Definitely Dead, Kate Bendelow [books like beach read TXT] 📗

childishly as she stepped on it, teetering precariously as she splayed her arms out.

‘I’m flying,’ she exclaimed, reminiscent of the scene from Titanic. I had gripped her hips firmly as she wobbled precariously, warning her to be careful.

‘It’s stunning out here. Absolutely beautiful,’ I had said as she leant back against me.

‘Are you talking about the view or me?’ she had murmured hoarsely as she glanced at me over her shoulder.

‘I’m talking about the view,’ I had said, sweetly. ‘It’s just perfect. You, however, really are the ugliest, most grotesque woman I have ever met. You always have been. You disgust me.’

She had never been spoken to like that before. Nobody had ever used those words to describe her. She had been adored all her life. A vicious narcissist, who had used her looks to cajole, entice, and destroy others, I loved the irony that these words were the last she would ever hear.

She tried to pull away from me. To step down from the trunking. She was twisting angrily and spitting profanities. In her inebriated state, she was no match for me as I continued to pin her against me. I had to do it now. I couldn’t afford to risk any scratches or other defence marks. My height worked to my advantage as I heaved her upwards from her midriff. She was as light as a feather. Her knees barely scraped the brickwork before she was over the edge of the wall.

For a woman with such a low, husky voice she certainly screamed very shrilly. The thud of her body smashing into the gravel below was encored by a beautiful silence. I glanced over the wall and saw her lying like a shattered marionette. Annoyingly, I had to admit that even broken, her legs still looked good.

14

Andy Carr woke up with a raging hangover. The weekend had passed by in an alcohol-induced blur which he was now seriously regretting. God knows he had needed a blowout after the stress he’d been under lately, but even by his standards, he’d drank a lot. He smiled despite himself, as the memories came trickling back. He recalled the look on her face when he had arrived at her door. He felt himself harden, despite his hangover, at the recollection of everything that had happened afterwards.

Then, as if he’d been slapped across the face, he started, as the gravity of what he had done hit home. He had taken a serious risk; more so than before. He could so easily have been caught out and just because he hadn’t, that still didn’t mean he had got away with it. And if word got out what he had done, his life wouldn’t be worth living. The consequences were too severe to even consider. All his worst nightmares would come true.

Groaning, he sat up, driving the heels of his hands into his eyes as if to rub the pain away. How could he have been so stupid? He had been reckless and impulsive. Again. He frantically tried to recall every detail of last night. He recalled scraps of conversation that made him sigh. Then, leaning over, he pulled his trousers towards him, spilling the contents of the pockets onto the bed. His wallet and phone were there. That was good. As far as he could tell, he’d not left anything incriminating behind. Only she knew he’d been there, and it wasn’t as if she could say anything.

He smiled to himself, his usual arrogance like a comfort blanket. The smile quickly faded as he glanced at the alarm clock. He cursed the fact he had either failed to set it the night before or had slept right through it. He was late for work. Very late. That would mean Kym would be on his back too. Although compared to what would happen to him if the truth got out, she was the least of his worries.

Andy reached for his phone. He would palm Kym off with some excuse about a stomach bug. He always knew how to talk women round. It wasn’t just his looks that attracted them, but his easy chat and teasing banter. He knew how to charm the ladies and how to keep them wanting more. He practised his poorly voice out loud in his empty bedroom several times, until he was satisfied he had the tone just right. Smiling at his own cunning, he reached for his phone. He had the luck of the devil and could get away with anything.

15

Maya was reading the overnight summary log, which detailed all the incidents which had occurred during the night shift. There had been several assaults, one of which appeared quite serious. The sweltering heat was referred to as Section 18 weather, which was the terminology for grievous bodily harm. Fraying tempers combined with the consumption of too much chilled alcohol resulted in spurts of unpremeditated violence.

Kym marched out of her side office and clapped her hands for attention. ‘Ladies and gentlemen, Andy has just phoned in. He won’t be in today as he’s not well.’

‘Nothing trivial, I hope,’ Elaine muttered. This caused Chris to howl with laughter and earned her a warning look off Kym.

‘In view of the fracas between the two of you the other day I suggest you keep such unhelpful comments to yourself.’ Kym scowled. ‘We don’t want to cause any further animosity, do we?’

Elaine looked suitably chastened and Maya couldn’t help pitying her. Kym was now surveying the duties board to see who was working that day, so she knew how many staff she had to allocate to the day’s incidents. The phone rang and Maya was about to answer it, but Amanda beat her to it, causing her to flick a playful middle finger in Maya’s direction.

‘Did Andy say how long he’d be off for?’ Chris asked Kym.

‘He said he thought it was just a twenty-four-hour thing so hopefully he should be back tomorrow.’ She shrugged, still concentrating on the duties board.

‘Hangover then.’ Nicola smirked.