29
Augustine sighed as he stepped out of the shower. His date from the other night had been a bit of a shambles from start to finish. But with the persuasion of Electra after they got talking on his office floor only a day earlier, he decided to jump straight back on the horse and look on the dating site for another match. It didn’t take him long to find what he wanted. Worked in fashion. Tall. Long brown hair. If he was going to jump back on the horse straight away then he would have less trepidation if it was what he was looking for.
She responded almost immediately with the offer of a date that night. She said that a girlfriend had let her down and she had tickets to go and see a stage show in the city later that night. It was a one-man show and had received some great reviews, the message stated and Augustine didn’t feel inclined to say anything other than yes. He knew that if he told Electra of all this then he would be lectured about it for hours on end for the next few days. She had persuaded him to just get back on with it and he just felt this was the right place for him to be. The wet steam of the shower was replaced by the dry warmth of the bedroom as he walked in to get dressed. Augustine Boyle looked himself in the full-length mirror. He had no idea why he had bought it at the time, and even less idea now. It wasn’t that he looked in it very often. Perhaps he had a future in mind where he would live with someone who would want or need a full-length mirror. Perhaps he was going to meet her that night, he thought.
He dressed in a suit. It wasn’t what he normally wore on these occasions, but he didn’t really know what to wear at a show and had a feeling from her profile image and messages that she wasn’t his usual type of woman. Something a cut or two above what he had attracted in the past. Maybe this meant she was in high-end fashion. Maybe it would mean he would reconnect with the girl from school that he longed for. He sprayed some aftershave and looked in his wardrobe for a suitable watch to go with the outfit he had put together. Most of his watches were battered and old because he wore them when he was at work. He looked across at one that used to belong to his grandfather and had been given to him after he had passed away. It wasn’t the most expensive watch in his collection by any means, but seemed to suit the outfit and occasion better than any other. He imagined his grandfather wearing it to a show when he was in his prime and this was enough to persuade Augustine that it was the right one for the occasion. He had agreed to meet her at the bar over the road from the theatre. He picked up his phone and dialled for a taxi. They told him it would only be a few minutes, but it was more like fifteen. Augustine waited in a seat neat the window so he could see it arrive. And then he jumped into his shoes and walked towards the front door. He always double checked the door before he left. Maybe being acutely aware of the amount of crime in the world had given him a sense that he should double check everything. Maybe the fact that so much of it happened anyway should have given him a ‘who cares’ attitude instead. The taxi driver said, “evening mate,” though the lowered window and Augustine decided that this was a good cue to get in the back of the taxi instead of the front. It might dull the driver’s need to talk incessantly, Augustine told himself. He didn’t think that it would have any effect at all. He was right.
30
He set off in the direction of the city. Once again, he walked out of his obscure road and headed to somewhere with bright lights, the potential of being seen and CCTV cameras. But he had decided to meet the next person in his plans at this same location. He knew that this person spent a lot of time there. The fact was that his name was splashed all over the building. He knew that there were some grainy-image CCTV cameras if he went in and out a certain way but pretty much nothing if he went another carefully planned route. He followed the path that he had planned and walked over time and time again. He hadn’t arranged to do it that night but it seemed as good a time as any.
31
Augustine had already downed a few drinks by the time his date arrived. It wasn’t a confidence thing, but he just felt readier for a date if he had started drinking; the dates seemed to go a lot better. Whether that was the same experience for the date wasn’t something he ever bothered to ask. He didn’t get blind drunk, but merry enough to have a fun time regardless of how things went. Maybe that was what was missing with the date the other night. He had picked her up in a taxi so they both started drinking at the same time. He didn’t want to appear as though he was knocking them back so he had drunk at her pace. This meant that he never really got into that merry mood. The effects of one had already worn off before he started the next, like the hospital patient that waited until he was in agony before he asked the nurse for another painkiller.
But this was different. The effects of that date had persuaded him that he needed to have a drink or two. He had only arrived a few minutes earlier than the arranged meeting time but she was obviously running late and Augustine ordered a pint with a whisky chaser so he could get in the mood for whatever lay ahead. The fact was that he was a little nervous about the ‘show’ that he had been invited to. He looked out of the taxi window as he was dropped off and there were a few places near to the bar they were meeting at in the centre of Newcastle. None of them looked like a place that he would have chosen to go, so he was a little out of his element. The solution in Augustine’s eyes was a few drinks and a positive attitude. The events at work the previous few days had left him feeling low. One of the reasons he agreed to the date was to put this behind him for a few hours.
As she walked through the door he spotted her straight away. It was what he had been looking for in a date. Unlike the one a few days earlier, she hadn’t lied on her dating profile. Or at least it didn’t appear that she had lied. Augustine was most pleased with himself and thanked Electra under his breath for persuading him that this was a promising idea. He sipped the last of his second beer and stood up. She must have spotted him as he stood because she walked right over with a little flush of embarrassment. She felt conspicuous that he had stood for her, but the rest of the bar were enjoying themselves and hadn’t really noticed, not that there were many people inside.
