Page 42 of Ruthless Regret

ZAIN

I leavemy dad at the house to wait for the workmen he hired to arrive, and retrace the path I’d jogged back to their house. I don’t bother going inside, but head straight for my car and drive across town to the police station. It only takes a minute to find a parking space not far from the entrance, and I park the car, then walk inside. McFadden is at the front desk, talking to one of his deputies. He looks up as I approach.

“Ryder.”

“Got time to talk?”

He gives me a long look, then nods. “Come through.”

I follow him down the hallway and into his office. “Which situation are you here for?”

“Both.”

Waving a hand, he rounds his desk and sits down. “Take a seat.”

“What happened yesterday? Did Holson tell you anything?”

“I told you last night. He didn’t really have much to say, other than Ramsey was the lead detective on the case, and he was just following orders.”

“And that’s it? Nothing else?”

McFadden nods. “I’m afraid not.”

I sigh. I’d beenso fucking sureHolson was involved.

“Look, Zain,” He leans forward. “Ramsey was the lead detective on the case. He had seniority, so Holson followed his lead. After you were arrested, Holson admitted that he started having doubts, but Ramsey wasn’t interested in investing any more time in it.”

“Holson knew there were holes in the case, but didn’t do anything about it?”

“That’s not what I said. Holson admitted there were a couple of things that he informed Ramsey of, but they never made it into the final reports. There was one witness who saw someone near the scene, who didn’t match your description. But Ramsey said one person wasn’t enough, and that Holson was letting his links to the Conway family cloud his judgment.”

“Holson didn’t like Louisa’s life choices. His parents were close to hers. For a while, I think, both families thought they’d end up together.” It’s one of the reasons I thought he had something to do with the murders. The crime of passion they accusedmeof committing, could have easily been true of him.

“Maybe, and his connection to the Conways was never brought up, which I thought was odd. Really, he should never have been part of the investigation because of it. But the Whitstone police department was even smaller back then than it is now.”

“What about Ramsey? Where is he now?”

“Retired, and off the radar. We’ve been looking for him, but he’s not easy to track down. Apparently, he went off-grid years ago. Holson thinks that Ramsey knew more than what was in the case files, but getting him to talk might be impossible.”

I jump to my feet, and pace the width of the office. “So, what? Ramsey just gets to walk away?”

“We’ll find him. You’re just going to have to be patient. These things take time.”

I stop pacing, and spin to face him. “If Ramsey has been off the radar for years, then he’s a ghost. For all we know, he could be dead. If he’s not, and he’s got the answers I need, I want him found.”

“I understand that you don’t want to wait, Zain, but we can’t rush this. We’re working to find him, but if he doesn’t want to be found, it’s not going to happen overnight.”

“I’ve been waiting for fourteen fucking years. We’re talking about my fuckinglife. What if there is more than just someone else being seen? What if it’s more than just a flawed witness statement? What if?—”

“I get it, Zain. Ido. But you can’t go charging ahead, expecting all the answers to fall into place just because you want them. It takestime.”

I shake my head, but don’t push. I’m not going to win, and anyway, I have other avenues available to me which might make finding the missing detective easier. Instead, I sit down and change the subject slightly.

“What about the fire? Have you got anything on that?”

“We’re treating it as arson. I think the intention was to burn the house down, but you disturbed them.”

“Could it have been the same person who attacked Ashley?”

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