All Things Must End: Part 2

Part 2



After Cassie had left, Ben lay back on the sofa and smiled sadly:

"I really don't think that there is much to investigate here. I'm not being heartless and I do feel sorry for that girl however she is clearly undergoing some kind of meltdown due to her grief."

Kyle sat at Ben's laptop:

"Ere I wouldn't be so sure about that Ben, 'ave a gander at this."

Ben sat up and looked at the screen. It was an article from the online version of the Cambridge Daily Echo:



MAN ARRESTED FOR CEMETARY DESECRATION



A 45 year old man was arrested last night after attempting to dig up his late wife's remains in Grantchester Cemetary. Police were called to the scene after passers by noticed lights in the cemetary and, taking a closer look, saw the man, who has not been named, digging. It is understood that no remains were actually disinterred, however in a bizarre twist the Echo can reveal that the man had told neighbours that his wife was still alive and that he had come home to find her preparing evening dinner earlier in the week. It is possible that the man was trying to prove that his late wife, who we understand died six months ago of cancer, was not actually in the coffin that was buried.



Ben frowned:

"So what? So there is another case of a delusional, grief-stricken person imagining things. This hardly suggests a pattern Kyle."



Meanwhile, in her apartment, Katie Ryan was busy writing a report on the excavation of an Iron Age village in Lincolnshire that she had been comissioned to write by "Archaeology Today" magazine. As she typed the door buzzer went and Katie looked up angrily:

"Oh who the hell is that?" she said out loud, before getting up and opening the door. It was Adam Wooten:

"Er hi Katie. Sorry to bother you but I just came round to ask your advice about the case synopsis write-up for the Peace Conference case. Ben asked me to do it and I know you've done them before. I was just wondering how much detail....."

"Couldn't you just email me about this? I'm busy!" Katie angrily interrupted.

"Er I have done several times and you didn't answer" Adam sheepishly answered.

"Well you should have got the message then that I'm too busy to hold your damn hand when you're doing basic admin tasks" Katie shouted. As she did so, her mobile rang:

"Oh what now!" She answered the mobile:

"Hello. Er what? Is this some kind of sick joke? Look I don't know who you are you sick fucker or how you got this number, but I'm reporting you to the authorities and if I ever get hold of you I'll smash your teeth down your throat".

"Is everything OK Katie?" Adam asked.

"Does everything look ok to you? Huh? My dad died three years ago and I've just had some sick cunt on the phone pretending to be him. He was imitating his voice just as it sounded....."



"OK Kyle, I accept that I dismissed this too hastily and that we should look into it" Ben said as Kyle grinned cheekily.

"Thats a first, you admitting you were wrong over summat" he replied. He stared down at the four other recent cases of people claiming to have seen dead loved ones that he had printed out from articles in the online press.

"I was not wrong Kyle. I merely gleaned new information and developed my approach in the light of this. I'm still not fully convinced that there is anything going on untoward. These cases are from all over the south-east, for all I know it could be a fairly regular thing with grief stricken people. However we will look into it. I say we visit that Cassie girl now and get a fuller statement from her. She left her address."

"What about Emma? She's comin' round in a bit" Kyle answered.

"I can't face her Kyle. This provides an excellent excuse to avoid her and her whining."

"Don't you think you're actin' like a kid over this Ben? Stringin' her along and puttin'off talkin' things through I mean".

"Don't you think I damn well know that Kyle? I just can't deal with her. She knew what the situation would be like when she married me and yet she springs this emotional neediness on me all of a sudden. She's impossible. I don't actually want to hurt her, which is why I can't face her. Come on, lets go."



Ben and Kyle drove through Cambridge to the converted former hotel where Cassie Buckley lived. It took Ben some time to find the flats but eventually he parked the car in the communal car park outside. Getting out of the car he stared at the overflowing wheelie bins and shabbily maintained building:

"What a dump. Why an earth would she want to live here?" he commented.

"You any idea how 'ard it is to get a roof over your head if you ain't earnin' much Ben?" Kyle asked.

"Then get a better job" Ben tersely replied.

They took the damp smelling lift up to Cassie's floor and walked to flat 12. They rang the buzzer and a tall, muscular young man with dark hair opened it:

"Is Cassie Buckley in? My name is Ben Chatham and I wish to speak to her. She called round to see me earlier."

"She's out at the mo. I could ring her if its urgent. You mind me asking what its about? I'm Paul Latham, her boyfiend....................."





..................to be continued.