Keep Your Friends Close

by June Taylor

Karin felt her head beginning to pound, like a wrecking ball bashing against it. ‘I did go back, yes. To the river.’

  ‘What? Are you serious?’

  ‘But only to stand on the bridge. I didn’t go down there, I was too frightened. I just thought about Will for a while and then went home, back to Aaron’s. I got myself an Uber, I was so scared.’

  In that moment, Karin suddenly had a thought.

  ‘Oh my god. We left the restaurant together, didn’t we?’

  ‘What the hell are you implying, Karin?’

  ‘I see what she’s doing now. It’s Louie. She’s playing us off against each other, wants us to fall out, turn against one another. My guess is that she saw us both leaving Swank together, and now she can say that either one of us went down to the river that night. If she wants to.’

  ‘But Louie was at her art exhibition.’

  ‘Not at that time. It was pretty late by then. Aaron could have told her where we’d gone, even shown her where the restaurant was on his way home. She could have hung around until we came out.’

  ‘Spying on us?’

  ‘It’s what she’s been doing.’

  ‘Blimey. So you think it was Louie who killed Will?’

  Karin wanted the pounding to stop but, as yet, was getting very little relief from it. ‘I really don’t think she pushed him. She can’t have done that,’ she said, rubbing her temples. ‘But she could have got Will so drunk that he ended up in the river. Maybe.’

  ‘Fucking hell. So what are you going to do?’

  ‘Nothing.’

  ‘Nothing?’

  ‘Not yet. I can’t yet, Mel. Please, just bear with me on this for a bit longer. I need to get the launch out of the way first. I can’t let the charity down, not when so many people’s lives and futures are depending on that project. I promise I’ll deal with this as soon as that’s over. I promise.’

  ‘But that’s still a week away nearly. You might want to wait that long, but will she?’

  ‘She doesn’t have any choice. I’m not going to let her get to me.’

  Something exploded inside Karin’s head.

  Louie had already got to Will.

  He was dead.

  33

  Louie

  Louie was feeling much brighter since returning to Morecambe. She preferred the sea air to a big polluted city like Leeds any day. But that was not the reason for her overall optimism. The trip had been successful on the whole. Karin had seen her paintings, the two of them had reconnected, and she was sure things would work out the way they were meant to very soon. She just had to be patient and bide her time. Her bank account was bulging, not that she cared about the money, but securing it into her account was also a major triumph.

  The pebble bounced into the waves. One. Two. Three. Then disappeared.

  In nearby Heysham, windsurfers were slicing through big, salty waves. They looked competent enough to know about the strong riptides or the dangers of the mudflats beneath their feet at low tide. That was a fantastic sight, the sea in its retreat all the way back to the horizon, exposing miles and miles of flat, wet sand. The edge. Louie used to call it that as a child. It was heaven; the point where the sea becomes sky.

  Go to the edge, and you never come back.

  This bay.

  With its quirky tides and currents, where often the sea was nowhere to be seen until suddenly it was everywhere, wrapped around you. Caught out again by those watery tentacles. The edge was where she had first met Karin, a shivering silhouette, sinking into her dark muddy grave. ‘Leave me alone,’ Karin had shrieked as Louie battled to wrench her out.

  ‘We have literally two minutes to get to safety,’ Louie yelled at her. ‘You can’t stay here.’

  And Karin had maintained that she knew what she was doing, that it was none of Louie’s business. But as she got considerably more tired, Louie could feel her resisting less and less. Eventually she managed to pull her free and made Karin run as fast as she could before the long sweeping arms of the sea flowed into one, flooding their escape routes. Just a few minutes later and it would have been too late for both of them.

  Maybe that wouldn’t have been so bad, thought Louie, tossing another pebble into the waves. If they had both got sucked under that night, at least they would still be together now.

  Once Louie had got them out of danger, she took Karin back to her place to get warm and give her something to eat. She looked like she hadn’t done that in quite a while. ‘Then you can tell me everything,’ Louie said to her. ‘And if you still want to do this tomorrow, I won’t stop you. I promise. You can drown in peace.’

