Who Wants to Live Forever? (22 page)

“Okay,” said Trish. “That all sounds plausible. So where’s the woman suspect? Or are you saying there isn’t one in this case?”

“No, she’s there all right. One of the women who worked in the office with Alan — she’d only been there a few months — left the Friday before his death and nobody knew where she had gone. Her name was—” I flipped the notebook back, as I’d forgotten that piece of information “—Amber Davore.”

“Da-vor-ez,” said Debbie, “not Da-vore.” When she saw us looking at her, she added, “It’s unusual, I know, but I once worked with somebody with the same surname.”

“Anyway,” I said, “this woman, Amber, fits the pattern of all the other cases. I’m positive that this is what Louise has been trying to get to all this time, and somehow she is trying to prevent the next murder.”

“But how can we stop it?” asked Debbie. “We only have until tomorrow from what you said. And we still have no idea what the connection is between all these dates and places. Or are you saying you do?”

“No, I don’t,” I admitted. “But we can’t just give up and do nothing. How would you feel if we ignored it and then on Thursday morning we read about a murder we could have prevented?”

“Yes,” said Trish, “but as Debbie said,
how
can we prevent it? We might know the date, but we don’t know the location. And even if we did, how could we find the one person in that town or city who was going to be killed? Or how could we find the killer? It isn’t like the cartoons, where the villain has a mask and carries a bag with ‘swag’ written across it. Unless your satchel has ‘Swag’ written on the back, Debbie?”

Debbie snorted contemptuously, while I didn’t have an answer to any of the questions. The women were correct; I knew that. But I knew I wouldn’t — couldn’t — stop searching, not while there was still time. We finished our drinks and said our goodbyes, each knowing that when we went to visit Louise the following evening it could well be the last time we would all be together.

***

I spent the remainder of the evening and much of the next day trying to make sense of all the notes I had taken. I knew that the murder could take place at any time during the day, and I felt as if I was waiting helplessly for it to happen. I watched every news bulletin avidly, but all they were reporting on was the disruption caused across the country by the public sector pension strikes; normally, that would have been a burning issue for me, but not on this occasion. There wasn’t a single mention of a murder, or even an unexplained death, but I knew that didn’t mean much. The killer was an expert, and could make it appear to be natural causes if she wanted to.

If it hadn’t been for the importance of her presentation, I would have called Julie, just so I could talk to somebody. She might even have been able to knock some sense into me. Twice I set off to visit Louise; both times I turned back. I’d promised to wait for Debbie and Trish, and there was nothing I could do anyway. Louise had barely been able to speak when we visited her; I didn’t want to overburden her with worries, especially as I’d no positive news to give her.

I sat, head in hands, and tried to make sense of it all. How could one person have committed all of these crimes? They couldn’t. If I was even contemplating it, then I was becoming unhinged. So what was happening? Maybe they were copycat killings? But what was anybody copying? Most of the cases seemed straightforward on the surface, so why would several different killers — all women — think it was a pattern worth following? The more I thought about it, the more ridiculous it all sounded.

I pulled all my notes together once more, as if staring at them would force the answer to leap off the page; it didn’t. As the words blurred into one another I knew I would never find the answer this way. I looked at my watch: half past five. Reluctantly, I closed my notebook and began to get ready for the final night that the four of us would be together.

***

It was approaching seven p.m. by the time I parked in the small car park adjoining Louise’s residential block of flats. “What if she’s in bed and can’t get up to let us in?” asked Trish.

“I hadn’t thought of that,” I said. “But it’s too late now. We’ll just have to go and try.” I led the way to her address, checking the numbers of each block that we passed. “There it is.” I pointed. “Now to see if we can get any further.”

“Hey, isn’t that Emma?”

I looked in the direction Trish was pointing. She was right, as the unmistakeable figure of our former classmate turned the corner. “Yes, it is. I wonder where she’s heading?”

“Let’s take a look,” and despite my protests, Trish hurried on after her, before stopping. “She’s disappeared.”

“She must have gone into one of the flats from the back. Don’t you remember how Louise said Emma called at her flat to tell her she was dropping the course? If she knows somebody who lives here, then that will be how she knew where Louise lived.” But even as I said it I began to question the truth of my words. Was Emma there for a more sinister reason? Might she be in Louise’s flat right now? “Come on, let’s get inside. I’ll feel easier once we see Louise.”

There was an intercom on the door panel, and I pressed the button underneath Louise’s name. A weak voice answered, “Who is it?”

“It’s the gang from college,” said Debbie. “We thought we’d call round to see you, but we can come back another time if you’re not up to receiving visitors.”

“Debbie? And are Trish and Ethan with you? I’d love to see you all. There, I’ve buzzed you in, just come up the stairs and I’ll let you in my flat.”

Louise was waiting for us when we reached the door. She was wearing a long flowery pink dressing gown and her hair looked dishevelled. Without her make-up, she looked ten years older than the Louise who taught us in class. As we followed her into her living room I thought how she must have looked very similar when we saw her in hospital, but because that was a different environment I hadn’t noticed the change in her appearance.

“Let me make you all a drink,” she said.

“No!” insisted Trish. “You’re to do
nothing
.
We’ll
make
you
a drink. Just tell us where everything is and we’ll see to it.”

“Thanks, Trish. You’re a star. You all are. Do you know that you’re the only visitors I’ve had? You don’t realise how alone you are until something like this happens. I thought Roger, at least, might have come to see me.”

