Roommates (Roger Taylor/Queen)

35. Only The Beginning

CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE
'ONLY THE BEGINNING'

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AFTER THE BAND'S GIG TONIGHT IN BETHNAL GREEN, Roger and I headed across town to meet up with the others at a bar in Soho to celebrate his birthday and the success of the show, my means of persuasion having worked perfectly. We sat next to each other quietly on the tube, the only other people in the carriage being a few night shift workers and a group of rowdy lads obviously planning to hit the town as well. I watched them as they got off at the next platform, laughing and joking loudly as they disembarked the train, as a sudden uneasy feeling stirred in the pit of my stomach.

I had been looking forward to tonight, so much so I'd bothered to doll myself up; hair, makeup, nice outfit, the lot. Roger was looking rather dapper himself, in his jeans and leather jacket, believe me it was hard to keep my hands off him. Tonight was supposed to be a laugh, a couple of hours of nonchalant fun and a chance to let go, but after the news I'd received this afternoon, I think I was going to struggle to truly enjoy myself.

I'd just got in the door from work (yes I still had a job, although I'm surprised I haven't been fired yet) with the first thing I did being putting the kettle on and making myself a long awaited cup of tea. Roger was at the market with Freddie, no doubt trying their hardest to flog their second-hand, most likely stolen, stock and make whatever they could. I hadn't gotten the drummer much for his birthday - a pair of new drumsticks, a bottle of Southern Comfort and a couple of packets of fags, which he was more than happy with. At the moment, though, I was just glad to be alone, though that to be almost interrupted straight away by an unexpected knock at the front door.

When I opened it there stood a policeman, although it took me a moment to realise it was the same policeman that interviewed me the night of the break in; a serious look set upon his face. He didn't have to say anything for me to know that this couldn't be good, but I invited him in nonetheless. Sitting across from him in the sitting room, he gave me the news I'd been dreading.

Colin had been released from prison due to insufficient evidence.

The information came like a punch to the gut. After everything he'd done, after telling the police all everything that had happened, Colin would be walking out of prison scot-free (literally) because the police had found none of his DNA in the house. They had no hard evidence to send him down, I could have been lying for all they knew. It was so disappointing. But that disappointment soon turned to fear, fear about what this meant for my safety. The officer assured me that Colin was on their radar and any attempts to contact me made by him would be followed up immediately, but to be honest, that didn't give me much peace of mind.

With this now in the back of my mind, I just couldn't relax. I sat there next to Roger on the tube, my knee bouncing up and down nervously as I anxiously watched people get off and on the train, dreading to see a face I recognised.

'Heidi?' I continued to stare blankly at the doors, 'Heidi?'

Snapping out of my daze, I turned to see the drummer looking at me.

'Are you alright? You're very quiet.'

I forced a smile, 'Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Sorry, I...zoned out.'

Smiling back, Roger luckily didn't question my strange demeanour any further. I wasn't going to tell him the news tonight; tonight was about having a good time, and that's exactly what I was going to try and do. I'd gone to the effort of making this happened, I wasn't about to let Colin ruin it.