Page 84 of The Lost Zone (Dark Water #3)

“Oh, I think you’re exactly who he thought you were.

” She smiled. “But he’s exhausted after so long having to conceal his true thoughts and emotions.

Now he doesn’t have to hide them, and you’re seeing years of pent-up anger, sadness, and despair pouring out of him.

And you’re only seeing it because he feels safe enough to show you. That’s how much he trusts you.”

Josiah gazed at Alex’s pale face, his dark eyelashes resting on his still unnaturally white skin. “I’ll do whatever it takes to make you better, Alex,” he vowed, and he meant it. He’d do anything in his power to heal this broken man, give anything, endure anything.

“You don’t have to do it alone,” Sofie told him, reaching across the bed to gently squeeze his arm.

“I’ll never forget what you both did for my brother.

Alex gave up his chance to escape because of Sem, and he’s been an excellent nurse to him.

All those hours he spent with him, playing cards, watching the screen, chatting, and he was nothing but patient – helping him to wash and use the bathroom.

If it weren’t for Sem, Alex would likely have been with you at Inquisitus instead of staying behind at the house for Neil to take him.

I won’t forget all you’ve both done for my family, and I’m here for you.

You can do this, Joe. I’m not saying it’ll be easy, but there are so many people who care about you, and we all have your back.

Reed lost his prized duck because of you, and you should have seen how fast Esther dropped everything to get to the hospital and make sure you were okay. ”

“Poor Cam.” Josiah gave a rueful shake of his head. “He loved that duck.” He glanced up at her. “Thank you, Sofie.”

“I mean it,” she said fiercely. “You’ve been saving indies for years and you probably hardly ever see them again.

They say no good deed goes unpunished, and it must have felt that way when Peter was killed.

Well, I want you to know you didn’t just save Sem’s life – you’ve made a friend for life in me, too. ”

A lump rose in his throat. He’d never asked for thanks, but all the same, there had been times when his self-imposed mission had felt very much like a thankless task. She squeezed his arm again, and he dipped his head, his eyes blurry.

At that moment, the nurse entered. “Sorry, my loves, but he needs rest and visiting hours are over. You can come back later.”

Josiah leaned over and pressed a kiss to Alex’s cold cheek, but he didn’t wake up.

“Come on – I’ll take you home,” Sofie said.

“No – you’ll take me to the office,” he corrected. “I need a long chat with Esther.”

Nobody was expecting him in the office, least of all Esther, who gave him a disapproving look and rolled her eyes when he walked in.

“I told Baumann to take you home and make sure you rested,” she chided.

“Don’t blame her – I insisted. I’m fine, Esther. The last thing I want is to sit around at home when we have so many things to discuss.”

“Fine. Let’s get on with it, then.” She sat back in her wheelchair with a sigh. “Firstly, don’t ever go to the Quarterlands alone again, and that’s an order.”

“I grew up in the Quarterlands. It’s really not that scary.” He shrugged.

“Regardless, those are my orders.” She fixed him with her sternest glare.

“Fine.” He sat down, feeling a little weaker than he wanted her to know. Resting his hands on his knees, he looked down until his vision cleared.

“Secondly, we found Grant’s body, and I had Baumann perform an autopsy.”

He looked up sharply. “Did it have my bullet in it?”

“Yes. Not a clean kill – it only winged him – but the water did the rest. You must be slipping.”

“It was dark up there, and I had just been stabbed.”

“Understood.” She winked at him, then was all business again. “Now, is it your view that Grant killed Dacre, or are we still looking for his killer?”

Josiah hesitated. “Honestly, I don’t know.”

“I’ve got agents searching Grant’s house for anything that might tie him to Dacre.”

“He certainly had a motive – we’ve seen how obsessed he was with Alex, how determined he was to get his hands on him, and how utterly deluded he was about Alex’s feelings for him.”

“He also proved himself to be violent, judging by the condition Alex was in and the way he treated you, and he clearly knew how to get his hands on a gun.”

“Yes.” Josiah nodded slowly.

“So, can I file Dacre’s murder as closed?”

It all made sense, and he had no other suspect… so, why was he uncertain?

“Why didn’t Grant kill me when he had me tied up?” he asked. Esther raised an eyebrow. “If he’s a killer, then why didn’t he kill me? If he’d already killed Dacre, then he was clearly prepared to go that far.”

“Because he didn’t need to?” she suggested. “He had Alex, and you were tied up. Grant doesn’t strike me as having been a particularly ruthless man. Obsessive, yes, but I don’t think he killed for the sake of it.”

