take home.” I say, half hoping she will say she

  will for me.

  “I’d be happy to.” She smiles as she chews.

  “Top up?” Simon asks me as he looks at my

  empty glass.

  “Yes, please.” I hold my glass towards him

  and Simon pours in more whiskey. As he

  does so the ice dissolves.

  “So Ryan, tell us a little about yourself,”

  Sandra says.

  “Well, what would you like to know?”

  “Sorry if that question sounded like you were

  having an interview.” Sandra begins to giggle.

  “Tell us about your family.”

  22

  “Well, there’s a lot to say about my family.

  Where do I begin?” I hesitate for a few

  seconds. “I haven’t seen my wife Tanya, or

  my kids Alex and Sammy, for four years. They

  left one night while I was sleeping.”

  “Oh my god, I didn’t know, I’m so sorry.”

  Sandra says.

  “No, don’t worry you weren’t to know. I

  woke up and wondered where Tanya was. So

  I went into the kids’ rooms and they were

  gone. Their drawers were all pulled out and

  they were empty. I ran back into my room

  and all of Tanya’s clothes had gone. I looked

  under our bed and the suitcases were gone. So

  I ran downstairs and saw a note. Tanya wrote

  to me, saying she and the kids needed some

  time away from me. I didn’t understand why

  they needed time away, I hadn’t done

  anything wrong. I tried to call Tanya’s phone

  so many times, but it always went straight to

  answer phone. I didn’t understand why they

  left and still don’t to this day. I have no idea

  where they are.”

  “Terribly sorry, Ryan.” Simon says.

  “I’m so sorry; I wouldn’t have asked if I

  knew.” Sandra says.

  “Don’t worry it’s fine, it was a long time ago

  and in a twisted way, I’m used to it now.

  Police haven’t found them yet but they’re still

  tracking them. Tanya’s family don’t even

  know where she is to contact her. I’ll never

  give up on them. You know? I’ll keep looking

  and keep an eye out for them. They know

  23

  where to find me. I just have to keep hoping

  that they come back to me.”

  There’s an awkward silence, which I hate.

  “So is there anything I should know about

  the house?” I say to break the tension.

  “No. Except no one liked the house for some

  reason, they all said it gave them bad vibes.”

  Simon says.

  “Bad vibes? In what way?” I ask.

  “Like I told you when we first met, no one

  wanted to go into the basement when they

  were viewing the house. When the door was

  opened to the basement, they would just

  leave. The house has been empty for a good

  while since Andrew left. I went round to the

  house one afternoon, because we hadn’t seen

  him for a while. I knocked on the door and

  heard movement inside. I shouted for him but

  no one came to the door. So I looked in the

  windows and saw some people. Andrew lived

  at the house on his own, no wife or kids. His

  wife left him a year before and they never had

  children. So I went to the back to find a

  scruffy looking man who was smoking. I

  asked what he was doing and he said ‘I’m

  smoking’. I told him to leave but then

  another two guys came out and they

  threatened me. I called the police and they got

  them out, turned out they were a group of

  squatters, they had rights but the police dealt

  with it.”

  “Bloody squatters,” I say in disgust.

  “Yeah, I couldn’t believe the cheek of them.

  The house was sorted for Andy, but he never

  24

  came back. So it was put up for sale, and

  people have been coming to look at it for a

  good four years without any takers. So I did

  the house up to try and make people like it.

  Didn’t work though, I did some work to the

  kitchen and the garden and people still

  weren’t interested. That is, until you came

  along. You weren’t scared of the basement

  and Mike knew you were the one to move in.”

  “I think it’s a nice house, it’s homely and

  familiar. It felt like I already knew the house

  and had been there before, like in a dream.

  I’m comfortable in familiar surroundings even

  though they aren’t actually familiar because

  I’ve never been in the house before. Sounds

  strange doesn’t it?”

  “Yeah, that is odd.” Simon says.

  “I don’t think it is.” Sandra glares at Simon.

  “Maybe you’ve dreamt of a house similar to

  it? Do you get Deja vu in there?”

  “Weirdly, I do. It’s an odd feeling I have,

  walking around the house, but it’s a

  comfortable, familiar feeling.”

  Silence descends again until I ask Sandra and

  Simon questions about their lives. How they

  met, the house, previous homes, their child

  and their work.

  Sandra is a housewife and Simon is an

  insurance executive, describing it as a job

  where he checks up on insurance companies

  to monitor whether their customers are being

  treated fairly.

  25

  As we finally finish our meal, Simon slumps

  in his chair, Sandra pats her mouth with a

  tissue and I sip my whiskey.

  “That was great, thank you so much.”

  “That’s okay, anytime,” Sandra’s words slur

  slightly.

