AllFreeNovel
Share Us
At first glance, he looked calm enough, but his restlessness told a different story. He fidgeted in his seat, his leg jiggling beneath the table. His eyes darted from side to side, settling nowhere.
Again, the urge to hold his hand, to calm him, was strong.
“We have some news, Liam, and while nothing is definite, we felt we should let you know what’s happening with Stuart.”
He nodded and sniffed.
“There’s a chance he could be transferred to an open prison.”
His eyes widened, panic setting in.
“As I said, it’s not definite. He still has to be approved, but you need to know it could happen. An open prison may mean he could leave it, with restrictions, of course.”
“Why are you telling me this if it might not happen?”
He had a point, but the higher-ups had instructed us to advise both victims about the possibility before anyone else got hold of the news. As far as I was concerned, they didn’t need to know until it happened. In a few recent cases, victims hadn’t been told, and the repercussions for both the force and the Victim Contact Scheme had been brutal.
The force didn’t need another fiasco. This time, they were being overcautious, but they hadn’t considered that news like this could send victims into a spiral, especially fragile ones like Liam.
“We’ll keep you updated every step of the way. After the trial, you disappeared off our radar. If it hadn’t been for Detective Palmer meeting you again, you might have heard about it by other methods. We can’t have that now. Both his and Damian’s case was big news, as you know, and it would only be a matter of time before the press found out.”
“Could he come find me? If he got let out of the open prison?” Liam’s voice trembled, belying his calm exterior.
“It’s doubtful,” I said. “He’s apparently proven he’s the model inmate, but it’s likely he’ll never be allowed out.”
“He almost killed me. Almost killed Ziggy. How on earth is he getting away with this?”
I looked over at Sam. Neither of us knew. Their family wasn’t big enough to have any influence, but I supposed anything was possible. Their sister was still on the outside, and who knew what she was capable of?
She’d already manipulated her brothers to do her dirty work.
Liam jumped up and walked over to the window, just like he’d done yesterday. Then, I’d moved behind him and given him some comfort. If only I could do that again.
“Do you need us to call anyone? Family? Friends?”
“There’s only Drew, and he’s at work now. I don’t have anyone else.” I watched his reflection in the window as he dashed away the tears.
He faced us, a fake smile plastered on his face.
“I’d best get to work myself. Thank you, Detectives, for dropping by and letting me know, and if you could keep me informed of anything else, that would be great.”
Liam walked into the hall and opened the front door.
Time to go.
We’d travelled in separate cars. Sam left first, but instead of driving away, I returned to the house and rang the doorbell.
Making sure Liam was okay was my priority. For all he’d seemed confident and at ease with the news, I knew deep down he’d be having a full-blown panic attack.
I’d seen him lose it at the mere mention of Stuart’s name. This revelation that Stuart was several steps closer to release wouldn’t have sat well with him.
The door flew open, and a snotty-nosed Liam stood before me. He all but flung himself at me. Tears flowed down his blotchy face and wet my shirt as he fell into my arms.
I walked him backwards and kicked the door shut.
“It’s okay. Everything’s fine.” I murmured.
“He’ll kill me if he finds me.” A fresh bout of tears erupted.
