Haunted in the Night

Chapter Three.

That night Claire slept on the couch, if that is what you could call it, she had kept the fire burning all night and only slept very lightly, flinching awake at any noise, especially when the wind blew and rattled the window shutters.

By the time the sun began to rise she was exhausted, mentally and physically, her skin was pale and there was bags under her eyes but she had no unrealistic expectations, she knew that there would be more nights like that to come.

She did feel slightly better after a nice, warm shower, a bit more relaxed at least, she wore a black and white striped tank top under a black leather jacket with skin tight track pant jeans, they were made from stretchy track pant fabric that look like denim, they were blue with black roses pictures stylishly going up both legs and red converse shoes.

She had decided to walk into town to have breakfast, it wasn’t too far, 15 minute walk and she got to appreciate the scenery that surrounded her, surrounded the whole town, the forest.

The breeze blew through the leaves, making the smell of fresh air and pine engulf her, she did not have any of that in the big city and she had to admit, she had missed it.

The local cafe was only just opening when she arrived, granted she had gotten up at six in the morning and it had only been an hour since.

It was a cute little shop, small wooden chairs and tables painted white out the front under a big red storefront veranda in front of a big window that took up most of the front of the store, the entrance was to the right, next to the window, it was called The Coffee House.

Inside along half of the left wall were red leather booths with white wooden tables, obviously their theme, along the rest of the wall was a big white counter that had the cash register in the middle with a couple of cookie jars next to it, the wall to the right of the room however was just a line of booths.

Claire sat down on one of the wooden stools that were in front of the counter while she looked at the massive menu that was pinned high on the wall, surprisingly these stools were brown in colours, Claire had expected white or red like the rest of their theme.

“G’day how may I help you?” a young woman asked as she walked up to Claire from the kitchens to the right.

She looked like she couldn’t be older than 20 years old, she was at least 6 feet tall, she was thin also, had long blonde hair with brown eyes, her face was caked with make-up, fingers covered in rings and colourful fingernails, each one a different colour, very girly.

“Hi, yes can I please get the morning special?” Claire asked which consists of bacon, eggs and sausage.

“Sure thing, I haven’t seen you around before, are you new here?” the girl asked as she scribbled Claire’s order down on a tiny notepad.

“I’m Claire" was all she replied and the girl froze before her eyes slowly looked up at Claire through her long black eyelashes, it was clear that she had heard of her.

“I’m Coral, I’ll be right back with your food" she said once she had recovered herself from the shock and scurried up to the counter in the wall that leads to the kitchen where the orders get placed.

Claire just sighed before getting to her feet and went to sit in the middle booth along the right wall, noticing that everyone in the little cafe was staring at her and whispering amongst themselves, they weren’t even bothering to try and hide it.

Claire knew it would happen so she just did her best to block it out by writing her case notes in a small black notebook.

Why 3 threatening letters to the first victim down to 1 for the others?

Was Mary more important to this kidnapper? (First victim tends to be more personal).

Just perfecting M.O?

Too risky leaving 3? Almost got caught?

Claire found that it helped to write down all the questions that were swirling around in her head, helped her know where to put her focus to find answers for those questions.

“I was hoping you’d be here, I went to your cabin to pick you up and was worried when you weren’t there" Bob sounded relieved as he walked up to Claire, he wore a fresh uniform and he smelt of soap and aftershave.

“I’m sorry, I was going to text you with the number my grandparents gave me for you but I didn’t want to risk waking you" Claire explained as he sat down across from her.

“Okay here’s your meal Claire and Chief good to see you, your usual?” Coral asked as she came bounding over and placed Claire’s breakfast down in front of her, Claire had been surprised that she didn’t drop it.

“Yes please Coral" Bob kept it short but polite.

“Oh hey guess what, I’ve saved up five hundred dollars towards California” Coral beamed proudly as she hovered over them.

“That’s great Coral, better keep at it so you keep earning more, who knows I might even give you a tip when you bring me my meal" Bob said forcing a smile while Coral grinned like she had just won the lottery as she skipped away, completely oblivious to the fact that he had said it to get her to leave him alone.

“California?” Claire asked curiously raising an eyebrow at him.

“She wants to go to Hollywood to become a movie star actress, I’m no longer sure if I give her the ten dollar tip every morning anymore to get her to leave me alone or to get her to leave for America a little sooner" he admitted, he had obviously been putting up with her every morning for a little while now and found her quite annoying.

“She’s going to need a lot more than five hundred” Claire said as she began eating before her breakfast went cold, it was good, fresh and well cooked.

“It would be more if she stopped spending most of her earnings, most of her pay check is spent on make-up, jewellery and clothes that she don’t even need, she could do so much more with her potential but she don’t see it" Bob explained as he looked around the store, noticing everyone staring and whispering.

“Looks like you’re the talk of the town once again, sorry about that" Bob said as he frowned.

“Inevitable, I knew it would be like this, my parents wouldn’t want me to hide" Claire said as she continued to block them out by focusing on her food.

“Here you go Chief, is there anything else I can do for either of you?” Coral asked, her voice thick with the Australian accent, she had given Bob a stack of pancakes and syrup, as well as a glass of water for each of them.

“No thank you Coral I think we’re alright, here’s your tip" he replied as he pulled out a ten dollar note that he had all ready in his pocket and handed it to her and she smiled walking away looking at it like it was all the cash in the world.

“Generous tip, interesting name" Claire commented as Bob joined her in eating.

“Yes it is unique" Bob replied, it was not pronounced like coral in the sea but like the word core with an L on the end, Claire liked it.

“So what are your plans for the day?” he wondered making eye contact with her between cutting and eating his food.

“I guess I had better go to the town hall and find out what Helena left in her Will, they still handle all that stuff right?” Claire asked and he nodded in reply.

“Then after that I would like to go to the police station and review what you have on the case" she added before they finished their breakfast.

“I’ve got this one, you can shout for coffee and lunch later okay?” Bob asked as they stood up and he put the money for their meals down on the table for Coral to find when she collects their plates.

“Don’t tell me you’re one of those cops who always has donuts for lunch" Claire joked as they walked out to the police cruiser.

“Oh goodness no, it’ll be healthy sandwiches thank you, I want to stay as fit and healthy as I can" he chuckled back.

“Thank you for all that food by the way, how much do I owe you?” she asked him, referring to all the food back at the cabin.

“You can pay me back by helping me catch this monster" he replied as he concentrated on driving.

The town hall hadn’t changed much at all, it was still located in the middle of the main street, it was right next to the police station so Bob parked in the Police Chiefs assigned spot and they just walked over.

It wasn’t a huge building, two story, it had aged though, it had faded more in colour than it already had when Claire left, now it was an old grey shade and the windows creaked with rust, it felt very gloomy.

This story will continue in Chapter Three- Part Two.