Need to speak to you urgently. It’s a matter of life anddeath. I’ve travelled back in time from Boxing Day to unmask the ChristmasKiller. He’s going to kill again today. Interested? Kay x x
She pressed send, wondering whether or not it had been agood idea to put the kisses on the end, but it was done now.
It was a matter of seconds before her phone rang. Kay hadcertainly grabbed his attention. She explained briefly what she was doing, andwhy, then they arranged to meet up in town.
They met in the quietest of three branches of a chain ofcoffee shops that were slowly taking over the town. Kay didn’t like the placeat all, but it did provide a degree of anonymity, something Kent had insistedon. She preferred Josie’s, but there was no way they could go there as that waswhere Kent’s wife worked.
Fortunately Kent offered to pay for the coffee which wasjust as well, as she couldn’t afford the prices for their fancy drinks. Theywere twice the price of the coffee in Josie’s. Settling down over their drinks,Kay explained the situation in more detail.
“So there you have it,” she concluded. “Tonight, poor Anna’sgoing to get raped and butchered to death on the woody path opposite the parkand I intend to be there to find out who did it.”
“I think it’s a great idea,” said Kent. “You’re definitelymaking more constructive use of your days than I did.”
“I thought you would approve,” replied Kay. “You said it wasa good idea in the other timeline, too. Back there, two days in the future,your other self is waiting for me and we are going to go to D.I. Bensontogether with the information.”
“Yes, that’s probably going to be the toughest bit,” saidKent. “Hannah doesn’t exactly rate me on my detecting skills. I’m not sureexactly how we are going to persuade her, but we can discuss that when you getback. In the meantime, we need to concentrate on making sure nothing goes wrongtoday.”
“OK, so let’s go over what we know,” said Kay. “We know Annawas in The Red Lion until after midnight, before walking home, presumablyalone. We know where she was killed, or at least where the body was found. Soall we really need to do is follow her and see what happens.”
“That’s where things start to get tricky,” said Kent. “Whenthe killer struck, he must have taken care to ensure there was no one elsearound. If he sees you following her up the road, it’s going to put him off,isn’t it?”
“Good point,” replied Kay. “So how do we work around that?”
“How about if I go up to the woods and hide out there aboutmidnight?” said Kent. “You wait in the pub, then text me when Anna leaves. Thatway, I’ll know when to expect her, and we shouldn’t spook the killer fromcarrying out his plan.”
“This sounds so wrong,” replied Kay. “It’s almost as if weare aiding and abetting him.”
“We’re not because it’s already happened and everything inthis universe is going to cease to exist. I’m not feeling particularly goodabout that myself, to tell you the truth.”
“Why?” asked Kay.
“Think about it,” said Kent. “This version of me, the newone that’s been created by you coming back here, well, I am effectively goingto die at the end of today.”
“But you’ll still be alive in the other universe,” repliedKay.
“That’s true, I will, but it won’t be the same me that isphysically here right now. As soon as you arrived here this morning when theangel created this new universe, you effectively signed the death warrants ofeveryone in it.”
“I hadn’t thought of it that way before,” said Kay. “Butthat’s not really going to harm any of these people, is it? None of them knowit’s not the real universe. When the angel deletes it, they will justdisappear. It’s not like they will die a painful death, screaming in agony, isit?”
“But I know,” replied Kent glumly. “Whatever I do today,this version of me is now effectively doomed.”
“Look at it positively,” said Kay. “You are free fromconsequences just as much as I am now. You can do whatever you want.”
She thought about suggesting they rekindle their romance butstopped short. Although that would be a fun way to spend the afternoon, it wasthe sort of thing the old Kay would have done and she was turning over a newleaf now.
“I could do whatever I wanted, but I’ve already been thereand bought the T-shirt. What I really ought to do is focus on helping youunmask this killer,” replied Kent. “What do you think of my plan to wait in thewoods?”
“In principle, it’s great,” replied Kay. “But I can see aflaw in that plan.”
“What’s that?” asked Kent.
“If you are up there unmasking the killer and I’m still inthe pub, I won’t know who did it, will I?” reasoned Kay.
“Well, I’ll tell you afterwards,” said Kent.
“What if it’s not that easy?” asked Kay. “What if he spotsyou and you get into a fight? He might even kill you! Or what if I get whiskedback to Boxing Day before you have time to tell me? It’s putting too muchuncertainty into the mix. I think your plan is good, but we need to swapplaces. I need to be in the woods and you need to be in the pub.”
“You could just as easily get killed yourself,” said Kent.“Have you thought about that?”
“Would that matter?” said Kay. “None of this is real so I’lljust end up alive again on Boxing Day.”
“Are you sure about that?” asked Kent. “Your body here mightnot be your own, but what about your soul? If you die here, in this body, couldthe very essence of you not die with it?”
“I hadn’t thought of that,” said Kay, feeling a taduncomfortable. “Otherwise I would have asked the angel before I left. I guessI’ll just have to be extra-careful and make sure it doesn’t happen.”
“OK, good. It looks like we’ve got ourselves the making
