Psycho-Analysis: Revenge: Psychological thriller of a psychopath's vengeance

By Catherine Nuza

What emotion is left once the heart and mind stops caring? Khedlar has an unquenchable thirst for revenge and will stop at nothing to punish those responsible for the murder of his wife and child. No one is safe in his psychopathic path, not even himself. In a warped world of madness and deceit, he makes it his mission to save his daughter's soul which pulls him deeper into the web. This unique, fast paced psychological thriller will horrify and exhilarate your senses all at once. Dawn Vines makes us question what is normality while leaving you wanting to know more. How many fragments of the puzzle were still hidden in the shadows and is Demetrius the only one who knows the untainted truth? Revenge is relentlessly gripping, with an intensely captivating story, a must read that will be impossible to put down and not for the faint hearted.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Publication Consultants
• Release date: Mar 1, 2018
• ISBN: 9781594337741

Catherine Nuza

Catherine Nuza portrays through her writing a personal perspective of life experience in caring for people suffering from mental illness. Being a writer all her life she tells the story from every angle including facts, experiences, imagination and work. Travelling from a young age she has sampled humanity from all walks of life and understands sociological and psychological traits of cultures and weaves these elements into her story. Caring for a wide age range, she has developed a humanistic lens garnered from hard work, the desire to help others and reveals her knowledge and experience. The story evolved rapidly into a full-blown novel with the notion to create and unveil the journey and making of a psychopath. Not enough is shared about the evolution of the human mind that creates these monsters. She writes with an educated eye that visually paints the picture of their world.

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world.

Prologue

The very thing that defines humanity may be our actions, our patience, our trust and reactions to different situations. People can change but never at their core. It’s the part of a person that is never swayed, never masked and never absent in any way. It is human nature to want to feel secure and we will casually endeavour to keep it well protected from the outside world. We will only ever reveal our true core to a handful of people in our lives. These people to me were my family, my wife and daughter and without them I am forever lost. I was trapped in a cage of pain and driven by an insatiable need for revenge, for my sadistically butchered family.

Life had forced me to place the knife in my hand so to speak and I had evolved into a killer. Now I knew what had to be done! Karma in its most perverse form proves us all to be fools. We like to think we have the answers to life and control over our existence. The more we delude ourselves into thinking this, the more lost we become. Never was there a time in my life that I could imagine myself killing and wanting more. Never is too late to recognise what is punching us in the gut, even when we so strongly ignore it, knowing that our instincts are never wrong.

He was my brother, my blood, they were my family and they had destroyed me in the only way they ever could. They had stabbed the knife of their betrayal and toxic love into my heart and twisted it deep. These people were not my family anymore; they could not be of my blood, it was unfathomable. I dismissed them as having any connection to me and if I could sell my soul to the devil and commit to seeking my revenge; I had to see them as faceless. Blood called for blood and it was time for these monsters to pay, even if I had to become one to achieve this.

All my life I had been through so many situations which in a way had trained me to be cold, emotionless and a natural killer. I kissed my daughter’s photograph and I forgave my wife for all she had done to betray me. It had hurt me but the loss of her love was never worth her life. I climbed wearily into bed and tried to get my rest, I would need it for the next couple of gruelling days that awaited me. Now the beginning of my revenge has come to haunt my dreams and invade my life that would never be the same again.

CHAPTER 1

The Plan

The words they will pay, echoed in my mind as an unrelenting mantra that reverberated through the core of my body. I was in my mother’s pristine clean mansion, lounging on the leather armchair in my room with a steaming mug of black tea next to me. I took a deep breath, inhaling its aroma along with the smell of bleach and polish as I began to read one of my books on alchemy. It was always one of my favourites, an encyclopaedia on the effects of drugs and their uses in the medical world. This knowledge will be the bridge to help me on my road to revenge for my family.

An air filled syringe, poisons or just plain outright murder; I had so many options to choose from to kill them. I was going for my brother first; he would be easy enough to dispose of. I knew in my heart of hearts that I could take his place and no one would be any the wiser.

