Till Sudden Death Do Us Part

by Simon R. Green

  He stared broodingly into his glass. ‘I could pass, you know. A lot of actors do. I could act so straight no one would ever guess. But I decided a long time ago that I would never give up being me, just to fit in.’

  ‘I know what you mean,’ I said.

  He looked at me. ‘You do?’

  ‘I’m not gay,’ I said. ‘But I do have a lot of experience when it comes to not fitting in. Never feeling at home, always on the outside, looking in.’

  ‘Why?’ said David. ‘What’s so different about you?’

  I look human, but I’m not. I’m a spy who doesn’t officially exist, working for an Organization that doesn’t exist. I’m a monster who fights monsters.

  ‘I’m an illegal alien,’ I said. ‘Don’t tell anyone.’

  At which point, Nettie stuck her head through the open door and cleared her throat loudly.

  ‘Sorry to interrupt, dears, but there’s a phone call for Mr Jones.’

  Penny and I looked at each other. There were all kinds of reasons why that wasn’t necessarily a good thing. Robert was looking at me worriedly. I smiled at him reassuringly.

  ‘It’s probably just Inspector Godwin, with some information I asked him to find for me.’

  Everyone went back to their drinking. I gestured for Penny to stay and keep an eye on everyone, and then followed Nettie back into reception. She handed me the reception phone as though bestowing a prize. I nodded my thanks, and then looked steadily at her until she moved away to dust something that didn’t need dusting and give me the illusion of privacy.

  ‘Inspector Godwin?’ I said into the phone.

  ‘No, this is Linda. You remember, the reporter.’

  ‘What do you want, Linda? And how did you know I was here?’

  ‘Oh please, you can’t hide anything in this town. Look, I need you to come and meet me at Trinity Church. Right now. I’ve found out something.’

  ‘Is it important?’ I said, glancing back at the bar.

  ‘It might explain a lot,’ she said. ‘I was trying to dig up some dirt on everyone connected to the wedding, as a way of getting back for being banned, but there didn’t seem to be any. No one had a bad word to say about anyone. Very frustrating, for a working journalist. I was thinking about making up something juicy and selling it to the tabloids. The local people would know it wasn’t true, but the tabloids wouldn’t care. But then I stumbled across something I didn’t expect. Something I need to talk to you about. Can you come straight away?’

  ‘Just to discuss some gossip about someone in the wedding party?’ I said. ‘Can’t you come here? We have drinks.’

  ‘Oh no,’ Linda said immediately. ‘Not there. It wouldn’t be safe. You come here. And you’re the only one I can trust with this, so come alone.’

  ‘I don’t go anywhere without Penny,’ I said flatly.

  ‘All right! Bring her! But hurry; I don’t feel safe. Not with what I know.’

  She rang off. I cradled the phone, and then tapped it thoughtfully. Wondering what on earth Linda could know that I didn’t. Nettie stopped pretending to dust, and drifted a little closer.

  ‘Was it important, dear?’

  ‘Hard to tell,’ I said. ‘You can have your desk back now, Nettie.’

  ‘Thank you, dear. It’s not like I’m using it for much.’

  I went back into the bar, and gestured for Penny to come and join me. She hurried over, and the others broke off their conversations to watch us. I quietly brought Penny up to speed, and she shook her head immediately.

  ‘I don’t like this, Ishmael. What if this big secret she’s discovered is something about you?’

  ‘Loath as I am to admit it, not everything is about me,’ I said. ‘She wants me to come to her because what she’s found out scares her. And given that I still don’t have a single clue to point to the murderer …’

  ‘All right,’ said Penny. ‘Let’s go.’ She smiled suddenly. ‘She did seem very taken with you. Maybe this is her idea of an assignation. Don’t worry, I’ll protect you if she tries to jump you.’

  ‘You’re so good to me,’ I said.

  ‘Yes, I am,’ said Penny. ‘And don’t you forget it.’

  I turned to address the others. ‘Penny and I are just nipping out for a few moments. None of you are to go anywhere until we get back, or go off on your own … Oh hell, where’s David?’

