Chapter Six

"Vincent Whitehall."

The name pulled Chad from the kitchen into the living room. He stopped munching the slice of toast in his hand, and openly gawped at the TV.

"I said no, Romeo, I promise I said no."

Chad stared at the flashing banner on the bottom of the screen. Breaking News from inside Wiltknot Maximum Security Prison, Vincent Whitehall has agreed to help specialized officers in their search for Harriet Hastings remains.

The news studio cut to a reporter outside Wiltknot being jostled by other journalists as they tried and failed to talk over each other.

"Vincent Whitehall is said to be in a fragile state nearing the end of his life, but before he dies, he wants to give closure to the Hastings family."

Romeo expelled a long breath. "Looks like Vincent isn't accepting your no."

Chad perched on the arm of the sofa. The toast dropped from his numb fingers when he saw his own name alongside James's shooting across the bottom of the screen.

"It's been reported that the lead officers on the case are Detective Inspector James Poole and Detective Constable Chad Fuller."

"Fuck…"

Romeo hummed in agreement.

"Chad Fuller is, of course, the same one that had dealings with serial killers Romeo Knight and Marc Wilson, and more recently he was involved in the chloroform killings by Tate Bacon."

"Dealings with?" Chad muttered.

"He's going to make you dance, whether you want to or not."

Chad walked out, mumbling over his shoulder. "I need a drink."

He hurried back to the kitchen pursued by Romeo holding his dropped toast. Romeo threw the slice in the bin before turning to face Chad who had ignored the kettle and went to the cupboard with the whiskey bottles. He picked one at random, knowing he wouldn't taste anything but the burn in the back of his throat. Chad studied the label as he got himself together and turned around.

"No," Romeo said firmly, grabbing the bottle out of Chad's hand. "Won't do you much good if you drive to work drunk and get yourself arrested."

"I'm going to call in sick."

Romeo shook his head. "You can't."

"But—"

"If you call in sick, guess where those journalists will turn up…"

Chad shifted his gaze to the window and the fields beyond.

"They'll camp out here with their long lenses just to get a glimpse of you."

"Then what do you suggest?"

Romeo rubbed his chin. "You let Vincent play his game."

"You told me you didn't want me to visit him, didn't want him getting in my head—"

"And he won't. We knew he wasn't going to let it go. If anything, it surprised me he took so long to draw you in, but now he has."

"You could at least pretend to me concerned about me."

"I'm not."

"Thanks."

Romeo moved the bottle away from Chad's lunge.

"I'm not concerned because you've got a secret weapon."

Chad stared at him blankly.

Romeo sighed. "Me, Chad. You've got me. I won't let anything happen to you, but in the spectrum of grey, you're bang in the middle. You flit between lighter and darker, but you need to step towards the dark to see this one clearly, to see it like I can. Vincent is setting you up to lose—"

"That much is obvious."

Romeo set the bottle aside. "He's setting you up to lose with the eyes of the country watching. He's seen your weakness—he saw it when you visited about Tate."

"What weakness?"

"Your need for a result, your need to prove yourself to the public, and he's giving you what you want, a goal that seems achievable, but we both know he's not going to tell you where Harriet is."

"Then how do I win?"

Romeo reached for Chad's shoulders, holding him in place. "By getting the result regardless."

"Romeo … you've lost me."

"You're going to prove what I've always suspected."

"Which is?"

"Vincent Whitehall didn't kill Harriet Hastings."

"What?" Chad's eyes widened. "Of course he did. He confessed."

"I don't think he did it. I have read about so many killers and there's something about this victim that stood out, something false."

"Jesus, Romeo, you're talking crazy right now."

"If we unravel the lies and find out what really happened to Harriet Hastings the night she went missing, we can cut Vincent Whitehall from his own game."

"I've already told James no."

"Then you need to call him back." Romeo glanced across the fields. "Because puppets don't get to choose whether they dance on strings or not, the puppeteer does, and Vincent's making you dance regardless."

****

Chad pressed his lips in a firm line. Exiting his car, he ignored the shouts and screamed questions of the journalists kept behind the barrier. The noise reared, battering his back in waves as he remained emotionless. He kept his stern detective face on until he was inside the station, then leaned against the wall, cursing under his breath.

Josh appeared from the corridor. "It's madness."

He held out a takeaway cup of coffee.

"Life saver," Chad smiled. "Didn't happen to add a shot to it did you?"

