Page 85 of The Lost Zone (Dark Water #3)

“So, Baumann visited every night to check on him, and I’m guessing that Alex stayed at your house during the day to nurse him, when it would have been safer – much safer as it turned out – for you to bring him to Inquisitus while you worked.”

“Yes.” Josiah bowed his head. He could see how, from her point of view, he’d made a series of extremely questionable decisions. “Sem is safe. He’s not at my house. I got him out the night Alex was abducted. It was because he identified Neil that I knew where to look.”

“Hmm.” She gazed at him thoughtfully, and he forced himself to meet her stern gaze. Was he out of a job? Or worse? She could have him arrested, and they both knew it.

“I had to raise it with you because when we charge Tyler, the gloves will be off. I tried to warn you about this before, Joe, but now I feel I must confront it head on. You’ve been helping escaped indentured servants to leave the country for a long time, haven’t you? Many years.”

“Yes,” he said quietly. Walking back to the desk, he sat down, feeling dizzy again. “How did you know?”

“I closed the file on Peter’s murder, but it was clear that you were lying.

All that nonsense about cups of tea.” She snorted.

“I’ve thought about it a lot, and the only thing that makes sense is if you and Peter were involved in some kind of illegal activity.

But what on earth could justify you covering up any aspect of the murder of your own husband?

Lars Driessen was an escaped IS. We never found the frightened young man who made the call to the emergency services – why not?

I’m assuming because he, also, was an escaped IS, and you and Peter were intending to help both him and Driessen out of the country when something went very wrong. ”

“Yes.” Josiah folded his hands in his lap to stop them shaking.

He’d nursed this secret for so long that it almost seemed impossible that anyone would ever find out.

But first Sofie Baumann had, and now, it seemed that Esther had known for a long time.

“It was clear the moment Driessen turned up that he was mentally ill and extremely paranoid. He saw my Inquisitus ID – a stupid mistake on my part and one I’ve had to live with ever since – and decided I was there to arrest him, not save him.

He waited until I left the car to buy drinks and then attacked Peter.

He intended to steal the car and drive away.

He might have got away with it, too, if not for… ” He hesitated.

“If not for what?”

He steeled himself. “There was another indie in the car – a young man calling himself Ben – and we were waiting for a third, who never showed up. Ben fought Driessen and shouted for help. I ran across the road to find Ben struggling with Driessen, trying to stop him. We fought Driessen together, and only when he’d run off did I realise how badly injured Peter was.

It was Ben who made the emergency call.”

“What don’t I know?” She leaned forward, fixing him with those dark eyes. “Tell me, Joe.”

He sighed. “I didn’t know myself until very recently, but Ben was actually Alex. I told him to make a run for it after he made the call, and I didn’t see him again until the day I arrested him for Dacre’s murder. I didn’t recognise him initially, but I felt a connection I couldn’t understand.”

“Oh, dear God.” She sat back in her wheelchair, looking stunned.

“Now that is unexpected, but at least it makes sense of the way you’ve been behaving.

You went from being a man who hates the very idea of having an IS in his house to being extremely protective of him.

So, Alex was there that night, was he?” She flicked through her holopad and brought up the file on Peter’s murder, glancing through it until she found the emergency services recording.

A voice – Alex’s voice – suddenly rang out in her office.

“A man has been stabbed. We’re opposite the shops on Station Road in West Wickham. Please hurry.”

“Can you give us your name?”

“Please – just get here quickly. He’s dying!”

He was suddenly back on that kerbside, covered in blood, cradling Peter’s body as Alex gazed down on him in the pouring rain. Closing his eyes, he could smell Peter’s blood, feel his body in his arms. When he opened them again, Esther was gazing at him sadly.

“It’s definitely him,” she said. “I wanted to be sure, but I recognise his voice.”

“Yes, it’s him. He knows things about that night that he could only have known if he was there – things I never told anyone.”

“No wonder you grew so close so fast. He’s a link to your dead husband, someone who helped you when you needed it the most.”

“Yes.” Josiah rubbed his head, where a dull ache was developing.

“Bet you’re wishing you’d let Sofie take you home now,” Esther commented drily.

“Hah.” He gave a wan smile. “What are you going to do, Esther?”

“You mean now that I have confirmation the great indiehunter is actually… what? The indiehelper?” She smiled. “Nothing.”

He looked up in surprise. “What? Why?”

“I’m not saying I agree or approve, but you’d have to have a heart of stone not to want to save some of those poor bastards.

This system we’ve invented to keep order and create homes and jobs for people has become utterly twisted by those who seek to abuse it, and I count the likes of George Tyler as one of them – one of the worst. You’re not the only one who bloody well cares about this issue, Joe. ”

“Of course not. But you said you hired me because I arrested Peter. I thought you put the law above everything.” His head was aching in earnest now.

“Not everything. I’m sworn to uphold the law, but it can be a blunt instrument. I’m not so blinkered as to believe there are never any shades of grey.”

“You’re risking a lot to protect me.”

“I’m not protecting you. I don’t approve of what you’re doing,” she flared.

“However, if I fire you, then you’ll go and work for a competitor, which won’t do at all.

I won’t lie for you, Joe. If you’re ever caught, then you’re on your own, but I won’t report you, either. That’s the best you’ll get from me.”

“Thank you,” he said softly, feeling it was more than he deserved.

“The reason I’m bringing it up is because, in going after Tyler, you’re placing yourself and your… organisation… in a vulnerable position.”

“I know that. I shut it down weeks ago,” he explained wearily, still rubbing his head. “I’m flying by the seat of my pants, to be honest, Esther. It’s been hard juggling everything, and then Sem showed up and…” He sighed. “How could I say no to Sofie?”

“Quite.” She gave a wry smile. “I don’t condone the breaking of the law, but I’m also not prepared to lose my best investigator over this.

If – when – we take Tyler down, we’ll revisit this conversation, but for now…

” She shrugged. “A couple of days ago, you brought down a major drug cartel and an attempted kidnapper single-handedly. You’ve also brought me the case of the century in Tyler, and you’ve very possibly solved Elliot Dacre’s murder.

It would be a huge waste of your talent for you to go down over this, to say nothing of a great personal loss to me.

Put simply, I admire what you’ve done, and I’m not going to arrest you for it.

You’ve risked your life and lost your husband for what is, undeniably, a worthy cause. The least I can do is have your back.”

“Thank you.” He sat there, completely winded.

“Just don’t lie to me again,” she warned. “You’re not an island anymore. You have friends, Joe.”

Josiah thought of Sofie’s words to him in the hospital and smiled. “I’m finding that out.”

“Then don’t forget it. Now, you look done in. Go home and rest. I need you here bright and early tomorrow.” He stood up, still dazed, and walked, slowly, to the office door. “It’s going to be a bumpy ride, Joe. Buckle up.”