Splinter

49

Nothing. The last fifty pages were blank.

Marc riffled the script through his fingers from the back until, about a third of the way from the front, he came across two pages that looked as if they didn’t belong. They were thicker than the rest and the edges were perforated and covered with rust marks. They were the concluding pages of the synopsis.

…He eventually faces up to the ghosts of the past and obeys a mysterious summons passed to him by a homeless tramp: apparently, his late wife wants to meet him. He goes to their old home, where, down in the cellar, he finds a film script written by her. To his horror, he discovers that the synopsis on the first few pages are an exact reconstruction of his recent experiences. He turns to the end to find out what happens to him, only to find that the concluding pages are blank.

So he turns back until he come across two somewhat thicker sheets with perforated, bloodstained edges. At the foot of one is a handwritten telephone number…

020 7438 1206

Marc’s gaze travelled downwards. Sure enough, the number looked as if Sandra had jotted it down on a menu card, though without the LOL.

His eyes stumbled back up the page until he found the line where he’d just broken off.

If Marc doesn’t think his fear could become still more intense, he’s mistaken. Obeying a sudden impulse, he opens the top-right-hand drawer of the desk…

He shut his eyes, then opened them and reread the last sentence.

Should I really…? What are you doing to me, Sandra?

He hesitated for a moment, then stuck his finger in the hole in the drawer and pulled. It was unlocked.

…and finds a mobile phone.

There it was: an old model with big keys. The display flashed, indicating that the battery and signal strength were at full power. Like a man in a trance, Marc complied with the script’s insane directions.

He takes it out and keys in the phone number!