The Fishing Trip

A woman has a strange experience.

The Fishing Trip.

The vehicle went up the road at a steady speed. Janice waved goodbye, as the car disappeared from view. She then made her way back to the entrance to the house, while she carried some flowers which was a gift from them. Her cousins had stayed for two days and one night. Catching up with her family again was something she'd missed, because she hadn't seen them for ages. In the hallway Janice smelt the sweet scent of the air freshener she had sprayed earlier that morning.
Janice lived on her own, sometimes it was lonely. Her husband was long gone, thank god. Thinking back to their relationship made her sad because everything seemed good for a long time. Then he started drinking heavily after he'd lost his job of seventeen years. She would cringe at some of the things he would say to her when he was drunk. That is why she threw him out, as it was getting too much for her to put up with on top of everything else.
In the kitchen Janice made herself a nice cup of tea, then sipped it slowly while she thought about the day ahead. That afternoon she needed to do some food shopping, also a little housework as the place was untidy. Whisky her beloved cat strolled to her feet, while it peered up at her wanting food.
"Hello, stranger," she said.
Janice opened a pouch and squeezed the food into a little bowl, then placed it on the floor, where the cat ran to it and started eating.

An hour later she wrote a list out of what items she needed to pick up from the local store, then headed to the car which was parked on the driveway. Janice locked the front door and noticed dark clouds overhead. That morning the weather had been reasonable, it now looked like a storm was coming.
Great, she thought.
With urgency she got into the car. Within seconds the rain lashed down. The window wipers cleared some of the water away, but driving in
these conditions was dangerous.
Janice then remembered one of her friends was popping round at some point that afternoon. She decided to take the risk.
She started the engine, the car moved slowly towards the road in front. No traffic could be seen so she stuck her foot down and turned left. While she made her way up the quiet road she observed a group of youths as they stood near a bus stop. Miserable expressions on all their faces.
At the end of the road was a roundabout which she'd drove through many times. The terrible conditions were not improving, maybe this was a bad idea?
Reluctantly Janice carried on. She turned the vehicle carefully onto the roundabout, it was hard to see much as the rain was giving her hell. All of a sudden a tiny figure ran in front of the car. Straightaway she slammed on the brakes. Her heart raced. Janice didn't know what to do as she stayed where she was. With much courage she decided to have a look, maybe the person she'd hit was badly hurt and needed assistance?
She opened the door and got out. Janice peered under the vehicle. With relief no one was there. Completely baffled by the whole situation she got back into the car, her clothes were soaked. She closed the door and noticed a piece of paper on the passenger seat, it wasn't there before? The shopping list was in her handbag which sat on the backseat. A little apprehensive she got hold of it and noticed some writing on the other side. What she read next caused her to shudder.

I miss you mummy.
With love from Graham.

She threw it down. Janice began to cry. How was it possible, unless someone was playing a cruel prank? Janice then suspected her ex had something to do with it.
She still had his number and rang it angry as hell.
Someone answered from the other end, but it wasn't her husband's voice. "Hello, who's this?"
"Where's Keith, I need to speak to him?" she said. "Now."
There was silence for a few seconds, then the voice replied, "I have some bad news I'm afraid. Maybe it's best if we meet in person so I can explain to you what happened."
"What are you talking about?" she said.
"Who is this?" he asked.
Janice decided to end the call, she found it difficult to trust anyone at the moment. She suspected it was one of her husband's mates playing along with the prank. How could he be so cruel?
She now had a headache and wasn't in the mood for shopping. She would also ring her friend and cancel the meeting. All Janice could think about was her beautiful son who'd died a couple of years before in a tragic accident. She started the engine, then headed back home.

In the living room she picked up a photograph of the three of them. Sadness consumed her. Deep down Janice always blamed Keith for their son's death, but never showed it. Why was he doing this to her?
A noise from the spare bedroom interrupted her thoughts. What the hell was that? She got up from the sofa very nervous. Janice wasn't looking forward to what she might find. Cautiously she proceeded to the room. The door was closed. Taking a couple of seconds to compose herself she got hold of the handle, then pushed the door open. The room was empty. Relief was felt. Suddenly the phone rang from the living room which made her jump. With haste she headed to it and picked it up.
"Who's this?" Janice asked.
"Why did you cut me off earlier? I think you might be in danger," replied the voice from earlier. "Are you still there?"
She'd had enough of this now. "What do you want from me?" she shouted.
The line went dead. A bang was heard coming from down the hall.
"Leave me alone," she screamed.
Janice was exhausted and laid on the sofa. Her eyes now closed.
A hand was felt on her shoulder. She looked up startled. No one was there. At her feet was a damp patch. On the coffee table a metre from her was another piece of paper folded in half. Janice wiped the tears from her eyes, then picked it up. Inside was a message which read.

You are now safe from dad, love from Graham.

Her poor son had drowned while on a fishing trip with Keith. It was shortly after this when her husband started to behave strangely. Next thing she was aware of was when he lost his job, then he began to drink heavily.
The phone rang and she picked it up immediately. "Just tell me what happened to Keith?"
A few seconds of silence followed by the voice saying, "He was found this morning by one of his neighbours, he'd drowned while in the bath. But the thing I can't get my head round was what I saw with my own eyes."
Janice needed to know. "So what was it?" she asked.
"The word 'MURDERER' had been carved into his chest."
She put the phone down, at that moment her whole world crumbled around her.


The End