  “I’ll clear up don’t worry, you sit yourself

  down girl,” Simon says.

  “Do you want a hand?” I ask.

  “No, don’t be silly, mate, you just sit there

  and talk to the tipsy Mrs.”

  Simon clears the table and walks into the

  kitchen with our plates and cutlery, leaving me

  and Sandra at the table. I continue to drink

  my whiskey. I lean over the table to pick up

  the whiskey bottle, and pour more into my

  empty glass.

  “Do ya, miss your wife?” Sandra slurs.

  “Yeah course I do, and my kids.”

  “You’re such a lovely man Si, I mean Ry. I

  hope you want to come round for dinner

  again soon.”

  “I sure will. You’ll have to whip up some

  more Spag Bol.”

  I look to Sandra’s eyes. There are bags and

  dark circles under them. She lifts her wine

  glass to her mouth with a slow and shaky

  hand and sips the wine.

  “I’ll do it for you” she says.

  “Good, can’t wait.”

  She finishes her wine but continues to sip

  from the empty glass. Looking puzzled and

  disappointed at the lack of alcohol in her

  glass, she tips it upside down just to double

  26

  check it’s empty. She sighs and picks up

  another bottle of wine. Simon walks back into

  the room and looks puzzled as Sandra stands

  up, holding the bottle of wine.

  “Darling.”

  “Yes, Si?”

  “Where are you going?”

  “To bed. I’m a bit tired.”

  “Okay darling. Say bye to Ryan.”

  “Bye-by-b” Sandra slurs.

  She comes staggering over to me and hugs

  me tight. She pulls away and looks at me,

  squinting. She sticks her lips out and kisses

  my nose.

  “Er… Night, Sandra,” I chuckle.

  She walks to the bottom of the stairwell and

  drunkenly crawls up the spiral stairs.

  “Bless her.” Simon laughs.

  For a moment there is silence as we both sip

  from our glasses, savouring the burning

  whiskey in our mouths.

  “So why did you decide to make the

  downstairs like this?” I ask.

  “I don’t know, it was a joke at first but

  Sandra really wanted it. So you know, gotta

  keep the wife happy.”

  “It looks good, I’ve never seen anything like

  it before.”

  “Interesting, isn’t it. It’s nice to just be able to

  walk and get to wherever you want easily.

  Well…apart from getting upstairs drunk”

  We laugh and continue to drink.

  “Oh. I’ve just remembered,” Simon gets up

  from his chair, goes to one of his

  27

  bookshelves, picks out a book and brings it

  over to the table. “Could you sign this for me

  and Sandy? We loved this book of yours,

  Menace. It’s one of my favourite books.”

  “Yeah sure, do you want me to write a

  message?”

  “Mystery is my favourite genre. No, that’s

  okay just sign it. There, please.” He says

  pointing in between the title and my name.

  “There you go.” I say, handing back the

  book.

  “Thank you so much, that means a lot to us.”

  “The pleasure’s all mine, I’m glad you like my

  books.”

  Simon puts my book back and returns to the

  table.

  “So have you got anymore books to come?

  It’s been a while hasn’t it?”

  “Yeah it has been quite a while. Since Tanya

  left I haven’t been able to write properly.

  Luckily one of my pieces, Killing for Your Love

  is ready. I’ll look to get it published soon

  and…”

  “Can I read it?” Simon interrupts me. “Sorry

  to interrupt, Ryan. Can I read it first? I’ve read

  all your books and I would be happy to tell

  you if I like it and whether you should publish

  it. Of course it will be good, but I can act as

  an editor or reviewer.” Simon stares at me

  wide-eyed.

  I might as well let him read it, he seems like

  an honest guy, so why not.

  “Yeah, sure, I’ll let you read it. I already have

  it prepared as a manuscript so I can give it to

  28

  you tomorrow if you like. Have a read, then

  let me know what you think of it” I say.

  “It would be an honour. My god, thank you,

  Ryan.” Simon says ecstatically.

  “No problem. Just promise you’ll be honest

  with me, I’d appreciate some feedback.”

  “Oh I will. Thank you. Can I ask? What

  genre is it?”

  “Well.” I clear my throat. “It’s a mystery

  action novel. Without giving too much away,

  it’s about a married couple, Daniel and

  Lizzie.” I take a deep breath. “We follow their

  lives for a while, see Daniel propose and their

  marriage ceremony. But one morning, after a

  couple years of marriage, Daniel wakes up to

  find Lizzie gone. He’s worried and dreads

  telling the kids that he can‘t find her. He goes

  to their rooms to tell them but they’re both

  gone too. He decides to call the police, but

  they don’t do enough for Daniel’s liking; he

  feels like the villain as they question him. He

  decides to investigate the case himself. With

  no demand of ransom, Daniel works out

  there’s more to it.” I pause for a moment.

