Farid looked at the inmate for a moment before nodding. Dagur chuckled, seeing the nod.
"I figured you expected as much."
"But I don't understand why you let people believe that."
"I knew it wouldn't matter," the redhead admitted, leaning back. "I told you how everyone thought I was crazy anyway. The day it happened would've been like any other school day. I got my stuff for class, but when I got to the hallway to head out, I saw this knife. It was one of mine and it was covered in blood."
Dagur paused, a frown creasing his forehead. This was not a day he enjoyed recalling, but at the same time, it felt good to tell someone the truth.
"I checked the house and didn't see any intruders…I didn't see anyone at all. Dad's car was still in the garage and with him not in his room and my lack of injuries, I figured the blood was his. I guess I kind of panicked. Someone would notice he was gone. Someone would get suspicious. Someone," he said emphatically, "would assume I did it. Why not, right? Anyone who knew us knew we didn't get along. Anyone who knew me knew I had-have-a temper. Is it really a stretch to assume I'd kill him? I'd think the same thing if I were anyone but me."
"What was it you decided to do?"
"I knew that there were going to be cops who came soon if they weren't already on their way. From what I could tell, it was a setup and I doubted that I'd be able to prove I didn't do it. So, I decided I'd finally kill that couple. I had been wanting to for a while anyway. The only thing which kept me from doing it was the law which everyone would've assumed I'd already broken, so nothing was holding me back. That was my chance. I didn't know if I'd ever get one again. I wouldn't have either, so I waited for them to come get me at that house."
"You knew where to go if you were able to get there and kill them before the authorities arrived."
"Of course I knew where to go. You don't get how much I knew about them…how long I'd been finding stuff out."
Farid stopped for a moment, taking a note. "The file says you never protested his murder even once."
"Why waste time? I could tell by the way the judge was talking that my sentence was decided as soon as I walked into the courtroom. Even the lawyer they appointed me thought I was a lost cause. She tried to be professional, but she just looked at me like I was a monster."
"Before when I asked, you said that you might have killed Oswald. What did you mean? If you knew you never attacked him, how might you have killed him?"
Dagur paused and looked down at the table. "Like with Mom. I thought that if I drove her to alcoholism, I drove him to drugs too. That's probably what got him into trouble. He never would've become an addict if Mom and Ella were still here."
"Do you still think that?"
The young man slowly shook his head. "No actually. I still feel guilty about Ella. I think I always will, but Dad and I both lost her. I dealt with it my way and he decided to deal with grief his way. No one forced him. It was his decision even if it was a bad one. Whatever trouble he got into, I don't think I'm to blame for that."
"I'm glad that you don't. I don't think it's your fault either. The choices your father made were his and his alone. You couldn't control him."
Dagur smiled a little at the news, but then he frowned. "I still wonder who did it, though. No one ever found an actual body, so he could still be out there." The frown deepened. "But what I really don't get is how the person got in. We had an alarm system. Dad was paranoid that one of the criminals he sent to jail would come back to kill him, so he wanted to make sure the house stayed safe. I wanted us to get guard dogs. I even came up with some names–Shattermaster and Strykie–but he thought that an actual alarm would be better."
The inmate tsked and shook his head. Dramatically, he pretended to yawn. "Alarms aren't fun. They're just loud. At least some dogs would've been cool to play with. I'd have trained them to attack anyone we wanted them to."
"That might have been part of the reason why he didn't want to get them," the psychologist suggested.
Dagur tapped his chin. "You know, you could be onto something." He laughed. "I probably would've had them eating the other dogs in the neighborhood as well as any kid who got too close."
The man's laughing stopped abruptly. A troubled look crossed his face. "But that's the thing, we had the alarm. Only he and I knew the code. He almost didn't even tell me. The original plan was for me to just come in whenever he was around, so I wouldn't have needed it. When he realized I could get into more trouble if I was outside, he told me. I'm good at keeping things to myself, so he at least knew I wouldn't tell anyone. That means the only other person who might have known was Ansson if Dad told him, but was already gone by then. I never heard the alarm go off or anything, so if anyone did come, they knew the code. Not to mention how nothing showed that there had been a break in. That's why everyone thought it made so much sense for me to be the killer since it didn't look like any intruder had come. So, body or no, I was suddenly the murderer."
Farid paused to consider what he had said. "I appreciate you telling me this."
"Well, I figured you know the biggest secret I've kept now. This one didn't seem like such a big deal after that."
"What made you not tell Gobber?"
After shrugging, Dagur answered. "I guess I didn't want to risk him not believing me. As you've seen, I don't have a lot of friends here. It would've stung if he thought I killed Dad too. I bet that everyone else does. Is that right–apart from the twins apparently? You've spoken with them all."
Farid nodded and Dagur looked unfazed. "You don't seem bothered."
