"Ladies and gentlemen, can I have your attention?" "I want to thank you for coming out this evening to celebrate the publication of Hat Vezey's brilliant new picture-book!" "Hat?" " Ah." " Hat, where are you?" "Excuse me." "Thank you." "Roald Dahl with depth, Beatrix Potter with better jokes, and illustrations to die for!" "Well done!" "I'm really glad you could make it tonight." " It was a great turnout, wasn't it?" " I think that went well." " You?" " Yeah." " Well, you absolutely deserve it." "You really do." " Oh, thanks so much." "Hat, it's Pete." "Listen, I know you're not over the moon about tomorrow night, but it'll be a doddle." "All you have to do is walk around and look wise." "Thanks." "I owe you for this." " Hello." "Hat Vezey." " Sorry, what name did you say?" " Hat Vezey." " Vezey?" "Oh." "I wanted to speak to..." "Mrs. Church." " You must have the wrong number." " What was your number?" " 960246." " That's what I've got written down." "Someone's obviously made a mistake." "Sorry to have bothered you." " Thanks for being so helpful." " No problem." "Bye." "I just wanted to ask, are you Hat Vezey, the well-known children's author?" "Yes." "Wow." "My little daughter loves your books." "I must have read them to her a hundred times." "Well, thanks." "That's really kind of you to say so." "I'd better go." "Bye." " Bye." "Thanks." " Bye." "Hat Vezey." "Who is it?" "Hello?" "Is anyone there?" "Can you say something, please?" "That's good." "Don't bother with the details yet." "Just get the proportions." "No, freer." "I'm sorry." "You're not taking the class." "You can't come in." "I am taking the class." "Are you sure?" "I'm supposed to have ten students." "I've got ten students." "I registered late." "The office told me to come." "They said they'd let you know." " I'm Stephen." "Stephen Kite." " I'm sorry, but they didn't let me know." "Oh." "Oh, well." "Never mind." "I'll... come back next week, then." "Stephen?" " Have you done much drawing before, Stephen?" " Yes, quite a bit." "Right." "Well, then, you'll know that the human body's a very difficult subject." "First you have to get the proportions right." "You can use your charcoal as a guide, like this." "Chop her up into sections." "The head." "The torso." "Keep your eye on the model, Stephen." "Don't look at me." "And then transfer that to the paper." " Bye." "See you." " Bye." "Bye-bye." "I just wanted to say thank you." " You weren't discouraged?" " No!" "No, not at all." " Far from it." " Good." "Can I take you for a drink?" "No." "Thanks for the offer, though." "Can I help?" " You're a wonderful teacher, Hat." " Thanks." " I'm not, but thanks." " Why do you say that?" "I'm not." "I haven't got the personality for it." "Don't put yourself down." "You've got a great personality." "You make me feel... confident, like I can do... anything." "Good." "That's good." " Hat Vezey." " That's me." "Well-known children's author." " Why do you say that?" " Well, you are, aren't you?" "Someone said that to me last night, those exact words. "Well-known children's author"." " It must be true, then." " No one's said it before." "How do you know about me?" "I... saw your picture in the window of a bookshop." "Right." "Oh, I can walk." "Let me out here." "I wouldn't dream of it." "I'll take you home." " Really, there's no need." " Shouldn't be out alone at night." "Stop here." " Fate." " Sorry?" "Meeting you like this, after seeing your picture." "I've never met anyone like you, Hat." "I think you're just so..." "Look, Stephen," "I'm sure you're really sweet, but I don't need a boyfriend now." "I split up with someone recently and, well, it was pretty gruesome." "I'm still getting over it." "Sorry, bad timing." "Thanks for the lift." "Wait." "I'll walk you to the door." "Well, this is it." "Goodnight." "Can't I come in?" " Didn't you hear me?" " Sorry." "I need to use the toilet." " Look, Stephen..." " I'll only be two minutes." "I did give you a lift." "The bathroom's there." "And then I'd like you to leave." "Yes, now." "Now this minute." "I'll explain when you get here." "Just come." "This is great." "Oh, God, you've amazing taste." "No." "No, please." "Please." "I'm gonna get a place just like this." "I live with my grandmother at the moment." " Really?" " Oh, it's only temporary." "She can look after herself." "She's just getting a bit you know, batty." "Look, Stephen, I'm very tired." "You're so talented." " Will you go?" " Have you read all these books?" "Please." "Wow." "This is where you work." "It's just... beautiful." "Like you." "That's why I've fall..." "Gosh." "Wonder