  “So Daniel is going to kick some arse to find

  Lizzie? Simon says excitedly.

  “Yes that’s pretty much the story.”

  “Sounds good to me; a good action novel. If

  you don’t mind me saying so, it’s pretty

  similar to your situation?”

  “Well it’s actually based on my fight for

  Tanya and the kids. Obviously, it has been

  dramatised a little, but I would fight for them

  and will continue my fight to find them till the

  29

  day I die. It shows what I’d go through to

  reunite with them. You know when you think

  about how far you would go for the people

  you love and care about?”

  “Yeah, I know the feeling.”

  “Exactly, you know when you think, ‘I would

  kill for my love if I had to’. That’s what the

  novel is based on, love, fight, endurance and

  killing.”

  “Wow.” Simon says while staring at me.

  “Beer?” he asks.

  “No thank you. I should probably get going”

  I stand up and hold my hand out in front of

  me. “Thanks for tonight, I had a great time.

  Please thank Sandra for dinner, it was

  delicious. I’ll bring the manuscript round

  tomorrow.”

  “No problem mate. We’ll do this again

  soon.” Simon shakes my hand firmly. “Can’t

  wait to read the book. Do you want me to

  walk you home?”

  We both roar with laughter.

  “I’ll be okay Simon, thanks for the offer

  though.”

  He walks me to the front door and opens it.

  We shake hands once again and I step outside

  into the cold.

  “See you tomorrow mate, thanks again.” I

  say.

  “See you tomorrow,” Simon replies as he

  shuts the door.

  I turn away from the house and look up to

  mine. Wow it really looks good from here.

  30

  I walk into the middle of the road and look

  over to the grubby house. My blurry vision

  takes a moment to focus, but I can see the

  beaten piece of wood still lying on the ground.

  I walk up the slope, which proves to be a

  challenge. The whiskey is definitely taking

  affect.

  As I unlock the door, I feel eyes on me. I

  step inside and look behind me. I look to the

  Cann’s’ house, the neighbouring homes and

  finally the grubby house, one last time. No

  one’s there, must be the alcohol playing tricks

  on my mind. Mulberry Lane is silent, as it

  always seems to be. I stagger inside, as I do

  so, something by the tree line that borders the

  park catches my attention. I can make out a

  dark figure in the distance, standing in front

  of the tree line with his arms folded. I stare at

  him for a moment. He’s wearing a black

  hoody with the hood up, I can’t make out his

  face. I continue to stare, assuming he is

  staring back, although I can’t see his eyes. He

  unfolds his arms and begins to slowly walk

  towards the road.

  I quickly shut the front door and charge up

  stairs. I get to the top and run along the

  landing. I peer out of the window that looks

  onto Mulberry Lane. The figure has

  disappeared. I scour the area, starting from

  the Cann’s’, to their neighbours, then the

  grubby house. The figure is nowhere to be

  seen.

  I put my back against the wall and move

  across the window, so I can see my

  31

  neighbour’s front gardens. Again, the figure

  isn’t in sight. I breathe easy and go

  downstairs.

  I step into the kitchen and pick up my laptop

  bag. I rest it on the table and go into a back

  pocket of the leather bag. I pull out my

  manuscript of Killing for Your Love and leave it

  on the table.

  I walk back upstairs. I take a quick glance

  outside. Mulberry Lane is still silent.

  Everybody’s lights are off. That’s definitely a

  sign for me to try and get some sleep.

  I walk into my room and see myself in the

  reflection of the glass from my window. I

  walk up to the window and look at my tired

  face. There are dark slugs under my eyes. Is

  that old age or tiredness?

  As I look in the mirror, something catches

  my eye, movement at the end of the garden. I

  look down to the tree line and notice two

  golden orbs staring back at me. My eyes take a

  moment to focus, whilst I look into the gold

  eyes. I can just about make out four legs, four

  white paws and an orange frizzy tail. It’s

  probably the same fox that the scruffy man

  had in his home. I knock on the window and

  the fox runs away into the woods.

  I walk back to my bed and lie on top of the

  covers for a moment. I pull out a photo of

  me, Tanya, Alex and Sammy. I look at Tanya’s

  brown eyes, her straight blonde hair and her

  pale skin. I look at Sammy and her brown

  locks. She’s a brunette, but a splitting image of

  her mum. Then I look at me and Alex. I spot

  32

  my hands under his arm pits and look to his

  ecstatic face. He looks like his old man, poor

  kid.

  33

  Mulberry Lane

  Killing For Your Love

  Chapter 1

  I look at her undulating blonde hair blow as we

  walk against the breeze.

  “You look beautiful tonight, Lizzie,” I say to