Page 27 of A Simple Mistake (Deadly Mistakes #1)

TWENTY-SEVEN

Liam

Present

As I’m getting out of the car, I see Tobias heading out of the department. Gabriel takes note of him, but hurries over to say something to Chris that hopefully includes the words “I’m never staying at your place again because I’m moving in with Liam and we’re going to get married while we’re at it and you’re definitely not invited to the wedding.”

Tobias looks alarmed when he sees me, but I’m standing between him and his father, Chief Hopkins, who apparently has chosen to drive him home.

I start walking toward Tobias, and because no one is looking at me, I manage to get pretty close. Close enough, in fact, that I can tip my mouth toward his ear without anyone else hearing.

“I’m going to make you wish you were dead,” I whisper.

“Why would you ever want to do that?” He tilts his head and gives me the smallest of smiles, and I envision what it’d feel like to stab him right here and now. I bet I’d get a reaction out of him then.

Then he jerks back like I’ve said something nasty to him—which maybe I did—before rushing toward his father.

The chief takes one look at the situation and comes strutting over, and I’m well aware I’m about to get the reprimanding of a lifetime. The smirk on my face doesn’t seem to help until Gabriel slides in front of me, like my very own guardian angel.

“Good afternoon, Chief Hopkins. We’d like to make sure you’re aware that we’re working around the clock to find Jeffers. We are devastated by what we’ve found so far, and we are checking all angles.”

“Wasting time harassing Tobias is more like it,” Chief Hopkins states.

Gabriel’s clearly not done. “The box was placed within feet of Tobias’s house. Eleanor and William Davies’ murders happened next door to his home, and the body of the unidentified woman was right outside his back door. We have to look at all possibilities. It is our job to remain unbiased even though we’ve since learned that he is your son. We didn’t take in the neighbor across the street because, at this point in time, we have no reason to suspect that a woman was involved since the person who interacted with me was a man.”

Chief Hopkins looks less than enthused, but he really can’t say much against Gabriel who has made multiple valid points. Gabriel really is so cute.

“We were also aware that Tobias knew about the neighbor’s camera, and the assailant stayed out of frame.”

“I see,” the chief says before turning without acknowledging me. I really can’t wait to prove to him that I’m right. It’ll really be such a shame when he gets to watch his son rot in prison… or maybe a headstone would look better.

“Since his father is chief… could there be a way Tobias might be manipulating things?” Gabriel asks once they’re gone. “I mean… could he be getting into the database somehow using his father’s account? Messing with evidence like the fingerprints not matching?”

“Fuck if I know. The guy acted like he’d never been to the department the time he came with Becca, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen him involved,” I say.

“Yeah, but… we’re aware the killer’s manipulated others to get things done… what if he’s manipulating things to get the results he wants?”

“Like getting people in the tech team to mess with results, you mean?” I ask.

“I guess… I don’t know. I’m sure he’s not. He’d have to give himself away if he was, right?”

“Right.”

Gabriel glances at his phone. “Excuse me. Michaels needs me. I’ll be back in a few.”

“Alright,” I say as I head back into the building and over to my desk. What Gabriel mentioned does roll around in my head a bit as I try to think of ways that Tobias could manipulate people into getting what he wants. He’s smart. He’s playing his cards right… but what does that mean?

I get pulled away from those thoughts as the day rushes by, keeping me from finding enough time to look into Tobias as much as I’d like. It’s clear that I’m the only one convinced it’s him and everyone else wants to run me off to do bullshit, while I want to pore over his life history and see if I can find any cracks to pick at. From what I’ve seen, he’s literally the most boring human to have ever existed.

At about three, a couple of hours after Tobias was allowed to leave, I notice that I’d gotten a notification about five minutes ago that someone was at my doorway. It’s a bit late for a delivery, so I click on it and see that the camera is down.

Oh, interesting. Very interesting.

“Tell Gabriel I’ll be back,” I say to Robinson. “But don’t let him leave the building.”

“Of course,” he responds.

And off I rush. I drive home a bit too eagerly, and it isn’t until I’m reaching the front door that I realize I’m doing everything that Gabriel wouldn’t want me to do.

My phone beeps and I look down at the text I’ve received from an unknown number.

Unknown: Why hesitate? I thought you wanted to play.

