Page 32 of The Reaper
Maybe she was frightened.
Maybe I’d scared her off.
Maybe all the procrastinating I was doing about my problem was all for nothing because my little raven had seen my claws, and she’d flown away. Better it happened now than later down the line, because if she thought the claws that I’d shown on that night were bad, she’d have lost it when my real ones made an appearance.
My conversation with Liv hadn’t lasted long. I was evasive and abrupt when she questioned me, and she had nothing to tell me about Leah May, other than she’d dropped her off home safely. And so, I buried myself in work and anything else that I could to distract myself. I bought a new crossbow and spent time outside familiarising myself with the mechanisms, learning to handle it and fire it with precision. Mastering a new weapon was one way of focusing my mind, but even that had been a struggle.
I stood in the field at the back of the asylum, ignoring the bitter wind as I took a few more practise shots with the bow. But eventually, I grew tired and wandered back inside and up the stairs to the living room to get myself a hot drink. Tyson was padding down the corridor from Adam’s room to join me, and when I went in, everyone was sitting around having a lazy afternoon. Silently stuck in my own head, I made myself a coffee and then sat next to Liv and Adam on the sofa. The newspaper lay on the table, and on the front page was the headline, ‘Rapist found hanged in local beauty spot’. I picked it up to read the article, feeling satisfied the police had done their job and the death was reported as suicide. Just as I was folding the newspaper to put it back on the table, Tyler leant forward with a bunch of letters in his hand and threw them onto my lap.
“These are yours,” he said, sitting back and turning his attention to Will and Colton, who were playing on the Xbox in the corner.
I flicked through the letters and one with no address or stamp on it caught my attention. I held it up and asked, “Is the postman delivering letters for free now?”
Colton stopped staring at the game for a second to tell me, “That was hand delivered, mate. I found it on the floor of the foyer about an hour ago.”
I didn’t think any more of it and ripped the envelope open. When I read what was written on the paper inside, my whole body suddenly felt like it’d been submerged under icy cold water, only to be yanked back out again.
Devon,
I’m watching you. I’m getting closer. And when we play the next game, I promise you, it’ll be your last. You need to remember that I always win, and you will always lose. You’ll never get rid of me. I can’t be beaten.
See you soon, son.
Vinnie.
What the fuck was this bullshit? I was shaking, rage vibrating through me as I tried to take it all in. My breathing became ragged, and stars began to dance in front of my eyes as I panted out my breaths.
Liv shuffled closer to me and whispered, “Are you okay, lovely?”
I couldn’t lie, I was far from okay. I shook my head and then leaned across her to pass the letter to Adam, my hands quivering as I did.
“Someone’s fucking playing with me,” I hissed, pissed that even more crap was coming my way. “And whoever it is, they’re going to wish they’d never been born when I get a hold of them. I’m no one’s fucking plaything.”
Adam read the note, then with a look of thunder on his face, he reached over and grabbed the TV remote, turning it off. Will and Colton groaned in annoyance.
“Who posted this?” he snapped, holding the letter up. “Did you see anyone?”
“I didn’t see shit.” Colton shrugged, snatching the letter out of Adam’s hand. He read it, then passed it over to Will, his face going from mildly annoyed to fuming after he’d seen what was written. “Check the CCTV,” he said to Tyler, all joking forgotten. “Whoever posted it will be on there.”
Tyler had his laptop on the table, and he started tapping away, trying to find the footage to see who had delivered the letter. When he twisted it around moments later to show us the screen, we all leaned forward, but it was pointless. The video was paused on a dark figure that could have been anyone; black overcoat, baseball cap pulled low, there was no fucking way we could identify who it was, not from this. Tyler replayed the footage, but it was useless. It looked like a man, but even that was debatable.
“Could it be him? Vinnie?” Will asked, as they all stared at me.
“No, it fucking couldn’t,” I shot back, trembling with fury. “I do know how to kill someone. He’s dead. No need for you to fucking question it. He’s at the bottom of Brinton canal with the rest of the shit from this town.”
“But are you sure?” Colton added, testing my patience.
“What do you fucking mean, am I sure? I just told you, didn’t I?”
“You were a kid. Maybe he wasn’t dead? Maybe he was unconscious, and he managed to swim to safety?” I knew Colton liked his jokes, but this was taking the fucking piss.
“And hide away for the best part of ten years? There’s no fucking way. It’s not him. Someone thinks they can have a joke at my fucking expense, mess around, but it’s not happening. I’ll find out who did this, and when I do, they’ll know that they fucked with the wrong guy.”
“Didn’t you say your mum sees him?” Will added, making the blood in my veins boil that little bit hotter.
“She sees a lot of things, but dead stepfathers isn’t one of them.” I went silent, remembering when my mum had told me she’d seen him at the end of her road.
“What? You’ve remembered something. What is it?” Adam asked, noticing the change in my demeanour.
