Fatal Act (39 page)
Authors: Leigh Russell
I
n the mêlée, security guards began shepherding spectators over to the side of the terrace where Vivien was standing behind Charles. Holding his arm for support, she pulled off her shoe. The area where the man had fallen was speedily cordoned off, watched over by a team of security guards. Unceremoniously corralled together, the crowd all seemed to be talking. Once the initial shock had worn off, the mood of the onlookers became irascible.
‘How long are we going to be kept here like this?’ a drunken voice yelled.
A chorus of complaints broke out.
‘We paid good money to come here today.’
‘I’m sorry, sir, but there’s nothing we can do about it right now,’ a policeman answered firmly. ‘I’m afraid no one is allowed to leave until we’ve had a chance to speak to you all.’
‘Well, go on then, speak up.’
‘We need to speak to each of you individually, sir,’ the copper replied stolidly.
V
ivien moved to one side of Charles, but there was nothing to see. Several uniformed police officers had gathered around the body, masking it from view. A burly man was running and bellowing, waving his arms vehemently to intercept two security guards who had almost reached the entrance to the Ebor building. Above the sporadic din, Vivien could just about make out the orders he was barking.
‘Don’t go in. No one is to go inside the building until we get the green light. Guard all the exits. Don’t let anyone in.’
A security guard started forward as two men emerged from the building. Just then, several people surged forward in front of Vivien, blocking her view.
A
drian had been gone for about an hour. She searched the crowd in front of her but it was impossible to find anyone in this scrum. At her side, Charles leaned down and yelled in her ear.
‘Are you all right?’
‘I’m fine. Have you seen Adrian?’
Instead of answering, he seized her by the arm and began pulling her towards the front of the crowd. Awkwardly she hobbled after him, worried about broken glass, or her toes being trodden on.
‘Stop pushing,’ a man growled.
Other voices joined in. ‘We all want to see what’s going on.’
Ignoring the chorus of protests, Charles carried on shouldering his way through the throng. He dragged her over to a uniformed policeman, where he loosened his hold on her. The two men had a hurried conversation. As Charles was speaking, the policeman turned to stare at Vivien. Unnerved by the intensity of his gaze, she felt a tremor of fear.
T
he two men fell silent when she stepped forward to hear what they were saying. Charles stared fixedly at something over her shoulder. The constable shifted uneasily from one foot to the other.
‘What’s happened?’ The words rose hysterically in her throat. ‘Something’s happened to Adrian, hasn’t it? Has he – did he – is it him? I want to see.’
‘Are you sure?’ Charles asked gently. ‘You don’t have to do this, you know. I’m his brother. I can do it.’
‘Do what?’
He hesitated before answering. ‘They need someone to have a look at the man who fell from the balcony and confirm if it’s Adrian or not.’
He couldn’t meet her eye. They both knew.
LEIGH RUSSELL
is the award-winning author of the Geraldine Steel and Ian Peterson mysteries. She is an English teacher who lives in the UK with her family.
www.leighrussell.co.uk
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
This book was originally published in 2013 by No Exit Press, an Imprint of Oldcastle Books Ltd.
FATAL ACT
. Copyright © 2013 by Leigh Russell. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
EPub Edition DECEMBER 2014 ISBN: 9780062325693
Print Edition ISBN: 9780062325709
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