Four Years Later.
Justin walked calmly behind the prison guard, as he was lead into the visiting room, and then directed to a metal chair with blue cushioning. Al was already seated in an identical chair, on the opposite side of a small, square desk.
Justin gave Al a wide smile, which Al returned. Oddly, Justin felt more free now than he had in the past five years when he had first recruited Makepeace.
The fears of four years ago had proven unfounded; Hershel had complied with Al's wishes, no one in the Yard, with the possible exception of Barton, had seen or heard from him since he had been banned from the hospital that day. There had been a couple of occasions when the old Al had surfaced, but such occasions were usually brief, and, with the exception of Al's trial for Makepeace's murder, when the new Al had confessed, without hesitation to shooting Makepeace, neither the old or the new Al ever mentioned Forbodium.
It had been ruled that Al had shot Makepeace in self-defence, and Al avoided any time in prison. When Al had returned to work, he had been assigned to a newly created office that specialised in unsolved cases. Hilda had more or less completely cut ties with Al as soon as he was discharged from the hospital, and had thrown herself into work in her new department. Nothing happened to Justin, save for a marked increase in work load, since he hadn't been given another partner to replace Al.
It hadn't been a happy ending for any of them, but Justin had hoped that someday, they'd all be able to move on, even if they did all have scars that would never heal. Justin had been partially right; Hilda had soon been promoted to Interpol, and had a highly successful career. Al stayed in the office he called the Mystery Room, but he seemed to be getting along with life as well as could be expected, although he was considered somewhat unstable by many in the Yard, with his rare lapses back into the old Al, he was still fairly well-liked, and highly respected for his ability to solve the most difficult of cases that came to the Yard. Justin was the only one that hadn't been able to move on. The ever-present guilt, he had expected, had accepted, the price for his multiple sins. What Justin hadn't anticipated was the insidious fear that seemed to grow with every passing day, rather than lessen; the thought that truth could come to light at any time always lurking in the back of his mind.
And then Lucy Baker had joined the Mystery Room. The first concern had come when Lucy had complained to Justin about Al's personality changes; having only recently joined the police, she naturally assumed that the new Al was the original Al. Justin had checked up on her after he'd passed the case of Gloria's Blaise's murder over to Al, and had discovered that Lucy had only been in the Mystery Room for six weeks – how was it that she had already seen the old Al more than once when in the past four years, the old Al's appearances numbered in the single digits? Justin had been so disconcerted, he took the the risk of asking Lucy to report on the old Al. Naive, and inclined to think the best of people, Lucy had agreed, once Justin assured her that it was for Al's own good. Justin hadn't seen the old Al since Al had been shot; he still had no idea whether the old Al also believed that he had shot Makepeace.
Then the second concern came when Keelan Makepeace's daughter, Diane, had single-handedly managed to arrange the murders of three members of the mob, and killed one herself directly in an imitation of the first four Jigsaw Puzzle murders. Until Lucy had told Justin about meeting Diane in the depths of an abandoned stately home in the Lake District, Justin had had no idea that Makepeace had a daughter, and had no assurances that Makepeace hadn't told Diane that they'd been working together.
Then Diane had summoned Al to Forbodium. Hilda had also been summoned, but Justin hadn't, leaving him to wonder, had Diane called Al and Hilda to tell them what Justin had done four years ago? Justin needed to find out what Diane knew, and to that end, had sent Lucy and Hilda off alone, while he promised to organise backup. Once Lucy and Hilda had left, Justin immediately passed the task of arranging the backup to Barton, and headed out alone to Forbodium.
Upon arriving at Forbodium, Justin had used the ivy to get across to the West Tower rooftop once again, suspecting that Diane would be waiting in the West Tower, where Makepeace had been killed. Finding the rooftop empty, he started to descend the stairs into the tower, only to see Diane holding a gun over a blind folded and tied up Al. Justin heard Diane telling Al that the world would soon see him for what he was, and he would die a discredited man, as she pushed the gun up against Al's forehead.
In that instant, Justin realised that he had nothing to fear from Diane; she, like everyone else, believed that Al had shot Makepeace. If Diane killed Al, the truth would die with him. Justin knew that. No longer would he have to live in fear.
Justin knew that, and still he never never hesitated, never questioned himself, as he raised his gun that he had bought on the black market when he started working with Makepeace, and shot Diane in the head, killing her before she could shoot Al.
Justin knew that he had betrayed himself, the chances of him getting away with Diane's murder were virtually non-existent. Just as he knew that he had been completely aware of his actions and their inevitable consequence when he had chosen to kill Diane.
It went against Justin's nature to go down meekly without a fight though, and he had placed the murder weapon in Al's lap, after wiping it off prints, before escaping back to the East Tower.
When Justin finally made his way back to the West Tower, using the more conventional method, and saw the old Al tied to the chair, it was the final sign, not that Justin needed it; that it was just a matter of time before his crimes would come to light. That knowledge lead him to assist Al and Lucy's investigation, though the part of him that refused to just give up also compelled him to hinder as well as help. As Justin had known though, Al and Lucy had uncovered the truth, and when they finally proved that with the help of forensics, the evidence that Justin had used the ivy to climb between towers would be undeniable, the only thought in Justin's mind was relief that it was finally over, and a soaring freedom as he finally admitted to his crimes. He still felt as though he had only done what he had needed to do, and if time travel were possible, he would do it all over again, but there was no denying he felt better now it was truly over.
