‘Yes, everything’s fine, I just wanted to let you know that Callie’s a lot more lucid. She woke up very confused but she’s calmer now, sitting up and having a drink. I know you wanted to be here, but it’s sod’s law isn’t it! She’s still very tired and she’s got a very sore throat so she can’t talk very well but she’s been asking for you.’

‘Oh God! Yes! We’ll be straight there! Thank you, thank you … That’s so wonderful!’ Sharon felt a burst of elation. She turned back to the stairs, taking two at a time to reach the landing. Jamie’s door was at the end and again her fist was raised to knock. Again she held it back. This time it was a tide of emotion that stopped her. This was good news, everything she had been waiting for – but now it meant something entirely different.

Now she was going to have to tell another of her children that their dad was gone.

Chapter 50

Richard Maddox sat in front of him. Just like Glenn Morris had. Richard was looking up, fear clear in his eyes, but defiance too, maybe even more than his friend. Not that it mattered. Fear was all he needed. Fear was control. And he was the one holding the gun.

Richard was holding his medal in his right hand. A piece of old metal to look at, but one thing he had learned from spending time with Glenn Morris was just how much significance these old men placed on their past.

‘You’re going to kill me now then? Just like you killed Glenn?’ Richard’s words sounded like they were forced from a tight chest that had a visible rise and fall. He was gripping the medal so tight his knuckles were flushed.

‘I don’t think you understand what I’ve been trying to do for you, Richard. I don’t want to hurt you, I want to set you free,’ he said.

‘Set me free?’

‘From your pain. From everything that was holding you back. And I did that, didn’t I? And then you involved someone else when this was just for you, Richard, this was all just for you.’

‘I told you … Glenn was like my brother … I trusted him.’ Richard’s tone carried his defiance too.

‘I need something more from you. You need to make amends, you need to keep your grandson safe, you need to help me. One good deed deserves another, you’ve heard that, right?’

‘My grandson? But I did everything you asked!’

‘This was never supposed to be about me asking for anything. This was me giving you an opportunity. All I asked was for you to follow your sense of justice. You didn’t have to pull that trigger, you could have walked away but you did what you needed to. Now you need to help me.’