The Accountant

Suspense Stories | Sep 12, 2011 | 4 min read
120 Votes, average: 4 out of 5
Suspense Stories

The Accountant

The Accountant

Howard Canon was a small man, well rounded and not without an unpleasant face. He had two patches of gray hair on either side of his head, leaving the top and middle shining like a billiard ball. He wore glasses for all things. They were thick and sat precisely in the middle of his pug nose.  Howard worked hard, and was in good standing with his church and community

He was an accountant, and all things with numbers held for him a fascination. He ran numbers in his head as an exercise to sharpen his skills. He constantly counted everything from the number of peas on his supper plate to the number of times he adjusted his own glasses.

He was of course, married. The day Lola had agreed to marry him, he felt like the luckiest man alive. Lola was a beautiful woman, and her own biggest fan. In all things she was beside him, making sure he knew his place in her world.

 

Lola Canon wanted for nothing. Howard, on the other hand, wanted Lola. Their marriage benefited his standing, and while he was aware she could have turned him down, she was aware of the benefits afforded her in this deal. He slept alone in a small room while Lola stayed up all hours of the night reading romance novels and eating expensive chocolates in the master suite.

 

It was because of this that Howard Canon decided to start counting the days until he killed his lovely wife. He came up with a foolproof plan. He would poison Lola's expensive candies. Howard had always treated Lola like the princess she thought she was. Now he would just add that extra caring touch, of poison. He started that weekend when he picked up the candy and hurried home. He measured it out to the gram, leaving not even a dusting visible to be traced back to him. He took them to her room on a small silver platter and placed them beside her bed. He went to bed that night counting the days.

 

The next day he woke, keeping to his routine. He could check on her that evening. Upon arriving home, he found Lola had taken ill that morning.  She would not be joining him for supper. Howard had a most enjoyable meal. He drank fine wine and counted his pearl onions.  He counted the strawberries in his desert.  Mostly, Howard counted his lucky stars that his plan was working. He retired that evening with a smile on his face even he hadn't counted on.

 

The next week brought the same results, the candy was eaten, and Lola was indeed sick the same evening. Howard was ecstatic. If he had calculated correctly, and he always had before, it would be the end of the month before the effects of the poison were irreversible. Then it would be time to play the grieving widower. She was missing more and more meals with Howard. He knew because he counted. She was not going to social gatherings and rarely showed herself to him. He continued to pick up and bring her the candy she now seemed to crave.

 

The next few weeks Howard kept strictly to his routine, even attending church. The members extended their heartfelt wishes for Lola's speedy recovery. Howard smiled and told them he was counting the minutes. Late that afternoon, returning home, Howard found the house dark and empty. He went immediately to Lola's room and not finding her there, he started to panic a little.  He searched the house and didn't find her. He counted the beads of sweat growing on his balding skull. He decided to lie down and give some thought as to where she could be. She was, after all, close to death. How far could she go?  He entered his darkening bedroom and felt the sharp stab of a knife hitting between his shoulder blade and neck. He screamed out in pain and turned quickly to see his lovely wife bringing down the knife again.  She swung it over and over again at him and all Howard could do as he started to fall into the darkness was count the blows.

 

Lola stuck the knife deep into his chest as she leaned in real close and whispered, "You didn't count on this, did you Howard?"

End

 

Ellen Shaw

418 Parker Mt. Road

Strafford, NH 03884

[email protected]

word count 739

Tags:

  
Report This Story
Notice (8): Undefined index: User [APP/View/stories/story.ctp, line 227]
Notice (8): Trying to access array offset on value of type null [APP/View/stories/story.ctp, line 227]

Recommendations

Reviews

Ellen Sep 18, 2011

Thanks for all the comments.. they help improve, and motivate

Amit Sep 13, 2011

like your story.. keep writing Erik :)

Ruhaani Sep 12, 2011

the story line is little different but it could have been much more effective than this if in the end of the story the suspense would have been elaborated little extra.

James Sep 12, 2011

thriller!!!

Chanchal Sep 12, 2011

so scary? unbelievable?....

Download the Short Story Lovers App

Read and write stories anytime, anywhere with the Short Story Lovers app