Costa Crew 2: They Walk Among Us

Chapter 5 - A Friend In Need

"I came as soon as I could," said Charlotte in a low voice, softly closing the door behind her. "How is she?"

"Not good," whispered Paul. "She hasn't even called her parents."

"She's just sitting in her room staring at the ground," added Hannah. "I haven't seen her blink once."

"The most emotion I've seen from her was when she identified the body," murmured Ted. "I can't imagine what she's going through."

"I know she needs some time with this, but she has to call her parents," said Charlotte. "I'll try talking to her."

Charlotte walked into the hall and eased open the door to Becky's room. Becky was sitting on her bed, eyes fixed at one spot on the floor, exactly as Hannah had described. "Hey," she said softly. "How're you doing?"

Becky shrugged, not looking up. "How d'you think?"

Charlotte sat down beside her. "I won't pretend to understand what you're going through. None of us do. We've lost loved ones before, but not like this. But if you want to talk then we're here for you, and if you need some time alone then that's okay too. But I think you should call your parents and tell them what's happened."

Becky didn't say anything or acknowledge this in any way. "They'd want to hear it from you," continued Charlotte. "They've just lost their son. They'll need you now more than ever."

Becky sighed and grabbed her phone, before looking pointedly at Charlotte, who took the hint and left the room. After a moment's hesitation, she pressed the call button.

As she waited, the temptation to hang up was overwhelming. But she stuck it out and was greeted with a "Hi Becky," from her mother.

"Hi mum, is...is dad there?" Becky asked. "I need to tell you both something."

Faith could sense that something was wrong. "He's here, don't worry."

Becky placed the phone down and clasped her hands together, taking a deep breath as she searched for the right words. "I don't know how to say this. I don't think there's any right way to say this, but...Curt was found dead this morning."

Becky buried her head in her hands as Faith and David took in the words that no parents wanted to hear. She could hear her mother's sobs in the distance, and could only imagine the two of them holding onto each other for dear life. "How?" asked David eventually.

"Stabbed," croaked Becky. "Ted's working on the case."

This seemed to calm her parents very slightly. "I'll come up tomorrow," Becky decided. "I need to see you both."

"Make sure you tell his friends," added Faith. "We'll see you soon."

Becky couldn't think of anything more to say, so she said "Bye." and hung up. Finally standing up, she walked through to the living room where Paul, Hannah, Charlotte and Ted waited.

"I'm going back up to Glasgow tomorrow," she announced. "Just for a while, so that I can be with my family and we can figure out what we're going to do about... everything."

"Not on your own, you're not," said Paul firmly, grabbing his car keys. "I'll drive you up there, and I'll check into a hotel. That way you can be alone with your family but I'll be there if you need me."

Becky grimaced. "Thank you Paul, I appreciate it. But first of all I'm not leaving until tomorrow, and also I can't let you do that. I don't know how long I'll be there for and you've just got your new job."

Paul shook his head. "Samantha can keep things going while I'm away. I need to see DCC Fleming anyway. Also, the car keys were just a gesture, I'll wait until you're ready."