Andy was cuffed and led away through the forest by two uniformed officers. The other two officers who’d accompanied Gardner were in the hut, keeping Richard company until the paramedics arrived.
Gardner showed Riddick the map on the phone, the red pin indicating this precise location.
‘Thank God, I dropped the phone,’ Riddick said, ‘Otherwise, well, he’d have had a hat trick.’
‘He was already up to three,’ Gardner said. ‘You’re forgetting Tom?’
Riddick fixed her with a stare. ‘He didn’t kill Tom.’
‘Did he tell you that?’
‘Yes. And he was telling the truth.’
‘How do you know? Tom treated his lad like shit – he left him with his mother, and after she passed, allowed him to go into care!’
‘I know, but he’d never have harmed Tom. Kelsey adored their father. And everything he did was motivated by her.’
Gardner shook her head and looked away to hide her disappointment. She’d been convinced it was all over. Another killer? Not what she needed right now, not with her sociopathic brother lingering in the shadows.
‘So,’ Riddick said, rolling his shoulders, ‘that leaves us with whatever turns up at Tom’s house and Sands’ post-mortem findings—’
‘No,’ Gardner spat. ‘It leaves you getting medical attention when the paramedics arrive.’
Riddick flinched. Maybe she’d been too aggressive, but Christ, was she disappointed with this sudden lack of closure.
‘I’m fine,’ Riddick said. ‘In fact, I’m more than fine. I’m chomping at the bit.’
‘No… you’re not thinking straight, Paul – your head has taken more blows than a cricket ball.’
He tapped his forehead with his knuckles, careful to avoid the bruises and cuts. ‘And it’s all the tougher for it.’
‘You’re black and blue and covered in blood. I’m not letting you do anything until you’ve had an x-ray—’
‘Then, I’m going rogue,’ he said, marching into the trees.
Gardner opened her mouth to call after him. She considered the vodka she’d found in the Sprite bottle but knew this was neither the time nor the place. However, she still needed to challenge him. ‘Now, what could possibly inspire you to shatter our newly formed, albeit still rather fragile, relationship?’
Riddick turned. ‘Because of something else that boy just told me in there.’
‘Do share.’
Riddick paused, leaned against a trunk, looked down, took a deep breath, and then shared.
Gardner steadied herself against the trunk of an adjacent tree. ‘Didn’t see that coming.’
‘Neither did I, and I had to hear that from a mallet-wielding psycho.’
‘I mean, surely not?’ She reached into her pocket for tic tacs.
Riddick shrugged. ‘Can I continue going rogue please?’
‘Okay, but I’m coming with you.’