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Authors: Kit Tinsley
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small table at the back of the pub. Hidden under the stairs to the dance floor above, it was shaded enough for him to hide and drink himself to oblivion.
He bore Reed no ill will for trying to remove him from the case. If he had been in the Superintendent’s place he would probably have done the same thing, and before now. However, he did not want to leave until that bastard was caught. He had lost his family over the case, he had lost his reputation, and he was sure that he was close to losing his job.
He wondered where the Ripper was at that moment. Was he planning his next crime? Was he committing it? Or was he watching Sam?
'I know you,' a woman's voice said behind him.
He turned to see a very cute woman with black hair standing behind him.
'I don't think so,' he said, before turning around.
'Yes, I do,' she insisted, taking the seat opposite him. 'You're that detective, aren't you?'
'Maybe,' he said, hoping that short answers would make her give up her enquiry. If she didn't, he would have to leave and find another pub.
'Yeah. The one trying to catch the Ripper,' she said, smiling. It made her even prettier.
'Trying and failing, the papers would say.'
The woman laughed.
'I don't really put much faith in what the papers say,' she said. 'Last year our local paper was trying to convince us we had a big cat killing people round here.'
He remembered those stories. The Darton beast they had called it. He wasn't sure, but he thought it had something to do with the death of his old friend Jon Pearce.
'I'm sure you're doing your best,' the woman said. She smiled at him. It was the sort of smile he hadn't seen from a woman in a long time, or at least one he hadn't noticed. She was hitting on him.
'I am,' he said, finishing his drink. 'Can I get you a drink?'
'Rum and coke please.'
Sam walked over to the bar, wondering where this was going.
Julia was sitting in the waiting room in Accident and Emergency. They had said that she could go through, but she did not know whether she wanted to see Steven yet.
She was also aware that doctors made the worst patients. She had no desire to watch Steven be difficult with the people who were trying to help him.
So instead she stayed in the waiting room, pretending to read the celebrity gossip magazine that was at least three years out of date, and reflecting on what had happened.
The flashing light in the bedroom, the clicking sound that had preceded it. The more she thought about it, the more she realised that it had sounded like a camera.
Then there had been the voice before she left. It had sounded as though someone had spoken right next to her ear. There had been no one there. She guessed that it had been her imagination. The traumatic events that had just happened had made her mind go into overdrive.
That prospect was of little comfort to Julia. In some ways, she would have preferred the voice to be real. If it was in her head then that implied she was losing her mind, again.
What if she was? Could she face that again? She didn't think so. It had been too hard last time. Could she expect Steven to stand by her through that again? She didn't want to do that to him. She would not do that to him. What about her career? How long was a major artist’s agent like Fran Winston going to keep her on when she was in and out of the mental hospital? She doubted it would be long. They were friends, yes, but it was a friendship based on a business arrangement.
Who would she have then? She supposed all she would have would be Wendy her best friend, and someone who never judged anyone. Maybe this was because in her early years as a model she had fallen into the eating disorder trap that so many of those girls did. Wendy had been strong enough to pull herself out of that, but knew how easy it was to fall into the traps of mental illness.
Wendy had visited her every other day last time. She had turned down jobs, just to stay close to the hospital. Unlike everyone else, she
He bore Reed no ill will for trying to remove him from the case. If he had been in the Superintendent’s place he would probably have done the same thing, and before now. However, he did not want to leave until that bastard was caught. He had lost his family over the case, he had lost his reputation, and he was sure that he was close to losing his job.
He wondered where the Ripper was at that moment. Was he planning his next crime? Was he committing it? Or was he watching Sam?
'I know you,' a woman's voice said behind him.
He turned to see a very cute woman with black hair standing behind him.
'I don't think so,' he said, before turning around.
'Yes, I do,' she insisted, taking the seat opposite him. 'You're that detective, aren't you?'
'Maybe,' he said, hoping that short answers would make her give up her enquiry. If she didn't, he would have to leave and find another pub.
'Yeah. The one trying to catch the Ripper,' she said, smiling. It made her even prettier.
'Trying and failing, the papers would say.'
The woman laughed.
'I don't really put much faith in what the papers say,' she said. 'Last year our local paper was trying to convince us we had a big cat killing people round here.'
He remembered those stories. The Darton beast they had called it. He wasn't sure, but he thought it had something to do with the death of his old friend Jon Pearce.
'I'm sure you're doing your best,' the woman said. She smiled at him. It was the sort of smile he hadn't seen from a woman in a long time, or at least one he hadn't noticed. She was hitting on him.
'I am,' he said, finishing his drink. 'Can I get you a drink?'
'Rum and coke please.'
Sam walked over to the bar, wondering where this was going.
Julia was sitting in the waiting room in Accident and Emergency. They had said that she could go through, but she did not know whether she wanted to see Steven yet.
She was also aware that doctors made the worst patients. She had no desire to watch Steven be difficult with the people who were trying to help him.
So instead she stayed in the waiting room, pretending to read the celebrity gossip magazine that was at least three years out of date, and reflecting on what had happened.
The flashing light in the bedroom, the clicking sound that had preceded it. The more she thought about it, the more she realised that it had sounded like a camera.
Then there had been the voice before she left. It had sounded as though someone had spoken right next to her ear. There had been no one there. She guessed that it had been her imagination. The traumatic events that had just happened had made her mind go into overdrive.
That prospect was of little comfort to Julia. In some ways, she would have preferred the voice to be real. If it was in her head then that implied she was losing her mind, again.
What if she was? Could she face that again? She didn't think so. It had been too hard last time. Could she expect Steven to stand by her through that again? She didn't want to do that to him. She would not do that to him. What about her career? How long was a major artist’s agent like Fran Winston going to keep her on when she was in and out of the mental hospital? She doubted it would be long. They were friends, yes, but it was a friendship based on a business arrangement.
Who would she have then? She supposed all she would have would be Wendy her best friend, and someone who never judged anyone. Maybe this was because in her early years as a model she had fallen into the eating disorder trap that so many of those girls did. Wendy had been strong enough to pull herself out of that, but knew how easy it was to fall into the traps of mental illness.
Wendy had visited her every other day last time. She had turned down jobs, just to stay close to the hospital. Unlike everyone else, she
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