The Look of Love (29 page)

Scott was
physically exactly what Chrissy wanted in a man; it was just that
he didn’t have the money to give her everything else that she
wanted. It would be easy to fall in love with him, even if she was
determined not to. She knew what would happen; she could see it in
her mind. If she went out with Scott, she would end up marrying
him. For most people that would have been a happy ending. But life
didn’t stop at the happy ending, did it? It went on, and on, until
it ground you into the dust. And it only took one mistake.

Chrissy shook
her head. “I’d like to go out with you, Scott, I really would, but
I like you too much.”

Scott was
confused. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that
I can’t trust myself,” Chrissy explained. “I know what would
happen, Scott. We’d start off as friends, just like you say. But
before we knew it, I’d be in love with you, you’d be in love with
me, and our parents would be booking the reception.”

“Is that really
so bad?” Scott said eagerly. “You could still have your dream. I’m
earning enough for two. You could still study and get your degree,
and you could pursue your career in the media. And if you do well,
we’d both be laughing.”

It all sounded
perfectly logical and very appealing. But Chrissy knew that the
reality would be harsher. “You think you’re earning enough for two
now,” she told him. “But you wait until you’ve got your own
mortgage and bills to pay for instead of living at home with your
mum and dad.”

“We’ll manage!”
Scott insisted.

“‘We’ll manage’
is just another way of saying ‘we’ll be poor!’” Chrissy replied
bluntly.

Scott was
getting annoyed. “Why do you always have to look at the negative
side?” he demanded.

“Because that’s
the side that gets you!” Chrissy replied in a raised voice. “And
what happens if you lose your job? What happens if I get
pregnant?”

Scott’s voice
was now also raised. “I won’t lose my job, and you won’t get
pregnant! We’ll take precautions!”

“We’re already
discussing family planning, Scott! How can you say that we can just
go out as friends and nothing more? It won’t work!”

“That’s because
you’re always thinking about money!” Scott said angrily. Now he was
really worked up. “You’re obsessed by it! It’s all you ever think
of! But it won’t keep you warm at night when you’re on your own!
And you will end up on your own if you’re not careful! And why?
Because you’re so bloody frightened of going down the wrong road,
you’re permanently stuck at the traffic lights! Well, life is going
by, Chrissy! It’s not waiting for you to make the right and safe
decision, so by the time you have made up your mind, you could find
yourself without the bloody choice in the first place!”

Chrissy stood
up. “Right then!” she shouted. “Why should I care? Find somebody
else! Good luck to you!”

“Sit down!”
Scott shouted back.

His voice was
so loud and his expression so angry that Chrissy sat. She looked
slightly scared, and Scott immediately calmed down and his
expression softened.

“I didn’t mean
to shout at you, Chrissy,” he said in a quiet voice, rubbing his
forehead. “But you don’t give a shit about other people’s feelings,
do you? All I did was ask you out. But you couldn’t let that by,
could you? No, you had to stick the knife in all over again.”

Chrissy felt
wretched. “Oh, I’m sorry, Scott! I didn’t mean too! But you do
understand, don’t you?”

Scott didn’t
answer, he just sighed, and they ended up staring at one another in
silence.

Chrissy stared
hard into Scott’s eyes, looking hopefully for some kind of
understanding. But there wasn’t any. Instead there was only
sadness. Sadness and resignation.

Chrissy had
wanted him to understand, to understand and forgive her for her
selfishness. But he had done neither. Instead there was that same
hurt puppy look he had when she had left him on Friday night.

She suddenly
felt annoyed. Annoyed with herself for having such foolish dreams,
annoyed with herself for turning him down once again, annoyed with
herself for feeling sorry for him, and annoyed with herself for
liking him even more. It wasn’t fair!

“Oh, I wish I
hadn’t said those things to you that night!” she blurted out. “But
Victoria made me angry. It seems like she always makes me angry
these days. It didn’t used to be like that. We were the best of
friends. Me and Vicky, and then Jo. The three of us would go
everywhere together. Now Vicky pisses me off, and Jo’s…and
Jo’s…”

Chrissy
couldn’t finish. Thinking about Jo brought it all back, and
suddenly she was crying on Scott’s shoulder and he was hugging her.
He didn’t know what to say to her. There was nothing he could say,
nothing he dare say.

