Page 67 of Three for a Girl

“No, but cases are always stressful.”

“The marks on your neck?”

“An allergic reaction.” Chad said, keeping his expression neutral. “My doctor said it would go down in a few days.”

“Your doctor?”

“Doctor Carter at St Johns. He took a look at it.”

“I’m glad you reached out to someone.” Keeley grinned. “Last time, you put a lot of emphasis on ‘doing good’ and being a detective again. Do you think you’re achieving that?”

“I’m working a case. I’ll only do some good when the killer’s caught.”

“Why do you catch killers?”

Chad’s eyebrows snapped together. “I’m a detective, a public service, I solve murders, I find evidence so the guilty party can be convicted in court. Killers need to be held accountable for their actions.”

“That’s not the angle I was going for.” She tapped the end of her pen on the table, humming, “Okay, how does it feel when you catch a killer?”

“It’s a relief for the family and friends of the victim, a relief to the public, it’s justice—”

“Personally, how does it makeyoufeel?”

Chad licked his lips. “Good.”

“Only good?”

“There’s a lot of different emotions.”

Keeley clicked her pen and rested the tip on her notepad. “Talk me through it?”

“It’s hard to talk about.”

“When we find it hard to discuss topics, they’re usually the ones that need to be discussed, looked over.”

“I’m prohibited to talk about cases—”

“I’m not asking you to. I want to know how it feels to catch a killer, start until finish.”

“I don’t think I can explain it.”

“Try. If you feel uncomfortable, we can stop, but at least try.”

She smiled at him and gave him an encouraging nod. He thought back to his old cases, the ones before Romeo.

“There’s always a lot of tension at the start of a case. There’s pressure, and it builds momentum, you have to piece together the puzzle left behind as quickly as you can, but not overlook any detail. It’s a hard balancing act—too fast and you might miss something vital, too slow and your killer could get away or strike again.”

“You enjoy that pressure, that balancing act?”

Chad nodded. “When pieces of the puzzle slip together, it’s exciting. The adrenaline is intoxicating. You know you’re close, you know the killer’s only a step ahead of you instead of fifty. You can practically see them on the horizon and you get ready to pounce.”

“And when you get them, when you pounce, how does that feel?”

“It’s difficult to put into words. There’s relief, triumph, it’s a buzz. To get the person you’ve been hunting all that time, and when you snap the handcuffs on, read them their rights, I feel…” he laughed, shaking his head.

“What?” Keeley asked.

“Right. It felt like I exist purely for those moments.”

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