The Vanilla killer

An unlikely new neighbor

I tried to listen to my husband and avoided Mr Barnes bakery yet here he was now, our mutual enemy Mr Barnes talking to our mutual frenemy Rosey, I wished to be a fly on the wall of Rosey's house to hear what they could’ve been talking about, in my curiosity as soon as Mr Barnes left in his fancy car, I parked my dutsen and rushed over to hers to gossip fast before Jack returned from work, it seemed Rosey was just anxious as I was to talk " oh he is planning on buying or renting Patrick's flat" Rosey told me when I asked, I found it strange that a man of his statue would want to rent for a friend such a small flat literally in the poorest part of Bath " why would he rent for his friend here?, the man has money he could afford a much affluent place" i said taking the stained hot cup of coffee Rosey was offering me but not drinking it, Rosey looked at me sinisterly " it's not for a friend" she told me gulping her coffee whilst staring intently at me " than who is he renting the flat for?" I asked, Rosey didn't respond she just looked at me ,waiting for me to guess it myself, he couldn't I thought, Mr Barnes had a mistress? I asked myself, the man who had the beautiful model wife and the lovely kids could be renting a flat for his mistress " is it for a woman?" I asked, Rosey looked at me resigning " he is renting the flat for himself " she said, I gulped down the cup of coffee fast letting the hot contents burn my throat, Bath really was an area full of surprises " he is really eager, he is planning to move in as soon as yesterday " Rosey revealed, even more strange I thought. Why would a rich and affluent businessman who lived in a beautiful mansion , who also owned other real estate want to move in to his murdered former employee's home " he wants to downsize and start saving for a business venture, he told me" Rosey said. Strange, very strange a boisterous and arrogant man who claimed to feed the entire of Bath, a supposed millionaire with flashy cars and watches, wanted to move himself and his young family into a tiny flat that had been the scene of a gruesome murder, it left many questions unanswered even worse was Rosey appeared unfaised and non suspecting " he is a businessman, he is always coming up with new ways to make or save money, the economy is bad for those who have kids and real actual responsibilities " the last line seemed to be a chime to me, reminding me I was a worthless surgical nurse who was childless and supporting a broke husband but I acted not to be offended " he has plans" Rosey boasted, I was so obsessed with Mr Barnes's new ideas I almost forgot about Jack and supper until I saw him passby Rosey's not forgetting to give me a serious glance that indicated one thing, I bidd Rosey goodbye and headed home, content that the news I had would cool down Jack's anger, walking into the house I found Jack cussing and throwing pots and pans in search of a warm freshly cooked meal, I pretended to be clueless" I saw Rosey and Mr Barnes today" I answered, his response was swift, I found myself bleeding on the floor from a slap on the face " is that why you didn't cook?" he shouted, I tried to explain but he punched the back of my head before saying " I swear to God I will end you" were the only words I remember before blacking out, I woke up a few moments later to find Jack gone aswell as a few clothing items of his, when I looked in the mirror I saw a pale face, with withering blonde hair and a face with sullen blue eyes, one of my eyes was reddened, a black eye was forming around my eye balls, I couldn't even cry I felt empty, I went to bed soon after. The following day Rosey confronted me after seeing my bruised face " you have to leave him Claire, otherwise he will kill you " she said a look of genuine concern on her face, I brushed off Rosey and decided to take a walk to the beach to clear my head. Rosey's words were still echoing in my head when I spotted a familiar figure walking towards me before I even had a chance to react or flee, I saw Mr Barnes in front of me " am moving in next door into Patrick's flat" he announced seemingly ignoring my pitiful tries to hide my black eye " infact am buying the flat" he boasted " That Rosey is a cheapskate, who would sell a small rundown flat for five hundred thousand dollars" he chuckled " she even tried to sell me her own house instead of Pats flat" he continued oblivious to my attempts to walk away from him, incase Jack saw or somebody did " who knows I might just buy both Rosey's and Patrick's houses" he boasted, I struggled to resist a chuckle because if he thought Patrick's flat was rundown, I struggled to wonder how he felt about Rosey's yet it was clear he didn't care because he had visited it and saw it fit to buy, even if the deal with Rosey would work out, I wondered how street smart Rosey would manage without her home, though I believed there was no way Mr Barnes could be serious about buying either Patrick's or her home, I figured Mr Barnes just wanted people to talk about him to divert our attention from something major he was planning, so I tried to shoe him off but he had parting words for him " you need to let him go Claire " he said, a mellow even sympathetic tone in his voice, I turned to see the man looking at me with empathy in his eyes " it's either you or him, you can do so much better without him" he said his sinister look returning to give me a cruel smile, I turned to leave " he's at Jennifer's " he announced I didn't look back this time, I walked back home shaking hoping Mr Barnes wasn't following me in his car but in the corner of my eye I saw him drive an opposite direction, I returned home and found Jack still had not arrived, a quick search of his wardrobe told me that he had infact intended to stay out for a while, his toiletries and a bunch of clothes were missing, I found his tooth brush aswell as his uniform were still in their places, his car keys were on the holder, missing was his wallet and ID, I guess a man only needed his wallet and a few clothes for a few nights at a hookers place, no toothbrush or car keys needed, I rested and later in the evening when Jack still had not arrived I set at the front porch to watch the sunset, I saw Rosey fetching her washing and the neighbors children riding their bikes, oblivious to the atrocities of the dark, I went inside and slept, I woke up at ten late at night to a flash of a car on the windows , our bedroom was upstairs, I opened the curtains to see Mr Barnes car parked outsides Patrick's home. It was dark outside, all of the houses at our street had no lights on, not even Patrick's home was on, the only light were the streetlights and the moon.