Page 36 of Beyond the Darkness
“Yep,” Luke said.“Just about hanging onto the job, but yes, he’s a copper.”
They had returned to bed.It had just gone eight o’clock.Hudson lay on his back with Luke’s head resting on his shoulder, his arm draped across his chest.Luke hadn’t spoken for several minutes after Kris had left.He’d gone to the kitchen and drank a glass of water, before taking Hudson’s hand and leading him back upstairs.This was a wholly different side of Luke than he had seen before.Vulnerable, lacking in confidence.Whatever had happened between those two men in the past, the scars ran deep.
The curtains stirred with a light sea breeze, but the room was warm.They had pulled a sheet to their waists, leaving their chests exposed.
“I take it he wasn’t always like that.”
“Not at all.When we first got together, he was funny and light-hearted.A real cheeky chappy sort who could always make me laugh.I met him when I was covering a story.Environmental campaigners staged a protest at a gallery in the city.They threw cans of tomato soup over several of the art works.Kris was one of the first police officers at the scene and I interviewed him for the paper afterwards.He was so charming, with these blue twinkling eyes.I was quite bowled over.”
Hudson ran a reassuring hand along Luke’s arm.He waited for him to continue, not wanting to force the story out of him if he didn’t want to tell it.Seagulls squawked in the distance.
“It was great in the beginning.I’ve never met anyone quite like him.He even came to the theatre with me and pretended to be interested when he was clearly bored out of his mind.I should have realised then how easy it was for him to become someone he wasn’t when it suited him.He proposed on my birthday.We went on a trip to London, saw a matinee in the afternoon, then went for dinner at a restaurant in The Shard.He got on his knee and asked the question in front of all the other diners.”
Making it almost impossible for you to refuse.Hudson kept the thought to himself.
Luke stretched and rolled onto his back, staring at the ceiling.His hands were clasped over his abdomen.“It seemed like he changed the moment the ceremony was over.We went to Barcelona for our honeymoon, and he started an argument on the plane with a group of lads who were on a stag party.I managed to calm him down before it got out of hand.I seriously thought we were going to be arrested when we landed.It put him in a foul mood for the rest of the day and I ended up eating alone that first night of the trip.Great start, eh?”
“Was he drunk?”
“Pissed as a fart.He told me he was nervous about flying and I bought it.I must have been blind with love because all the signs that he was a secret drinker were there from the start.I stupidly thought he was one of those men who get drunk on just one or two beers, without picking up on the fact that he would knock off a couple of shots each time he went to the bar.But that was really just the honeymoon period.Once we settled into normal life, he made little effort to hide it from me.He would start drinking after breakfast on his days off.Hit the vodka as soon as his shift was over when he was working.”
Hudson rolled onto his side to look at him.His put his hand on top of Luke’s.“That can’t have been easy.”
He sighed.“I told myself he had a high-pressured job.He needed the booze to relax.If I ever mentioned it, he’d say all the cops on the force were drinkers, and he didn’t have a problem.It’s pathetic really, the things we’re prepared to believe.”
“It’s natural.He was your husband.Of course you were going to support him.”
“I stopped inviting him to the events I was attending because I knew he’d get drunk and embarrass me.”
“Again, not your fault.”
He frowned.“I’m certain I could have done more to help him, to get him support in those early days, but I’d already begun to pull away.And that only made things worse.Kris became jealous and controlling.Every day was a barrage of questions—where was I going?Who would be there?Why did I stay so late?And he was angry all the time.I couldn’t do anything to please him.”
“Is that what brought things to an end?”
He shook his head.“No.I might even still be married to the arsehole if things hadn’t reached a head in the way they did.I was having a drink and some food with a colleague before we went to review a new show.Kris wasn’t invited.He was supposed to be working anyway.But he turned up at the restaurant and made a huge scene.Accused us of having an affair.Which was ludicrous.Dean was straight and had a new girlfriend each time I spoke to him.We managed to get Kris outside, before we were thrown out, but he just became more and more irate.Nothing I could say would calm him down.Then he punched Dean right in the face.”
“Shit.”
“Exactly.That was the final straw.It made me see sense at last.”
“Did he ever hit you?”
“No.It was more of an emotional violence that he used against me.But I couldn’t take any more.He fought against the divorce with all he had.The only reason he eventually went along with it was because Dean agreed not to press charges against him.It would have been the end of Kris’ career in the police and that’s all he really has.None of his family speak to him.Another red flag I missed at the start.”
“So, what was that about this morning?”
“He might have signed the divorce papers but, as far as he’s concerned, it’s a temporary arrangement.For whatever reason, he thinks we’ll get back together eventually.I don’t know why.I haven’t given him a single hint that could be a possibility.”
“I heard you say he smelled of drink earlier.That’s still a problem?”
“It appears so.He might have been telling the truth, and it was a residual stink from last night, but he’d still be well over the limit to drive.I should have called it in.Though, with buddies like Benito on the force, it’s questionable how far that would go.”
“Benito told him about us?”
“How else did he know you were here?”
“The fucker.”
