The Wolf of Kingston

Prologue

The crowd hustled around the bar, a herd of bulls centred on the matador flourishing his red cape, a bottle and glass. Jacob Priestly sighed and glanced around the room. He could see the regulars in their usual positions, Old Stony sat by the door with his usual glazed expression, Jim sat opposite the bar watching the crowd go by, Tina and her husband Jeff sat at opposite ends of the bar, they'd clearly had another argument.

As he looked around the crowd he heard a piercing 'Excuse me!'. A slim brunette woman, no older than 25, was gesturing at him. 'Is Angela available?'. She gestured subtly to a gentleman sat alone in the corner, he had stubble running all round his face and black unkempt hair protruding under a beige flat cap, he was watching her very closely, too closely some would say as he sipped his pint very slowly and deliberately. Jacob turned his attention back onto the woman. 'Not a problem, do you want to come wait in the employee area while I call her for you?' He smiled at her, she nodded and he let her behind the bar before making his way to the phone. He glanced back across to the bar and noticed the man had moved, his empty pint glass set on the table.

Jacob booked a taxi for the woman to arrive as soon as possible and moved into the employee room, a stillness sat in the room as he entered. Fear gripped him as the door swung shut behind him, the blackness setting in as the bulb crackled above him, electricity sparking from the socket. 'Hello?' He shouted, knowing he'd not get a reply. The stars shone through the open window as paper blew lightly across the floor. Looking around the room, you'd never guess anything was wrong, save for the faulty light. Magazines were set nearly in the corner, photo frames were set smartly along the walls but something was different. Set proudly on the floor, in the centre of the room, was a Polaroid picture. Jacob stepped forward and grasped it slowly, a sickness creeping through him. As he fixed on the image in front of him, a scream escaped his throat involuntarily echoing throughout the building.

The door behind him smashed open and several regulars, led by Old Stony, filed in to the room. Old Stony took the photo from Jacob and grimaced sharply. 'Everybody out' He yelled 'and somebody call the police'.