High Pressure

by Sam Blake

  ‘Steve!’

  Screaming his name, Brioni hurtled around the tree and grabbed the stool, righting it and clambering up onto it. It wobbled precariously, but she put her arms around his waist and lifted his body, trying to take the weight off the blue nylon rope lashed around the branch. Her heart was pounding; cold sweat was running down her back as she glanced upwards and got a proper look at his face.

  The rope was cutting under his chin, his tongue protruding from his mouth, his eyes were open and bloodshot and his skin deathly white.

  She was too late.

  She was sure she was too late.

  But she didn’t have time to think. She could feel his body was warm – he hadn’t been here for long.

  Using all her strength, Brioni held on to him, praying the stool wouldn’t tip, manoeuvring her phone so she could use it.

  ‘Which service do you require?’

  She could hardly hear the operator, couldn’t hit the speaker key without dropping the phone. She shouted at it, trying not to sound hysterical.

  ‘Ambulance! It’s my brother-in-law, he’s hung himself. In a tree – he’s tied to a tree.’

  ‘Caller, please stay on the line. Can you give me the address …?’

  Chapter 30

  Brioni didn’t know how long the ambulance took. Steve was heavy, the edges of the belt on his jeans cutting into her bare arms as she held him. Taking all his weight, kneeling on the hard wooden seat of the stool, her legs were starting to burn and shake by the time she heard the sirens; her knees were bruised. She hadn’t realised she’d closed her eyes, focusing on keeping upright, until she felt two strong arms take the weight of his body. Her eyes flew open.

  ‘We’ve got him, love, you can let go,’

  She couldn’t speak, couldn’t find the words she needed. The stool wobbled and Brioni grabbed the back of it as another pair of hands steadied it, helping her down. Her muscles were on fire, cramped from the position she’d been holding. The paramedic held her elbow as, stumbling, she collapsed on the edge of the deck, and put her face in her hands.

  ‘Easy does it. Have you got him, Chris?’

  ‘Cutting the rope now. One, two …’

  Brioni couldn’t bear to look. Steve’s face was fixed in her mind, his tongue lolling, his skin tinged blue. She felt her whole body begin to shake. Despite the heat, she felt freezing cold, realised she could smell petrol. Acid and bitter, it turned her stomach.

  It only took them a few minutes to get him onto a stretcher. A few minutes in which a police officer materialised beside her. As she opened her eyes and looked up, she could hear the trundle of the gurney wheels on the paving stones in the side passage.

  The officer had clearly run from somewhere. He wasn’t much older than her, but his face was flushed red and he was sweating, his short-sleeved white shirt stained with perspiration.

  ‘Sorry that took so long, there’s a lot happening today.’ He caught his breath, continuing more calmly. ‘I’m PC Frazer. Is this your house?’

  Brioni shook her head, her voice cracking as she replied, ‘No, it’s my sister Marissa’s. That’s her husband Steve – Steve Hunt …’ Hanging from the tree … She couldn’t say it. ‘I’m Brioni. I was here earlier with my friend and I left my bag. I came back to get it and he didn’t answer the door, so I came down the side—’

  ‘And where’s your sister right now?’

  ‘I don’t know. She was near the bomb that went off in Oxford Street, we’ve been trying to find her.’

  The PC’s pause was almost audible. She looked up at him. He’d pulled a notebook out of his pocket, had flipped it open.

  ‘Is there anyone else in the house?’

  ‘I don’t think so. There was a guy here earlier, Reiss Chanin, he works with Steve, but I think he’s gone.’ Brioni rubbed her face with her hands, her hair flopping in her eyes as she leaned forward. She took a shaky breath. ‘I’m sorry.’

  ‘Nothing to be sorry about. You did the right thing. Come on, let’s get you a cup of tea and you can tell me what’s what. The paramedics will take him straight to hospital. We’ll give them your name and phone number so they’ll keep in touch.’

  Dazed, Brioni nodded slowly as the police officer put out a hand to help her up.

  ‘I called at the door and nobody answered, and then …’

  He smiled sympathetically. ‘You don’t need to tell me yet. Take a deep breath. You’re in shock. Do you have anyone who can sit with you?’

