When Night Closes in by Iris Gower Page A

Brandon. The man’s brought me nothing but trouble and heartache.’
    â€˜Oh, you’ll get over it,’ Sally said brashly. ‘Think of it like this, Jon was just another man and men are ten a penny.’
    â€˜By the way,’ Lowri said casually, ‘Sarah Brandon found some of your undies in the bungalow and the receipt that went with them. You do have a Visa card don’t you, Sally?’
    Sally put her hand to her mouth. ‘Oh my Lord!’ she said. ‘I must have left my shopping bag at Plunch Lane when I was there a few days ago.’
    â€˜You were over there, why?’ Lowri asked.
    â€˜I had to take a copy of the lease Jon Brandon took out – his wife wanted to see it. There was some question about overlapping rent or something.’ She looked at Lowri. ‘Ask Mr Watson if you don’t believe me.’
    Suddenly Lowri was tired of being suspicious of everyone. ‘I believe you, Sally. Come on, let’s go out for a bite to eat. My treat.’
    Sally did not have to be asked twice. She swung her jacket off the hook and slipped her arms into the sleeves.
    â€˜About time you cheered up,’ she said. ‘I was sick of seeing you with a long face. There’s plenty more fish in the sea, just remember that.’
    â€˜Oh, I will.’ Lowri smiled. She was thinking of a very special fish, but that was something she intended to keep to herself. She might feel she had to trust Sally, but she did not trust her that much.
    As the two girls stepped out of the building, a fire-engine sped past them with the siren blaring. ‘Busy chaps, hunky too!’
    Sally stood and waved to one of the men in the cab and he waved back.
    â€˜You are a terrible flirt, Sal,’ Lowri said, laughing in spite of herself.
    â€˜Well, why not, it’s what makes the world go around, isn’t it?’

7
    It was cold in the hospital corridor and dark after the brightness outside. Lowri, dwarfed by Lainey and his sergeant, felt a sense of unreality as she walked towards a set of double doors leading to the mortuary.
    â€˜Had we been able to contact Mrs Brandon, she would have been here and not you.’ Lainey glanced sideways at her. ‘Did you know the place in Plunch Lane has burned down?’
    â€˜No. Right now I don’t care. Just let’s get this over.’ Lowri was surprised at the calmness of her voice. Inside, she was trembling.
    â€˜He isn’t a pretty sight,’ Lainey said, ‘the body has been in the water for days.’
    Lowri swallowed hard. She felt ill suddenly, as if the walls were closing in on her. She looked at Lainey.
    â€˜If it is Jon, what then?’
    â€˜It’s too early to say. The results of the post-mortem will be crucial, of course.’
    â€˜All right, let’s get it over with.’
    If she had thought the corridor cold, then the mortuary was like the grave. Not a happy comparison but already Lowri was shivering, partly with cold but mostly with fear. A white-shrouded figure lay on a slab and Lowri bit her lip. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said, ‘I don’t think I can go through with it.’
    She stood beside the body with Lainey hovering near, watching her reaction. The young sergeant stood back as if to dissociate himself from the proceedings.
    Lowri began to feel panic building up within her; she was dreading the moment when she might look into the dead face of the man she had loved.
Had,
was it really the past tense? Did love die so quickly? ‘I’m ready,’ she said.
    The covering was drawn aside and Lowri stepped back a pace. The smell of death hit her like a blow. The face she saw was bloated; there were no eyes, just empty sockets. The mouth was unrecognizable, the lips eaten away. Lowri wanted to vomit. She forced herself to look at the hair which had settled into clumps like matted yellow wool.
    â€˜It’s not him.’ The bile rose to her throat. She felt