Tandem

Raechel Harchey

Raechel knocked twice on the wooden door of Zadicus' office. An inaudible mumble could be heard from the other side of the door and Raechel took it as her cue to open the door. The room was exactly as it had been on the day she had sat before Zadicus after her transfer. He sat at his desk and turned in Raechel's direction as she entered.

"Hey," he said. He removed the glasses from his face and placed them on the desk in front of him. "Please, take a seat."

Raechel sat down on the white leather sofa opposite him. She noted how very different she felt sat in this room now compared to how she'd felt all those weeks ago when Arina's memory had first entered her brain. Her heart wasn't racing, her body wasn't hurting and she didn't feel as though she was running away from something. She'd sworn she'd never set foot here again and yet here she was, perched on the very same sofa.

"Thank you for talking to Nick. I can appreciate that it wasn't easy for you. We recorded everything he said to you and Jack. Let's just say there's enough evidence to lock him away for a very, very long time."

Raechel shook her head. "I want to feel happy about bringing justice to Arina and her family but there's something stopping me from feeling that."

"I can see it in your face. You've overcome so much and you're yet to release that final sigh of relief."

Raechel nodded. What he'd said was true. Her chest felt heavy, almost as though there were a lump of concrete trapped within her diaphragm. No matter how deeply she inhaled or exhaled, the weight refused to shift.

"I have to say, I was more surprised than any to find that the very man we'd been looking for was right under our noses, or your nose to be exact. I wonder what it is about the Stack that drew him there. He could have gone into hiding anywhere in the world and yet he chose to settle there, in plain sight."

Holt's words echoed in her head, 'The Stack is for people who have nothing.' It was the perfect place for Bertie to run away to. Nobody would have thought to look somewhere like that for him. He valued his own survival over his quality of life and his refuge of choice happened to be the Stack. A less than extravagant heap of containers on top of each was hardly the most obvious hideaway for a young, successful millionaire.

"He was kind to me, he always has been. The day I moved in he was constantly checking up on me to make sure I was alright. He told me amazing stories about all the places he travelled to when he was younger. I genuinely liked him and beyond that, I trusted him. He was like a grandfather figure. Old, wise and a little weathered."

"That's why he's gone so long without being caught," Zadicus said. "If he stood out in any way, this Reggie persona he'd built himself would be in jeopardy. His ultimate goal was to disappear and survive. That's exactly what he did."

"I can't believe his eyes though. All the times I've spoken to him, I was completely unaware that the two blue eyes Arina stared into as she died were lurking behind the contact lenses. He really thought of everything."

"Blue eyes appear to be in the Taylor-Gilbert genes, Jack's seem to be the very same colour. Anyone who'd seen a picture of him and was on the lookout would have surely noticed them. I've never met anyone with such piercing blue eyes in all the years I've been alive. It would have been impossible to blend in."

"His plan had been fool-proof for years until I came along."

Raechel watched as Zadicus removed a small key from the pocket of his lab coat. He placed it in a lock in one of the draws and turned it. The metal clinked as it gave way to him pulling the handle. He picked out one of the paper files and placed it on the desk. "Raechel, can I ask you a question?"