Just Keep Breathing by GS Rhodes (any book recommendations txt) 📗

“So you took this out on Mr Harper tonight?”

“In my head, he’s the reason my whole life has fallen apart,” Mr Kaye said. “It was him firing me for one thing, so now I have no stable income. Then he slept with my wife, which led to our divorce. Now I’m living in a shitty flat I can barely afford the rent for and being threatened with never being able to see my son again.” He was only just managing to hold it together. His fists were clenched at his sides and there were tears sparkling in his eyes. He looked at Kidd. “I just lost it tonight. It all became too much.”

“It sounds like you’re going through a tough time, Mr Kaye,” DS Sanchez said. “But violence isn’t the answer.”

“I know that, I do. I just…I lost it,” he said. “I saw them talking to one another and I just saw red. I can’t explain it. You must know what that’s like? You lose control of your emotions. It’s hard to explain.”

DI Kidd did know what that was like. It had happened to him in the past. He was never really a fighting man, but when you were in the force sometimes you had to stand up for yourself, throw a punch every now and again. He’d certainly taken more than his fair share over the years. But to lose control? That was maybe a little too far. But Mr Kaye didn’t seem like the kind of man who wanted revenge on Mr Harper. At least, it didn’t seem that way right now.

“What can you tell us about Sarah Harper?” DI Kidd said.

Mr Kaye sat up straight, his eyes wide. “Their daughter. She’s missing, isn’t she? Have you found her?”

“No, Mr Kaye, we’re just wondering if you can tell us anything about her,” Kidd said. “Anything at all.”

Mr Kaye took a breath and looked away from them, apparently gathering his thoughts. He turned back. “I knew her quite well,” he said. “Both me and my wife did. We’ve been friends with the Harpers for years. They’re good people. When I saw what happened I… I sent flowers. It seemed like the right thing to do somehow.”

DI Kidd remembered the collection of flowers that had been by the Harper’s door, how he’d had to shove some of them out of the way just to get inside. Would a kidnapper send flowers to the parents of the person he had kidnapped? Would that be a way of throwing them off the scent? DI Kidd wasn’t so sure.

“I didn’t take her,” he said suddenly. DI Kidd looked up sharply. “I didn’t. If that’s what you’re implying.”

“I’m not implying anything at all,” Kidd said calmly. “I was just asking a question.” He turned to DS Sanchez who was watching Mr Kaye carefully. “Anything to add, DS Sanchez?” he asked.

“Nope,” she said.

“Okay,” DI Kidd turned back to Mr Kaye. “Then you’re free to go, Norman. Mr Harper doesn’t want to press charges and we have about everything we need from you here.”

Mr Kaye looked shocked. He stared at the two detectives, a little dumbstruck.

“Really?”

Kidd nodded. “Maybe that friendship isn’t quite as damaged as you thought,” he continued. “We’ll get an officer to grab your things and show you out.”

They said their goodbyes to Norman Kaye and watched as he left the building, wandering off into the night. Kidd didn’t really know what to make of him. All that aggression that had been so fiery just a little while ago had faded and left behind a man who was quite docile, who didn’t look like he could fight his way out of a paper bag. It had left Kidd puzzled.

“I can’t believe you let him go,” Sanchez said as they walked back into the Incident Room. “I would have kept him.”

“On what grounds?”

“On the grounds that he has a pretty good reason to have taken Sarah Harper,” she snapped. “He could have her locked up in his little flat, everybody around none the wiser, and we’ve just let him go to do who knows what to her.”

“I think you’re overthinking it,” Kidd said, though the thought had crossed his mind. “I don’t see it. We can get a team over there to search his property in the morning. We have his address now, so that part will be easy enough. But I don’t think he’s got her.”

“He’s got priors,” she said. “It’s possible.”

“I’ll admit that it could be true,” Kidd said. “But I don’t think it fits. He seems more intent on getting to his son than anything else. If he kidnapped Sarah, if he does anything to her, he’s going to get put away for that, it’s not going to help his cause.”

DS Sanchez grabbed her coat from the hook by the door. “If you say so,” she said. “There’s just something about him I don’t like.”

DI Kidd headed over to his desk, flicking on his computer and sitting down. DS Sanchez hovered by the door.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“I’m just looking something up. I promise I won’t stay for too much longer,” he replied, tapping in his login details.

“No, no,” she said, crossing the room to his desk and pressing the off button on the computer.

“Zoe!”

“You’re not staying here to work, you’ll drive yourself crackers, let’s go!”

DI Kidd sighed and stood up. “What? Are you dragging me out for a drink? It’s late, Zoe, it’s been a long day—”

“Don’t flatter yourself,” she said with a smirk. “You’re my ride home. It’s freezing outside, there’s no fucking way I’m walking. Grab your keys, let’s go.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

After dropping Zoe home, Kidd debated whether or not he should go back to the station to keep working. He had been about to type up his notes and then maybe have a little snoop around to find Caleb online. As far as he