  It was Karin who had taught her this pebble thing. She threw another one into the sea. There was no shortage on this beach and she began to gather up armfuls. One for each of his eyes, his heart; one for each of his limbs; his neck, eyes, mouth. She would make sure that he never came back. That old bastard, standing in her way.

  Wait for him to come to her.

  Louie had received a text from Karin telling her there was no more money, nor would there ever be, and to leave her alone. That she should stay away from her friends, too. And Aaron. He was withdrawing his offer to help her now. Also her friend Will; she was angry and hurt by his death.

  Louie didn’t respond to the message.

  The repercussions would follow, that was for sure; she just wasn’t certain when or what form it might take. But sooner or later that old bastard would pay.

  Even if she saw him in the next few days, Louie would be ready.

  Back in their bedsit, she ran the blade over the sharpening stone, every so often blowing off tiny metal filings, holding it up to inspect. It had a few nicks and dents taken out of it. Used mostly for forcing limpets off rocks, or cutting through tangled fishing rope, slicing up bits of driftwood.

  Until now.

  34

  Karin

  ‘I’m really sorry about Will,’ said Aaron, kissing her forehead. He had come to meet her the following evening after work and Karin was showing him around. He said he wanted to see how they were getting on with only four clear days to go before the launch. Aaron knew how anxious Karin was, said he was feeling nervous on her behalf.

  It seemed wrong to ignore Will’s room, but Karin was finding that she couldn’t be in it for long. The emptiness was too much. Aaron refrained from commenting on the shocking colour scheme Will had chosen. They stood arm in arm looking out of the window, down the garden at Will’s bench, almost finished now. She had organized a commemorative seat to be built in his name. She supposed they would have to find a replacement for Will at some point, which wouldn’t be difficult given the long waiting list, but for now this was simply Will’s room. At least until after his funeral, whenever that might be possible.

  ‘I just can’t believe he’s not around any more,’ said Karin, pulling away from Aaron to indicate this was quite long enough to be in here.

  ‘I can’t believe he’s gone either,’ said Aaron, as she closed the door.

  She locked up and set the alarm.

  When they were in the car, Aaron continued to say encouraging things about the project, rounding off with: ‘You’ll be ready for Saturday, I’m sure you will.’ She gave him a feeble nod. Karin didn’t think there was any doubt they would be ready but there was an awful lot on her mind besides. ‘I can put in a few hours, if it helps,’ Aaron offered, not understanding.

  How could he understand?

  He leant across to kiss her cheek, and said: ‘Maybe Wednesday, Thursday? There’s a bit of slack in the diary now, thanks to you. Got people off my back.’

  Karin felt quite sick at that reminder. When was the right moment to tell him there wasn’t any money for this now? She had let them get all the way to Chapel Allerton without saying a word. When they pulled up outside an old church that had been converted into offices, she almost choked trying to keep back the tears. This could be her dream home.

  ‘Here we are,’ he said, pulling on the handbrake
. ‘Still want to look around?’

  ‘Erm, no. I don’t need to.’

  ‘You know already? That’s good.’

  ‘I’m afraid I can’t buy it, Aaron.’

  ‘Oh. Well there’s still the Headingley house, if you’d prefer to do that. Needs a bit of TLC though.’

  ‘No, it’s not – I don’t have the money any more. My mother took it all back again, said I didn’t deserve it. I told you she isn’t a nice person. It’s just the sort of thing she’d do. I’m so sorry, Aaron.’

  ‘But – can she even do that?’

  ‘Well it’s her money, not mine.’

  ‘Yes but if it landed in your account, then it’s yours.’

  ‘Actually, it never got there. It was supposed to arrive on my birthday and when I checked with the accountant he said it was going to be sometime this week. But this morning he said that she’s withdrawn the payment altogether. She’s a bitch, I told you that.’

  It had begun to rain. Light spots on the windscreen, becoming watery channels racing down the dusty glass as it got heavier. Karin was feeling that edginess of being trapped in a carwash; she closed her eyes to escape it.

