Tuesday, February 3
“Don’t expect too much,” said Felicity, leading Dan into a small, plain observation room in a secure area of Broadmoor Hospital.
The color of the paint, the smell of the corridors, the architecture and décor, a mix of original Victorian and redeveloped modern that already looked worn, all added to Dan’s deep-seated feeling that she was somewhere she didn’t want to be.
“His solicitor’s been very tight on the agreement to speak, so we’ll have video feed to ensure you’re safe, but we won’t have audio. It’s all we could get, and we won’t know what’s said until we debrief you afterward. It also means anything he says will be your word against his, but it’s a start, and you’re the first person he’s ever agreed to speak with.”
“He didn’t agree. He asked,” said Dan.
Felicity stopped and looked at Dan. She looked worried, a bit tired, had seemed uncomfortable since Dan had agreed to do this.
Dan was sure Felicity hated asking for this, hated herself for being the messenger, but she was right, if Hamilton was willing to start talking, then someone needed to take that opportunity.
“You’re right, he did ask,” said Felicity after a pause. “And we don’t know what he might say, probably very little at first, these things tend to build slowly. We also don’t fully understand his…” Felicity paused. “Obsession with you?” she offered. “I don’t think that’s the right word, but there’s something more there and it makes me uncomfortable.”
“He gets his solicitor to write to me, but that’s it, really; hardly an obsession.”
Felicity looked down at the floor and seemed to think about that before she looked back up at Dan.
“I said it wasn’t the right word, but he’s got some kind of fixation on you, so don’t feel the need to push anything, just see what he says and get a feel for him. This conversation happening at all is already a great outcome. When you think about what success looks like today, it’s simply his consent to another meeting.” Felicity paused again. “And yours,” she added.
Dan nodded and put her hands into her jacket pockets, worried that they might give her away. She’d believed that she’d never have to face Hamilton again, and yet here she was, that solid truth no longer holding firm, and her confidence was shaken at how quickly it’d broken free from its mooring.
“Are you sure?”
It was Roger speaking now, from behind her.
He’d followed them into the room, had been with Dan from the second she’d called him, insisted on being with her when she came, tried to insist on being in the room with her, though Hamilton, or his solicitor, blocked that.
She was glad to have him near and to have his support, though he was vocally against the meeting taking place at all.
Dan thought of John Granger, how he’d been so quiet when she’d called him this morning to say she would be in very late and couldn’t say why. She’d need to tell him soon, regardless of how secretive this whole meeting was, she’d need to tell him because she needed him on her side, realized now that he was one of the few who always was.
“And there’s no way we can get comms in there?” said Roger, speaking to no one in particular, though it was Felicity who made to answer.
“No way,” said a fat, bald man, cutting Felicity off before she could utter a word.
He entered the room quickly and sat down on the chair in the corner.
Dan looked at his expensive suit, fat gold jewelry, and leather briefcase that looked as though it cost more than a month of Dan’s wages.
“No way at all,” he said.
Roger turned to look at the man, making no attempt to hide the utter contempt he felt for anyone who sided with Hamilton, defended him in court, and ran his errands.
“I’d almost forgotten you were coming,” Roger said, with a fake smile.
“Well, don’t forget again,” said the solicitor, immediately looking back down at a file he’d pulled from his briefcase, ignoring them all.
Roger looked at Dan, his eyes blazing, and Dan smiled at him and mouthed “Calm down,” though she knew it would’ve been good advice to take herself.
“Okay, then,” said Felicity. “Let’s go. He’s in there now. He’ll be in wrist and ankle restraints, as agreed.” She nodded to Hamilton’s solicitor, who didn’t even look up from his paper. “And you have as long as you like, though he’s asked that you agree to stay for at least thirty minutes.”
“If you want to get out, you get out,” growled Roger, his face fixed in an unhappy frown. “No one’ll have anything to say to you about it. I can assure you of that.”
Dan smiled at him again.
He was acting like a protective uncle, and though it often annoyed her when this side of him came out, today it felt reassuring to know he meant it.
“I’d suggest that we pull you out if it starts to go near to an hour,” said Felicity. “That would be a very long chat, and we want you to remember the salient points.”
“I’ll remember,” said Dan, and walked to the door.
An attendant was waiting outside, and he nodded to her and walked with her along an institutional corridor with linoleum floors, magnolia walls, and dirty bars on every window that had once been painted cream.
Dan followed the guard, her eyes down, watching his heels as he walked, noticing how he favored the outside of his right foot when he stepped and how this caused his sole to wear significantly more on that side, only a few millimeters of rubber separating his flesh from the hard floor.
“We’re here, miss,” he said, stopping abruptly. “Knock twice when you want out and I’ll come. It’ll only take me about thirty seconds to get here, but I’ll be watching you on the screen and if anything happens that shouldn’t, I’ll be in that room with you a damn sight quicker than that, okay?”
Dan nodded. “Thank you.”
He reached out and opened the door, his hands moving in slow motion as he pressed the handle down and pulled the door open.
Dan took a deep breath, making sure she didn’t pause for more than a few seconds, and then stepped into the room to face him.