“It’s on my laptop.”
“Where is it now?”
“At home, they don’t let me bring it here, I take notes, then write up when I get back.”
“Who has access to your apartment?”
“My mother has a key.”
“Anyone else, partner?”
Holly snorted, shaking her head. “No, he wants me back, but—”
“I just need to know who might have read that article.”
“Only me … but…”
“But what?”
“It’s nothing.”
“Tell me.”
Holly frowned. “Someone broke into my apartment a few months ago, but there’s been a spate of break ins around the area. Expensive places like that draw a lot of attention.”
“Did they take anything?”
“Jewelry, money.”
“The laptop was there?”
“They didn’t find it. I hid it under the sofa. Practically brand new, state of the art, curtesy of my—”
“Every good thief would look under the sofa. Someone has read that article.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The Copycat Killer!”
Holly darted looks at Paul, and Fred, then looked back at Romeo. “There’s a copycat?”
“Yeah, someone that leaves magpie feathers at the scene of the crime, and then sends me one to the prison. A feather for each victim.”
Holly’s lips popped open. “You think they’ve read my article?”
“I think they could be using it as a blueprint.”
“But the police haven’t said anything, they haven’t made any statement about a copycat.”
“They’re keeping it quiet. You need to contact DI Grimes. Tell him about the article and tell him to look at the break in again.”
“I will.”
“Then Chad will be out of the spotlight.”
Holly froze, and her expression soured. “Chad? What has this got to do with him?”
“He’s their best lead on the copycat, but they’re wrong. The article is how the killer knew about the dogs, the movie, the magpie—”
“Wait, where’s Chad now?”
“He’s gone.”
Holly licked her lips. “You want me to tell the DI so that Chad might be cleared … so he’ll come back.”
“He’s innocent.”
“Maybe of this crime.”
Romeo scrunched his face. He could see the plotting behind Holly’s eyes, the sparkle of something. He’d pushed her too far, toyed with her to the point of obsession.
“Chad is not a killer.”
“I told him to back off.”
“You had no right to tell him that.”
“I was looking out for you, Romeo. Someone has to look out for you. Coming here, flaunting your failure. Making you reliant on him. He’s exploiting your Lima Syndrome.”
“My what?”
Holly nodded. “Lima Syndrome. I wrote about that in my article, too. It’s where the abductor feels sympathy for the captive. You healed Chad’s injured leg, cooked him food, kept him warm by the fire. You showed empathy, and now you’re locked up, he’s not let you go, he’s kept you dangling, strung along. He exploits that care. No wonder you have such difficulty expressing emotions.”
“Did you write about Chad in your article?”
Holly turned away. “A bit.”
“What did you say exactly?”
“Why is it important?”
Romeo spoke through his teeth. “What did you write about him?”
“I said it was about time he let go of his control and left you alone for good.”
The hot bubbly feeling started to grow in Romeo stomach. It fed into his veins, made his heart pound, and his skin feel too tight, too hot. The copycat was obsessed with him, the copycat was eager. Chad was the one that got away. The one, according to Holly, who mocks him by visiting, torments him from behind a barrier.
“If the copycat has read your article, he might see it as an incentive to go after Chad.”
Holly leaned closer. “Is that such a bad thing…”
“Of course it is—
“Not from where I’m sitting.”
Romeo sprung up from his chair and turned to Fred and Paul. They both drew their batons, ready for an attack.
“You need to speak to the inspector, tell him about the break in, the article.”
“Why are you so certain the killer isn’t Chad?” Holly asked.
Romeo turned back to her. “Because he’s not a monster.”
“Monsters can wear all sorts of masks…”
“He’s a good person.”
“He really has wrapped you around his finger.”
“You need to go to the police with what you know.”
“I don’t need to do anything.” Holly said, gathering her things. “I think the best thing to do is let things play out.”
“Play out?”
“Yes.” She looked over to Paul, then Fred. “We’ll let the police do their job, and not interfere…”
“Chad’s innocent.”
“So you say. Maybe he is. Maybe he’s not. But the Canster times is gonna love reporting on it… The first paper to find out there’s a copycat on the loose. The first paper that has the name of the lead suspect.”
Romeo looked at Fred. “Come on, you know this is wrong.”
Fred opened his mouth, but a glare from Paul had him closing it again.
“Don’t turn on him, too.” Romeo whispered. “If something happens to Chad, can you live with yourself?”
Paul snorted. “He might be the killer. Always thought it was odd him visiting, it was like the two of you were speaking another language sometimes, maybe you were giving him tips all along.”
Romeo took a step towards Paul, fully intent on headbutting him again, but two batons were wagged at him. Fred’s with less conviction, but he’d still sided with Paul and Holly.
A huge grin lit up Paul’s face. “Not so clever now, hey.”
****
“I want to kill them all.”
“Woah, okay.”
“No, I need to kill them all.”
Romeo paced his cell, yanking out his hair, and every so often, lashing out at the wall. His knuckles throbbed, but the pain only made him want to lash out again. The monster inside him was enraged, frothing at the mouth, wild and feral.
