He should've gone straight to the forest. If he had, his job would've been much easier. But the shore called him. And the sunrise took his breath away. His sunrise outshone her sunset. The painting's sunset had been all rosy red with a hint of other colours. His sunrise was all sun. The perfect blend of white into yellow into sunshine. In awe, he watched the rays push out the dark blue, starry sky.
"Beautiful, ain't it?"
Neil spun round to face Greg. Greg's hangover bags under his eyes were saggier than usual. Neil couldn't remember the last time he had partied so hard. Her expensive tastes meant he had had to work twelve hour days whether he liked it or not. He just couldn't afford a hangover anymore.
"Walkin' to sober up," Greg mumbled. "She came home early."
"They like to surprise us. It keeps us on our toes."
"Yeah...Yeah...Sucks, though, don't it?" Greg rubbed his throat and coughed. "You didn't show."
"I had business to take care of." Neil kicked the trunk. "I'm doing what you said."
"Said? When?"
"The message you left last night? The one about dropping the dead weight?"
Greg shook his head, a nervous look on his face. "Dunno what yer talking about." He flung open the lid and heaved. Neil shut it, trying not to laugh. "What the fuck? Is that...her?"
"Quite rigid."
"How did it happen?"
"She drowned in the bath." Neil's smile slipped away, leaving a blank expression. "It was an accident. Accidents happen."
Greg raised an eyebrow. "Where's--"
"At Bonnie's. I last saw her when she left."
"Just like you told me last night..."
"Just like that, yes."
The men bent down to pick up the trunk. Greg sniffed the air, his nose leading him straight to the trunk. "Smell that?"
"What?"
Neil took a deep breath and let the scents tickle his brain. He remembered the salty taste of waves that woke him after a party at sea. He smelt candy floss from school trips to the beach. He smelt morning dew flowing over from the forest in the distance.
"Well, duh!" Greg shook his head and inhaled again. "It's...it's...strawberries? Yeah. Smells like you-know-how."
Neil nodded, still smelling dew.
They carried the trunk to the road and Neil opened the boot, propping the trunk against the bumper. A sweet smell escaped from inside. Neil licked his lips.
Greg dropped the trunk and grabbed his nose. He backed away, retching, his face bright pink. "You smell that?"
Neil nodded and thought of strawberries.
"No, it's sweeter! Sickeningly sweet. God!" Greg faced the beach and took several deep, very deep breaths. He turned back, pinching his nose, and asked, "Can't you smell that? Like, seriously, you can't?"
Neil shoved the trunk into the boot. Before he could close it, Greg's gaze shifted to the back of the boot. Greg's face turned paper white and then lime green. When Neil stepped closer to him, he jumped from fright. Greg's nervous laugh couldn't disguise his trembling body.
"What's wrong?" Neil followed Greg's gaze to the boot, a bloody butcher knife at the back.
"Mate, you know the message you said I left? I said something about dead weight?"
"You told me to drop it." Neil spread his arms. "I'm free! I've never felt better."
"All that smell from that little dog?" Greg's hand slid into his bulky pocket. "Neil, mate, promise me it was an accident. That's all I wanna hear."
"I didn't plan this. It just happened." Neil lifted his jacket, revealing his scars. "You could say it was self defence."
Greg nodded, his eyes welling with tears. He wiped his nose on his sleeve and gave Neil a hug - that was a first.