Darling - K. Ancrum Page 0,70

and me can’t ever meet with the police in person. He also pays our cell phone bills so he has access to our call and text records, so we can’t talk to them that way, either. We were relying on Ominotago as direct contact for timing, and we missed our connection point. I’d been hoping that you’d get scared off by my story, but you stayed, anyway. You could have gotten away, back—”

“I know, Tinkerbelle, it’s okay.” Wendy squeezed Tinkerbelle’s hand.

“The next opportunity was at the Mermaid’s Lagoon, but by that time, Peter probably knew something was up. The cops chase him every several months or so, but they only tend to do one attack at a time, not many in a single night, so he probably thought he was in the clear—”

Curly interrupted Tinkerbelle. “Peter has been paying the Crocodile off to create interference for as long as I’ve known him.” He nudged Nibs, and Nibs agreed. “The Crocodile takes in a decent chunk of money to keep the police off our backs and texts Peter about where the police will be so Peter can avoid them,” he said. “However, if the Crocodile turns Peter in, he’ll get a lump sum reward, so he’s not 100 percent trustworthy. He’s just holding out to see how much he can get off Peter in the long run before bringing him in.”

Curly frowned, then the corners of his mouth started wavering as he forced himself not to cry. “They met that night with me and Slightly and James at the train party, when Hook almost caught us. The Crocodile agreed that he would protect us all, so long as Peter paid him on time. Not that it did James any good. The Crocodile never said he’d protect us from Peter,” Curly finished bitterly, wiping his eyes on the shoulder of Nibs’s jacket.

Wendy felt a frisson of terror as she reassessed the events of the night. “So Peter really … James … I’d hoped that…”

“You didn’t see James again, did you? Did anyone? Peter probably pushed James off the train,” Fyodor said. He closed his eyes, swaying in a way that made Wendy genuinely concerned about his health. “Is he alive?” He continued, “Perhaps. But also, perhaps not.”

“Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh God. Oh my God,” Wendy mumbled, horrified.

“We don’t have time for you to process this,” Ominotago said firmly. “You probably only have six more minutes before the cops come back. Let’s keep this going. My family knows about Peter and knew the cops were coming to raid the party. The decor was less elaborate, and we had fewer places for someone to hide so that finding Peter in the building might be easier. But he slipped out of there somehow. What else?”

“He never touched me when we were dating,” Tinkerbelle said hollowly. “It was like he didn’t know how.”

“Same,” Ominotago said quickly. She snapped her fingers at the group. “What else?”

“When did you guys figure out all of this?” Wendy asked.

Ominotago pointed at herself and Tinkerbelle. “Three months ago for the both of us. Charles had suspicions slightly earlier, but he got confirmation from the police with me and Tink. We told Fyodor and Minsu soon afterward. Curly?”

Curly looked like he was in agony. “Almost a year,” he said curtly, voice thick. “Alexander … another brother before James … went missing, and I saw Peter washing his hands in the sink. He said Alex had run away, but later I found Alex’s cell phone on the floor in the bathroom behind the toilet, like it had been dropped. Alex wouldn’t have left without it. I told Nibs a month later, and it took him three more months to believe me.”

Nibs clenched his jaw so hard that it looked like it hurt.

“I know it’s not your fault,” Curly continued sharply.

“It’s none of our faults,” Tinkerbelle said.

“I know.” Nibs hung his head. “I’m still sorry. I’ll always be sorry.”

“What did Detective Hook want you to do?” Ominotago asked. “He wouldn’t have told you anything important unless he wanted something from you.” Her eyes were glued to the small window on the waiting room door, watching to see if the officers had returned.

Wendy paused. She wasn’t sure if she was comfortable sharing this information with everyone. It was a bit personal, and she knew it would change everyone’s perception of her immediately upon knowing her direct connection to this situation. Everyone was waiting patiently for her to go on, but Wendy could