"Nope, but I'm pretty sure Angel has rum under her desk if you want some."

Chad shot him a coy smile. "And how would you know that?"

Josh blushed. "Rumors…"

Chad snorted.

Ally pushed inside the station, releasing a barrage of shouts and camera clicks until the door swung closed and sealed behind her.

"Vultures," she hissed. "Don't even think about it, Chad."

He looked away from her. "Think about what?"

"Going to see Vincent. It's clear as day a power move. He's never going to tell you where he's scattered Harriet. Others have tried, and they've all failed. You were right to say no to James. Vincent is just trying to fuck with you."

"It's kind of worked."

Ally's mouth dropped open before snapping shut. "Please tell me you're joking."

"I called James, agreed to go with him to Wiltknot."

"Have you lost your mind?"

Josh smirked. "I've often wondered about tha—

"Shut your trap," Ally pointed a finger at Josh but stared at Chad. "The DI will never allow it."

Chad met her stare. "If I don't go visit him, then I'll be called an impassionate coward who doesn't want to give a family closure and if I do visit, and can't get a location, I'm a failure. I'm gonna lose either way, but at least one of them looks like I tried. I have to do this."

"And just like that." Ally clicked her fingers. "Vincent has pulled you in. I can see it in your eyes."

Chad looked away. "See what?"

"You're falling for it. You're falling right into his trap and the worst thing about it is that you know you are."

"I'm not falling into a trap—"

"Do you enjoy being toyed with by killers?"

Chad stumbled back. Josh sucked in a breath.

"What?" Chad asked.

She stood in front of him.

"Do you secretly like it?"

"Of course not!"

"Is it exciting? Does it make you feel special having their attention?"

Chad's eyes burned, as did his lungs as he heaved for breath. The numbers carved on his skin tingled, reawakened at Ally's taunt.

"Ally," Josh hissed. "That's completely uncalled for."

"Do you really think that?" Chad narrowed his eyes. "Do you think I enjoyed everything that's happened to me?"

"Sometimes I wonder." Ally shrugged. "Maybe you get some kind of sick pleasure out of it."

Josh tightened his hand around Chad's arm and tried to pull him away, but Chad rooted himself to the floor, meeting Ally's anger with his own.

"What the hell does that—"

"First Romeo, then Marc, now Vincent."

"Romeo and Marc took me against my will."

"But with Vincent, you're choosing to go back to him."

"I don't have much of a choice."

"Of course you do. You can say no."

"The public—"

"Will crucify you regardless. You've given yourself over to whatever sick game he's got planned and I'm starting to think you enjoy it—you can't function unless someone is trying to destroy you."

"Christ, Ally," Josh interrupted again. He gave Chad's arm a hard tug, but he resisted, not backing down from Ally's accusation.

"That's not fair," he snapped.

Josh murmured close to Chad's ear. "I think someone's got up on the wrong side of the bed."

"Keep quiet, Josh!" Ally turned her attention back to Chad. "You're addicted to being tormented and I've tried hard to be there for you."

"I know." Chad forced the words through his teeth. "You have been. You've been amazing—"

"But it's not going to make a difference in the end, is it?"

"What do you mean?"

Ally averted her gaze. She slumped and directed a sad sigh at her feet. "I can't save you, Chad."

"I don't need saving."

"You do, you just don't realize it."

"Ally—" Josh warned.

"You're gonna die at the hands of a serial killer, it's just a question of which one."

The doors opened again, releasing a fresh wave of white noise. James Poole strode over to them rubbing his hands together with a big grin on his face. He looked at them before glancing back over his shoulder.

"The public are certainly behind us."

"All until you fail them," Ally said. "Vincent isn't going to give you what you want. All that animal wants is power, control, and acknowledgement and you've stupidly agreed to give it back to him." She shot a savage look Chad's way. "Say no, Chad. Even if it costs you your job, say no."

"I can't," Chad snapped. "I need this job, Ally. I need it."

"Chad understands what you fail to," James said, making a placating gesture towards Ally.

Ally's nostrils flared. "Which is?"

"His duty is to serve the public, which means putting his own wants and ego aside and accepting the role assigned to him."

James patted her shoulder. Chad winced at the grind of her teeth.

"Touch me again." Ally hissed. "And I'll break all your fingers."

"DS Coulson."