There was a
knock at the door. It was loud and insistent.

Scott
disentangled himself reluctantly from Chrissy and went to answer
it. He knew who it was even before he opened the door.

“I thought it
might be you,” he said.

Chrissy heard
him in the front room, and she heard the voice in reply.

“Scott Headly,
we need to ask you a few more questions. It would be better if you
answered them down at the station.”

Chrissy
immediately got up and went into the hall. Shawcroft and a
uniformed officer were standing at the door.

“Why do you
need to talk to Scott?” she asked them. “Isn’t it Max you should be
talking to?”

As soon as she
spoke, Scott looked over his shoulder and glared at her with such
power that she went completely cold. She started to move back into
the front room in her fright, but Shawcroft had already seen and
recognised her.

“Ah, Miss
Davis,” he said. “What a surprise to see you here. It might be a
good idea if you also came with us, don’t you think?”

John King was
very nervous. He was sweating and obviously very uncomfortable
about the line his questioning had taken. At first he had been
calm. His explanation of the night’s events had been exactly the
same as everyone else’s up to the time he had become separated.
Yes, he had met a girl and stayed with her for the rest of the
night until she had dumped him. After that he had bumped into Scott
and they had gone for a curry then both went home.

He had expected
that to be the end of it, but Connors had other ideas. He started
asking about what he and Scott had talked about while they ate. He
even wanted to know what they had both eaten, where they had sat in
the restaurant, and what they had drank. John got very, very
nervous. And Connors kept repeating the questions.

“Where did you
both sit in the restaurant?”

“You already
asked me that,” John replied in annoyance.

“Refresh my
memory.”

“By the
window.”

“Who was facing
the window?”

“Scott
was.”

“And what did
you both eat?”

“I told
you!”

“Tell me
again.”

John swallowed.
“He had a Vindaloo while I had a Balti.”

“With nan
bread?” Connors asked very casually.

“Yes! With
bloody nan bread!”

“And what did
you talk about?”

“Oh, this and
that. Football, mainly. Look I told you all this once already. Why
do you keep asking the same things over and over again?”

Connors looked
closely at John King. “Is it a problem?” he asked.

John looked
back nervously. “No.”

“That’s alright
then.” Connors looked down at his copious notes. “And what did you
say you ordered to drink?”

By the time
Connors had finished with him, John King was a physical wreck. He
almost shot out of the police station.

Connors was on
his way back to his office when he bumped into Shawcroft.

“How did it
go?” Shawcroft asked him.

“If Scott
Headly was at that restaurant with John King, then I’m the Pope’s
mother. Did you get him?”

“Yes. He’s in
interview room two. But more interestingly, Miss Davis is in
interview room three. I found her at the house with Scott
Headly.”

Connors raised
his eyebrows in surprise. “Hmmm. Very interesting. Maybe we should
have a chat with the young lady first.”

Chrissy sat on
her own at a small table in the interview room. She was still
alarmed after that look she had received from Scott back at the
house. She had kept very quiet all the way to the police station.
She hadn’t spoken a word to Scott or anyone. She couldn’t get over
that look on his face. As she sat in the interview room she kept
thinking about what that look meant.

Max had done
it
.

It was so
obvious.
Max had done it; and Scott knew
.

When the door
opened, Chrissy almost jumped out of her seat at the sight of the
two policemen.

“Miss Davis, I
am Detective Sergeant Connors. I believe you have met my colleague,
Detective Constable Shawcroft?”

Chrissy looked
at the two men and nodded nervously.

“Good.”

Connors and
Shawcroft sat down opposite her at the table. Shawcroft switched on
the tape recorder and said very officially, “Interview with
Christine Davis began at two-fifteen pm, Monday, September the
fourteenth, 1998. DS Connors and DC Shawcroft present.”

As soon as he
was finished, Connors cleared his throat. “Now, Miss Davis,” he
began. “Could you kindly tell us what you were doing at the house
with Scott Headly?”

Chrissy stared
at them as they sat waiting expectantly. She couldn’t contain
herself anymore.

