Every Little Breath: A Tense Psychological Thriller Full of Twists

‘I think you should tell your station bosses,’ Zoe suggested.

It was Sunday afternoon and Casey was sat down by the river with Zoe and Ricky, enjoying the warm July sun. With her first radio show of the week approaching, the encounter with Steve was playing on her mind. She had so far kept what happened to herself, but the thought of returning to the studio and spending four late nights alone there was starting to bother her.

Zoe had picked up that something was wrong straightaway and wasn’t going to let the matter drop, which is how Casey had ended up telling them both about what had happened. Unfortunately, her friend was reacting exactly as anticipated, part of the reason why Casey hadn’t planned to tell her in the first place.

‘There’s no point speaking with them. Honestly, there is nothing they can do.’

‘But you can’t be alone in the studio at night if it’s not safe,’ Zoe argued. ‘It’s ridiculous. They have a duty of care, you know.’

‘I have Phoebe with me.’

Ricky snorted at that, earning himself a glare from Casey.

‘Sorry.’ He glanced at the beagle who was playing on her extended lead. ‘But she’s hardly a guard dog.’

‘Maybe they can have someone stay with you,’ Zoe suggested. ‘There must be another employee who can work a little later.’

Now it was Casey’s turn to snort. ‘We’re not that kind of set-up. The station is small and there just aren’t the staff to spare. No one is going to want to volunteer to sit with me for three hours every night.’

‘Well, they have to do something.’

‘Trust me, Zoe. If I go to them about this then the only thing that will happen is I will get booted off the show. Paul Powers has already kicked off because I was given the show ahead of Jade.’

Paul Powers had been the breakfast show deejay since the station had launched and he and Casey didn’t see eye to eye. She couldn’t stand his monster ego and how he acted like he was in charge of the station, while Paul didn’t like the fact that she didn’t kiss his arse. Jade Armitage had worked with him on the show for the past nine months and Casey was pretty certain that the pair of them were sleeping together. When the late-night show slot had come up for grabs, Paul had pushed hard for it to be given to Jade and was furious when his request was ignored. Luckily, Casey only had to see him two days a week now when she went in to help with the marketing, but she knew he was waiting for her to screw up so he could go running to the bosses and gloat that they had made the wrong decision.

It was nice that Zoe was concerned about her, but Casey would figure something out. ‘The building is locked and no one can get inside. It was probably just a lucky guess that he knew I was wearing a black vest top. Either that or he has seen me out and about wearing it. I am probably overreacting. No one attacked me, no one hurt me.’

Even as she said the words, Casey’s mind drifted back to Thursday night and her up close and personal encounter with Finn, which had led to her hurting her back.

Despite his suggestion of breakfast then lunch, she hadn’t heard from him and, while that had disappointed her a little, she knew it was for the best. For starters he had a girlfriend and, even if he didn’t have a girlfriend, it wasn’t a smart move. She still had too many feelings for him and didn’t want to go through the humiliation of another whole unrequited love thing again.

Being mates would just be plain awkward and, even if Nicky or Vicky, or whatever the heck her name was, wasn’t on the scene and if Finn did hit on Casey, sleeping with a neighbour, someone she still ran the risk of running into regularly once things had ended, would be a bad idea. A really bad idea.

Her back still hurt a little from where she had landed on it and she had a nice black-and-blue bruise as a reminder. She had iced it and tried to rest on the Friday, and it was now getting to the point where she didn’t limp. That was good because if Zoe or Ricky spotted she had hurt herself, there would be questions, and Casey was not ready to admit that Finn Murphy was her new neighbour.

‘A black vest top is still pretty specific, Case.’

‘I’ll be fine,’ Casey reassured Zoe. ‘It was one show, just a handful of harmless emails. I overreacted.’ And talking about it out loud on a warm, sunny afternoon, Casey was beginning to wonder if she had. ‘I could always order some self-defence spray or maybe a rape alarm.’

‘Isn’t pepper spray illegal?’ That was from Ricky, who was looking at her curiously. ‘I’m sure I read it was.’

‘It isn’t actually pepper spray. It’s not as powerful, but it does help repel and apparently it can stay on clothes for up to three days.’

‘Maybe I should get some of that.’ Ricky grinned. ‘I could use it on the idiots who approach me. They all want to get their hands on my body.’

They all laughed at that. Ricky was obsessed with the way he looked and as well as fussing over his hair and being a complete label snob, spent plenty of hours sunning himself in the tanning booths. Zoe called him vain, Ricky told her she was just jealous that he looked better than she did.

