The Watcher's House - FVK

6

I looked to the clock on my dashboard, 1:15 PM. The date was 16/08/26. It had been twenty years to this day since I left Beccles. Two weeks after I had left, I was declared a missing person as I had destroyed my phone to prevent any contact. I only know I was "missing" when a police car had pulled up beside me on my way back to the motel I had been staying at.

"Excuse me, sir?" I span around. It was the police. What the fuck did they want? Then I remembered that I had run away from home two weeks ago.
"Could you climb in the back, I'd like to ask you some questions" Why did I drive to the shop, I would have avoided this completely.
"Laurence Beveridge, does that name mean anything to you?" I thought about lying. But my mum had always told me to never lie to an officer.
"That's me" Before I realised what I had said, the words were already out of my mouth. He looked to some papers on his lap.
"Your parents are very worried. They say you left home without saying anything. Do you have... Rachael Abbert with you?" Rachael. If I said yes, they wouldn't be as worried.

That night, I lied to the police to get free. I said Rachael was back in the motel where I was staying. My parents might have tried to get in contact but without my old phone, I wouldn't know. I was heading back home. I hoped to God she was there. I wasn't holding out much hope however, it was twenty years since we broke up and a lot can happen in that amount of time.

I drove from my home in London all the way back to Beccles. I wasn't just going for the weekend, I was moving back. Whether there was anything left for me there or not, I didn't know. The watcher, whatever he was, had either died or moved on. His house was up for sale now. How did I know this? I was the new owner.

"You're a demonic child, you know"

My dad had been right. It wasn't like I was an innocent buyer, I knew exactly what had happened there, my mum had never told me the full story. I was ten when she first told me so she had to leave out some details, I knew that even back then. But now, being thirty-seven, I knew the full story.

The watcher had been somewhat of a stalker. Particularly children. I knew that at a fairly young age. He had seen John and Sarah Crear playing in the cemetery and had gone down, pretending to be the grounds keeper, God knows if he actually was supposed to be or not. Anyway, he played on the fact it was a cold day and invited them up for hot chocolate. They accepted, not knowing what was coming for them. When they realised where he was taking them, they tried to run. That's why he had killed them. He didn't want his identity exposed, I assumed. The police had searched the house numerous times yet found nothing. I had always wanted to go inside, but not risk my life. So when I saw it was on the market, I grasped the offer.