Remember My Name Part

BANG!

Lydia Grant hears a loud noise and becoming concerned asks: "What on earth was that?"

David Reardon is struggling to control the car: "I'm not sure but I think I've got flat tyre!"

He finds a safe place to park, pulls the car over and gets out to check.

Mrs Berg tuts: "Darn it, I'm never gonna get be in the book now!"

Lydia turns to the older woman: "Mrs Berg, what are you talking about? This isn't about being in any book. It's about trying to help our friend Elizabeth, remember?."

Mrs Berg nods in full agreement: "Oh yes dear, of course I know that dear."

A wry little smile creeps across her face as she continues: "But it would be rather nice to see my name in print. I was hoping we'd be the heroes sweeping in to save Miss Sherwood!"

Lydia laughs: "Well at the moment we've got to get there before we can do anything heroic!"

Mrs Berg nods: "I do hope poor Miss Sherwood is okay."

David gets back into the car and sighs: "Well we've definitely got a flat tyre, so we are going nowhere fast. I've got a spare in the trunk but it's going to take me a while to change it."

Lydia bites her lip while she considers what to do. After a few moments she suggest: "Okay so it looks like we'll have to get a taxi and come back for the car later!"

The three of them agree, get out the car and start to hail a taxi.

At the restaurant there had also been a loud bang as a solitary shot was fired from a gun. Elizabeth Sherwood was in darkness. Instinctively when the gun fired she had closed her eyes in fright. For a long moment there had been silence and Elizabeth just stood as still as possible scared what she might find if she opened them. However now she can hear someone crying.

Slowly Elizabeth opens her eyes and sees Archie on the floor holding his leg, which is covered in blood, and he's crying with pain. The gun is on the floor besides him.

For a moment Elizabeth is unsure as to what had happened. She'd expected to open her eyes to find she had been shot herself or worse that she'd never open her eyes again, but not to see her attacker had been shot. She wondered if some how Archie had shot himself by accident but wasn't sure how that would have been possible.

Suddenly a familar voice behind her asks: "Miss Sherwood are you okay?"

The voice startles her at first and she quickly turns round to see Quentin Morloch standing in the doorway holding a gun. With the way the light was shinning through from the corridor beyond him all Elizabeth can see is what looks like a shadowy hero. She recognises Morloch voice and asks: "Mr Morloch what on earth are you doing here?"

Morloch grins: "Well you said you'd call me but after I was home I realised you don't have my number. So you wouldn't be able to call, so I decided to drive back again. When I got here I couldn't see anyone, then I heard voices, so I came up here. I was about to come in when I heard what was being said and realised that you were in trouble so I went to get my gun and got back just in time."

Morloch's grin turns into a bit of a laugh as he continues: "You know it feels good to be the hero for once, instead of the bad guy everyone always thought I was when I worked at our school."

Elizabeth thinks back to all the fights they had as teacher and principal. It wasn't just her Morloch seemed to have a knack at getting to fights with just about everyone, teachers and students alike.

Suddenly the light glistens off the gun Morloch is still holding and that brings Elizabeth back to reality. She asks: "You keep a gun in your car?"

Morloch nods: "I sure do! There's some crazy people out there Miss Sherwood, as you seem to have found out. It's always worth protecting yourself, as long as you know how to use it of course. Might I suggest you get a gun of your own? You never know when it might come in handy with the escapades that you seem to keep falling into."

Elizabeth dismisses the idea as the very thought of having a gun contradicts everything she's ever believed in. She has no intention of getting a gun not now, not ever. She turns to Morloch and states: "But you shot him, couldn't you have just threatened him a little?"

Morloch acts proudly "Well yes I did, but I was only aiming for his leg to wound him. The way I saw things, it was either me shoot him or he would shoot you Miss Sherwood and I somehow suspect he wasn't looking to just wound you!"

The thought of what might have been sends shivers down Elizabeth's spine. Slowly she walks over to the doorway, where Morloch is standing. For a moment she stands looking at him and feels like she's about to burst into tears. Fighting them back she quietly asks: "Mr Morloch May I please have a hug?"

She then reaches out her arms and hugs him tightly.

A gentle smiles crosses Morloch's face. He'd always had a soft spot for Miss Sherwood and loved that there bodies were now so close together: "Be My guest."

The thought of what Archie was trying to do to her had caught up with Elizabeth. Suddenly she felt vulnerable and emotional. She never thought she'd be so happy to see Morloch again. She'd needed a hug and felt safer with his arms wrapped around her. She reaches upwards and gently kisses his cheek and whispers: "Thank you."

