AVENGE

CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT - SAMUEL SANSOM

48.

SAMUEL SAMSON

Samuel pulled up on Henry Morton's drive and switched off the engine. He sat for a few moments to consider what he was doing. I need to know. All these deaths. It can't be a coincidence. Oh, I hope he isn't involved. What do I do if he is? Samuel looked at Henry's house and saw the door open. Henry's profile was silhouetted in the doorframe.

Samuel raised a hand then got out of the car. As he strode towards Henry he was beginning to have doubts.

"Something wrong, Sammy?" asked Henry when he saw his face.

"Yes. Possibly anyway."

"Come in." Henry stood aside and Samuel walked in.

He went straight to his normal chair and sat down.

Henry entered the lounge behind him. "Can I get you anything?"

"No thank you, Henry. Not this time."

Henry sat opposite Samuel. "Something's obviously wrong. Tell me."

Samuel was looking at the floor and rubbing his forehead and temple with one hand. "I've got something terrible and awkward to ask you," he said without looking at Henry.

"What is it? You can talk to me."

Samuel looked directly at Henry. "There have been a lot of deaths recently. They have all been members of the jury at your trial."

Henry didn't look away. His gaze remained focused on Samuel. "Really. Who? I mean – I know that Rose died recently in that explosion but who else?"

"Imogen LeButt and Oscar Tomkins. Imogen wasn't a juror but Oscar was and, just now – not ten minutes ago, I heard on the news that Monica Angus has died in a car accident."

"Was Monica a juror?"

"Yes, Henry. You didn't know?"

"I left the trial on day one and was not allowed back – you know that. I didn't know Rose was a juror until it was pointed out to me."

"It just seems unlikely to me that all these jurors start having accidents or committing suicide one after the other. Did you have something to do with it?"

Henry closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. When he opened them again he said, "No, Samuel. Of course not. I didn't even know they were on the jury."

Samuel studied Henry's face. "I don't believe you, Henry. I think you knew who they were and used your abilities somehow to make them kill themselves. I'll bet the other unidentified victims at Rose's place were all jurors as well, Henry. You asked me to get them all together for your show. Is that when you programmed them?"

Henry sat back in his chair. "Listen to yourself, Sammy. Listen to what you're saying. You're accusing me of murder. You're saying I've murdered several people with accidents. They were all accidents."

"But you could have made them do it, Henry. I've seen you make people do things."

"That's not how hypnotism works, Sammy. I can't make a subject physically do something that is against their nature. Their mind would rebel. They would snap out of the hypnotic state and report me. It is impossible."

"That's what you say, Henry. But I still don't believe you. I was on that jury, Henry. Am I next? We all did our best for you. They were all convicted. They will all be old men and women when or if they get out."

"My family will never get old!" snapped Henry. "They'll never have another birthday! I'll never see Samuel and Ellie grow up! They took that away from them! And they get to live on! It's not fair! One of them wasn't even on trial! He got away with it! He got away with it, Samuel!"

Samuel stood up. "I don't know how you managed it but I do know you're responsible, Henry. Some of them weren't even on the jury. Imogen. The two friends of Rose that have been identified as missing. April Squires, who was driving the car in yesterdays accident. All of them – innocent, Henry." Samuel walked to the lounge doorway. "I know you did it. I'll give you until tomorrow to go to the police. Then I'll go myself and tell them what I think. No more, Henry. No one else will die. This has to stop."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Sammy. The whole notion is impossible. I haven't done anything."

"Tomorrow." Samuel left Henry's house. He was shaking as he sat behind his steering wheel with Henry, once again, silhouetted in his doorway.

Samuel backed out of the drive and drove home with tears falling from his eyes.