‘I can come and sit with you in the studio one night if you want,’ he volunteered, his tone sobering. ‘If you are worried.’

‘And if this creep shows up, are you going to beat him up with your cane?’ Zoe smirked, trying to duck when he raised the walking stick to smack her gently on the head with it.

‘I meant I would sit with her for company.’ He pouted. ‘Though you never know, the stick could come in handy.’

Casey couldn’t help smiling. This was why she loved Ricky. Even though he couldn’t physically defend her, she knew he would still try. Just as he would give up his evening to go to the station with her. Of course, she wouldn’t let him. She would be fine.

‘Thank you, I appreciate that. I’m going to be okay though.’

‘Maybe you should get to know that hot piece of arse living downstairs. If you get up close and personal with him, I’m sure he will be happy to protect you.’

Shut up, Ricky.

‘What hot piece of arse?’ Zoe demanded, her eyes darting between them both.

Shit. ‘No one. Just a guy who lives downstairs who Ricky was perving over the other day.’

‘Have you seen him since?’ Ricky wanted to know.

‘Umm… no,’ Casey lied.

‘Shame. You live in the same building, though, so you’re bound to run into him at some point.

‘Hmm, maybe.’

Casey quickly changed topic. ‘Talking of hot men, are things still going well with Jared?’

It was a tried-and-tested formula. If she ever wanted to avoid talking about something, all she had to do was ask Ricky about his love life.

It was his favourite subject and distracted him every time, which is why he was still waffling on twenty minutes later when they arrived back at Kimberley House.

Her shoulders tensed as they passed Finn’s front door and went to the lift. As they waited for the door to open, she prayed he wouldn’t step out of his apartment. To her relief, his door remained closed. The last thing she wanted was for Zoe to find out he lived here. Her friend knew about Casey’s teenage crush and how Finn had rejected her, and it would be just her style to go and confront him.

Upstairs, she unlocked her front door, her eyes doing a quick sweep of the living room and kitchen as she stepped inside. This was the first occasion since Thursday night that she hadn’t tied cotton to the door handle before going out, knowing her friends would realise what she was doing and not wanting to feel foolish. It had been embarrassing enough trying to go into her apartment in front of Finn, after he insisted on lingering and scrutinising her every move.

She didn’t want anyone to know what she was doing, certain they would tell her she was being an idiot. As it was, she was beginning to wonder if she was being paranoid, as the cotton hadn’t been tampered with at all.

Maybe she had imagined that someone had broken in to her apartment. It wouldn’t be the first time she had overreacted to a perfectly innocent situation.

Discovering what Steve Noakes was up to had affected her more deeply than she had first realised, leading to months of nightmares as she tried to come to terms with what had happened and what she had witnessed.

That last time she had been at the Noakes’s house was the day she had learnt that monsters were real and understood just how good they were at disguising themselves to appear normal so they blended in with society.

That was what really messed with Casey’s head. The trauma of seeing that basement room, of finding Amanda Haines tied to his torture table, could have easily been enough to tip her over the edge, but knowing that the father of her boyfriend, a man she would have trusted with her life, was a sadistic serial killer, was the real headfuck. And as a result she found it difficult to trust new people.

Meeting with Amanda had helped. Their paths had only crossed briefly, but the thank you Amanda had murmured helped Casey deal with the guilt she carried.

She thought back to that day in court when she had to testify, while under the scrutiny of Steve, Gareth and the rest of the Noakes family. It was one of the most terrifying ordeals of her life and it still shocked her that she had managed to hold it together.

That was why she had gone out with Zoe that night, needing to feel normal again, and if she was honest, it was probably why she had attached herself to Finn Murphy. He had been there since that first day when she phoned the police and he was one of the few people she knew she could trust.

She finished making tea and took the cups outside. Although it wasn’t a garden, the balcony was spacious and she loved being out here, especially in the warm weather.

Now she was settled in the apartment and everything was unpacked, she planned to visit a few of the local garden centres and get some tubs and plants to dress the space.

‘I think you’re going to be happy here,’ Zoe commented, looking out over the open fields.

‘Really? The other day you were grumbling about me moving out of the city,’ Casey reminded her, a teasing smile on her face.

‘That was before I saw this apartment. It’s very peaceful. The country life will be good for you.’

