Chapter 17

Full House

When the doorbell sounded at a little after 3:00pm, he cursed bitterly.

He debated with himself whether or not to ignore it but then decided that if it was a friend or a work colleague they would know Dempsey must be at home. Still, it didn't matter, he'd just tell whoever it was that he was resting. That had worked with Harry Makepeace – up to a point. She'd come back though, hadn't she, insisted on seeing him even though he was asleep and then had the nerve to tell him she was going to organise a doctor's visit tomorrow – like he wasn't coping!

But by tomorrow it would all be over, even if he had to force-feed them the stuff neat. And then he'd be on the next plane out of this God-forsaken country and free to go back to his old life.

He'd told that prissy miss he'd call her by mid-day to let her know how Jimmy was doing although he knew beyond doubt she'd go right ahead and arrange for that doctor to come by no matter what. Just so long as he was on a plane before that happened, everything would be cool.

He wondered fleetingly if at this stage there was really any point getting them cleaned up and made presentable. Nobody else was going to get to see them now so it hardly mattered. Funny but the thought of having to go back in there himself to administer the final doses was quite distasteful. They were dying things, slowly deteriorating, growing weaker as they faded out of existence. He was pleased he'd thought to open the window; not only would the cold finish them off quicker but it alleviated the smell that had become so offensive. Unwashed bodies, vomit, sweat and saliva and now that ugly, metallic tang of blood. And if he wasn't mistaken, she'd gone and pissed herself too.

It was all too hideous!

He sighed inwardly at the sight of Harry Makepeace outside the door.

He didn't speak, just stood waiting, his half-finished cup of coffee in hand, for her to give her stupid, pathetic reasons for coming back.

They were the same, she and them, nasty little tricksters, pretending all the time, fooling you into thinking what they wanted you to believe. They weren't even honest with each other! Jimmy wanted Harry Makepeace and the way she kept coming around here, it looked like she wanted him right back. It was unbelievable – with his wife right here!

Greg felt suddenly confused. Jimmy and Toni weren't really married. They weren't the Richmonds – that was the point, they'd just pretended to be the Richmonds to get close to Uncle Leo – to kill him.

And now Makepeace was back and if he wasn't careful, she would try to stop him getting the revenge Uncle Leo and Aunt Helen so richly deserved.

He laughed lightly.

"You know, baby-girl, I'm startin' to think you maybe should move in here."

She laughed along with him. "I know, I'm sorry Greg but I've been thinking about it and I just couldn't get it out of my head that they should be seen by a doctor sooner rather than later so I've arranged for my doctor to call in before his surgery starts."

She made a face. "I hope you don't mind."

Greg was thinking fast. He wasn't about to let her ruin everything now… because she would, if he allowed her to have her way.

"Hey, that's great!" he enthused. "Did you have to pull strings? I heard your National Health Service has waiting lists for everything."

"Well, actually, Doctor Herman works privately. I don't have a clue who Dempsey's doctor is I'm afraid."

Rather than going straight into the lounge ahead of him, Harry hovered in the doorway, removing her scarf and gloves and then taking off her coat so that Greg was obliged to stand to one side and let go of the door.

When she was ready, the coat slung across her arm and the scarf and gloves in her hands, she moved in to the right, turning about to shut the door herself. The outer lays she was carrying hid the fact that she had pushed the catch up on the lock, giving herself a quick exit or unrestricted entry for others.

"Something smells nice," she smiled, working to distract him from her sleight of hand.

"I make a mean lasagne. I would of saved some for you if I'd of known you'd be back so soon."

Makepeace halted at the door to the lounge.

"They're awake now then?

She turned on her heel as she said, "I'd better let them know to expect Doctor Herman, he should be arriving within the hour."

Now certain in his mind as to how he would defeat Harry's plans, he said casually, "Sure, you go right on in."

The first thing that struck Harry upon entering Dempsey's bedroom was the extreme cold.

The second thing that struck her was Greg - from behind with the heavy pottery mug he'd been holding.

He was surprised how easily she went down. He'd half imagined her to turn around and ask what the hell he thought he was doing, had pictured himself battering her into submission, screams, blood, a struggle. But no, Harry Makepeace slid gracefully to the floor and conveniently remained unconscious the whole time he spend rummaging through Dempsey's drawers looking for something with which to tie her up.