“Roger Boulding?” I asked. “He
is
coming to see you. In fact—” and I shot a glance at Debbie as I spoke “—he offered to bring you these,” I said, holding out the box of chocolates, “but I said we were coming to see you anyway.”

Louise seemed to brighten up at the news. She took the chocolates gratefully, and Debbie handed over a bunch of flowers that the women had brought. “I’ll go and help with the tea,” she said.

“Er, is it okay if I use your loo?” I asked.

“Course you can, Ethan, it’s…”

“I know where it is — I saw it on the way in.” I left quickly, taking the opportunity to check each room to see whether Emma was somewhere in the flat. I sighed with relief when it was clear that she wasn’t. As I washed my hands I suddenly thought — why
was
I wondering about Emma being here? I shrugged, laughing quietly at my foolishness. I’d spent too long trying to solve this case, and now I was seeing murderers everywhere.

No sooner had I returned to the front room than Trish and Debbie returned with the tea, and we chatted amiably for the next half-hour.

I decided that we had spent far too long on small talk, so I changed the subject. “We’ve followed your course through to the end, even though you weren’t there. We know about Frank Uttley in Heysham and Alan Ingleby in Darwen. And we also know that—”

“Ethan!” interrupted Debbie. “Really, have you no sensitivity at all? Louise is recovering from a very serious attack. This is supposed to be a light visit, that’s all. If you want to talk about your theories, leave it until another time when she’s feeling a lot better.”

She was right, of course, but how could I leave things when today was the last possible time when we could prevent another tragedy? Then I looked at my watch. It was approaching eight o’clock; with only four hours remaining in the day, it was already too late. Even if it hadn’t happened yet, and I miraculously discovered the details of the next murder in the next five minutes, I’d be hard put to get to the place and prevent it occurring. I sighed and finished my drink.

“Debbie’s right, Ethan,” said Louise. “I really do want to talk about the course, but I find I can’t concentrate properly. I know this meant a lot to you,” she said, putting her hand consolingly on my forearm, “but you’ll just have to let it go. You did your best. Nobody could ask for more. I’ve been researching this for years and I don’t know what is going to happen next.”

“Louise is getting tired,” said Trish. “I think we should go and let her rest. Come on, gang. Let’s promise to remain in touch, and we’ll come and visit again in a few days.” The three of us stood up to leave.

“No, wait,” said Louise. “Don’t go. Not just yet.” We all paused, wondering what she wanted to tell us. “I know you’ll think I’m silly, but I really don’t want to be on my own tonight. Can you stay?”

“That isn’t being silly at all,” said Trish. “It’s very understandable after what happened. I’m impressed that you’ve even come back here.”

“I didn’t have a lot of choice in the matter once the hospital discharged me.”

“You should have told us,” said Debbie. “You could have come home with me. You still can if you want.”

“No, I’m here now and I’m settled. But I would like you to stay, please.”

“Of course we can stay,” I replied. “Don’t worry about a thing.”

“You really are going to think I’m strange,” said Louise. “I’m feeling very tired now and I want to go to bed. But I don’t want to be in the flat by myself. Can you make yourselves at home and watch television? Just for a few hours.”

“How long do you want us here?” asked Trish.

“Yes,” said Debbie, “I’ve an early start for work in the morning so I can’t be out too late.”

“If you could stay until midnight. I’ll be all right after, I promise. Ethan understands.”

I nodded, although I didn’t really. If she wanted to see today out in company, as it was the key day, that was one thing, but she wouldn’t be in any danger herself. Whoever had wanted to silence her and stop her investigation had succeeded; there was no need for them to come back, because there was no time for her to do anything to prevent them carrying out their task.

Louise turned to me as she was about to leave the room. “Didn’t you mention that your daughter was coming home this week?” she asked.

“Yes, that’s right. She came up last night.”

“You really should be spending time with her instead of babysitting me.”

I detected an almost pleading tone in her voice, so I quickly put her at ease. “No, it’s okay. She’s had a busy day today, so I imagine she’s unwinding in her hotel room as we speak.”

“Where’s she staying?” asked Trish.

“In St Annes, at the Travelodge.”

“Just a few minutes away, then,” said Louise. “You could always pop over to see her if you wanted to.”

“There’s no need. It’s all sorted — I’ll be with her all day tomorrow.”

Louise seemed relieved. “That’s good, then. Well, I’ll say goodnight. Thanks again, all of you, for staying. It means a lot to me.” She went to her bedroom and Trish switched the television on. She flicked through the channel guide, and said, “There’s an
Only Fools and Horses
special on Gold soon.”

“Isn’t there always?” said Debbie.

“Yes, but this is a longer episode. It’s the one where they take a boat from Hull to smuggle back some diamonds.”

“Hasn’t that already started?” I asked.

“Yes, but it’s also on the Plus 1 channel, so we can watch it from the beginning. It’s a bit of light relief.”

“I’m okay with it,” I said. We settled down to watch, although it seemed slightly uncomfortable watching television in somebody else’s home while that person was asleep in bed. I watched the programme for a while, but as I remembered the plot in great detail I soon found my mind wandering. I couldn’t help feeling how wrong it was; here we were, laughing at the antics of a television programme from twenty or so years ago, while out there somebody was going to die. I knew it was going to happen, but I had no idea how to prevent it.

I took out my notebook and skimmed through the pages. I remembered Louise saying that she had made her breakthrough while doodling, and I wondered exactly what she had noticed that had set her on the road that led us all to this room at this time. I had looked at the same information, but perhaps not in the same way.

I decided to jot down all the salient facts: the times, places, victims and suspects in each case.