Hermit by S. R. White

Author:S. R. White [White, S. R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Mystery & Detective, Suspense, Thriller
ISBN: 9781472268402
Publisher: Hachette UK
Published: 2020-08-31T14:00:00+00:00

Chapter 20

Dana had prepared most of her strategy for the next phase with Nathan. The endgame – the prize – was Nathan telling what took place in the store. He had no innocent reason to be there that she could see; he had blood on his hands. If there was a confession to be had, she meant to have it. If there was a viable alternative explanation, she intended to get it. But her strategy for now was to move Nathan closer to that prize without rushing him into closing down. Each conversation still held a tripwire in the dark.

Previously, she’d had various channels and escape routes. But now, armed with the knowledge of the cave and her previous discussions with Nathan, the strategy was becoming more linear and less nuanced. This part wasn’t vastly complicated. Once she started telling Nathan that his inner sanctum was now on video, viewed by strangers and being catalogued and sifted, he would freak. No, wait, she thought: he wouldn’t actually freak. More likely he’d simmer, or withdraw, or try to avoid her entirely. Because that was how he dealt with things.

She was prepared to let him; viewed it as both inevitable and necessary. As long as Nathan was free to simply be in his cave and avoid people, he’d achieved a type of serenity. She truly admired it, envied it. But that calmness was brittle by definition; it couldn’t survive sustained human contact. He hadn’t learned to bend and would therefore surely snap. She suspected that even he didn’t know how it would go, once she cracked the surface of his fragile wounds.

She put on some latex gloves and opened the evidence bag containing his journal. It was unlikely anyone else had touched it, but you never knew. Since Stuart had been wearing gloves and so was Dana, it meant the forensics were simple – any fingerprints other than Nathan’s were immediately of major interest.

The journal started six weeks after he disappeared. She’d thought that it would be reflective, philosophical. She was disappointed. It was not so much a journal, more a ledger. It held details of what food and first-aid equipment he held at any one time. It gave the impression he conducted a comprehensive stocktake at least once a day.

But on each left-hand page was a log of what he’d stolen. And where he’d stolen it. She held her breath – it was a complete inventory of his crimes.

She turned it over and saw the manufacturer spec: it was a 256-page book. By flipping quickly through the pages, she could see none had been ripped out or left blank. She counted from the back – twelve pages unused; so 244 pages filled. Each left-hand page held two separate dates and two separate burglaries. That meant 244 crimes in fifteen years – one every three weeks or so.

Stuart had reckoned on the video footage that Nathan’s current food stash would last at least eight weeks. Dana thought he was underestimating Nathan’s capacity

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