Page 46 of Beyond the Darkness
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.”