I had once read about a toxic plant called foxglove, it has gone by many names such as witches glove and dead man bells. The flower itself is beautiful to look at, if you are into that sort of thing, but it can be very deadly. It’s one of the most well known classic medical plants, one which is still used widely today and is ridiculously easy to get hold of. It contains glycosides which are cardiac stimulants, lots of fun if you want a quick fix. The oleanders are the chemicals that cause a physical reaction to the heart, nervous system, stomach, and intestines. I would have to extract a strong dose of this poison from the leaves of the plant for what I had in mind. It would give my victim ventricular fibrillation. He would have a heart attack, the silent killer! Liquid poison basically, that was the weapon I had chosen to use on the one who had so warmly called me his brother and blood.

It was roughly mid-morning and the house was silent, almost peaceful and just the way I liked it. I now had a plan to set into motion and I decided to take my loving brother who had given me such a gift, for dinner tonight to celebrate my good fortune. I called the Blue Carpet restaurant to make reservations for the two of us. My trap was set and he wouldn’t know he was in trouble until it was too late, it was all so perfect. An evil grin spread across my face and a dangerous glint of my intent was in my eyes. My senses were on overdrive and I could see, hear and smell every miniscule thing in my environment. I felt pumped up and ready to pursue my prey, without mercy, without hesitation!

I thought it was best to make myself scarce; I only emerged once from the bedroom that mother had so graciously given to me. I got dressed into my casual clothes and patted my pockets, making sure I had enough money on me. On the way out I silently crept down the hall and slipped a hand-written invitation under my brother’s door. It was starting to make me feel good about myself and I was happy that I had formulated a plan to kill the very people who had destroyed my life. I knew all too well that I was in the middle of a dangerous game and every step I took to reach the main door made the wooden floors creak and bend. The sounds were enough to alert mother that I was leaving and I made sure that I moved at a consistent pace without looking back. I slowly closed the main door behind me as I walked out into the fresh air. My eyes felt strained from all the reading and my hands itched with an urge of what they would soon possess.

The house was a short walk to Peat’s Flowers, so I decided it should be my first stop to collect my organic salvation. The flower shop was small in size but housed a good variety of plants. As I walked in, the old-fashioned tarnished bell above the door rang melodically.

How can I help you today sir? asked a short, crooked man who was wearing thick bottle-bottomed glasses. He was dusting off his soil covered hands on his blue overalls as he walked over to me. My skin crawled watching the grubby little man ritualistically cleaning himself on his clothes. I felt my obsessive-compulsive desires go berserk and I had to root my feet firmly in place just to stop myself from turning and walking out.

Do you happen to have any foxglove at all? I asked as a sly grin took over my facial expression, making my mask slip a bit. I couldn’t contain how happy the thought of revenge was in my mind, especially knowing it would soon become a reality. I ignored the hand he had extended towards me to shake and promptly put my hands behind my back, looking at him in horror and disgust.

Of course, please follow me, he said, shrugging off my rejection and sounding more than happy to serve me.

He took me into the back of the shop where a large greenhouse lived. The colours of the flowers made the glass room come alive like a jungle. Large, leafy plants graced the space in all shades of green, lilies, roses, orchids and so much more were dotted about interjecting their colours.

So many distinct smells entered my senses making my nostrils feel entranced and intrigued.

Here you go, he said while passing me a large bunch of foxglove. Just be careful with pets and young children around this, it’s poisonous if eaten, he said as he wiped his hands clean on his overalls yet again.

Yes, of course, always, I replied giving him a cheeky grin but with a tone that sounded convincingly sincere. It won’t be any accident I thought laughing to myself. I paid the man and left the shop with my flowers carefully tucked under my arm. The reason I had chosen this particular flower shop was because records weren’t kept of their sales and it would seem as if I was never there at all.

Next I needed to find a pestle and mortar to grind the deadly liquid out of the striking plant. I then required a delightful syringe to draw it up in. I still hadn’t come up with a plan on how to deliver the deadly dose, so right now I just wanted to keep my options open. The pestle and mortar was easy to obtain, I found it straight away in Danny’s Saver Land. I was in and out within minutes and left feeling excited. I could feel the warmth of the morning sun tingling on my skin but somehow I felt cold in the pit of my stomach.

I only had the syringe left to buy as I strode rapidly towards the local pharmacy. I tried to avoid looking into the cameras as I went inside. I knew I was an amateur as I realized I had looked directly into them instead of away. I bought the syringe and drawing needle, still wondering how I was going to get the poisonous liquid into Dariouse.

I felt like I was floating on air on my way back to mother’s house. Everything was falling into place so beautifully and my heart was pounding with anticipation.

