The Woods | Harvey #1

Chapter 11

Betrayal.

Ashton felt it in the pit of his stomach. He willingly let Mason cuff him and lead him in the doors, but it was Nicole that had brought him here. He understood her reasons, and yet he couldn't believe it. Was it only last night that he'd told her dad he didn't want to lose her? He couldn't get over it.

She was the one person in his life that made things feel right. She could calm him down and cheer him up. Not even Trisha could do that for him, not to the extent she did. She was almost like an extension of himself. Losing her was like losing a piece of himself – and she'd just left a gaping hole.

His father watched him watch her walk out. How could she have talked to Clive like that? She didn't understand that when he couldn't deliver what Clive wanted, Clive was going to go after her just so he could hold her over his head. Ashton's heart felt like she'd ripped it right out of his chest as he realized this.

Clive put his hands together and studied Ashton with a renewed interest. "Well, time to get down to business." He stood and paced. "Since we have a lack of interview rooms, we'll have to do this here."

"Fine. What do you want to know?"

He stopped pacing and faced Ashton. "First of all, I want to know what you know about hydrochloric acid."

"First of all, it's found in many common household cleaners. Second, it's not exactly toxic, at least not in the way poisons are. It's not a poison – it's a chemical. Third, there are several different ways it can harm someone: skin contact, ingestion, and inhalation. Skin contact would burn anywhere it touched." He watched his dad touch his forearm, a gesture he'd never noticed before. "Ingestion would burn the whole way down and can actually burn holes in the stomach. Inhalation can vary by amount. A little of it can cause bleeding in the lungs and other pulmonary problems, such as failure to breathe. More can result in holes being burned in the lungs, which would actually most likely result in death."

His father looked more nervous as he spoke. Ashton watched in fascination as his father winced when he moved his left arm. He kept his face from showing it, but he was pretty sure that Clive had burned himself. Somehow. Which meant that he'd had access to hydrochloric acid at some point, which meant he probably made the girl inhale it. Which made Ashton mad and disgusted. He forced himself to keep a neutral face when his dad looked at him.

He was so intent on his father, he barely noticed Mason leave. Jealousy squeezed his chest. He was probably going out to see Nicole, maybe congratulate her on getting him in this chair. Ashton couldn't stand it anymore. He wanted to just be locked up already, get it all over with.

Clive rubbed his face and turned back to his son. "Where is it?"

"Where's what?"

He back-handed Ashton. "Don't play coy with me!" he bellowed. "You know exactly what I'm talking about. The acid! Where is it?"

Ashton shook his head. "I don't have any. I don't even have any cleaners with that stuff!"

Another slap. "We both know you're lying. Just tell me and this will stop."

Ashton's face stung. He was pretty sure he had a red handprint on both sides. "I don't have any anywhere!"

Clive glared at him. After a moment his expression went blank and his voice was calm when he spoke, but his words were anything but. "Well, we'll just have to fix that, won't we?"

Chills went down Ashton's back and wouldn't go away, even as his dad yanked him to his feet by his arm. The pain in his shoulder shot down his arm, but Ashton didn't make a sound. He was cold by the time he was marched down a short hallway to a cell, the handcuffs removed, and locked inside. When he leaned against the wall and slid down to the sound of his dad's retreating footsteps that echoed in the empty cells, he pulled his knees to his chest and rested his forehead on them. He began shivering and couldn't stop.