  Aaron started the engine again without saying anything.

  Their mood was pensive on the way home and the rain not helping matters. This could be the end to the dry spell they had been enjoying, blue-sky days and long summer evenings. Most cars had their headlights on as the light had faded early, turning the traffic into a streaky blur and the buildings on this particular stretch into a dull grey. As they got nearer the town centre, Karin’s thoughts were on a young homeless crowd who used to hang out along this route around the Playhouse. She remembered, too, that the rain was a nightmare. Even summer rain. It wasn’t cleansing or refreshing. Just wet, stinky clothes; soggy cardboard beds; leaky tents with penknife slashes; rain seeping through holey shoes; and very little charity from passers-by, who scurried along with their heads bowed under hoods and umbrellas, screwed-up faces screening them against the rain with a good excuse to look the other way.

  Karin also thought of Will.

  Snapping back to the present, she realized the silence had gone on for too long.

  ‘It’ll be okay, Aaron. Won’t it? I mean, we’ll be okay.’

  Aaron slammed on the brakes and swerved into the kerb.

  ‘Aaron!’

  The handbrake made a scraping sound, clawing up a barrier between them, the engine still running.

  ‘Why can’t you just call your mum?’

  ‘What?’

  ‘I don’t mean about the money. I just mean there are so many secrets around you, Karin, I don’t know who the real Karin is. Not really. I thought I did but I absolutely don’t. You’re lucky to still have a mum and it just seems wrong that you don’t even try to have a relationship with her. I respect the fact you fell out and there’s hurt on both sides, but if it were me I’d at least try. You have to start opening up to me, Karin. Otherwise, no, we definitely won’t be okay.’

  He pulled away again.

  ‘Sorry,’ he whispered almost immediately after, and rested his hand on her leg. ‘A good day just turned into a bad one. Not your fault. Don’t worry, I’ll find another solution.’

  ‘It’s me who’s sorry, Aaron.’

  When they arrived back at his place, Karin was racking her brain as to what more she could safely tell him. Perhaps there were things, small things: a few more anecdotes about Birgitta, her dad, even a bit more detail on Louie and what their relationship was actually like. However it only seemed to highlight a situation that was worsening by the day, the list of forbidden topics increasing, with the added uncertainty that Aaron might at some point be the recipient of one of Louie’s notes.

  Would they ever be able to discuss anything without Karin worrying that she was about to let something slip? Her only hope was that once this had all blown over, things would gradually improve. For now it was hard to see when that could possibly be.

  Karin was about to sit down next to Aaron, a bottle of wine and two glasses in her hand, when something made her check her phone first.

  COME HOME NOW.

  MEL

  She made some feeble excuse about Mel not being well, which only deepened the atmosphere already hanging over them.

  Aaron kindly offered to drive her back to Headingley, but Karin insisted on getting a taxi.

  35

  Mel

  Mel heard another car pull up outside and her body tensed. She had been waiting in the lounge for over an hour, endless cups of tea to keep her going until Karin got here.

  ‘Is that you?’ Mel shouted, nervously. She sprang up as soon as she heard the key turn in the lock and hurried into the hallway.

  ‘Put the bolts on,’ she instructed, once Karin was inside.

  ‘Mel, what’s up?’

  ‘Just put the bolts on. Top and bottom.’

  ‘Okay, okay.’

  After Karin had done that, she rushed over to Mel and put her arms round her.

  ‘She says she’s coming for me,’ said Mel, wiping away her tears.

  ‘What?’

  ‘She was here. That fruitcake ex-girlfriend of yours.’

  ‘Louie? Was here?’

  Karin held onto Mel’s shoulders, trying to keep her steady, desperate to get more information out of her. Mel caught a glimpse of herself in the hall mirror; her cheeks were streaked with mascara and she was shaking.

  ‘Calm down and explain what happened,’ said Karin, guiding her to the stairs.

  She perched on the bottom step, leaving room for Karin.

  When Mel still didn’t speak, Karin tried to coax it out of her. ‘Are you sure it was her? Are you sure it was Louie?’

