Every Little Breath: A Tense Psychological Thriller Full of Twists

Casey had hoped that her day out with Finn would be the prelude to a relaxing and enjoyable weekend, but Psycho Steven’s text put paid to that, with the obnoxious Walsh and Corrigan blustering into her apartment and occupying her time, making demands and treating her like she was an idiot.

This time Finn had insisted on being there with her, refusing to leave, despite Walsh’s protestations, and things had become heated to the point that Casey thought Finn might punch him. Fortunately, he managed to rein in his temper, which was the best scenario for all of them. The last thing she wanted was him getting into trouble at work or being kicked out of her apartment while Walsh and Corrigan gave her the third degree.

Psycho Steven had killed both Saffron Pollard and Lucy Sheldon on a Monday night. There was no reason to believe he would deviate from his pattern, Walsh insisted, convinced the text to Casey had been a warning that she needed to return to her radio show.

He wanted her back in the studio on Monday evening, planned to be there with her again, with a larger police presence ready for when the killer called.

Finn wasn’t happy, telling Walsh to think outside the box. Psycho Steven was presently calling all of the shots and it was idiotic to believe he wouldn’t try to move the goalposts, just as he already had with the time frames he had given to save each victim.

This was his game, his rules, and he was never going to let them win.

While Walsh wouldn’t budge on getting Casey back in the studio, he did agree to a panic button in her apartment and also put a marker on her, so if she had to call the police she would be treated as a priority.

It was Sunday evening when she finally had some peace. Finn had been sticking to her like glue all weekend, refusing to let her out of his sight, and while she had initially found this reassuring, she was now in need of some ‘me time’. It wasn’t that she didn’t appreciate him or like him being there, but her apartment had been swarming with police officers and she had barely had a moment to think all weekend.

They had not long been back from a walk with the dogs when his phone rang. While he took the call, Casey went through into her bedroom, planning to change into a pair of comfortable old joggers. She toyed with indulging in a bath, would suggest to Finn that maybe they watch a film. Although she wasn’t sure she would be able to concentrate, she needed to try and switch off, to relax a bit. The thought of going back into the studio tomorrow was terrifying her and her muscles were all knotted up.

Finn wandered through into the bedroom while she was changing, his phone still in his hand.

‘I need to go over to see my parents. Dad’s being stubborn, insisting he can walk without his crutches and he’s giving Niamh a hard time.’

‘Okay, you should go. It’s not fair for your sister to have to deal with that by herself. I’ll be fine for a couple of hours.’

Finn frowned. ‘I’m not leaving you here alone. You’ll have to come with me.’

‘What?’ Casey’s eyes widened. ‘No I don’t. I’ll be fine here. It’s not like I’m planning on going out anywhere.’

‘You’re not staying here alone.’

‘Says who? You?’ Her hackles were rising now. ‘I appreciate everything you’ve done for me… Are doing for me,’ she corrected. ‘But you’re not my boss, Finn. You don’t get to dictate what I do and don’t do. I’m staying here.’

‘You’re being ridiculous. You’ve already met my parents once.’

‘And that’s not the issue. Look, I’ve had a crappy weekend, I’ve had to put up with Walsh and Corrigan, and I just want some me time. You don’t even know for sure that I’m in danger.’ When he opened his mouth to interrupt her, she held up her hand. ‘You’re going to be gone, what, a couple of hours? I’m home in a top-floor apartment. The door is locked and I have the panic button.’

Finn scowled at her, nostrils flaring, and she could tell he wasn’t happy, but at least he was now listening to her. ‘I’ll speak to Niamh,’ he suggested. ‘Tell her tonight’s not good.’

‘You don’t have to do that. She needs you right now and I need a couple of hours for me. I just want to run a bath, put on some music and chill for a bit. I’m shitting myself about tomorrow night. It’s really stressing me out and I just need to try and relax. Please let me have that.’

The scowl softened, his annoyance fading, and he closed the gap between them. ‘You promise you will keep the door locked?’

‘I will lock it the second you leave and I won’t open it until you’re back.’

‘And you’ll keep your phone with you?’

‘I promise.’

He hesitated, seemed to consider it some more, then tilted her chin so she was looking up at him. ‘And you’ll call me if anything, I mean, anything, happens?’

