Page 20 of Beyond the Darkness (Basic Instincts #3)

Hollywood Stories

There was nobody in the street ahead of him. No one to run to for help.

Robbie was too close for Hudson to pull out his phone and call the cops.

Time was running out.

He needed an escape right now.

There was a pub on the edge of the gay village. Julie’s. He hadn’t been inside. Didn’t know much about it. He just prayed it was already open. Surely by this time of evening it should be.

Hudson put on a greater burst of speed.

So, Robbie was in Blyham. No doubt about it now. Had he been here last weekend when Julian was killed? It seemed almost certain.

The man was a maniac. Capable of anything. Hudson was sure of that now.

Hudson looked behind again. Robbie was gaining. For an older man, seemingly out of shape, he could really move.

Hudson had almost reached the pub. He sprinted harder.

Relief washed over him when he realised the front door was open.

He burst inside.

A young woman behind the bar jerked with surprise. Three middle-aged guys, sitting together, turned to look at him. Hudson stumbled into the middle of the room, gasping for breath. He bent over, his hands on his thighs, unable to speak.

Two of the men stood up and approached.

“Are you all right, fella?”

Hudson huffed, struggling to find his voice.

“Don’t…” he panted, pointing at the door. “Don’t let him in.”

The bartender came out from behind the counter and went straight to the door, checking outside. One of the two men followed her.

“You best come and have a seat,” the second man said, leading him to a table.

Hudson realised for the first time how badly he was shaking.

The man said his name was Dan. He sat beside Hudson while he caught his breath.

“Who was it?” Dan asked. “Another queer basher? This whole area has become a hellhole.”

The bartender and the first man returned.

“Was it the stocky, balding guy?” she asked.

Hudson nodded.

“He legged it over the road and went down Broad Street. I think you’re okay.”

Her name was Kat. She got him a glass of water while he reported the incident to the police. Luke arrived before the cops did, rushing into the bar, his cheeks flushed. He ran straight for Hudson and put his arms around him.

“Are you all right?”

Hudson clung to him. Taking comfort from the strength of his body, the smell of his hair and cologne.

“I’m fine,” he said. He’d gotten himself together by then.

In some way he was actually relieved. When he’d seen Robbie on Saturday night it had been from a distance.

He couldn’t be one hundred per cent sure that it was him.

But now there was no doubt. Robbie was in Blyham.

It all tied into the sinister mail and Julian’s murder.

“I thought you were getting a taxi home. How come you were walking?” Luke asked.

He groaned. “Barbie and Ken, the podcasters. They distracted me on my way out and I forgot what I was supposed to do. I thought it would be okay at this time of night. Until I saw who was behind me.”

“Thank God you’re all right. Don’t take any chances like that again. Not ever.”

Kat, the bartender, returned. “I’ve had a look at the CCTV. You can see him clearly coming into range, before making off. When the police arrive, I’ll show them the footage.”

Hudson thanked her.

“I hate that we have to take all these protections,” she said. “But Blyham is a dangerous place.”

“I wish I’d known that before I came here,” Hudson said.

When the police turned up, they were a lot more attentive than the pair who had come to his apartment at the weekend. They listened to a everything he said, before looking at the security footage. It didn’t restore his faith in them entirely, but it went some way.

“My car is outside,” Luke told him when they were done. “Let me drive you home.”

Hudson squeezed his hand. “Sorry, but that’s the last place I feel like going. I was shut up in there going crazy all day yesterday. Can we go for something to eat, like we planned? Somewhere I can relax for an hour?”

Luke smiled reassuringly. “We can do anything you want.”

After thanking Kat and the customers who had helped him, they left the bar. Luke suggested a family-run Italian restaurant that was one block over. “Otherwise, we need to head into the city centre, or back down to the waterfront.”

“Italian sounds perfect. I’m ready to eat just about anything.”

They had just crossed to the other side when Hudson’s phone rang. If this was work-related, it would have to wait until the morning. He checked the display. It was DS Coppola. He answered straight away. “Yes.”

“We’ve got him,” the detective said.

Hudson came to a stop and gripped Luke’s arm. “Wiseman?”

“Yep. We picked him up in town. Looks like he was heading for the railway station.”

Hudson released the breath he’d been holding. “What will happen now?”

