Chapter 188: Alphas, Part 14

Richard

“James, are you quite well?”

He’s pale, unsettled, and his concentration isn’t on the job in hand. He isn’t well. That’s perfectly plain, but I’m not sure exactly what is bothering him….

Restless, he stands, then sits, then stands again, swiping a hand through his hair.

He wants to talk….

I wait….

“Richard…. I was down there, in that cellar.”

What the fuck….?

“How...?”

“Never mind. I was there”

What is the right thing to say here…?

…. Damned if I know….

“Not a pleasant place I imagine, a cellar?”

“No, it’s not. But it’s more than that. Richard, it looks as though there are…. remains…. down there, buried at the far end….”

For a few seconds, what he’s saying to me doesn’t make sense.

Remains…?

…. Human remains?

“James, you mean…? And that's where Charlotte was imprisoned? And the other children?”

“Yes, I can't stop thinking about how she must have felt…. “

This isn’t the James I’m used to. He normally seems so…. untouchable….