Page 31 of Three for a Girl

All the color had drained from his face—even the pink faded from his lips. He covered his mouth again, and retched. His eyelashes fluttered, and Chad couldn’t tell if he was going to be sick or pass out.

He recovered, and slid his hands down his chin until he clutched his throat.

“You think it was sweetcheeks—Nina—whoever they are.”

“It seems like our strongest lead, unless you can think of someone else that would’ve wanted to hurt—”

“There’s no one.”

The DI gestured to the watercooler in the corner of the room. “Have a drink. I’ll send a liaison officer in to see you.”

“I don’t want to talk to anyone. I just want to go home and grieve for her. I’ve got to get back.”

“Did Ellen have any enemies?” The DI asked.

Kerion jogged his foot on the floor. “No, she was lovely, sweet, kind, not a nasty bone in her body. She was a good person, through and through.”

Chad’s mind went back to his session with Keeley, her words echoed in his head. No one was a hundred percent good or a hundred percent evil, they were all different shades of grey, including Ellen Blakely.

“Can I go now?”

The DI nodded. “Yes, do you have a contact I can call for you—”

“No, I want to be on my own.”

“If we need any more information, we’ll call you.”

Kerion didn’t speak, he got to his feet, and rushed from the room hugging his bike helmet.

Chapter Five

Chad pulled up beside the house.

He checked his watch, shaking his head at the time. When he was working on reception and with the traffic cops, his hours had been consistent, but working homicide, they were all over the place. It had been the same before, but Chad never feared Neil would go out on the kill without him there.

The lights were on in the house, but Chad couldn’t find Romeo anywhere. The kitchen held the scent of fresh bread, but the countertops and sink were both clean. Chad checked the fridge, and scrunched his eyes up tight at the plate overflowing with food.

He hurried out to the outhouse to find Romeo and paused in the doorway. He checked for any broken pieces of furniture, but there weren’t any, and when he sniffed, there was no lingering smoke from where Romeo might have burned it.

The outhouse was oddly quiet, no hammering, or huffing, or screws and nails jangling as Romeo searched through them. The only sound came from the buzzing lights, and the echo of his footsteps on the concrete. Chad’s heart thumped, he tried to keep calm, the lights were on, Romeo had to be there somewhere.

Chad made his way down the first aisle, searching for Romeo. He found him between two bunkbeds, sat at an oak dining table. Chad braced himself on the table, exhaling a shaky breath.

“What’s that about?” Romeo asked.

“Nothing.”

He flashed Chad a smile. “I was starting to get worried.”

Romeo’s attention dropped back to the table, and the puzzle he was working on.

“I’m sorry. I texted to say I was going to be late.”

“I know. I still worry though.”

Chad sat down on the chair opposite Romeo and frowned at the puzzle.

“This is new.”

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