Perfect Murder

by Rebecca Bradley

  Outside by the pool Seth was waiting with two mugs in front of him. On mine was a big whirl of cream. I approached the table. He smiled up at me again.

  ‘I didn’t know if you wanted cream or not so I opted to have it. You deserved it after watching you work out that way. I hope it’s okay?’

  He looked like an anxious schoolboy. Funny how making a decision on whether I took cream with my hot chocolate made him anxious but following me into my morning swim hadn’t made him anxious at all. I took a seat opposite him and dropped my bag on the chair between us.

  ‘Cream is fine,’ I said, sinking a finger into it, scooping it up and popping my finger into my mouth.

  Seth grinned.

  ‘I thought I might have made the right decision. Seeing that look on your face tells me everything.’ He was smug. I looked at him.

  ‘You’re mad at me,’ he said, leaning back in his chair.

  ‘You followed me to my morning swim.’

  ‘Let’s get this straight. I didn’t follow you. I heard you were here, one of my mates from the pub the night we met saw you come in, so I thought I’d catch up with you and see if we could have a chat.’ He waved an arm around at the table. ‘And here we are.’

  I rolled my eyes at his version of his actions.

  ‘You don’t think so?’

  ‘I think I’m here swimming and you’re here drinking coffee.’ I scooped more cream into my mouth and closed my eyes momentarily.

  ‘Can we move past this and have a chat like normal people?’

  I wished we could but I needed to know how much of a risk Seth was.

  ‘Did you not listen to me, when we last talked?’

  He ran a hand through his hair. I liked his hair. I liked his dark five o’clock shadow and I liked his deep dark eyes. This was the problem.

  ‘I heard you, I just don’t believe you. For instance, consider the way you’re looking at me now.’

  Damn. ‘It’s not that I don’t like you. I’ve told you that I do.’

  ‘Did you?’

  ‘I did.’

  He leaned forward.

  ‘You’re sure you told me you liked me? I think I might have remembered that. Held on to it a bit tighter.’

  I couldn’t help but laugh at him. ‘I told you.’

  He smiled.

  ‘I also told you that it’s not you, that it’s not—’

  ‘Don’t tell me, it’s you,’ he jumped in.

  ‘That’s not what I was going to say. Are you going to let me finish?’

  He bowed his head.

  ‘It’s not you, it’s just not a good time for me right now. I have a lot of stuff in my life which means I can’t, I don’t have the space for a relationship.’

  I needed for him to take this in. To pay attention and take it on board. To stop following me.

  He nodded slowly at me.

  ‘Basically that was a… ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ speech, but a lot more long-winded. Tell me what’s filling your life up so much that you can’t fit me in as well. I don’t take up much space, I promise.’

  He picked up his mug again.

  I leaned forward.

  ‘Seth, I think we had a great time that night. But I can’t do this with you right now. My ex-mother-in-law, she’s sick, really sick and I don’t have the time for anyone else in my life. I’m sorry.’

  ‘You mean that?’

  I picked up my chocolate.

  ‘I mean it. If it wasn’t for what I have on my plate I’d be up for seeing what would happen between us. You’re right, it was good. I’m not fighting you for the fun of it, you know. I genuinely have too much to take care of and I don’t have the space in my head for anything else.’

  I sipped on my chocolate. It was soothing. He needed to accept this. I’d given more away than I wanted to, but in telling him part of the truth I hoped to stop the behaviour he showed this morning in showing up at the Lido. Killing Seth wasn’t on my list of items I wanted to do but if he was following me he was becoming a threat. And yet, killing him was difficult because his DNA was all over my home. He was putting me in a ridiculous position. He had to accept this and walk away.

  ‘Okay. But remember me for when your life is less hectic?’

  ‘I will. You’ll be the first person I think of when I have some time on my hands.’

  ‘Now we’ve sorted that, we can finish this coffee?’ he smiled. It was bright and cheeky. I couldn’t help but smile back.

  ‘You’re sure you’re listening to me this time?’

  He kept the smile on his face.

  ‘You’ve been honest with me. It’s all I wanted, Alice.’

  And I believed him.

  38

  I said my goodbyes to Seth, and kissed him on the cheek. He lingered a moment too long, his touch firm on my back, but then we separated and I hoped this time it was permanent. I didn’t want to run into him again. I hoped he had taken on board what I had said to him. He would put me in a difficult position if he continued to pursue me the way he had been doing. Yes, a lot of women would be flattered by his behaviour and I would have been flattered in the past.

  But this time it was different.

  This time I was involved in things that I didn’t want him stumbling into and the more he tried to spend time around me the higher the chance he would pitch himself into the dark world I was involved with.

  I walked away from him and didn’t look back. Looking back would be a sign that I cared and that I wanted more from him. I had to be very clear on this. I couldn’t risk the slightest mistake. If I saw Seth again I would kill him. It was a decision that was out of my hands. He was too much of a risk.