who that can be." " You all right?" " Oh, Cally!" "What you been up to?" "My neighbour." "Cally, this is Stephen." "I'm just going." "I'll show you out." " I'll see you next week, Hat, if not before." " Next week?" "At the art class." "No." "I was just standing in for a friend." "Sorry, one time only." "Goodnight." "The moral of this story is never accept lifts from strangers." "Not all men are like Mark, you know." "Just all the ones I meet." "If you give up sex, Mark's won, hasn't he?" " How do you figure that out?" " It's what bastards like that want." "They dump you, they expect you to crash and burn." " How was your evening?" " It was all right." "I've had the most wonderful evening of my life." "I've fallen in love." "Again?" "That wasn't love." "No, no." "I can see that now." "This time it's the real thing." "I haven't told her yet, but..." "I'm gonna marry her." "# Go, go, go, get over you..." "# You drive me crazy, up the wall Think you're Mr. Know-It-All" "# Go, go, go, go, go, I'll get over you... #" "Hi, this is Hat." "Sorry I'm not here at the moment." "Please leave a message." "Hat." "Please." "Why won't you pick up the phone?" "!" "You're going to have to talk to me sometime, because I'll keep calling until you do!" "# I've let you stay a while Now I am getting bored" "# No substance in your style and you're not the man you thought that you were... #" " Miss Vezey?" " Yes?" "I have some flowers for you." "Thank you." "I really fancy her, Cally." "Scared her off, didn't I?" "Oh, I'm just so crap at all this." "I've just..." "I just don't know how to make the right moves." "You've just got to take things slowly." "You know, Hat's just come out of a really shitty relationship." "Really?" "I didn't realise that." "Yeah." "Mark." "Art dealer." "Floppy hair." "Flash car." "Hugh Grant clone." "He got Hat pregnant, made her have an abortion that she didn't want and he dumped her for some posh tart he'd been screwing all along." "Poor Hat." "How did she take it?" "She lost it, big time." "She wouldn't eat." "She wouldn't wash." "Then one night she downs a bottle of vodka, goes round to his flat and he's there with Victoria, Fiona, whatever her name was." "I'll spare you the gory details, but she ended up in a police cell." "Hi, this is Hat." "Sorry I'm not here at the moment." "Please leave a message." "I could kill him for what he did to you." "I'm talking about Mark." "Mark, the bastard, with his poxy gallery and his flash car." "I'd never treat you like that, never in a million years." "I love you." "Leave me alone or I'll call the police!" "Hat!" "Please!" "Wait!" "Why are you doing this to me?" "Why won't you talk to me?" "Why won't you talk to me?" "I love you!" "I love you!" " Who is it?" " It's Pete." " Is everything all right?" " Yeah, why shouldn't it be?" "Come in." "I've been trying to call you." " I unplugged the phone." " You never unplug the phone." " Wine?" " Thanks." "So, taking my class wasn't the ordeal you'd anticipated?" "It was fine." "Just don't ask me to do it again." "Any particular reason?" "Thanks." "Let's just say I'm not cut out for teaching." "Ah." "These are the flowers you mentioned." "Yeah." "You really shouldn't have." "I didn't." "They're not from me." "I just can't take another man screwing up my life!" "Not after Mark." "Hat." "Hat, come on." "Don't you think you're being a bit..." "Hysterical?" "It sounds to me like this Kite chap fancies you and he's coming on a bit strong." "He sabotaged my car." "How strong is that?" " He did what?" " So that he could give me a lift home." " Are you sure?" " The mechanic was sure." "Look, just talk to this guy." "Tell him you're not interested." "Look, I'm sure he'll understand." "Hat, I've got to go." "I came over to ask you out to dinner tomorrow night." "My treat, just for helping me out." " Night-night." "You gonna be all right now?" " I'm fine, thanks, much better." "OK, then." "Take care." "Pete?" "Tomorrow night, what time did you say?" " 7.30 OK?" " Perfect." " See you in San Marco, then." " Bye." "Take care." "I may be a romantic, but I'm not foolish." " And..." " This is a wonderful tale." "And I'm not a very good stalker..." " Your name, please?" " Hat Vezey." "Follow me, please." " Hat?" " Pete, where are you?" " I'm at the hospital." " Are you OK?" "I think I've broken my wrist." " God." "You poor thing." "Have you seen a doctor?" " No, I'm still waiting." " Do you want me to come out?" " No, don't worry." "You look lovely." " You've obviously gone to a lot of trouble." " No." "No!" "I thought you'd have been glad of the company since Pete