Will had been trying to calm him down, but it only made Romeo want to kill him, too. Wrap his hands around his neck and strangle him until his sounds stopped for good, until the good feeling flooded his mind, and he felt right again.
“Who’s them?”
“Paul, Fred, fucking Holly.”
“Hey, you leave Holly out of this.”
“She’s the worst of them. To think, I thought making her falling for me was fun, but what the hell have I turned her into? She’s a monster of my own creation.”
“You’re not making any sense.”
“They’ve banned my calls. They’re not letting me send any letters. Or letting me request visits.”
“That’s rough.”
“And I’ve got to help him somehow, but how can I when I’m stuck in here?”
“Help who?”
“And what if they target him, what if they read that goddamn article and decide they want to make him suffer.”
“Again, no idea what you’re on about.”
“What do I do? Tell me what do I do!”
Will was silent for a long time, then he whispered. “So you can’t have visitors, or phone calls, or write to anyone…”
“That’s what I said.”
“But what if I write a letter on your behalf.”
Romeo pressed himself into the bars. “Wait… You could write a letter.”
“That’s what I just said, don’t go taking credit for my idea.”
“It’s a brilliant one.”
“Really, thanks—wait a sec, I’ll get some paper. Where’s it g
oing?”
Romeo recited the address to the station.
“And to who?”
“DI Lucas Grimes…” Romeo stopped, then shook his head. “No…not the DI. He hates me and won’t listen. He’s blinkered. He thinks it’s Chad. I need someone with an open mind.”
“Then to who?”
“Write it to … Zac.”
“Zac who?”
“I don’t know his last name. Put receptionist Zac.”
“Okay…”
“Tell him Chad is not the killer. Holly Stevenson wrote in her article about magpies.”
“About magpies?”
“Yeah. Tell him plenty of people had access to the article. She’s put a target on Chad’s head.”
“Target on Chad’s head … right.”
“If he doesn’t do something, Chad will die.”
“Wow. Okay, that’s dramatic. That it?”
“Yeah, short and sweet, and to the goddamn point.”
“How do you want me to end it?”
“What?”
“Like with kisses?”
Romeo tightened his fingers around the bars. “I wanna strangle you so badly right now.”
“I was only asking.”
“Just sign it, R.”
“Done. Hey. I was thinking about how to escape.”
Romeo rolled his eyes. “Anything better than digging through a wall.”
“I remember watching a documentary about a highway man’s escape from the 1600s…”
“Because that’ll be doable now.”
“Hear me out.”
Romeo stopped throttling the bars, and sighed. “Go on then.”
“John Nevison was a highwayman. He was locked up for robbery, and pretended he’d contracted the plague while inside. He acted all ill, as if he really was close to death, then dropped down in his cell.”
“Keep talking.”
“So the guards didn’t want to get the plague, so they stayed away from the cell, had this doctor go in, who announced he was dead, and he took the body out of the prison. Not only did he escape, but he had a second shot at life.”
“And how did that work out for him?”
“Well, from what I can recall, he was caught again, then hanged.”
“I see…”
“Still, it was only an idea.”
Romeo looked over to his bookcase. The A-Z medical dictionary. “Maybe you’re on to something.”
“Wait—what?”
“Thanks, Will, you’ve given me something to think about.”
They were treated for broken bones, blood loss, even cancer on the hospital wing. Romeo needed something that required him to visit the city hospital.
“That’s what buddies are for.”
Romeo frowned. “Buddies?”
“Yeah, we’re buddies.”
“I doubt most buddies want to kill each other.”
“Wait…what?”
“Night, Will.”
Chapter Twelve
His mother died last.
Her funeral had been packed out. There had been tributes, tears, even a few somber laughs.
Romeo played the part he was supposed to.
The grieving son.
He got more hugs, and hand squeezes that day than during the rest of his life put together.
None of them knew at that time they were reassuring a monster.
None of them were ever supposed to know.
Romeo had always seen it as getting his fix, then moving on, accepting it was his lot. He’d put it on hold, countless times in his life he struggled to keep his desire in check, but then he’d think of his mother and father, their full-glowing hearts breaking if they ever found out, if he ever got caught.
He’d held back for as long as he could, but it was more than a need. It was fate. Since he’d taken his first breath on earth, he’d always been destined to be a killer.
Chad though, wasn’t.
Romeo saw the light he lacked in Chad’s warm eyes.
That was the reason he found Chad so fascinating. Chad had enough feeling and emotion for the both of them.
****
Five days since he’d spoken to Holly Stevenson. Five days of nonstop slander and accusations from the Canster Times.
Romeo had been given back his TV but it was a curse rather than a blessing. He stared unblinking at the news report. All anyone was talking about was the Copycat Killer. The Canster Times drummed up enough interest, enough pressure, that the police had no choice but to make the case public.
