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Chad pushed open the door and stepped inside. “He has a habit of locking himself out. The apartment below has one spare key, and I have the other.”
Chad glanced around the open plan living room, looking for a sign of a struggle, but everything looked neat, and nothing screamed mortal peril.
“Josh!” Chad shouted, opening the bedroom door. He frowned at the made bed and skirted around the room before crouching and grabbing the phone charger on the carpet.
Ally slammed the door and he jumped.
“What the hell is going on?”
Chad swiveled to face her. “We need to find Josh.”
“Yeah, I’ve got that part, but it feels like there’s something you’re not telling me.”
“Ally, I’ve fucked up.”
She took a deep breath and placed her hands on her hips. “Okay.”
“I’ve really fucked up!”
“How?”
Chad got to his feet. “Someoneismissing from The Desperado.”
Ally backed away, shaking her head. “Don’t say it. There’s no way you’d be that stupid.”
“Me and Josh were there last night,” Chad looked around the bedroom, “and he hasn’t come home.”
“I told you,” she swallowed, “not to say it. What the fuck were you thinking!”
“I wasn’t.” Chad pulled his hair. “I knew it was a bad idea, but I did it anyway, and now I don’t know where Josh is.”
“If the killer’s got hold of him he could be dead already.” She pointed at the window. “We might as well get in the car and start driving up and down roads searching for his body!”
“Do you think I don’t know that!”
Chad dropped to sit on the bed and held his head into his hands. He kept pulling his hair until his scalp started to burn, apologizing over and over until his voice cracked.
“Right. Okay.” Ally tried to pry Chad’s hands from his hair. “That isn’t helping. I need to call the DI.” She shook Chad’s shoulder. “Wait here. Don’t do anything stupid.”
“Ally, if he’s de—”
“We don’t know anything yet. Sit there, I need to make the DI aware of what has happened.”
Ally left the room, closing Chad inside. He kept cursing himself and digging his fingers into his scalp, recounting his conversation with Josh. He knew something was wrong. He knewit, but he did nothing.
Ally returned, and shook him until he looked her in the eye. “Stop it. You’re bleeding!”
Chad released his grip on his hair while blinking back tears. “I’m such an idiot.”
“Yes.” Ally snapped. “This kind of stunt I expect from Josh, but not from you.”
“He’s dead.”
“You don’t know that.”
“You were the one that said we might as well start driving up and down the roads.”
Ally sat on the bed beside him. “He doesn’t fit the victim profile.”
