It was hard to believe now that she had felt the presence of her father; Lianne had been busy preparing for the ceremony when a breeze gently brushed against her shoulder. At first she thought that it was her imagination getting the better of her as it had been less than a year since his passing. Rupert Stilts had been very proud of his daughter and vowed to give her away but his accident had put a sad end to that. She had even made sure that a photograph of her late father had remained in the room whilst she was getting dressed into her bridal gown. She hadn’t known then that the man she was about to marry would turn out to be a vicious killer who had murdered several woman and managed to get away with it.

      “Is that you dad?” Lianne asked as she felt a tingle run down her spine.

The photograph suddenly flipped over as if to confirm that there was indeed a presence there.

     “You promised me that you would be here” she spoke out loud.

Instead of feeling a chill she felt relief in the knowledge that somehow her father was there.

    “I only want you to be proud of me and wished that you could be here in person”

Sally Branch her matron of honour and best friend suddenly rushed into the room, they had known each other since high school and agreed to support each other no matter what came between them.

   “Who were you talking to?” Sally asked.

   “I was only reciting my vows as I want them to be perfect for Richard”

It was hard to believe now that she had actually said these words having watched all of the guests arrive and were now seated waiting for the grand occasion. Richard Lotus her husband to be and his best man Bill House had been one of the first to arrive.

    “He is going to be as nervous as you are so try not to worry” Sally said reassuringly.

Giving her a smile Lianne gave the thumbs up. “Can you give me a couple of minutes to gather my thoughts?”

Sally didn’t argue and left her friend alone; no sooner had the door closed when the breeze across the room stirred once more.

   “Can you show yourself to me even if it’s only for a minute?” she asked.

The sunlight dappled through the window and she could see the specs of dust moving, then suddenly he appeared which seemed to shock her. Rupert looked so handsome and a much younger than when she had last seen him, he was pointing towards the sink wanting her to turn the hot water tap on so she duly obliged. Steam began to rise from the hot water so she turned the tap off, instantly a message began to be written in the steam and it wasn’t the words she was expecting.

   ‘Don’t marry him as he is a killer’

Struggling with the shock of first seeing her deceased father and then also having to take on board the fact that her soon to be husband had a sinister side to him which she had never known was too much. Bending over the sink she burst into tears as the emotion flooded her body. How could the ghost of her father be so sure that her partner was a killer?

Regaining her composure she asked the only question on her lips “How do you know that Richard is a killer?”

She wiped the mirror clean and again ran the hot tap; steam quickly covered the mirror once more and as she stared at the mirror words started to appear.

 ‘I discovered his murder kit under the stairs which is why he murdered me’

This revelation was the final straw to break Lianne and she made up her mind that the wedding was definitely off! Picking up her mobile she called the police station, her heart was beating fast as she wasn’t sure that she was doing the right thing but it had gone too far to stop now.


Richard Lotus was feeling exceptionally smug with himself; he knew that the cover of being a happily married man would enable him to commit his hideous crimes without being a suspect. Lianne had made the perfect scapegoat with her beauty matching her naïve nature. She was also wealthy after inheriting her father’s estate which played straight into Richard’s hand as he knew after a few years she could conveniently disappear and the fortune would belong to him.

Bill was shuffling nervously next to him hating every minute of being best man but he had played his part to perfection.

   “She shouldn’t be long now” he said more trying to console him.

The music in the background quickly changed songs and one of their favourite pop songs belted out, at least it covered up the quiet tittle tattle of gossiping tongues taking place amongst the guests as they began to grow impatient. Richard could feel his smooth exterior begin to melt away as for the first time he began to have his doubts.

   “It’s fashionable for the bride to be late” Bill opined as he nibbled on his nails.

   “She was fine this morning when I left her” Richard babbled.

Beads of sweat began to gather on his forehead and drip down stinging his eyes, the new suit with the starch white shirt was starting to itch, where is she? He thought.

Turning to face the front once more in the hope of not looking too desperate he focused on the registrar who was going to conduct the service. They all seemed to be sensing the same thing that waiting for this length of time meant that something had definitely gone wrong.

Finally after what felt like an eternity he heard the doors open and a gasp come from the crowd, he didn’t want to spoil the surprise and decided to wait until she was finally beside him.

Heavy footsteps seemed to be walking towards him and they didn’t sound like they belonged to Lianne. As he turned to look his face turned an ashen colour as the police filled the room, he suddenly realised that his game was over and somehow Lianne had found out about his dark side.

     “Mr Lotus I am here to arrest you for the murders of several young women and Rupert Stilts the bride’s father, you have the right to remain silent until we get back to the station”

Slapping the handcuffs on him in front of the guests was the final part of the humiliation as he was chaperoned out towards the police car. He was astounded at being arrested on his wedding day and tried to work out how the police knew.


Staring out of her window she gazed down at the monster she nearly married and could only feel relief, Richard Lotus was going where he belonged behind bars for a very long time.

    “Thanks dad” she said out loud.