A horrible idea formed in Adrian’s mind. What if what happened in the back of that van wasn’t the first time something like that had happened at the behest of Reece Corrigan? As if answering his own question, he remembered the look on Leon Quick’s face as he took his own life. He dismissed the memory. He couldn’t deal with this right now.

‘Please, I can’t tell you anything. You need to leave me alone,’ Becker pleaded.

‘Did he do something to you?’ Adrian asked.

He could feel his brow furrowing as he said it. It seemed like a massive leap to assume that this man had been sexually assaulted, but somehow Adrian knew that’s what had happened to this man. He could see it in his eyes.

‘No. Just leave me alone. I don’t know anything.’

Adrian took his card out and handed it to the man.

‘If you think of anything, or if you want to talk, then call me. We can talk off the record if need be,’ Adrian said, half trying to convey his understanding of the situation while still trying to remain professional.

He walked away from the house as Becker closed the door. His mind was on fire. He already knew Corrigan wasn’t afraid of staging accidents against people he worked with. Was sexual assault part of his remit, as well? Was he using extreme sexual violence to gain power over people who got in his way? Even if Adrian’s attack was connected to Corrigan, he had no idea if Corrigan had actually instructed the men to rape him. Maybe that was something the man in the van decided to do on his own.

This investigation wasn’t even supposed to be about what happened to him and yet Adrian couldn’t get away from it. He would have to face it at some point. He would want the answers one day, he knew that much. He just didn’t know if he was strong enough to get those answers just yet.

His chest was heaving when he got back to the car. There was no hiding from this, was there? First, he had to concentrate on helping Angela out of her situation and then maybe he could think about himself. Everything was too much to think about at the moment. Concentrate on one thing at a time. He pulled away from the house, wondering how many other men Corrigan might have done this to.

Chapter Sixty-Six