Me: I’ll play if I can be “It.”

Unknown: Leave your phone outside. Come in and play. I know you want to.

I do… I really fucking do, but Gabriel would be wildly pissed. And that’s when I get a picture of Gabriel’s cat who is looking down at him from on top of the fridge with hatred in her eyes. It’s too bad she hasn’t decided to try out her desire to murder. So I drop the phone outside the door before walking inside.

The only light on in the house is in the dining room, and I head toward it.

“Phone?” he asks from where he’s sitting at the table, like he was just kicking back while waiting for me. Lucy Fur is still hunched on top of the fridge glaring daggers at the intruder.

I do a little twirl for him and show him that I’m not hiding anything.

“Now let’s be civil. I’m the only one who knows where Jeffers is. If I die, she dies,” he warns when he notices my knife tucked into the band of my pants.

“You’re telling the wrong fucking person. Sometimes sacrifices have to be made to protect the one I love,” I retort.

Tobias laughs as he leans back in his chair. “Ah. Such a shame,” he says as he flips through an album that definitely doesn’t belong to him.

“What made you think I wouldn’t call the police and have them surround this place?” I ask.

He waves toward the album on his lap. “So many fingerprints, Liam. Here I thought I was talented, but you’ve put me to shame.”

I give the album an anxious look. “What are you doing?”

“I should ask you that, Mr. Detective. I wonder what they’d think if they saw this. The detective who solves it all is not the hero that everyone thinks he is. Is that what happened to Jon Davies? Oh, how fucking funny. This is hilarious.”

“You’re acting awfully cocky for a man who I’ve proven is my lesser in a fight,” I say.

“Come on, Liam. You really think I’m that fucking stupid? You think I would be here with no guarantee that I’m walking out of here? If I die, Jeffers dies… but I’m actually not too sure if you care about that. Okay. How about if I die… Gabriel dies. Is that better? And then to top it all off, I’ve taken pictures of your fancy little book and sent them to be released to my father if you don’t do everything I say. But you’d pick Gabriel over all of that, wouldn’t you? You’d rot in prison to keep Gabriel safe.”

“So it sounds like I’m better off killing you right now, doesn’t it?” I ask.

“And risk Gabriel’s life? You wouldn’t. Now sit.”

I grit my teeth before sinking into the chair across from him, and he is thrilled .

“I want to know where her body is,” he says.

“I don’t fucking know.”

“I bet you can find out. And then I want you to kill, let’s say… five people from the police station. Make it a spectacle. Blow them up. Gun them down, I honestly don’t give a fuck. You’re smart, so I’m sure you’ll figure out something fun. I won’t even tell you who you have to kill. I’m sure you’ve made some enemies with that shitty attitude of yours.”

“So you’re saying that if I kill five people from within the department, you’ll leave Gabriel alone?” I ask.

“Exactly.”

“Give me the book.”

“This book?” His grin widens at the idea that I want it back. “I would like to keep it.”

I slam my hand down on the table. “Give me the fucking book.”

“Why do you have such a temper? Liam, no matter how long you look, there’s nothing you’ll ever find,” Tobias says. “You could tear this world apart and you’d never find a single thing.”

“I found Gabriel, didn’t I?”

His expression tightens a bit. “A minor misstep.”

It is strange he’d fuck up like that, but sometimes people get too cocky, and it causes them to make mistakes.

“You have forty-eight hours.”

“This is bullshit. I have no guarantee that you’ll leave Gabriel alone if I do what you say.”

“I know. Hilarious, isn’t it?” He stands up and waves the album. “I can’t wait to watch you rot.”

I lunge up and try to go for the book, but he steps back. “You’d risk his life for your own?”

He knows I wouldn’t. I would rot in hell for Gabriel. “Please,” I beg. “Just… I’ll do what you say. Gabriel’s life being on the line is enough. And Jeffers. She’s a fucking mother of two girls. I’m not going to get her killed. Please.”

“Begging is unsightly,” Tobias says as he casually walks out with the album in his hands.

Oh my god…

What a fucking idiot!

Ahhhhh, this is so much fun.

No… no. Shit. I’m not supposed to be having this much fun. No… I’m “distraught” and “upset”… who the fuck am I kidding? I’m delighted the dumbass came to me.