A single tear slowly rolls down her cheek. Morloch notices and hugs her tighter: "It's okay Elizabeth, it's all over now, Quentin is here to save you."

Suddenly he feels nervous and stammers as he asks: "Erm....It...it Is okay to call you Elizabeth isn't it, Miss Sherwood?"

Morloch had always been a stickler for formality and for most of their relationship had always refered to each other by their title and surname.

Elizabeth seperates a little from him, with her arms still holding on to his arms, she looks up to his face and smiles: "Yes Quentin it's okay to use my first name. I think we've known each other long enough by now, don't you."

She moves back closer to him, putting her head on his chest and wrapping her arms around his waist and hugs him again.

A huge beaming smiles spreads across Morloch face as he holds Elizabeth in his arms. When he'd decided to get back in touch with Elizabeth he'd hope to rekindle their friendship. He'd even hoped for a little romance. He'd always thought that there was a strong connection but had been too scared to act upon it. Scared that he'd be rejected but now he feels he might just be in with a chance. He gently places a kiss upon the top of Elizabeth's head.

Lydia, David and Mrs Berg finally arrive at the restaurant and rush inside. They look around and are surprised to find it is empty.

Lydia exclaims: "There's no one here! I thought the police would be here by now. I did tell Mr Dyrenforth to call them."

David stops to think for a moment: "But did you actually tell him where we were going?"

Lydia pulls a face: "Whoops, well that explains why they aren't here."

David suggests: "Maybe this guy's taken her somewhere else?"

Mrs Berg ponders for a moment before replying: "You mean tied her up and gagged her, put her in the trunk of a car and driven off to the dessert, where after torturing her, he's dug a shallow grave and burried her alive!"

Lydia feels upset by the statement and worried about her best friend's safety: "Mrs Berg, please that's not helping!"

Mrs Berg is apologetic: "Oh sorry dear, maybe I did get a little carried away. I do enjoy crime novels and TV programmes. Mr Berg always tells me I have a very active imagination."

Lydia turns to David feeling dispondant: "What do we do now?"

David shrugs then stops asks her to be quiet: "Ssshh! I think I hear voices!"

They all stop and listen. Lydia agrees: "Yes I can too they are coming from upstairs."

Mrs Berg shakes her head in dismay: "Well I'm sorry I can't hear anything."

The three make their way upstairs. At the top David notices two figures stood in a doorway at the end of the corridor. One is Elizabeth as he can see her face the other is a taller middle aged man with his back to him. He pulls Lydia and Mrs Berg back behind the wall to the stair case: "It's definitely Elizabeth and some guy is holding her."

Lydia peers her head around the wall and is shocked to see the back of the man standing in the doorway. Moving back around the wall she whispers: "That's Quentin Morloch, I'd recognise him anywhere, even from behind. Oh my goodness, we were wrong, it's not Archie or Pierre or whatever he's called. Quentin Morloch is Elizabeth's stalker."

Mrs Berg also peers around the wall and realises that Miss Grant is right. Mrs Berg's mouth falls wide open in surprise and she has to place her clenched fist into her mouth to stop her making any noise.

Moving back around the wall to the others, she mutters angrily: "I knew it! That low down good for nothing mongrel. I knew Mr Morloch was a ogre and couldn't be trusted but I never thought that even he would stoop this low. Oh I'm so going to give him a piece of my mind...."

Lydia becomes worried that they'll be overheard and whispers quietly but forcefully: "Quiet Mrs Berg, he'll hear you and we don't want him to know we are here and cause him to do something stupid."

Mrs Berg apologises and whispers: "I'm sorry dear, you're right, but he just makes me so angry."

David pulls out his gun: "Lydia, I've got this covered, you go down stairs and call the police."

Lydia rushes off downstairs. While David takes aim at Morloch with his gun."

Mrs Berg is surprised and mutters: "My Mr Reardon that is a big one but be careful that beast has got Miss Sherwood in his arms you might hit her. Are you a good shot?"

David swallows hard and admits: "Well, erm... I've never actually used a gun yet so I don't really know."

Mrs Berg reaches for the gun: "Then give it to me, I've always fantasied about shooting that animal!"

David pulls the gun away and holds it above his head where the older woman can't reach it and mutters: "I don't think that's a very good idea. We're here to help, not make matters worse."

Mrs Berg nods in agreement but feels helpless. She thinks for a moment of what she can actually do to help. All the horrible things she'd seen Morloch do in the past whizz through her mind and her anger increases. Suddenly she starts walking down the corridor to the function room.

