Chrissy laughed. “I might just do that!” She stared at him over the rim of her glass as she took another drink. She watched him smiling at her. She had forgotten how really nice looking he was. Forgotten how much she had liked him. And those eyes…she could lose herself in those eyes.
Scott moved a little closer. “Chrissy, I know how you feel and everything, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be friends, does it?”
She shook her head. “I don’t see why not.”
“Right, then! Come out with me on Friday night. Just the two of us. It’ll be fun.”
Chrissy was unsure. “I don’t know…”
“Go on! No strings attached. We’ll just enjoy ourselves and have a good time. Afterwards I’ll take you home, and that will be that. You don’t even have to invite me in for coffee. What do you say?”
Chrissy stared at him. He looked so eager, so hopeful. She didn’t know what to say. The problem was that she wanted to go out with him. But Chrissy knew that once she let herself get attached to him, there would be no holding back.
Scott was physically exactly what Chrissy wanted in a man; it was just that he didn’t have the money to give her everything else that she wanted. It would be easy to fall in love with him, even if she was determined not to. She knew what would happen; she could see it in her mind. If she went out with Scott, she would end up marrying him. For most people that would have been a happy ending. But life didn’t stop at the happy ending, did it? It went on, and on, until it ground you into the dust. And it only took one mistake.
Chrissy shook her head. “I’d like to go out with you, Scott, I really would, but I like you too much.”
Scott was confused. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means that I can’t trust myself,” Chrissy explained. “I know what would happen, Scott. We’d start off as friends, just like you say. But before we knew it, I’d be in love with you, you’d be in love with me, and our parents would be booking the reception.”
“Is that really so bad?” Scott said eagerly. “You could still have your dream. I’m earning enough for two. You could still study and get your degree, and you could pursue your career in the media. And if you do well, we’d both be laughing.”
It all sounded perfectly logical and very appealing. But Chrissy knew that the reality would be harsher. “You think you’re earning enough for two now,” she told him. “But you wait until you’ve got your own mortgage and bills to pay for instead of living at home with your mum and dad.”
“We’ll manage!” Scott insisted.
“‘We’ll manage’ is just another way of saying ‘we’ll be poor!’” Chrissy replied bluntly.
Scott was getting annoyed. “Why do you always have to look at the negative side?” he demanded.
“Because that’s the side that gets you!” Chrissy replied in a raised voice. “And what happens if you lose your job? What happens if I get pregnant?”
Scott’s voice was now also raised. “I won’t lose my job, and you won’t get pregnant! We’ll take precautions!”
“We’re already discussing family planning, Scott! How can you say that we can just go out as friends and nothing more? It won’t work!”
“That’s because you’re always thinking about money!” Scott said angrily. Now he was really worked up. “You’re obsessed by it! It’s all you ever think of! But it won’t keep you warm at night when you’re on your own! And you will end up on your own if you’re not careful! And why? Because you’re so bloody frightened of going down the wrong road, you’re permanently stuck at the traffic lights! Well, life is going by, Chrissy! It’s not waiting for you to make the right and safe decision, so by the time you have made up your mind, you could find yourself without the bloody choice in the first place!”
Chrissy stood up. “Right then!” she shouted. “Why should I care? Find somebody else! Good luck to you!”
“Sit down!” Scott shouted back.
His voice was so loud and his expression so angry that Chrissy sat. She looked slightly scared, and Scott immediately calmed down and his expression softened.
“I didn’t mean to shout at you, Chrissy,” he said in a quiet voice, rubbing his forehead. “But you don’t give a shit about other people’s feelings, do you? All I did was ask you out. But you couldn’t let that by, could you? No, you had to stick the knife in all over again.”
Chrissy felt wretched. “Oh, I’m sorry, Scott! I didn’t mean too! But you do understand, don’t you?”
Scott didn’t answer, he just sighed, and they ended up staring at one another in silence.
Chrissy stared hard into Scott’s eyes, looking hopefully for some kind of understanding. But there wasn’t any. Instead there was only sadness. Sadness and resignation.
Chrissy had wanted him to understand, to understand and forgive her for her selfishness. But he had done neither. Instead there was that same hurt puppy look he had when she had left him on Friday night.
She suddenly felt annoyed. Annoyed with herself for having such foolish dreams, annoyed with herself for turning him down once again, annoyed with herself for feeling sorry for him, and annoyed with herself for liking him even more. It wasn’t fair!
“Oh, I wish I hadn’t said those things to you that night!” she blurted out. “But Victoria made me angry. It seems like she always makes me angry these days. It didn’t used to be like that. We were the best of friends. Me and Vicky, and then Jo. The three of us would go everywhere together. Now Vicky pisses me off, and Jo’s…and Jo’s…”
Chrissy couldn’t finish. Thinking about Jo brought it all back, and suddenly she was crying on Scott’s shoulder and he was hugging her. He didn’t know what to say to her. There was nothing he could say, nothing he dare say.
There was a knock at the door. It was loud and insistent.
