“No. She told me she hadn’t had a boyfriend in months, and even then, it wasn’t anything serious. She was too focussed on her job. Plus, doing permanent nights messed up her chances of meeting people.”
“How did she seem the last time you saw her?”
“Normal. She was happy.” She buried her head in her hands. “It just doesn’t make sense,” she sobbed.
Max rubbed her shoulder, and she gave him a grateful smile.
The younger officer cleared his throat. “Do you have a key to her flat, by any chance?”
Shaking her head, she wiped her eyes on the sleeve of her T-shirt. “No, sorry, I don’t. I think Simon might have one, because she said something one day, but he’s in the States.”
“Simon?”
“At 4c. We were all friends.”
The older officer placed a card on the coffee table. “Well, that’ll be all for now, Ms McLaughlin. If you think of anything else, you can reach me on this number. Oh, and you may hear some movement next door over the next couple of days, when we gain access. Hopefully, you won’t be disturbed too much.”
Hannah nodded.
Max saw the officers out, and returned to her side. “Are you alright?”
She slowly shook her head. “I can’t believe it. Who would want to hurt Diane? She was the kindest, most caring person I’ve ever met.”
“I don’t know.” He put his arm around her, and pulled her head to his chest.
Although her tears had dried, she felt an overwhelming sense of doom, as though in the middle of a nightmare. The type that if she tried to run away, she’d find she was running on the spot.
In less than a week, she’d lost her two amazing neighbours.
“The food!” she said, lifting her head.
“Are you hungry?”
She shook her head. “No. Not anymore. But, you’ve gone to a lot of trouble.”
“It’s not important. We can heat it up later, if you get hungry.”
“Thanks, Max. I’m so grateful you were here tonight. I couldn’t imagine being on my own right now.”
“I’m going nowhere. Not until you want me to.”
“You know, just a couple of weeks ago, I was telling Mammy I couldn’t have been luckier with my neighbours. And now, they’re both gone.”
“Both of them?”
“Yes. Simon got a call from his family in Seattle, telling him his grandma was very sick. He had to up and leave immediately. And now, I don’t have any friends.” The tears finally spilled from her eyes.
“Hey, silly. You have me.”
“You know what I mean. You don’t count.”
He huffed, blinking several times. “Charming.”
She smiled sadly. “I can’t stay here. I’m going to have to find a new flat.”
“What? Tonight?”
“Of course not tonight. But, I won’t feel right being here alone anymore.”
“Go and pack a bag, while I clean up the kitchen.” He drew her upright.
“I don’t get you.”
“We can spend the night at my apartment, and then, after my meeting in the morning, we’ll go to the lake house for the weekend.”
“But—”
He put a finger on her lips. “As friends, remember? Now, go on. Bag.”
She went into her room, and found her weekend suitcase in the bottom of her wardrobe. Feeling fragile and highly emotional, she grabbed a few outfits, her nightie, underwear, and toiletry bag. But, her perfume was missing off the bedside table. “That’s odd,” she murmured.
Then, she saw it, peeking out from underneath the bed. As she dropped to her knees, she noticed the bed and the bedside cabinet had been moved—the indentations in the carpet pile were off by a couple of inches. She got a prickly feeling at the nape of her neck.
Somebody had been in her bedroom.
***
As he completed his rounds, Don was floored to see Hannah on the monitor, arriving with Maxwell Myers at the car park level. The rage within him was almost too much to control when he saw his boss take an overnight bag from the back of the car. Snap-snap-snap.
“You okay, Don?” Ken said.
“What?” He spun on the spot, totally forgetting he wasn’t alone.
“You’ve turned a strange colour. Are you feeling okay?”
“I’m fine!” Don stomped away.
He watched as the lift light went all the way to the top, before calling it himself, and travelling up behind them.
The corridors were empty, and the lighting muted, which was normal for that time of night. He crept to Max’s office door and listened. Nothing. There was no entrance to the apartment from the main corridor, so he opened the office door and silently walked to the internal door.
In a fury, he listened to the hushed whispers. Under no illusions what they were getting up to inside. This was the only room that he couldn’t see into. He felt as though he’d been violated, mugged of his possessions, and there was absolutely nothing he could do about it.
***
Hannah loved the night-time city views from Max’s compact apartment. She wasn’t too thrilled to see one double bed, however.
He saw her reaction to this, and assured her he would sleep on the chair in his office.
He’d brought the wine and two plates of food from Hannah’s flat, and set about warming them in the microwave. He poured the wine, and sat beside her on the two-seater.
She wiped her eyes from a fresh bout of tears, before taking the glass from him. “Thanks, Max. I do appreciate this, you know?”
“I know.”
“And I’m sorry our first proper date was ruined. I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”
“Nonsense. It’s hardly your fault.”
“I know. But, I’d like to.”
He nodded. “We’ve got plenty of time for that. And, besides, our first date isn’t over yet. We have the whole weekend away to make nice memories.”
A few minutes later, he checked on the food, bringing two delicious-smelling plates over to her.
