Page 25 of Beyond the Darkness
“What do you mean?”
“Your rehearsals.The podcasters start sitting in from Monday.Unless Rav has cancelled them, but I can’t see him doing that now everyone is talking about the show.”
Hudson glanced at him, confused.“What are you talking about?Podcasters?”
“Corman Curtis and Amber Payne from theBeyond Blyhampodcast.”
“What about them?”
“They’ll be there next week?”
“Since when?”
Now Luke seemed perplexed.“Since always.I’m pretty sure it was arranged around the time my access was.They’re going to put out two specials covering the last week of rehearsals and the lead-in to opening night.I thought you knew?”
“Motherfuckers,” he muttered.“I’ll kill Rav and Andie when I see them.”
“Then they didn’t tell you?”
“Just like they said nothing about you.If you hadn’t told me the night before, I’d have been as clueless then, too.They’re turning this into a fucking circus.”
“They need publicity.”
“Not anymore, they don’t.There’s isn’t a spare seat to be had for the entire run.”He clenched his fingers.He was getting angry again.None of this was Luke’s fault.It was those two assholes running the production.“Sorry.I don’t mean to take it out on you.”
Luke took a left turn and the road in front of him was suddenly clear.He increased his speed.“I heard about the ticket sales.It’s gruesome but hardly unexpected.People naturally have a morbid curiosity.”
Hudson nodded solemnly.“I meant to say, I read your obituary on Julian.It was fantastic.Very thorough.Thanks for doing that.”
“I’m just sorry I had to write it, but people deserve to be reminded of all the great things he did.It was even picked up by a couple of the national papers.”
Luke stayed quiet a moment as he negotiated a tricky four-lane overpass and suddenly they were out of the city.The sea was visible on the horizon.Hudson hadn’t appreciated how close Blyham was to the coast.
“Julian is the reason I wanted to speak to you,” Luke said.He glanced sideways.“I’ve got some more information on the circumstances of his death.”
“Do I want to hear it?”
“Probably not, but I think you should anyway.”
Hudson tutted.“Come on then.Let’s get it over with.”
“I was speaking to a colleague on the crime desk this morning.He’s been asked not to publicise the info he’s been given.The cops don’t want to sabotage an ongoing investigation, and for the sake of Julian’s family.I didn’t even make the connection myself.Not at first.Not until I saw the crime scene photographs.”
“You saw those?Fuck.I don’t want to see them.”
“You can’t.I was only shown them on a tablet.I don’t have hard copies, but it was enough to freak me out.”
A veil of dread and oppression swirled around Hudson’s head.It seemed to push him down into the car seat.“What did you see?”
Luke paused, taking an audible breath.“You already knew he’d been stabbed, right?He’d been found in the alley, early on Wednesday morning.”
“Sure.And?”
Another long pause.“From the pictures I saw this morning, Julian’s body was arranged in a certain way.A very particular way.And it reminded me of something.Or rather someone.”
“What are you talking about?”
“It reminded me of you.In particular, what happened to you inRed Hills Massacre.Julian was dressed in nothing but a pair of tight white underpants, exactly like you wore in the movie.His body appeared to be arranged in a pose that I’d swear mimics your death scene.The police still haven’t found the rest of his clothes.There’s no trace of them.”
