Chapter Text
Friday - Early Evening
You stand in your laboratory, staring at the red splash of blood and the dead body lying on the floor, suddenly stunned, terrified and relieved in equal measures.
The deed is done. And Jack’s dead.
Jack, your brother-in-law, is dead.
Jack, the man who’s continuous, accusatory attitude towards you has driven you to this violent act, is now dead.
After a moment, you take a deep breath, hoping to control your rapid breathing and that your thundering heartbeat will slow. To help keep calm, you glance around at all the familiar furniture and equipment in your lab; at the microbiology books on the shelves; at the reports stacked on the far bench; at the latest batch of experiments sitting unobtrusively in their sterile glass cabinet waiting for you to examine them. It’s all bright colours and vivid shapes, the details sharp. This room looks like it normally does. Except for the blood-covered body.
Your plan has worked perfectly. Nothing has gone wrong.
Maybe that fact is the reason you are feeling so surprised. None of the complications you thought of have arisen and the whole thing went like clockwork, down to the last detail. For the most part, Jack behaved exactly as you predicted. Except that he didn’t even struggle in the end. Now the expression on his face as he lies there is almost one of resignation.
You can’t help staring into his dull, dead eyes.
You’ve done it.
That statement needs repeated twice more in your mind before you are able to really believe it. Finally, it is over. You’ve been wanting to get rid of him and his insinuations for years. You’ve thought about it, planned it and anticipated everything that might go wrong.
And now Jack’s dead and all that preparation has paid off.
Your hands are shaking. It’s only a small tremor but it’s noticeable and unexpected. Adrenaline, you realise. All the tension and anticipation you had in the build-up to the act will have an effect. You take another deep breath, telling yourself to relax and be calmer. You planned this, you anticipated the problems (needlessly as it turned out) and now it’s over.
It’s over, you tell yourself again. There’s nothing more to do now except lock the door behind you and pretend it never happened. You feel yourself wanting to argue, the unfocused fear trying to take control. But the feeling only lasts a moment. You know there’s no need.
Besides it’s not like this is new, you remind yourself. You’ve killed before, under different circumstances, true, but death is death.
Last time, it was much more intense, violent, unplanned and messy. And you got away with it that time. For months afterwards, you’d been convinced that someone would find out. But no one ever did. Jack was the only one who came close, and that was probably more like guesswork, enmity and a love of his sister than anything to do with the actual facts.
Now, you’ve successfully done it again.
You’ve done it.
It’s done. Jack is dead and you’ve killed him and you’re free.
Your gaze lingers on the body, and slowly a weight lifts off your chest. There was no other way. Jack pushed too far and too hard. He left you no choice. You never wanted this. Jack had his flaws, he was clever but cowardly and he never had the balls to confront you about what he clearly suspected about his sister’s disappearance, satisfying himself with all those sly little digs and hints… all designed to put pressure on you. But, even after all the trouble he caused you, he had many positives and it was a pity things had to come down to this. Maybe if you’d tried harder to convince him, tried harder to be friends.
No. You know that would never have worked. He didn’t need more, he needed less. He needed to step away and let go, he needed to accept the past and move on, not follow you around and try to make your life as miserable as his was.
You look down at him again. Another wave of cool, refreshing relief washes through you, starting in your chest and spreading out to you toes, your fingers and the top of your scalp. It’s done. You can finally get on with your life.
You’ve planned what to do next.
There is nothing more you can do here. It’s all set up; the heating is up high and on a timer, all you have to do now is get on with your evening and go the to party and enjoy getting your award.
And behave as you normally behave. It should be simple now that Jack’s dead and you don’t have to worry about him any more.
Your skin still feels clammy and your hands look white. They’re shaking slightly as well. Adrenaline, you remind yourself again. It's just a normal reaction. Fortunately, you know what to do next and don't have to improvise. You’ve worked in this lab for the past fifteen years, you know everything about it and so you fall back on your instinctual habits.
There is no need to linger here any more. You’ve said your goodbyes to Jack, and you’ve set up the room the way it needs to be to give you an alibi. Not that you’d need one, because no one in their right mind would think you’d commit murder on the night you received the University’s top award at the annual dinner. And you are going to be Dr Adam Hunter, senior research fellow and new Faculty Director. You let a small smile twist at the corner of your mouth. It’s the perfect alibi.
One last time, you at a look at the still lifeless body sprawled on the floor, then turn away.
The difficult part is over. Now all you have to do is carry on as usual and everything will be okay.
Glancing at your watch, you see you have just over two hours to get ready before the limousine arrives at your apartment. It’s time to leave.
You go through your normal routine, checking the lights and the switches are off, except the heating of course, then you lock the door behind you, give it a quick tug to make sure that it’s secure.
After making sure that everything is the same as always, you head down the stairs and out of the building.
And with each step your thoughts of Jack and what’s happened fade and your mind fills with anticipation for tonight and your dinner event and finally getting everything you want.