Shadow Chaser Chapter Three

When dawn announced its presence by illuminating the thin curtains with early morning rays of subdued sunlight, Gerhard was still laying restless and awake as he had been when he fell into bed three hours previously. The thought of the images returning, should he allow himself to drift into a deep sleep, was enough to make him fight his tiredness. His eyes constantly searched and analysed every shadow that formed in his semi darkened room.

The shrill sound of the door bell chiming made Gerhard sit bolt upright for a second. A quick check of the beside clock confirmed that it was six-thirty. ‘Who the hell is calling at this time?’ he thought, his anger and frustration subdued only by his tiredness.

Throwing on his bath robe, he wearily made his way down the stairs to the front door, where the sun shone on the frosted glass panel, giving a distorted glimpse of two figures standing on the other side. Unable to make out the details of the callers identity he could clearly ascertain that one was male and the other female .

"Hello?" he called, rather suspiciously through the glass.

"Mr. Harrison?" came the male reply, although a short reply the words rang with authorities tones. "We’d like to ask you a few questions concerning an incident that happened last night, if you don’t mind."

Slowly, Gerhard unlocked the door, though still tinged with suspicion he left the chain firmly in place, when he pulled back the door, offering him just enough clear view to see the two police officers standing on the doorstep, one holding out an identity card for inspection.

"This is Detective Sergeant Wallis and I’m WPC Lindhurst," the female officer said.

"What incident?" Gerhard gasped in bleary-eyed reply.

"If you let us in, we’ll explain everything," DS Wallis’s reply was blunt, and lacked the soft friendly tones of his female colleague. Instantly, Gerhard fumbled to release the chain.

Without further invitation or hesitation the two police offices stepped past Gerhard into the hall.

"What’s this about?" Gerhard persisted.

"We understand you were talking to Pete Wilson, last night," Wallis said.

"Pete Wilson?"

"The security guard at Monk Burton Priory. The cctv camera shows you talking to him in the car park there, between six-thirty and seven forty five last night," Lindhurst added.

"Yes that’s right. I was talking to Pete." The two officers seemed reluctant to explain the reason for their enquiries, however, judging by the solemn expression on both their faces, he was beginning to suspect something terrible had happened to his new acquaintance at the Priory.

Gerhard’s first thought was of what Pete had confessed to him about his strange sense of something following and watching him there. Not that he intended to disclose this to Lindhurst or Wallis. At least, not until they revealed what had happened to poor Pete.

"Look! What’s all this about? Has something happened to Pete?"

"That’s what we’re trying to find out, Mr Harrison," Wallis began. "We received a call late last night from his office. He missed two check-in calls and his controllers were worried that something might have happened to him."

"I left him about seven forty five, he seemed all right then,"

"We sent two officers to check the site around one o’clock this morning and Mr. Wilson was nowhere to be found. His van was there and considerable traces of blood were found around the driver’s door."

Gerhard’s face fell ashen white on hearing this devastating news. He instantly decided that the time was right to inform Wallis and Lindhirst of Pete’s worries about feeling uneasy on the site. Maybe someone had been watching him, waiting for an opportune moment to attack him, though for what reason, he had no idea.

The two officers listened intently as Gerhard began revealing what Pete had told him about his strange sense of fear, the night before, though Wallis’s expression indicated that he was far from impressed.

"So…" began the disgruntled detective, "are you saying that Mr. Wilson, a man of some eighteen stone, and over six feet tall was convinced that he was being stalked at the Priory by some kind of ‘ghost?’

"I’m only telling you what Pete told me!" Gerhard added, somewhat angrily, sensing Wallis’s hostility.

"I’d say by the amount of blood we found at the scene, that whatever attacked Mr. Wilson was definitely alive and well, and had more in mind than just scaring him.

WPC Lindhurst, who had been busy writing hurried notes in her book, while Gerhard described his previous nights visit to the Priory, interjected with a much calmer and less incredulity in her voice; "Did Mr. Wilson have a dog with him while you were talking to him in the car park?"

"No!" Gerhard answered quickly.

"Could have had one in his van?"

"No. He didn’t have a dog. I would have heard it, if he had."

"Do you own a dog?" Wallis interrupted, before leaning through the doorway into the room beyond, still dimly by the daylight that pierced through the still drawn curtains.

"No. I don’t have a dog," Gerhard followed the detective when he decided to investigate for himself. "Why all the interest in dogs? Are you saying Pete was attacked by one?"

"I’m not saying anything!" Wallis called from the kitchen as he advanced his search.

"We found large deposits of dog hairs on the back of Mr. Wilson’s van!" Lindhurst, confided in a low voice, obviously she didn’t want her colleague to hear her disclosure, though clearly she seemed uneasy at the level of suspicion Wallis was displaying.

After completing his uninvited tour of the downstairs rooms, the detective returned, He seemed disappointed that he had found nothing to justify a more thorough search of the house.

"Take a look upstairs if you like. You won’t find any dog, I hate the damn things." Gerhard said scathingly. The level of suspicion Wallis was openly displaying had long since began to grind on Gerhard’s tired and frayed nerves. He had felt the same uneasiness that Pete had described to him, though he had not even the slightest inclination to make this knowledge and make himself a target for the detectives ridicule and sarcasm, let alone adding to Wallis’s irritating need to connect him to the crime in some way.

Seeing Wallis place his foot on the bottom step to begin his ascent up stairs, Lindurst quickly decided that nothing was to be gain by prolonging the interview any further and clearly attempted to bring the exercise to an end before tempers flared further.

"I think we’ve finished here for the time being, Mr. Harrison. However, we’d appreciate it if you could call at the station later today and make out a statement." With that she turned and opened the outer door, holding it open to allow her superior to leave, pausing only to pass a final suspicious glare in Gerhard’s direction.

"Thanks for your time Mr. Harrison. If you think of anything you might have forgotten please let us know straight away. The sooner we find Mr. Wilson the sooner we can put an end to this. He could be seriously hurt and in need of help. There was a lot of blood at the scene."

Gerhard stood in the doorway and watched the two officers climb into their car. His heart pounded heavy in his chest. The gravity of what had happened was beginning dawn. The place he had visited so regularly to seek out peace and solitude after his hectic day in his city office was rapidly changing to a place that instilled him with nothing but terror. A terror so intense it was beginning to invade his dreams and haunt his forced waking hours with fear and confusion. Only the insatiable urge to find some explanation for the sudden craziness that had engulfed him, allowed him to stave off the overwhelming panic that raged in his every thought.