Promise Me Eternity (23 page)

Again, nothing.

Maybe she’s gone back to sleep,
he
thought.
I really am an idiot. I nearly woke her again.
Putting the chocolates on her bedside cabinet he went to his side
of the bed and got under his duvet. He was glad that he was finally
in bed and would be able to go to sleep. Cold, he pulled the duvet
a little higher.

He turned toward Helen and smiled. She was
lying quietly, as if she wasn’t really there. He thought about
hugging her and holding her to him, but then changed his mind.
Helen didn’t like to be woken and always found it hard to go back
to sleep.

He was still cold, so he pulled the duvet up
to his nose. He took deep breaths, knowing sleep would soon
overtake him.

That’s when he felt something damp on his
cheek. He opened his eyes but couldn’t see anything in the dark. He
felt the edge of the duvet with his hand. Something sticky and warm
stayed on his fingertips.
What can it be?

Raising himself, he felt the whole of the
duvet. In places it was soaked with something sticky. In the
darkness he tried to figure out what it was.

He gathered his duvet and left the bedroom.
He turned the light on in the hall.

His eyes widened and he stared at the duvet.
With horror, he realized it was soaked with blood and he dropped it
immediately.

Quickly, he opened the bedroom door and
turned on the light. Before him was the most horrifying scene he
had ever witnessed. Helen lay totally still, her eyes staring into
space. Her duvet was stained in large crimson splotches. Her
distorted face showed that shortly before, she had been fighting
for her life.

“Helen!” he yelled and took three steps
toward her. “Helen!”

He pulled her duvet off, to see what had
happened. He nearly screamed when he saw her throat with a wide cut
at the side from which blood was pouring. “Oh my God, Helen!” he
yelled again, grabbing the phone.

The receiver slipped from his hand because it
was covered with blood.

After that he did everything as if in a
trance. Again he picked up the receiver, called for an ambulance
and the police. He tried to help Helen, but because of the size of
the wound he knew it was hopeless.

It took the ambulance ten long minutes to get
there.

The emergency medical technicians found Dr.
Patterson clasping his wife, and obviously on the verge of a
nervous breakdown.

Chapter 40

_______________________

“Where were you between 11:00 p.m. and one in
the morning?” asked the tall police officer.

Simon didn’t know how to reply. He couldn’t
say he’d been with Christine Vucci. He held his head.

“I’ll ask you again. Where were you on
Wednesday, July 9, between eleven and one in the morning?” The
officer’s voice was hard and sharp.

“I couldn’t sleep, so I went for a walk. I
went to the main park,” Simon replied.

“And you needed the car for that?”

Simon was confused. All he could see in front
of him was Helen, lying on her back with her throat cut, her eyes
staring emptily into space.
We’re so sorry, there was nothing we
could do
, echoed through his head. That was what they said to
him at the emergency room. The cut was too deep.

“I don’t know if you realize that I lost my
wife. Am I a suspect?”

The police officer straightened up and said,
“When there’s a murder, everyone who was near is a suspect. Please
answer the question. If you’re not up to it, we can do this some
other time, but sooner or later you’ll have to cooperate.”

“But I already told you everything. What else
do you want to know?”

“Why you needed a car to go for a walk.”

“I told you, I wanted to go to the park.”

“Did anyone see you?”

Dr. Patterson thought about a lawyer, but
changed his mind, thinking it would only make them more
suspicious.

“No one who’d know me.”

The police officer gave an unintentional
smile. “What happened when you got home?”

Dr. Patterson was visibly irritated. He felt
that the man did not believe him. In spite of that, he said, “When
I’d put the car in the garage, I went for a short walk.”

“You went for a walk in the park and then for
another walk when you got home? In the middle of the night?”

He regretted telling the truth. It would have
been better if he’d said that he’d gone straight into the house.
“It was an exceptionally nice evening and I wanted a short walk. Is
there anything wrong in that?”

“Did anyone see you?”

“It was night. I’m afraid not.”

