Page 62 of The Lost Zone (Dark Water #3)

“Blackmail me?” Josiah raised an eyebrow.

“Well, I have, haven’t I? I’ve kept information from you about Elliot to force you to investigate Solange’s murder. I’m a very poor substitute for Peter.”

“I don’t want a substitute for Peter,” Josiah said firmly.

“Peter’s gone, and despite all the chaos you’ve brought into my life, I’ve been happier these past few weeks than I was for years.

You woke me up, Alex. I was barely alive at all before, I was just existing, but now I can feel things again, and that’s because of you.

” He leaned over and pressed a gentle kiss to Alex’s cheek.

A look of chagrin came over Alex’s features. “Sorry – again,” he muttered. “Creating all this drama when you’re so tired. You don’t want this big meal, do you?” He waved his hand wearily at the table.

“Not really,” Josiah admitted. “Alex, please, go easy on yourself. I’m not surprised you’re veering from one emotion to another. For years you weren’t able to show any emotions at all.” He paused and then laughed.

“What is it?” Alex snapped, looking hurt.

“Us! Me, refusing to feel anything because it hurt too much, and you, having to pretend you didn’t feel anything to fool everyone. What a pair.”

Alex’s face finally relaxed into a little grin. “I guess we are.” He rested his head on Josiah’s shoulder. “I meant it about enjoying the sex, though. Please don’t take that away from me.”

“I didn’t mean it to sound like that. I just never want you to feel obligated, Alex.”

“It’s all anyone’s wanted from me for so long that it’s a hard habit to break,” Alex admitted.

“Then how about we go upstairs, and you tell me all the things you want to do in bed, and then we do them?” Josiah kissed his neck gently.

“That sounds much better than dinner.” Alex grinned, taking his hand and leading him to the door.

Josiah didn’t fool himself that this particular problem was resolved, least of all by sex. He sought out Sofie first thing the next day, took her into a meeting room where they could be alone, and explained the situation.

“He’s traumatised,” she said. “No wonder he’s struggling.”

“I know. I just don’t know how to help him. One minute he’s trying to be the perfect servant, and the next he’s screaming at me.”

“I’m not a psychologist, but mainly, I think he needs time and a lot of love.”

“I can give him the second, but the first is out of my hands, sadly.”

“Then you do the best you can with the resources you have.” She patted his hand. “Would you like me to look into finding a therapist for him? If Esther will permit it?”

Josiah thought about it for a while and then sighed. “Yes, I’m sure she will. I’m a hypocrite, because I never went to one, and to be honest I think they’re mostly bullshit, but I’m out of my depth with Alex. I want to help, but I’m scared of breaking him even more than he’s already broken.”

“You’re a tower of strength to him,” Sofie said firmly. “How’s Sem doing?” she added in an undertone.

“Good. Alex says he still sleeps a lot, but he’s growing stronger every day. It does Alex good to have someone to take care of. It stops him brooding about what’s going on with Tyler.”

“I agree. What happens next with Sem?”

“Well, he’s not well enough to move yet, but it’s hardly ideal having him at my house with all that’s going on, especially now that I’ve had to put agents outside to watch the place. I thought we’d give him a few more days to get better and then smuggle him out.”

“Out of the country?” She looked stricken.

“Yes.” He squeezed her arm. “Sofie – he can’t stay here. He’ll be on the run his whole life. I’ve shut down the Kathleen Line, but I still have contacts. When he’s well enough, I’ll ask Big Jen to come and get him.”

“Big Jen?”

“Not that big, except her heart, which is huge.” Josiah grinned. “There was once a Little Jen,” he said, by way of explanation. “She’s long since gone, but Big Jen remains – she’s a very old and dear friend.”

“She sounds great.”

“She is. She’ll take Sem to Hanover, which is where another old friend lives. Liz is used to taking in traumatised indies. She’ll look after him, get him back on his feet, and then he can decide what he wants to do next. But first we need to get him well enough to travel.”

Sem was sleeping when Sofie arrived later that evening to check on him, but she woke him up and examined him.

“He’s on the mend,” she announced when she came downstairs. “You’re a great nurse, Alex.”

Alex lit up at the praise. “He’s an easy patient. Mostly, we play cards, and I help him to wash and stuff. He’s so nice. Such a gentle character.”

Josiah was struck by how much Alex and Sem had bonded. They didn’t talk about their lives as indies, and yet they each saw in the other something of their own experience, making them fast friends.

“He can’t stay here much longer,” Josiah warned. “The timing’s terrible enough as it is with all the scrutiny we’re under because of the Tyler case.”