All of them jumped except James. The DI stood on the bottom step of the stairs, file tucked under his arm, with another officer beside him.

"I need you and Josh upstairs in the incident room."

"What about Chad?" Josh asked.

The DI's defeated gaze shifted to Chad. "I'm going to leave Chad in the superintendent's hands."

"Superintendent," Josh muttered beneath his breath. "You really are screwed, Chad."

Chad side eyed him. "Thanks for that."

"Ally, Josh," the DI said, gesturing to the stairs.

Ally eyeballed James whereas Josh's sympathetic eyes found Chad's.

The DI led them upstairs, and then they were gone.

The superintendent waited until the door to the incident room above had closed, before marching over with his hand out for Chad to shake. His grip was hard, and lingering, and his stare was the same. He was younger than James and the DI, but grey streaks peppered his hair and the wrinkles on his forehead were deep.

"I'm superintendent Peter Watts from Alborough police department."

"Alborough." Chad whispered, numbly.

"That's right. As HMS Wiltknot is technically in our county, this investigation is being overseen by the Alborough department. You and DI Poole will report to me."

The superintendent pulled his grey eyes from Chad and attached them to James. He held out his hand. James grabbed it with both of his. "So good to see you again, Pete."

Pete.

"James."

James continued to enthusiastically shake the superintendent's hand. "I can't wait to get started."

The superintendent smiled. "No time like the present." He glanced up the stairs. "I need to finalize Chad's temporary transfer to Alborough, but there's no reason you two can't go on ahead."

James released the superintendent's hand to check his watch. "I said we'd be at Wiltknot as soon as we can."

"Then I suggest you don't waste any more time."

Chad stiffened. By the pointed look he received, those words were not being aimed at James.

"Right," Chad took a step away. "I'll meet you over there—"

"No." The superintendent's gaze cut into him. "I want you to arrive together. Present a united front."

He looked back at James. "Whatever you need to get the result, it's yours."

James nodded. "Come on, Chad. We better not keep Vincent waiting."

****

The razor wire glinted on top of the tall fences. Chad knew Vincent was in no condition to stage a dramatic break out, scale the walls, vault the fences, and run off into night, but Wiltknot would never look secure enough for a man like him. It was a cage, inside a cage, inside a cage, and as they passed through the first gate, James turned to him.

"Your sergeant always that highly strung?"

Chad side-eyed him. "She's worried about me."

"Worried," James barked a laugh. "You're supposedly this seasoned detective who had survived two serial killers."

"Doesn't mean I'm invincible."

"No," James clicked his tongue. "It doesn't. You were here not too long ago, right?"

"Right." Chad agreed, gritting his teeth.

"Vincent helped you."

Without Vincent Chad would've been too late to save Shawn. It was an uncomfortable truth that rolled Chad's stomach and curled his fingers into his knees.

"From what I read that boy would've died without Vincent," James continued. "He saved him."

"He killed Tate." Chad snapped.

"Tate killed himself."

"Tate would still be alive if he'd never spoken to Vincent."

"You don't know that."

"Vincent manipulated him. He messed with his head so much he killed people just to please him."

James sighed. "All I'm saying is, Vincent helped you. Is it so crazy to think he might want to help us now?"

Yes, Chad thought, but didn't say.

"We're meeting Lucy Hastings in reception," James's lip pulled with a sneer. "Unfortunately, she has to be involved."

"Why unfortunately?"

"All you need to know about Lucy Hastings is that she's a spiteful, bitter liar. Don't believe anything that comes out of her mouth."

The car slowed to a stop, and James flung his door open. He buttoned his suit jacket as he climbed out, and after a deep breath, Chad joined him.

Press vans and cameras on tripods were set up in the distance. They were too far away for the press to scream their questions, but they no doubt recorded every moment as James led the way into reception with his head held high, and his shoulders back.

Chad paused when he saw Lucy waiting for them in reception. She perched on a chair, biting her nails.

James passed her like she didn't exist, and Lucy didn't acknowledge his presence either.

She got to her feet and attached her red-rimmed eyes to Chad. "I'm sorry," she whispered, shaking her head. "I know you didn't want this, but Vincent is a man that will stoop low to get what he wants."

Her eyes flashed to the door, the fence, the press beyond it. Her hatred for them tightened her brow and flared her nostrils.

"You should be thanking them." James said, looking straight ahead as he was patted down.

"What?" Chad asked.

