Free Cold Death by S. Y. Robins Page B

achieving it. I’m assuming when you both went out, he paid for everything in cash? He wanted as little as possible to come back to him. He was clever; he had fingers in every pie. As well as street drugs, he had steroids. He killed my son, Span.” Mr. Chamberlain’s voice began to crack, and Hannah heard him sobbing.
    “I’m so sorry, Mr. Chamberlain,” Hannah sniffed. “This is all too much for me, you’re right. He was an evil man. You did what you thought was right. To think I never knew what was going on, right under my nose. He was probably laundering money through my Kupcake business; everything I’ve earned from that is tainted now. He’s left me with nothing. Mr. Chamberlain, what do I do?” Hannah made it sound like she was sobbing too; she wanted him to think they were going through the same emotions. If he could relate to her on a personal, emotional level, he might let her go. He had been calling her Span all night, the more he opened up to her, the more chance she had of being set free.
    “I’m so sorry about Alfie. He was an amazing person who always had the ability to smile. The light he left in this world will always counteract the darkness Jay left.” Hannah was laying it on slightly thicker now, in a final bid for freedom. Mr. Chamberlain’s shoulders had stooped; his posture that of a completely defeated man with nothing left. He looked small, exhausted. 
    She continued, “To think of all the lives Alfie touched in a positive way. You know we remained friends all through school? I used to see him almost daily. We’d joke and laugh like old times. I’ve known this family my whole life; I never would have thought it would be torn apart by someone else I knew. I’m so sorry, Mr. Chamberlain. I had no idea what was going on. I’m a victim in this as much as you are.”
    At the word victim, his head snapped up. “Victim? You’ve lost your family, have you? You’ve lost a life you spent years moulding, shaping and guiding? Your greatest accomplishment? You lost your world? A son you taught everything to, sacrificed everything for? The only thing I didn’t give for that boy is my life. I blame myself every single day for not acting sooner. We’re not equals, Hannah. Please don’t try and pretend that we are. You know nothing of being a victim.” Mr. Chamberlain took a deep breath. “How dare you snoop? You would have known what an evil man Jay was after five minutes of asking around. Why did you need to know his killer? Why does he deserve justice? Why did you have to involve yourself, Hannah? You should have left this be.” His voice grew alongside his rage. Hannah was terrified now; she had used the wrong word. It was over. Mr. Chamberlain continued to rage and shout. He was coming towards her with a knife. It had a serrated blade; probably the same one he used to kill Jay.
    Hannah closed her eyes, waiting for the inevitable. Was it going to hurt? She didn’t know. Suddenly, she heard a loud crashing sound. She opened her eyes in shock. Jay? How was he here? Her brain barely had time to process what her eyes were seeing. Mr. Chamberlain had been knocked over, the knife kicked away from his hand by Jay. No. It wasn’t Jay. It was Adam! He had come to save her!
    Hannah experienced a rush of gratitude, like nothing she had ever felt before. “Adam! Adam I’m here!” She cried, desperate for her arms and legs to be free once more.
    Adam rushed over, taking care to make sure Mr. Chamberlain wasn’t getting back up. He grabbed the knife and cut Hannah’s restraints; ugly red grooves showing on her wrists where the ropes had cut in. They ran together to Adam’s car outside.
    “How did you know I was there? How did you know to save me?” Hannah asked, bewildered.
    “When I couldn’t get hold of you, I went to the shop. I figured it had all gotten too much for you. I wanted to make sure you were okay; I think of you as my sister now and I needed to look after you. When I got to