All he found that seemed suitable were neckties and even then, Jimmy only seemed to possess three of them.

After binding her wrists and ankles and then gagging her mouth, he went through the contents of her handbag where, as expected, a small handgun was tucked away.

She would have murdered him, he had no doubt about that, that was what she was here for, protection for the Richmonds.

He liked the gun, it gave him a feeling of security.

Too late, he also discovered a set of regulation handcuffs in the bag. Not that it mattered now because she was trussed up pretty good and totally out of it.

He looked down at her, lying at his feet. But what was he going to do when she came round? Or was that if she came round? She wasn't dead but what if he'd hit her hard enough to cause a brain haemorrhage - how hard did it have to be? Supposing she didn't die but had some kind of brain damage? It made him feel ill.

He looked at the little gun he still held.

If she didn't die then he would have no choice but to shoot her. But that brought another set of problems. Guns were loud and drew attention. There were the neighbours in the apartment block to consider. He couldn't do anything as hands-on as strangulation or suffocation that was for sure. So yes, he would just have to shoot her and he would have to do it tonight because he couldn't bear the thought of returning to this room repeatedly throughout the night to check up on her.

He would make them watch!

This creative idea both pleased and impressed him. He knew how much she meant to Jimmy and seeing her die right in front of his eyes would make for a beautifully poignant and fitting end.

"Andrew."

The unexpected voice made him lift his head abruptly. And then it registered that he had just heard his own name being spoken.

Toni stirred in the bed. "…remember you…" she wheezed.

"You do? I'm glad about that, baby-girl. I've changed a lot, huh?" He touched his fingertips to his spiky bleach-blond hair. "Used to have that wavy brown hair, remember that?"

"But… we're friends…"

He took a few steps closer, the gun aimed towards her teasingly but deep down, he realised that he was warding her off, afraid that like a horror movie corpse, she would suddenly rise up and rip out his throat.

"Greg was your friend, Toni, not me. Greg reeled you in and set you up. He helped me find the Richmonds and now he's gonna help me get rid of them."

Toni shook her head. "No… we're friends." Her voice was barely above a whisper.

"I spent six months gettin' to know you and makin' you like me. It was easy, considering what we got in common, huh… Mrs Richmond. I saw you buyin' shoes in a shopping mall one day and I realised then how much I still hated you – after nearly eight years, I still had this burnin' hatred for both of you."

He eyed Dempsey, wondering if he could hear but he still hadn't come round.

"Only now I was in a position to do somethin' about it."

Toni's eyes were unfocussed. Was she even listening to what he was telling her? He pressed the gun into her left forearm and for a moment, her eyes opened wide.

"So I followed you. Tailed you for almost three hours all over the mall and finally back to your apartment. By the time I got home, I knew I couldn't just let you go. See, it was like I'd been given a chance to put things right – payback time, honey," he said in a jokey tone. "I didn't even have a plan when I moved into your area but it all just seemed to fall into place, didn't it? We clicked and it was so easy to get you thinkin' 'bout him," he waved the gun in Dempsey's direction. "Leading questions, plantin' those little memory triggers... In the end you got to wonderin' why you'd never got back in touch with him before, right?

The vacation to Europe had been his idea of course and Toni assumed that catching up with Dempsey had been hers. He still hadn't known how he wanted to hurt them at that point but the opportunity to have them both together was far too good to miss.

Toni lifted a trembling hand, causing Greg to back away.

"Don't do this, Andrew…"

Greg smiled. "Too late, sweetie, it's done."

He could see his breath condensing in the freezing cold air and he shivered.

"Gonna leave you alone for a while now."

He moved away to the bedroom door.

"Course, when I say 'alone', you got Jimmy. And I left you some female company. Did you see?"

Greg nodded towards Harry's prone body.

"Don't say I never do nothin' for you, baby-girl," and he winked.

It was a relief to get out of there. Damned room stank of death and it was starting to depress him.

Okay, so it probably isn't zipping along at the speed you'd like but I'm half way through writing the next chapter and it does get better, I promise #togetheragain