‘Nothing is going to happen.’ When Finn’s eyes narrowed, she quickly added, ‘But I will, I promise. I’m just going to chill and have some me time while I wait for you.’ She reached up on tiptoe, hooking her arms around his neck and pressed her lips against his. ‘And I was thinking that when you get back maybe you might help keep me distracted.’ She raised a suggestive eyebrow.

Finn grinned, pulling her closer, his hands roaming over her back. ‘I can do that.’

After he had left, Casey went through into the bathroom and started to fill the tub. She threw in one of the bath bombs Zoe had bought her as a congratulations gift for getting her own radio show, the delightful peachy scent filling the room as the water frothed with bubbles.

She would find a chilled playlist and relax in the tub with a glass of wine, then put on her favourite PJs and read a few chapters of the new Jack Foley novel that she had downloaded earlier in the week.

Leaving the bath running, she tied her hair up and went through to the kitchen, selecting a nice bottle of Malbec. Phoebe was snoozing on the sofa, while Bert was zonked out on the floor, snoring. Finn’s dog had so much energy and Casey was relieved to see he did actually have a limit. Both dogs seemed worn out from their long walk, their bellies full of dinner.

She had just poured a glass of the wine, when her phone started ringing. Assuming it was Finn, she snatched it up from the counter, frowning at the unknown number.

Psycho Steven.

If it was him then he was jumping the gun. It wasn’t Monday night and she wasn’t in the studio. He had her number though.

She watched the phone ring, heart thumping, waiting for it to cut to voicemail. If it was important the caller would leave a message. When it stopped, she stared at the screen, waiting, jumping when it started ringing again.

What if it wasn’t him? It could be someone trying to get hold of her urgently.

No, she had the numbers of the people she cared about. Finn, her parents, Liam, Nick, Zoe and Ricky. Unless someone else was trying to get hold of her because something had happened to one of them.

The call cut to voicemail again. No message. It didn’t ring again.

She let out a shaky breath, wondering if perhaps she should have answered it. Now she was going to be worrying that everyone was okay.

Telling herself off for overreacting, she picked up her wine glass, took a generous sip, then went through to the bathroom and turned off the taps. It was probably just a cold caller. Everything that had happened this last couple of weeks was getting to her, and knowing that Psycho Steven had her mobile number was making her paranoid.

She had stepped out of her joggers, was undoing her bra, when the phone beeped, indicating a text message. Was it the person who had been trying to call her?

She threw her bra on the bed, looked at her phone, fear coursing through her veins when she read the opening line of the text on her lock screen.

Don’t ignore me when I call you, bitch.

With shaking fingers, she swiped her phone screen and read the rest of the message.

I have an old friend of yours with me. Do you want to say hello?

As Casey read the words, another message pinged through. A photo attachment of a woman’s face, puffy and bruised, tape over her mouth and wrapped tightly around her head. One of her eyes was badly bruised and swollen shut, the other one staring at the camera, seeming resigned to her fate. Her chin was jutted up, the tip of a knife pressed against her throat.

The text said, ‘an old friend’, but she didn’t recognise the woman, though there was something familiar in that one staring eye.

Oh God. She needed to call Finn.

Before she could pull his number up, another message came through.

Next time I call you, answer your phone, or I slit her throat.

Shit! Shit! Shit!

As she clicked into her contact list, the phone started ringing again with the unknown number. Casey stared at it as if it was a bomb. Although she wanted to ignore the call, needed to speak with Finn, Steven had a knife to the woman’s throat. She had to answer it.

‘Hello?’ Her mouth was dry and she realised she was trembling as she waited for him to speak, but instead of his voice she just heard music.

It was a song, one that sounded familiar, but for a moment she was struggling to place it, then the chorus kicked in and realisation dawned. It was the Barry Manilow song, ‘Mandy’.

Casey paused, understanding. The old friend was the one that got away. She knew now why the woman had seemed familiar. He had taken Amanda Haines.

‘Let her go. Please! You can’t put her through this again.’

A soft laugh on the end of the phone. ‘It’s in your hands now, Casey. If you don’t want her to die, then you need to save her.’

The panic button. She needed to alert the police.

‘You won’t get away with this,’ she told him, heading back into the hallway and through into the living area, where the black box sat on a side table next to one of the two sofas. ‘They will catch you.’

‘Press that panic alarm, Casey, and she dies. No game, it’s over.’