  Once out of the Lido I walked back home, my thoughts swinging wildly between the night before, the morning visit from the police and Seth turning up at the pool. Putting these three things together in the same thought process proved to me that I was doing the right thing keeping Seth at a distance. If I became involved with him he would be my weak link and I had to protect myself if I was to do this properly.

  Back at home I breathed a sigh of relief. The Lido was supposed to have relaxed me. It had, for the half an hour I had spent in the water. That was until Seth had appeared at the side. My home was supposed to be a sanctuary, that was until this morning when the police arrived at my doorstep. Both my places of comfort had been invaded today. I needed to wrest that control back and feel some level of peace myself.

  There were two ways I knew to do that. To write, and to visit Beth. It was Thursday so I’d be seeing Beth later this afternoon, and in the meantime I should get some work done. Finish the novel and then I could get started on editing it into some sort of order.

  I pulled the charging wire out of the laptop and moved it to the table so I could work. First I needed to read through what I had written. The last chapter at least. To get a feel of where I was so I knew where to go next. I was reasonably happy with where it stood so far.

  Another murder was about to take place and they needed to hunt the killer down and stop him before someone else died. He had started to communicate with the police, with DI Chloe King, and he’d given her a heads up on a rough location. She didn’t want to scare him off by wrapping the entire location in police so she had decided it would be her and Max and a couple of others from the team. All plain clothes and nice and quiet. How the killer expected to get away with this when he had practically told her where he was going to strike, she had no idea. The place was difficult to police though. It was a busy bar area with multiple entry and exit points. They could only cover these points if they took one each. The main thoroughfare was open, though Chloe was adamant she could see it clearly from her vantage point at the mouth of the street.

  They were all wrapped up as it was cold. Each wore an earpiece so they could communicate with each other. They would not let this bastard escape tonight. Neither would they allow an innocent to die. He was arrogant if he believed he could get away with this.

  The
night was young and the team were there early. It wasn’t too busy just yet. The early birds were out but Chloe knew it would be heaving in an hour or so and they would have difficulty seeing anyone in the crowd. They had no idea who they were looking for but she was putting her money on being able to pick out a male on his own. This was not the area you would be alone. This was where you were either in a couple or with a group.

  The night started to drag on with no signs of their killer. The noise level was high. Music thumping out from the bars, people spilling out onto the streets laughing and screaming to be heard over the music.

  ‘Where would you rather be, guv, out here in the cold waiting for something we don’t know is going to happen or in the bar having a cold mojito?’ asked Max over their mics.

  ‘Definitely out here,’ said Chloe. ‘After staring at these for the past couple of hours I can definitely say I’m far too old for this scene now. How about you?’

  ‘I can’t think of anything worse. I’d rather be at home curled up with Louise and the baby than in there or out here to be honest.’ He laughed.

  ‘I don’t think we’re going to be much longer. I don’t think he’s going to show. Have you seen anything?’ Chloe asked.

  ‘Not from where I’m standing. Luke? Dave?’

  There were answers in the negative from both DCs waiting on their spots.

  ‘We’ll give it another hour,’ said Chloe, ‘Then we’ll call it a night.’

  ‘What’s that, passing The Chandelier? Male on his own, hands in pockets of a dark green jacket,’ Luke shouted over the mic.

  The team perked up. Currently they were all slouched into their own jackets trying to keep warm in the cold of the night, standing still for so long.

  ‘Got him,’ they all shouted.

  Chloe’s pulse started to raise. Had she got her man? She had been chasing him for months and he had started to treat it like a game. This was not a game to her. People were dying. No one else would die on her watch.

  Her phone pinged. She checked it. It was from him. Only Max knew he had her mobile phone number. She had kept the news away from the bosses. She didn’t want to be taken off the case.

  Are you ready to play?

  She opened her mic to the team. ‘It’s him. Keep your eyes peeled. Do not let him approach anyone. If you see a weapon we go in. It’s enough to arrest him on and then we can take his DNA at the station.’

  ‘You’re sure?’ Max asked.

  ‘It’s him, Max.’

  He keyed his mic once to let her know he understood.

  ‘Where is he? Who has eyes on him?’ Chloe had lost him, checking her text message she had taken her eyes off him and he had disappeared.

  There was no response.

  ‘Someone speak to me. Who can see him?’

  ‘Sorry, boss. He slipped into a group of people and I can’t see him anymore. He might have gone into one of the bars,’ answered Luke.

  They’d lost him.

  Chloe left her spot on the corner and ran into the main street, spun in a circle and searched for him. He was nowhere in sight. She looked at the rows of bars on both sides of the road. He could be in any of them. How did she choose? Would he really kill inside with all these people around? It wasn’t something he had done before but she wouldn’t put anything past him. He had crossed a line when he had managed to get hold of her phone number and started to taunt her through it. She’d got little to no sleep since that started.

  Her earpiece crackled. There were no words but a load of static.

  ‘Do you have him?’ she asked. ‘Anyone?’

  Luke and Dave replied in the negative.

  ‘Max?’

  There was no response.

  ‘Max?’ She started to worry.

  He had told them where to be tonight. Why was that? Why did he tell them exactly where he would be?

  ‘Max?’

