Reid turned over the next four pages, which were all filled with strong dark drawings. There were disturbing grotesque figures and faces, all done in black felt tip pen or black ink. He skimmed over them before continuing.
H needs to be got rid of, but that should be easy as once a thief always a thief. I will place something tempting for him to be unable to keep his wretched fingers from stealing. One of her diamonds would be good, but she is so lax about security and insurance and constantly out of it mentally that she might not even notice it missing. If this was to occur I could query where the diamond was, but then H could have time to replace it. I think the same choice of endings would be advisable. They both steal food… Carefully does it, one at a time, as there must be no suspicion.
Reid noticed that the handwriting now took on a totally different style, reverting to printed letters with spaces and dashes. He flicked over a few more pages.
Symptoms can vary, including slight gastrointestinal discomfort, and in some cases they can contain a toxin, which can stimulate the immune system to attack its own red blood cells. Angel wing mushrooms can create acute brain disorder, and attack kidney function.
1. Amanita muscaria – dried and consumed it can be psychoactive… V good
2. Amanita pantherina (panthercap mushroom) – associated with more fatalities than muscaria
3. Chlorophyllum molybdites (green-gilled) – intense gastrointestinal upset.
After reading such nasty vitriol Reid wondered why passages of the journal now turned into a biology lesson about mushrooms and their effects. He noticed the entry about the Amanita muscaria was repeatedly underlined and assumed the ‘psychoactive V. good’ meant very good as a drug. He’d heard of ‘magic mushrooms’ and their hallucinogenic effects, and now wondered if Amy had tried them and the entries about fatal or stomach-upsetting mushrooms was an indication of the ones to avoid collecting in woodland. He read on:
The more unusual toxin is coprine, a compound which is harmless unless ingested within a few days of drinking alcohol, as it inhibits an enzyme required for breaking down alcohol. Once ingested the person will feel as if he suffers from a hangover, flushing, headaches, nausea, palpitations and trouble breathing…
Reid shook his head; there was page after page about mushrooms and their side effects, some passages underlined and some with ticks or stars beside them. Also listed was how long it took for the symptoms to begin to show, and there were initials in minuscule writing beside some timings. The onset of the effects mostly took anywhere between four to eleven hours but in some cases as long as two to twenty days.
He started to flick through the mass of data on mushrooms. It could have been for some kind of biology test, but it nevertheless unsettled him. He got up and fetched a large scotch and ice before he could face any more of the journal. There were further lengthy pages of hatred referring to ‘A’, ‘M’ and ‘H’ and Reid was pretty sure from the content that ‘A’ and ‘M’ were both Agnes and ‘H’ obviously Harry. One page was a detailed list of how many times Agnes had been searching the bedroom. This was discovered thanks to the fine strand of hair placed over each drawer revealing it had been opened.
He noted that there was never a direct reference to the author. It was always ‘she’ this and ‘she’ that, and from the different styles of handwriting it appeared as if a number of people had been involved in composing the journal. He was however beginning to understand why Lena Fulford had not felt it would assist in discovering where or with whom Amy might have run away. No locations were mentioned. He continued to skim-read until he came to an entry about ‘S’. The clue was in the description, which indicated it was about Serena Newman. It was a lengthy vicious attack on her so-called friend, whom she labelled as nothing but an envious acquaintance. The method of using the anonymous website to blacken her name and reputation was described in detail and there was obvious intention to repay ‘S’ for lying.
What shocked him next were the overtly sexual paragraphs concerning the lesbian activities, but these were written in such a way it could be confusing, unless you were aware of Miss Polka’s Christian name, Jo. Paragraph after paragraph in the same minuscule writing described how Jo had become so enamoured and obsessed with silken skin, licking and sucking every inch of perfection in an attempt to gain an arousal, but all it had done was sicken and repulse her. The ‘Watcher’ was underlined, and yet again there was a lengthy description of how being a ‘Watcher’ had taught her that there could be satisfaction in observing someone obsessed with touching perfect unblemished skin.
Reid thought about the peephole in Amy’s bedroom at the flat in Green Street. Was Amy referring to this, and was she in actual fact the ‘Watcher’? He put the journal to one side and got a refill, this time adding water to his scotch, and some ice. It was almost twelve and he felt tired out, but if he was correct then he needed to persist, despite it becoming emotionally exhausting.
The ‘Watcher’ began describing anal sex as the preferred position of subject ‘F’, stripped naked and using dildos, but rarely if ever ejaculating into his partner’s vagina, preferring the whore’s arse. Reid felt like hurling the journal across the room, but if as he suspected subject ‘F’ was in actual fact Marcus Fulford then it was clear Amy was the Watcher and using the peephole to look into Marcus’s bedroom. He knew he had to continue to read the nasty descriptions of anal sex and copulation to learn more about Amy’s state of mind.
Page after page gave intimate details of women’s bodies, and how the ‘Watcher’ had found gratification by masturbation. It became so repetitive that he flicked over page after page until he came to subject ‘L’ and wondered if it was about Lena Fulford.
Reid saw that yet again there was a noticeable change in the style of handwriting. ‘L’ was described as frigid, mentally unstable, a self-harming yet brilliant person who was self-obsessed and needed to be loved, but was incapable of loving because of her warped jealous nature. ‘L’ was unable to give up her lust for material wealth and success; she was narrow and blinkered about everything and everyone around her. The writer described how ‘she’ had been able to exist by becoming invisible, and even breathing had to be hardly detectable as the monster could be so destructive. The writer now referred to the ‘Watcher’ as if it were someone she knew and had spoken with. She wrote that the ‘Watcher’ was now able to release its inhibitions and delight in filth and pornography, enjoying stinking and smelling and wearing the vile garments of the whores.
Reid flicked through the rest of the journal to see how much he had left to read. He noticed to his surprise that the back pages were full of lists of recipes, ingredients and cooking instructions for dishes like spaghetti bolognese, risotto and chilli con carne, and laughed to himself that a journal full of vile language and hatred could also contain some simple home-cooking and methods for packing and freezing home-cooked meals.
He still had about half the journal to finish, but he had read enough, so snapped it closed, put it in an evidence bag and removed the protective gloves he’d been wearing. He drained his glass and went for a shower and then to bed. It was, he felt, no real clue as to where Amy Fulford was, but it did give an insight into someone who he felt was a very disturbed young woman.
Tuesday, day ten, and Reid was in his office early. Tech Support had opened Amy Fulford’s iPad and it contained some anonymous and unpleasant Facebook comments and emails that showed Amy was being cyberbullied. Although this could be another reason for her running away, the iPad gave no clue of where she might have gone. All the emails and Facebook comments would be checked to try and trace the sender and/or point of origin, but it would be difficult if not impossible if fake IP addresses had been used.