The Cleaner

"Paul’s debut novel, has become one of the biggest selling fiction books ever to come out of New Zealand. Read the opening chapter below, then pick up a copy at your local bookstore or online."

Joe is in control of everything in his simple life, including both his day job at the police department and his 'night work'. Nor is he bothered by the daily news reports of the Christchurch Carver, who, they say, has murdered seven women. But Joe knows the Carver only killed six. He knows that for a fact. And Joe is going to find the copy-cat killer, he's going to punish him for the one, then frame him for the other six. It's perfect plan because he already knows he can outwit the police.

All he needs to now is take care of all the women who keep getting in his way; his domineering mother for one. Then there is Sally, the maintenance worker who sees him as a replacement for her dead brother; and the mysterious Melissa, the only woman to have ever understood him, but who's fantasies of blackmail and torture don't have a place in Joe's investigation.

Chapter One

I pull the car into the driveway. Sit back. Try to relax.

The day, I swear to God, has to be at least thirty-five degrees. I'm talking Celsius, not that Fahrenheit crap. Christchurch heat. Schizophrenic weather. Sweat is dripping from my body. My fingers are wet-rubber damp. I lean forward and twist the keys in the ignition, grab my briefcase, and climb from the car. Out here, the air conditioning actually works. I reach the front door and fumble with the lock. I breathe a sigh of relief when I step inside.

I stroll through to the kitchen. Angela, I can hear, is in the shower upstairs. I'll disturb her later.

For now, I need a drink. I walk to the fridge. It has a stainless steel door in which my reflection looks like a ghost. I open the door and squat down in front of it for close to a minute, making friends with the cool air. The fridge offers me both beer and Coke. I take a beer, twist off the cap and sit down at the table. I'm no heavy drinker, but I knock this bottle back in maybe twenty seconds. The fridge offers up another bottle. Who am I to say no? I lean back in the chair. Put my feet up on the table. Consider taking off my shoes. You know that feeling? A hot day at work. Stress for eight hours. Then sitting down, feet in the air, beer in hand, and you take your shoes off.

Pure bliss.

Listening to the shower upstairs, I casually sip at my second beer of the year. Takes me a couple of minutes to finish this one, and now I'm hungry. Back at the fridge and to the slice of cold pizza I spied on my first trip. I shrug. Why not? It isn't as though I need to watch my weight.

I sit back at the table. Feet in the air. The same thing works for pizza once you get those shoes off. Right now, though, I don't have the time. I wolf down the pizza, pick up my briefcase, and make my way upstairs. The stereo in the bedroom is pumping out a song I recognise, but can't name. Same goes for the artist. Nonetheless, I find myself humming along as I lay my briefcase on the bed, knowing the tune will be stuck in my mind for hours. I sit down next to the briefcase. Open it. Take the newspaper out. The first page offers up the sort of news that makes newspapers sell. Often I wonder if the media makes half this stuff up, just to inflate sales. There's definitely a market for it.

I hear the shower turn off but ignore it, preferring to read the paper. It's an article about some guy who's been terrorising the city. Killing women. Torture. Rape. Homicide. The stuff movies are made from. A couple of minutes go by and I'm still sitting here reading when Angela, wiping a towel at her hair, steps out of the bathroom surrounded by white steam and the smell of skin lotion.

I lower the newspaper and smile.

She looks over at me.

'Who the fuck are you?' she asks.