Page 129 of Squad Ghouls

“You hate ice cream too? Do you truly have not a single joy in your life except for me, Ted? Be honest. This is a safe space.”

I smiled and nodded vehemently. “It is a safe space.”

“I don’t need a safe space!” Ted snapped, then paused.

“Might wanna rethink that statement.” Ryan smirked.

Ted put his nose in the air. “Emotionally.”

I clapped my hands once, wanting to jump in before they got started trading insults back and forth. “How about we sit back down and get to the bottom of this?”

Ted sat primly. “There’s nothing to get to the bottom of. I’m being set up and now I’m on the run as one of the most wanted men in England, not just from the police, but from our former boss.”

“Wait… Run that back. Gerald is chasing you too?” Ryan asked loudly.

I shushed him, glancing up.

“I’m sorry but…why the hell is he chasing you?” Ryan leant forward.

“Well, when you try to pin a crime on someone and they escape with a flash drive of information on all your shady dealings to prove you wrong, I guess you’d want to chase that person to try and get it back.”

We sat in stunned silence for a minute before Ryan laughed, running a hand over his face. “Jesus fuck, Ted.”

“Sooo…Gerald stole the mirror and he’s trying to say you did it?” I asked.

“Amongst a few other things. ExorSquad wasn’t exactly completely above board, and he needs a scapegoat.”

“The unexplained deaths part?”

Ted nodded.

“But wasn’t he the one who founded the company? How could he pretend he had nothing to do with it?” I asked.

“It didn’t need to hold up in the long run. He just needed enough time to use his one-way ticket to Spain.”

Ryan raised a brow. “How did you find out he was about to cut and run?”

Ted snorted. “You think he ever booked anything himself? I have all his log-ins.”

“Lucky,” I said.

“Thorough,” Ted corrected me. “I’m not an idiot. I knew something was bound to happen when the police started sniffing around the very first time.”

“Which is why you started collecting information on him?” I asked, impressed by his foresight.

“Please. I started doing that the day I started work there.” He twiddled the snowdrop. “Workplace insurance.”

“You’re kind of diabolical,” Ryan said, squinting at him. “Are you sure you’re not a criminal mastermind after all?”

Ted smiled briefly before it dropped. “As you can imagine, Gerald wasn’t best pleased I foiled his great escape. I also cancelled his tickets.”

Ryan laughed. “No wonder he’s chasing your arse.”

“Does he know you’re here? Does he have any way to find out?” I asked.

Ted pulled a face and sighed, his exhaustion showing through his façade again. He rubbed his eyes. “I have no idea.”

“Are you okay?” I asked.