Weapon of Choice
Chapter 36: The Sense of an Ending
Sorry that it has been FOREVER since I last updated! I wrote the opening part of this chapter weeks ago but I've been sick recently so I've had some time to think about this story and finally got some more writing done. We're almost at the end. I was hoping to wrap it up this chapter, but I didn't want to make it too long. Thanks to everyone who has read, reviewed and stuck around for this story, which has become a monster and taken on a life of its own. I never would've gotten this far with it if it wasn't for you! Anyway, hope you enjoy! xxx
The bar began to empty, patrons paying their bills and putting on their coats. Smithy remained, nursing a beer and refusing to leave until he saw Kerry again. He had been sitting in the bar for almost an hour when he became aware that he was now the only customer. The bartender who had served him remained, as did a girl in her late teens who was washing and drying glasses, but neither of them paid him any attention. It seemed odd to Smithy that the bar should be so empty at this time on a Saturday night but supposed that the other customers had moved on to clubs instead.
He wondered how long he should wait before he began really, legitimately worried about Kerry. He knew that trusting Louis was a mistake; he could feel it. The only sounds in the bar now were the clinking of glasses as the barmaid set them down on the draining board and the bartender counting up the takings. Music played but it was barely audible in the background, so when the door opened it caught Smithy's attention immediately. He looked up from his nearly empty glass with curiosity, his expression turning into one of shock when he saw who had entered. It could not be a coincidence that Black had just walked into this bar.
Headlights and the sound of a car engine outside drew Louis towards the window. He didn't know what made him aware, but he felt a sense of apprehension. Kerry had followed his progress to the window with her eyes, but when a curse dropped from his lips, she got up to join him. A sleek black car had pulled up outside, paying no heed to the double yellow lines parked in the road, It was not the car itself that had provoked this response from Louis, it was the man climbing out of the passenger seat; Grant Black.
"You'd better stay up here," Louis said, pushing her away from the window.
Kerry agreed, she was not yet ready for another encounter with the man. It was then that her mobile phone vibrated in her hip pocket. The only person who knew this number was Smithy. She read the text message he had sent her, and even in the dim lighting of the room, Louis could read the horror in Kerry's expression.
"What's wrong?"
"My husband; he's downstairs."
Before Louis could stop her, Kerry was running down the steps and back into the bar.
Smithy tried to turn away and covertly type another text message to Kerry, but before he could compose it he saw her coming down the steps that joined the bar and the rooms above. He wanted to rush to her and hug her, but there was too much going on. Not only had Grant entered the bar, he had Jasmine and Joe with him too.
Kerry tried to make eye contact with Joe, but he refused to even look in her direction. He seemed to have chosen his side, even after Cameron's attempts to help him to do the right thing. Kerry was disappointed but not really surprised. She moved to stand beside Smithy, taking his hand and holding it tightly. She felt him squeeze back and she knew they would be okay as long as they were together. Grant Black could torture them; could even kill them but there was nothing he could do that would destroy the love they shared.
Louis had remained upstairs and she was glad for that. Even if the current situation was evidence to the contrary, she did not believe him to be involved. He had saved her once, now it was her turn to do the same.
"Nice to see you both," Grant picked up the glass of whiskey that had been placed before him on the bar without his needing to even place an order. "Mr and Mrs Jones," He sipped his drink, the ice cubes rattling together in the glass. "But, you're not really married, are you? And those aren't your real names, are they?" He didn't wait for them to speak, and anyway his questions had been rhetorical. "It seems that this one," He indicated Joe. "Is useful for more than just screwing my teenage daughter," Grant clapped the younger man on the shoulder in an almost friendly manner. "He told me all about his new friend Cameron and how he was a police officer, offering Joey a way out. I did a little digging, and you know what? There aren't very many coppers in London called Cameron, even less of them are Australian. I think you can probably guess what else I learned."
"Tell me one thing," Kerry was pleased to find her voice steadier than she had expected. Her gaze moved from Black to his daughter. "Who killed Kathryn Walker?"
Jasmine smiled briefly. "I think you know the answer to that; I think you've always known."
"But why, Jasmine?"
"She knew," She looked at Joe with something close to fondness. "She knew about us and she threatened to go to the Headmaster. I couldn't let her do that. It was supposed to be a warning, she wasn't supposed to die." Jasmine shrugged it off, as if this part was Kathryn's fault not her own.
Kerry was far more shocked that Jasmine had committed such an act of violence to protect Joe rather than the fact that she had caused the death of another teenage girl.
"For Joe?"
She paused a moment before replying. "If it makes you happier to believe, then yes, I did it for Joe."
Kerry tried to make eye contact with Joe again, but this time he was smiling at Jasmine. Poor deluded fool, Kerry thought, realising not for the first time that there were some people who just did not want to be helped. Feeling sick to her stomach, Kerry reached for Smithy's hand again. She hoped they would both cheat death just one more time, so that they would finally be able to give Kathryn's grieving parents at least some sense of closure.