David is surprised and tries to call quietly: "Mrs Berg! What are you doing? Come back!"

At the other end of the corridor, Mrs Berg takes a leap and jumps on Morloch's back. Holding on with one arm, she starts hitting him on the head with the other: "Take that you brute. How dare you try to hurt Miss Sherwood. I never trusted you..."

Morloch is shocked and starts to yelp with pain. Elizabeth pulls away from him and is surprised to see Mrs Berg clinging to Morloch's back, hitting him and yelling.

Elizabeth pulls at the older woman's arm: "Mrs Berg, it's okay. Mr Morloch isn't the villian, he's the one that rescued me."

Mrs Berg feels slightly awkward. She stops hitting the man and climbs down back on to the ground.

Morloch winces with pain and while rubbing his head turns around to face the old woman. Angrily he snaps: "MRS BERG, have you lost your mind. What the hell are you doing?"

Mrs Berg is apologetic: "Oh Mr Morloch I am sorry but I thought you were trying to hurt Miss Sherwood. I thought you were going to tie her up and torture her, put her in your car, drive to the dessert and bury her alive in a shallow grave and leave her to die!"

Morloch shakes his head in confusion: "What? Why on Earth would I do that?"

Mrs Berg shrugs.

Morloch takes a deep breath: "Well I can see we haven't changed have we Mrs Berg?"

Mrs Berg gives a sweet smile: "Why thank you Mr Morloch!"

BANG!

Suddenly another shot is fired.

Lydia is on her way back from calling the police and hears the shot ring out upstairs. She rushes back up the stairs, where she find David holding his gun. She looks down the corridor and sees blood coming out of Morloch's arm. Worriedly she asks: "David did you shoot Morloch?"

David is hurt by the question: "Lydia how could you ask such a thing? Of course I didn't shoot Morloch!"

Lydia shrugs: "Well you are the one with the gun. So if you didn't shoot him, then who did?"

At the other end of the corridor Morloch is yelping with pain from his arm where he's been shot.

In the function room Archie is sat on the floor with his gun aimed at Elizabeth. Having shot Morloch he orders Elizabeth to move to where he is and for the others to move away and close the door. Slowly everyone does as they are told.

Mrs Berg shuts the door and David and Lydia rush to meet Mrs Berg and Morloch, who is still yelping.

Lydia snaps: "Come on Mr Morloch stop being such a baby!"

Morloch is indignant: "Oh Miss Grant how nice to see you too!"

Lydia throws him a dirty look and asks: "Who's that in the room? Who shot you?"

Morloch shrugs: "I don't know his name, it's the waiter guy who has been stalking Elizabeth."

Lydia mutters: "So it was Archie after all."

Mrs Berg is shocked: "Oh and I always thought he was such a nice boy."

Morloch gives the older woman a dirty look: "Oh you're such a good judge of charatcer!"

David interjects: "Well what do we do now?"

Lydia announces: "The Police are on their way. I just hope Archie doesn't do anything to Elizabeth before they arrive."

Morloch leans towards the door and shouts: "Give it up Kid, the police are on their way, so there's no way out of this for you! Come out now with your hands up and they'll go easy on you. Make this harder and you'll end up in jail for a long time to come."

Lydia slaps Morloch on the arm and snaps: "Stop that, don't tell him the police are on the way. We don't want to give him any advantage, who knows what he'll do to Elizabeth."

Morloch yelps with pain again as Lydia had been hitting the arm he was shot in.

Lydia realises and apologises: "Oh sorry about that Mr Morloch, I forgot that you'd been shot!"

Morloch snaps: "Doesn't one of you do gooders have a handkerchief or something you can wrap around my wound? I don't want to bleed to death."

Mrs Berg smiles and pulls our her lace handkerchief: "My Mother always told me to be prepared!"

In the function room Archie has ordered Elizabeth to use one of the napkins on the table to put around his leg to try and stop the bleeding. She quickly moves to a nearby table picks up a napkin and begins to dress his wound.

Elizabeth speaks gently: "They are right you know. There's no way out of this now that the Police are on their way, it's gone to far. Your plan of the perfect crime hasn't worked. You can't blame this on anyone else now."

Archie snaps: "Shut up. I still have this!"

He hold the gun up in the air: "If I don't get out of here a free man then no one gets out alive."

He points the gun at Elizabeth and continues: "Firstly I'll kill you then I'll kill myself. I've got nothing to lose now. So shut up and do as I say!"

With that he laughs, a sly horrible laugh that sends chills down Elizabeth's spine.

To be continued......

Part 8