  ‘My friend Anna. She’s staying at the Hogarth Hotel – she was here with me earlier. Steve was fine then. He looked like he hadn’t slept, but he was fine.’

  ‘Would you like to call her?’

  Brioni looked blankly at her phone for a moment while she tried to sort everything out in her head.

  How had this happened?

  They’d only just seen Steve; he’d been talking about getting Mar’s picture on social media. He’d looked shocked and knackered, but otherwise fine …

  Brioni glanced up at the police officer and dialled Anna’s number. It went to voicemail.

  ‘She’s not answering. I’ll text her.’

  ‘Righto. Why don’t you come inside and we’ll get the kettle on. We need a few more details and to wait for the forensics officers. They might be a while – we’re spread a bit thin this evening. Once you’ve told us what happened, then you can go to the hospital.’

  Did she want to go to the hospital? She wasn’t altogether sure about that.

  As Brioni walked in through the open patio doors, she saw her backpack on the glass dining table. She’d left it on the floor beside her chair, but Steve must have seen it. The table top had been cleared of papers; presumably Reiss had taken them with him.

  ‘There it is – my bag.’

  She went over to it and flipped it open as the officer filled the kettle.

  Someone had been through it. Her passport, make-up bag, and her overnight emergency stuff – spare knickers and her toothbrush – were still in there, but they’d been jumbled up. She always kept her passport flat on the bottom and her wallet on top of the emergency stuff. She’d managed to pull out a pair of black knickers when she’d reached for her wallet once too often not have a system.

  Why had Steve gone through it? What had he been looking for? Perhaps he hadn’t realised it was hers and thought it was Anna’s? But Anna wore a sleek gold leather cross-body bag, and was hardly going to have a selection of Pride pin badges on the flaps of her bag.

  Weird.

  Maybe he’d gone through it to find her number. But if he’d found her wallet and ID, wouldn’t it have been logical for him to call to say she’d forgotten it? Maybe he hadn’t been thinking very straight by then.

  Behind her, she heard the police officer opening the fridge, looking for milk. She looked up at him.

  ‘Why …? I mean, why now …? Marissa could be in a hospital somewhere – she’s only been missing a day …’

  ‘Why don’t you sit down in the living room? You’ve had a shock. All sorts of things can be happening in people’s lives. Depression affects people in different ways.’

  ‘But Steve wasn’t depressed. He’s the CEO of a huge company.’

  ‘Didn’t you say his wife was missing after the bomb? Perhaps he had a reason to think she was on the bus?’

  Brioni felt her stomach drop. Anna had made some reference to the route going past the embassy, but could Mar have actually been on it? Really? Brioni couldn’t believe that – it didn’t make sense. Her head felt as if it was spinning.

  ‘She was my sister. Someone would have told me if there was news. And her bag and phone were found near the door to Selfridges. She’s missing – he thought that, too.’

  ‘By the door to the food hall?’ Brioni nodded as the PC continued, the kettle coming to the boil beside him. He’d found mugs and tea bags, poured her a cup as he continued. ‘Let’s sit down and you can run through what happened this afternoon with me.’

/>   Brioni picked up the tea and turned to go into the living room. She felt as if her mind was moving in slow motion – how long had it been before she’d realised she’d left her backpack here? She’d had a lot on her mind, and from what they knew, it looked like yesterday, Marissa had had a lot on her mind, too. Brioni knew she was maybe clinging to the idea that Mar’s bag been stolen like it was a life raft, but if she’d had lots of bags of shopping, perhaps she hadn’t noticed? Perhaps she’d dropped it? Surely if Steve knew something, he’d have said, or he’d have called her?

  Sitting down on the sofa, Brioni shook her head; it was all too confusing. And she wasn’t ready for Marissa to be dead – it wasn’t even a thing she could consider.

  PC Frazer followed her inside and sat down opposite her in Steve’s armchair, pulling a notebook out from his shirt pocket.

  ‘Are you Mr Hunt’s next of kin?’

