Murder on the Levels by David Hodges

Author:David Hodges [Hodges, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Joffe Books crime mysteries
Published: 2019-05-14T23:00:00+00:00

Kate Hamblin looked like a ghost on the fringes of the light from the standard lamp, her eyes hollow black depressions in a cold white mask that quivered spasmodically. She was right on the edge of reason and Lewis lunged round the armchair to catch her as she suddenly collapsed into his arms.

He carried her across the room and through a door into what turned out to be a bedroom and flicked on the light – one that worked this time – before laying her gently on the bed. She lay there, eyes wide open, lips trembling, trying to speak, but somehow unable to form the words.

‘Thank God you’re safe,’ Lewis gasped, sitting on the bed beside her. ‘For a moment I thought—’

‘Took out the other light bulbs,’ Kate blurted suddenly. ‘Waited for me to come home.’

‘Who is she?’ Lewis asked gently, shuddering as he remembered the battered face, bloodied nose, and the tell-tale scars on the dead girl’s thin white wrists. ‘She looks so much like you.’

Kate’s eyes focused on his face with a peculiar intensity, then abruptly drifted away, staring at the ceiling. ‘My twin, Linda,’ she whispered. ‘Must have come here looking for help and in the dark he thought she was me. Looks like he roughed her up before—’

Lewis patted her hand and stood up. ‘I have to get some help,’ he said. ‘You stay here, OK?’

He went outside on to the landing to make his mobile call to headquarters control room, requesting backup and an ambulance. His voice was shaking as he provided the necessary information and he had only just slipped his mobile back into his pocket and returned to the flat, when he heard a sound and saw Kate standing in the bedroom doorway.

‘No, old girl,’ he said, stepping quickly towards her and guiding her back into the bedroom, ‘you have to lie down. You’ve had a terrible shock.’

To his surprise, she shook her head. ‘No tears, Hayden,’ she whispered and bit her lip in pain, one hand darting to her still badly bruised chest as she began to sway unsteadily in front of him. ‘No tears. Waste of time.’ She stared at him, again with that same intense expression. ‘No love between us,’ she said. ‘Unusual for a twin, isn’t it? Tried to help her to quit, but she was too far gone.’ She hesitated. ‘At peace now.’

He was conscious of the fact that he was gaping at her. This wasn’t the sort of reaction he would have expected from someone who had just found her sister brutally murdered, but it was apparent that the shock was still there and she was dangerously close to collapsing again. Getting a grip on his own emotions, he more or less forced her down into a sitting position on the edge of the bed. Somewhere outside he could hear the distant scream of sirens.

‘Do you think it would have been quick for Linda?’ she asked.

He nodded automatically, feeling tears of his own coming. ‘Yes, old girl.

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