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Rodin walked, taking the time to think. He had a lead, if only a slight one. Ratch was heading north. Of course Rodin would follow.
But Helia’s words played in his head. He found the image of Ratch coming to his mind, the one Mallos had shown him on the screen. And he pictured the man in a chair, head in his hands, sobbing uncontrollably when he learnt of Effy’s death.
Even if the extent of his grief was exaggerated, Rodin trusted that he had grieved. Not simply for a worker that was no longer, but for the loss of a friend. Or more. Helia had hinted at love.
And yet Rodin was contracted to remove the man, because Effy’s father believed him to be responsible for the girl’s death. Ratch was being punished twice over for something that was not in his hands.
It was unfair, but
