FRIDAY
The next day Katie buckled down and got in a good day’s work. She was getting used to the Cat 3 lab, feeling more on top of it all now, and was growing in confidence. It was time to start doing what she had really come for. Claudia would be leaving work early to go to London for the weekend, so would be well out of the way. Katie could begin by taking a look at Claudia’s lab books, which recorded all the details of the experiments she had carried out. If Katie organized things so that she would have an excuse to come back to the lab around eleven o’clock, hopefully there would be no one else there. She knocked off at five thirty, went back to the flat and made herself some pasta.
After that, however, the evening stretched ahead of her and it was hard to settle down to anything. The silence was broken by the buzz of an incoming text. It was from Maddie: “Karaoke? See you there at eight! Don’t be late!” Katie had forgotten all about the karaoke. But why not? As Katie she wouldn’t have been up for it, but as Caitlin she absolutely was. Caitlin was more fun-loving and extroverted than Katie. Caitlin might even join the poker school!
What to wear? She looked through her clothes and selected a hot-pink silk shirt topped by a denim jacket.
She arrived just after eight to allow Maddie time to get there first. The pub, the Coach and Horses, was down near the quayside, not far from the labs. It dated from the 1920s and was designed in the Arts and Crafts style, and was all inglenooks and horse brasses. A stage had been squeezed in at one end of the saloon bar and the place was crowded. She looked around and saw Maddie waving from a table where she was sitting with Tarquin. She made her way over.
“What are you drinking, Caitlin?” Tarquin asked.
She saw glasses of beer on the table and said, “Thanks. I’ll have what you’re having. But just a half, please.” Julia had advised her to avoid alcohol. She needed to have all her wits about her, but she did want to enter into the spirit of the evening.
Tarquin got up from the table “Devon Pride it is.”
Golden Oldie Karaoke seemed to encompass a wide variety. People came up and sang songs by the Beatles, Cole Porter, and the Beach Boys. Katie began to enjoy herself. Around half past nine, Maddie got up and went to the platform. She began to sing “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes”. She had a frail voice, but very sweet.
“Your turn now, Caitlin,” Maddie said, as she came back to their table.
“Oh no, no!”
“Yes, come on! Choose something from the playlist.”
Why not? What did it matter if she made a fool of herself? No one knew who she really was.
She chose “Strangers in the Night” and stepped up onto the platform. She looked at the faces turned towards her and her stomach lurched, but Maddie was nodding encouragingly and the music was beginning. She gripped the microphone and opened her mouth to sing.
After the first bar or two, her confidence increased. She didn’t have a strong voice, but she was at least in tune. By the time she got to the end and everyone was joining in, her nerves had completely gone and she was enjoying herself.
She came back to the table and took a swig of her second half-pint of beer. Why didn’t she always behave like this, taking risks and having fun?
“See, you did great!” Maddie told her.
“Hey, look who’s here!” Tarquin gestured towards the back of the room. Katie looked round and saw that Bill had just come in. He looked as if he wasn’t expecting to see all these people, and Katie got the impression that he might have slipped out again if he hadn’t been spotted. But it was too late.
Maddie stood up and called to him. “Come on, Bill, you’re up next.”
He shook his head.
Maddie said, “Hey, guys, let’s get Bill up on stage!” She started a slow hand clap. “Bill! Bill!” she chanted and others too started clapping and chanting.
Bill spread his hands in a gesture of surrender and made his way between the tables and stepped onto the platform. The clapping died down and was replaced by an expectant silence.
Maddie handed him the microphone and skipped down to join Katie. “Wait till you hear this,” she whispered.
Clearly it was going to be either very bad or very good and Katie had no idea which. Perhaps he was the Florence Foster Jenkins of the scientific community.
He wasn’t.
As he sang the first line of “The Girl of My Best Friend”, the hairs stood up on the back of her neck. Bill had a fabulous baritone voice. There was nothing showy about his performance – it wasn’t an Elvis impersonation – but it was warm and true, and there wasn’t a trace of self-consciousness. The shy, diffident man had gone and he was in full command of the stage.
The song ended and people were stamping their feet and cheering. All Katie could say was, “Wow!”
“Bill’s got a trained voice,” Maddie told her. “He did a year at the Royal College of Music before he decided that science was his first love.”
“How can anyone follow that?” Katie marvelled.
“You’ll see,” Maddie said and gestured to where Tarquin was already getting to his feet. “We usually end the night with this little number.”
The backing track of “Monster Mash” began. The audience began to stamp their feet and there were a few good-natured catcalls.
Tarquin swept a low bow to the audience. He didn’t attempt to sing, but spoke over the music in sepulchral tones: “I was working in the lab late one night, when my eyes beheld an eerie sight...”
It struck Katie that Tarquin had the confidence of someone who had always been sure of his place in the world. And yet there wasn’t a hint of arrogance. He was like a friendly dog that is sure of its welcome.
Everyone in the pub joined in with the chorus and when it was over, that was the end of the evening. They parted outside the pub, Maddie and Tarquin to go home and Katie to head back to the lab.