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Two more steps and she could see Ryan straddling Leyton at the edge of the reservoir. Both were muddied and dirty, and Kim was gladdened that Leyton had been fighting for his life. The not so good news was the fact Ryan was holding a syringe in his hand.
She moved close enough to hear what Ryan was saying.
‘If you break a promise, you have to pay the consequences. I told you all what would happen if you broke your word.’
Snippets of the week slammed into her head all at once. The pieces that had been scattered in her mind floated together and formed the picture she’d been missing.
She stepped forward. ‘Put the needle down, Ian.’
She finally knew who he was. Not the kid who’d been bullied but the ringleader of the Psycho Six.
‘Fucking hell, not you again,’ he said, rolling his eyes. ‘But at least this time you got my name right.’
‘You really want to do this?’ she asked, nodding towards Leyton.
‘I have to do this. I know them better than anyone. They’re not going to change. They’re all going to do bad things, and I’m stopping them before they do it. I would have thought you’d have worked that out by now,’ he said with disgust.
‘Oh, we worked that out ages ago. You left us enough pointers. Maybe too many.’
He frowned at her, but she’d heard what he’d said and now everything made sense.
‘You killed Eric because you felt he was about to assault his girlfriend, correct?’
‘The signs were there. I saw that photo with the bruise on her face.’
‘And you killed Paul because he was about to commit rape?’
‘I literally pulled him off her, so yeah, that was gonna happen, and before you ask, yes, I know that Nathan was going to volunteer to work with kids. I’ve been doing you guys a favour. You should be congratulating me. These people are off the streets because of me. They’ll never get to commit those terrible crimes. I’ve saved lives.’
‘Oh, how very fucking noble of you,’ Kim said, crossing her arms and rolling her eyes. During his little speech, she’d had time to consider her attitude and find the one that was going to keep the syringe away from Leyton’s flesh. She was taking a gamble with a man’s life at risk, but Ian was a psychopath and a bully. She had to speak his language.
‘Do you actually believe that bullshit or are you more self-aware than you act?’
His gaze narrowed. She had him engaged, and the needle was still in his hand.
‘I mean, it’s all very honourable of you, but if you’re telling the truth, why isn’t Dean Newton dead? He’s a prolific offender. He’s never stopped. So why isn’t he dead? Why not go allMinority Reporton his ass?’
‘He will be. He’s next.’
‘No he’s not. You’ve had plenty of time and opportunity, and he’s still going strong. He’s hardly hiding.’
He glared at her.
‘You’re full of shit, Ian. It’s not a coincidence that Dean Newton was the only one who re-offended, is it?’
Ian’s face filled with rage. She continued, ‘He’s the only one that came back. They all agreed to, but only Dean kept his promise.’
His words about promises had brought back everything Alison had said about dynamics and hierarchy. The tweets that had a parental feel, the right to punish.
‘You destroyed your own family, so you made another in your mind. Eric, Paul, Nathan, Dean and Leyton were your new family, and they all left you one by one. They all promised they’d come back and see you, and they didn’t.’
Kim could see his hand trembling with anger.
Come on, Bryant, she silently prayed. She’d committed to a certain play and she had to see it through.
‘You big fucking baby,’ she said, shaking her head in disgust. ‘Didn’t you realise you were a means to an end? You gave them all protection while they were at Welton, and once they left, they didn’t give you a second thought.
‘Did they even know that you weren’t sexually abused by your brother, that you killed him over a game? Or was that something you shared only with Dean Newton when he kept his promise and got himself put back inside?’
