Page 13 of Beyond the Darkness
“I’m not at liberty to say at the moment, sir.But as soon as my CID colleagues arrive, I’m sure they’ll have further information for you.”
They did not have to wait for the investigation team to arrive to find out more.Luke was already one step ahead.When the police moved on to interview other members of the cast, Luke approached Hudson, Rav and Andie.He had his phone in his hand.
“It’s not my department, but I have friends at the paper who are already on the case.Nothing official yet, but they’ve managed to talk to people who were on the scene first.A delivery driver found a body in an alley on the other side of the river around six a.m.”
“Shit,” Hudson said.
“The guy got a mighty fright.From what I hear, it was no accident.The body was in quite a state when he was discovered.”
“What does that mean?”Andie asked.
Luke lowered his voice further.“They’re saying there were stab wounds.The body was badly mutilated and there was blood all over the alley.”
Hudson’s head was light again.This sounded more like something from one of his shitty old horror films than reality.
“And it’s definitely Julian?”he asked.
“I’ve no idea,” Luke said.He pointed at the two police officers.“But the fact they’re here must mean they think so.”
“I don’t get it,” Rav said.“Who would want to attack Julian?And so brutally.”
Luke grimaced.“It’s clear none of you are too familiar with Blyham.This hasn’t been the safest city to live in for some time.Wandering around after dark is not recommended, especially to someone on their own.”
“So, what are you saying?”Hudson asked.“Could it be a street robbery gone wrong?”
Luke spread his hands and shrugged.“I couldn’t hazard a guess right now.If you do a search of the crime rate here for the last two years, you’ll see exactly what I mean.Blyham might be a small city, but it’s got problems as severe as any capital.”
* * * *
The police didn’t want anyone to leave until the CID officers had interviewed them.Manuella was now hysterical, being comforted by several of the team.At a loss for anything else to do, Hudson and Luke returned to the coffee shop.He’d told Andie to call them if the cops arrived before they got back.Luke kept checking the messages on his phone, but he had nothing new to report.
They sat together at a table towards the rear.The last thing Hudson wanted now was to get recognised and have to answer questions.
“How long do you think it will be before the press realise who has been killed and turn up here?”
“I haven’t mentioned it to anyone at the paper,” Luke said defensively, “if that’s what you’re getting at.”
“I’m not,” Hudson said wearily.He couldn’t blame Luke for being wary after the way he’d behaved.“I just…need to prepare myself for the worst.”
Luke put his elbows on the table and leant forward a little.He pursed his lips before speaking.“Why do you have so much hate for the media?”
“I thought you said you’d done a lot of research.You don’t have to Google me for long to understand why.”
“Is it because of when you came out?I wasn’t following at the time, but it seemed to get a lot attention, especially in the States.”
“I didn’t come out.I was outed.Thrown to the wolves, in fact, to save someone else’s career.”
“I’m sorry.I can’t believe that still goes on.”
Hudson shrugged.“It’s a while ago.A different era.I don’t want to talk about it now.Can we change the subject?”
Luke nodded.His dark brown eyes were deep and warm.The more Hudson looked at him, the more incredibly attractive he became.Those eyes, the fine, straight nose, that wide mouth.
“Does Julian have any family?”Luke asked.
“He’s single right now, apart from whatever was blossoming between him and Manuella.I don’t know if he’s been married before or whether there are any kids.He was in his mid-thirties, so if there are kids, they’ll be pretty young.He told me his parents have a family-run restaurant.Whenever the acting work ran dry, he would help out there.”
Luke sighed.“They’ll be receiving the knock at the door that no one ever wants to receive.”
