Death in Leamington Read Online Free PDF

continue our evening with a quick pint in the Benjamin Satchwell, a pub on the Parade. The beer in the Satch was pleasant enough, but that night the bar was full of old timers venting about the day’s political events. The music there was almost as dated as the decor.
    ‘So when are we going to get you fixed up with a decent woman, Hugh?’ Eddie asked me, teasing again.
    ‘All the good women are already taken,’ I replied philosophically.
    ‘Well I think we need to do something about that,’ replied Eddie. ‘What do you think Bas, where can we find Hugh a good woman?’
    ‘I don’t know about a good woman, he just needs to get laid,’ Bas added helpfully.
    *
    Bas looked around the bar and commented that there was a distinct lack of talent, so Eddie suggested we move on to the Tennis Club, where there was a ladies’ tournament that weekend. I thought this was a great plan. Bas, however, had other ideas for the rest of the evening; he said there was a Quentin Tarantino theme night at The Willes Arms with a guest DJ – billed as Jack Rabbit Slim’s Twist Contest. He figured there were sure to be some hot girls there
.
Eddie quickly vetoed this idea on the grounds of bad taste so, much to Bas’s disappointment, we compromised instead on one of the busier town pubs. I tended to think of Bas as Eddie’s faithless friend; he had a reputation for partying hard. I’m not sure what that meant exactly, but I’d seen enough of his behaviour around women to know that Quentin Tarantino was not a role model to encourage. Anyway the women in question would turn out to be a bunch of Uma Thurman lookalikes. I was therefore also not confident that Bas’s idea of a suitable attachment for me (suitable generally specified as far as I could see in terms of the shorter the skirt and the smuttier the behaviour) would match my own romantic standards.
    We got to The Red Lion just as things were beginning to really kick off. It was on the corner of one of the main crossroads opposite a couple of popular shot bars. The place was heaving with people, the Friday night crowds spilling out onto the street in the late summer evening. As we forced ourselves past the packed bodies, the shouting and laughter increased in intensity, drowning out any chance of a normal conversation. A group of girls were dancing to a Rihanna song (one that even I recognised) under the coloured lights that strobed from rotating lasers suspended from the ceiling. Bas pushed his way through the crowd and leaned over the bar. Like most places, he knew the barman there well. He caught his eye and ordered three beers and tequila chasers using a mixture of shouts and hand signals.
    ‘Well, Eddie, Alice certainly seemed upset with you,’ I shouted loud enough that Eddie had a chance of hearing.
    ‘Yeah you really got the death stare, bro,’ added Bas, helpfully again.
    ‘Yeah, well thanks guys, thanks for all the support. I guess I’ll have to sort it out with her later. Anyway I’ll take her out tomorrow, she’ll calm down soon enough,’ replied Eddie. ‘While I think about it, why don’t you guys come along too, we could invite some of Alice’s girlfriends as well and make a night of it?’
    ‘Ah, that does sounds romantic, but don’t you think she’d prefer something a little cosier?’ I suggested somewhat ironically.
    ‘No worries, I’m sure she’ll be cool if there’s a crowd of us,’ he replied without taking the bait.
    ‘Anyway, does she know anything about you-know-what yet?’ I asked.
    ‘Nope, she hasn’t a clue. It’s all going to plan so far; we’re all set for next month.’
    *
    We found a few inches on the edge of a bar table to lean on and looked around the crowd, searching for likely pick-up prospects. Although we were relatively regular midweek visitors, Fridays took on a completely different complexion in that pub. It was one of several frequented mainly by townies rather than students. It was already busy; the crowd seemed