Grind Their Bones by Drew Cross

like I was being punished for the fact that I was keeping some details of the previous night back for now. I wanted to mull them over some more before I invited anybody else in.              
    Does he suspect what you’ve been doing? I’d asked, referring to Emily’s husband, David. Good God, no! He’d kill me if he did know…actually murder me. It’s in him somewhere, I’ve seen it in his eyes sometimes. She’d said, and then passed out, leaving me alone with my thoughts in the darkness.
     
     

Chapter 29
     
    The girl was absolutely perfect in every possible way. A study in blossoming grace and femininity, with long wavy chestnut coloured hair and bright blue eyes that might have been piercing if it wasn’t for the warmth that radiated from her expression. The Grey Man would have taken her for one of his private dinners a long time ago given the chance, but there was one crucial detail that had made that an impossibility in the past. The girl worked for him, and as such knew who he was and had seen the face that he chose to wear like a mask for the world that existed outside of his fantasies and desires. He had always been careful to ensure that there were no clear links between his real self and his victims. Well, almost always his inner voice corrected. You nearly learned that lesson the hard way very early on in your career, didn’t you?
    He watched her through his office window, able to observe her bathed in glorious morning sunlight without her being able to see him in return due to the angle of the blinds, but she glanced up at the glass from time to time anyway, as if a sixth sense had alerted her to his scrutiny, and each time she did she smiled shyly before resuming her work.
    He’d already done some research into her life, unable to completely let go of his desire to own her, so he knew that she was single and living with her widowed mother, who was suffering with the onset of dementia or some other similar ghastly ailment. The absence of a boyfriend seemed to be a consequence of her duties in caring for mum, giving her very few opportunities to mix with her work colleagues or friends outside of the office. That kind of isolation tipped the balance back in favour of dinner slightly.
    He gave up on work and shut down his laptop, running his gaze back over her for the twentieth time, drinking in the details of her curves and noticing how there was only one other worker in the large open-plan space with her at the moment. Eventually, his frustrated scrutiny gave way to his desire, and he decided to see whether the scenario in his mind might play out after all. It wasn’t like the police were getting close to catching him yet anyway.
    She looked up from her desk as the door to his room clicked open and he emerged, and she smiled demurely with the ghost of a blush drifting up into her cheeks as he made pointed eye contact with her. He knew that even though he was old enough to be the girl’s grandfather, she was attracted to him on some level, and why not? He remained in impeccable physical condition, having retained good habits from his time served in the navy all those years ago, and he was very affluent. The years had been kind to him, making him look more distinguished than weathered, and he had excellent manners and a good natured welcome for each and every one of his employees when their paths crossed. In his line of work it paid to be an exceptional actor, and he was one of the best, living out the vast majority of his time playing this role, with only the one or two people closest to him having ever glimpsed one of his other faces.
    ‘Good morning Elizabeth, in bright and early as usual I see.’
    He smiled broadly showing off neat white teeth and slid casually into the seat next to her own, lowering his voice even though the only other person present was comfortably out of earshot at the far side of the room.
    ‘Your diligence and dedication have not gone unnoticed, and neither