Casey froze. How did he know about the panic alarm?

‘Good girl. You’re listening. You’re also wondering how I know about the panic alarm and what you were about to do. Just as you’re now going to wonder how I know you are standing there in the middle of your living room, wearing just a blue vest and black knickers, and have a look of shock on your face.’

‘You’re watching me.’ Panic bubbled. He was here in her apartment. Self-consciously, she put her free arm across her body, cautiously turning in a circle, eyes searching for his hiding place. ‘Where are you?’ she whispered.

Another chuckle came down the phone. The creepy arsehole was enjoying this.

She realised she couldn’t hear his voice other than through the call, which didn’t make sense, but then it dawned on her and she glanced nervously around. ‘Is there a camera in here? How long have you been watching me, you bastard?’

On the floor, Bert cracked an eye open, looking at her, probably wondering why she had raised her voice.

‘Long enough to know that the police were here over this weekend and fitted that panic alarm. Long enough to have watched your boyfriend fucking you on that sofa last night. Long enough to know that he left a short while ago, that he has gone over to see his parents and you are home all alone.’

‘You sick fuck.’

He had watched her and Finn, would have seen her naked. She needed to put some clothes on.

‘Stop!’ He yelled the word as she went to go back to her bedroom, making her jump.

‘I want to get dressed.’

‘You can get dressed in a minute. Right now I need you to stay exactly where you are and listen to me. Do you understand?’ When she didn’t respond immediately, he repeated his command more aggressively. ‘Do you understand?’

‘Why are you doing this?’

‘There are cameras set up all around your apartment, Casey, and I am watching everything you do. If you try to find them, Amanda dies. If you press the panic button, Amanda dies. If you try to call or text anyone, Amanda dies. Are we clear?’

Fuck, what was she supposed to do?

‘Answer me, Casey.’

‘Yes.’

‘You’re not sounding very convincing. Perhaps I need to be more persuasive.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Your boyfriend has gone to see his parents. Nice couple. Finn’s sister is staying with them. She’s a pretty girl.’

No, not Finn’s family. Her heartbeat quickened. ‘What have you done?’ Casey had to force the words out. Her mouth was so dry now it was difficult to speak.

‘At the moment, nothing. But I am outside their lovely little bungalow and I have a big sharp knife with me. I can kill them all in seconds. Patrick with his broken leg and Brenda, still fragile from her stroke, they will be easy to take down. Then Niamh, she’s pretty. I might take her with me. And Finn when he arrives, he’ll be so preoccupied with checking on his parents I can easily catch him off guard.’

‘Don’t do this, please.’ Casey didn’t care that she was begging. She couldn’t let Psycho Steven hurt Finn’s family, couldn’t bear the thought of him hurting Finn. She had to find a way to warn them, but how?

‘They are my collateral, Casey. If you do as you’re told, I won’t have to hurt them. Disobey me, though, and I will kill every one of them before I go and put poor Amanda out of her misery.’

‘What do you want me to do?’

‘I want you to try and rescue Amanda. No riddle this time. I will give you the location, tell you exactly where she is. If you find her, you both go free.’

‘And if I don’t?’

There was a pause. ‘If you don’t find her before I get back… well, you’re probably best not to think about that.’

Casey swallowed hard. She had no idea how she was going to play this. Right now she was just agreeing and going along with him while she tried to figure a way out. Desperate to keep him on side, terrified if she didn’t that he might hurt Finn and his family. ‘Where is she, Steven?’

‘Listen carefully. You have one chance to get this right. As soon as this call ends you are going to go into the kitchen and fill the sink with water, then you’re going to put your phone in it–’

‘But how are you–’

‘Don’t interrupt me. Pay attention. This is important. You don’t want to fuck it up. You put your phone in the water, then you go get dressed and go downstairs to your car. You have exactly five minutes to do this and I will be watching you the whole time. You do not try to contact anyone, you do not speak to anyone. There is a camera in your car and if you are not sitting in the driver’s seat in exactly five minutes, the game is over and I will kill Finn’s family. Then I will go and kill Amanda. Now do you understand?’

Oh God. What the hell was she going to do? If she followed his instructions, what did he have planned for her? But then if she didn’t, Amanda, Finn and his family were all in danger.

‘Please, you don’t have to do this. We can talk.’

‘No talking. You need to be listening. Do you know Captain’s Pond near North Walsham?’

