Page 26 of A Simple Mistake (Deadly Mistakes #1)

TWENTY-SIX

Gabriel

Present

Liam knocks on the door to Becca’s house just as I finish talking to dispatch, and she answers almost immediately. “Hi, can I… oh! Didn’t expect you two! How are you?”

“Can I see your doorbell cam footage from ten minutes ago until now?” I ask as Liam looks annoyed that she’s being chatty.

“Uh… yeah, sure… can I ask what’s going on?” she questions as she pulls out her phone and starts messing with it before she hands it over.

Thanking her but ignoring her question, I take it and start playing it as Liam watches the small screen over my shoulder. The camera shows us arriving and getting out, then a few minutes later, I see the red car that’d been in front of my car pulling away. And then nothing.

The package is absolutely perfectly out of frame. If it’d been moved over a foot or two, we’d have caught the person’s face, but at this angle, absolutely nothing… almost like they knew just what to avoid.

“Oh, what a fucking idiot. So caught up in trying to make our lives miserable that he takes a chance. What a stupid risk,” Liam mutters to himself as he hops off the porch. I quickly follow as I realize that Liam has an expression like everything has just clicked right into place.

“You have a look on your face. And by look, I mean you appear absolutely manic. Liam… what’s going on?”

“This is what happens when you fuck up,” he says as he turns to me and drapes his arms over my shoulders.

“What happens?” I ask, well aware Becca is watching this odd display.

Liam leans in until his mouth is against my ear. “Can I kill him?”

“No. I want him to be arrested.”

“Please?”

“No,” I insist. “If you know who it is, we need to arrest him and find Jeffers.”

He tsks as he pulls back. “Just for you.”

Liam quickly starts across the yard as a car turns its blinker on with the clear intention of turning into the driveway across the street. He stops in front of the car, making the driver slam on their brakes to keep from hitting him as I rush up. “Liam. What are you doing? What if you got hit?”

He waves for the man to get out of the vehicle. It’s all very theatrical, and everyone, including the driver, seems confused as Liam waits for him to get out.

Tobias seems uncertain but does get out of the car as Liam smiles at him. “How lovely of you to join us.”

“Uh… I’m sorry… I didn’t… I don’t know…”

“Tobias Nelson, you’re under arrest for the murders of Rick Hughes, William Davies, and Dean Li.”

The expression on Tobias’s face tells me he has absolutely no idea what’s happening. “What the fuck are you talking about?” he asks as Liam slams him against the side of the car before pressing his mouth in close to his ear.

“You will never fucking touch Gabriel again, do you understand?”

“I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about!” Tobias exclaims, looking scared.

I stand there, unsure of what to do or say as what Liam is claiming slowly sinks into my mind. Could this really be the guy who held me for days? Could I really have chatted freely with the man who would come to torment me? Who tortured Rick for days before cutting off his head?

Liam seems to have been ready for this as he slaps the handcuffs in place while Tobias looks close to tears.

“I really don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about,” he repeats.

Sirens sound in the distance, coming to respond to the box I’d called in about. I’m sure a bomb squad will be on the way to verify the package left for me isn’t going to blow.

Anxiety stirs in me as Liam whispers something to Tobias that I can’t hear, and Tobias’s face shows only fear.

The arriving officers take Tobias from Liam who steps back, looking pleased as can be.

“Why do you think it’s him?” I ask when officers guide a panicked Tobias toward the back of their car.

“He came to the police station with Becca because he knew we had the woman’s body there. He wanted to get close to her body. He probably knew there was no way to ever get her back, but maybe he wanted one final farewell to her. And he knew exactly how to avoid the camera when he placed the box just out of frame.”

“Anyone could place it out of frame. And anyone could have come to the station.”

Liam looks at me. “You don’t trust me?”

“I… no, I trust you.”

He smiles at me then. “Good. I will make sure no one ever hurts you again. And if he gets out of this, I will slaughter him where he stands,” he says, sounding quite proud of this idea.

