Chapter 15

As soon as he heard the sound of feet landing on the gravel, Gerald shot to the window and stared. From his vantage point upstairs, in what was once the master bedroom, and in total darkness, he remained motionless. The only detectable movement was the tangible beating of his heart, hammering inside his chest as a result of his fear and confusion. Every step she took raised the feeling of panic in his stomach. His throat was dry and his mind raced.

Gerald felt as though God was still punishing him for earlier misdeeds. Why else would three people come to this house on the same day when, at times, weeks would pass without a single soul invading his carefully crafted privacy. First, the complainer, then, the questioner, and now, the spy. Maybe she was with the police too and the earlier visit had been a red herring. Maybe they really knew what he'd done, but wanted to torture his mind before placing him in chains. Gerald would not give in so easily to their games. He would rather meet his maker, but preferably not the way today's first visitor had done. Gerald wanted to die peacefully, like the old couple who used to live here, sleeping in their beds, accepting that their time was coming to an end.

The Macallisters had been good to him. They knew he was different, but employed him anyway. His horticultural skills were nonexistent at first but, in the years since joining the old couple, he had grown in skill to the point where he really enjoyed being outdoors with the flowers, bushes, fields and trees. Of course, the Macallisters were no longer around to praise him on his work, but he kept going anyway. Pride was a sin, but he felt good about maintaining appearances. The fact that a well maintained set of lawns was enough to keep people from checking on the occupants was a continuing source of surprise to Gerald. Surely, he imagined, people should be wondering where the old folks had gone by now. Yet, every day was exactly the same. No one called in to visit. No family sprang from the woodwork wondering why their inheritance was taking so long to appear. As far as Gerald was concerned, he had inherited the house thanks to his hard work maintaining everything, and for his many hours as a sounding board for the lonely old dear. She loved to talk. Her husband had not been much of a listener, so that became another of Gerald's jobs.

Eventually, however, Old Lady Macallister talked less. When she did, it was often the same stories, over and over again. The husband could barely hear anything at all, which was probably a blessing in disguise. Gerald did not want their money. He wasn't greedy. He was not even sure they had much left. They rarely went anywhere or bought anything except sparse groceriesanother of the jobs Gerald started taking on when he realised that he was now responsible for the running of the house. He just wanted an easy life away from the cruel people of the world. Doing all the little jobs was getting harder, not easier, but at least he had a place to stay where no-one bothered him. His tent was on the ground to the other side of the northern tree line. He never told the couple he was technically homeless, not wanting anyone's pity. If they knew then they never brought it up. Eventually, when it all got too much, Gerald ensured that the husband and wife never woke up again. They would no longer rely on him. Killing them both was easy, but took its toll on his mind. They slept through the suffocation. Disposing of the bodies was the hard part. He had no way to transport them a long distance, so had to make do with what was in the house.

The memories flashed through his mind for only as long as it took Claire to reach the main house. He snapped out of his trance before he could relive everything, which was a blessing in disguise. The woman outside was being extremely nosey. She did not knock on the door, though, which was a slight concern. It either meant that she was here to spy on him, or she was blind and could not see where she was going. Probably the former. He watched her from the safety of the dark room as she crept around the front of the house and out of his view. He walked as softly as he could across the hall, past the grand staircase, and into the west facing bedroom. From there, he could see down to the ground below but could no longer fully see the girl. She had pressed herself up against a window on the ground floor directly beneath him. As he watched, patiently and silently, pressing his forehead against the glass to gain any sight of the pest, he heard a thud. It scared the life out of him for a moment, thinking the woman had somehow broken in. Thankfully, it was just the cat, jumping from some makeshift perch in the room next door. He heard its claws rapping on the solid floor as it made its way to him. He fed the cat some scraps a long time ago and it never left. As much as Gerald hated human company, the cat was sometimes nice to have around. Assuming it would one day leave him, he had not bothered to name it. Now, the cat was making too much noise. Just the sound of its steps might be enough to alert an outsider to his presence, and that would not do. The cat must have sensed his mood, as it soon stopped moving and lay still on the floor beside his feet.

Gerald continued to stare at the ground below. A few minutes passed before he saw the spy walking along the rear of the house. He sighed, fed up of this intrusion. He stealthily moved into the adjacent room and resumed his window position. The woman was easier to see now. She was standing still, looking around, probably wondering how to get in. Gerald's brow creased even further in a frown. He did not know what she wanted, but whatever it was, it was not in here. At one point she looked directly up at him causing Gerald to freeze in fear, barely willing to breathe. He knew how black the windows looked from outside, as there was no light in the house tonight, so she could not possibly see him. Nevertheless, his nerves were on edge. Her inquisitive gaze did not last long and her attention moved elsewhere. Gerald stood completely still, furious, for what seemed like hours but was only a few minutes. The woman started walking again, back the way she had come. She walked back down the gravel path and over the gate. Finally, Gerald could relax.