“Hello, I’m Augustine. It’s really nice to meet you.”
“I’m Christine. We can be the -ine’s together,” she replied in a way that put Augustine off his stride. He had expected to lead the conversation and the fact that she had made the first quip wasn’t what he had anticipated. He cursed himself for not going on enough dates as this would have given him some warning that he wasn’t in charge. This wasn’t work, he had to remind himself. They both laughed. It was nervous at first but there was a break of tension too.
“I’d like that,” he said as though it was an invitation that he could call her in on at any stage. She smiled to cement the laugh they had already shared and sat down. Before she touched the seat, she shot up again.
“I’m sorry, I forgot my manners. Do you want a drink?” she asked Augustine while looking him in the eye. He always found this reassuring. After dealing with so many people that told him a lie during the day he missed eye contact. He only really got it from his colleagues. She was refreshing to him and he warmed to her charm without delay.
“I’d love one. What are you having?” he asked. She looked at the empty glasses on the table and wondered if he had chosen a table that hadn’t been cleared or if he had had a drink or two before she arrived. Not that it mattered.
“I’ll have a beer. Is that what you’ve been drinking? What do you recommend?” she asked by way of finding out if he had needed a drink to calm the nerves. On a first date, she was always looking for the little signs that gave away what was going on. It was all part of the game.
“I’ve had a beer. The Nastro Peroni is good, but I’ve had a San Miguel. It always reminds me of the sunshine on holiday. Sometimes we need a bit of sunshine no matter what time of day,” Augustine replied in a way that sounded as though he needed cheering up. It hadn’t been his intention but was probably the effect of the work he had been carrying out. And the frustration that he
wasn’t able to resolve the situation. He hated loose ends but left too many of them in his job. That was why he was visited by the bodies of those he couldn’t help in his dreams. Augustine tried to smile to counter the effect of the words he had just uttered but it made him feel even more pathetic.
“I’ll get the drinks,” she said as she walked over to the bar. He hoped that he hadn’t set things off on the wrong foot after a promising start. He really liked her. The bar was quiet and she was back within two minutes. While she was gone, he contemplated how early in the evening he should ask about the show. He was incredibly curious about it but didn’t want it to sound as though he was having second thoughts.
She sat down next to him rather than opposite and Augustine caught the smell of her. She had the mix of perfume and cleanliness. It was obvious she was in the shower only a short while before she left and the clean smell was still on her skin. He took a surreptitious breath and looked across the bar. He wondered if people would look at the two of them in this strange seating pattern but again the bar was minding its own business. He took another breath as he looked across to her. He muttered ‘thank you’ for the drink and then waited for her to start the conversation. He thought that after the way she had spoken when she first came in that it might be best if she led and he followed. A few seconds passed. He thought that she might say nothing and his vocal chords would be paralysed. What a night it would have been then. But relief was close at hand. The silence literally only lasted a few seconds but it could have been ten years for the way Augustine felt about it.
“Do you visit this part of town often,” she asked. It was what most cities would call the theatre district but there were only a handful of them and they were scattered around. He knew what she meant.
“I don’t really know enough about culture. I only come here for work usually,” he replied. His profile made it clear he was a detective, but he could have been detecting almost anything for all she knew.
“Well, we have a treat in store for you today. Someone I went to college with puts on a show a few times a week at the place straight over the road. It’s a one-man show, or you might call it a one-woman show. Whatever you call it, the show starts in about half an hour. Then if you like, we can go and see him backstage afterwards. He has given me these tickets and he would be most upset if I didn’t attend. That’s why I invited you,” she explained. By this time their chairs had moved apart a few inches so they could both see each other while they spoke. Augustine felt more comfortable with this arrangement but missed the smell of her.
“So, what does he do?” Augustine asked with the innocence of someone who hadn’t picked up on the hints Christine had given him when explaining. It was amazing how perceptive he was during the day compared to how naïve he was at night.
“He sings, he dances and he works the crowd. I’m sure you’ll love it.”
32
He walked the route that he had planned and monitored over the previous few weeks. Nothing looked or felt any different to the last time he had been through a rehearsal. He had plenty of time on his hands so walked along the routes to the scenes of where he did his work several times a week to make sure that nothing was there that would cause him any problems. He was looking for new CCTV cameras, regular police patrols or obstacles that would slow him down in his escape. It was part of the masterplan. The more he knew about an area, the easier it would be to get in and out without fear of capture or detection. That was his theory anyway, and he hadn’t been caught so far.
