that you need to speak up. Express your truth, and I thought that was very fitting for you. You get nightmares because you haven’t told your side of your story yet, your truth isn’t out, not until it’s published.”
Romeo gawped, the air left his chest, he could hear his heart in his throat. “Wait… I told you about the dogs.”
“Tristram Adams’s dogs?”
“Yeah, and I told you about the movie I left on at number three’s, Georgie—I told you, the place I paused it, the smiling face. Did you write about it in your article?”
“Yeah, they were exclusives, I’d be stupid not to.”
Romeo leaned back in his chair. “Where’s the article?”
“It’s on my laptop.”
“Where is it now?”
“At home, they don’t let me bring it here, I take notes, then write up when I get back.”
“Who has access to your apartment?”
“My mother has a key.”
“Anyone else, partner?”
Holly snorted, shaking her head. “No, he wants me back, but—”
“I just need to know who might have read that article.”
“Only me … but…”
“But what?”
“It’s nothing.”
“Tell me.”
Holly frowned. “Someone broke into my apartment a few months ago, but there’s been a spate of break ins around the area. Expensive places like that draw a lot of attention.”
“Did they take anything?”
“Jewelry, money.”
“The laptop was there?”
“They didn’t find it. I hid it under the sofa. Practically brand new, state of the art, curtesy of my—”
“Every good thief would look under the sofa. Someone has read that article.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The Copycat Killer!”
Holly darted looks at Paul, and Fred, then looked back at Romeo. “There’s a copycat?”
“Yeah, someone that leaves magpie feathers at the scene of the crime, and then sends me one to the prison. A feather for each victim.”
Holly’s lips popped open. “You think they’ve read my article?”
“I think they could be using it as a blueprint.”
“But the police haven’t said anything, they haven’t made any statement about a copycat.”
“They’re keeping it quiet. You need to contact DI Grimes. Tell him about the article and tell him to look at the break in again.”
“I will.”
“Then Chad will be out of the spotlight.”
Holly froze, and her expression soured. “Chad? What has this got to do with him?”
“He’s their best lead on the copycat, but they’re wrong. The article is how the killer knew about the dogs, the movie, the magpie—”
“Wait, where’s Chad now?”
“He’s gone.”
Holly licked her lips. “You want me to tell the DI so that Chad might be cleared … so he’ll come back.”
“He’s innocent.”
“Maybe of this crime.”
Romeo scrunched his face. He could see the plotting behind Holly’s eyes, the sparkle of something. He’d pushed her too far, toyed with her to the point of obsession.
“Chad is not a killer.”
“I told him to back off.”
“You had no right to tell him that.”
“I was looking out for you, Romeo. Someone has to look out for you. Coming here, flaunting your failure. Making you reliant on him. He’s exploiting your Lima Syndrome.”
“My what?”
Holly nodded. “Lima Syndrome. I wrote about that in my article, too. It’s where the abductor feels sympathy for the captive. You healed Chad’s injured leg, cooked him food, kept him warm by the fire. You showed empathy, and now you’re locked up, he’s not let you go, he’s kept you dangling, strung along. He exploits that care. No wonder you have such difficulty expressing emotions.”
“Did you write about Chad in your article?”
Holly turned away. “A bit.”
“What did you say exactly?”
“Why is it important?”
Romeo spoke through his teeth. “What did you write about him?”
“I said it was about time he let go of his control and left you alone for good.”
The hot bubbly feeling started to grow in Romeo stomach. It fed into his veins, made his heart pound, and his skin feel too tight, too hot. The copycat was obsessed with him, the copycat was eager. Chad was the one that got away. The one, according to Holly, who mocks him by visiting, torments him from behind a barrier.
“If the copycat has read your article, he might see it as an incentive to go after Chad.”
Holly leaned closer. “Is that such a bad thing…”
“Of course it is—
“Not from where I’m sitting.”
Romeo sprung up from his chair and turned to Fred and Paul. They both drew their batons, ready for an attack.
“You need to speak to the inspector, tell him about the break in, the article.”
“Why are you so certain the killer isn’t Chad?” Holly asked.
Romeo turned back to her. “Because he’s not a monster.”
“Monsters can wear all sorts of masks…”
“He’s a good person.”
“He really has