Julian
At first there was silence, followed by gasps of shock all around the room.Murmuring and questions then statements of disbelief.Hudson dropped onto the nearest chair, gripping the armrests for additional support.It took a full minute for what Rav had said to sink in.
“He was found dead in a back alley,” he said numbly, staring between the producer and the two police officers.“Found dead?Do you mean he was killed?Murdered?”
“All lines of enquiry are open at the moment,” one of the cops, a young blond guy with a receding hairline, said.
“If he was found in an alley, then it’s unlikely he dropped down dead of natural causes,” Hudson said.
“We need to speak to everyone here,” the second officer said.“CID will be along soon, but we need to get started with your initial statements.”
“We’re in the middle of rehearsals.”Andie had the good grace to look appalled at her own words as soon as they were out of her mouth.“Sorry.Of course.Yes.”
A long, low moaning sound started behind him, quickly turning into a heartfelt wail.It was Manuella.She sat with her hands raised beside her head, her mouth wide as her anguish poured out.Andie and a couple of the team rushed to her, but she seemed utterly inconsolable.Tears ran down her face and dripped off her chin.Hudson hadn’t realised how close she’d got to Julian.Maybe things had been more serious between them than Julian had let on.
Steven held his phone in a two-handed grip and tapped at the screen with both thumbs.
Rav stood open-mouthed, gawping at the police officers without a sound coming out.Hudson realised he would have to take charge.
“Has anyone told his family yet?”he asked.
“We were hoping you could provide us with their contact information,” the blond cop said.
“Absolutely.”He gestured for Ruth.“You know how to get into the personal files on Andie’s laptop.Pull up Julian’s details right away.”
She nodded, seemingly grateful to have something to do.
“Who knew Mr King the best?”the second cop asked.
“I did, I guess.And Manuella.”
The leading lady was in no condition to give a statement at that moment, so while one cop found out what they needed to know from Ruth, he sat down with the blond officer, PC Jenkinson.Hudson told him everything he knew about Julian.
“We only met a couple of weeks ago, but we hit it off straight away.He’s also understudying my part, so we’ve been helping each other with the lines.Fuck.”It hit him in that moment that Julian was dead, and he wouldn’t do any of that again.No opening night celebrations.No anxious wait for the first reviews.For Julian, there was nothing.“Are yousureit’s him?Could there be a mistake?”
“How likely is it he wouldn’t show up for work?”
“Not at all.”
“There you go then.We haven’t made a positive ID yet, but we’re ninety-nine per cent certain.When did you see him last?”
“Last night, when we finished here.We often go for food afterward.It was nothing special.Just a quick bite at the restaurant downstairs.We left before seven.”
“Did he know anyone else in the city?Someone he could have met with?”
“He had a bit of a thing going with Manuella.They sometimes saw each other on an evening, but I can’t say about last night.He didn’t mention it.”
“Did he ever talk about anyone else?Besides those connected with the play?”
Hudson shrugged.“He never mentioned meeting anyone, so I doubt it.I think the whole cast and creative team are from out of town.None of us are local to the city.”
“Did he ever mention having trouble with anyone?Any issues he was worried about?”
“Julian?Absolutely not.He’s one of the nicest guys I’ve ever worked with.I don’t think you’ll find a single person here with a bad word to say about him.”
He wondered if he should mention his own hate mail, then decided against it.It was his problem and had nothing to do with Julian.Besides, none of it was particularly threatening.It was just creepy shit from some anonymous rando.They were rarely the kind of person to put themselves in the way of any kind of confrontation.
“You can’t seriously think it was someone in this room.Can you tell me anything about what happened?”Hudson asked.“Was it a mugging, mistaken identity?Wrong place, wrong time?”
