One by One by Simon Kernick Read Free Book Online Page B

person to see her alive?’
    â€˜Charlie was,’ said Luke. ‘I left the two of them down in the lounge. That was about half past midnight.’
    Charlie nodded. ‘It’s true. We carried on talking for about another ten minutes or so. I finished my drink before she did and told her I was turning in. She said she’d make her own way to bed, and when I left her she was sitting where you found her.’
    Luke looked puzzled. ‘Why would one of us want to kill her?’ he asked, aiming the question at me.
    â€˜God knows,’ said Charlie.
    I looked at them both. ‘Well, it wasn’t random, was it? Louise was murdered for a reason and it looks like she was taken completely by surprise, before she could cry out. And from the position she was sitting in, she would have been able to see anyone she didn’t know coming through the door, so there’s no way they could have crept up on her. Which means she would have had time to cry out or at least make a break for it, and she didn’t.’ I paused for breath. ‘So I think she knew her killer.’
    When I’d first started speaking, I don’t think I truly believed that one of us had murdered our old university friend, but now that I was laying everything on the line, it was becoming more and more obvious that someone in this room had done it. I looked at each of them, trying to prise out any signs of guilt, but the faces that stared back at me were full of shock, confusion and, of course, fear.
    â€˜And you were the last person to see her alive, Charlie,’ said Marla, glaring at him. ‘You could easily have done it. Louise wouldn’t have stood a chance.’
    Charlie looked exasperated. ‘But why? What would have been the point?’
    â€˜Because it’s one less witness to worry about,’ I said.
    â€˜You organized this whole weekend, Charlie,’ continued Marla. ‘Almost immediately someone ends up dead and, lo and behold, you were the last person to see her alive.’
    We were all looking at him now and he took a step back.
    â€˜If you’re fucking us about, Charlie, and you killed Louise, then you are a dead man,’ said Luke, leaning forward threateningly.
    Charlie cringed away from him. ‘I didn’t do anything, I promise. I invited everyone here to get our stories straight. That’s it. I’m no killer. I’m just a bloody politician.’
    â€˜And someone with a lot to lose as well,’ said Marla. ‘Remember, it was your idea to cover up Rachel’s murder all those years ago.’
    â€˜Hold on,’ said Crispin. ‘We were all involved and we all agreed to the cover-up.’
    â€˜But it was still Charlie’s idea,’ continued Marla. ‘And let’s not forget: one of us in the house that night twenty-one years ago killed Rachel. Now I know I didn’t do it. And I know I didn’t kill Louise tonight. I’m innocent and I’m prepared to stand up in court and say it too because I’ve had enough of this, and there’s no way we can cover up two murders. Let’s call the police, like Karen says. Now. I’m not staying in this place any longer than I have to.’
    Luke cursed. ‘Jesus, what have we got ourselves into?’ He turned to Crispin. ‘What do you think we should do, Cris?’
    â€˜Marla and Karen are right. We’ve got to phone the police. Where’s the phone, Charlie?’
    â€˜In the hall,’ he answered reluctantly.
    â€˜I’ll make the call.’ Crispin walked past him, displaying an authority I hadn’t seen in him before, and disappeared into the hallway.
    I followed him out, watching as he turned on the hall light and located the phone before dialling 999 and putting the handset to his ear. He frowned then looked down at the keypad, pressing more numbers, and I felt a growing sense of dread.
    â€˜What is it?’
    He put down the phone.