Take Two (A psychological thriller)

‘And what if they don’t? And what if they go public?  Soap star witness to gory murder.  What then? What if the murderer decides to get rid of the only witness to his crime? It’s not as if I’m low profile, is it?  I can’t hide, can I?’ She smiled ruefully. ‘What do you think, they’d put me in witness protection?’ She pointed at her face. ‘How many magazine covers have I been on? I can’t go into a department store without half a dozen fans asking me for my autograph.’

‘It doesn’t work like that, not in the real world,’ said Terry. ‘Murderers don’t go around killing witnesses.’

‘They shot at me,’ said Carolyn. ‘When I was running away.’

‘Are you sure?’

‘I heard a shot, and I’m pretty sure the guy chasing me had a gun. He was a big bald guy. I was lucky he was so big because he couldn’t run for toffee.’ She smiled. ‘All those sessions in the gym paid off.’

Terry raised his coffee mug. ‘You’re welcome.’

‘I need a cigarette,’ said Carolyn.

‘Do you have to?’ sighed Terry. ‘You know I hate those things.’

‘I’ll smoke it in the garden,’ she said. She got up and retrieved her cigarette and lighter from her bag. ‘Terry, will you stay with me tonight?’

‘Of course.’

‘I don’t want to be alone,’ she said.

‘I’ve already said yes,’ he said. He waved at the door that led to the garden. ‘Go and smoke your coffin nail while I see what we can watch on your cable.’

‘Not porn,’ she said. ‘Anything but porn.’

Terry laughed and wagged a finger at her. ‘Visitor’s choice,’ he said. ‘Can I open a bottle of wine?’

‘My fridge is your fridge,’ said Carolyn. ‘There’s a bottle of Bollinger in there, we can toast my award.’

‘You don’t like champagne.’

‘No, but I know you do.’

‘You’re such a sweetie.’

CHAPTER 21

Terry woke up and blinked at the ceiling. There were cream curtains over the window and three watercolour paintings of Venice scenes on the walls. He stretched and rolled over. The sheets were as smooth as silk, cool against his skin, and he made a mental note to ask Carolyn where she’d bought them. They were the most comfortable sheets he’d ever slept on. He stretched his arms and then looked at his watch. It was just after seven. They’d sat downstairs and demolished the Bollinger and fallen into bed at two o’clock in the morning. Terry had offered to take the spare bedroom but Carolyn had told him not to be so stupid and insisted he share her bed. It wasn’t the first time they’d slept in the same bed, and for most of the time he’d held her in his arms.  Terry was convinced Carolyn’s best option by far was to go to the police, but he couldn’t convince her.

He rolled out of bed. He was still wearing his jogging pants and his Pineapple Studios sweatshirt and he found a white silk robe hanging on the back of the door and slipped it on as he went downstairs. Carolyn was sitting cross-legged on a sofa in the sitting room watching the television above the ornate Victorian fireplace as she sipped a mug of coffee. ‘Can’t sleep?’ asked Terry.

‘I wanted to see if there was anything on the news.’ She was watching Sky News and she used the remote to click over to the BBC. ‘But there’s nothing.’

‘Maybe he’s not dead,’ said Terry, dropping down next to her on the sofa.

‘Or maybe they haven’t found the body yet.’ She sipped her coffee. ‘There’s coffee in the cafetiere if you want it.’

‘I have to get it myself? I’m a guest.’

‘You slept with a TV star last night. You want me to get you coffee as well?’

Terry laughed and went through to the kitchen. He poured coffee and a splash of milk into a mug and took it back into the sitting room.

‘Terry, I need to ask you a favour. Just hear me out before you say no.’

‘Sure,’ said Terry, sitting down and swinging his feet up on the coffee table.

‘I want to go back to the house. Will you come with me?’

‘No,’ said Terry flatly.

‘Just hear me out.’

‘I did hear you out. No. Why on earth would you want to go back to that house? What if the cops are there? And if the cops aren’t, what if the killer is? Either way it’s a no-win situation for you.’

‘I just want to know what happened,’ said Carolyn.

‘You know what happened. You were there, remember.’

‘Pretty please.’

‘No.’

Carolyn moved closer to him. ‘Pretty, pretty please.’

‘You’re like a kid with a loose tooth,’ said Terry. ‘If you keep messing with it you’re going to lose it.’

‘It’s Saturday. We can go for a drive. We’ll have a pub lunch. Lots of pubs in Surrey. I’ll buy.’

Terry tried to look at her sternly but she started making puppy whining sounds and his face broke into a grin. ‘You’re mad,’ he said. ‘You know that?’

‘Think of it as doing a recce for a crime show.’

‘Okay darling, now listen to me. You can’t go prowling around crime scenes. Everyone knows who you are.’

‘So give me a makeover. You were in hair and make-up before you were in props. You haven’t lost the knack, have you?’

‘Darling, I could take ten years off you, easy. But we’ll have to go to my place.’

She grinned. ‘Then let’s do it.’ She raised her coffee cup and clinked it against Terry’s. ‘You’re a star.’