The Key Read Online Free PDF Page A

what you see is what you get.
    For a fleeting moment Carly wondered if she had made a mistake in coming here; but she was here now, so she may as well get on with it.
    As the evening wore on, the odd customer came and went, and apart from a few strange-looking characters that seemed to be Scott ’s drinking buddies, most of the clientele came and left alone.
    This was a pub where sad people came to drown their sorrows before going home to an empty house . A lmost without exception, though, each customer gave Carly a ‘tip’ and offered to buy Scott a drink.
    By late evening Scott was beginning to wobble slightly on his feet, and the once chatty host became much quieter in himself. The abundance of compli mentary drinks had obviously taken their toll , and he was clearly drunk now .
    As the last customer left, Scott made a garbled statement. “Lock the doors. Had enough. That’s it for tonight . ”
    It wasn’t yet official closing time, but what did Carly care!

TEN
     
    Scott remained slumped against the bar as Carly cleared the tables and washed up the empty glasses herself. When she’d finished, she tapped him on his shoulder, “C’mon I’ll give you a hand up the stairs before I go.”
    Carly needed to repeat her offer another three times.
    “ Errrr , y ou’re so kind Carly,” Scott mumbled as she helped him to his feet and headed very unsteadily towards the stairs. “I wish I were five years younger, and then I’d ask you to stay the night . It gets so lonely here sometimes.”
    Five years younger. He’s got to be joking. More like fifteen or twenty , she thought .
    Eventually they reached Scott’s room and Carly started to pick up the pace . If he falls there’s no way I can pick him up . Carly made a mad dash for the sofa which reminded her of the awkwardness of three-legged races from her school sports days . They didn’t fully make it, but at least the top half of Scott hit the safety of the sofa.
    He didn’t even stir.
    Lifting his heavy legs up onto the sofa, Carly removed his shoes which immediately released the pungent odor of sweaty feet. His big toe poked through a large hole in his left sock.
    Although Scott was snoring like a well-contented pig by now , Carly decided to try to find something to cover him up with . Guessing that the third door she’d seen earlier in the day might be Scott ’s bedroom, she made her way there to get him a blanket.
    Feeling uneasy about being in his bedroom, Carly entered the room and walked nervously over to the closet door and opened it. She spotted a ceiling cord hanging down in the closet and pulled it . The darkness remained . As she felt her way around, Carly noticed that t he shelves on one side were crammed high with all sorts of stuff, and on the other side was a messy selection of old clothing dangling from a hanging rail.
    A large woolen blanket on the top shelf looked perfect for the job , so Carly rose up onto her tiptoes and gave it a quick tug. There was a crash that Carly didn’t expect to hear. She paused to see if she could still hear Scott snoring; and hearing that he was, gave a sigh of relief.
    Looking down to the floor , Carly saw a silver-grey S amsonite aluminum attaché case. One catch had come open but the other was still shut. In the dim light she could just about make out that there were two embossed initials on the case . V.H.
    V.H. Mmmm . I wonder if that stands for Vincent Halliday?
    She knew she shouldn’t do it , but she couldn’t resist it.
    With feelings of excitement and trepidation all rolled into one, Carly popped the other catch on the case and opened the lid. “ Good grief ” she yelped. Her heart started to beat faster and faster. Although she was on a mission to determine if Vincent Halliday was a murderer, she was still flabbergasted to see the proof of it in front of her eyes.
    In the case was a selection of large envelopes. The top envelope had Vincent’s name and address on it. Then there was a selection of