The threat of becoming number fifty-five. Trying to break free. The vivid red marks on his wrists and hands – on both their wrists and hands – from when he hacked his way free. Describing Heath at the cluttered desk, the plans and papers, the cross on the wall. A detailed account. The escape and the gravesite. Falling over the edge. Waking up to see Heath beside him. Fleeing without checking if his captor were still alive before arriving into town on a bicycle.

It was a strange choice. Not the immediate mode of transport that Chandler would choose if lying, but also one that was hard to track down. Plus, it was a decent ride from the Hill to town. Anyone who was being pursued by a killer surely could have found something better.

Like trying to steal a car.

Gabriel’s statement ended there but Chandler dwelled on what Gabriel had said after, about having nowhere to go, a man alone in the world, a man without ties.

Leaning back in the chair he let the details sink in. What made sense and what didn’t and what raised his suspicions. Top of that list was the comment: no killer introduces themselves. An extraordinary statement, a cold truth. There was also the depth of description regarding the shed and cabin, including the cross on the wall. Too well imagined. Perhaps more than would be seen in a panicked glance – perhaps a place seen more than once. But then again fear might have heightened Gabriel’s senses, storing the details in his effort to get away.

With Gabriel’s statement fresh in his memory, Chandler turned to Heath’s interview. First thing that stood out was the lack of detail about where he was going, as if he hadn’t had time to prepare the information in advance. Nothing else stood out between their stories until he got to being drugged. Heath’s recollection was certainly hazier, the haziness continuing throughout his explanation of how he escaped, a little less descriptive, the details blocked by fear, a tremor in his voice as he recalled it, on edge even then, as if for that moment he was back in the shed, chained to the wall and trying to hack his way free. The haziness was apt if he had indeed been drugged but Chandler wondered if it were a ruse, masking details on purpose, trying too hard to appear innocent.