Page 100 of Three for a Girl

“Zara loved it. She was captain of her school team. We went to all the home matches, most of them we lost, but I remembered the look on her face when we won that game. We were the underdogs, we were losing, and we came back.”

He shook with an unsteady breath, a quiver of torment left him, and Chad realized he was crying.

He didn’t move closer to Andrew, but side stepped until he was at the railings and could see the side of Andrew’s face, the tears running down. The photograph pressed to his chest.

“She had her whole life ahead of her and now there’s nothing. They showed her no mercy, no respect, no care, no dignity.”

Chad frowned, lowering his hands.

“Whatever you found out about Ellen and Kerion it could help us. Others are missing. Other families need to know, they need closure.”

“AndI wish I could’ve been the one to give it to them.” He looked to the heavens. “I’m sorry I didn’t protect you baby girl.”

He shifted forward, let go of the railing, and fell. Chad clutched the railing, but didn’t look away. Andrew met the ground with a sickening thud. He landed on his back, and his head bounced at the impact. A car swerved below, narrowly missing him sprawled out on the road.

Andrew didn’t look real in the summer sunshine. The blood spreading on the road under his head looked fake, far too bright. The tarmac behind him looked too shiny. It didn’t look right, it looked wrong, and confusing, and Chad couldn’t shake the numbness seeping into his bones.

He’d felt relief when he saw his mother die, devastation when Toby passed away in his arms, and euphoria shot through him when Romeo squeezed the life out of Marc, but the sight of Andrew slipping from the edge, as casually as if he was slipping into a pool, left him hollow.

He was both victim and criminal, firmly in the grey area.

Chad shifted his gaze to the Lexus that stopped in front of Andrew.

Ally flung open her door and climbed out. Her eyes found Chad’s before flicking to Andrew on the road. She rushed forward, dropped to her knees, and held her fingers to his neck. Chad waited, throttling the hot metal railings that burned his palms.

Others were closing in on her, gasping in horror.

Ally sat back on her heels, tilted her head up to Chad, and even with the distance, he knew she’d spoken the words, “He’s dead.”

Chapter Fifteen

Chad’s brow furrowed as Andrew was zipped up in a body bag. The paramedics wheeled him into their awaiting ambulance and slammed the doors shut.

They followed behind in silence—Ally kept opening her mouth to say something, but never did. The heat rippled either side of the road and even with the air conditioning blowing, the stuffiness inside the car didn’t lessen. Chad loosened his tie and untucked his shirt, doing his best to cool down, but it was pointless. Ally’s eyeliner had run onto her cheek, and Chad tapped his own to hint at her.

“Me, crying? I’m made of sterner stuff.”

“Never mind.” Chad said, shaking his head.

Ally switched the radio on to end the silence. She gasped when a bulletin interrupted the tension, news from St Johns hospital. Her fingers tightened around the wheel, as she leaned forward as she waited for news.

A donor had been found for Marcy.

“Thank heavens for that.” Ally said. “Isn’t that wonderful news.”

Chad stared at the back doors to the ambulance. The lights weren’t flashing, and it headed down the road at a steady pace. One life had slipped away in front of his eyes, and another was about to be fought for on the operating table.

“I wonder if they’re his kidneys.” Ally said, gesturing to the ambulance. Chad didn’t react, and she sighed. “Yeah, bit inappropriate, I know. You gonna tell me what he said before he jumped?”

“He said Kerion and Ellen deserved it, and Ellen admitted his daughter was dead. They killed her.”

“Killed her? Were those his exact words.”

“He said it was their fault she was dead. They showed her no mercy or dignity.”

Ally hummed. She didn’t offer anything else, and Chad was thankful. He wasn’t ready for Ally’s theories. He was still trying to understand why he felt so off axis.

Numb and distant.

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