Every Little Breath: A Tense Psychological Thriller Full of Twists

Lucy hasn’t stopped crying since we arrived at her final resting place.

She knows she won’t be leaving here tonight. I told her repeatedly that Casey was her only hope, but now she knows that Casey has been selfish again and has let her down. That we now have to teach Casey another lesson.

The instruction should be so simple to follow. Come alone.

But because Casey can’t follow one simple rule, another woman has to die. It’s true, she can’t save them all, but it annoys me that she’s not even bothering to try.

Lucy’s death will be spectacular though. I am going to give Casey Fallon a show she won’t forget. She is on her way here now, bringing her copper boyfriend with her. How fitting that they are back in each other’s lives. It is right that they should witness this together.

I tug on the rope I hung over the high branch earlier. It’s a thin, slippery cord that should do the job perfectly. It took some practice getting it in place, but a handful of YouTube tutorials put me straight. Lucy watches me wide-eyed as I tie the noose and she starts frantically fighting against the knots that bind her wrists and ankles. I dressed her in a sparkly silver leotard before putting her in the van. It is fairly skimpy, not leaving much to the imagination and what is on show of her body is a beautiful patchwork of cuts and bruises from our fun weekend together. It almost seems a shame to cover my artwork, but needs must. Finished with the noose, I reach down into my bag, pulling out the wire strings, and I spend a few minutes wrapping them carefully around her limbs and torso. When I have finished with my Lucy, she will be a glorious angel, a shining light.

I want to spend some more time telling her this, explaining that I am giving her what she has always craved, but Casey and her boyfriend will be here in less than half an hour and there simply isn’t any time to waste. As I slip the noose around her neck and tighten it, tears spill from her eyes, dripping onto the back of my hand, and I lick at my flesh, savouring the salty taste of her fear.

‘It will be okay,’ I tell her. ‘She can’t save you all. I’m going to make you a star though. You will like that.’

She begs me with her eyes, frantic mewling sounds escaping from her gag. I would love to ask her for her final words, but if I remove the tape she will start screaming and that won’t do.

Instead, I leave her sitting on the ground, move to stand behind her, the other end of the rope in my hands, and I start to tug. With her wrists behind her, it’s not easy for her to keep her balance and she is choking before I have her on her knees. I give her a moment to steady her balance, then another hard yank on the rope pulls her up into a standing position and she is struggling to keep her feet on the floor.

I pull hard on the rope again, lifting her off the ground. By the time I have finished with her, my Lucy will be flying high in the sky with diamonds.

As they approached East Somerton, Casey’s apprehension grew. She glanced at the clock on the dashboard, saw it was almost 2.15am, and she understood that they were running out of time. Would they find Lucy alive? And if they did, would Psycho Steven still be with her? Worse still, would he be close by, hiding and watching?

What exactly was his endgame? Casey had started to wonder that. If she managed to save his victims, what was his plan then? And why did he want her to go alone? Did he have something sinister waiting for her?

Finn pulled up on the side of the road, turned off the engine. They hadn’t spoken much since Casey had suggested going to the ruins alone. Now he turned to face her. ‘Are you ready?’

She knew he didn’t mean just physically. This was a huge step and now they were here, her anxiety levels were going through the roof. What if Psycho Steven was waiting for them? What if he attacked them? What if he hurt Finn?

‘Should we wait for the police car?’ she suggested, her earlier moment of bravado gone.

‘We have less than fifteen minutes to find her.’

He was right, Casey knew that, but still this felt like a defining moment. They had no idea what they were walking into. If they were just going to find a victim or if a killer would be waiting for them.

Finn reached across her, taking a large torch and a pair of handcuffs out of the glovebox. He switched the torch on and off, checking it worked, looked at her again. ‘I can’t leave you in the car. You’re safer if you’re with me.’

‘I don’t want to stay.’ Hell no. If Casey waited in the car, she would be even more vulnerable. Although the thought of getting out and going into the church ruins to look for Lucy scared the shit out of her, there was no way Finn was leaving her behind. She intended to stick to him like glue. ‘What about Phoebe?’ She glanced at her beagle, sitting on the back seat, tail wagging expectantly.

‘We’ll lock her in the car. She’ll be fine.’

Casey didn’t like the idea of leaving her behind, but she guessed they had no choice. She would be too much of a hindrance if she went with them, and Casey wasn’t about to let anything happen to her dog.

It was a warm night, but still she was shaking as Finn took hold of her hand, pulling her onto the path that led into the darkness of the trees. Although he had the torch with him, he hadn’t switched it on, still held it in his free hand as he used the light from the moon to guide them down the path, and she wondered if he had brought it as a weapon. ‘Try to stay as quiet as possible,’ he whispered. ‘If he’s still with her, we don’t want him to hear us approach.’

He obviously thought Psycho Steven would still be there, as he had brought the cuffs. Casey couldn’t help thinking they were walking into a trap. She wished the police car that Walsh was sending had arrived. This wasn’t safe. What if Psycho Steven had a knife? If anything happened to Finn…

Don’t even go there.

And much as she was trying to be quiet, everything was too loud; the sound of their footsteps, Casey’s breathing, her heartbeat. It wasn’t yet 2.30am. Steven would be with Lucy and he would hear their approach; he would have the upper hand. They should have waited for backup.

Still, she didn’t voice these arguments, instead gripping Finn’s hand tightly, letting him lead her further into the thicket. About a hundred yards in they reached a stone wall. Finn turned her round, pressed her so her back was up against it, raising a finger to her lips.

‘This is the place, the ruined church.’

‘I don’t hear anything. Where do you think she is?’ Although her voice was a faint whisper, Casey could hear the tremor in it.

‘If I am right, she will be inside. I want you to stay here while I go check it out.’

‘No way. You’re not leaving me behind.’

‘Casey, it’s safer.’

‘You don’t know that. He could be anywhere. Besides, you’re not invincible. I’m not staying here. We stick together.’

Although it was dark, his face immersed in shadows, she could make out his scowl as he stared at her. ‘Okay,’ he muttered eventually. ‘Come on.’

This time he didn’t take her hand and, scared they might get separated, Casey grabbed hold of his belt as she followed him inside the ruins. In the darkness it was taking her eyes a few seconds longer to take in her surroundings; the broken walls of the old building, the large tree that grew up through the centre of the floor. No one appeared to be there. The place so quiet and spooky. Did they have the riddle wrong?

This had to be the place.

As she followed him around the empty, ruined building, a creaking noise cut through the silence. A tree branch swaying in the breeze? Except there was no breeze.

Casey glanced up at the tree. ‘Finn?’ She tugged on his belt, her whisper urgent, as she pointed up. ‘There’s something up there.’

It took a few seconds for her eyes to adjust, to realise what she was seeing. As the woman came into focus, head dipped forward, hanging several feet above where they were stood, she suddenly lit up, hundreds of tiny lights wrapped around her body, her sightless eyes wide in terror, and Casey started to scream.