Two for Joy - Louise Collins Page 0,41
him last time.”
“I told him that, too. He couldn’t go at it alone, he needed his team behind him, but they weren’t. Then Gareth said something, and it pushed him over the edge. He lashed out and got suspended.”
“But Gareth wasn’t?”
“As I said, pack mentality. Chad’s not one of them anymore. They look after their own, and everyone else is beneath them.”
“Did you visit him after he was suspended?”
“Yeah, I went to his place. It was set up like an incident room, pictures and articles pinned all over the place from your countdown. He’d taken things from the present investigation, too, things he shouldn’t have removed from the station.” Zac sighed. “That’s when he said about the dogs. The killer knew things that he thought only he knew. That … upset him.”
“Upset him?”
Zac swallowed hard. “Thinking that you’d shared this information with someone else. That someone knew other than him, than us. That you might’ve been … I dunno, coaching someone. That you might have got yourself an apprentice, someone that understood you in a way he never could. I think he was just hurting, getting it from all angles.”
“When did you last see him?”
“The day before he vanished. He wasn’t in a good way. He knew his team were closing in on him. I told him he was being paranoid, that he was under a lot of stress, and looked as if he hadn’t slept in days … but I guess he was right. They think he’s the killer, and they found evidence to support it.”
“All circumstantial evidence. Do you know where he went?”
“I shouldn’t be discussing this…”
“Please.”
“Neil, his ex-fiancé contacted the police yesterday. Chad had been staying with him, hiding out there, but he called the police and told them. Chad managed to get away, but last I heard they were closing in on him.”
Romeo leaned over the table, pleading with his eyes. “You’ve got to help him.”
“The DI won’t listen to me.”
“Make him, Zac. His whole life is being laid out, torn apart. Chad needs you.”
“I’ll try.”
“Do more than try.”
Zac turned away. “Why do you want me to help him?”
“Because he’s innocent, I care about him.”
“Do you want him to be proved innocent or are you just desperate for him to come back here? For him to visit you so you keep your control over him, keep your game with him going.”
“I want him to be found innocent because he is. It’s the right thing to do.”
Zac smirked. “Really, this is all to clear his name?”
Romeo gritted his teeth. “Fine. Both. I want you to prove him innocent, because he is, and he’s a good guy who doesn’t deserve any of this shit. And, I want him back. I want him to keep visiting me because I need him.”
“You say you care about him.”
“I do.”
“I believe you.”
Romeo blinked. “You believe me.”
“If I push this, make sure the DI takes notice, do absolutely everything in my power to make those dickish detectives see sense, then I want something in return.”
“What?”
“I want you to let Chad go.”
“I don’t force him to come here.”
“I know you don’t, but you could refuse the visits, you could let him go for good. Let him move on from all that happened.”
“He doesn’t want to move on, he wants to be with me, and I want him here, too.”
Zac gestured to the room, the barrier between them, the camera behind him. “He can’t be with you, and you can’t be with him. Why can’t you see it? The kindest thing you could do for Chad is let him go.”
“You mistake me for a man with a heart. If he chooses to stop visiting me, then so be it. I can’t do anything about it, but I won’t abandon him. I won’t scream, and shout at him to leave. I won’t make that mistake again, not when the stakes are so much higher this time.”
Zac gave him a long hard stare, then stood up. “I’ll be in touch.”
“Wait…”
“What is it?”
“When you do convince the DI it’s not Chad, if the killer reveals himself by calling from number two’s address, you need to get Chad somewhere safe until you catch the real killer.”
“Somewhere safe? Why?”
Romeo bit his lip. “I think he could be in danger.”
“I think it’s his mind that’s his worst enemy at the moment. He’s at breaking point.”
****
Romeo had always openly looked at car crashes.
His mother had told him off for doing so, but he preferred to be honest about looking, rather than side-eye