It isn’t ten minutes later before the door opens, and Gabriel my guardian angel comes running in.

“Why the fuck did you run off without telling me?” he asks. “When I called, you never answered.”

“I definitely didn’t run. I trotted a little at the very most,” I say.

“Why do you look so goddamn happy?”

“Because Tobias stopped by for a little chat. It was a fun chat, to say the least.”

Gabriel stops moving and I swear he might even stop breathing. “He was here?”

“He was! How delightful. But let’s not tell anyone just yet. I still need proof.”

“How is that fucking delightful? Why didn’t you arrest him?”

“I actually would have stabbed him in the fucking head if it weren’t for you. He’s the only one who knows where Jeffers is, and he’s threatening that if something happens to him, you will die. I get that if he’s being held in prison, he can’t do anything, but he’s proven his ability to manipulate people again and again. If someone thought the life of their child or loved one was at risk, they could try to kill you.”

“So you let him go? I… don’t want to die, but I could go into protective services or something. Fuck… why would he reveal himself to you? It doesn’t make sense.”

“Because he knows that I’m relentless. I’m not going to be stopped, and I would have made a huge fuss, drawing more and more attention to him. He thinks that if he threatens me a little, he’s going to keep me quiet. He kindly asked me to kill five people from the department within the next forty-eight hours. My choice too! How nice. First will be Donna, and then I guess Chris might have to go so you don’t have anywhere to stay—I’m joking, Gabriel!”

The look on his face tells me he doesn’t love my jokes. “Liam, this is fucking serious. Stay on task!”

“I am! For the next forty-eight hours, he’s going to be extremely well-behaved. Eyes are on him and his father’s going to want to show off that his son couldn’t possibly be the culprit. He’s likely going to be doing something public when another piece of Jeffers shows up. And after I kill five people to save my one true love, he’s going to reveal this neat little album full of fingerprints that he took from my house.”

Gabriel stares at me. “Your expression indicates this is a phenomenal idea, but I can’t seem to figure out why. Also, why do you have a book of fingerprints? Are they the fingerprints of all the people you’ve killed?” He looks a bit horrified by this, and I try not to judge my sweets for having bad taste.

“Tobias sure thinks they are,” I say.

“What do you mean?”

“He took home a book of fingerprints of the people he’s killed. He’s too dumb to realize that there are prints from different fingers on the same people in there. I made it look like there were at least twenty people in the album. Hilarious, isn’t it? I struggled to keep a straight face when he took it. I was all, ‘No! Don’t take it! That’s my precious.’ I should get an award for acting.”

“If I can get past the huge question of why the fuck you have this, I realize that means that he… he literally has the fingerprints of at least some of his victims on his person.”

“He sure does.”

“Why the hell would you have a book like this?”

“Because fingerprints tell quite a story, do they not? After Jeffers and O’Brian’s crash, I knew he was watching me. I felt like he’d be happy to try to destroy me if he could find something to hold over me, so I made it for him. He really seemed to like it.”

“Do you think he has it on him now? If we issue a warrant to search him… I guess then we still have the issue of him not telling us where Jeffers is.”

“Right, and they’re not going to allow it without any more proof than we had hours ago. And if we do and he finds out through his father before we can arrest him, he’ll just destroy the book. We have to have probable cause to issue a new warrant. And we’re going to do that by figuring out who is going to reveal the next ‘gift’ from him and stop them before they can. I need you to figure out if he’ll be making any public appearances. I’m convinced the chief will make him show his face publicly soon to prove that he’s innocent and we’re the idiots.”

“Are we safe here?”

“You think he didn’t know where I lived before? We’re not ‘safe’ anywhere. But you’re safest with me.” I hold my arms out and Gabriel stares at them for a moment.

Then he slowly makes his way over to me, and I feel so goddamn pleased as he lets me wrap my arms around him and draw him onto my lap.

“Oh, I think I could stay like this all day. Let’s worry about everything else tomorrow,” I say as I burrow my face against his chest.

Gabriel leans into my embrace. “That’s not how this works.”

“It could,” I say. “I mean, we could bust him right now.”

“And then Jeffers dies.”

“So picky,” I mutter as I squeeze him tighter. “I love my picky Gabriel.”