can't make it." " What do you know about Pete?" " Well, if that was him on the phone, I know he can't be hurt too badly." "Please don't hurt me." "Hurt you?" "Hat!" "Hat!" "How can you say that?" "I'd never hurt you." "I want to look after you." "I love you." " And you love me." " No." "No, I don't." "You just don't know it yet." "You will, in time." "And we've got plenty of time." "We've got the rest of our lives." "Did I say you could use the phone?" "Did I?" "Did I?" "Don't ever disobey me again." "I brought you a present." "Go on, take it." "Open it." " Well?" " It's very nice." "It's a little token of what I feel for you, Hat." "Well, look at it, then!" "It's very valuable." "Cost me a lot of money." "I chose it specially, because I knew you'd like it." "Look, I really can't accept..." "It's beautiful." " Can I try it on?" " Of course." "Perfect." "Help me fasten it." " Open the door, you bitch!" " The police'll be here in five minutes!" " Who is it?" " Hello, Miss Vezey?" "It's the police." "I understand you want to talk to us about an incident." "He barges in here, proposes marriage, gives you a valuable bit of jewellery and you kick him in the balls?" "Sorry, I didn't mean to sound flippant." " It must have been very frightening for you." " I was terrified." "That kick wasn't very clever." "Violence often..." "In the circumstances, Hat, you did the only thing you could." "I think you handled it very well." " Thank you." " I was just speaking to your friend Pete Webster." "He's still in casualty." "Cuts and bruises and a badly broken wrist." " No!" " Could have been a lot worse." "His brakes failed." " I knew it." "I told you so!" " He can't say for sure they were tampered with." "Examine Pete's bike." "You must be able to tell." "We can only do that if your friend makes a formal complaint." " Sorry, Hat." " This Kite fellow, did he actually assault you?" "The whole experience was an assault." "He knocked the phone out of my hands." "Right." "And that's all?" "If I hadn't fought back, God knows what he would have done." "Can we take a look at this choker he gave you?" " Nice, if you like that sort of thing." " It's pretty." " It's antique, I should think." " It's horrible." "Like some kind of bondage collar." "I don't want it." "Give it back to him yourself." " Sorry, love." "We can't do that." " I'm not keeping it." "It's OK, Hat, don't worry about it." "Don't worry about anything." "Let's see what he's got to say." " Let me do the interview, all right?" " Yeah." " How long have you had the shop, Mr. Kite?" " About five years or so." "Come in." "I'm happy to answer your questions, but what is all this about?" "Do you know Harriet Vezey, Mr. Kite?" "Hat?" "Yes, I know Hat." " She hasn't had an accident, has she?" " No." " How long have you known her?" " I've been acquainted with Hat for years now." "We've been seeing each other seriously now for about two and a half months." " When did you last see Miss Vezey?" " This afternoon." "She invited me round for tea." "But when I got round there she was... in a bit of a mood so I never actually got in." " Bit of a mood?" " She was... upset." "Never found out why." "Miss Vezey says she hardly knows you, Mr. Kite." " She only met you a few days ago." " She claims you've been harassing her." "She alleges you forced your way into her flat this evening and terrorised her." "Oh, no." "My friend said something like this might happen, a woman with Hat's history." "What history is that, then?" "Something similar happened with her last boyfriend." "Hat started imagining things." "It all got out of hand." "Unpleasant." "Since then, well, modern medication works wonders, but I'm afraid Hat seems to have stopped taking it." "I'm very fond of Hat." "Very fond." "She can be such fun." "I took this in Cornwall last month." "Happier times." "Hat..." "Hat is..." "She's a troubled young woman." " She said you gave her this choker." " Oh, no." " Did you give it to her?" " It's not mine to give." "It's my grandmother's." " She must have taken it." " You mean stolen it." "I don't want her getting in any trouble for this." "Hat doesn't always know what she's doing." "I don't want this to go any further." "# People, they come together" "# People, they fall apart" "# No one can stop us now" "# .." "lovers" "# Left in my mind" "# I sing in the reaches" "# We'll see what we find" "# No one can stop us now" "# 'Cause we are all made of stars" "# People, they come together" "# People, they fall apart" "# No one can stop us now" "# 'Cause we are all made of stars... #" "Hat." "Hat!" "Hat!" "Why did you involve