Once I had arrived at the mansion, I went upstairs and safely locked myself in my room. I crushed the top leaves of the fresh plant, these are the most toxic; this plant was inspiring on how deadly it could be. I marvelled at the design nature had created and what I would achieve using it. The pestle and mortar were hard to use because it was made of stone and grinding the leaves created a resonating, scratching sound that jarred my paranoid nerves. I stopped several times as I heard footsteps walk past my room. I didn’t want anyone in the house to know what I was doing. The only thing I had left to figure out was how could I administer the liquid I was creating? It tends to taste spicy, hot or bitter plus the smell can dominate so I decided to pick a method he would never expect.

I relaxed for the rest of the day, getting myself mentally prepared and ready for my first planned murder. This wouldn’t be like the homeless man I had killed at the park, this would be someone who had family and neighbours and people would start talking or noticing that he was no longer around. I couldn’t afford to mess this up in any way. I wondered how they did it, all those people who just kill and don’t feel anything but pure pleasure from it. They actually liked it, the thrill of the chase and the undeniable urge to kill. Watching the person’s life slowly drain from their eyes and leaving them hollow and dead. I knew I had no choice; I had to become one of those people. I would be an uncontrollable animal, a slayer of life and harbinger of death.

I pulled out the suit I had been given when I’d left hospital and got smartly dressed. I shaved my face, brushed my teeth and put gel into my hair, combing it back meticulously, making sure that not one hair was out of place. I applied aftershave and turned to eye my appearance critically in the mirror. I looked the model of a man who had a decent way of life and nobody would suspect what lay beneath. I put on my mask to hide my vicious eyes and practiced smiling sweetly a few times. I was ready to put my plan into action. The table I had reserved was in the VIP area at the back of the restaurant, separated from the view of the other patrons, with high red velvet curtains providing the area with complete privacy.

It was all just so perfect the way things had fallen into place. My skin felt refreshed, vibrant and I was confident in my plan succeeding, I had no choice, I was committed now and there was no going back, it had to work.

I was lying on my bed waiting as time moved slowly; just thinking if I could actually pull this off? I constantly tried to convince myself that I could, that I was a natural killer. I had been raised and moulded in a world of cruelty and torture and I was genetically predisposed to be like this. All the reasons they deserved to die were filling my head and senses, when there was a knock at the door.

I got up from the bed and wiped sweat off my hands onto the side of my trousers. It was time! I took a deep breath and opened the door as my brother loomed there, waiting for me. He was smartly dressed for the happy occasion. He gave me one of those painful, awkward hugs and we made our way down the immense hallways without saying a word to each other. The darkness called out to me and the side of my nature that had been good was getting smaller and dying fast.

We passed by mother’s room, I knocked firmly on the door and waited for her response.

Come in, she called out.

Her tone was soft and barely audible, she wasn’t well again and I could hear it in her voice. I had to get my plan into motion soon as I couldn’t wait to kill the queen bee! She was the one whose dark mind had started the proverbial ball rolling by destroying me. She had instructed Dariouse to kill my family in order to protect me. This had gone well beyond a sick and twisted joke; it was sinister and malevolent and it would stop with me. I would make sure her evil would never torture my lost soul again. She had broken me down and now it was my turn to destroy her. The student always eventually surpasses the teacher.

The huge wooden door creaked open revealing the room which was dark inside and there was a strange smell of decay lingering in the air. I walked up reluctantly to her bedside, there was no way I would sit on her bed, not after I remembered my skin crawling the last time when she had asked me to.

Mother, I wanted to thank you for helping me, I love you all very much but I’m leaving for a while. I have things I need to sort out, private matters that I won’t bore you with, I explained.

Come closer son, she whispered. She grabbed my hand and slightly tilted her head to one side, she seemed upset but she held back her tears and gave me a consenting nod.

I will keep in touch, I promised her, trying to sound loyal and true in my words as I gave her a fake look of pure sincerity.

She released my hand and I gave her a goodbye kiss on her icy cold, skeletal cheek. The reality of showing this monster affection, even fake affection repulsed me to the core. My heart was racing as I walked out of the room, closing the door firmly behind me. I could only see what I had given her as the kiss of death. Judging by her lack of energy to even place conditions on me leaving showed me she didn’t have long left, regardless if I killed her or the grim reaper would get to her first. I left her rancid presence behind me and I took a deep breath to cleanse my burning lungs from her vile filth.

