by Wood, Rick
Following the funeral, Martin stood at a distance, watching beside a far tree in the graveyard.
He watched as the service ended and people lingered.
One by one, they left. Gradually finishing their goodbyes and petering away.
All but Lacy.
Lacy didn’t move an inch.
Martin felt Derek’s presence at his side and they shared a silent moment of understanding. A shared knowledge of the terror that had been committed that never needed to be verbalised.
“Come on,” Derek put his arm on Martin’s shoulder in an attempt to guide him away. “Let’s leave her alone.”
Martin nodded to show his hesitant agreement and, with a final glance at Lacy kneeling over the grave, he followed Derek down the path away from the graveyard and past the church.
*
Stood in the middle of Derek’s spare room, Martin and Derek stared at the pile of clothes Jenny had left upon a desk. The only remains of her presence in his house. Despite the bin bag clutched in Derek’s hand, he made little move to remove them.
“Did you know?” Martin asked. “About the equation. Did you know?”
“I had an inkling,” Derek admitted. “But I had no idea the lengths of it, nor had I had any confirmation. I will certainly say, however, that it has made things make far more sense now.”
“Well, at least that’s one thing this battle gave us,” Martin offered, then felt bad. The amount of people who’d had to die was awful. There was nothing that justified that.
They paused by the side of the church.
“What happened was a tragedy,” Derek reassured. “But do not let it make you cast doubt on what you think is right. I trust you.”
Martin took a deep intake of air, held it in his lungs, then let it out.
“There’s a big fight ahead of us, that’s for sure,” Martin announced.
“Yes.”
“Got to say one thing for Jenny, though. She never lost faith in Eddie. Even right at the end, I don’t think she had a single thought in her mind that the heir could do it.”
“Yes. Foolish girl.” Derek forced an empty chuckle. “But this does confirm one thing.”
“What?”
“Eddie can’t be saved. It’s not an option. The heir of hell has to die.”
Martin nodded in silent agreement.
Those were the words that stuck in his mind, engrained in his thoughts.
Edward King has to die.
With one large brush across the desk, Derek pushed Jenny’s remaining items into the bin bag. Her clothes, a washbag – and a folded-up note addressed to Derek that he would never read.
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The final book in The Edward King Series
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