the police in all this, huh?" "I could've forgiven you anything." "The rejection." "The heartache you caused me!" "Because I loved you." " And I believed you loved me." " I hate you." "Well done!" "Now I hate you." "And I'm gonna make you suffer." "Mr. Kite." " Who are you?" " A friend." " Have you got any brandy?" " I think there's some vodka in the fridge." "That'll do nicely." " You said he's done this before." " Oh, yes." "But now he's gone hi-tech." "Stephen!" "Are you all right in there?" "Why wouldn't I be?" " So why me?" " You mustn't think like that." "That's the first step to blaming yourself." "This isn't personal, Hat." " How can it not be personal?" " You were in the wrong place at the wrong time." "If Kite hadn't got his claws into you, it would've been some other poor girl." " Some other poor girl?" " Yes." "There was some other poor girl before me." "Come on, Grace." "This may not be personal for Kite but it's very personal for you, isn't it?" "Who was she?" "It was... my daughter." "Whenever Karen turned around, he was there." "He phoned 20 times a day." "Wrote her hundreds of letters." "She went ex-directory." "She moved twice." "He always found her." "Most of the time, he was all lovey-dovey." "You know, flowers, presents." "When he felt Karen had betrayed him, been unfaithful..." "Then what did he do?" "When Karen announced her... engagement," "Kite tried to throw acid in her face." "He turned my daughter from a happy, confident young woman" "into a terrified recluse, too frightened to step out of her own front door." " He murdered her?" " No." "She took an overdose of antidepressants." "But Kite stole her life, as sure as if he'd stuck a knife in her heart." "That's Karen." "I only came here for the funeral." "I planned to stay just a few days." "Sort out Karen's things." "He was here." " At the funeral?" " Mm, crying." "Can you believe it?" "That was the first time I saw him close up, face to face." "That's when I decided." "I couldn't save Karen." "But perhaps I could help other women, warn them about him, give them some advice." " Guardian angel?" " I don't know about that." " You don't have to hide under the duvet." " That's a relief." "But you do have to change your habits, your routine, your life." " I can't." " Unless you help yourself, you'll be helping him." "That's Kite's." "The one with the blue door." "Where to now?" "Shall I take you home?" "No." "Drop me off in town, please." "I want to see what the police have to say." "He's been spying on me with this camera hooked up to a laptop." "Sit down, Miss Vezey." "The second time Mr. Kite broke in, did he do much damage?" "No, but he must've stolen my keys." " I looked up your previous, Miss Vezey." " My what?" "You were arrested last April for harassing Mark Leighton Bell." "You were let off with a caution." " What's that got to do with this?" " You're taking medication for your... your psychological problems." " Where's your partner?" " Partner?" "You mean WPC Drew?" " Yeah." "I want to speak to her." " Sorry, she's not here." "She's having a day off." "Look, so far this is all off the record, but if you want to make it official I'll switch on the tape, all right?" "It's your choice." "The police were no help to Karen." "He's too clever." "How can you live like this?" "Well, it's only temporary." "When I sell my house I'll get something better." "He's stealing your life like he stole your daughter's, like he's already stealing mine!" "If I have my way, Kite will be locked up for ever." "But unless he actually murders someone, that's not going to happen." "I need to do something, Grace." "Hi, this is Hat." "Sorry I'm not here at the moment." "Please leave a message." "I know I said some bad things, Hat." "But I didn't mean them." "I was hurt." "Hurt and angry." "If we could just sort this out." "Please pick up the phone." "Pick up the phone, you bitch!" "I steal a car, something big and heavy." "Then I get him to meet me." "I know just the place." "I wait for him." "Then when he steps into the road..." "Then I torch the car so it looks like joyriders." "Perfect." "Don't even have to get my hands dirty." " Bloody." " Yeah, bloody." " What do you want me to do?" " Nothing." "I'm doing this by myself." "Do you know how to steal cars?" "No." "But I know someone who does." "I used to do that when I was young." "Not any more." "Now I'm a law-abiding member of society." "Could you show me how to do it?" " Who's the poor sod?" " The guy who was here the other night." "Stephen." " I thought he was all right." " He's been pestering me." "I say no, but he doesn't