Page 64 of Redemption

It’s cause and effect.

Rick believes that his actions, whether inadvertently or not, are the cause of the deaths of his wife and my brother and what is happening now are the effect of that.

He’s wrong. So very wrong.

Just above the sound of the birds, I hear the soft bristle of feet over the carpet inside the house behind me, but I’m not worried.

“Morning, Jamie. The kettle should still be warm.” The movement stops at my words, then starts again. Jamie comes into view just as I lift my cup to my mouth, taking a sip.

“How the fuck did you know it was me?” she asks, pulling a chair out and sitting.

I take another sip of my tea before answering her, “You’re not as light on your feet as Seb and Rick, and as Rick’s already left, that leaves you.” I give a little shrug at the surprised and ever so slightly offended look on her face.

“That’s kind of creepy, you know that, right?”

“Yeah, I know.” I continue to drink my tea while Jamie looks out across the lake.

“Are you okay?” she asks after a couple of minutes.

I look over to see her watching me carefully. “You mean after almost getting blown up or finding out that there’s a high chance my father was involved in my brother’s death?”

“You left out the part where your car was tampered with and getting shot at.” Her words hang in the air before we both laugh, and it breaks the icy tension between us after the confrontation at the hospital.

“Look, I’m not going to apologise for being so hard on you yesterday, but I will admit that I may have gone over the top. Just a little.”

“Yeah, well, I’m not one to hold a grudge against someone who was protecting their friend. That’s not who I am. There are people far worse that deserve my anger.”

“Fair enough.”

Seb comes out carrying two cups and places them down, then kisses Jamie’s head before taking a seat beside her.

“It’s beautiful here. I don’t understand why anyone would live in London when they have this place.” I say, as I watch a flock of birds dip low before soaring back into the sky.

“Rick always planned to move here, but things changed. I don’t know what he’ll do with the place once it’s finished. Although, I can’t see him getting rid of it.”

I steer the conversation away from this place and ask about the escort agency they were talking about yesterday.

“So, this agency you guys were talking about, what’s the story there?” I try to keep my question casual, but I see I wasn’t casual enough for Seb.

“That’s an out of the blue and completely random question. Want to tell me why you’re so interested?”

“No reason. I was just curious as you were talking about it yesterday.” I shrug and turn my lips down in a completely non-interested way.

“I don’t buy it, but fine.” And Seb tells me all about the agency job Jay is working on. I didn’t miss the look Jamie gave him when he agreed to talk to me about it, so I’m guessing spilling the beans on their jobs to anyone outside their circle is a big no no.

I get the feeling he’s only giving me basics anyway. Just like they did when we talked about Tempest last night.

I throw a few questions his way, nothing invasive just vague queries, and other than learning they are being investigated for underage girls, nothing jumps out at me.

When I ask Seb where Rick has gone, he clams up completely. Not long after that, he and Jamie disappear inside while I look around the barn before settling in the lounge to watch some inane daytime TV.

My mind won’t switch off, and despite not learning anything that comes close to connecting the agency to Tobias or with Christian’s death, I can’t help thinking there’s more to it, but without access to a phone or laptop, there’s not much I can do.

I found a small library when I was looking round earlier, and I trudge back there and pick a book to alleviate some of this boredom and constant whirring of my brain.

An hour later, I’m engrossed inThe Time Traveller’s Wife, TV still on with the news playing in the background when I hear a familiar name.

‘The headless body of a man discovered two days ago has been identified as that of Lincoln Carter. Lincoln and his brother, Lewis, both disappeared within a matter of weeks of each other last year. The two brothers were wanted for questioning in connection to an investigation into Sean Donovan, who was killed in April 2020…’

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