon listened to her stories and felt a mixture of anger and fear. He knew the wise thing to do would be to walk away, but he couldn't. He was a sucker for a damsel in distress.

On Saturday Simon returned to the shop but it was empty. He shouted across the shop towards the rear office.

"Hello gorgeous, had a nice dream about you last….."

A large rough looking man emerged from behind the counter. Cheryl rushed from the rear office with a look of panic on her face.

"What's your name, mate? Haven't seen you here before"

Simon knew this was Tommy, but answered the question without thinking first.

He walked up to Simon and pushed his face close against Simon's.

"So you're the twat Cheryl's always talking about! You're a dead man!" Simon felt his hot stale breath on his face. Cheryl stood absolutely still and did not say a word.

The days that followed were torturous. Tommy began to terrorise Simon on a daily basis. He suffered sleepless nights as every time he heard the security door to his apartment slam, he woke up in a sweat. His window was smashed, his car broken into and he was "mugged" on the way home after shopping one evening. He was in fear of his life and stopped going out at night. Simon became more and more depressed.

He found it impossible to accept there was nothing he could do. He was worried about Cheryl. She stopped serving in the shop and he noticed her car was no longer parked in the nearby car park. Although Simon was afraid, he became more and more angry. Despite his own suffering, he worried about Cheryl more. His imagination ran riot, and the thought of Cheryl in the hands of such a maniac made his life even more of a misery. Simon came to the conclusion he could not live his life this way any longer. It was time to stand up for himself. He knew he was not a strong man and couldn't beat Tommy physically, but he could use his intelligence to solve the problem. Tommy may be tough but he certainly wasn't clever. So Simon thought long and hard about what he was going to do. He had a plan.

Simon vacated his flat. He moved into a small bed and breakfast in the next town and collated as much information about Tommy as he could. He waited until Tommy went out and scavenged through his rubbish bin. He found Social Security information, credit card details and household bills. Simon researched Tommy's personal information thoroughly. In fact Simon effectively "stole" Tommy's identity.

He went into the town the next day and bought a mobile phone from the market and asked the salesman to set up the mobile and activate it for him. The next day Simon contacted the Telephone company claiming to be Tommy, advising them he was moving the following Friday and asking for his home telephone to be disconnected. Simon then contacted the Television Licence Authority and told them anonymously that Tommy had a T.V.

Tommy started the war and Simon intended to end it.

Tommy became agitated. His life was suddenly going wrong. He was unable to make telephone calls. He was reduced to using the telephone box at the end of his street, but when the list of options the call centre provided frustrated him even more, he lost his temper and vandalised the telephone box. His housing benefit was stopped for no apparent reason, his electricity was cut off, but being ordered to pay back his entire working tax credits for the last six months was the last straw. Tommy returned to his small untidy flat and sat alone in the dark. He was searching for a candle when the doorbell rang. He opened the door about two inches as two burly men peered in at him through the gap. Tommy recognised one of them immediately.

"Is that you, Tommy?"

Tommy relaxed and opened the door.

"How you doing, John, come on in".

Tommy described the sequence of events he had suffered recently.

"Shut up! We are here for a reason!" John continued.

"Chill, man, you are not going to like this, but we've been hired to come down here and shoot you, but when we got here and realised it was you we couldn't do it." They told him they had no idea who was behind the contract, but advised him to keep his head down for a while.

Tommy was scared for the first time in his life. The following day Tommy phoned his place of work and told them he would not be in as he was not feeling too good. He spent the rest of the day hiding in his flat.

Then the text messages started. "You die soon" said the messages, on the hour, every hour. Tommy was very scared.

Tommy stayed in, hardly ate and stopped answering his telephone. He ignored his friends too, as he was not sure if he could trust them. He lived on painkillers and whisky and rarely left his flat. In fact Tommy stayed at home for months, only venturing out when he ran out of cigarettes. In desperation he made a weekly journey to his local newsagent to buy some. On one such occasion as he walked back home past the alley near his flat Simon jumped out.

"Boo! Remember me?"

Tommy froze solid.

"Eat this", grunted Simon, squeezing the trigger of a gun pushed hard against Tommy's temple.

"What is it?" whispered Tommy, his voice breaking up with fear.

"Don't talk - just fucking swallow it".

Tommy opened his mouth. Simon placed something on his tongue, closed Tommy's mouth firmly shut and tapped him on his Adams Apple. Tommy swallowed the tablet just as Simon shouted "Get in the van!"

Simon walked Tommy to the van and locked him in the back. Simon got in and drove away, heading towards the motorway. Tommy continued to scream and shout in the back of the transit van, but he eventually tired and became quiet. They arrived at a multi story car park in Nottingham, where Simon drove to the top level, reversed the van into a car parking space and opened the back doors. The pill had obviously done the trick as Tommy was sleeping soundly in the back of the van. Tommy eventually woke up. He was still disorientated as Simon held a bottle of vodka to his mouth and told Tommy to drink. Tommy obediently gulped down as much as he could, still sleepy and confused. As he tried to focus on the face before him, he saw that Simon was still holding a gun to his head. He was very, very scared.

Simon pulled Tommy from the van and marched him to the edge of the car park. He pulled Tommy towards the wall and ordered him to sit on the ledge and face Simon. Now it was Simon's turn. "How does it feel for you, Tommy, because I feel really good. And how do you like it being me?" Tommy was shaking. Simon could feel his own heart racing and the adrenaline rush made him feel powerful.

As Tommy tried to steady himself, Simon nudged him a little. Tommy was still drowsy from the pill and the alcohol was taking effect. He had no strength at all, and his head was spinning. He started to sway backwards and Simon nudged him a little further. Quietly and quickly, without a single cry, Tommy fell backwards over the wall and hit the ground below. He died instantly.

The local paper ran a headline a few days later which caught Simon's attention:-

"Thomas Harper of Loughborough was found dead after jumping from the Multi Storey Car Park at the Shopping centre early Tuesday morning. Police believe there were no suspicious circumstances as Mr Harper had been suffering from depression and had become a recluse. A verdict of suicide has been reached".

Simon had changed. He felt weird but good. He had used his intelligence and education to take on a difficult task and complete it quickly and cleanly in an efficient manner. He had the feeling of satisfaction of a job well done. That was it!

Simon had now found his new line of employment. He knew there must be hundreds of people out there with similar problems, people who needed Simon's help.

Simon would now be known as "The Suicider"

Person(s) murdering Victim(s) and making it appear like suicide.