‘You’re sweet.’ Pat’s hand found his, her fingers intertwining with his own.
The Embalmer allowed his thumb to stroke the back of her hand, a gesture he’d calculated to seem both intimate and reassuring. ‘I want to be here for you, Pat. But I have to admit, there’s something I need to talk to you about.’
Her expression shifted to concern. ‘What is it? Is something wrong?’
‘Not wrong, exactly. Just… complicated.’ He manufactured a sigh, looking away as if gathering courage. ‘I’ve been seeing someone. Well, not exactly seeing. It’s more that I’ve met someone, and there’s a connection there, but the timing is all wrong.’
Pat’s hand stiffened in his, her smile becoming fixed. ‘Oh. I see.’
‘It’s not what you think.’ The Embalmer squeezed her hand, bringing his gaze back to hers. ‘The woman I’ve met, she’s… she’s in a relationship. With someone else. And I know it’s wrong, I know I shouldn’t feel this way, but I can’t help it. And the thing is, I don’t know what to do about it.’
‘This woman,’ Pat said carefully. ‘Do you love her?’
‘I think I might.’ The Embalmer looked down at their joined hands. ‘But she’s told me we have to keep things quiet for now. Her boyfriend – he’s the jealous type, apparently. Works at a bowling club, has a bit of a temper. She’s worried about what he might do if he found out she was talking to someone else.’
‘That sounds difficult.’
‘It is. And the worst part is, I understand why she has to be careful. But it makes everything so complicated. I can’t see her openly, can’t even call her sometimes because he might see herphone. We have to sneak around like teenagers, and I hate it.’ He smiled at her.
She laughed. ‘You know it isn’t too serious with my boyfriend and me. It was just a fling. I met Dick at the bowling club, but he’s nothing in comparison to you. I’ve fallen in love with you, but I have to end it with him, so we’ll still have to be careful.’
He laughed too. ‘Then I shall profess my love for this new lady I met.’ He knew he had her in the palm of his hand now. ‘I love you, Pat. But I don’t want to sour things with you and your boyfriend.’
‘I love you, too. And don’t worry, he’s history.’
He leaned in and kissed her.
It had been a close thing when two of Alan’s colleagues had come round and he, The Embalmer, had been waiting for Pat while she went out to the store to get them something for dinner. He had told her he would stay out of sight until they left, but what he didn’t tell her was, if they discovered him in the house, he’d kill them both.
She was quiet momentarily, then said, ‘Actually, there’s something I should probably tell you too. About Alan.’
The Embalmer kept his expression neutral, interested but not too eager. ‘Oh?’
‘He came to see me before he went on holiday.’ Pat’s voice dropped, almost conspiratorial. ‘We met in the trail car park and we sat and talked. He was scared, I could tell. Kept looking over his shoulder like he thought someone was following him. We met in my car – he didn’t want to come to my house, just in case.’
‘That must have been frightening for you.’
‘It was. He wouldn’t tell me what was wrong, just kept saying he’d got involved in something, that he’d made mistakes and now people were watching him.’ Pat’s hand tightened on his. ‘Hegave me an envelope, told me to keep it safe, to give it to the police if anything happened to him.’
The Embalmer’s pulse quickened, but he kept his voice calm. ‘Did you? Give it to the police?’
‘No. I couldn’t. Because then they’d know he’d come to see me, and they’d start asking questions about why I didn’t report it immediately, why I kept it secret. And the truth is…’ She looked away, her cheeks colouring. ‘The truth is, part of me was glad he was scared. Glad he was suffering, after what he’d put me through. I know that makes me sound terrible.’
‘It makes you sound human.’ The Embalmer stroked her hand soothingly. ‘What was in the envelope?’
‘I don’t know. I never opened it. I was too angry at him, and then when time passed and nothing happened, I assumed he’d just been being paranoid. You know how Alan could be – always seeing conspiracies, always thinking someone was out to get him.’ Pat finally looked back at The Embalmer. ‘Should I have given it to the police? Do you think it’s important?’
‘I think,’ The Embalmer said carefully, ‘that you were in a very difficult position, and you made the best decision you could at the time. Where is the envelope now?’
‘Still in my car, actually. In the glovebox. I kept meaning to deal with it, but…’ She shrugged helplessly. ‘I suppose I just wanted to forget about it.’
‘That’s understandable.’ The Embalmer wasn’t worried about the boyfriend. He would simply kill him. The thought made him feel excited. That’s exactly what he’d do; he’d kill him. But later.
He stayed for dinner, they made love in the shower, then afterwards, Pat suggested they open a bottle of wine. The Embalmer thought it was probably also used as dish detergent, itwas that bad, but Pat liked it, and it would make it easier for her to swallow the liquid he would put in her glass.
And that’s what he did.
‘I’m feeling light-headed now,’ she said, smiling at him. ‘Would you like to go through to the bedroom?’