As soon as that thought crossed Justin's mind, he shamefully took it back. There was one thing he would change – the brainwashing. Even now, Justin was still horrified by what he had done to his old friend. If Justin had known the damage that his desperate plan was going to cause, he would have preferred to have gone down for killing Makepeace. Justin considered that angry thought, before reluctantly admitting that maybe that part wasn't true, that maybe, had Justin known his attempt at brainwashing would have created a split personality, he would have attempted a different method of keeping Al quiet.
Or maybe he wouldn't have. Justin would never know. There was no way to undo his past deeds, no way to tell what his past self would have done, when he couldn't even be certain what his current self would have done had he been gifted with the ability of foresight.
Justin and Al greeted each other as though they were just friends meeting up for a normal chat.
As soon as Justin had settled himself into his chair though, Al leant forwards, an intent look on his face.
"Will you tell me why you did it? Why you involved yourself with Makepeace in the first place?"
Justin hesitated. He owed Al the truth, out of all of them, Al was the one whom had suffered the most, his entire life had been changed. Against those facts though, Justin had to weigh other facts, the People's Party were still in power; the next general election was still months away. Justin knew that Al, as cynical as he was, or at least, used to be, still possessed a certain nativity in his confidence in himself, in his ability to uncover the truth, and see criminals punished. That nativity would not permit Al to see that this was an opponent he could not fight, and if he tried, as Justin was confident he would, then Justin would give it a month before Al met with an unfortunate, fatal accident. The People's Party had lost their assassins in the syndicate, thanks to Makepeace, but for such a direct threat as a police inspector, there were always hit-men for hire, if they didn't decide to finally dirty their pristine hands themselves. And it wouldn't end with Al, the People's Party wouldn't tolerate the risk that Al might have told others about them; his friends, and family would all be in mortal danger. Justin could never atone for his actions, but he could at least try to protect them. Justin folded his arms as he painted an annoyed expression on his face.
"I have nothing more to say on the matter. If that's all you came here for, then you've wasted your time."
Al looked disappointed. Justin knew that Al had been hoping Justin would be more forthcoming now they were relatively alone. Al sat back in his chair.
"Very well. Let's discuss another topic. Do...you know where my spilt personality came from?" Al's face was blank, his tone was light as though to imply that the question was of little importance to him, but Justin could detect the yearning hidden there; the possibility of an answer to the questions that had plagued Al for the past four years.
Justin appraised Al for a moment, then raised his hand to call the prison guard over, and requesting, in a quiet voice, that the brainwashing book be retrieved from his cell. As Justin had felt the net closing in on him, with the arrival of Lucy, and the re-emergence of the old Al, he had taken to carrying the book on his person at all times. With it's lurid appearance, it had been deemed harmless when Justin had been searched upon his arrival at the prison, and as such, Justin had been permitted to keep it in his cell.
Once the guard left, Justin turned back to Al. "You're not going to like this, Al," Justin warned. Al raised his eyebrows, but remained quiet.
Justin and Al sat in silence until the guard returned, and passed the book to Justin, who, in turn, immediately handed it over to Al.
"Here," Justin said. "I read this book to you when you were in your coma," Justin hesitated for a second, "I had no idea that it would cause you to develop a spilt personality, I thought it would just make you believe that you had shot Makepeace."
Al took the book from Justin and looked at it curiously, colour rising in his face, as he noticed the gaudy cover. Al placed the book on the table, and started to leaf through it, his face getting redder as he looked at the over large font, the simplistic language, the childish pictures. Al snapped his head up to glare at Justin, his red hair falling over his blazing eyes, as he started to yell his denial (with more than a few personal insults aimed at Justin) that such a cheap, nasty book could have broken him, who was by all accounts, highly intelligent.
Justin simply tuned Al out; he was trying not to smile, which would have only angered Al further, not because Justin found anything about the situation amusing, but because this, outside of his motive for his actions, was his last secret. Everything was now out in the open.
Al went on for over twenty minutes, alternating between his old personality and the new both expressing their disbelief, the old in a blaze of furious, blunt rage, the new in icy, calm, eloquent tones. Justin, in his levity, found himself wondering how Al managed to tidy his hair up so quickly when he changed back to the new personality – he suspected that Al must be hiding a comb in one of his coat pockets, but even if he was, Justin would have sworn that he never saw Al's hands go anywhere near his hair. It almost seemed like magic.
By the time Al had finished and stormed out, the prison guard was hovering nearby; staring after Al with a mix of defiance, confusion and fascination; he had repeatedly asked Al to moderate his voice, until Al had finally lost his already limited patience. The last time the guard had told Al to keep his voice down, Al had turned on the guard, and informed him in no uncertain terms that if he interrupted Al one more time with his pathetic drivel, then Al would personally cut out his tongue. After that, the guard had stopped, but unwilling to lose face, he had taken up station near Al and Justin and constantly glared at them both, clearly trying (and failing) to look important and intimidating. His cold glare slowly changed to confusion at, what appeared to him, to be several near complete, and unexplainable mood swings within a short span of time, on Al's part.
Justin stood up, and nodded reassuringly to the guard. Still looking stunned, the guard silently took Justin back to his cell.
Justin's trial would soon be coming up, with the publicity the Yard had gotten after the Jigsaw Puzzle murders had been re-opened, he was sure that the judge would hand down a harsh sentence; Justin wouldn't be surprised if he got a life sentence, and he was fine with that. The People's Party popularity was waning; they hadn't delivered on their pre-election promises, and general public opinion of the party was one of discontent. If they lost at the next election, as was now widely predicated, then Justin would have done what he set out to do, and after he pleaded guilty at his trial, he would finally be able to start to pay the price for what he had done.
For the first time in five years, Justin was truly at peace.