My stomach tightens… I don’t even know what to think about that. So instead of saying anything, I find myself quietly getting whisked back over to the box that’s sitting in the middle of the street. Becca is watching from her porch. She seems too afraid to even come our way, like we’re suddenly the monsters. But Liam is all smiles.

The hazardous devices unit has shown up and is treating the box like it might explode at any moment, which means that Liam is growing impatient.

“It’s not a fucking bomb. It’s probably a body part. Grow some balls, open the box,” he calls as he waves to one of the men. They simply flip him off and continue their work. Liam, who has patience for nothing (besides me), never stops looking pleased as he waits for them to open the box, which they eventually do. The contents reveal that Liam is, indeed, quite correct.

“Just because it’s a hand doesn’t mean she’s dead,” he assures me as he sweeps me off toward the car. “He wouldn’t kill her so quickly.”

I get into the passenger seat and he heads back to the department as I try not to fixate on the idea that this sick fuck literally left me a hand.

“Are you upset with me?” Liam asks, his glee breaking for the first time.

“W-What? No, of course not.”

“You seem upset,” he says, looking a bit down. “I thought you’d be thrilled to have him in cuffs. If you want him dead, I can fudge the evidence and get him released so I can kill him.”

“No! Dammit, Liam. I’m just… he’s nothing like the guy who held me in that cellar. I just… I really thought if I ran into him again… I would sense something was off about him the moment I saw him. I would… I don’t fucking know… get a feeling from him?”

“You’ve been in this job long enough to know that bad people don’t always act like bad people. You should know that.”

“I do. And I’m not saying it like that… I’m just…” I trail off. I don’t even know what to say—I feel like something’s off?

We pull up to the department, and since we’d stayed behind to deal with the box, Tobias is already set up in a room. I’m not allowed inside it since if he really is the killer, I wouldn’t be considered unbiased against him, but I can guarantee that Liam is the last person who’d stay neutral.

Before Liam can enter the room, Sergeant Michaels stops him. “What makes you think this is our guy?”

Liam tells him what he told me, but Michaels doesn’t look convinced in the slightest.

“You know he’s the son of the chief of police?” Michaels asks.

“Is he? How funny,” Liam says.

“It’s not funny. If you’re wrong, our asses are on the line. Do you understand?”

Liam simply shrugs. “He really should have raised his son better, don’t you think?”

“Why do they have different last names?” I ask.

“Tobias is his stepson, but the kid was raised by the chief since he was a year old.”

“Can I go in there now? Or should we give him more time to make up some bullshit and alibis?”

“Get in there,” he says. “Detective Nye is going with you.”

Liam is in such a good mood he doesn’t even bitch about that as he hurries inside while Michaels and I head to another room to watch. We’re soon joined by damn near everyone in homicide.

Liam lets Matthew set everything up before he cuts in with, “Do you want to make my job a whole hell of a lot easier and just admit to everything?”

“I don’t even understand why I’m here,” Tobias says.

“I mean, I can tell you again, but it seems you have photographic proof of everything you’ve done. I can’t fathom you’ve already forgotten all the people you killed.”

Tobias shakes his head wildly. “What proof? I swear you just turned around and saw me and decided it was me! I don’t even know what’s going on.”

“What… proof does he have?” Robinson asks in the small room packed with people who’ve come to watch the interview.

Michaels glances at him but says nothing, and when a few eyes turn to me, I look away. It’s not that I don’t trust Liam; I do. I know he’s not wrong.

My eyes are fixated on Tobias as I try to find something that tells me it’s him—something that will help Liam convict him—but I’m seeing nothing.

“I don’t think he has the right guy. He’s always so confident, but who the fuck knows if it’s even the right guy?” Donna comments.

“He’s never been wrong before, has he?” Chris asks.

“He has nothing to hold this guy,” Donna says.

