Pillar of the village (standard:horror, 1644 words)
Author: Lev821	Added: Oct 24 2018	Views/Reads: 1799/1196	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
A missing person. A suspect. A cold-steeled knife...

Click here to read the first 75 lines of the story

instant. So he mostly he kept to himself after his mother had died a 
month ago. Any friends he had were a train-ride away in the city. Now 
it was after the funeral, and after everybody had given their 
sympathies, had given their cards, had shaken his hand, and had left 
him in an empty house. 

Not that many people had turned up. Although Mrs Leversham herself did
come to offer her condolances, much to his surprise. Only a few friends 
of his mothers, and a few of his came around. 

That was that, the world still turned, and he was left to cope with
officialdom, with bankers, with solicitors, and no-one who cared too 
much. He would probably at some point have to move, if he couldn't 
maintain the house, but still, it was all to be dealt with at some 
point. 

At the moment however, he had to worry about Anthony, because he knew he
would be gunning for him. 

Mrs Leversham, as of two days ago, was missing. 

It had never happened before. People in a tight-knit community usually
know the whereabouts of the residents, and Mrs Leversham was such a 
respected pillar of the village, her absence was seemingly noticed by 
everybody. 

A few people had knocked on his door, asking if he'd seen her, but he
said he hadn't, and maybe it was time to get the police involved. 

So when Anthony had found out she was missing, which was fairly late
after it had been reported, he had jumped in his car and had 
accelerated to the village. 

Raymond was stood in the front room of the house, nervously waiting for
the car to pull up, waiting for Anthony's rapid judgement. 

On a table behind him he picked up a mobile phone, and as he did he
could hear an engine coming closer, and outside, the Alfa Romeo 
screeched to a halt. 

Anthony got out, sporting mirrored sunglasses. He came straight to the
door and began banging. 

"Raymond, get out here you little runt. Answer the door". Raymond took a
nervous breath, and did. 

The second the door came off the latch it was pushed open and Anthony
grabbed him and pushed him against the wall. "Where is she? and don't 
fuck me about" "I know she's missing but I wouldn't do that honest". 
Anthony pressed harder. "I know you don't like her. In fact, I think 
you're the only one, so where is she?" "Honest Anthony, do you think I 
would do something like that, knowing you would come after me?" "It 
would be unbelievably stupid of you to do that, because I would fucking 
kill you if you've touched her". "I know that, in fact I knew you would 
come, so I thought I could offer you a peace offering. I've cooked you 
a meal". Now that he thought about it, Anthony could smell freshly 
cooked meat, and realised he was hungry. "Smell that," said Raymond. 
"Fillet steak with chips and onion rings and garlic mushrooms". 

Anthony let him go. 

"Through here," and Raymond led him through in to the front room where
on the table was a knife and fork, salt and pepper shakers and a bottle 
of brown sauce. "Sit here I'll go and get it". Anthony did so and 
Raymond walked through in to the kitchen. 

From his pocket he pulled out the mobile phone and stepped out in to the
overgrown back-yard. He dialled the police and waited for them to 
answer, and when they did he threw the phone into the grass and weeds 
and went back into the kitchen where he opened the oven and took out 
Anthony's meal. It was fairly hot and steaming so he took it through on 
a tea-towel and laid it before him. 

Anthony nodded approvingly. "Looks good," he said, "Didn't know you were
a cook" "Remember I spent a year in catering college," "Oh yeah, 
dropped out though, couldn't take the heat. Good enough for meals like 
this though". Anthony tucked into his meal, and Raymond stood looking 
out of the window. They didn't talk much while he ate and when he had 
finished he wiped his mouth on the tea-towel and said: "Got to admit 
Raymond, never had steak like that before. It was great". Raymond 
leaned forward on the table and looked sternly at Anthony and said: 
"That was your mother, and you've just ate her". He then quickly left 
and walked out into the kitchen. It took a few moments for Anthony's 
brain circuitry to make sense of what Raymond had just said, but when 
it did he stood up and stormed into the kitchen. "What? What the 
fuck....?" The kitchen was streaked in blood. Utensils and plates, and 
cupboards splattered, the floor slippy. 

On the counter by the sink, there she was. The ravaged, bloodied cut up
corpse of Mrs Leversham. Body parts scattered around, her head in the 
sink. 

Her ribs exposed and innards on the counter and on the floor. Near
Anthony, on the corner was a shiny bread knife with no blood. Raymond 
spread his arms wide, and Anthony grabbed the knife. Neither of them 
heard the police car pull up outside and two officers approach the 
house. They saw Anthony in the kitchen. 

"I'll fucking kill you," he said stepping towards Raymond. "Hello,
what's going on?" said one of the officers entering the kitchen. 
Anthony stopped and spun around. 

The police surveyed the carnage. Saw the blood, the body, the man with
the knife, and his now cowering victim. "Stop right there, you're under 
arrest". Anthony looked back at Raymond and went to stab him again, but 
instead he was tasered, and fell to the floor in the blood and his 
panicky eyes looked up at Raymond, whose suicide bid had failed, and he 
guessed he and Anthony's paths would cross again one day after he had 
got out of prison, but for now he couldn't help but grin down at him. 
"Thank-you officers," he said. "Now lock him up".


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