James shrugged. "They're the reason you called me, right? Without Chad, Vincent stays silent. I know you and Harriet never got on—"

"Don't you dare—"

"But I'm willing to put our past aside for Harriet's sake."

Lucy's voice grew shrill. "He's never going to tell us where she is."

"How do you know that, huh?" James raised both eyebrows.

"I just know."

"How?" James shouted. "How do you know!"

He slapped his hands on his hips, staring Lucy down until she tipped her chin to her chest and eyed the floor. He crowded over her, until Chad intervened, pushing himself between them. It didn't matter that James was older—there was something menacing about him, some withheld rage, that seemed to weary him as he settled down again.

"Your turn, Chad."

He startled, twisting to face the prison officer. She tapped her name badge and shot him a warm smile.

"It's Lynn in case you forgot from last time."

"I hadn't forgotten. It's nice to see you again."

She chuckled. "Is it? Is it nice?"

"Well, I would've preferred to have seen you at a supermarket or something, you know, said hi and then we'd have engaged in small talk about the weather."

"Maybe one day." She laughed softly.

Chad dropped his phone, wallet, and keys in the tray she held out for him. She passed the tray back to the officer manning the reception desk, then gestured for Chad to spread his arms out. Lynn patted him down while a silence hung between Lucy and James.

"How is Vincent?" Chad asked.

Both Lucy and James looked over to await Lynn's reply.

"Sick. He stopped eating, struggles to walk, and talking is painful for him. He's confused, fragile, dare I say it, but this Vincent seems almost human."

"How long does the doctor think he's got left?" James asked.

"A week. Maybe two."

James folded his arms. "Then let's not waste any more time here. Let us see him."

Lynn nodded.

The light above the door to the prison switched from red to green. Chad bit his lip as the lock crunched. Lynn went to open the door, but James got there first, swinging it open, and marching down the corridor. Lynn hurried to catch up with him, demanding he wait, leaving Chad behind with a pale Lucy.

"Lucy?" Chad asked.

She took a deep breath. "Sorry, I…"

"Don't apologize. Take your time."

"I'm about to see the monster that murdered my sister." She blinked. "I've seen him before on TV and in books, but I've never … you know, looked him in the eye. I don't know if I can, Chad."

He reached for her hand and took hold of her fingers.

"He tortured my sister to death, and afterwards he hacked her into pieces, and hid her where no one has been able to find her."

"You don't have to go in there. You don't have—"

"I do. It was selfish of me, but I was glad you said no to him. It meant I didn't have to pull on this thread either, but now, I can't be the one to grind this investigation to a stop." She swallowed. "I've got to do this. For mom, and for my dad. He's on a flight right now, desperate to find Harriet, too. I've got to do it for my family."

Lucy pulled her fingers from Chad's hold and staggered through the open doorway. James waited at the end of the corridor with Lynn, tapping a hole into the floor with his shoe.

"Stalling for time, Lucy?" he asked.

Lucy didn't respond to him. Her eyes were fixed on Lynn who asked in a soft voice if she was ready to go inside.

"Yes. I want to see him." Lucy replied.

Lynn unlocked the door to visiting room one, then used her body to block James from pushing in first. Lucy took a deep breath and stepped inside. She paused in the doorway, much to James's fury, who cursed at her and hissed that finding Harriet was time sensitive.

Vincent, like last time Chad visited, was already seated behind the glass. Unlike last time, Vincent's eyes didn't snap to Chad and take him in. He stared without focus, not looking at any of them. He'd lost weight, which seemed an impossibility to Chad after seeing how frail he looked the first time he visited, but Vincent looked more skeleton than man. Chad understood what Lynn had meant when she said this Vincent looked more human. Skin and bones, a hint of human, but it was still more than months ago.

His complexion had taken on a greying tint, and the bags beneath his eyes were so dark and deep they looked like bruises. A tube fed oxygen up his nose, and an array of tubes ran into an IV line taped to his wrist. The skin around had bruised—purple blotches spread down to his nail-less fingers, and up to his elbow where the skin sagged off his arms.

Vincent's lips were firmly pressed together, but Chad still heard him wheezing as the oxygen tank kept by his side in the wheelchair hissed. A blanket had been tucked around him, but had fallen from one bare shoulder onto his lap exposing the sunken top of his chest. He looked like he had hours left, not weeks.