  ‘In the toilet again,’ said Tom. ‘Don’t worry, I’ll tell him what he missed when he gets back.’

  ‘Are we in any danger?’ said Robert.

  ‘Not right now,’ I said. ‘But no one’s safe until this is over.’

  ‘OK, that’s it,’ said Tom. ‘We are getting out of here. Gillian and I are relocating to Robert’s place, the moment our bags are packed.’

  ‘Leave your bags where they are,’ I said sternly. ‘We don’t want anyone to know you’re leaving. None of you are to stir from this bar till we come back. And if you get a message that seems to come from me, don’t believe it. If I don’t say it to you in person, you don’t listen.’

  ‘Are you always this paranoid?’ said Gillian.

  ‘The killer is getting close to his end game,’ I said. ‘And, he’s getting more desperate. There’s no telling what he might do.’

  ‘Dear God, I want to hit someone,’ said Tom.

  ‘Me too,’ said Gillian.

  ‘Go,’ Robert said to me. ‘I’ll hold the fort here.’

  ‘Of course you will,’ I said.

  Penny and I hurried through reception, nodding quickly to Nettie as we passed. She flashed us her professional smile.

  ‘Have a nice evening, dears.’

  ‘That,’ Penny said quietly as we left through the front door, ‘has to be the triumph of optimism over experience.’

  Once we were outside I looked up and down the street. The night sky was dark and starless, and the street lamps shed their amber glow like so many uncaring eyes. There was no one about, and no traffic on the road.

  ‘What are you looking for?’ said Penny. ‘The invisible demon?’

  ‘I asked Cathy to stick around in case we needed her,’ I said. ‘But there’s no sign of her taxi anywhere.’

  ‘She’s probably got a fare,’ said Penny. ‘It’s not like we’re paying her a retainer. Come on, we can walk to the church. It’s not far.’

  And then we smiled at each other, because we knew we were both thinking the same thing: It’s not far, because nothing ever is in this town.

  We strode quickly through streets that were empty because everyone else thought it was too dangerous to be out; and I had to wonder if they might be right. Our footsteps rang out loudly on the quiet.

  ‘You’d think the townspeople would feel safer, now the marriage has taken place,’ said Penny.

  ‘They believe in the curse,’ I said. ‘And that’s always been more about what happens on the wedding night. They don’t believe it’s over yet.’

  ‘But if they believe the curse is specifically targeting Gillian and Tom, why are they so afraid?’

  ‘Because of what happened to the vicar, and Karen,’ I said. ‘They think the curse is spilling over onto other people.’

  ‘Because …?’

  ‘The curse is cruel,’ I said.

  I preferred the empty streets. If only because I really wasn’t in the mood to be stared at. Penny knew what I was thinking. She slipped her arm through mine and hugged it against her side.

  ‘Being dragged off in cuffs like that … it must have been awful for you.’

  ‘It was,’ I said. ‘But I’ve been through worse.’

  ‘I should have made Godwin take me with you,’ said Penny. ‘I was ready to go; till I saw you shake your head. Why didn’t you want me with you? I hated thinking of you being locked up in some cell, all alone.’

  And I thought, but didn’t say: I didn’t want you with me because I was worried about what I might have to do, to break free. I didn’t want you to see me like that.

  ‘I thou
ght I might find it easier to convince Godwin to let me go, if there wasn’t anyone there to see him back down,’ I said.

  ‘Are there likely to be any records of you being held in custody?’ said Penny. ‘Anything we need to worry about?’

  ‘After the scare the Organization put into Godwin, he’ll know it’s in his best interests to destroy any paperwork,’ I said.

  ‘Why did they do that for you?’ said Penny. ‘After they made such a big deal of saying we were on our own here?’

  ‘They didn’t,’ I said. ‘The Colonel did. Because he said he owed me.’

  ‘Oh …’ said Penny. ‘That was nice of him.’

  I wasn’t so sure. In my experience, favours always come with a price tag.

  We got to Trinity Church quickly enough. The street outside was deserted, but there were lights on inside the church.

  ‘Probably candles left over from the wedding,’ said Penny. ‘I wish you could have seen it, Ishmael.’

  ‘Me too,’ I said.