  Brioni took a sip of her tea and shrugged. ‘Marissa – my sister – is, but I think his parents are still alive. They are divorced, though, live in different parts of America. He’s from South Carolina. I don’t know how to get in touch with them, but there must be something in the house.’

  As Brioni spoke, PC Frazer’s female colleague appeared at the patio door, her hat in her hand. Seeing them, she came into the living room.

  ‘I’m PC Collins. They’ve just left. He’s got a faint pulse.’

  Relief flooded through Bri. Much as she hated Steve, he must have been desperate to take his own life. Part of her felt sorry for him; he was hurting as much as she was. She made to stand up.

  ‘Should I go with them?’

  The female officer waved her into her seat.

  ‘I don’t think there’s much you can do for a bit. Better to have a cup of tea and tell us what happened first. You should have news in a few hours or so.’ She sat down on the other end of the sofa, her hat on her knee. ‘There was a smell of petrol on his clothes. Could he have spilled some?’

  Brioni shrugged. ‘I smelled that, too. I’ve no idea. I thought when he didn’t answer the door that he was in the garden. But I don’t know what he’d use petrol for – a lawnmower or a barbecue? He wasn’t very practical. I think they have a gardener who does everything.’

  ‘We’ll take a look in the shed. Perhaps he had a different plan and changed his mind.’

  It took a moment for Brioni to process that statement. She looked at the female officer, her eyes wide.

  Thank fucking God she hadn’t found him on fire.

  Before she could say anything, PC Frazer smiled warmly.

  ‘What time did you say you were here earlier?’

  Brioni ran her hand over her eyes.

  Had she said what time she and Anna had called in?

  ‘A couple of hours ago, then Anna and I walked down to the Tube. I got the 390 into town and she got a cab.’

  PC Frazer leaned forward, a pen in his hand.

  ‘That’s Anna you texted?’

  ‘Yes, she had some stuff to do. We were going to meet later.’

  ‘And the man you mentioned? Is he a friend?’

  ‘Reiss? He works with Steve at Cybex. They must be friends. He was here because of Mar being missing, but he didn’t say anything about going anywhere when we left. We weren’t here long.’

  An hour later, the doorbell rang. The police had left, heading off to another call, but someone needed to stay at the house to wait for a forensics investigator. They’d been very apologetic, but Brioni had been secretly grateful. She didn’t like Steve Hunt one little bit, and she didn’t think he liked her much. The hospital had confirmed that he was in an induced coma in intensive care. If there was any chance of him waking up, Brioni didn’t think she’d be the first person he’d want to see.

  Brioni opened the door to find Anna on the doorstep.

  ‘Bri, what on earth’s happened? I came as soon as I could.’

  Brioni stepped away to let her in.

  ‘Steve tried to commit suicide. I forgot my bag and came back for it.’ She paused, putting her hand to her forehead, staring, unseeing, at the pictures on the narrow hall table as she spoke. ‘He was hanging in the tree.’

  Anna’s eyebrows shot up. ‘Good God, but …’

  Brioni sighed, one hand still on the open door as if she was frozen. Then she looked at Anna, shaking her head.

  ‘I know, I don’t get it either. The only thing I can think is that he knows she’s dead.’

  ‘Oh, Bri, I can’t believe that. Why wouldn’t he tell you? Surely if he’d heard something then you’d be notified too?’

  Anna came into the house properly and Brioni closed the door behind her, heading into the living room. She felt suddenly exhausted.

  ‘Maybe you’re right. This is unbelievable, isn’t it? I thought I’d got into some mad situations when I was travelling, but you really couldn’t make this up.’ Brioni sat down on the sofa.

  Before Anna could answer, Brioni’s phone rang.

  Brioni answered, glancing at Anna as the person on the other end responded.

  ‘Yes, there’s someone with me. My friend. Why? Oh. Oh, I see.’ Brioni sat down heavily on the sofa. ‘Thank you for telling me. What happens now? The police … Yes, of course. Thank you.’

  Brioni ended the call and, carefully putting the phone down on the arm of the sofa, looked at Anna.

  ‘That was the hospital. Steve’s dead.’

  Anna sat down beside her and put her arm around Brioni’s shoulders.

  ‘Tell me what happened.’