“I see.”

“Listen! I didn’t kill my wife. Anyone can
see that.” He put his hands to his eyes that were burning with
tears.

The police officer waited for him to calm
down and then said, “It’s my job to find out who killed your wife.
As far as I’m concerned, you can say a thousand times that it
wasn’t you.” In a sterner voice he said, “Tell me something I can
work with. Where were you between eleven and one?”

“But I already told you, I was in the park.
What do you want from me?”

“Just the truth, Dr. Patterson, nothing else.
There’s something not quite right with your answer. I can feel
it.”

“But I told you …”

The officer opened a folder and took out a
large photograph. “Do you know what this is?”

Dr. Patterson stared at the photograph. “Of
course I do. It’s a scalpel, the kind used during an
operation.”

“Your wife’s throat was cut with a scalpel
like this.”

His face showed surprise.
Who could have
done something so horrible? Why with a scalpel?

“The forensic pathologist is of the opinion
that whoever cut your wife’s throat knew what they were doing.”

“What do you mean?”

“Just what I said. The cut is in exactly the
right place. The main carotid artery was severed. It was almost
certainly done by a doctor.”

Dr. Patterson’s mouth fell open and he stared
at the officer for some time. He said, “I think I need a lawyer. I
wanted to defend myself, but as you’re convinced that I’m the
killer, I see I have no other choice.”

“That is your right. I must tell you that
from this moment on you are under arrest.” He took the handcuffs
from his belt and put them on Simon’s wrists.

Chapter 41

_______________________

In his office, Dr. Miner was talking to a
patient who had asked for liposuction for the third time in a
year.

“Listen, Mrs. Abbot, you can’t go on like
this. At the time of your first operation, I told you that you had
to change your eating habits. These operations are not completely
without risk. Soon you’ll be asking for an operation every couple
of months.”

The thirty-eight-year-old patient was looking
at him indignantly. “I am trying, Doctor. If it was easy I’d have
done it long ago. I stopped eating white bread and pasta, and I
only eat lean meat.”

“You must try harder, and I’ve nothing
against your visiting us once a year, but more than that is
impossible, I’m afraid.”

“The effects of your operation only last a
couple of months, so what can I do?”

“As I said, start eating less.”

The woman got up and grabbed her purse. “If
that’s how it is, then good-bye to you. You’re not the only beauty
clinic. I’ll go elsewhere.”

“Good-bye.” After she had closed the door, he
pressed a button and called the nurse. “Is anyone else
waiting?”

“Yes, three patients.”

“Tell them I’m not feeling well. Dr. Tripton
will see them.”

“OK, I’ll tell him.”

He walked over to a container of filtered
water and poured himself a glass. His head felt hot. He stood there
for some time, leaning on the sink. Then he remembered Monique.
Yes, she would help.

Two minutes later he called her.

“I’ve no time today. Sorry.”

“Listen, Monique, I have to see you.
Something’s happened.”

“I can’t. I have two important clients. You
always call at the last minute.”

“I’ll pay whatever you ask.”

After a couple moments of silence she said,
“Maybe we can reach an agreement. It’ll be four times the usual
price.”

“OK, when can I come?”

She regretted not asking for more. “It’s best
if you come now. I’ll cancel the first appointment.”

“I love you.”

Twenty-five minutes later he was in her
apartment. She was wearing a light-green, tight PVC dress. She also
had a green cap covering her hair and fluorescent green
lipstick.

When Robert Miner saw her, he thought of a
great green insect. He said, “I see you’re ready for the
swamp.”

She closed the door and angrily bared her
teeth. “What are you trying to say? That it’s not OK?”

He quickly hid his smile. Monique was the
only woman he was genuinely afraid of. She was at least five inches
taller than him and looked fit. Once, she had done thirty lifts in
front of him. He had admired the rippling muscles in her back as
she did it and thought that she was probably stronger than most
men.

“Get in that room and strip to your
underwear! I’ll be there shortly.”

