Page 66 of The Quarterlands (Dark Water #4)

Alex’s eyes were locked on his, agonised and pleading. He’d spent years protecting his secret. Was Josiah really going to betray him by offering it up to the world? He’d be ruining their friendship, possibly forever.

He hesitated. He’d once told Alex he always kept his promises, and he’d always believed that was exactly the kind of man he was, but now he found he was something else, too, something that was even more central to his identity.

He was an investigator, and he should never have made that promise.

It was time to put his personal feelings to one side and do his damn job.

“Yes,” he said, loudly and firmly. “That’s exactly what I’m saying. Alex Lytton wasn’t driving that duck at the time of the accident that killed his mother.”

He saw Charles’s look of alarm, saw Noah turning, baffled, to gaze at Alex, saw Tyler’s jaw jerk open in stunned surprise.

“Then who was?” HMS asked.

“That’s not for me to conjecture in this courtroom,” Josiah replied .

The entire room broke out in an uproar, and the judge called both barristers to the bench to discuss this sudden turn of events.

Tyler had his arms folded across his chest in stubborn disbelief.

Charles looked as if all the blood had drained from his face as he sat frozen in place.

Noah was talking to him urgently in a low tone, but Charles was paying him no attention.

HMS returned to his desk. “The judge has allowed continued questioning on this matter as it pertains to the character of the main witness,” he said. “Investigator Raine, can you explain why you’re so sure that Alexander wasn’t driving that day?”

“I watched the court recording of the case, and I was troubled by his conviction for driving under the influence of drugs. Something about that case didn’t feel right, so I investigated it.

It soon became clear to me that there was no way either of the two people sitting in the front of the duck that day escaped without serious injury.

I examined the road and the photos of the duck and spoke to witnesses, and I concluded that Alex had to be sitting in the back at the time of the accident.

That explains why he escaped with comparatively minor injuries. ”

“Why would Alex take the blame for an accident that killed his mother and seriously injured his brother?” HMS demanded.

“Because he’s loyal to a fault and would do anything to protect the people he loves.”

“Who is he protecting?” HMS demanded.

“You’ll have to ask him that. As I said, I won’t conjecture.”

The judge called Byrne and HMS to her desk for a brief discussion and then adjourned.

It was clear she thought there had been quite enough revelations for one day.

Josiah assumed that Alex would be called back to the witness stand the following day, and then he’d have to decide whether to lie again under oath or reveal the truth.

Well, that was on him. Josiah had done all he could do.

Alex wouldn’t even look at him as he stepped down. Now they were both angry with each other, but for different reasons. So be it.

Charles stumbled towards the exit, leaning heavily on his walker, looking dazed, as if in a dream. Alex was beside him, his hand resting protectively on his brother’s shoulder. The media surrounded them the second they stepped outside.

“Charles, Charles – was Alex driving the duck that day?”

“Alex – who was driving? Why did you lie?”

Josiah shouldered his way through. “Give them space, let them through,” he bellowed.

Charles grabbed hold of his arm and pulled him back, looking terrified. “I want to talk to them,” he stammered.

“Charles – no.” Alex placed his body between his brother and the media. “Don’t say a word,” he hissed.

“I want to talk to them,” Charles repeated stubbornly.

The media surged forward, scenting blood, and a microphone was thrust under Charles’s nose.

Out of the corner of his eye, Josiah saw Tyler, surrounded by his lawyers and bodyguards, joining the throng. He had no idea what Charles was going to say, but Alex’s fate hinged on it. He leaned forward and spoke directly into Charles’s ear.

“For God’s sake, Charles, for once in your life, be a man,” he growled.

Charles looked at Alex for a long moment, and something wordless seemed to pass between them. Then Charles looked back at the waiting media. His hand was shaking as he raised the microphone to his lips.

“Investigator Raine is correct. Alex wasn’t driving the duck at the time of the accident that killed my mother,” he said, his voice barely more than a whisper. “ I was. It was my fault Mum died. It wasn’t Alex, it was me.”

The media erupted again, shouting out a thousand questions at the same time.

“Why, Charles? Why?” one of the reporters yelled, his voice ringing out over all the others.