Scott disentangled himself reluctantly from Chrissy and went to answer it. He knew who it was even before he opened the door.
“I thought it might be you,” he said.
Chrissy heard him in the front room, and she heard the voice in reply.
“Scott Headly, we need to ask you a few more questions. It would be better if you answered them down at the station.”
Chrissy immediately got up and went into the hall. Shawcroft and a uniformed officer were standing at the door.
“Why do you need to talk to Scott?” she asked them. “Isn’t it Max you should be talking to?”
As soon as she spoke, Scott looked over his shoulder and glared at her with such power that she went completely cold. She started to move back into the front room in her fright, but Shawcroft had already seen and recognised her.
“Ah, Miss Davis,” he said. “What a surprise to see you here. It might be a good idea if you also came with us, don’t you think?”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Nervous Witnesses
John King was very nervous. He was sweating and obviously very uncomfortable about the line his questioning had taken. At first he had been calm. His explanation of the night’s events had been exactly the same as everyone else’s up to the time he had become separated. Yes, he had met a girl and stayed with her for the rest of the night until she had dumped him. After that he had bumped into Scott and they had gone for a curry then both went home.
He had expected that to be the end of it, but Connors had other ideas. He started asking about what he and Scott had talked about while they ate. He even wanted to know what they had both eaten, where they had sat in the restaurant, and what they had drank. John got very, very nervous. And Connors kept repeating the questions.
“Where did you both sit in the restaurant?”
“You already asked me that,” John replied in annoyance.
“Refresh my memory.”
“By the window.”
“Who was facing the window?”
“Scott was.”
“And what did you both eat?”
“I told you!”
“Tell me again.”
<
br /> John swallowed. “He had a Vindaloo while I had a Balti.”
“With nan bread?” Connors asked very casually.
“Yes! With bloody nan bread!”
“And what did you talk about?”
“Oh, this and that. Football, mainly. Look I told you all this once already. Why do you keep asking the same things over and over again?”
Connors looked closely at John King. “Is it a problem?” he asked.
John looked back nervously. “No.”
“That’s alright then.” Connors looked down at his copious notes. “And what did you say you ordered to drink?”
By the time Connors had finished with him, John King was a physical wreck. He almost shot out of the police station.
Connors was on his way back to his office when he bumped into Shawcroft.
“How did it go?” Shawcroft asked him.
“If Scott Headly was at that restaurant with John King, then I’m the Pope’s mother. Did you get him?”
“Yes. He’s in interview room two. But more interestingly, Miss Davis is in interview room three. I found her at the house with Scott Headly.”
Connors raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Hmmm. Very interesting. Maybe we should have a chat with the young lady first.”
Chrissy sat on her own at a small table in the interview room. She was still alarmed after that look she had received from Scott back at the house. She had kept very quiet all the way to the police station. She hadn’t spoken a word to Scott or anyone. She couldn’t get over that look on his face. As she sat in the interview room she kept thinking about what that look meant.
Max had done it.
It was so obvious. Max had done it; and Scott knew.
When the door opened, Chrissy almost jumped out of her seat at the sight of the two policemen.
“Miss Davis, I am Detective Sergeant Connors. I believe you have met my colleague, Detective Constable Shawcroft?”
Chrissy looked at the two men and nodded nervously.
“Good.”
Connors and Shawcroft sat down opposite her at the table. Shawcroft switched on the tape recorder and said very officially, “Interview with Christine Davis began at two-fifteen pm, Monday, September the fourteenth, 1998. DS Connors and DC Shawcroft present.”
As soon as he was finished, Connors cleared his throat. “Now, Miss Davis,” he began. “Could you kindly tell us what you were doing at the house with Scott Headly?”
Chrissy stared at them as they sat waiting expectantly. She couldn’t contain herself anymore.
“It’s Max!” she blurted out. “And Scott knows it was him! I’m sure of it! I could tell by the look on his face! Max did it! Max killed Jo! And Scott knows it! You have to arrest him! You have to catch him before he gets away!”
Connors reached across the table and took her hand. “Please calm yourself, Miss Davis,” he said in a friendly tone. “We can’t arrest anybody unless we have proof. Now please, tell us why you have said these things.”
Chrissy snatched her hand away. “Because it’s the truth!”
“But how do you know it’s the truth?”
“Because I just know!”
Shawcroft asked her, “Did Scott Headly tell you any of this?”
“No!”
Shawcroft shook his head in despair. “Then how do you know his brother killed Joanne Henshaw?”
“Because I saw the look on his face when I said you should be talking to Max and not him! He was so angry! I could tell! He knows, I tell you! And he was annoyed because I spoke out!”
There was a brief silence before Connors cleared his throat.
“Miss Davis, I have to tell you that Max Headly has an alibi for the time that Joanne Henshaw was murdered. However, Scott Headly does not, and he could very well be our murderer.”
“But it’s Max, I tell you! Not Scott!” Chrissy said desperately. “Scott wouldn’t have done such a thing! I know he wouldn’t!”
“Are you in love with Scott?”
Chrissy was rendered speechless by the unexpected question.
