Page 31 of Five for Silver

“Fuck, Chad,” Romeo flicked him hard on thetemple. “Does this thing work in here?”

“Ouch,” Chad slapped his hand to the side ofhis head. “It works.”

“Really?”

“I didn’t go on my own. Josh was with me,and she wasn’t stalking me. She was following—”

“Sounds a lot like stalking to me.”

“She was following me because she wanted myhelp.”

Romeo rolled his eyes. “That damn detectivein you can’t resist a damsel in distress, can he? Even if she leadshim straight into a trap.”

“I said no. I said I couldn’t help her, andthen we left. She’s not going to follow me again.”

“And you believe that?”

“Yes. I do.”

Romeo clenched his jaw. “What did she wanthelp with?”

Chad shifted, sitting beside Romeo, hehunched forward. “Her name is Lucy Hastings, sister of the murderedHarriet Hastings. Vincent has said he wants to wash away his sinsbefore he dies and reveal the location of Harriet’s remains.”

“So why hasn’t he?”

“Well, apparently his memory has nosedivedin the last few weeks and he needs some help remembering what hedid with her. Which is where Lucy, and James Poole come intoit.”

“James Poole?”

“A retired detective,” Chad frowned.“According to Lucy he had some kind of relationship withHarriet—”

“What has this got to do with you?”

“Vincent isn’t willing to cooperate withauthorities unless I’m involved, too.”

Romeo nodded. “No Chad. No Harriet.”

“Something like that.” Chad looked up athim. “I said no. I said no to both James and Lucy.”

Chad expected the tension to drain fromRomeo’s shoulders, but it didn’t.

“Lucy, she gets it,” Chad continued. “Sheunderstands. James, less so, but he’ll have to accept it. I’m notgoing back to Wiltknot. I refuse to be one of his puppets, dancingon strings to whatever he’s got planned.”

Romeo’s green eyes darkened. His gazelingered on Chad’s face for a few moments, then he picked up theremote and restarted his program.

Chapter Six

“Vincent Whitehall.”

The name pulled Chad from the kitchen intothe living room. He stopped munching the slice of toast in hishand, and openly gawped at the TV.

“I said no, Romeo, I promise I said no.”

Chad stared at the flashing banner on thebottom of the screen.Breaking News from inside Wiltknot MaximumSecurity Prison, Vincent Whitehall has agreed to help specializedofficers in their search for Harriet Hastings remains.

The news studio cut to a reporter outsideWiltknot being jostled by other journalists as they tried andfailed to talk over each other.

“Vincent Whitehall is said to be in afragile state nearing the end of his life, but before he dies, hewants to give closure to the Hastings family.”

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