Page 25 of Arranged Addiction

I get her sitting at the kitchen table. She stares blankly around her. There are still dirty dishes in the sink and it’s so obvious her friend never meant to die last night.

“Here’s what’ll happen.” I sit across from her and take her hands in mine. “I know people in the NYPD. My family has connections. I’m going to make some calls. I’ll make sure friendly officers arrive and get a good, solid detective assigned to the case.”

“Am I going to get in trouble?” she asks quietly.

“No, you’re a witness to the scene and nothing more.”

“But I’ve been calling her all day… and I walked in there…” Her fingers wrap through mine and she digs her nails into my palm. “Who would do this to her, Declan?”

I squeeze her hands. “I don’t know. But we’ll find them. Just stay here. I’ll be back in a second.” I get up and drift back to the hallway. I take out the note, unable to help myself any longer. I have to know what it says if I’m going to play this right.

I unfold the paper and stare at the handwriting.

It’s very neat. That strikes me as odd. Whoever put this down wasn’t rushed or worried. The words are perfectly formed. I can appreciate that.

The past is never dead. Senesi.

It’s cryptic bullshit, so far as I can tell.

Except for that last word…

It triggers something. All sorts of alarms ring in my head. I glance at the bedroom door and a cold realization washes over me.

This can’t be happening.

There’s just no way.

I know that name. It’s a name my father has spoken of many times. It’s an old story, a name long buried in the past.

It’s a scary story and a primordial terror. It’s a name to scare little children at night.

It’s a name intimately tangled with Casey’s parents.

“We have to go.” I shove the note back in my pocket and get Casey to her feet.

“Right now? What about the police?”

“We don’t want to be here when they show up. I’ll make sure you do all the right things, but we have to leave.”

I don’t want to tell her that if Senesi did this, then our lives are very much in danger by staying.

She’s wooden and stiff as I move her to the door. I can tell she doesn’t want to leave her friend. It’s got to be hard, but that corpse isn’t my concern anymore.

Casey’s safety is my only priority.

“We can’t just leave her like that,” she whispers.

“It’s evidence now. Trust me, this is the right thing to do.” I steer her out into the hallway. “You’re coming home with me.”

She doesn’t even argue. It’s like that’s the most obvious thing in the world. She’s dead silent on the drive to my apartment and stumbles up into my apartment like she’s sleepwalking through a nightmare.

I get her sitting on the couch, wrapped up in a cashmere blanket, looking catatonic before I finally make a call.

“Is everything okay? You left in a hurry.” Mom sounds tired. I hear the grandkids in the background.

“Do me a favor. Grab Seamus and tell him to call Detective Murphy for me. There’s a dead girl at an apartment. I’ll send you the address.”

“Work stuff?” Mom sounds confused. “But why are you calling me?”