  We moved round the side of the church, to the front door. It was standing wide open. We stood and looked at it for a moment.

  ‘You did break the lock,’ said Penny. ‘But even so …’

  ‘Yes,’ I said. ‘Even so.’

  I slipped inside, with Penny right behind me. Candles burning in every niche filled the church with a warm, honeyed glow. It would have been a cheerful sight, if it hadn’t been for Linda. She was bent over the font, not moving. Her face had been forced down into the water and held there till she drowned. So the body would be the first thing anyone saw when they entered the church. Penny made a low, shocked sound. I looked quickly round the church, my eyes piercing the shadows, to make sure we were alone, and then I moved forward to examine the murder scene. There was water splashed around the base of the font, suggesting a struggle. Linda had fought for her life; right till the end.

  ‘This is just like Karen, and the wedding cake,’ said Penny, doing her best to sound calm and composed. ‘Maybe the killer is a demon after all. The curse is cruel.’

  ‘People can be cruel too,’ I said.

  ‘I wonder what she would have told us …’

  ‘We got here too late,’ I said. ‘If Cathy had only been there with her taxi …’

  ‘It wasn’t her fault,’ said Penny. ‘And it wasn’t ours, either. We had no way of knowing.’

  ‘The killer is always one step ahead of us,’ I said. ‘As though he knows what we know.’

  ‘Such an awful way to die,’ said Penny. ‘Ishmael, what does it say about us, that we’ve encountered so many bodies something like this barely affects us?’

  ‘It says we’re professionals,’ I said. ‘And all the more determined to catch the killer.’

  I looked the body over carefully, without touching it.

  ‘Linda said she knew something, and wanted to tell me what it was. She thought she was in danger, just for knowing it. The killer couldn’t allow us to learn what she knew, so he got to Linda first and silenced her.’

  ‘How did he get here before us?’ said Penny. ‘It was only a short walk.’

  ‘More importantly, how did he know we were coming here?’ I said. And then a thought struck me, and I looked quickly around. ‘Linda was a reporter; she might have written something down. See if you can spot a bag or a notebook anywhere.’

  We searched all the pews, and behind the altar, but didn’t find anything. I even had a quick look in the bell tower, and the single rope stared back at me accusingly, because I still didn’t know who the murderer was. No bag, and no notebook. We went back to Linda’s body.

  ‘We should move her away from there,’ said Penny. ‘She looks so … undignified like that.’

  ‘I’m pretty sure Inspector Godwin would say we were interfering with a crime scene.’

  ‘Are we going to tell him about this?’

  ‘I’ll phone him when we get back to The Swan,’ I said. ‘Just before we leave for Robert’s place. They’re going to need us. Linda doesn’t need anything, any more.’

  ‘This happened after she spoke to you, but before we got here.’ Penny said slowly. ‘That’s a limited envelope of opportunity. Maybe we passed the killer on the way here and didn’t even know it.’

  ‘I didn’t see anyone,’ I said. ‘But maybe they went out of their way not to be seen, because they couldn’t afford to be recognized.’

  Penny looked at me sharply. ‘You think the killer is someone we know?’

  ‘That’s usually how it works out, in cases like this,’ I said. ‘The more I look at how the murders were committed, the more I see personal involvement. Emotion, as well as necessity.’

  ‘But why such extreme methods?’ said Penny. ‘I mean, he drowned Linda is just six inches of water! Why not simply break her neck, like he did with the vicar?’

  ‘I think the first murder was planned,’ I said. ‘While the others were carried out in a hurry. This was done in anger, and with a need to horrify. He’s putting on a show. See what you made me do, because you wouldn’t do what I wanted! This was supposed to point at the curse, to disguise why he’s doing it; but all I see is a human killer with human emotions.’

  ‘Hold it,’ said Penny, looking quickly round the church. ‘Where’s Ian? Her photographer? They were always together.’

  ‘He’s not here,’ I said. ‘We would have found him by now.’

  ‘He swore he’d never let anything happen to Linda,’ said Penny. ‘Did she say anything about his being here, when she phoned?’

