Dan stood as Rodney entered the room.
He felt the same as he did the first time he visited, that he was there to see a celebrity, the prisoner who carried with him the horror of his crimes, even though now he wondered about a different reality. It was the treatment Rodney received that made him different.
Dan was used to seeing prisoners in the glass kiosks of the local prisons, just part of the pretrial routine. Going to see Rodney was visiting someone settled into a life, with a prison that would always be his home. He was able to see Rodney in a large and empty room, more befitting an old school assembly hall than a place for legal visits. There was a guard at one side, watching, his arms folded, scowling.
Rodney seemed more cautious than the previous time, as if unsure why Dan was there again. His walk was a slow shuffle, although he watched Dan all the way. It wasn’t hostility in his eyes though. It was curiosity. Rodney wanted to know what Dan knew.
All Dan had was a bluff, to see how he reacted.
Dan gestured for Rodney to take a seat.
Rodney nodded his thanks, even though he had no need to express any gratitude. He wasn’t there as Dan’s guest, and he could have refused to see him.
His attitude was the same though. He sat back and flopped his arms on the table. ‘You’re back.’
Dan sat down opposite. ‘There have been developments.’
He pointed to Dan’s face. ‘I can see, and you couldn’t wait to tell me. Well, here we are.’
‘We’re working on our new defence. Do you want to hear it?’
‘Anything to break the monotony, I suppose.’
Dan watched carefully as he said, ‘It involves your daughter, Leoni.’
Rodney’s eyelids flickered, just a fraction, and he swallowed. ‘How is she? Haven’t heard from her in a while.’
‘I’ve not met her yet, but I thought you’d be keeping an eye on her. After all, it’s in your interests.’
‘How so?’
‘To make sure she doesn’t kill again.’
Rodney pursed his lips and flexed his fingers, as if he wanted to clench his fists but was stopping himself. Dan guessed that Rodney was having the conversation he’d always braced himself for.
‘That was the deal, wasn’t it?’ Dan continued. ‘You pay the penalty for her crimes, on the condition that Ruby was the last one?’
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’
Dan felt a growing sense of excitement, because Rodney was acting exactly as he’d expected if Jayne’s theory was right. If they were wrong, Rodney would laugh it off, even defend his daughter, treat Dan like a fool and go back to his cell. Instead, he was closing down, trying not to give anything away, as if trying to gauge what Dan knew.
Dan jabbed his finger on the table. ‘Oh yes, you do. I can tell from the way you’re grinding your teeth, despite your attempt to look relaxed. I know the story. I’ve been following the same trail Mark Roberts had, before he was murdered.’
Rodney took a sharp breath.
Dan held out his hands. ‘Just like last time, I’m not making notes, not recording anything, but secrets don’t stay buried forever. Is it the truth?’
‘What does that matter?’
Dan leaned forward and hissed, ‘Because your daughter didn’t end her spree with Ruby. Don’t you get it? People like her never stop. She just learned subtlety. She made a teenage boy kill himself like it was her hobby. She picked on a vulnerable young boy and wore him down until he gave in. He thought she was his confidante, his friend, but really she was his tormentor, relished it the same way she enjoyed torturing William, and then Ruby.’
Rodney swallowed but stayed silent.
‘Did you really think she’d stop? She tortured and stoned a young boy to death. She watched a girl struggle for breath on your garage floor until she died.’ Rodney closed his eyes and grimaced, but Dan carried on regardless. ‘People like your daughter don’t stop. Call it an illness or a compulsion, call it whatever you want, if it takes away some of her blame, but your daughter enjoyed the torture too much to stop. If you’ve chosen to spend your life in prison as a way of making her change, you’ve wasted your time.’
Rodney opened his eyes. ‘What do you want me to say?’ His tone was still defiant, but there were tears in his eyes.
‘I want you to see that you’ve had it wrong all these years, that you’ve been staying loyal to a lie.’
‘Why should I care what you think?’
‘It’s not what I think that’s important though. It’s that you know, deep down, that you weren’t protecting Leoni, and you haven’t protected those who died after Ruby. David Green. Mark Roberts. And there must be others. People died because Leoni was still out there.’
Rodney stared at the table for a few seconds, his lips pursed, his fingers tapping on the surface. He looked at the guard, and for a moment Dan thought he was going to come over, but Rodney said, ‘What am I supposed to do?’
‘Come clean.’
‘You think people will believe what I’ve got to say? More than twenty years in prison and I suddenly get to remember what happened. And what do I do? I blame it on my daughter, my angel-faced little girl. She’s in her thirties now and never been locked up. How desperate would I look? No, it would be pointless.’
‘Help me then.’
‘Why should I?’
‘Because I think Leoni killed the reporter who was looking into your case. My client is accused of it, but you could help free him. Don’t let my client rot away in prison like you have, for something he didn’t do. For something your daughter did.’
Rodney wiped his eyes. ‘Have you got children, Mr Grant?’
‘Why should that matter?’
‘Then you’d know how far you’d go to protect them. And sometimes it’s because you don’t know how much blame is your own. Sarah left us, and I had to somehow cope with two young children, and not only keep a roof over their heads but also provide the love and support their mother couldn’t. But how? I was too busy trying to sort my own head out. I didn’t have enough time left for them; I neglected them. The only thing I could say is that I stayed, but is that enough? Don’t think I haven’t wondered how much of it is my fault. If I’d been a better father, perhaps all of this wouldn’t have happened. I deserve this. Did a ten-year-old girl deserve it? No.’
‘Mark Roberts didn’t deserve it. David Green didn’t deserve it. Do the right thing, Rodney. For my client, because you might think you deserve to be where you are, but he doesn’t.’
He shook his head. ‘Don’t spread the guilt, Mr Grant.’ He stood, making the guard begin to walk over. ‘I wish things were different, or that I could go back, but I can’t. It’s your theory, but you don’t care about me or Leoni. You just want to win your case.’
The guard was at the table, leading Rodney away.
‘Final answer?’
‘Final answer, Mr Grant.’