"I'm not. I committed to it that day. If I was going to fight for my innocence, the last thing I would've done is actually commit a crime. Doesn't exactly make it easy on the defense attorney."
"What do you want to do now?"
"I'm not sure. Nothing? Everything? Who knows? I don't," he said, chuckling. "For now, it just feels good to tell someone the truth about it. Of course, I'm trying to get out of solitary, Doc. If this could help me with that, I'd be happy. It doesn't make me seem as bad if I'm not some awful son who'd kill his own father."
"It would help too if I knew why you killed the couple."
"You will eventually."
"But you want to wait for Heather."
"Right as usual."
"Dagur, it could help get you out of solitary faster if I know and can tell the warden."
This made the inmate turn contemplative. For a moment, it seemed like he was considering this, but he shook his head.
"Nope. You're convincing, but I'm not doing that. Sorry."
"You don't have to apologize," Farid said calmly. "It's your choice. When you're ready, I am too."
The two spoke more until the hour was up, then Farid continued with his other clients. When the psychologist got home, he began his work and note-organizing. Not much time had passed since starting before he received a call.
"Hello, Hiccup. How's everything?" he asked.
"Going well. I've been talking with my friends about Dagur. I want to see if I can help. There's something I've been thinking about."
"What's on your mind?"
"Heather. She means a lot to us. She's a good friend of mine, best friend of my fiancee's, and the love of one of my best friend's lives. She wants the closure she could get from talking with Dagur, but she isn't sure about it yet. It's just a lot for her right now." Hiccup paused unsurely. "I guess what I'm hoping for is to see if he and I could talk first. I think I could probably get him to admit what he wants to tell her."
"He's very determined to only tell her. There's a risk of it wasting your time if that's all you want to talk about. Are you sure this is something you want to try? "
"I am. He knows me the best out of everyone who was around him in school. If there's any one of us who can reach him, it's probably me."
A small smile crossed Farid's face. "You sound very confident."
Hiccup chuckled. "Well, I figured I might as well get some good use out of all that attention he gave me. I didn't enjoy it back then, but if it'll help Heather, that'll make it worth it."
"Then, I'll see what I can do, but I still am working on getting him to the point where he can get visitors. If I can, I'll let you know. Of course, your relation to the warden could make this part easier at least."
"That sounds like a plan to me. If you can let him get visitors, I can work on making the rest happen."
"I hope to have that news for you soon."
The two said their goodbyes and Farid got back to his work. While he did, Stoick was about to be on his way back home. Before he could, he saw Alvin and sighed.
"Whatever your grievance is, Alvin, can it wait until morning?"
"Not this one. I think you'll agree."
Leading the way, the correctional officer went to the locker room. The warden followed him and saw another officer sitting on a bench, wringing his hands nervously. As soon as he saw the redhead, he stood.
"I'm sorry, Warden! It was me!"
"You?" Stoick asked, eyebrows lifted.
The other man nodded. "I've hated Dagur ever since I learned what he'd done. No one should be able to kill three people and get away with it. I know he got arrested, but he can still go on living his life and they can't."
"So you decided to sneak into the cell? What was your goal?"
"Just to rough him up. The plan was to make it look like he wanted to escape and then attack him for it, but he didn't attack as hard as we expected. He didn't go for the kill."
Stoick's face hardened as he listened to the officer. "Was this your idea?"
After a short hesitation, he nodded again. "Yes, Sir. I forced the others into it. They didn't want to. I didn't think they'd get hurt. I thought we had the advantage."
Alvin shook his head. "A coward feels the need to have a group attack one target. You don't deserve that badge."
"I know I don't. The guilt has just been weighing too heavily on my mind."
Stoick wanted to sigh again, but instead he stuck out his hand, palm up. "Turn over your gun and badge. Further action will be taken tomorrow."
Quickly, the officer gave him the requested items and left. Alvin watched, then shrugged.
"Well, I guess I was wrong about Dagur."
Stoick looked at him with suspicion.
"Ah, don't give me that eye, Stoick. I can admit when I'm wrong. I still think Dagur is a menace, but he hasn't tried to kill anyone recently at least. That's something I suppose."
Stoick said nothing else as he left the locker and then the prison. As he had said, further action needed to be taken–maybe for more than just the one CO. For Dagur, the reports with Farid had been encouraging and even when being unjustly attacked, he showed restraint.
"I don't know if I believe that officer," the man thought. "It seems pretty convenient that he suddenly is coming forward, but I also don't have any proof to indicate he was lying or why he'd do that. Maybe this is a blessing in disguise. It gave Dagur a test. It might be time for him to be around others again. If the doctor believes in him and he could show mercy when his safety was in danger, then maybe he can come out of solitary confinement. I'm sure Farid will be glad to receive this news."
