“They could have followed you, for all we know.Seen us argue and decided that was the perfect moment.”
“Oh God, Luke,” he cried.“I’m so sorry.You were only involved in this because of me.”
“Hey.”Luke wiped the tear from his cheek.“Enough of that.The only reason they came after me, the reason Rav and Julian are dead, is because Amber and Corman are fucking psychopaths.No victim blaming.If we’re blaming anyone, it’s those two sick fuckers.”
* * * *
The doctor came around half an hour later and gave Hudson a thorough examination.He declared he was fit to be discharged.There was no treatment for the broken coccyx other than painkillers and time.“Like a broken rib, it will get better on its own,” he explained.“Sleep on your belly and take it easy for a few weeks.Try not to sit for long periods and take over-the-counter pain meds.This bone can take a long time to heal, several months, and you don’t want to do anything that’s going to aggravate it or set you back.”
Luke had gone to Hudson’s apartment to collect some clothes for his discharge, and he was alone when the police arrived.DS Coppola and DS Peters—Luke’s ex-husband, Kris.
“You’d think the King was up here,” Kris remarked as they entered.
“Huh?”
“Press,” Benito explained.“Downstairs is swarming with them.”
“Shit.I hadn’t even thought of that.”
“Can’t blame them.It’s quite the story.Local podcasters murder your understudy then come after you in a bizarre tribute to one of your movies.”Benito raised his hands wide.“They’re going bonkers for it.”
“They murdered Rav, too,” Hudson said.“I’m pretty sure it was Corman who did that, though I didn’t see because of the mask.”
“Don’t worry, we’ve already checked out their apartments.We know they did it.”Benito’s eyes crinkled sympathetically.“Why don’t you have a seat?We need to ask you a few questions and then we’ll tell you what we know already.”
“I’d rather stand,” Hudson said, pointing to his backside.
“Oh course, sure.Sorry.”
Hudson moved over to the window, steadying himself with a hand on the sill.Outside the sky was a perfect blue, clear and serene.A stark contrast to the madness of the last twelve hours.He was lost for a few seconds, before snapping himself back to the present.He took a deep breath and turned to face the detectives.“Where do you want me to start?”
He gave a thorough account of the day, from Amber and Corman trying to suggest Luke had something to do with Julian’s death, to the phone call that had drawn him and Rav to the house at the coast, and the horror that unfolded from there.He was surprised by how calmly he spoke, and how much detail he was able to recall.
“One of them jumped us as soon as we arrived.Rav didn’t stand a chance.”
“Had you ever heard from either of them before they turned up at the rehearsal rooms?”
“Not that I’m aware of.I didn’t know them or their podcast.”
“It looks like we’ve been laying the blame for your hate mail at the wrong door,” Benito said.“We don’t think Robbie Wiseman sent you those letters.They were all from Amber and Corman.”
He nodded numbly.It made sense.He hadn’t had any interaction with Robbie for months before coming here.The stalking order had seemed to be working and had kept him away from Hudson.He assumed the recent press coverage had been too great for Robbie to resist and that’s what had brought him to Blyham, rather than to deliver letters to the theatre.
“We need to go through all of their equipment, but from what we’ve found so far, Amber and Corman have had an unhealthy interest in you going back a long way.”
“Especially that slasher film you did,” Kris added.“They’ve got props and posters.All kind of replica masks of the killer.They were obsessed with it.”
“What about Corman?How is he?”
“He’ll live,” Benito said.“He’s awake, though he’s not talking yet.Probably doesn’t know what to do without his partner in crime.They were very much in it together.Not sure how well he functions alone.”
“Have you found any evidence that they killed Julian?”
“There’s a lot to go through, but we will.It looks like they were big on collecting souvenirs of what they did.”
It was becoming too much for him to take in.“What about Luke?Amber?”
“It’s not up to us.It’s a decision for the prosecution service, but I can’t see that it’s in anyone’s interest to charge him.It was self-defence.And no jury is ever going to find him guilty once the full picture is established.”
