Page 26 of Three for a Girl

“Yeah.”

Romeo gathered the plates, cutlery, and bowls in silence and put them next to the sink. He didn’t glance back to Chad, he stared out of the window that faced the muddy fields.

“You should go sit in the other room, you’ve had a long day.”

“I’d much rather stay in here with you.”

“I’ll join you in a minute.”

Chad slowly got to his feet, and went to leave, but paused in the doorway, turning to Romeo.

“Romeo…”

He didn’t look a Chad, but tilted his head slightly, a signal that he was listening.

“These past few months, no one has ever taken care of me like you have. No one has ever made me feel like you do, like I’m important, like I matter.”

“Nothing matters more than you.”

Chad’s eyes burned with tears. He couldn’t stop them flooding him or his heart fluttering from the rush of emotion.

“Thank you for looking after me.”

Romeo resumed his stare out the window.

He always threw out seeds for the birds and, although Chad couldn’t see them, he could hear the clatter and chortle of the magpies in the field. Like always, they had Romeo transfixed.

****

Josh sat at his desk, scoffing doughnuts. Chad took one from the box, but the more he breathed in the sickly scent, the less he wanted it. He hadn’t eaten anything that morning, the worry gurgling in the pit of his stomach made it impossible.

Romeo was on his mind, or the lack of Romeo. He hadn’t touched Chad for the rest of the night, slept on the sofa, and disappeared into the outhouse when Chad got up for work.

Josh finished licking sugar off his fingers, then spoke, “People kill for three main reasons, right? Financial, sexual, and power gain.”

“What about revenge?” Ally said.

“That comes under power gain. It’s about regaining control, settling the score.”

Chad placed his doughnut on Josh’s desk, and slid it towards him. “There’s four reasons.”

“What’s the fourth?”

“Some people are born with a need to kill.”

Josh took a bite out of the doughnut. “You believe that?”

Ally smirked, folding her arms. “He was taken hostage by two serial killers, if anyone knows, it’s him.”

Faye dropped her pen to the floor, but Chad pretended he hadn’t noticed.

“Yeah, but Marc Wilson fits in the power category.” Josh said. “He loved reading about himself in the press, and so did Romeo.”

“Josh.” Faye hissed.

Chad didn’t look at her directly, but he could see her out of the corner of his eye, shaking her head and waving her hand.

“What? He pinned all the newspapers on the walls, didn’t he?”

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