Page 76 of The Quarterlands (Dark Water #4)
“What I want is a confession, so I can take it to Esther. Neil Grant might have been a nasty piece of work, but he didn’t kill Elliot Dacre, and it’s not right for the blame to be pinned on him, dead or not.”
“You do have an interesting sense of justice,” Gideon murmured. “I mean, you choose to uphold some laws and completely flout others. It’s really quite fascinating. However do you choose?”
“I have my own sense of right and wrong, forged in this very building,” Josiah grunted.
“Ah, well, we both know that Quarterlands justice can be a good deal more rough and ready than the kind you’re used to doling out on dry land, but by all means go on believing in your own moral compass, Josiah.
Of course I’ll give you your confession.
A deal is a deal, after all, and you gave me the most wonderful trial.
All that courtroom drama kept me on the edge of my seat for weeks, which was a great comfort to me, given how very ill I feel these days.
” Gideon sat back in his armchair, looking every bit as near death as he claimed to be.
“Here.” He reached for his holopad and pinged a document over to Josiah’s nym. “My confession, as requested. I’ve been working on it for some time, so you should find it quite thorough. I even took a holopic of myself holding the gun before I sent it off, in case it should be needed.” He smiled.
Josiah read it through carefully, but Gideon had been as meticulous about his confession as he was about everything else. Every detail was there, with nothing left out. There could be no doubt as to who had killed Elliot Dacre.
Josiah finished reading then cleared his throat. “So, I’ve spoken to the IS judge in charge of Alex’s case. She won’t agree to bend the rules, but I’m welcome to bid on him, if I can raise the money.”
“Well, I’ll do my bit, as promised. I have no need of it now anyway.” Gideon handed him a cash card. “It’s a large sum, so it’s encrypted.” Josiah tapped it against his holopad to find its value… and then gave a bark of laughter.
“What is it?” Gideon demanded.
Josiah raised his eyes heavenward, shaking his head. “It’s not enough, Gideon. It’s not nearly enough.”
“It’s all I have. As I said, Miss Madeleine was always generous with her money, if not with herself, but perhaps not quite generous enough to afford the most expensive IS in the land.” Gideon gave a rueful smile.
“Oh, shit. I was so hopeful. I thought…” Josiah slammed the cash card down on the table. “I can’t do it. I don’t have enough to buy him. Even if I sold my house and Peter’s car, and used up every single penny of my savings, it still wouldn’t be enough.”
“That’s not all you have to sell, though, is it?” Gideon asked silkily.
Josiah turned his head, slowly, a chill creeping through his body. “What do you mean?”
“Oh, you know what I mean.” Gideon smiled. “Come now, Josiah, are you really so much better than the rest of us Quarterlands scum? Isn’t this always the fate that awaits us in the end? Why did you think you’d escape it?”
“No,” Josiah snapped. “I made a vow to my father. I promised him, Gideon.”
“And do you always keep your promises?” Gideon asked, an amused glint in his eyes .
Josiah looked down at his hands. “No,” he admitted hoarsely. “I used to think so, but no, I don’t.”
“It’s up to you, Josiah. The money is yours, regardless of what you do with it. Give up your job and go and live somewhere nice and warm, if you wish. I shan’t be here to care. Now, you must leave. I’m really feeling very tired.”
He looked it, too. He was a living corpse, with his paper thin skin and sunken eyes.
“Do you know how much longer you have left?” Josiah asked bluntly.
“Days, at most, possibly hours. I only hung on to see the culmination of my great plan. I’m happy to die now.
There’s no point in a funeral given I’ve already had one.
” He grinned, his teeth oddly white in his yellowed face.
“So, I’ve asked Seamus to give me the Quarterlands Splash.
It seems fitting. I’ll be a Quarter rat to the end, just like you.
That’s who we are, Josiah. Scum. Now go. ”
Josiah slipped the cash card into his pocket and left. That was the last time he saw Gideon Bart, but the man’s words stayed with him, burning a hole in his conscience.
“That’s not all you have to sell…”
He went to see Esther the next day.
“I have a signed confession from Elliot Dacre’s murderer,” he said, pinging it to her. She read it, her face darkening.
“Why didn’t you bring him in?”
“He wasn’t well enough, and anyway there was no point. I knew he was on his last legs, and he died last night.” He’d had a call from Seamus first thing this morning to that effect, and he couldn’t say he was sad about it. Regardless of his motives, the man had been a murderer.
“I see. So, you’ve solved all your cases as usual.
” She shook her head in admiration. “I might not always like how you keep things from me and charge around the country without backup, but I have to admit, you do always deliver. No wonder those rival investigation agencies are always trying to poach you. Oh, I know about all the offers you’ve had.
” She held up her hand, laughing. “I’m grateful for your loyalty, Joe. ”
“I’m glad to hear it. In which case, how would you like to lock that loyalty in for the next ten years to stop me leaving you for another agency?”
She looked startled. “What do you mean?”
He took a deep breath. “I have a proposition for you, Esther. Please… hear me out.”