Alex looked devastated, and Josiah could understand why. With him working all hours, Sem was the only company Alex had during this difficult time.

“We keep the curtains shut, and Sem sleeps a lot anyway. The doors and windows are always locked – we don’t open the door to anyone, as per your instruction,” Alex reminded him.

“The press have stopped hanging around outside, too.” They had – not least because Esther had threatened them with legal action for pursuing her agents in the privacy of their own homes.

“I know, but it’s still risky. We need to move him soon, for his own safety.”

Alex’s face remained twisted in a rictus of disappointment. He was struggling so much that even the smallest setback seemed to set him off.

The next morning, Josiah woke up early to find Alex scrolling obsessively on his nanopad, his face drawn and pale. Had he slept at all? He took a shower, dressed, and jogged downstairs to find Alex now in the kitchen sipping a cup of tea, still obsessively scrolling.

“What’s so interesting?” Josiah asked, glancing at the nanopad over his shoulder. He was surprised to see hundreds of photos of Charles and Noah open on the screen.

“Charles always did love social media,” Alex muttered, looking up with a twisted grin that spoke of part fondness, part malice. “I mean, how else does he know he exists if he’s not being fawned over by his admiring fan base?”

“He does love the limelight.”

“Well, he’s a national treasure. It’s a busy job.”

“Does it make you feel bitter? That he’s so beloved, while you…”

“I’m the evil brother? No.” Alex shrugged. “He might be walking again, but it’s clearly not easy or painless. What right do I have to feel bitter?”

“You’re only human.” He kissed Alex’s cheek. “Look, I can understand why you want to look at pictures of your family, just don’t brood on them, okay?”

“Sure.” Alex gave him a too-bright smile.

“Why don’t you get your paints out and draw something?” he suggested. Alex gave an absent nod but continued his obsessive scrolling, and Josiah was pretty sure he’d still find him looking at photos of his family when he returned.

It was a busy day, and just before noon, Mel ran into the SID, excitedly waving her holopad. An image appeared in front of him.

“And this is…?” He raised an eyebrow, gazing at it.

“I managed to get DNA from the skull. There’s this new technique they’re trialling in China and I read up on it, and… Oh, you don’t need to know the details!”

“This is Solange’s DNA profile?” He studied the holopic as if it was the holy grail.

“Yes. Or at least, it’s the DNA profile of whoever that skull belongs to,” Mel added with a note of caution.

“Reed – pull up the IS database – let’s compare it with what’s on file for Solange,” Josiah ordered, fighting down a rising sense of excitement. This was what they’d been waiting for. If they could prove that skull belonged to Solange, they were one step closer to proving that Tyler had killed her.

They all gathered around as Reed fed in the data and ran a comparison check.

“Well?” Josiah demanded impatiently.

“I’m sorry, sir. They don’t match,” Reed told him quietly.

You could have cut the atmosphere in the SID with a knife.

“What?” Josiah stared at the screen. They’d pinned everything on this being Solange.

“It’s not her,” Reed said. “The DNA profiles don’t match. That skull doesn’t belong to Solange.”

With a heavy heart, Josiah returned home later that evening to tell Alex.

“It’s not her?” Alex slumped down onto the sofa. “But surely… I mean… Who else could it be?”

“Plenty of people. Who knows what’s down there? There could even be the remains of an old graveyard that got swallowed up in the lost zone.”

“So now what? That skull was all we had to go on. It’s the only reason you arrested Tyler. Is it over?” Alex looked up sharply. “Do I have to go back to him?”

“No, it’s not over. I’m in no rush to inform Tyler’s lawyers about what we’ve found, so that buys us a few days. As for going back to him - no. I’m not going to let that happen. I’d get you out of the country if it looked remotely likely. I’d find a way. Somehow.”

“Thank you.” Alex gave a fragile smile.

“We don’t have enough to charge Tyler with yet, but we still have the testimony from you and Mick, and we’re in possession of all his data. We’ll keep looking.”

“But Reed said there’s nothing obvious in the data to suggest where the blackmail files are.”

“Nothing obvious, no, but they’re still busy sifting through it all. Who knows what they’ll find?”

“Tyler is too clever to make it easy,” Alex said, gazing blankly into space. “It’s not as if he’s never thought through this scenario, is it? You won’t find the blackmail footage in any of the data you took from him, Joe. That skull was all we had.”

“I’m not giving up that easily,” Josiah told him firmly.

Alex brought his gaze back to him as if by some great effort. “Thank you. I appreciate that, but I really do think it’s over.”