Read Online The Caller by Alex Barclay - Free Book Online

dated in college. Is he OK?’ she said.
    ‘Can we come in?’ said Joe.
    ‘I’m sorry. Yes. I’m so rude. Come in.’ She brought them into a neat, open plan apartment with a huge Miró on one wall. She sat down and gestured to the sofa opposite.
    ‘I’m afraid Mr Lowry’s been the victim of a homicide,’ said Joe.
    ‘Oh my God,’ she said. ‘Ethan?’ She shook her head. ‘Oh my God. He’s so … what happened? He’s just so not the type … if that makes any sense.’
    ‘He was murdered in his apartment. We think he may have called you right before it happened. And we need to find out why.’
    ‘God. I don’t know. I mean, I don’t think it would be anything to do with why he was murdered. We don’t even know each other that well any more. Like, I’m not a person he would call if he was in trouble. We’re just not close.’
    ‘When was the last time you spoke with him?’
    ‘A year and a half ago. At my brother’s funeral. It was really sweet of him to come. Ethan was very kind like that.’ She bowed her head. ‘I can’t believe this.’
    ‘What did he say to you when he called?’
    ‘Not a lot. He just called to say hi.’ She shrugged.
    ‘How long were you two dating?’
    ‘Six years.’
    ‘What happened?’
    ‘Nothing major, the usual, we were too young, I was too ambitious, he wanted quiet nights in, I wanted to party. We drifted. It got boring, I guess.’
    ‘And you both moved on.’
    ‘I did more than he did, I guess. But then he met his wife and he got married shortly after.’
    ‘So why do you think he called you the night he died?’
    ‘I have no idea.’
    ‘You have no idea,’ said Joe. ‘Really?’
    She smiled sadly. ‘I’m such a bad liar. The worst. I guess I’m worried … his wife’s just lost her husband …’ She sighed. ‘OK. What I tell you? Does his wife get to hear it?’
    ‘Not necessarily, no,’ said Joe.
    ‘I don’t want to make things worse for her. Even though I haven’t done anything … just, the only weird thing that night was Ethan told me … that he loved me.’
    Joe frowned. ‘What? And you hadn’t seen him in how long? A year and a half?’
    ‘Yeah. He said he was just calling to say he loved me.’
    ‘What did you say to him?’
    ‘I was shocked. I mean, he sounded pretty normal except for what he was actually saying to me. That was it. I didn’t know what to say back. I mean, he’s married, I heard he has a lovely wife and daughter and … I don’t know. I mean, I don’t love him. Didn’t. I said that to him. I said about his wife and that I’d moved on.’ She shrugged. ‘Now I feel terrible. For him. For his wife. I’m guessing she has no idea. Do you think … I mean, he didn’t kill himself or anything?’
    ‘No,’ said Joe. ‘Had he hinted about his feelings when you met at your brother’s funeral?’
    ‘No,’ said Clare. ‘He was really sweet to me. But that’s Ethan, he just is. There was no major interaction between us, no plans to meet up, I didn’t encourage him, nothing.’
    ‘Is there anyone you could think of that had a problem with Ethan? Was he ever in trouble?’
    ‘It was eight years ago when we broke up. But before then, Ethan was, like, normal, just a nice guy. I never saw him even have an argument with anyone. He was low-profile, you know what I mean? He’d be the last person I would think would end up murdered.’
    Rufo was sitting at his desk pressing keys on his cell phone when Danny and Joe walked in. He held up his left hand to silence them. They looked at each other. Joe shrugged. Rufo spent another few minutes focused on the tiny handset. He was smiling to himself. He hit one last key and put the phone down.
    ‘Texting,’ he said. ‘What a great way to communicate. You should check it out.’
    ‘I lived in Ireland, remember?’ said Joe. ‘It’s nearly taken over from drinking.’
    ‘Who were you texting?’ said Danny.
    Rufo looked up at him. ‘None of your business, Markey.