TOYL

joke.’
    ‘Don’t be silly. The day you lose your ability to make me laugh, I’ll know that life isn’t worth living.’
    ‘So? What are you going to do?’
    ‘Well, I know we can’t just force our way in there. I’ve had enough contact with the police to last me a lifetime – I don’t want to get arrested.’
    ‘How about speaking to Mrs Henderson directly? Maybe she’ll be prepared to speak about what she saw.’
    Emma mused on that possibility. ‘Could be worth a try. Obviously we’d have to wait until Mr Henderson goes out. But even if we do get to talk to her, she might not make much sense. I guess we’d have to hope that we catch her at a good time. But the other problem is that if Mr Henderson found out that we’d spoken to her behind his back he’d go crazy.’
    ‘Worth the risk though,’ Lizzy ventured. ‘After all, what she told the police could get Dan sent to jail.’
    ‘I know,’ Emma acknowledged. ‘You’re right. But it’ll have to wait. Come on,’ she said, heading for the stairs, ‘let’s get this over with.’
    ‘You sure you want to play detective?’ Lizzy asked, as they stood in front of Emma’s apartment door. ‘We can let the police get on with the investigation – they’re used to dealing with things like this.’
    ‘I’ll be okay,’ Emma replied, bringing the key up to the lock.
    But she didn’t feel okay – she felt terrified.
    ‘You don’t know that. Who knows how you’ll react to going back in there so soon after… well, after everything. I’m scared, Em, and I’m not as personally involved as you. You don’t have to pretend that you’re not afraid.’
    Emma turned to her friend.
    ‘I am scared, Lizzy. But I still have to do this.’
    She turned the key and went to push the door, but was stopped as Lizzy grabbed at her top.
    ‘I’ll be right with you,’ Lizzy said. ‘Promise me that if it gets too much, you’ll tell me, and we’ll be out of there right away.’
    ‘Okay,’ Emma said. ‘I promise.’
    Lizzy released her grip and Emma stepped into the apartment, feeling like she was crossing some forbidden threshold. The first thing that struck her was the temperature in the flat – despite it being warm outside, the flat was cool, almost cold. Emma didn’t believe in ghosts, but as she moved into the hallway the thought struck her that this place now had a sinister feel. She could sense unease from Lizzy too – she was sure she was holding her breath. Emma flipped on the hall light switch and glanced down towards the kitchen, which was shrouded in darkness.
    ‘You okay?’ Emma said, turning around to Lizzy.
    Lizzy nodded, but she looked anything but okay.
    They moved towards the lounge, passing the closed bathroom door.
    ‘We won’t go in there,’ Emma said.
    ‘Fine by me.’ Lizzy’s voice was cracking with nerves. ‘If I need to go to the toilet I’ll pee in the sink.’
    As they walked past the door, Emma thought for a moment that she heard a scratching sound from behind – maybe someone clawing at the wood, lying stricken on the floor. But it was just her mind playing cruel tricks, and she tried to push away the irrational thought that Richard was still in there, waiting for someone to save his life.
    The place didn’t feel like her home anymore – it was tainted, and for the first time Emma wondered if she would ever live there again.
    She moved into the lounge, half-expecting to see Dan on the sofa, watching the football, or laughing manically at a repeat of Friends .
    But the sofa was unmanned, the television off. She looked around the room, but it was difficult to see – the only light was leaking through the curtains, which the police must have drawn after they had concluded their investigations.
    ‘Looking for anything in particular?’ Lizzy asked.
    ‘Just checking to see if anything’s missing – something I might have missed when we first spoke to the police.’
    ‘You still think it might have been a burglary?’
    ‘I know I’m clutching at straws,’ Emma said, turning to her friend, ‘but if I do find that something is missing, then it might help to explain what happened.’
    She moved across to the window and threw back the curtains, letting light flood in. The room looked a whole lot better. Again, she scanned the room. All the expensive equipment was where it belonged – the television, DVD, stereo system, video recorder. There was even a crisp ten-pound note on the window ledge, where Emma