The evening air was fresh and slightly bracing which felt pleasant after the claustrophobic confines of my self-imposed prison inside. I walked confidently over to where I could see a dark car that had just pulled up outside the mansion. I thought it was a good idea to hire a private driver for the evening. After all I didn’t want to drive my battered car up to one of the nicest restaurants in town. The car was a black Audi A6, accompanied by a shady chauffer to drive us to the restaurant. He was someone who wouldn’t ask any questions if I came back to the car alone at the end of the evening.

His name was Joe and he was a tall, stocky man with a sadistic sense of humour and a face that could make his own mother cry. I had known Joe for a while and had done him a big favour in the past. He told me if I ever needed a favour in return he would happily help me out at no cost. Joe had a talent for getting into trouble and worked for people who broke the law all the time. Once he had been in a bad situation where he could have ended up doing some serious time behind bars but I had put him in touch with Ben, a lawyer friend of mine I had known for years. Ben got him off with only having to pay a one off hefty fine which Joe was over the moon about as his wife had just had a baby.

Nice car, said Dariouse in approval.

He seemed to be falling for my plan hook, line and sinker which was perfect for me. I wanted him to feel relaxed so killing him would be that much easier. He would have his guard down and wouldn’t be expecting a thing.

We approached the car and a sharp, cold breeze sent a chill down my spine that I tried to ignore but I had a strong feeling that not all would go to plan tonight. My gut feelings were never wrong and my nerves started to build up tension inside of me. I had to get my feelings under control and place them into a void I had created in my mind. I could feel my hands dry, my breathing had calmed down to a normal pace and I no longer felt nervous. I knew I was ready as every part of my blackened soul drove me forward to the start of my revenge.

Joe nodded at me as we stepped into the car. He put it into gear and accelerated away from the house of horrors, driving us to the restaurant at a gentle pace. I just sat back in the car with a smile plastered from ear to ear over my face. I constantly checked Dariouse to make sure he saw my expression and he smiled back at me. I wanted to do to him exactly what he had done to me the night he showed me my big surprise. I knew I could never tear him apart in the ways he had done to me, that realization couldn’t stop me from wishing his heart to stop beating and for his life to end by my hand. Even the thought of having this power that pulsated inside my veins made me feel invincible and not even in the coldest of realities seemed real. People were merely disposable sacks of flesh that had an expiry date, everyone had their time and this will be his. I had made a silent deal with the devil and I knew the only way to defeat evil was to become it. He just sat there in the car like an idiot, completely unaware of what was to come, which showed me he wasn’t as clever as he thought he was and that worked just fine for me.

It was only eight-thirty and we had reservations booked at nine o’clock. I knew it wouldn’t take us long to get to the restaurant so I relaxed back into my seat and preserved my energy for when I had to be in public with this monster. There wasn’t any traffic blocking up the roads on the way to the Blue Carpet and after fifteen minutes, we had arrived. As I got out of the car I nodded to Joe for him to find a place to park up and wait for me so I could have my ride ready to go when I needed it. I had a strange feeling that I would have to get out of this place quickly.

I stood tall, straightened up my tie as I confidently walked ahead, taking the lead. We walked away, leaving the car behind us and I could hear the chaffing sound of the gravel grinding against the soles of my shoes which distracted my forever calculating mind. I had previously arranged with Joe to meet him around the back at ten o’clock. My palms started to sweat again as the realization set in that I only had one hour to kill Dariouse. I found it funny how the thought of killing my brother wasn’t what was making me panic, it was just due to the limited time I had to do it in.

We walked up the concrete steps that had a blue carpet running down the centre to the restaurants main doors. It wasn’t very original but that was where they had taken the name for their venue from. I hadn’t stepped foot in here for many years, it almost felt like walking into a memory of a previous life.

It used to be our special place, Sally’s and mine. We always came to eat out at least once a week before Sue was born. She would always have the prawn cocktail, followed by a peppered steak while I would have a green salad and swordfish. We would share two scoops of mint chocolate ice cream in a single bowl with two spoons as we would be quite full by the time we got round to dessert. It had quickly turned into a weekly tradition that we both really enjoyed.

