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“This is a … visiting order for Wiltknot Prison.” He lowered the piece of paper. “Who has Tate been visiting in Wiltknot?”
Eleanor dumped the letters onto the floor and clutched her head.
“Please,” Chad pleaded. “Talk to me.”
“I begged him to stop going, but he was the only one who responded.” She gestured to the wall of killers. “The rest are dead, and Doctor Carter is missing.”
Chad ran his fingers over the crest at the top of the order. “Wiltknot. Maximum security. The nausea in his stomach intensified. “Vincent Whitehall.”
Eleanor nodded. “I didn’t agree with it, but Tate is nineteen, what could I do? He said it was a one-off, but he kept going back, kept seeing him.”
“How long has Tate been in contact with Vincent Whitehall?”
“A year.”
“A year!”
“I know it sounds fucked up! You don’t need to look at me like that.”
Chad turned away. “Sorry.”
“Tate liked Vincent. He was good for him.”
“In what way?”
“Before he was speaking with Vincent, Tate locked himself away in his bedroom, didn’t want to interact with anyone, but then he started to help me more with Shawn. He got a job at The Desperado, and he began his mechanic apprenticeship. He came out of his shell. Our relationship improved.”
“What was wrong with it before?”
“His relationship with his father soured after we separated. He blamed me. But now he understands it wasn’t my fault. It was his father’s choice to leave us, not mine. Tate showed me some of Vincent’s letters. He seems to…”
“Seems to?”
“Care for him. He asked questions about Tate’s life, his interests, gives him advice. He’d even sketch him drawings.” She gestured to a collection of pictures Chad had been unable to place. Buildings. Trees. They were unsettling, but he couldn’t work out why.
“Tate always found it hard to make friends, but with Vincent he said it was natural.”
“Vincent isn’t Tate’s friend.”
“I know, but he was the closest thing Tate had to one. I just thought it was a phase.”
“A phase?”
Eleanor gathered herself. “Itisa phase, and it has nothing to do with these murders. Justin and Damian’s deaths upset Tate, and when he was almost a victim himself, I thought this might stop.”
“And did it?”
Eleanor didn’t answer.
“When was the last time Tate visited Vincent?”
“A week ago.” She shifted to look at Chad. “Tate isn’t capable of murder, though. He’d never hurt anyone.”
“What time will Tate be back?”
“Half-three.” She glanced at her watch. “He would’ve picked Shawn up by now and will be on his way home.”
“What school does Shawn go to?”