“This is the life.” He clinked his glass on hers, before digging into his dinner.
Hannah still had no appetite, and only managed a couple of mouthfuls. She apologised, and helped him do the dishes afterwards, before settling down again on the sofa.
Over the next few hours, she broke down a number of times, but Max held her tight, allowing her to grieve. She told him about Diane, and the few memories she had of her lovely friend.
When she had nothing left to say, he told her about his childhood and the death of his parents, and about his best friend, Lenny, and Charmaine, Lenny’s wife, who worked at the lake house.
They spent the evening talking and holding each other. When he eventually kissed her, she felt like everything had fallen into place. She just wished she could share her happiness with Diane.
Although she hadn’t known her friend long, she could honestly say Diane had been the best friend she’d had since leaving school. She knew Diane would be overjoyed for her, but it felt a little wrong to be feeling this way, while her friend lay on a slab.
As dawn approached, they drank coffee, and watched the morning sun radiate the buildings opposite with its tangerine fingers, as if prodding everything to life.
“We need to get some sleep, otherwise I’ll be falling asleep in my meeting.”
“Who’s your meeting with?” she asked.
“Just the weekly video conference with all the other branches.”
“Will Angela be there?”
He gave her a sidelong glance. “Yeah. Why do you ask?”
“Oh, just wondered. You won’t say anything about… about us?” she asked shyly.
“Of course I won’t. It’s nobody else’s business.”
“Good.”
She didn’t know why, but the first person who came to mind, when she realised somebody had been in her house, was Angela. She knew how stupid it sounded, but she couldn’t shake the thought at all. Ange
la was the only person who knew her address. She’d also had access to her gym bag.
Max pulled her to her feet. “Come on. You get into bed. I’ll come back for you after my meeting. Then, we can get on the road.”
“You’re not going to your meeting now, are you?”
He glanced at his watch. “No. I have a couple of hours yet, but I’ll try not to disturb you.”
“Do you want to get in bed, too? It seems silly you sleeping curled on the chair. You’ll crick your neck.”
“If you’re sure?”
“Positive.”
They fell asleep in each other’s arms, still fully dressed.
When Hannah woke a few hours later, she was alone.
She used the bathroom, grabbed a change of clothes and her toiletry bag, and hopped in the shower.
Max was sitting on the bed again when she returned.
“Oh, hello. I didn’t hear you come in,” she said.
“I expected you to still be snoring. You were dead to the world when I left this morning.”
His words made her think of Diane, and her breath hitched as she turned away.
“I’m sorry. Bad turn of phrase. Forgive me.”
She smiled sadly. “I still can’t believe it. I’ll have to contact Simon and let him know—he’ll be devastated.”
“Use my laptop while I have a shower, if you like. Then, we can get going.”
“I will do. Thanks.”
He went into his office, and returned with his laptop. “Captain Max is the password. That’s a capital C and a capital M—one word.”
“Really?” She sniggered.
“Yeah. What’s wrong with that?”
She straightened her face, and shook her head. “Absolutely nothing.”
“Good.” He opened the wardrobe door, and selected a pale blue checked shirt and jeans.
“So, are you?”
“Am I what?” He turned, as he reached the bathroom door.
“A captain?”
“That’s for me to know, and you to find out.”
She barked out a laugh. “Do you know how childish you sound?”
He poked his tongue at her, entered the bathroom, and closed the door.
Chapter 19
Don couldn’t sleep. He’d returned to Simon’s flat once his shift had finished, and played back the previous evening’s footage. The brief thrill of hearing what the police had to say about Diane’s death was ruined by the way Maxwell-fucking-Myers continually pawed at Hannah, as though she was his possession.
Snap-snap-snap.
Awash with rage, he paced up and down the flat in the dark. He’d seen and heard everything between Hannah and Myers. Although they weren’t physical, as such, their exchanges seemed even more intimate than sex.
Snap-snap-snap.
He was relieved they were no longer next door, because the way he felt, he knew he would’ve been tempted to rush in there, and carve that bastard into a thousand tiny pieces right in front of her eyes.
Snap-snap-snap. Snap-snap-snap.
Needing to vent the volcano of rage within him, he grabbed the claw hammer from the windowsill, knocking over the box of half-eaten pizza he’d brought with him, and ran to the freezer.
He unlocked the padlock, and lifted the lid.
His rage let loose, pounding the hammer into the frozen mass which was once Simon Fowler’s head. It wasn’t surprising it had no effect—he was frozen as solid as a woolly mammoth found in Siberia.
After a while, Don stopped mid-swing, totally exhausted. Simon’s skull, above the eye sockets, had collapsed. Don stared at it for several seconds, then calmly dropped the lid, and fastened the padlock.
He placed the hammer on the hallstand, with several clumps of bloody matter attached to it. He needed to lie down, before he fell down. He’d always thrived on very little sleep, but found he was struggling lately.
He climbed on the bed, and collapsed on the pillow.
