Chapter 100

‘The first thing you need to know, Sergeant Poe,' Cobb said, ‘is that Aaron Bowman wasn't gay. He wasn't in a relationship with another boy. He wasn't exploring his sexuality that way.'

‘He was heterosexual?' Poe asked.

‘If he was anything.'

‘Then why the hell did his parents put him through conversion therapy?' Poe said. ‘I mean, I get from the way they treated Bethany that they had a cruel streak, but why put themselves at risk like that? You said the parents all knew what was going to happen.'

Cobb shrugged. ‘It was implied before they signed up and it was made implicit afterwards. They were shown the video of what their sons had done. This was to show they hadn't been ripped off, but also to ensure their silence.'

‘What was in it for Noah and Grace Bowman then?' Poe said. ‘Because as far as I can tell, it was a lose–lose situation. They risked going to prison for the rest of their lives and they psychologically screwed up their only son for no reason at all. Why would they do that? I get that they were stupid and they were bigoted and they were sadistic, but the way they hid their abuse of Bethany meant they did at least have some animal cunning.'

‘You're still not seeing the bigger picture, Sergeant Poe.'

‘You keep saying that, Mr Cobb; that these videos provide the missing context. Fine, show me then. Press play and let's see this big picture of yours.'

The VCR had a mechanical button, and the force needed to press play turned the end of Cobb's finger white.

The familiar scene of the sectioned-off area of the old school basement flickered on to Cobb's old-fashioned television, a cathode-ray tube set. The bulky things that looked like they had an arse. Cobb had more problems with the tracking this time, as if the film had been viewed more often than the others. He fiddled with a button Poe couldn't see and the picture stopped jumping.

Poe noticed the difference immediately. The previous five videos had started with the victim already strapped into the mercy chair. This time it was empty.

Cobb pointed at the small boy on the right of the screen.

‘You can only see the back of his head,' he said, ‘but trust me, that's Aaron Bowman.'

‘Why's the chair empty?'

Cobb ignored him. Instead, he paused the video and said, ‘Do you notice anything different about Cornelius?'

Poe got down on his hands and knees and shunted towards the television. He put on his reading glasses and leaned into the screen. Cornelius Green was holding Aaron, talking quietly into his ear. Aaron was shaking, probably crying, but Cornelius looked . . . ecstatic. There was no other word for it. He couldn't have looked any happier if Jesus himself had just walked into the room wearing an ‘I love Cornelius Green' T-shirt.

‘He's not usually this excited,' Poe said.

‘No, he is not,' Cobb confirmed. ‘Do you want to know why he was so happy?'

Poe wasn't sure he did. He nodded anyway.

Cobb pressed play.

There was another minute of Cornelius talking to Aaron.

‘Where were you at this point, Mr . . . ?' Poe asked.

He didn't finish. Cobb had walked onscreen.

And he wasn't alone.

He was pushing someone in front of him. Jabbing them in the back to keep them moving forwards. Someone small, smaller even than Aaron and he was tiny. He stumbled and fell. Cobb hauled him to his feet and forced him into the mercy chair. There was a brief struggle, but Cobb was a grown man and he was wrestling a child. He grabbed the boy's right arm and wrapped a leather strap around it. He pulled it tight and buckled it closed. He did the same with the left arm. With the arms done, he bent down to secure the ankles.

And for the first time Poe could see who was being restrained. He gasped. Whether it was out loud he didn't know. He tried to swallow but couldn't.

He understood the context now.

He saw Cobb's bigger picture.

‘That's . . .' Poe whispered. He couldn't finish.

Cobb knew what he was going to say though. It was the only thing he could say.

‘Yes, Sergeant Poe,' he said. ‘The person in the mercy chair is Bethany Bowman.'