“It’s Max!” she
blurted out. “And Scott knows it was him! I’m sure of it! I could
tell by the look on his face! Max did it! Max killed Jo! And Scott
knows it! You have to arrest him! You have to catch him before he
gets away!”

Connors reached
across the table and took her hand. “Please calm yourself, Miss
Davis,” he said in a friendly tone. “We can’t arrest anybody unless
we have proof. Now please, tell us why you have said these
things.”

Chrissy
snatched her hand away. “Because it’s the truth!”

“But how do you
know it’s the truth?”

“Because I just
know!”

Shawcroft asked
her, “Did Scott Headly tell you any of this?”

“No!”

Shawcroft shook
his head in despair. “Then how do you know his brother killed
Joanne Henshaw?”

“Because I saw
the look on his face when I said you should be talking to Max and
not him! He was so angry! I could tell! He knows, I tell you! And
he was annoyed because I spoke out!”

There was a
brief silence before Connors cleared his throat.

“Miss Davis, I
have to tell you that Max Headly has an alibi for the time that
Joanne Henshaw was murdered. However, Scott Headly does not, and he
could very well be our murderer.”

“But it’s Max,
I tell you! Not Scott!” Chrissy said desperately. “Scott wouldn’t
have done such a thing! I know he wouldn’t!”

“Are you in
love with Scott?”

Chrissy was
rendered speechless by the unexpected question.

Connors had to
explain his motives. “You must understand why I should ask such a
question, Miss Davis. From your own statement you have admitted a
liking for Scott Headly. And although you said that the
relationship didn’t get off the ground, we find you at his house
only hours after you have been told of the murder of your friend.
For all we know, you too, could be involved. So please, be calm,
and answer our questions truthfully. Are you in love with Scott
Headly?”

Chrissy felt
confused. She didn’t know what to say. She didn’t know what to
think. She liked Scott, and maybe she could fall in love with him.
But had she? Why was she defending him then? She remembered the
fear she felt when she had received that glare. Scott knew. He knew
his brother had killed Jo, and he hadn’t said anything. But Max was
his brother. Would she do the same? Finally she answered.

“No.”

Her voice
wasn’t very convincing. Connors sighed.

“What were you
doing at his house?”

“I went there
to have it out with Max,” Chrissy replied, the emotion drained from
her voice. “I wanted to know why he didn’t walk Jo home. Jo said he
always walked her home.”

“And what
happened?”

“Only Scott was
there. He said everyone else was at work. I asked him why Max
hadn’t walked Jo home, and he said that Jo had dumped him and found
another boyfriend.”

Connors seized
on her words. “Scott said that Joanne Henshaw had found another
boyfriend?”

“Yes.”

“How did he
know that?”

“He said Max
had told him.”

“Are you
sure?”

“Yes.” Chrissy
was about to ask why he was so interested in how Scott knew about
Jo’s other boyfriend when she suddenly realised what it meant. “He
must have seen her,” she said in a whisper.

Connors nodded
to Shawcroft. Shawcroft looked at his watch and said out loud,
“Interview terminated, two-twenty-one pm.” He switched off the tape
recorder.

As soon as the
tape recorder was off, Connors sat back in his chair and said,
“Yes, Miss Davis. Either Max, or Scott himself, saw Joanne Henshaw
again that night. At least once, after she met this other boy. And
maybe again later, when she was on her own.”

“But Scott
didn’t do it! It was Max!” Chrissy protested in a raised voice. She
leaned forward, her emotion returning at the hint in Connors words
that Scott could be the murderer. “Why do you keep saying it might
be Scott?”

“Why did you
say you were not in love with him?”

Chrissy didn’t
answer for a moment. She slumped back in her chair. “I’m not,” she
finally said with a sigh. “But I do like him. And if this all
hadn’t happened maybe I would have fallen in love with him. But not
now. I know Scott didn’t do it. I saw the look in his face when I
spoke out. He’s protecting his brother. I can’t hate him for that,
but I can’t forgive him either. Jo was my friend since school, and
Max killed her. Scott should tell the truth. You tell him I said
that. You tell him that I will hate him forever if he doesn’t tell
you the truth.”