Ricky glanced between the two of them, looking smug. ‘See, I knew it. I was the one who knew best.’

Zoe arched a brow. ‘Do you want a gold star? Stop crowing, Ricky. It’s very unattractive.’

The apartment had been a bone of contention between them and Zoe hadn’t been at all happy when Ricky had first suggested it to Casey, and she had sulked for a week after Casey had viewed it and decided to make an offer. At least Zoe was finally coming around.

Casey glanced at the view. Despite Finn Murphy and despite her reservations that someone had been inside her apartment, she hoped that Zoe was right.

It was late afternoon before her friends finally left, Ricky reiterating his offer for Casey to call him if she wanted his company one night.

She thanked him for that, saying she would let him know, but truth was, she had no intention of taking him up on the offer.

This was her radio show, her job. She did it four nights a week and she couldn’t start relying on having a babysitter. She was thirty-four and tried her best to be independent. She could cope with being in the studio by herself.

She waved them off, glancing at Finn’s front door as she headed back to the stairs. She hadn’t seen anything of him for the last few days and wondered if perhaps he had been at work.

Not that it mattered. Where he was, what he was doing and who he was doing things with was none of her business.

‘Miss Casey Fallon.’

Hearing her name, Casey glanced up at the top floor, her heart sinking as she spotted Rupert from number seven heading towards her. What was he doing up on her landing and how did he know her full name? She was pretty sure she had only introduced herself as Casey.

‘Can I help you?’ she asked, pausing on the stairs.

‘Just visiting your neighbour.’

Casey glanced past him at the closed door of number ten. Since she had moved in, she hadn’t seen any sign of anyone living there, her knock to introduce herself going unanswered, and she had assumed either the apartment was empty or the occupants were away on holiday.

She narrowed her eyes. ‘I didn’t think anyone was there.’

Her tone must have sounded suspicious because Rupert paled. ‘I have a key… for the plants. They’re away.’

‘Oh, okay.’ It was a normal enough thing to do for a neighbour, but there was something shifty in the way he was acting. ‘Who actually lives there?’

He gave her a strange smile. ‘They’re nice people. I’m sure you’ll meet them when they get back.’

‘Are they on holiday?’

‘I listened to your show.’

‘I’m sorry?’

‘Your radio show. I listened to it on Thursday night.’ He seemed rather pleased with himself. ‘You have a very nice voice.’

‘Thank you… how…’

‘Mrs Fletcher told me. I shall be tuning in again tomorrow night. I like to listen to you when I get into bed. Makes a change from reading my books.’

Okay, Rupert was socially awkward and his comment could have been perfectly innocent, but still, it was open to interpretation. Time to knock this conversation on the head.

‘I should go.’ Casey gestured to her apartment. ‘I’ve left something in the oven.’

He looked at her strangely and she suspected he didn’t believe her lie, but still he moved slightly to one side of the step and gestured for her to pass.

Casey glanced at the space. He hadn’t allowed her much room and she wondered if he had done that on purpose. She quickly brushed past him, not liking the moment where her arm brushed against him. When she reached her apartment door, she glanced back, saw he was still standing on the stairs watching her.

She forced a smile. ‘Okay, see you later.’

He simply nodded in response.

As she unlocked the door, stepped inside, she couldn’t help wonder if Rupert had been telling the truth about looking after the neighbour’s plants. He seemed an odd choice to trust with your keys, but then she guessed she didn’t really know anything about him or her new neighbour. Was it really that impossible to believe they were friends?

Still, her mind wandered back to Thursday morning when she thought someone had been inside her apartment. Rupert knew she had gone out with the dog. She had passed him on the stairs. Had he broken in while she had been out? The lock wasn’t damaged and nothing was missing, but still, she was sure she hadn’t imagined it.

And then there were the emails to the station. What if Rupert had been responsible for those?

No, that was a stretch and Casey was being ridiculous now. She couldn’t accuse him of sending her harassing emails just because he said he had listened to her show.

The two incidents weren’t connected, she was sure they weren’t, and accusing him of breaking into her apartment was a stretch. She had nothing to prove he had done it. He was definitely odd, but he was probably harmless.

Still, she would go back to tying the cotton across her door, just to be safe, and perhaps she would mention him to her immediate neighbours when they returned, see what she could find out. They were on holiday, hadn’t he said that?

Casey thought back over her brief conversation with Rupert, realised he had never actually answered her question. Instead, he had changed the subject.

Just what exactly was he hiding?