Chapter 77 #2
“I told everyone I wasn’t in contact with Chrissy, but I did speak to her from time to time, and I sent her photos of Max.
It seemed cruel to refuse. She came to me several times during the pandemic.
She wasn’t able to work and was skint, and I willingly helped her.
She was Max’s mother, after all, and she had given me the most precious gift.
Chrissy wasn’t devious,” Logan said with a shake of the head.
“She was trusting and na?ve, the perfect mark for someone like Ronnie. The guy was a petty criminal and had been squatting on someone’s houseboat when they met.
He took Chrissy out for fancy meals, gave her a few trinkets—probably stolen—and she was convinced he loved her.
I distanced myself once she moved in with him.
I had no idea Chrissy had died until Ronnie contacted me and I had no choice but to try to ring her. ”
“So, what did he want?” Drew asked.
“At first, he asked for twenty thousand pounds, but once he realized I knew Chrissy was gone, he lowered the number to ten. He said he would see to it that I never saw Max again unless I paid up. I called his bluff and refused. And then I caught him following me when I was on my way to collect Max from nursery.”
Colin reached out and grasped Logan’s hand. Logan didn’t look at him, but some of the tension seemed to drain out of him.
“I wasn’t going to lead him to Max, so I decided to go home,” Logan said. “I had to see what he meant to do, and I knew the nursery would call you if I didn’t come for Max.”
“What did he do?” Drew asked.
“He forced his way in, held me at gunpoint, and demanded that I transfer money into his account.”
Quinn thought she was going to be sick as she pictured the scene. “And then?” she asked quietly.
“A car alarm went off outside, and he was momentarily distracted, so I charged him. He hadn’t expected it, but we were evenly matched, and I had a decent chance of disarming him.
We grappled, and he tried to shoot me in the stomach.
I seized the gun by the barrel and wrenched it upwards just as it discharged.
I knew he was dead before I even checked his pulse. ”
“Why didn’t you ring the police? He attacked you in your own home,” Quinn exclaimed.
“Yeah, and I killed him,” Logan countered. “At worst, I’d be charged with manslaughter. At best, I would give Child Services and Chrissy’s parents ammunition against me. Besides, I didn’t know if he was working alone.”
“What did you do?” Drew asked warily.
“I cleaned up, wrapped the body in a duvet, and stuffed it into the boot of my car. Then I put on a cap to hide my face from the cameras and drove away.”
“Where did you go? They found your burned-out car in some abandoned lot,” Quinn said.
Logan nodded. “I used Ronnie’s burner to ring Colin and asked him to meet me at the lot.
I knew there were no security cameras, and no one would have reason to follow Colin.
We transferred the body and the towels I had used to wipe up the blood to Colin’s SUV and set my car on fire, since it would retain traces of the victim’s DNA even if I had it thoroughly cleaned. ”
Quinn turned to Colin. She was amazed that he would take such a risk, but he would clearly do anything for Logan, even if it meant risking everything he had achieved.
“So, where’s the body now?” she asked.
“I cremated it,” Colin replied. “I listed him as Joe Bloggs.”
“Joe Bloggs?”
“That’s a name commonly used for unidentified bodies,” Drew explained.
“So why did you run?” Quinn asked, turning to Logan once again.
“I didn’t know if someone would come looking for him, and then you sent the police to my house,” Logan exclaimed. “I was afraid they’d find something and open an investigation.”
“I had no choice,” Quinn snapped. “I had no idea what happened to you. And what was I to tell Max? He was frantic.”
Logan’s eyes welled up. “I wanted to ring you and ask to speak to Max, but Colin wouldn’t let me,” he explained.
“If anyone found out what we’d done, we’d both go to prison.
So Colin took Ronnie’s phone and tossed it in the river, and he handed his wallet, which was full of credit cards, to a homeless guy who begs outside King’s Cross.
If anyone reported Ronnie missing and the police checked his financial activity, that would be proof of life, unless they pulled the footage and saw someone else using his credit cards.
If they questioned the bloke, they’d assume the wallet had been stolen. ”
“No one is pursuing a case against you, Logan,” Drew said. “Quinn reported you missing, but the police found no evidence of foul play and moved on, even after someone tried to abduct Max from the nursery school.”
“What?” Logan cried.
“Some woman pretending to be Quinn turned up at the nursery school the following day.”
“Is Max—?” Logan cried.
“Max is safe. But when Ronnie didn’t come back, she either continued with the plan or decided to try her hand at blackmail and keep the money for herself. When the school refused to hand Max over, she fled.”
“Is it safe for me to go home?” Logan asked. His gaze burned with hope. “I need to see my Maxie.”
Drew nodded. “If anyone asks where you’ve been, say you went off the grid for a few days—maybe a walking holiday, and you and Quinn got your wires crossed.
And while you were away, someone stole your car.
No one is going to waste precious resources trawling through endless hours of CCTV to try to verify your whereabouts.
And I seriously doubt that woman will try again.
She shot her shot, and now she’s out of ammunition. ”
“But what if she comes for Max again?” Logan exclaimed.
“Then you go to the police,” Drew said. “All this could have been avoided if you had done that to begin with instead of taking the law into your own hands.”
“I was afraid I’d lose my son.”
“Now that I know what happened and have Ronnie’s name, it won’t be too difficult to track the woman down. I’ll make sure she never troubles you again,” Drew promised.
“Thank you,” Logan said.