“Well, you can relax. For tonight at least. We looked into that old Stalking Prevention Order you took out and it still stands. It was made for an indefinite period. So, we can charge him with breaching that today and hold him in the cells for court tomorrow.”

“And all the other stuff? Julian?”

“For now, we don’t have enough evidence for that. We need to continue our investigation, but we’ll be asking him about it and finding out exactly where he was last Tuesday. Let us do our job and, as I said, try to relax. He’s going nowhere tonight.”

“Feel better?” Luke asked when the call was over, and Hudson filled him in on what DS Coppola had told him.

“I suppose, yes. To some degree. It proves I didn’t imagine seeing him on Saturday and he’s likely behind all the mail I’ve been getting. But I doubt much will come of it. He’ll probably get a fine when he goes to court, and told not to do it again.”

“A night in the police cells might be just the shock he needs.”

“We’ll see.” Hudson’s optimistic tone failed to convince even himself.

They reached the restaurant, which was only around the corner and down the street from his apartment.

Hudson realised how little of Blyham he was actually aware of.

He was so caught up in his head, he was wandering around blind most of the time.

He needed to open his eyes and appreciate where he was.

They were taken to a table in the window. It was Monday night, and the place was barely half full. A relief, as it meant the nearby tables were empty and they had a degree of privacy. A server brought the menus and asked for their drink orders.

“I need a proper drink,” Hudson said. “If I order a bottle of wine, will you help me drink it?”

“I’ve got the car,” Luke said. “But a small glass won’t hurt.”

They ordered a bottle of house red and a jug of water.

As he took the first sip of wine, Hudson finally relaxed. He murmured appreciatively at the flavour and sat back in the chair, stretching his spine.

“You’re pretty amazing, you know,” Luke said. “After everything that’s happened in the last week, you still keep swinging. I imagine a lot of other actors would have been on a plane back to the US by now.”

“I’ve never been a quitter.” He took another sip. “But I’m not sure I’d be as upbeat as I am without you. Apart from Julian, you’re the only person I’ve gotten to know here. I’d have gone crazy if I’d had to deal with this alone.”

Luke put his elbows on the table. His dark eyes reflected the candlelight. “I’m glad you trust me. I’ll always be here for you.”

A surge of heat, excitement, rushed through him. A familiar feeling he associated with being with Luke.

The server returned for their orders. Hudson hadn’t even looked at the menu. “I’ll have a ham and mushroom pizza, please.”

Luke ordered mushroom and truffle risotto. Then they were alone again.

A male couple outside studied the menu, debating whether to come in. One of them seemed keen, the other less so.

“What the hell is the Blyham Cat Killer?” Hudson asked.

Luke was about to try the wine, and paused, the glass halfway to his lips. He laughed. “Why do you want to know that?”

“Something Corman and Amber said earlier. That they interrupted their report into the Blyham Cat Killer to announce that Darkest Blue was coming to town. It sounded…weird.”

“Hmm.” Luke sipped the wine. “If you’d listened to their podcast you wouldn’t say that.

It’s very random. They cover everything you can imagine.

Local news, celebrity gossip, environmental issues, neighbourly disputes, school competitions, national headlines, health and beauty, fitness.

It’s like one of those nutty morning TV shows in podcast form.

For some reason, a lot of people seem to like it.

Mainly because of their charisma and personality on air. They are very good at what they do.”

“And the cat killer?”

“Oh, that’s exactly what it sounds like. Last year, there was a series of cat murders all over the city. The poor things were beheaded and left in places people would find them. Like park benches, footpaths, shop doorways, that kind of thing.”

“Sick.”

“Totally. I was really worried about Molly when it was going on. She’s such a friendly little soul she would go up to anyone who approached her. Thankfully, she doesn’t wander further than the few houses on our street. The cat killings were all within the city centre.”

“Did they catch the bastard responsible?”

Luke shook his head. “But I don’t think there’s been any more since maybe last October. I guess whoever was responsible has either moved away or gone to prison for some other offence.”

“Or progressed onto something bigger than little cats. That’s how it works with these fuckers. They start with helpless animals before working their way up to hurting people.”

Luke grimaced. “There are plenty of examples of that in this city.”

“I need to start listening to Beyond Blyham. I feel very ill-informed.”

The couple outside had eventually decided to come in.

“They’ve rubbed you up the wrong way, haven’t they?”

“Huh?” Hudson asked.

“Corman and Amber.”