With his heart pounding, he went into the
large room. The metallic parts of the torture devices shone in the
green light. She had obviously changed the bulb. He noticed some
new leather belts and wondered what they were for.

She suddenly appeared right behind him, with
a cigarette in her mouth. “Do you have any special requests?”

Looking at the floor, he said, “I did
something really bad. You’ll have to punish me very hard this time.
I’ve been very naughty.” With fear in his eyes he turned toward the
leather belts he had noticed. “What are they for?”

“They’re different size collars, for hanging.
The other day someone nearly died on me, I left him hanging for too
long.” She chuckled.

He didn’t feel like laughing. “Th-that’s for
m-me. As I said, I-I’ve been very n-naughty—”

“Silence!” She hit him on the back with a
thin chain.

“That hurts!”

“Into the corner, now!” She cuffed his hands
behind his back and put the middle-sized belt, like a dog collar,
around his neck. She pulled one of the metal cables from the
ceiling and fastened it to the collar. She also fastened his legs
in restraints. “Right! Now you’ll tell me what you did.”

“Oh, I can’t do that!”

She selected a whip and cracked it in his
direction. The sharp blow tightened his body like a string. “How
dare you disobey me!” She hit him again.

“No, I can’t do it! You’ll have to kill me
first!” he cried.

“That’s just what I’m going to do, don’t you
worry!” She went up to the wall and pressed a black switch. The
wire fastened to his collar started to pull. “If you don’t tell me
quickly what you did, I’ll choke you.” She put out her cigarette on
his skin.

He breathed out with difficulty. “I can’t. I
really can’t.”

“Then I’ll kill you. I can’t see any other
solution. But first I’ll torture you to make you pay for your
sins.”

The wire started to pull him up and the belt
pressed on his throat. He was barely able to say, “Yes, I must pay
for my sins. I must …”

After that, he could no longer speak. The
motor pulling the wire was strong enough to lift him off the
ground, so that his fat legs swung in the air.

Monique threw a glance at the clock. She
intended to leave him like that for about a minute. More than that
would endanger his life. She picked up a thin needle and pricked
him with it. While she did so, she was thinking how hard her
profession was. She was continually surprised by the demands of her
clients. She had always been adaptable and liked doing a favor. And
of course the money was good.

Not much later, he lay on the floor, blue in
the face and gasping for breath. Monique sat next to him, filing
her nails.

“How do you like my new gadget?”

He wanted to reply, but instead his voice
whistled. He held his throat and coughed several times. “It was
very good, just what I needed. You punished me well.”

“I’m glad you’re satisfied.” She stabbed him
in the thigh with her nail file.

“Ouch, that hurts!”

“Of course it hurts. Time you were going.
I’ve got work to do. You do understand, don’t you?”

“Yes, yes, of course.” He thanked her five
times before leaving.

On the way home he kept massaging his throat
and hoping that there would be no marks the next day.

Chapter 42

_______________________

Dr. Patterson’s lawyer, Leonard Hopkins,
arrived four hours after being called. He was elderly, bald, and
already retired. He had known Simon for years and so was ready to
come to his help.

Hopkins entered the room, observing the
narrow metal-frame bed and small table with two chairs.

Simon stood up quickly and gripped his hand.
“I’ve never been so pleased to see you, Leonard.”

The lawyer laughed wryly and gingerly sat his
bent body at the table. “My sincerest condolences, Simon. Please,
tell me what happened.”

Simon put his hand to his chin and wanted to
answer him. Instead he only managed to shake his head a few
times.

The lawyer could see that his client could
hardly hold back his tears. “Calm yourself, Simon. Take a deep
breath and tell me what happened.”

“Someone … someone ….” He could hardly say
it. “Someone was in the house when I got home. I’d been for a walk
…” He told his story just as he’d told the police. He did consider
telling his attorney the truth, but decided against it. Under no
circumstances could anyone find out that he had been with Christine
at the hotel. “The police don’t believe me. They think that I—”