“True.” Josiah nodded.

“Do you believe him incapable of killing Dacre?” she pressed.

“No. I think he was completely capable of it.”

“Given his subsequent actions, it seems likely to me that he killed Dacre to get his hands on Alex.”

“I’d agree, but for the fact that he didn’t get his hands on Alex,” Josiah mused. “If that was the plan, then why go and kill Dacre when Alex wasn’t even there?”

“Because he didn’t want Alex to see him as a killer? He didn’t want Alex in the house when he shot Dacre.”

“Possibly.” Josiah gave a thoughtful nod.

“Maybe he didn’t think it through. He might have been watching the house, waiting for Alex to return, but the housekeeper came along first, which he wasn’t expecting.”

“Why not?” Josiah glanced at her. “It seems ridiculous to be stymied by such a small detail. She came to the house at the same time most days, which would have been easy enough for him to find out, if he’d tried.

I mean, this was a man who spent years embezzling money from a drug cartel with the intention of buying Alex back. ”

“So?”

“So, he was patient. He had a plan.”

“Which didn’t work when Dacre refused to sell Alex’s contract to him.”

“So why not come up with another plan, rather than rush into murder?”

Esther flicked through some files on her holopad.

“You updated your case report a few days ago to say that Grant and Dacre swapped indentured servants for the night at this show in Eden FC. It’s possible that seeing Alex again, spending the night with him, inflamed Grant’s obsessive need to control him.

He had all the hallmarks of a dangerous stalker – we’ve seen how that behaviour can escalate rapidly. ”

“Sure… but why kill Dacre at all? Grant could have abducted Alex from the gym if that was the motivation.”

“Hmm.” Esther gazed at him. “What’s your call, Joe? Do we close the case on Dacre’s murder or not?”

Josiah sighed. “Not,” he said quietly. “I’m not necessarily looking for anyone else, but I want some time to think all this through.”

“Fine. Moving on then to an update on the Tyler case.” She leaned forward to look at him keenly. “I’ve read Mr Burgis’s statement and studied the new DNA evidence.”

“Yes?” Josiah held his breath.

“And I believe we now have enough evidence to charge Tyler.”

“Hallelujah!” Josiah punched his fist into the air. Maybe this would help jolt Alex out of his depression.

“But nailing him for it won’t be easy,” she warned.

“The jury will have to decide whether Solange’s DNA profile on the IS database has been tampered with, and whether Mr Burgis is telling the truth about the lock of hair he provided.

Tyler’s lawyers are the best in the country.

If there’s any dirt to dig on Burgis they’ll find it, and you have no proof that the IS database has been altered. ”

“We’re working on it.”

“I know, but without evidence that Tyler was blackmailing Bagshaw, our chances of a successful prosecution aren’t great. All the same, I’m convinced we have enough to charge him. I’ll prepare the charge sheet today – we can serve it tomorrow. I’ll come with you.”

Josiah sat back in his chair, feeling triumphant. Yes, there was still long way to go, but this was progress – and after the strain of the past couple of days, he was grateful for some good news.

“Now, I suggest you go home and get some rest,” she advised. “Tomorrow will be a big day.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

The room swam a little as he stood, so he held on to the edge of her desk until it stopped, then began walking – gingerly – towards the door.

“One more thing… how’s Sem Baumann doing?” she asked when he was almost there.

It took him a moment to understand. He stood still for a long time, his back to her, and then, slowly, turned.

“How long have you known?” he asked quietly.

“About Sem? Since the night Alex was abducted. The first thing you did was call Baumann – why? Then you waited until she arrived before going after Alex – again, why? Then there was the fact you and she were locking horns regularly to the point where I had her in here begging me to assign her elsewhere so she wouldn’t have to work with you, a request I denied, obviously.

Yet within a day of Sem disappearing, she became your best friend, always visiting your house for dinner.

I’ve known you for years and haven’t once had a dinner invitation. ”

“My apologies. If it’s any consolation, I’m a terrible cook.” He stood there stiffly, uncertain what to do.

“I’m an investigator. I might mostly have a management job these days, but I do remember how to investigate still,” she told him tartly.

“I would have told you, but I didn’t want you – or Inquisitus – implicated.”

“Oh, I know that.” Esther waved her hand. “Where is Sem now? Not still at your house, I hope? It was foolish of you to keep him there as long as you did, given the situation with Tyler.”

“I know, but he was badly injured, and I didn’t want him moved until he was stronger.”