“When Liam fought him, he stabbed him between the ribs and on the back of the leg. Can we request to examine him?” I ask.

“Of course,” Michaels responds as he heads out to ask for that. It isn’t long before Matthew is told this, and he turns back to Tobias. “We’d like to have your permission to see your torso and legs, which will help us verify?—”

“You can see them! There’s nothing there!” Tobias says as he jerks his shirt up, revealing that there really isn’t even a blemish there. “Is this what you need? I’ll show whoever. I don’t know what’s going on.”

“Fucking told you,” Donna says with a snort. “It’s not him. We’re wasting valuable time on this bullshit when we could be finding Jeffers.”

And out she storms. Half the people leave, finding this to be a waste of time, and Matthew grabs Liam’s wrist to direct him out the door, but Liam’s not having it.

“It’s not fucking him,” Michaels mutters.

“Liam’s never wrong,” I insist. “Maybe Liam didn’t pierce his skin like we thought he did. It was really dark in the house. He could have been wearing some clothes or protective gear. Maybe it’s why we couldn’t find any blood. Can we at least get a warrant to search his house?”

“You really believe him that much?” Michaels asks.

“I do,” I say, and he sighs and walks out of the room, leaving me alone. Next time I see him, he’s forcing Liam out.

I’m left standing there, staring at Tobias through the one-way glass as he wipes at his face, looking shaken up but thrilled Liam’s gone. He bows his head as he anxiously looks at the door, like he’s afraid of what might come through it.

If it’s an act, he never stops or even hesitates. Instead, he watches the door and jumps when there’s a loud noise outside of it. About ten minutes after Liam was forced out, he steps into the room I’m in, and I find his expression unreadable.

“I guess I’m going to go home and take a fucking nap,” he says. “When you’re done here, let me know, and I’ll pick you up.”

“I believe you,” I tell him.

His eyes drift up to mine. “Yeah? You believe me, even though everyone else says I’m being rash, irrational, and that Tobias is clearly the wrong guy?”

I look over at Tobias as he anxiously stares at the door that opens before Michaels walks in. There’s so much relief in his expression when he sees that it’s not Liam. The man really is playing his part quite well.

“Yeah… I believe you.”

“Why? He doesn’t show any of the marks. He claims to have an alibi for the night I freed you. You really can’t get much better proof than that.”

I nod. “It… is pretty convincing, but if you say that he’s the killer, then I believe you.”

“He’s going to walk free,” Liam says, stepping in until he’s so close that I can feel his breath on my neck. “Do you trust me enough to let me kill him?”

I freeze as I realize that I trust him… but doubt’s creeping in. Everything seems to be going against Liam.

My stomach clenches as I realize he’s starting to draw back. He’s taking my silence as confirmation that I don’t trust him. Why the fuck does it even matter this much? We’re coworkers and that’s all we should be. And instead, I’m over here feeling like everything between us revolves around this single answer.

“It’s okay,” he murmurs as he moves away.

“Liam, stop,” I say as I grab his hand and jerk him back to me. “I do trust you. I believe everything you say, but I really… I really would like him to go to prison.”

“Even if it means it gives him time to kill more people?” he asks.

“I…” I what? Should let more people die? But what if Liam’s wrong? What if my confidence in him results in someone innocent being killed? I take a deep breath before cupping my hands around his face. “Liam. I trust you. I really fucking do. But I need proof. This is not me trusting you any less. I fucking trust you. I stood in this room and when Michaels asked if I believed you, I said I did. I’m not lying. But I need proof.”

Liam’s quiet for a moment, and I’m afraid he’s going to step away. But why am I afraid? I should want him to step away. Honestly, it’d be best if he did. It’d be fantastic if he just turned around and walked away, and I found myself a normal man who didn’t have a hobby of killing people. But that thought terrifies me for some reason. I feel like I’m over here standing on the edge as I wait for his reaction.

“Okay,” he says.

“Yeah?” I ask, sounding far too hopeful.

