Billy signed his resignation letter and put it inside the envelope. After everything that had happened, he couldn’t continue to serve as a DS. His life as a cop had been a lie. How was he supposed to protect the public when he himself was a killer? He knew that Jez was going to kill Cole Woods and he stood back and did nothing because it would keep him out of prison.
He’d promised himself that if Roxanne and Jake pleaded not guilty, he’d see through the trial. But they’d pleaded guilty because the evidence was stacked against them. Thankfully, he didn’t have to go through that.
He picked up his helmet and keys and headed outside to his bike. He needed to cycle to clear his head. It was how he’d always been. When he’d come back from Majorca, he’d cycled for miles. Not that it had helped.
Climbing onto his bike, he decided to head to one of the old haunts he and the boys used to hang around at when they were teenagers. It was a steep climb but worth it for the views. It wouldn’t take long.
As he climbed Dunmuir Hill, his thigh and calf muscles burning, Billy thought about what he would do with his life once he resigned as a DS. Maybe he could retrain as something else? Maybe start his own business? If Jez could do it, so could he.
He hadn’t heard from Jez since that day he left him with Cole. He’d managed to tell a convincing lie to his bosses that Cole had done a runner. That he must have caught wind that the police were on to him. They’d seized millions of pounds worth of drugs from his flat and Billy hadn’t slept since, worried that he’d be caught and sent to prison himself.
He reached the top of Dunmuir Hill and just over the brow was the reservoir. The sunlight glinted off the water as he took in the view. He could see for miles, and out there in the vast space Billy wondered if Cole’s brother’s body would ever be found. The world was a big place, and twenty years had gone by and so far, there had been no news from Majorca about remains being found. Maybe they’d wasted away.
He thought about Jez and how he’d got away with so much in his criminal career. Before they’d gone off to Majorca, Jez had gone to pay off some of their recreational drug debt with Diggo, the local down-and-out drug dealer. He’d confided in Billy when they were abroad that he’d dealt with their debt without having to pay up. Billy hadn’t been surprised when Jez had told him that Diggo and his shitty little Vauxhall Nova were at the bottom of a reservoir. When it was on the news all those years ago that they’d found Diggo and the car, Billy had known the truth of what happened and kept it to himself.
As Billy stood at the edge of the reservoir, staring down at the water, he knew that it was likely Cole Woods’s remains would be up at the reservoir somewhere too.
He swallowed hard and realised that he was just like Jez. His friend had supported him in his desire to become a police officer, but he’d always said that he didn’t think it would suit Billy. He’d been right. Billy used his police career to hide what he truly was. A boy from the schemes, a killer.