‘Yes.’ Casey had been there a couple of times with Zoe to walk Phoebe.

‘Once you are in your car, I want you to drive there. Once you pass the pond on your right, there will be a turn-off to the left called The Hill. Keep going. A couple of hundred yards past that is a dirt track, also on the left. Follow the track to the house. That is where you will find Amanda. Now do you understand?’

‘Captain’s Pond, dirt track past The Hill. Yes, but–’

‘No buts. The game is simple, you have the rules and you know what to do. Five minutes, Casey. Destroy the phone, get dressed, get down to your car. If I see you do anything other than that you know what happens. Get to Captain’s Pond, find Amanda. You saved her once, can you do it again?’

The phone went dead.

‘Hello?’

Shit. He was gone. Christ, what the hell was she going to do?

Think, Casey. For fuck’s sake, think.

She glanced warily around the room, almost too scared to move, but then she remembered she only had five minutes and she willed her shaking legs to work, running through into the kitchen, putting the plug in the sink and turning the taps on full blast.

She drew in a couple of deep breaths, tried to calm herself, knowing that she didn’t have a choice. She was going to have to do this. She couldn’t let anything happen to Finn and his family, or Amanda, but if she was going to follow Psycho Steven’s instructions then she needed to find a way to alert Finn to where she had gone.

Reluctantly, she dropped her phone into the sink, aware she had just cut all contact to the people she loved and cared about.

There was no time to feel sorry for herself though. She had lost what… forty seconds, a minute, already? Why hadn’t she looked at the time? At least she would know how long she had left. She had to get dressed, had to get down to her car.

Both dogs were now wide awake and looking at her. She couldn’t take them with her, couldn’t risk putting them in danger.

In her bedroom she pulled on her jeans, picked up her bra. Suddenly conscious that there was likely a camera in the room. He had said he would be watching her.

‘I’m going in the bathroom to put this on.’ She held the bra up, slowly turning round as she spoke, hoping that he wouldn’t penalise her for leaving the bedroom. He hadn’t said it was against the rules. ‘And I need to pee,’ she added, figuring it made things more plausible.

She didn’t need to go, but it gave her extra seconds alone.

She went into the bathroom, closed the door, quickly put on the bra as she glanced around, hoping there wasn’t a camera in there.

What could she use? What could she use?

She opened the cabinet, rummaged through the wicker basket unit that sat under the sink. Shampoo, shower gel, hairbrush, tampons. It was all useless.

Then she remembered she had a wheel wrench in the boot of her car. It wasn’t perfect, but it was better than anything she would find in here. Unless…

Her eyes fell on her make-up bag and the lipstick that had rolled out.

She could leave Finn a message.

Christ, what did she have, two or three minutes left? There wasn’t time.

She had to try though. She could use her eyeliner, write on toilet paper.

She pulled off a few sheets of loo roll, fished in the bag for her liner and wrote a message.

This would tell him where she was, but where the hell could she leave it for him without Psycho Steven spotting what she had done?

Think, Casey.

Then she had an idea. It was a long shot, but better than nothing. She folded up the paper, stuffing it in her pocket, and snatched up the lipstick, scrawled a brief message on the mirror.

Finn could be gone hours. What if he didn’t see this until was too late?

Don’t think about that. He will see it.

Conscious of the time, aware she needed to move, she left the bathroom, apologised to the dogs for leaving them as she let herself out of her apartment and sucked in a breath, guilt kicking in when she heard Phoebe whimper and let out a bark. They were safer here.

There wasn’t time to get help from any neighbours. She had to get downstairs to her car. Though first she darted across the landing, pulling the toilet paper from her back pocket and sitting it outside her neighbour’s door. She rang the doorbell before heading for the stairs, hoping to hell whoever lived there answered and saw her urgent plea to call the police.

Down the stairs, into the hallway, out of the main door, and then she was sprinting across the car park to her car.

Please let me make it on time. Please let me make it on time.

She clicked her keys, unlocking it, clambered into the driver’s seat, catching her breath.

Captain’s Pond was about five or six miles away. If she headed out on the North Walsham Road through Scottow, she could be there in ten to fifteen minutes.

She started the engine, gripped the steering wheel, willing her hands to stop shaking and pulled out of her parking space, all the while wondering if she was making a terrible mistake.