But was he missing something? He needed to gather more information about Bree. Did post-traumatic stress come into it? Did she snap and kill Georgia? No, that’s not how mental illness works. People rarely just snap and commit murder, that only happens in movies.
Was he dodging Bree because he didn’t want any uncomfortable questions about post-traumatic stress coming up?
Unless drugs are involved, then people can snap. Are drugs involved?
Cannabis was, but anything harder? When he’d first met Murphy, the man had clearly been under the influence of something else. He could see it in his eyes, in his reaction speed, and then in how he lost it and lashed out at the SES worker.
Murphy had mentioned Jack having ice debts. The teacher’s assistant definitely needed more attention too, but he was currently in a medically induced coma.
Murphy was in the box for people who weren’t suspects. Currently he was the only person in that box.
What about Eliza? Which box should she go in? Surely she wasn’t a suspect, but she’d known about Madison’s plan and hadn’t done anything. Why was she protecting Tom? Was she hiding anything else? He needed to speak with her again.
Bloody hell, there was so much to do! He couldn’t be everywhere!
Did one of the girls kill the others and they just hadn’t found all the bodies yet? How did the Honcho Dori Club come into it? What about the girls’ plan to disappear?
Maybe whoever killed Georgia knew in advance they were going to try and disappear . . . Lawful Evil, Madison . . . or it was motivated by something else, even random . . . Chaotic Evil . . .
Maybe the Hungry Man really is the most logical answer . . .
He opened a new webpage and typed into the search bar: 1985 Great Western Tiers disappearances.
He began to read. He couldn’t get the stupid rhyme out of his head. That was probably why he kept thinking he saw faces at the window. Those lights out there in the woods were surely just the torches of the search team.
That night, when they came, the nightmares were fierce.
CHAPTER 34
CON
It was morning, and the rain had cleared, but mist clung to the summits of the Tiers.
Con and Commander Agatha Normandy sat across from Madison in a quiet room at the police station, Nelly Mason seated beside her daughter. It was the room usually reserved for difficult meetings with mourning family or for social work sessions. The couches were comfortable, the lighting gentle, a window looked out onto the street and the Tiers beyond.
‘I’ve already told you what I saw,’ said Madison. Her face was drawn and her whole body shook: she looked unwell. Even her deep red hair seemed to have lost some of its shine and the make-up didn’t hide the bags under her eyes. Her sleeveless green jumpsuit, at least, looked elegant. ‘You’ve already got the bitch: why can’t you find my sister?’
Nelly Mason held Madison’s hand, her eyes empty as she looked at the floor. Con wondered if she was even aware of where she was.
‘I’m sorry, dear, we just need to ask some further questions,’ said Agatha.
Madison folded her bare arms, but still kept a hold of her mother’s hand. ‘What else do you need to know?’
‘You told us that you caught Miss Ellis in your sister’s room, is that right?’ said Agatha. ‘Can you run me through the details again?’
Madison folded her arms tighter. ‘I already talked about this —’
‘I know. But it will help if I hear the details directly from you, in case I have questions.’ Agatha smiled.
Madison rolled her eyes. ‘We were home alone. Mum and Dad had gone away for the weekend. It was late at night, I was in my room editing videos, and Mr Bruiser started going psycho. He ran towards Cierra’s room. She wouldn’t open the door, but I thought she might’ve been in danger so I forced my way in, and that’s when I saw Miss Ellis by the open window, in her dressing gown. There were all these empty beer bottles, and it stank of weed. Cierra . . . wasn’t wearing much.’ Madison’s cheeks reddened.
Nelly didn’t even twitch.
‘What did they do?’ said the commander.
‘Cierra pushed me back out of the room before I could see anything else. She made me swear to never, ever tell anyone.’ Tears now glistened in Madison’s eyes. ‘So I went back to my room and put my headphones in.’
‘Why did you think Cierra might have been in danger?’
Madison shrugged. ‘Just did.’
‘I need you to be honest with me,’ said Agatha. ‘Why did you believe there was danger?’
Madison shrugged again.
‘Even if you don’t think it’s important, Madison, you need to tell me.’
‘Alright!’ Madison looked away. ‘Because of who I thought she was seeing. Okay?’
‘You knew she was meeting Miss Ellis?’
‘No.’ Madison’s cheeks went red. ‘If I’d known that, I would never have . . . She was dating a boy, and before that she had asked me . . .’
‘What did she ask you, Madison?’
‘She asked if I wanted to join them.’ The tears returned in a sudden rush.
Nelly started. She turned to Madison, pulling her close. ‘Shh, baby . . . shhh . . .’
‘She told me she was seeing someone,’ Madison’s voice was hoarse and trembling, ‘and that both of them really wanted to try a threesome, because we were twins and he was really into that. I said no – of course I said no, it’s disgusting. The boy she was dating is an absolute slut. His name is Tyler Cabot. You should question him. He was at school all day, but I just . . . I thought maybe Tyler was hurting her, but then I walked in and it was Miss Ellis. And then the whole twin thing made sense!’
Madison became hysterical, shaking her hands in front of her as though trying to fan her face. Nelly pulled her head closer.
Con was certain Madison’s tears were real. For the first time, she had lost control of a situation. That meant she truly did think Eliza was the one in Cierra’s room.
‘It’s alright,’ said the commander absently. ‘It’s okay . . .’
An hour later, Con and Agatha stood outside the interview room, Agatha with a manila folder in her hand.
‘Why does this feel wrong?’ he muttered.
‘You’ve never had a problem with bending the rules before,’ said Agatha.
Con was silent a moment. He’d already told her about Doble, and she hadn’t been surprised in the least. It still rankled him, more so now he saw that what he was about to do could, probably, be construed as something akin to entrapment. I’m nothing like Doble. ‘Why didn’t you ever tell me there was this kind of corruption around?’
‘Because sometimes, Cornelius, you only see the good in people, and sometimes that’s what makes the best detectives – and I sorely need good detectives. Now stop fidgeting.’
‘I never fidget,’ he said, affronted.
She opened the door and the two of them walked inside.
Eliza Ellis was already waiting – alone, without her lawyer, whom she’d not requested to attend. She’d been kept in remand all night and was now dressed in the clothing her sister had brought in for her. Across the metal table she appeared weak, pale.