“I’ll find you your proof.”

“You’re not mad at me?”

“I could never get mad at you,” Liam says. “You could shoot me in the back, and I’d still love you.”

“You really shouldn’t if I shot you in the back,” I inform him, but he’s all smiles. He doesn’t care.

“I’ll find you all the proof you need.”

The door opens and Michaels walks in, which makes Liam’s mood tank.

“Tobias has agreed to allow us to search his home,” Michaels says. “His father is pissed and wants this swept under the rug as quickly as possible.”

“He did?” I ask, surprised.

“Tobias wants to look like he has absolutely nothing to hide,” Liam says.

“It’s still risky.”

“Sure is.”

Michaels stares at Liam for a long moment. “You better not be fucking up, you hear me?”

“Are we allowed to search his house?” I ask.

“You shouldn’t be involved,” Michaels says to me.

“Yeah, but there’s the possibility that I could recognize something like clothing, shoes, or anything he’d brought into the room.”

“That is the only thing you’re doing, do you understand?” he asks.

“Very much,” I agree.

Michaels sighs as he walks out of the room, and I glance over at Liam. “This is good news.”

“It just means there’s absolutely nothing in his house that could be used to condemn him.”

“Not that; it’s good news that Michaels believes you.”

“Hmm… I really don’t care whether he believes me or not,” he stubbornly says. “You’re all that matters.”

I lightly thump his forehead. “I’m not all that matters. Let’s get ready so when we have the okay, we’re set to go.”

Tobias’s house is extremely ordinary in every sense of the word. Liam wanders around as I go through his clothes and shoes, but I don’t recognize any of them. Every time the killer visited me, he wore all white. White shoes. White slacks. White jacket. I don’t know why it made it that much worse.

“This is a waste of time and resources,” Donna announces.

“So was your mother giving birth to you,” Liam says as he casually walks on by.

“Liam,” I hiss as I hurry after him.

“What, my love?”

I don’t know what to do with that. It seems like he’s no longer even trying to hold himself back, and what’s even worse is that I can’t get myself to not like it. “Maybe try not to tell people they’d be better off not being born? That seems a bit much.”

“Anything for you,” he says.

“You’re ridiculous,” I decide as I keep up the search. Liam is relentless. The only reason he doesn’t tear the house apart is the strict rule Michaels gave him to leave things how he found them. But together, I think we search every nook and cranny, including air vents, behind the fridge, and anything that could be remotely hidden.

And by the time afternoon hits, we find absolutely nothing.

“I’m not surprised,” Liam says. “I honestly didn’t expect to find anything. I was hoping there was something we could pass off as interesting to keep him in custody.”

My phone beeps and I see that it’s a text from Penny.

Penny: Well, his fingerprints match a set in William’s car, but he admitted right away that he’d been in it. He said he was interested in the vehicle and sat in it but never went anywhere. They didn’t match the fingerprints on the ball. Liam’s not going to be happy.

I flip the phone toward Liam, who reads it.

“I’m not wrong.”

“I didn’t say you were… but if you’re not wrong… is he staging things? I mean… if he’s playing us this much, it wouldn’t be that hard to get someone’s fingerprints on the ball, but they’d have to be the same ones that were in the car. Did he think we knew whose fingerprints they were? Or… do you think there’s a second person?”

“Or do you think that Liam has the wrong person?” Donna asks. “He’s not God. He could be wrong at some point.”

“I’ve changed my mind. I believe the killer is Donna. Can we lock her up for a bit?” Liam announces so everyone in the house can hear.

“Liam,” I whisper.

He grumbles as he hurries outside and wanders around the property some more before he goes back to visit the grave. I trail after him. “Did you know Tobias was the chief’s son?”

“No. I don’t know if you know this about me, but I actually care so little about others that I rarely pay attention to them unless I’m convinced they’re guilty.”

“I never would have guessed,” I say with much sarcasm. He just smiles, pleased by my sass.