***
The offices were mostly deserted as, arm in arm, they took the lift down to the parking floor. Max was loading the bags into the boot, when Angela suddenly appeared. If looks could kill… Hannah wanted to stop, drop, and roll under the car, but it was too late. By the expression on her face, Angela knew exactly what was going on.
She approached them, her eyes scanning the bags.
“Hi, Angela. I thought you’d left already,” Max said.
The bitch made a show of ogling Hannah, before she turned back to her boss. “Just leaving. I had a few things to catch up on.”
“Oh, I’m just giving Hannah a ride home.”
Hannah smiled at her.
“Home? I see.” She lifted her chin in acknowledgement, and narrowed her eyes, as she stared at Hannah’s face.
Hannah couldn’t wait to get away from there. She nodded at Angela, and jumped in the passenger seat.
Max and Angela exchanged a few more words, then Max slid into the driver’s seat, started the car and drove towards the bollards.
They burst out laughing, as they drove onto the street.
“Did you see her face?” Hannah asked.
“She wasn’t impressed, that’s for certain.”
“She hates me.”
Max glanced at her. “Nonsense. Why would she hate you?”
“Oh, ignore me. I’m excited to see your home. Maybe next weekend, I could take you to see mine?”
Max shuddered, and shook his head comically. “I don’t know about that.”
“Why not?”
“Well, my family home only has me in it. Your family home has your mum and dad. I can imagine what they’ll say when they hear their only daughter is having a fling with her boss.”
“Is that what we’re having?”
He glanced at her again. “See? I’m not good at this kind of thing. Why do I feel I’m in the doghouse?”
“You’re not in the doghouse. Not yet.” She grinned, and glanced at her phone, before returning it to her pocket.
“Expecting something?”
“I didn’t email Simon, in the end. I don’t know how often he checks his inbox, so I texted him instead.”
“And he hasn’t responded?”
“Nope.” She shook her head.
“What’s the time difference?”
“I never thought about that.”
“From memory, I think Washington is around 8 hours behind us. Or is it ahead?”
She laughed. “That’s a big help.” She looked at her watch. “So, according to you, it could either be 3am in Seattle, or 7pm.”
Max chuckled. “Exactly.”
Hannah watched out of the window, as all signs of the city fell away.
“You hungry?” Max asked, after they’d been driving almost an hour.
“Starving.”
“Why didn’t you say? I forget people usually eat in the morning. I don’t bother until lunch.”
“I’m fine. I think it’s because I didn’t eat much last night, you know, with…”
“Of course. I know a great gastropub in Carnforth.”
“Sounds great. I’ve heard of Carnforth, but I don’t know why,” she said.
“Carnforth is a lovely little village. It’s famous for the railway station—it was used as the set for the old black and white movie A Brief Encounter.”
“Was it? I’ve actually seen that, I think. Did the housewife have an affair?”
He nodded. “That’s the one. We can have a look inside, if you like? In fact, we could eat there. Apparently, there’s a tearoom which was built to replicate the original set.”
Hannah raised her eyebrows. “Really? I’d love to.”
Max took the next exit off the motorway, and less than five minutes later, pulled into the carpark of the Carnforth Station and Heritage Centre.
The wide-fronted, pretty stone building comprised of the station entrance, with a rug shop on one end, and a pub called The Snug on the other.
Hannah smiled, and took Max’s of
fered hand, as they headed to the main door.
After taking their time browsing around, and photographing the quaint, old-fashioned railway station, a member of staff offered to take a photo of both of them underneath the replica clock made famous by the movie.
Max stood behind her, and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in close. Hannah’s stomach flipped at the realisation this was their first photo together. The first of many, she hoped.
After taking several more photos of The Refreshment Room, they both ordered roast ham, egg and chips, as well as a pot of tea to share.
“Hey, look at this,” Max said, pointing to the price list. “They have pre-decimal prices here—a full English breakfast would have cost just five-bob.”
“Five what?”
“Five bob. That was probably around five pence.”
She laughed. “You wouldn’t get a mouthful of beans for five pence nowadays.”
When the food came, she ate with gusto, almost finishing before him. She would have, if she could, found room for the last four fries. She sat back, feeling stuffed.
“Better?” he asked.
“Much better, thanks. I really enjoyed that.”
“I could tell. And you have a blob of mayo on your…” He pointed to the side of his mouth.
She grabbed her napkin and swiped at her mouth.
He chuckled.
“What? Were you joking?”
He nodded. “You should’ve seen your face.”
“Idiot.” She grinned, and threw the napkin at him.
He caught it, screwed it up, and placed it on his plate. “Shall we get going? We still have the best part of an hour’s drive.”
As they approached the car, Max gasped.
Hannah spun around to see what was wrong, and followed his gaze to his car.
A deep scratch ran along the entire passenger side of the Mercedes.
***
Being his night off, Don had planned for his first evening to be lying beside his darling Hannah, albeit on opposite sides of the adjoining wall. But, now, that bastard Max had whisked her away for the weekend.
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