  ‘No,’ I said. ‘She didn’t. Maybe she thought what she knew was so dangerous, she had to send him away.’

  ‘You saw how Ian was,’ said Penny. ‘You really think he’d just go, and leave her in danger?’

  ‘He would if she told him to,’ I said. ‘Look, if he turns up later we can ask him. If he doesn’t, the killer must have got to him too. Cleaning up loose ends.’

  ‘If he’s dead, why isn’t he here?’

  ‘Because it got in the way of putting on a show?’ I said.

  ‘I really hoped the killings would stop, once Gillian and Tom were married,’ said Penny.

  ‘We’re missing something,’ I said. ‘We thought it was down to the curse, or intimidation to prevent the wedding. But the marriage happened anyway … but people are still dying. That means the killer is escalating, which means … We have to get back to The Swan and move everyone out to Robert’s place as quickly as possible. And then turn his house into a fortress. I’m not losing anyone else to this monster.’

  TEN

  The Curse is Cruel

  I raced back through the empty streets, running flat out now there was no one around to see. Penny had to struggle to keep up with me, but I couldn’t slow down. Whoever or whatever was behind the murders had to go after Gillian and Tom now. They were the only real targets left. I plunged through the deserted streets until The Swan finally loomed up before me, and I slammed into reception without slowing. Nettie was half-asleep behind her desk, but she snapped to attention as I burst in with Penny right behind me. I strode up to the desk while Nettie was still putting on her professional smile.

  ‘Can I use your phone, Nettie?’

  ‘Of course, dear, help yourself.’

  She pushed the phone across the desk to me. I picked it up and then stared at Nettie until she eased out from behind the desk, and disappeared down a side corridor. I couldn’t have her listening in, but I just knew she’d find some way to get back at me for my rudeness. I punched a number into the phone, put it to my ear and waited.

  ‘Who are you calling?’ said Penny.

  ‘Inspector Godwin,’ I said. ‘I just hope he’s still at the police station.’

  ‘How do you know the number?’

  ‘I saw it on the station reception desk.’

  ‘How can you remember something like that?’

  ‘Because unlike most people, I have a memory that works.’

  Penny sniffed. ‘Then why do you never
know where I’ve left the car keys?’

  ‘Because I’m only human.’ The phone kept ringing, but no one was answering. Godwin had to be there, because if he wasn’t I had no way of contacting him.

  ‘Why aren’t you using your mobile phone?’ said Penny.

  ‘Because that phone is only for emergencies,’ I said patiently. ‘Look, why don’t you go through to the bar and tell everyone I’ll be there in a minute? Make sure Gillian and Tom are safe, but don’t tell anyone what’s happened to Linda.’

  ‘Why not?’ said Penny. ‘Don’t they have a right to know that the killer’s taken another life?’

  ‘They’re scared enough as it is,’ I said. ‘The last thing they need is another reason to panic.’

  Penny nodded reluctantly, and went on through to the bar. Godwin finally answered the phone.

  ‘What do you want? This station is closed till the morning, and I’m very busy.’

  ‘This is Ishmael Jones.’

  ‘Oh hell,’ said Godwin. ‘Haven’t I suffered enough? What is it now?’

  ‘There’s been another murder.’

  ‘Are you confessing?’

  I told Godwin what had happened to Linda. The way she was killed, and the state of the body.

  ‘Are you sure I’m allowed to get involved with this?’ said Godwin. ‘I mean, I’m only a detective inspector.’

  ‘Don’t sulk,’ I said sharply. ‘I need you to go take care of Linda and seal the church off, just in case someone else stumbles across the body.’

  ‘Of course I’ll look after Linda,’ said Godwin. ‘I was at school with her.’

  ‘She told me she knew something important,’ I said. ‘Some piece of information, or maybe just gossip, that made her a target. Do you have any idea what she might have been talking about?’

  ‘Oh hell …’ said Godwin, and he paused for a while. I could hear him breathing. When he finally started talking again, he sounded grim and troubled. ‘She came to see me. She was desperate for something new about the murder, some obscure detail she could use to impress her editor. And Linda always could twist me around her little finger. I printed out some of the background information I’d found on the police computers, and she took it away.’