  She started to run. Her feet pounded on the asphalt. Her heart slammed into her chest. She was at the corner Max should have been on in an instant. ‘Max!’

  She couldn’t see him. Then her earpiece crackled again for a split second and it was gone.

  ‘Max!’ she bellowed down the road. She ran further down until she came to some industrial bins, her footsteps slowing. She didn’t want to look but she had to. If he needed help she had to get to him as fast as possible. She ran around the bins. Max was lying on his back, one hand on his mic button, blood pooling all around him.

  39

  I put in several hours at my laptop. It had been a productive session and I was positively relaxed by the time I stopped. Writing always helped my mood.

  I fed Lilac and made myself a sandwich. I hadn’t realised how hungry I was; I had worked right through lunch but now I looked at the clock and saw it was time to do the shopping and see Beth – my favourite time of the week. Thursdays were always good because I felt useful when I could actively do something for her.

  The shop didn’t take me long and before I knew it I was knocking and entering and calling out her name, letting her know I was there. I unpacked her shopping as the kettle boiled, put some biscuits on a plate and then poured the tea. Tonight I put a little cold water into Beth’s mug as I noticed it was getting harder for her to drink it as it was hot and I was drinking my tea lukewarm.

  ‘Hello, lovely.’ I placed the tea and biscuits on the table and bent down and kissed her on the cheek. She reached up and stroked my cheek in response.

  ‘You look tired today. Are you working too hard?’ she asked.

  I sat in the chair at the side of her. She was already in the bed.

  ‘I’ve had a productive day but I wouldn’t say I’ve been working too hard. It’s not as though I work lifting heavy objects or am on my feet all day, Beth. I sit on my arse writing.’

  ‘Well you need to get out more then, because you look pasty.’

  ‘I was at the Lido this morning.’

  She shrugged. ‘Take some vitamins. I don’t know. I’m telling you what I see.’

  I kissed her again. I didn’t want to go around in circles with her.

  She laughed and shrugged me off.

  ‘Don’t think you can get around me like that, young lady.’

  ‘Do you know you’re the only person who calls me young lady?’ I said to her.

  ‘Have you seen my life? You are a young lady to me.’

  I scowled at her and she turned away from me. I gave her a minute and took a sip of my tea. When she turned back she looked brighter again. She had needed a moment to gather herself.

  ‘Did you hear about the murder?’ she asked. ‘Wasn’t it at the end of your street?’

  ‘It was,’ I said. ‘I went to have a look this morning. There’s nothing to see though. I don’t know why people do that. It’s gruesome. I wish I hadn’t gone in the end. It’s only because it was so close that I did.’ I knew she would want to know the details because she couldn’t get out herself so I would tell her what I knew. Obviously not everything, but what the public knew.

  ‘It’s so awful,’ she said, not having a clue that I was involved. Involved was kind of understating it. I was responsible.

  How would she feel about me if she knew? I wondered.

  ‘Murder isn’t something that happens around here. It’s why I like our town, but in the small space of time we had the accident you were involved in.’ She squeezed my hand. ‘That woman in Lilly’s and now this murder. They say these things come in threes. Let’s hope that’s all this is.’ She did a dramatic shiver.

  I couldn’t promise her that this would be all there was.

  I picked up the plate of biscuits and held it out for her. She selected one and I did the same. We did like our chocolate digestives with our cuppa on a Thursday night.

  Beth took a bite.

  ‘You’ll keep me updated? If you find out more than the news, let me know, what with living so close to it all.’

  There was a ghoulish fascination with all things murder.
>
  ‘I can’t see me knowing more than the press, Beth, but if it happens that I do, then you’ll be the first to know.’

  I did, of course, but I couldn’t share that burden with her.

  She took another bite of her biscuit, leaving one piece. I finished mine and waited for another one. Then Beth swallowed and coughed. She coughed again, hard. A hand flew up to her chest and she thumped on her chest as she coughed and moved her mouth like a goldfish.

  I stood. Panic flashed through me. She was choking. What the hell did I do?

  Her face was reddening but her lips had a tinge of blue at the edge. She wasn’t getting any air.

  Shit. I needed to act.

  There was a gasping sound escaping from her throat. Her hands flapped, her eyes were wide. I grabbed hold of her, leaned her forward and slammed my hand hard onto her back then got scared I was going to break something as her spine jutted out. Nothing happened, her hands continued to flap, she continued to gasp. I lifted the fingers of my hand a little so it would be the heel of my hand that was making contact and forced it down onto Beth’s back and brought it up and then back down hard. Her body jerked in response to the force I was using but I needed to move whatever was lodged in her airway. I brought my hand down again, my heart beating against my ribcage as the panic escalated. Beth was not responding and I needed to do something.

  I couldn’t call 999 and keep actively helping her at the same time. It either had to be one or the other and I didn’t dare stop. Neither was I sure not calling for an ambulance was the right move. I was scared and I had never been as scared in my entire life.

  I slammed the heel of my palm down onto Beth’s back another couple of times and then decided it was time to try that move where you crunch their stomach in with your fists.