Tsuba woke early the next morning to the sound of birdsong, but it wasn't that sound that woke him. It was the absence of another familiar rasping sound that got his attention, Francesca wasn't snoring. He rose in one movement and moved to the curtain that separated them,
“Francesca...?”He called, listening intently, “...are you...” he pulled the curtain slightly aside, “...alrig-?” His voice trailed far away, knowing she was dead the instant he saw her ghastly white visage. She lay propped up in bed with a copy of Troilus and Cressida on her lap, her eyes closed and her jaw slack. Tsuba brimmed with compassion, once again deeply saddened by the loss of another life that had been little more than a flicker. He ground his teeth, unable to block the assault of memories from his younger days, the terrible slaughter, and the loss of his wife. Only she hadn't died. She had left him. Left him drained of all emotion but pity.
He could tell that Francesca had not been dead for long but he wasted no time in tending to her body. Bundling her up in a tight roll of bedding he was surprised how light she was. It was still early morning when he started up the bus and headed for Stratford upon Avon.
Sir Clive's House
Trapped in the cellar Sir Clive gingerly dabbed a wet swab to his bruised face,
a manic grin insinuated itself across his face,
“You can’t keep me in here…” He yanked open the drawer containing his surgical tools, “…I’m coming for you…” A heavy and glittering blade reflected his manic eye, “…I’m coming to get you…” He started to scrape away at the wall, knowing that beneath the plaster lay the door to a bricked up room, “…and when I get you…” He scraped and chipped, chipped and scraped, “...I’m going to make you scream.”
*
Return to London
The return boat trip boat to London had been spent mostly in polite silence. Walther wanted them gone from his life, at least for a while. Susan still seethed, her anger undiminished, her desire for revenge becoming an imperative. And Richard wanted his life back. His business, his best friend, and his wife.
Walther retrieved Susan's car from his garage. They all shook hands on the quayside,