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Still nothing.
The last text I’d received from him was yesterday morning. What day was it even?
Saturday, by my calculation. I’d go home now and visit him tomorrow.
I fired off another text.
I’m sorry. I’ll visit tomorrow.
The snow had partially melted, leaving dirty slush behind, but at least the roads weren’t too bad. I made it home with no problems and locked the door behind me.
The ansaphone blinked, showing I had one message. It could only be Mama.
I hit Play.
“Don’t forget, Johnnie. We’ll be visiting in a couple of weeks for Aunt Sylvia’s party. I’ve booked the flights, and I’ll send over the details. If you could try to book the time from work, we could do with a lift from the airport.”
Dammit, I forgot about that too.
This case was taking over everything.
I slept fitfully and woke up the next morning early. I grabbed my phone and checked my messages, but there were none.
That was unlike Liam. He’d messaged every single day. He hadn’t even read last night’s texts.
Something wasn’t right.
I dressed quickly and drove to his house, then parked my car someway down the street.
I knocked on the door. The snow might have melted, but it was still bitterly cold.
I waited for what seemed like an eternity before Drew opened the door, rubbing his eyes.
“What do you want?”
Was that any way to greet me?
“Is Liam home?”
“He doesn’t want to see you.”
What? Why? I didn’t understand.
“Is he in? I need to speak with him.”
“I told you, no.” He closed the door, but I used the age-old copper’s trick and shoved my foot in the door.
“Tell Liam I want to speak to him. Look, I know I haven’t been around for a few days.”
“You ignored me, John.” The door opened wide, and a dishevelled Liam stood before me. The black circles from the first time I’d seen him were back, along with the bloodshot eyes and crumpled clothes.
“Please, Liam. Let me come in.”
Drew raised an eyebrow at Liam, and he nodded.
I hurried inside and shut the door behind me.
“I’m so sorry, Liam. Didn’t you get my texts?”
