It was going to come as a shock for Karin to see her return from the dead. She had been lying low for a couple of days, to allow the full effect of her death to sink in. But Louie was keeping a watchful eye on her all the same, making sure she didn’t do anything stupid.
Two days ago, she was stabbed on Aaron’s kitchen floor, carried out in a rolled-up rug, her body then disposed of by incineration in some rusted oil drum on a remote building site under cover of darkness. And now here she was.
Alive.
Louie hadn’t wanted to add the stress of Karin’s fingerprints being on the knife. It was Aaron insisting on that, but she later discovered that he was taking orders from a woman called Mel, Karin’s housemate, who had been behind the blackmail all along.
Karin’s pain would soon be over. And Louie’s too. As from today, there was nothing stopping them from being together.
The moment she saw Karin step out of Ashby Road that morning, her stomach had spun with excitement. She thought of the two of them setting up home together, a sweet little place by the sea, where Louie could paint – she got an offer of an exhibition from a gallery in Manchester yesterday – and Karin could do her campaigning and lobbying, if she wanted to keep on with that. Maybe they would have a dog, take it for walks on the beach. The kids would love that too.
Karin had set off with a firm purpose in mind, head down, walking briskly, and Louie thought she may have an idea where she was heading. The appearance of £100,000 in her account this morning was bound to make her curious. Her first thought would be that it was from her mother, however unlikely that might seem, although Louie was aware that she had been up to Scotland to pay her a visit in the last couple of days. Alternatively, if Karin had already seen that the deposit was from Seahorse Studio then she would be heading to the bank to clarify how on earth this deposit could have got there when Louie was dead.
Louie slowed down, indicating to pull in, not wanting to get too far ahead. Seeing Karin pass the cricket ground, Louie had to stop herself from lowering the window and calling out to her. She had to choose her moment carefully to come back from the dead. Maybe wait until after Karin had been to the bank.
Karin went straight past it, however, and was now crossing the road, dodging the cars decelerating for the traffic lights. At one point she stopped completely, turning round, and Louie ducked down quickly, thinking she may have been seen. Thankfully Karin carried on walking. So her next assumption was that Karin was going to Sainsbury’s, as she was heading along the Arndale. Assuming this to be the case, Louie almost turned into the car park, but Karin continued up Otley Road, passing The New Inn, The Three Horseshoes, St Chad’s Church, the BP garage, Lawnswood School.
She kept on going.
Louie was growing more and more concerned, and when Karin crossed over the roundabout, she knew for certain where she was heading.
She had to be stopped.