Page 74

“That your personal vehicle?” I ask, admiring his cherry red Mustang.

“You think they give these out at my department?”

“I don’t know, man. You have a bigger budget working at that city station.”

“That may be true, but we only have two ghost cars, and they’re nowhere near new.”

“Must be nice, my truck is my department’s ghost car.”

“I wondered if that was your truck, it looked a little too nice to be departmentally issued.” We share an awkward laugh before he continues talking. “So, four days ago, there was a fire at a known drug house in my area, three men were killed.”

“Okay… I fail to see how this has anything to do with the Johnson case. There’s no evidence he was involved in the drug ring we’re struggling to stay on top of. His case is closed as far as I’m concerned.”

“I thought so, too…just listen. There were clear signs of arson, accelerant was poured throughout the house, and the suspect let the gas leak from the stove top range. Whoever did this went to extreme lengths to destroy evidence, Graves. The bodies were doused in chemicals and began to decompose almost immediately, making visual identification impossible. We have been waiting on dental records to confirm ID’s. Our medical examiner called me late last night, something had rattled her. Want to know what it was?”

“Obviously,” I deadpan. This shithead is such a storyteller, but…I’m hooked, hanging on his every word.

“Beneath the pitting and discolouration on the bones of one of the victims, there were score marks."

“Fucking elaborate, man.”

“Do you remember how the unknown woman atJohnson’s cabin was borderline dissected? Chest cut open like an autopsy was about to be performed.” How could I forget? Mallory was living next to that dead body for who knows how long. “I was always put off by it because it didn’t match Johnson’s MO.” I agree with him, it was odd to see such a sharp turn from sexual assault and strangulation. It was much too messy for Ted, who never left a drop of blood at a crime scene except one.

“The fire and chemicals destroyed the flesh, but the marks on the clavicle and down the sternum prove at least one of the men was cut open in the same way.”

My guts twist, could there really be another killer out there? One who likes to play with the bodies… Will they kill again? Will they escalate? “What about the other two men?”

“One of their throats was cut. The assailant sliced clean through their trachea and carotid artery.”

“Fuck, okay, and the other?”

“We haven’t been able to narrow down the cause of death for him.”

“Why not?”

“Our M.E’s best guess is that it was a flesh wound, and he bled out.”

“When did you say this happened?”

“Four days ago.”The same day Mallory went missing.

“Yeah, I know that. I need a time frame.”

“The call for an explosion came in at 8:42pm. The house is located on the outskirts of Corpsewood, by the time we got there, it was completely engulfed in flames.”

Mallory flew by me on the highway shortly after nine pm. This has to be a coincidence. She didn’t smell likegasoline or smoke at all. The uneasy feeling lingers despite my best efforts to push it from my brain. If she had to kill three men, I’m lucky she’s fucking alive. Did they hurt her?

Blood thunders in my ears as shame and rage create a category five tornado in my chest. I wasn’t there to protect her,again. I fucking hate myself so damn much in this moment. Not only was I not there when she was in so much emotional anguish she turned to drugs, I wasn’t there to prevent her from facing any further physical pain. Is this how she injured her hand? She said it happened on broken glass at her parents’ house, but now I’m filled with doubt. Why can’t she just be fucking honest with me? I’ve shown her all of me, haven’t I? Why can’t she do the same? How much more of myself do I have to give?

I already know the answer to that though, don’t I? Everything. All of it. I’ll expose every hidden part of my dark and mangled soul, then maybe she’ll feel safe enough to bless me with the same.

“What are you thinking, Graves?” Jefferds’s voice pulls me from my spiral.

“Just trying to compile a possible list of suspects, but Ted wasn’t chummy with anyone that I can remember. He used to be partners with my uncle, but they drifted apart when he was promoted to Captain.”

“No way your uncle was his partner in crime, hey?”

I level him with a death glare. “Absolutely fucking not. He died trying to save Mallory.”