Connors had to explain his motives. “You must understand why I should ask such a question, Miss Davis. From your own statement you have admitted a liking for Scott Headly. And although you said that the relationship didn’t get off the ground, we find you at his house only hours after you have been told of the murder of your friend. For all we know, you too, could be involved. So please, be calm, and answer our questions truthfully. Are you in love with Scott Headly?”
Chrissy felt confused. She didn’t know what to say. She didn’t know what to think. She liked Scott, and maybe she could fall in love with him. But had she? Why was she defending him then? She remembered the fear she felt when she had received that glare. Scott knew. He knew his brother had killed Jo, and he hadn’t said anything. But Max was his brother. Would she do the same? Finally she answered.
“No.”
Her voice wasn’t very convincing. Connors sighed.
“What were you doing at his house?”
“I went there to have it out with Max,” Chrissy replied, the emotion drained from her voice. “I wanted to know why he didn’t walk Jo home. Jo said he always walked her home.”
“And what happened?”
“Only Scott was there. He said everyone else was at work. I asked him why Max hadn’t walked Jo home, and he said that Jo had dumped him and found another boyfriend.”
Connors seized on her words. “Scott said that Joanne Henshaw had found another boyfriend?”
“Yes.”
“How did he know that?”
“He said Max had told him.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.” Chrissy was about to ask why he was so interested in how Scott knew about Jo’s other boyfriend when she suddenly realised what it meant. “He must have seen her,” she said in a whisper.
Connors nodded to Shawcroft. Shawcroft looked at his watch and said out loud, “Interview terminated, two-twenty-one pm.” He switched off the tape recorder.
As soon as the tape recorder was off, Connors sat back in his chair and said, “Yes, Miss Davis. Either Max, or Scott himself, saw Joanne Henshaw again that night. At least once, after she met this other boy. And maybe again later, when she was on her own.”
“But Scott didn’t do it! It was Max!” Chrissy protested in a raised voice. She leaned forward, her emotion returning at the hint in Connors words that Scott could be the murderer. “Why do you keep saying it might be Scott?”
“Why did you say you were not in love with him?”
Chrissy didn’t answer for a moment. She slumped back in her chair. “I’m not,” she finally said with a sigh. “But I do like him. And if this all hadn’t happened maybe I would have fallen in love with him. But not now. I know Scott didn’t do it. I saw the look in his face when I spoke out. He’s protecting his brother. I can’t hate him for that, but I can’t forgive him either. Jo was my friend since school, and Max killed her. Scott should tell the truth. You tell him I said that. You tell him that I will hate him forever if he doesn’t tell you the truth.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
Hostile Witness
Chrissy stood at the main desk of the police station with Connors and Shawcroft. She was receiving a stern warning from Connors.
“That’s the last time you speak to Scott Headly. I don’t want you going anywhere near him, or his house, or talking to him on the phone. Do you understand?”
Chrissy nodded. “I have no intention of going anywhere near either of the Headly brothers ever again.”
“Hmmm. I wish I could believe you, Miss Davis. But where Scott Headly is concerned, I think your heart still rules your head. Be warned, stay away from him.”
“I will. I promise.”
Connors still wasn’t convinced, but he left it at that and said his goodbyes.
As Shawcroft arranged for Chrissy to be taken home, Connors went back to his office to retrieve the notes he had taken during his
interview with John King. He was on his way back to the interview rooms when he met Shawcroft heading in the same direction.
“Is Miss Davis safely on her way home?” he asked.
Shawcroft nodded. “I got two uniformed officers to drop her off. Are you going to confront Scott Headly with her statement?”
“I think so.”
“I can’t wait to see his expression.”
“Not this time, Mike,” Connors told him. “You chase up those membership records and surveillance tape from the night club. I want to talk to Mr Headly on my own.”
“Are you sure that’s wise?”
“In this case, yes. There’s nothing he’s going to say that John King hasn’t already told me. It’s the chat I’m planning to have with him after the interview that interests me, and I don’t want you there to put him off.”
Scott was surprisingly calm. Even when Connors questioned him repeatedly about his meal with John King, he never got annoyed or worked up. He just answered all the questions calmly and politely.
“Very good,” Connors said after he had terminated the interview and switched off the tape recorder. “I have to admire you for your audacity, but I do think you are being rather foolish.”
“I don’t know what you mean,” Scott replied.
“Oh, I think you do. You see I’ve spent more than an hour with John King going over the meal you had together. I must say he wasn’t as controlled as you were, but he did his best. And I have to admit that I did go quite heavily on him. In most cases your statements match, but here and there there are errors.” Connors indicated his notes as he went on. “Here you say you both had Balti’s. But here he says you had a Vindaloo. You said you drank lager. But here he says you had a pint of bitter. You say you both paid the bill in cash. But here he says he used his credit card and you paid him the difference. There are many more little discrepancies like that. Can you explain why?”
Scott shrugged. “So we got a few things mixed up. We were out on the beer all night, what did you expect?”
The Look of Love Page 22