  Brioni sat forward on the soft leather, closing her eyes, her face in her hands, her voice barely more than a whisper.

  ‘Oh, God, it was awful.’

  Brioni took a deep breath; she could feel herself starting to shake again. She’d managed to get a grip while the officers had taken down all the details. They’d both been lovely, and she didn’t know how many cups of tea she’d had, but they’d asked so many questions that Brioni’s head had started to spin. Now this.

  ‘When I got here there was no answer at the door. I looked in the window, saw the patio door was open, so I tried the side gate.’ She paused, reliving the scene all over again. ‘He was just hanging there.’

  ‘Holy Mother of God.’

  Brioni’s eyes filled with tears. ‘How could he be so selfish? What if Marissa’s in a hospital injured – has amnesia or something? She’s only been missing since yesterday. What if we find her and she’s survived getting blown up and then comes home to this?’

  Anna sighed, shaking her head. ‘When I left you, I popped in to New Scotland Yard to see if there was any news. I know the chief inspector who’s handling the investigation.’

  Brioni smiled, suddenly feeling overwhelmed with gratitude.

  ‘My God. Thank you. What did they say?’

  ‘I could only see him for a few minutes. He said they’re looking for her – I know they say that to everyone, but I told him about you and coming home and he was really worried. I’m sure he’s properly looking. There are quite a few people missing, It’s going to take a long time to identify who was on the bus. That’s the biggest problem, but Mike said he was checking everything.’

  Brioni took a ragged breath and burst into tears.

  Chapter 31

  ‘What’s up, honey? You sound exhausted.’

  Anna heaved a sigh of relief at the sound of Rob’s voice. She wriggled up into the pillows on the double bed and kept her voice low as she spoke into the phone. She’d kept Rob up to date with meeting Brioni and Marissa’s disappearance by text, but this was the first time they’d connected in a voice call since she’d found out Marissa was missing. His job was pretty intense at the moment, and the time difference was always a problem.

  ‘I honestly don’t know where to start. Brioni is here now – she’s having a bath. I don’t want her to be on her own tonight, she’s had the most horrific day.’

  ‘Tell me what’s been happening there. Have they found her sister?’
>
  ‘I wish. No.’ Anna paused; she hardly knew where to start. ‘It’s her brother-in-law Steve. We went to his house today to see if he’d heard anything. Brioni left her bag and when she went back to get it, she found him in the garden. He was hanging from a tree. He died later in hospital. It looks like he committed suicide.’

  ‘Woah, roll back there, honey, I think I’ve missed a few steps.’

  ‘I know – that’s how I felt when Brioni called. It’s just so crazy. The forensics guy came while I was there. He was really cross the scene hadn’t been preserved. The police are under huge pressure with these hoaxes and all the usual stuff that goes on – every time anyone sees something strange, they’re getting called. But it did look like suicide. The forensics guy took a lot of samples, but he thinks there was petrol spilled near where Steve was hanging. Brioni said she’d smelled it on his clothing.’ Anna paused. ‘I know this sounds completely mad, Rob, but Steve was from South Carolina…’

  The pause was short. She could almost hear Rob assessing everything she’d said.

  ‘You think he was murdered and it was some sort of a lynching?’

  Anna loved how fast his mind worked – it was as if he could read hers. She cleared her throat. It sounded even more incredible when you said it out loud than it had in her head.

  ‘I don’t know, I just keep thinking it could be a possibility. I was only with him a few hours earlier. I know people can tip over the edge, and he was obviously devastated by Marissa’s disappearance, but he didn’t seem suicidal to me. And the way he died, the petrol … Suicides don’t usually douse themselves in petrol, do they?’ She paused. ‘But this is London – people don’t get lynched in London either. If it was Alabama, now, but London …?’

  ‘Have you spoken to Mike? Does he know what you’re thinking? Brioni’s sister was at the scene of the bus bombing. This could be connected to his investigation, and that means Counter Terrorism need to be notified. There’s a totally different procedure that needs to be activated.’

  Anna sighed. ‘Oh God, I haven’t spoken to Mike yet. Do you think I should? The forensics guy said the scene had been compromised.’