Page 135 of 36 Hours

‘That can’t be all…’

‘I worked in a factory. I was a body. I clocked in and clocked out. I did nothing that I’ll be remembered for. No wife, no kids, nothing of me will carry on.’

‘And that was worth a man’s life?’

She saw him shrug. ‘He will be missed as much as me. If there’s one thing I want you to understand, it’s the emptiness of living a life that’s for someone else. To only take care of a parent. To have no meaningful existence. For this I’ll be remembered. My name will be linked to these murders and to fooling the police. There’ll be documentaries on how I?—’

‘But you didn’t really, did you?’ Kim asked, taking another step. ‘Jared did most of the work. You knew how you wanted it to start and end, but everything in between was the work of someone else.’

She was now close enough to see that despite everything he had thought of, his expression said he hadn’t thought of that.

‘Jared’s name will be all over this. You think he won’t capitalise on it?’ she asked, taking another step.

Truthfully, she didn’t know for sure if that was true, but there was little blood on his hands, and it would probably get him a few more likes.

‘What about Tracy Frost?’ she continued. ‘Was she part of the game too?’

She just wanted to hear him admit what he’d done to the reporter.

‘Inspector, when are you going to understand that all death and injury is on you? I gave you every tool to find Hiccup on time. You failed. He died. Your fault, not mine. I gave you rules to follow. I was clear that failure to do so would result in serious consequences. The reporter took that chance. Her fault, not mine.’

Kim realised she was never going to be able to make him understand that he was responsible for the violence and death that had ensued. She had to force the picture of Frost out of her mind, or she was in danger of climbing up there and pushing him off the platform herself.

‘So, it was all for fame?’ she asked, taking another step.

Just one more and she could reach out and grab the bottom of his leg.

‘Not for fame. Just to be remembered.’

‘Fred, you can be remembered for?—’

‘I want notoriety. I want?—’

‘You want notoriety enough to rape a woman in front of her young daughter?’ Kim asked.

‘I didn’t rape anyone,’ he exploded. ‘What do you think I am?’

The horror on his face convinced her he was telling the truth. As soon as she’d seen the person standing on the top of the platform, that theory had gone out of her head. Her stomach had told her that while content to cut body parts from a homeless guy, he wouldn’t entertain the concept of raping a woman in front of her child. In his mind, his torture of Hiccup had been justified to meet the needs of the game. Fred Guest wasn’t a rapist, but she had just needed to see his reaction.

‘Sorry, but time’s up, Inspector. I gave you every chance to find me, and you messed it up. You arrived late. There are rules for a reason, and they have to be followed.’

She raised one foot onto the next rung.

He shuffled forward.

She stopped dead in her tracks. Rules, timings, puppets, manipulation. Control.

‘You know what, Fred, fucking jump,’ she said, taking a step back down the ladder.

‘Wh-What?’ he spluttered.

‘Do what you like. I’m over it.’

‘You can’t say that.’

‘Says who?’ she asked, continuing her descent. ‘You see my boss here anywhere?’

‘B-But…’