Page 28 of Deep Down
Chapter 11
Craig
He didn’t know why he wanted Alex to stay, but he knew he didn’t want to do this on his own. Lying flat on his back to alleviate the strain on his spine, he couldn’t see if any looks were shared in the silence that ensued, but Alex moved back to his side.
“Are you sure?” Alex asked.
“Yes.” He caught movement, and a guy came to a standstill on the opposite side of the bed to Alex.
“My name’s Logan. The woman at the end of the bed is Ava.” Logan was built. There was no other word for it. Craig couldn’t be sure whether Darren or Logan would win in a fistfight between them; they were similar in muscle mass. He had a barely-there moustache and “chin beard” as Craig called it, softening his Roman features some. And Logan had crinkles next to his eyes and mouth, indicating a love of laughter which eased Craig’s mind. Loganpulled out a notepad and pen. “Firstly, I want to let you know Darren Corrigan has been arrested and is being held for the moment. I will let you know more information as soon as I have it. I will not keep you in the dark with this.”
Craig said nothing. He didn’t know how to feel towards Darren at that point. He was coming around to the idea that he should be a bit more upset about what had been happening to him, but it was difficult to connect everything together. It was likely in part to the concussion as well.
“Can you tell me what happened?” Logan asked.
“Take it easy, Craig, and let me know if your throat begins to hurt too bad,” Alex remarked.
Craig gathered his thoughts, which were scrambled all over the place. “I was cooking dinner when Darren arrived home.” He swallowed against the uncomfortable sensation of a sore throat. “He was angry. He accused me of cheating on him. I’m not. He didn’t believe me.”
He was silent again, trying to place the screenshot of information floating around his head. “He punched me, and when I fell to the floor, kicked me.” He paused again. “I can’t remember everything he said, but I remember my head banging on the floor, Darren choking me and Casey’s voice.”
Wincing against the pain in his throat, he tried to figure out what else to tell them.
“What time did Darren arrive home?” Logan asked.
“Um…I didn’t check the clock, but he is always punctual, so I assumed it was his normal time of 5 o’clock.” Craig nearly shrugged but thought better of it.
“Thank you. Did anything else happen that day? Any other visitors? Any other conversations?”
Craig hesitated. If he told them about what Darren said about the neighbour, it might get Alex into trouble.
“It doesn’t matter how small or insignificant you might think it is,” Logan prodded.
Craig peeked at Alex, hoping the apology could be seen on his face. “I do remember Darren telling me he had spoken with a neighbour as he’d parked on the driveway.”
“Okay. Do you know what the conversation was about?”
Craig nodded but flinched. “Darren said the neighbour had asked how I was after the argument I was in the other week.”
Logan’s eyebrows rose. “Can you tell me who the argument was with?”
Craig glanced at Alex again, seeing the understanding dawn in his widening eyes. He watched as Alex closed his eyes and dropped his head back for a few seconds before refocusing on him.
“It’s fine, Craig.”
He cleared his throat. “It was with Alex.”
Logan glanced at Alex then back at Craig. “Do you want Alex to leave while we continue?”
“No!” He was adamant about that for some reason.
“Alright. What was the argument about?”
“Alex said I wasn’t taking care of myself properly and needed to rest. I pushed back, saying I had work to do.”
“Was that the first time Alex had made a house call to you?”
Logan was firing on all cylinders Craig would give him that. “No. He’d visited the week before after I’d been brought into A&E with a dislocated shoulder.”