The night was just starting to show signs of appearing. It was one of those summer days that cooled off to give some respite from the intense heat that had been before and was sure to come again the next day or maybe the day after. He had taken the printed letter from his wall and had this securely in his pocket. He would need this after the killing. He would need this to show the world that he was professional and not the bungling killer that the Daily Gossip had portrayed him as. He would show them.
He had some time on his hands and didn’t want to appear as though he was hanging around so he walked most of the route back home again before turning on his heels and starting back on the same journey. He was excited about getting on with his work and found himself outside the building much earlier than anticipated. He must have walked at twice his rehearsal pace with all the excitement. He was going to have to kill some time. He had around an hour, so just sat in one of the dark alleys near to the building. He was sure that he wouldn’t be disturbed there. If he was seen then he would probably be dismissed as a junkie or drunk and left to sleep it off. He sat and waited with his eyes closed and thought about the task ahead. He knew in his mind that he was ready.
33
Augustine and Christine crossed the road hand in hand. He knew it was early days but she grabbed his hand and he let her. It felt more like a mother leading her small child across the road than anything romantic or physical. But it felt good to Augustine. The mix of the alcohol, the night air and the physical contact that had been missing in his life for so long all joined together to give him a sense of being. Outside of his work he often felt like he didn’t amount to very much. He just filled in time until he was on his next shift. But with Christine he felt alive and wanted to milk it for all it was worth, even if it was only for a few hours one summer evening. The theatre they were approaching was lit in neon pink. This matched the image Augustine has made in his head when she was explaining the show. Even with scant detail he could picture the neon pink. Even when he didn’t really know what the act was, he thought that there would be a lot of neon pink. He mainly pictured it inside the theatre as an assault on his eyes when he was trying to concentrate on the show, the person sat next to him or whatever else entered his mind. But the fact that it was all over the building desensitised him to it. He was so taken in by the display of colour that he no longer thought that the same colour on the inside of the building would have the same effect on him. He was now kind of looking forward to the show and prepared himself by resolving to drink no more. As soon as the air had entered his lungs when he left the bar, he could feel the effect of the alcohol in his system, on his inhibitions. He wasn’t drunk, but he was more than merry. He wanted to be able to remember this in the morning, especially if she went back online in a few days and told him that this was only a one-off. The potential for this being a single experience inspired Augustine to imprint the tiniest details on his mind. The noise of a car as it passed behind them when crossing the street. The look on a woman’s face as he first saw the neon pink, maybe it mirrored his own. The smell of garlic from a dozen restaurants further down the street – Indian, Italian, Mexican and more.
They went through a side entrance to the theatre and bypassed the small queue that was forming along the front of the building. She showed the man at the side door her tickets and he smiled and stepped to one side to let them both through. He added an “evening, sir,” to Augustine as he walked by but it was so fleeting that he didn’t have the time to respond. He was already bathed in a pink glow that signified he was into the main lobby of the theatre. It felt as though it was another way to awaken his senses to supplement the alcohol and fresh air. He stopped in his tracks and just stared at the bright display that was nothing like any he had seen before. Augustine wondered if this was what every theatre was like. He couldn’t believe that he had reached this point in his life and this was his first experience. He hadn’t even been inside a theatre as part of his work. This truly was the first time he had stepped foot in one. He wasn’t sure whether he would do it again.
By this point, Christine was a few steps ahead of him and looked back in silence as he took it all in. She wanted to rush to their seats but just couldn’t bring herself to stop his amazement. It was like watching a small child walk into Disneyworld for the first time. It was as good as the show for her, she could have stood there and watched Augustine all night instead of going through to where the actual performance would be starting in around ten minute
s. A huge grin snaked its way across her face and mirrored the smile that Augustine had since she sat next to him in the bar earlier. As he looked around at all of the colour, razzmatazz and symbolism, Augustine caught sight of his date and quickly remembered what he was there for. He skipped a few steps to her side and then asked where they needed to go next. She enquired if he needed a few more moments to take it all in but he declined and they joined hands again to walk through to the seats she had been given by her friend. They were great seats. Not too far back but not right at the front. She wanted to take it all in and a seat to near the front meant she couldn’t see it all at once. Her friend knew this from conversations they had in the past and had selected the seats himself. He wanted Christine to have a great evening. He would invite her backstage afterwards and tell her his news. He had met someone and they were going to emigrate to Greece. They had found a home there and they could keep a few lambs, grow olives and spend a perfect life together. This was going to be one of his last shows and he wanted his friend to be there. He wanted her to know how happy he was.
“These are our seats. Do you like them? I’m sure I can get them changed if not,” Christine asked.
“You know far more about this than me. I’ll go with the flow. Is this the best place to see the show from?” Augustine replied more out of courtesy than with any interest. He would have taken it all in from any seat in the room. He was happy at that time to see what he had let himself in for. His curiosity had taken over and he now wouldn’t miss this for the world.
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