hear." "So, can you show me how to do it or not?" "It's not that easy, Hat." "Don't pick a car that's too modern." "Don't pick a car with a steering wheel lock." "And once you're in, you've gotta be able to hot-wire it." "Oi, you!" "You little bastard!" "I could kill him for what he did to you." "We've got plenty of time." "The rest of our lives." "Did I say you could use the phone?" "Did I?" "Did I?" "Why won't you talk to me?" "I'm gonna make you suffer!" "Pick up the phone, you bitch!" "Why are you doing this to me?" "I hate you." "I love you!" "I love you!" " You said you'd help me." " If I can." "I'm not sure murder's really my forte." "I need you to do two things." "Give me an alibi." "Say you were with me through a whole day and night." "Swear to it in court if you have to." "Will you do it?" "Yes, of course." "The alibi'd be stronger if we had another person to back it up." "Is there someone you trust, who knows what happened to Karen?" "Karen's godmother, Maude." "She stayed with her when she was trying to get away from Kite." "Maude hates Kite as much as I do." "Good." "Excellent." "What's the other thing?" "You said you wanted me to do two things." "Go home, Grace." "Take your house off the market and get your life back." "Karen never would have wanted this." " Stephen!" " I'll be there in a minute!" "No, Stephen, I need you here now." "Dingy hole." "All nasty and damp." "And he's down there all the time." "Stephen." "I know..." "I know I should have phoned first." "I just..." "Please don't be cross." "I just wanted to sort out this terrible misunderstanding." "I explained to your grandmother." "You're right." "She's really sweet." "Misunderstanding?" "That crazy woman at my flat the other night with that awful spray thing." "Did you know her?" "I'd never set eyes on her before." "She just burst in and..." "Did it hurt very much?" "Until that happened we were getting on like a house on fire, weren't we?" "Let's kick off, as they say, with footballers' wives." "They're so famous now." "Is that the time?" "I've got to go." "Bye-bye, Mrs. Kite." "It was lovely to meet you at last." "I called to ask you out for dinner tomorrow night, so we can straighten things out." "We could try that place on the Bristol Road." "The Manor House." "Do you know it?" "No, but I'm sure I can find it." " Say 8.30?" " OK." " I'll see you then." " I look forward to it." "How long had she been here?" " How long had she been here?" " Too long." "About ten minutes." " What did she talk about?" " I don't know." "I wasn't paying attention." "Now, get out of the way." "I want to watch my programme." "She's a slut." "You're too good for her." "Hello?" "Hat Vezey." "It's me." " I'm calling to check about tomorrow." " I booked us a table for 8.30." "Is it the big place that's set back down a long drive?" " Yeah." "Have you been there?" " No." "I've driven past." "I'll meet you in the bar." "There's bound to be one." "I'm glad you finally came to your senses, Hat." " I knew you would." " Yeah, well." "Fate." "Wasn't that the word you used?" "We can't escape it." "What are you doing now?" "Nothing much." "A spot of work." "How about you?" "Same." "I'd better go." "Yeah." "Night, Hat." "Night, Stephen." " You got my number?" " Don't worry, I'll find you." " Why don't I stay?" " No." "We talked about this." "It's better if you're already there." " What if someone recognises you?" " No one will see me." " What about his grandmother?" " She's gaga." "He told me himself." "If the police question her, it doesn't matter." "When it happened, I was hundreds of miles away." "That's if they even find the body." "When will I see you?" "God knows." "Sometime tomorrow afternoon?" "How are you actually going to do it?" "You don't want to know." "Just drop me here." " Thank you." " Oh, thanks very much." " Thank goodness I caught you." " What's wrong?" "There's a wedding reception going on." "A girl I was at college with." "There's people in there I haven't seen for ten years." "If they spot me, we'll have to join them." " What shall we do?" " Let's find somewhere else." "Good, that's what I thought." "I liberated this from the reception." " You didn't!" " Yeah." "Well, they messed up our evening." "Pinched a couple of glasses, too." " So, where shall we go?" " I know just the place." " What sort of place?" " Quiet." "Off the road." "Romantic." "Sounds perfect." "Is this romantic or is this romantic?" " Are you coming?" " Yeah, just dropped my keys." "You do like champagne?" "Of course." " To us." " To us." "Stephen." "Emergency." "Which service do you require?" "Police."