Stories to Keep You Awake at Night

The Favour : Part 2

anything of interest was on. When it was clear that nothing was, she began flipping through the channels absently, hoping something would catch her eye.

“It’s going on ten o’clock. Surely something’s on,” she muttered.

She flipped through a few more channels, but stopped briefly when she felt her phone vibrating in her pocket. She entered her password automatically and glanced at the screen. Kelli. Part of her didn’t want to answer her “friend,” but she was bored and thought a little texting conversation might kill some time.

Kelli – How’s everything going?
Tess – Fine
Kelli – How’s the house? Big?
Tess – It’s huge. Like a mansion.
Kelli – How’s the little girl? Nice or demon spawn?
Tess – She’s nice. We played princess for a while. She was asleep before nine. Easy.
Kelli – I should have just gone. My big date with Mario was a bust. He picked me up at 7:30 and we hung out for a couple hours. Then he made up some excuse to drop me off at Vera’s. I had to get a ride home.
Tess – I thought you guys were going to the movies?
Kelli – So did I.
Tess – I’m sorry. I know you’re bummed.
Kelli – Yeah.

There was a pause as Tess considered what to write next. She didn’t especially want the conversation to be over. She stared at Kelli’s text. Yeah. What could she say next to propel the conversation forward?

Tess was on the verge of asking about Vera, but then she heard a thud somewhere upstairs. Lillian probably fell off that little couch, she mused. She knew she’d better head upstairs to check on her.

She jogged up the steps easily and trotted down the long hallway until she was just outside of Lillian’s room. Ever so carefully, she opened the door a little wider and peered in. The hall light illuminated Lillian’s bedroom in a soft glow of warm, yellow light. Lillian still lay sleeping on her child-sized fainting couch. So, what was that noise?

Tess pulled the door partially closed behind her softly before turning to make her way down the hallway toward the stairs. From the top of the steps she could see the entirety of the front half of the house. The foyer was quiet and empty, as was the living room area where she’d been sitting in front of the television.

“Must have been something on TV,” she decided before heading down the stairs. A moment later she was sitting in front of the television once again. On a whim, she texted Kelli.

Tess – Big houses are kind of creepy.
Kelli – Why? Is it old?
Tess – No. There are just a lot of rooms and stairs. And this guy’s art collection is crazy.
Kelli – I’ve heard he’s got some strange stuff.
Tess – The sculptures are the worst.
Kelli – Why?
Tess – Some of it’s okay. Swirls and weird shapes. But he’s got this clown thing. Ugh. Gross.
Kelli – I hate clowns.
Tess – You’d despise this thing. I swear it’s life-sized.
Kelli – I’d scream.
Tess – Yeah.

Tess almost had to laugh. Yeah. She’d been trying to keep the conversation going, but she’d basically just ended it… unless Kelli continued it, of course.

A good five minutes passed before Tess admitted defeat and shoved her phone back into her pocket. She sighed with boredom, but she wasn’t disinterested for long. The television station she’d been only half-watching was clearly local. She recognized the courthouse on the screen; it was the one located at the very center of town. Tess leaned forward unconsciously as she listened to the anchor’s report.

“… Local law enforcement officials claim that Gary Lee Shipman, the man thought to be responsible for as many as fifteen home invasions and seven murders in the Lake Harbor area over the past six years, escaped police custody during a routine transportation exercise earlier today. Shipman, also known as “The Bedside Killer,” was evidently being moved to nearby Clark Detention Center to await trial. Sheriff Brody Johnson claims that Shipman was being moved to provide greater security to Lake Harbor Residents. However, such intentions quickly unraveled when Shipman managed to outmaneuver law enforcement officials this afternoon in what many have described as a Houdini-like escape.