James hurried past a creeping closer Lucy and sat down in the furthest chair from the door. Lucy picked the chair closest to the escape, leaving Chad in the middle, directly in the path of Vincent's vacant stare.

He sat down, expecting Vincent's eyes to snap into focus, but they stared through him at nothing, chilling Chad to the bone.

"It's nice to see you again, James." Vincent said, still staring through Chad. "And the first time seeing you, dear Lucy. It's a pleasure."

Lucy caught a tear on her lashes, sweeping it away in the hope Vincent wouldn't see, but he stayed looking toward Chad.

"And Detective Fuller, I've finally got you here, haven't I?"

Chad didn't rise to the bait.

"You know why we're here," James started.

Vincent raised his hand, quieting him. His hand trembled, his arm shook, and he didn't have the strength to hold it up for long. "Of course I know, I was the one that asked for you. You three. Father Daniels told me if we confess our sins, the lord will be faithful, just, and will forgive us our righteousness."

"Yes," James nodded. "That's the reason we—"

"Will you confess your sins?" Vincent asked. He looked at them each in turn. "I'd love to hear them."

"I don't have any sins—"

"Really?" Vincent no longer had any eyebrows, but his brow lifted. "None at all. What about you, Lucy? And we can't forget Chad—"

"Enough," Chad snapped. "Enough games."

"I'm so happy you've found your voice again, Chad. It's a voice I thought about often over the last few months."

"You want this … forgiveness." Chad prompted.

"Oh, yes. I have admitted my sins. I've admitted murder. I've admitted mutilation. I've admitted disposal of my victims."

"But not the resting place of Harriet," James growled. "That's still a sin, an injustice that needs to be fixed."

Vincent cocked his head. "Places."

"What?"

"Resting places."

Lucy sniffed, wiping her fingers beneath her nose.

Chad resisted the urge to bounce his leg on the floor.

"We're here for the same reason, are we not?" Vincent whispered. "To find Harriet. And as much as you may despise me and question my motives, that's all I want. She deserves to be found."

Tears rolled down Lucy's cheeks. Vincent looked at her, and she nodded before swiping them away.

"The other victims," James said somberly. "When you disposed of them, you chose different locations, never used the same one twice."

"That's right."

"So Harriet, she's somewhere you didn't use before or after."

Vincent nodded. "That seems like an educated assumption."

"All your victims came from the county of Bardhum, but you didn't always dispose of them in the same county, sometimes you drove them hundreds of miles away from where the murders took place."

"Also correct."

James shuffled. "What I'm asking is … what's our search area? How far did you go?"

"I can't remember, but my gut tells me I didn't venture out of Bardhum with Harriet. Something tells me she's close."

James unbuttoned his jacket. He reached inside and pulled out a photograph. Lucy sniffed louder, wiping snot on the sleeve of her coat.

"Don't show him."

James ignored her and pressed the photograph to the glass. "Do you remember what she looked like?"

Vincent's gaze slid to the photograph. He looked at it a long time, then croaked out, "She was beautiful."

"Yes," James agreed, nodding. "She was."

"They were all beautiful. That's why I chose them."

Lucy sobbed. James turned to her, pushing out his chest. "Cut it out, will you!"

His neck strained with the shout. Lucy turned away from him.

Lynn waiting in the doorway rushed over and pulled Lucy into a hug. James shook his head, and muttered, "unbelievable" under his breath.

Chad watched as Lynn switched between chastising James with evil glares and comforting Lucy with sympathetic eyes.

His breath caught. He could feel Vincent looking at him.

"The drugs they've got me on. They make it harder for me to remember, sometimes my memories are so vague, so out focus, that I begin to wonder…"

"Wonder what?" Chad asked.

"Whether they're real at all. But other things, I do remember, with crystal clarity."

"Like what?" James asked.

"Like broken promises."

Chad's heart began to thump.

Lucy's chair scraped against the floor as she got to her feet to leave. James protested loudly, going from angry to pleading in a second, but Chad ignored both in favor of Vincent. He tried to read the message in his eye. The warning.

Because there was one, a promise of something.

Vincent looked away, severing their connection.

"Sorry, officers, Lucinda, but that's all I'm up for right now. I need to rest."

He fumbled with something beneath his blanket, then the door at his back opened and a nurse came into the room. She didn't look anyone in the eye as she whisked Vincent away.

Chad caught the smile on Vincent's lip as he turned from them.

A devil's smile.