Sally worked as a head cashier in a large well known supermarket chain. After closing time it was her responsibility to collect up all the cash from the tills and take it to the accounts office. Before placing the money in the safe she would have to count it and make sure the total amount matched the computer database. This meant that Sally had to stay at work for at least one hour after everyone else had left with the exception of night-time security. She often found it extremely unnerving being on her own as the security desk was the other side of the building.

During one evening of cashing up she heard scraping and a little movement coming from above her. At first she was freaked out but eventually convinced herself it was probably rats. These noises continued sporadically for over a week until she decided to call a pest control company to get rid of the vermin. The guy from pest control arrived the next day and found the hatch to get into the loft area above the cash office. He flashed his torch around but was clearly in a hurry and didn’t bother investigating the area properly. Instead he laid a bunch of rat traps, climbed back down and said he would be back in a few days.

The traps seemed to have worked. Sally heard no more noises and continued to cash up as normal for the next few days.

It was Good Friday and the store was typically busy with everyone preparing for the Easter Weekend. Unfortunately Sally had to call in sick that day and it was her assistant, Diane’s responsibility to do the cashing up. Diane wasn’t happy about this as there was about three times as much cash to sort through as normal. However, she collected the money and wished all the staff a Happy Easter.

Diane would not return home that night…

One of the stores security officers had noticed that Diane had spent too long in the accounts office so he decided to investigate. When he unlocked and opened the door he was shocked to find the safe wide open with no cash in it and Diane’s bloody dead body lying on the floor. In a panic he ran straight to the phone and called the police. The police told him to go back to the security desk and make sure no one exits the building.

Five minutes later the police arrived and the shaken security guard led them to the accounts office. After investigating, they noticed the hatch in the ceiling was open. They grabbed a ladder and cautiously climbed up with flashlights shouting “This is the police”. “You are surrounded and there is no escape”. “Surrender yourself now or we will shoot”. There was silence.

The first officer stepped into the loft area and nervously shone his torch around the massively dark area. When the others joined him they thoroughly searched the space and discovered a hole in the main buildings roof – large enough for a person to squeeze through. They also found the remains of food and drink.