Free One by One by Simon Kernick

5
    For a good minute I stared, unblinking, at the huge knife jutting out of Louise’s chest, the shock striking me in powerful, intense waves, just as it had that terrible morning when I’d first seen Rachel’s battered corpse. I wanted to cry out, to be sick, to throw open the front door and run away, but I was unable to move. I could feel myself shaking as a panic attack began, and knew that if I didn’t do something soon I’d succumb to it.
    â€˜Help!’ I yelled, my voice reverberating round the house as I finally broke free from my torpor. ‘Get down here now! It’s Louise!’
    And then, for the first time, the fear factor kicked in as I realized that the murderer could still be here. What if he’d killed everyone already and was just about to come for me? I swung round fast in case he was sneaking up on me, already yelling some more, but the room was empty, and it was clear that people were still alive because I could hear the sound of doors opening upstairs and then rapid footfalls on the staircase.
    The first one through the door was Charlie and he immediately switched on the main light, making me squint against the sudden brightness. He was dressed in old silk pyjamas and was pulling on a dressing gown like something Hugh Hefner would wear. He was closely followed by Luke in a T-shirt and boxers.
    For a couple of seconds neither of them seemed to compute what had happened but then, as I stepped out the way and they both caught sight of Louise in the chair, their mouths gaped open in shock.
    â€˜Oh, Jesus,’ said Charlie as he approached the body. ‘What happened?’
    â€˜Fucking hell,’ said Luke, moving in behind him.
    I stared down at her too. She looked like a waxwork dummy, her eyes half-closed, a blank expression on her face. The knife jutted out of her chest like a stage prop, only the handle and an inch of blade showing, surrounded by a single uneven stain of blood no bigger than the size of a man’s hand. I thought of her two children and it made me want to throw up.
    At that moment there was a commotion in the doorway as Marla came in dressed in a baggy nightshirt, skimpy white panties and pink socks, somehow managing to look incredibly sexy for someone who’d just leaped out of bed. She put a hand to her mouth and let out a muffled scream. Behind her a sleepy Crispin trailed in wearing the clothes he’d arrived in. The sleepy expression vanished as soon as he saw what we were all staring at.
    Charlie leaned down and – rather unnecessarily, I thought – felt for a pulse before shaking his head and retreating.
    The five of us stood there, scattered about the lounge, keeping a distance from our murdered friend and for several minutes, maybe even longer, no one spoke.
    It was Crispin who finally broke the deafening silence, his voice shaky. ‘It looks like she’s been dead a little while. The blood looks pretty dry and there’s not much of it. I read somewhere that the heart stops pumping blood the moment it stops beating, which means she must have died very quickly.’
    â€˜That knife looks like it was plunged straight into her heart,’ said Charlie. ‘By someone who knew what they were doing.’
    â€˜Fucking hell,’ said Luke again, seemingly unable to tear his eyes from Louise’s corpse.
    â€˜Do you think it was the same guy I saw at the window?’ asked Marla, looking round anxiously. ‘He could still be here.’
    â€˜We need to check the house for any signs of forced entry,’ I said, fighting to stay calm. ‘He didn’t come in the front door. It was bolted from the inside.’
    â€˜He didn’t come through the windows here either,’ said Crispin. ‘They’re all locked.’
    â€˜All the windows automatically lock when they’re shut,’ said Charlie. ‘There are only two doors in and I bolted them both after Crispin arrived, so no one