A copycat killer was on the loose, and he’d killed three people. Romeo ignored their names and thought of them only as numbers. The killer had got their numbers five, four, and three. Romeo felt nothing when their faces appeared on screen. All lived in remote locations, all were reported to have been strangled in their bedrooms then branded with a number. The police didn’t reveal drugs had played a part, and the killer was taking his frustrations out on their paralyzed bodies before he killed them.
“Jesus Christ…” Will shouted. “You were right about the copycat.”
Romeo turned his TV off, but he could still hear Will’s and the murmurs of all the other TV’s along the corridor. Everyone was watching the news, transfixed by the new countdown killer.
“They’re pretty sure it’s your guy…”
Romeo rubbed his face aggressively, then dug his nails into his scalp. He’d been so eager to help Chad, he’d messed up in front of Holly Stevenson. A woman that hated Chad. A woman that worked for the Canster Times. A woman who was infatuated with Romeo to the point of obsession. She may not have been the copycat, but she was definitely dangerous.
It wasn’t just the police force that had turned on Chad, but the whole country and it was Romeo’s fault.
“Hey, it’s not all bad though.”
Romeo stopped clawing at his face. “How is there any good in this?”
“When he gets arrested, he might end up here.”
“He’s innocent.”
“Innocent people don’t run.”
“When you got arrested in that parking lot for killing those two officers, did you run?”
“Well, no.”
“From your logic you’re innocent then?”
Will sighed dramatically. “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you, they brought it on themselves, what was I supposed to do?
“Forget it, you’re an idiot.”
“You were only with Chad for two months, you don’t really know him.”
“I do know him. And I know he’s not capable of this.”
“But how do you know?”
Romeo released a long breath. “When I looked into his eyes, I didn’t see a monster. His eyes weren’t empty like mine. He isn’t empty.”
“Empty?”
“I used to stare at myself in the mirror, trying to force an emotion to the surface, to see it flicker in my eyes. I can fake happiness, sadness, envy, confidence, and love to anyone except myself. I knew that from when I was a child, I was different, ugly inside, and I’d never be able to hide it from myself. So many emotions show in Chad’s eyes. I feel alive when I look at him.”
“Maybe in that farmhouse you rubbed off on him more than you knew.”
“This isn’t him.”
“Then who is it?”
“This is someone empty, just like me. Someone with their own monster to satisfy.”
Romeo listened as footsteps came down the corridor. Then Paul and Fred appeared on the other side of the bars. Paul looking furious, and Fred twitchy as hell.
“Back up and put your arms through.” Paul said.
“Why?”
“Because I told you to.”
Romeo puffed air from his nose like an angry bull, then did as he was told. Paul tightened the cuffs until his wrists stung, but he didn’t let it show. He didn’t give Paul the satisfaction of knowing it hurt.
“Where am I going?”
“Visiting room.”
&nbs
p; “Come on.” Fred said. “We can’t keep the detective waiting.”
Paul backed up from the bars, leaving Fred to unlock them. He couldn’t look Romeo in the eye, but kept his head low, and pointed in the direction he needed to march. The news was on every TV set he passed, the prisoners didn’t even wink or wolf whistle, too engrossed with the idea of a copycat. Another countdown killer searching for his fourth victim, his number 2.
The only person not watching the news was Justin Steel, he was doing press-ups on his cell floor, but when Romeo passed, he jumped to his feet, and hurled abuse. For once, Romeo didn’t antagonize him. He kept walking, gaze locked on the next security door.
When Paul opened the door to the visiting room, Romeo paused at the sight of Zac sitting on the other side of the barrier. Zac, wearing a shirt, smart jacket, straight tie, and air of seriousness. His blond hair was combed back, and even though he was young, he was trying his best to look older, professional.
Romeo took his seat, but Zac didn’t look at him, his eyes were darting between Paul and Fred.
“I need you to wait outside.”
“No,” Paul started. “We’ve got to stay with—”
Zac flashed his badge, then slipped it inside his jacket pocket. “I’m not asking, I’m telling. We’re going to be discussing sensitive material in regard to an ongoing case.”
“I still don’t think…”
Zac sighed, and looked as if he was about to stand up. “I’ll talk to the governor, but he didn’t look in the best of moods this morning. I doubt it’d make him very happy knowing two of his officers are slowing down an important case.”
“Okay,” Fred said. “There’s no need. We’ll wait outside.”
“Thank you.” Zac said, settling back in his chair.
Romeo listened to Fred and Paul shuffling, then the door closed behind them. He looked up at Zac, who took a long exhale, then sagged forward.
“Can’t believe that worked…”
“There’s a camera over there, at least keep up the pretense.”
Zac didn’t look towards the camera, but he did straighten in his seat, then presented Romeo with a folder. Romeo narrowed his eyes, studying the typed text.
“Are they song lyrics?”
“Yeah. I wanted it to look authentic.”
“Because most detectives present suspects with love songs…”
Zac looked back over his shoulder. “They think I’m part of the homicide team, but it was the only way I could speak to you. I’m gonna lose my job because of this. I flashed them my reception badge for fuck sake.”
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