“I asked Alex to take the blame because I was scared my gold medal would be taken away from me,” Charles replied. “Alex has always had a kind heart. He did as I asked because he was trying to protect me. He still is. That’s who he is. ”

“Why? Why were you scared you’d lose your medal?” The questions rang out, all clamouring to know the same thing.

“I…” Charles closed his eyes, then opened them again, visibly mustering all his courage. Josiah squeezed his shoulder, lending him his support. “In case I was tested for taking a performance-enhancing substance,” he whispered.

Pandemonium broke out once more, but Josiah’s gaze was fixed on one man.

George Tyler’s face had gone grey and he was staring at Charles in disbelief.

He’d been able to justify everything he’d done to Alex on the basis of his supposed responsibility for Isobel’s death.

Would he be able to accept this new reality, or would he try to defend his own version of events?

Alex turned to look at Josiah, and there was an expression on his face that Josiah had never seen before. His eyes were dark with a fury bordering on hatred, and he found himself almost wishing that his maddeningly vacant mask would return.

“I’m sorry,” he said softly, but Alex turned away in disgust.

The media surged in, surrounding them, and Josiah looked around in alarm. This was turning ugly.

“Charles, we need to get you away from all this.” Josiah forced a pathway through the throng and led Charles back into the courthouse to a private room. Then he called for backup from Inquisitus and a solicitor.

“You’ll need legal representation,” he explained to Charles. “And thank you,” he added, “for finally doing the right thing.”

Charles looked petrified, small, and diminished, and Josiah saw him then for the weak, good-natured fool he really was – and finally understood that this was who Alex had been protecting all along.

Josiah knew that he’d been instrumental in tarnishing the reputation of a great national hero.

Would the nation ever forgive him? It had always been so easy to love Charles and hate Alex.

The world wanted its villains and heroes to be entirely black and white, without any messy shades of grey.

Charles was the good brother, the golden boy, and Alex was the bad brother, the black sheep.

Everyone knew that, so it had to be true. Didn’t it?

Alex fought his way into the room a few seconds later.

He went straight over to his brother, knelt in front of him, and wrapped his arms around him.

The two brothers clung on to each other for several minutes while Charles sobbed into Alex’s shirt.

Alex swallowed hard, fighting back tears of his own, then he looked up at Josiah, his eyes blazing.

“Are you satisfied now?”

“I’m sorry,” Josiah said again, helplessly. He didn’t regret what he’d done, but now, in the aftermath, he realised what an incredibly big deal it was. He’d known it would be, of course, but knowing and being confronted by the reality were two different things.

These brothers had a bond he’d never understood and had failed to fully appreciate.

He’d never liked Charles, so he hadn’t taken into account how much love there was between them.

As much as Charles had failed Alex, that wasn’t the way Alex viewed it.

His promise to his brother had been unbreakable, and he would have gone to his grave with it, as Gideon had warned.

He’d endured years of torment because of it, but had never once revealed his secret – until Josiah had blundered in and done it for him.

He had the sudden realisation that if his affair with Alex wasn’t over before today, it certainly was now.

At that moment, help arrived in the form of Esther and several burly Inquisitus agents.

“You don’t do things by halves, do you, Joe?” she said, briskly taking charge. She parked her wheelchair in front of Charles and spoke to him in firm, no-nonsense tones.

“Mr Lytton, you’ve done the right thing and unburdened your conscience of what I’m sure was a great weight,” she told him sternly. “I must warn you that there will be ramifications, but I’ll see to it that you have the best legal representation.”

“Yes, thank you,” he whispered. He was still sobbing, his chest heaving. Alex had a protective arm around his shoulder.

“When you’re ready, we’ll ensure you’re able to leave safely.

We can take you to Inquisitus, away from the media, or you can return to your own home.

I can provide you with a handful of agents to help you fend off the worst of the intrusion.

But I should warn you, it will last some time, and it won’t be pleasant. ”

“I understand,” he said, his voice breaking.

Josiah saw then what Alex had always known: Charles wasn’t strong enough to handle the consequences of his own actions.

He was a good-natured fool, utterly unable to withstand the hostility of the waiting journalists.

He’d always loved playing to the crowd when they were on his side, but he’d be utterly flattened by their hatred.