After Sue was born we had to save up for her future education as having a child costs a lot of money so we stopped going out as often. At least that was the story we both convinced ourselves as being the truth. Sally started working longer hours at the hospital and going to our place seemed to become more and more infrequent until it just didn’t happen anymore. I think we lost sight of what was important in our lives by not going to our place or seeing each other as often. Inevitably we slowly drifted apart, thus our flame died out and our love was all about Sue. I never resented Sue; it wasn’t her fault that our love had died such a silent death.

I violently snapped myself out of the past and back into my cold reality. I had to go through it all over again in my mind, step-by-step of how I was going to kill him. Loosing concentration right now was unforgiveable and I couldn’t indulge in reminiscence.

I had to concentrate and think about how I would murder my brother, not about a life that no longer existed for me! I had to try to eliminate any potential problems I could encounter by finding solutions to every possible scenario that played out in my heated brain. I had been abused, drugged, imprisoned, betrayed, lied to and my heart had been savagely cut out. I knew if I hadn’t been broken yet, there was no way I could be broken with anything that could happen to me in this life.

As we walked through the doors a waiter approached us with a cocky saunter, eyeing us up from head to foot. He was a short midget man wearing black trousers with a white shirt and a black waistcoat. I noticed he was left handed as he held the reservations book in his right and the pen in the left. The half pint waiter looked condescendingly at us and I had to control my natural reaction to laugh in his face and say something morally demeaning to him. I held back the impulse as I thought it would make me stand out and for now we had to be one of the many forgettable, faceless people just grabbing something to eat.

Do you have reservations? asked the waiter, craning his neck to look up at us.

Yes, I answered the little man. It felt awkward craning my head so far down to look at him, but I pushed on. I have a reservation for two under the name of Slater for nine o’clock, I said in a flat monotone voice.

Slater, Slater, ah yes here we are, Mr Slater, for the V.I.P table, he said raising one eyebrow in disbelief. I didn’t know if he was surprised or confused but either way he was getting on my nerves.

If you would like to follow me I will show you to your table, he said.

I nodded and we followed him while my paranoid gaze saw many of the patrons staring at me and Dariouse and I wondered if they had recognised us. Their beady eyed looks followed us across the floor until we got to our seats. My hands were sweating again and I felt suffocated as my shirt collar seemed to be tighter than usual. I was getting angry at the intrusive stares and the way people thought it was okay to be so blatantly nosey and rude.

The restaurant was decorated in a late Victorian style and all the art work that adorned the walls seemed to fit in perfectly with that era. Even my smart, clean shoes squeaked slightly as the over polished wooden floors seemed to repel my soles.

There was a separate, more private area at the back just beyond the glass doors. Soft classical music played in the background lifting the air with its almost heavenly tune. We walked through the velvet curtains leaving the unwanted stares of the customers behind us and sat down at the solid, round oak table. The table was neatly set with a white tablecloth and jet black serviettes. It seemed to advocate the situation perfectly. If Satan had a table this would be his. Even our wineglasses had gold rims with the glass itself looking like it was so thin that taking a large sip would cause it to crack under the pressure of my lips. It was so relaxing to be in a place that knew what design and taste was, shame about the staff though.

Dariouse hastily snatched a menu out of the midget’s hand, as did I. He was taking far too long to give them to us willingly and seemed to be unclear about his common role. Dariouse sighed and tried to make eye contact with me. His eyes burned into me with the intensity of his stare that I refused to acknowledge. I didn’t want him to be overly comfortable, if he was too relaxed in the situation, I could become careless with what I had in store for him. I needed him to be on edge to keep my senses fresh and alert. He was trying to start a conversation with me so I pretended to be engrossed in the menu. I shoved it up in front of his face, promptly blocking him off while he talked to himself. I dropped the menu lower every so often and smiled at him so I could mess with his head a bit.

Brother, have I done something wrong? he asked, sounding worried.

I coughed into my hand and muttered under my breath, Of course not brother, how could you upset me? You have done more than enough, thank you, I lied shamelessly.

Well, let him feel happy before he dies, it would be less conversation and effort to help fill in the time. I had to keep him here until desert and couldn’t ignore him all night long. Once the food came and we were eating small talk wouldn’t matter. Images of my baby girl hung like fragments in a dark place in my mind, how he could sit at the same table as me and eat when he had killed my wife and daughter was beyond me. The undeniable disgust I felt towards this man could not