Looking Good Dead

must not tell the police – they will know if you do.”’
    ‘Who are “they”?’
    ‘I don’t know,’ he said, feeling so utterly helpless.
    Willingham pulled out his digital radio. Tom immediately clamped his hand over it. ‘NO!’
    There was a long silence between them. Several more emails came in and the junk filter deleted them. Tom checked the folders. Nothing.
    Finally, Willingham said, ‘I think I should file a report on this.’
    ‘No!’ Tom snapped back.
    ‘It will be secure, sir; I will only file it on the police system.’
    ‘NO!’
    Taken aback by the man’s vehemence, the constable raised his hands. ‘OK, sir, no problem.’ He grimaced. ‘How about I make a cup of tea for us both – or a coffee – and we have a think about what to do next?’
    ‘Coffee,’ Tom said. ‘Coffee would be good, thank you. Black, no sugar.’
    The constable left the room. Tom continued to stare at the screen; his entire life lay somewhere beyond its horizon.
    A new email came in. It was from [email protected]. Instantly, he clicked on it.

    Congratulations, Tom! You are cottoning on fast! Now get out of the house, take Kellie’s car, head north on the A23 London Road and wait for her to call you. I don’t like you ignoring my instructions not to talk to the police. If you say one word, just ONE word to your new best friend, your rookie cop housekeeper, then my friend you will never see your wife alive again. Don’t attempt to reply to this email. And don’t bother searching for the hidden camera – you are looking at it.

65
    Cleo smiled at him, her face so gentle and beautiful in the glow of the candlelight. Mellow jazz was playing in the background. Roy Grace could feel her warm, sweet breath on his face, saw strands of her tousled hair on her cheeks.
    ‘That wasn’t bad,’ she whispered.
    ‘For a copper?’
    She gave him a playful punch. Then she cupped his face in her hands and kissed him on the mouth. The bed felt so comfortable, Cleo felt so comfortable, so good to be with, as if he had known her for years, as if they were the bestest-ever mates in all the world.
    He caressed her skin, a deep warm glow inside him; he felt utterly, sublimely at peace. He was, for this fleeting moment at least, in a space he never believed he could ever find again in his life. Then he remembered his phone ringing earlier, the beep of a message which he had ignored and should not have, and he looked at the clock, emitting weak blue light, on the bedside table.
    1.15 a.m.
    Shit!
    He rolled over, groped on the floor, found his phone and pulled it to his ear, hitting the message retrieval button.
    It was Glenn, telling him to call if he picked the message up before midnight, otherwise to wait until the morning. He put the phone back down, relieved.
    ‘I’m glad you came over,’ Cleo murmured.
    ‘It was the lure of Glenfiddich, that was all. Can’t resist it.’
    ‘So you really are that shallow, are you, Detective Superintendent Roy Grace?’ she teased. ‘Anything for a free drink?’
    ‘Uh huh. And maybe I was just a tiny bit curious about your fiancé. How shallow does that make me?’ He took a sharp breath as she suddenly cupped his balls in her hands.

    ‘Do you know what they say, Detective Superintendent?’ She squeezed gently.
    Gasping with pleasure – and just a tiny bit of pain – he said, ‘What do they say?’
    ‘When you have a man’s balls in your hands, his heart and mind will follow.’
    He exhaled sharply, deliciously, as she released the pressure a tiny bit. ‘So talk me through your plans for the rest of the night?’ he whispered.
    She increased the pressure, then kissed him again. ‘You’re not in a very good position to negotiate, whatever my plans are!’
    ‘Who’s negotiating?’
    ‘You think you are!’ She removed her hands, rolled out of the bed and padded across the room. He watched her slender, naked body, her long legs, her firm, round, pale and gorgeous bum disappear through the doorway. Then he put his arms behind his head and lay back against a soft, deep, down pillow. ‘Plenty of ice!’ he called out.
    She returned a few minutes later with two rattling glass tumblers, and handed one to him. Climbing back into bed beside him she raised her glass and clinked it against his. With a toss of her head she said, ‘Cheers, big ears. Here goes, nose. Up your bum, chum!’ Then she downed half her glass.
    He raised his glass. ‘Cheers, big ears!’ he