  ‘Of course I’m bloody sure,’ Mel shrieked. Then, more calmly, ‘I thought it was you, that you’d lost your key or something. So I opened the door, and she forced her way in.’

  ‘What did she want?’

  ‘She said she wants a million pounds, even if you have to ask your mother for it.’ Mel handed her another note, letters and numbers cut out from newspapers, similar wording to the last one that had been sent. ‘She-she bloody threatened me, told me all the terrible things she’d do to me. Then when I said I’d call the police, she said she can go to the police any time she likes and say that either one of us killed that homeless freak.’

  ‘That’s what she called him?’

  ‘Fuck’s sake, Karin. Political correctness isn’t the issue here. She threatened to kill me if you don’t pay her the money. Tonight. As much as you’re allowed to transfer electronically, and the rest via the bank tomorrow.’

  Karin stared at her, blankly.

  It was worrying that she didn’t seem to be getting the urgency of this. ‘She’s backed us into a corner, Karin. Wake up, will you?’

  ‘I’m-I’m just trying to make sense of—’

  ‘Well from where I’m looking it seems she’s more in love with your money than with you. Psycho bitch, she terrifies the life out of me. So what’re you going to do?’

  Karin looked down at the note in her hand. After a few seconds she tore it up, in as symbolic a fashion as she had the previous one, screwing the remnants into a tightly packed ball and throwing it at the wall. It exploded on impact, and what was left of it rolled onto the floor like some benign cat toy.

  ‘What the hell did you do that for?’ shouted Mel.

  ‘Because I’ve already done it.’

  ‘Done what?’

  ‘Louie pretty much kidnapped me on Friday afternoon. Made me go to the bank, forced me to transfer the money into her account.’ Karin let out a groaning sound. ‘I just can’t believe she’s doing this.’

  ‘What? So-so how much did you give her?’

  ‘She promised to leave me alone. She promised.’ Karin was digging her nails into her head. ‘How can she possibly want more when she knows damn well I can’t ask my mum for anything. It’s already nearly a million pounds, surely that’s enough.’
>
  ‘What? You fucking gave her all your money? Are you serious, Karin?’

  ‘She left me with five hundred.’ Karin hesitated. ‘Pounds, that is.’

  ‘Well why didn’t you say something?’

  ‘I just don’t get—’

  ‘Crap!’ Mel was on her feet now, pacing up and down in the hallway. ‘Did you honestly think someone like Louie would go away that easily? I thought we were meant to be handling this together.’

  ‘What difference would that have made?’

  ‘She’s trying to kill me! Got rid of Will and now it’s my turn.’

  Mel noticed that Karin was pulling her phone from her pocket. ‘What’re you doing?’

  ‘I’m calling Louie.’

  ‘Wait! We need to think about this first. If you tell her there’s no more money, well then she might do what she says she’s going to do. To me. Or to Aaron. What about him? He’s not safe either. Why can’t you just ask your mother for some more? We’re screwed otherwise, and she terrifies the fucking life out of me.’

  ‘You know I can’t, Mel. Look I’m sorry you’re involved, but I don’t think Louie really means this. It’s still just a game she’s playing. I’ve been thinking about Will too, and she would never do that. He must have drunk those bottles of whisky and then bought some more with the money I gave him. Later he just stumbled into the river. A tragic accident.’

  Mel was laughing. Shaking her head at Karin as she continued to protest Louie’s innocence.

  ‘She wouldn’t kill him, Mel. I know she wouldn’t.’

  Mel produced the evidence from her pocket, dangling it from her fingers. ‘She told me to give you this.’

  Karin stared at the rainbow keyring in Mel’s hand.

  ‘That crazy bitch said she knew it was yours and thought you might like it back.’

  Karin refused to take it. The look on her face was somewhere between horror and revulsion. Mel put it down next to her on the bottom step, where they were still sitting.

  ‘But I just don’t see how,’ Karin began, swallowing her tears as she contemplated it, ‘how would she know that? I only got this keyring a few months ago and it’s only ever been on Will’s set of keys.’