Haunted in the Night

Chapter Two.

"What?" Claire didn't know why she asked that, she had heard him perfectly clear but it had sent a chill throughout her whole body, her breath had gone ragged and her chest cramped up.

"I asked if you would like to go to your parents store, Helena started running it after you left town, didn't your grandparents tell you that?" he asked as a look of confusion and concern appeared in his facial features.

"No I knew, I just have a lot of memories from that place" Claire explained and he nodded his head to let her know that he understands.

It had been smart to let Helena manage the store after what happened to Claire's parents, she also knew that Helena was running the store for her so if she ever wanted to come back and take over the family business she could, after all that had been her dream back then, a lot had changed since.

"We can go some place else if you'd like, I just thought that since Helena worked there nearly every day that there might be a clue there" he said and she couldn't help but agree.

"We can go there, it's okay, this whole town holds many memories that I'm going to need to face sooner or later, no point avoiding it, it only makes the fear grow and that's what feeds this criminal, fear and anxiety and this whole town is on edge" Claire admitted even though she didn't like to, she had been secretly living in fear for 14 years.

"Alright, if your sure" Bob said as he started up the car and headed towards the main street.

"So is there any link that connects the victims?" Claire asked after a few moments of awkward silence, he obviously didn't know what to say to her and was worried he might reopen an old wound.

"Not that we can find, however I do know that this has been ongoing for the last 17 years, the first victim was in 2002, 3 years before your parents, her name was Mary Scather, she was very popular, almost famous, she had been considered the most beautiful woman in town, she was being stalked, she came to me down at the police station after recieving a note written in blood, however we couldn't find a suspect, she recieved 3 of these letters, it was after the 3rd one that she went missing" he told her.

"That's odd, Helena and my parents only recieved one letter in blood before they went missing, I wonder what made this kidnapper go from 3 letters down to one, I definitely want to see copies of those letters too, they could hold some big clues" Claire said, she remembered the morning her parents found the letter on their doorstep, they had been so afraid but just like with Mary the police had no suspects and then that night when her parents tucked her into bed, it was the last time she ever saw them.

Claire closed her eyes for a moment and shook her head slightly, trying to clear her mind and block out the memories that were creeping in, they haunted her enough already but being back in this town they surrounded her, clawed at her.

“Here we are" Bob said as they pulled up in front of her parents old store.

Handerson’s Hardware it was called, it had belonged to Claire’s grandfather before he passed it down to his son, Claire’s father and moved to another state, he had moved to Adelaide so Gail could teach English literature at the university, it had been her lifelong dream and she had done it for many years, right up to retirement age.

It was a small square building, painted light blue on the outside and cream on the inside, it had two big four paned square windows on either side of the door and it had big wooden pots that hang under the windows that were filled with flowers, it was just how Claire remembered it, Helena hadn’t changed anything.

Unclipping her seatbelt had proven to be quite difficult, her hands were trembling from nerves, Bob noticed this and reached over and unclipped it for her and she gulped attempting to clear her throat before she looked up at him in appreciation.

However walking inside the store was even harder, she had only gotten a few steps inside before she froze, everything was the same, there was wooden shelves lined in two columns, everything had it’s place and was even labelled, she remembered that had been her mother’s idea, to make everything easier to find, for everyone, both employees and customers.

It even smelled the same, of wood and dust, the musty aroma filled Claire’s nose and she trembled at the memories that followed it.

She was only eight years old, dressed in a pink sparkly dress that had pink fairy wings you could attach to it, she also wore black converse shoes on account of her dad, he always made sure her feet were covered when she was in the store, just in case of splinters or a dropped nail, he was always protective of his little fairy princess.

She had been walking around the store helping customers find things and her father had been watching proudly and when she walked over to him at the counter he told her that one day the little kingdom that was the store would all be hers.

Her father’s name was Thomas, he had only been 36 years old when he and his wife went missing, Claire remembered him as tall and athletic, he would go for an hour long jog every morning at 6am, he had short brown hair and big thick eyebrows, his eyes were brown just like Claire’s and he had a strong jawline, she also remembered that that day he has worn a green woollen jumper with black pants and work boots, he always wore a woollen jumper, he had many that Gail had knit for him.

“Hey Chief what can I do for you? You here about Helena?” a man spoke, snapping Claire out of her memory and back to the present as he walked up to them, coming from the back of the shop.

The man was quite attractive, he had a strong, fit body with broad shoulders, he had straight shoulder length blonde hair with blue eyes and a short blonde goatee that was more like stubble on the bottom of his chin, he looked to be in his mid twenties.

“Yes I’m afraid we are, Chad this is Claire Handerson, Claire meet Chad Scotts" Bob introduced them, as soon as he had mentioned her name shock had appeared on Chad's face and his eyes instantly landed on her as he took her all in, it was obvious that he knew who she was, everyone in this town would, she had expected that but there was nothing that could have prepared her for their reactions and their pity, it was already written all over his face.

Chad Scotts, that name sounded familiar but she couldn’t remember.

“Hi, I wish we were meeting under better circumstances” Chad said to her, looking down sadly for a moment before back up at her, he was clearly mourning but trying to maintain a brave face.

“You knew Helena?” Claire asked softly, she too was struggling to keep her emotions in check, especially with all the memories this place holds swarming around her.

“Yes I did, all my life, I worked with her here for the last ten years, ever since I turned 16” he explained to her and she noted that that would make him 26 years of age.

“Are you here for the store?” he asked her and she noticed disappointment, in both his voice tone and demeanour, his shoulders sagged, his face muscles softened and he watched her intently, a glint of hope still in his eyes, Claire could see that he cared for her parents store immensely.

“Claire has asked to assist on the case, she is studying to become a criminal profiler so I have agreed as she may be able to see things differently than me and my team can" Bob told Chad and Claire wondered just how many there was on his team, she remembered there only used to be three of them back when Bob was second in command, there had been the police chief, then the chiefs second, Bob and a police officer who was to always man the station, answer phones, radio reports to them to check out, file paperwork, basically an office clerk, she wondered if it was still like that.

“I see, interesting career choice, so what can I help with?” Chad asked, Claire could tell he knew why she had chosen that profession, she knew everyone in this town would know, her parents.

“We found a threatening letter at Helena's home this morning and we were wondering if you knew of this or if she had received any others? Maybe kept them here?” Bob asked and Claire admired his initiative, he was careful with choosing his words, he didn't give out key evidence, such as the letter, he mentioned it but didn’t tell him what it said or that it was written in blood, he also asked if he knew of the letter, it was smart to ask him the way that he had, that way if he tries to lie there is more of a chance he’ll stumble on it or give something away, it is a great technique to see if someone is honest or trying to hide something.

“A letter? You mean from whomever has taken her?” Chad gasped out, his eyes wide and his jaw tightened, clear signs of shock, confusion and anger.

“Yes, we believe that she received it in the morning of the day she went missing" Bob revealed a little more, watching closely for his reaction, as was Claire.

“Why didn’t she tell me? Why didn’t she tell you? I mean if she knew that it was coming for her we could have helped her, protected her” Chad’s brow furrowed, his shoulders slumped and he had tears in his eyes that he was struggling to fight back, he was blaming himself.

This story will continue in Chapter Two- Part Two.