Who Wants to Live Forever? by Steve Wilson Read Free Book Online

2011
    He put the phone down and smirked. That had told them. It would serve them all right if the entire thing was cancelled. Who did they think they were, treating him like that? He had rights, and he knew it. Without him and Emma, the whole thing would have floundered anyway.
    Then he stopped for a moment and thought. Perhaps there was more to be gained from this than he’d considered? There were some rich pickings to be had if he played his cards right. He had listened while those old fools had told everybody their life history;
she
, in particular, was almost falling over herself to show how large her bank balance was.
    He made his decision.
He
deserved some of that wealth, and he knew how to get it. Emma had already defied him once, telling him she
wasn’t
going to quit the course whatever he said. Perhaps he’d let her continue with it after all. She would be pliable now, and he could force her to ingratiate herself with
her
. He couldn’t do it, of course; he wouldn’t lower himself. But she had no say in the matter.
    His smirk became a large grin as he began to count the riches that would soon be coming his way. Enrolling on this course wasn’t turning out to be a bad idea after all.

Chapter Four
    Week 3 — Ormskirk — Bludgeoning
    Tuesday 4 th October 2011
    I thought about Debbie and Trish constantly over the next week. I also had plenty of time to think about the course itself. I had read the handout from cover to cover, and, although it didn’t shed any more light onto the question of who really killed Enid Rodgers, it intensified my keenness to find out more. I was tempted to go to the reference library and see what details they had about the murder, but I resisted the urge; I felt that I would get more enjoyment by listening to Louise as she revealed the answer.
    I arrived early, with only Debbie there before me. As the clock ticked towards seven first Gail and then Trish arrived, but there was no sign of either Mike or Emma. Louise walked in at just after seven and sat on the edge of the front desk. “I’ve had a phone call this week — or rather the department has had a phone call — complaining about this course.”
    The four of us looked at each other blankly.
    “No, it wasn’t from any of you. It was from Mike, no doubt backed by Emma. Anyway, the end result is that they are no longer in this class.”
    I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach. Not really wanting to hear the answer, I asked the question anyway: “Does this mean the course is cancelled due to insufficient numbers?”
    “Of course not.” Louise laughed. “They’ve paid for the course — well, she paid the full amount, he only paid the reduced rate — but I’d already made the department aware of his rudeness, and they backed me to the hilt. If he hadn’t decided to quit, I think he might have been asked to leave anyway, although I suppose in that case the class might have had to close. Anyway, that didn’t happen, so let’s crack on. I think the five of us are going to get on just fine together.”
    No sooner had Louise finished speaking than the door opened, and in walked Emma. We all looked at her, agape, but she either ignored us or didn’t seem to notice as she sat down and took out her notepad.
    “I thought you had decided to leave the course,” said Louise, the note of challenge evident in her voice.
    Emma’s response came as a surprise to all of us. “
I
didn’t, Louise. I know
he
rang in to complain, but that was nothing to do with me. He said I had to drop out as well, and that’s when I finally decided to stand up for myself.” As she spoke she brought her hand up to her face, then, as if she’d realised what she’d done, she quickly lowered it again. I looked at her eyes, and they were red and puffy underneath the make-up that was attempting to mask the discolouration. Had she been crying? “So here I am…if that’s okay?”
    I wondered if I’d been wrong in my assessment of her. For the first