Wraith

Chapter 23 - Unravel

Chapter 23 - Unravel

Hamish Houseman sat in the back of one of the booths as Redcliffe and Chancer approached, returning from a hushed conversation by the bar. He was about to open his mouth— he'd been waiting in the booth as he was told for almost ten minutes— when Chancer dropped the photo frame onto the table in front of him. The sound of the impact echoed through the bowling alley, sharply breaking the silence before everything once again faded into quiet. He didn't even look down at the photograph.

"Everyone in this photograph is dead, Hamish," Redcliffe said calmly, "Everyone except you. Care to explain that?"

"What is this?" he asked, straightening his back, "Why did you bring me here?"

"To fill in some gaps," Chancer replied, leaning over the table, "You've been lying to us all week, Hamish. It's time to drop the shit and come clean."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Hamish replied, never dropping her gaze, or breaking the even tone of his voice. "Have I done something illegal?"

"Hamish, Benjamin is dead," Redcliffe said softly, "We found him this morning. Now you were with us all night, so we know you didn't do it, but we know there's something else happening here. We need your help, Hamish."

"I don't know what you want from me," he replied, still locking eyes with Chancer, "And to be honest I don't like your tone."

"Your friend is dead, kid," Chancer shot back, "Remember him? Benji, your best friend?"

"We know you didn't kill him," Redcliffe said, "And if you didn't kill him, then you didn't kill any of the others as well."

"You mind telling your friend that?" Hamish asked, leaning back in the booth. "Benji clearly did something to piss Nathan Castle off. You're interrogating me, and those psychos are walking free?"

Redcliffe sighed, sitting down in the booth alongside Hamish while Chancer remained standing. "We think the killer was going after both you and Benjamin Kennedy last night," he said, "He wanted to take you both out at once, and us pulling you away robbed him of a target."

Hamish said nothing.

"This is what he did when he found out you weren't there," Chancer said, pulling out her phone and dropping it onto the table in front of him, scrolling through photos she'd been forwarded from the crime scene.

Only now did Hamish break eye contact with Chancer, eyes dropping immediately to the screen. All the while, Redcliffe and Chancer were watching his reactions. Not even a blink.

"He really did a number on Ben, didn't he?" Hamish muttered distantly, scrolling through the snapshots, "Jesus, he must have been pissed."

"This leads us to believe that you were his intended target," Redcliffe said, "Which means that he's going to try again, soon. If there's anything you know that can help, any reason your friends would be targeted, we need to know now."

His eyes didn't move from the phone screen as he continuing to scroll through the images, an almost innocent look of curiosity crossing his face.

"We know about your military records, Hamish," Chancer said flatly, "We know why you washed out."

His eyes shot up from the screen, locking with hers again; an immediate flash of anger. "You've been investigating me?"

"You're damn right we have been." Chancer smiled, "It's nice to get an honest look into who you are, after all this time."

"That's enough!" Redcliffe shouted, pushing himself to his feet and standing between Chancer and Hamish, "Take a walk. Now."

Chancer opened her mouth to protest, but Redcliffe gave her a stern glare, and she closed it again. She reached forward, snatching back her phone with a huff, and storming out of the front door. A long pause fell over the bowling alley, before Redcliffe exhaled deeply and sat back down.