Page 19 of Grave Possession (Grave #2)

Chapter Fourteen

Graves

“ I s there any way to get a tail on Mallory’s friend, Victoria?” I’m sitting across from my uncle in his office at the station. He insisted I come in to get a mental break from torturing myself at Mallory’s empty house.

A new lead isn’t just going to jump out at me.

I can drive every trail available to me, but it means nothing if I don’t have a direction.

It would take years to search every inch of forest surrounding our town and the neighbouring ones.

I’ll do it though, spend every waking minute searching for her, without a single regret in doing so.

“Why? Does she need protection?” he asks.

“She’s threatening to use herself as bait to lure out the kidnapper.

She thinks he’ll take her because she’s the best friend.

Or, she’s going into the woods to look for Mallory herself, which would just result in a search party being required.

” My uncle rubs his brow. I wonder if he’s thinking the same thing I am.

A search and rescue mission could work to our advantage, but only if we are in the right area.

I would feel guilty pulling the squad off the serial killer case to look for Victoria, knowing she’s not truly in danger, and we were both selfishly manipulating the system to find Mallory.

There are other victims who deserve the police’s attention so justice can be delivered.

I’m surprised my uncle hasn’t added Mallory to the case load in order to use the whole department to find her. Honestly, the thought of him keeping this secret so I can kill the guy has crossed my mind. But it’s inconceivable, right? The police captain can’t condone murder… Can he?

“I’ll see what I can come up with. Who can I spare for a security detail, even if it’s for a bit of time?” he ponders.

“She works evenings at the Silverberry, so whoever is over there could do it,” I offer.

“Myers is still on highway, he has been since you went on assignment .” He levels me with a glare, clearly annoyed with me leaving him hanging because of my impromptu leave of absence.

It’s resulted in him having to pick up the slack where patrols are concerned.

I feel like a dick, but at the same time, I’m still working the case, so piss off.

“Sure, Myers is fine, as long as he doesn’t leave his shift without permission again.” My irritation where he’s concerned makes itself known by the tone of my voice.

“Do you have any new leads?” he asks, steering the conversation away from Myers and his incompetence.

“Nothing new at the moment. Graham’s son switched me on to some hunting websites where men swap stories and locations in the area.

I’ve been looking through them when I’m not in the woods.

I sent out a few emails, asking for locations of cabins that were mentioned so I can reference them with satellite images.

” I’m well aware I may not get any replies because of illegal hunting operations, but I have to try.

Some are described as little one room cabins, some a bit larger, and one no bigger than an outhouse.

Without a location, coordinates, or a map, it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack.

My uncle nods his understanding, probably not knowing what I’m talking about.

“Did you get the gear you came for?” the captain asks.

“Not yet. Are we done here?”

He nods. “Sign it out and put the form on my desk before you leave,” he instructs and I rise from my chair. “Keep me in the loop, son. Too much time went by between check-ins.”

“Yes, sir,” I say, turning and leaving the office.

Unknown

Anticipation flows through my veins as I watch Officer Graves cross the bullpen and descend the stairs to the basement.

Our tactical gear and weapons lock up is down there, and he isn’t permitted to be in there alone.

Lucky for him, I know the rules. I’ll ensure he doesn’t take something without accounting for it properly.

I can barely resist the urge to race across the distance to catch up. The need to engage with him eating at me like a ravenous swarm of mosquitoes, sinking the incessant itch all the way down to my core.

The descent into the musty old basement injects more excitement into me than I can contain.

I do the very same thing before I play with his little siren, now I get to perform the same series of events before I engage with him too.

Fuck, I could cum in my tighty-whiteys from just the thought of this mind game and power-play.

Not to mention his girlfriend’s blood still coats my groin like a trophy.

My dick pumps to life and I have to ignore the throb for attention, willing my mind to stay clear as I make my way down the hall.

I round the bend, observing him with a clipboard in his hand. He looks from it to the wall and back again. Something is missing and I guarantee it’s the bola wrap I took without permission. Oh, this is going to be more fun than I thought.

Clearing my throat, I emerge from the shadows.

“You should know you’re not allowed in here without another officer, Sir.

” The word is bitter on my tongue, leaving its bad taste lingering in my mouth.

I hate that he has the superior title. It should be mine.

I hold seniority when it comes down to time served on the force.

None of that matters to the captain though, he’s playing favourites.

He startles at my voice and it thrills me.

Big, bad Graves scares easier than I thought he would.

He turns to me, and I take in his appearance.

He looks like a pile of shit. His eyes are sunken, hair greasy and dishevelled, his clothes are wrinkled, and he may have even lost some weight.

This will be the equivalent of mercy killing an injured animal on the side of the road so they don’t suffer after being hit by a car.

“Shit, man. You startled me,” he says, chuckling awkwardly.

“Need help signing out equipment?” I ask, curious to know what he’s taking, and for what purpose.

“Sure, thanks.” He passes me the clipboard when I cross the threshold, and I inspect it carefully. A long range rifle and scope, ammunition, cameras, binoculars, night vision goggles, motion detectors, flares, and the bola wrap is checked off but I know he didn’t find it.

“Is everything you marked off in the bag?”

“Yeah. Well, except the bola wrap gun. Any chance you know where it went?”

“Nah. Maybe one of the city guys took it and forgot to sign it out?” I offer. Knowing full well it’s on the kitchen counter back at my cabin.

“Maybe…” he trails off, lost in thought. I wonder if he’s thinking of her. Does he know she’s missing? I want to ask more than anything in this moment.

The silence stretches between us until I can’t take it anymore. “So, where ya been? Captain says you’re off on assignment.”

“Yeah, I’ve been following a lead on the killer in the city. Staying in hotels isn’t all it’s made out to be.”

“Can’t be too bad with a girlfriend to warm your sheets, can it?” His eyes shoot to mine as they flare with a mix of emotions I can’t read.

“No girlfriend unfortunately. She broke up with me. Well… I think she did anyway. She hasn’t been replying to my calls or messages.

I don’t have the time to entertain a drama queen right now.

Not with this case keeping me up 24/7, and the captain breathing down my neck.

” He looks exhausted, and I realize I may get to keep Mallory after all.

If no one is looking for her, or even realized she’s been missing after all this time, I can do whatever the fuck I want to her and get away with it.

“Sorry to hear that, Graves. It’s her loss. You’re the whole package.” He eyes me warily, and I struggle to keep my work mask in place.

“Thanks. The job makes it hard to keep a relationship, doesn't it?” I nod along like a fucking moron. “You got anyone special at home? I never hear you talk about a wife or girlfriend.”

“I snagged myself a girl not too long ago, it’s new so I ain’t too sure where it’s goin’ to go, but it’s good for the moment.”

“That’s great man.” He pats me on the shoulder and I want to snap every one of his fingers for having the audacity to touch me.

“I’m happy for you,” he says. I’m happy for me, too.

So happy in fact, that I’ll be overflowing with joy when I tell your little siren that you think she broke up with you.

Watching the last light of hope go out inside her will be just what I need to pull her into the inky blackness with me.

Without him standing in my way, Mallory is mine to mold into whatever I want.

“Thanks,” I grin. “I’m sure you’ll find someone better than Mallory.

God knows what shit she’s wrapped up in, you know who her parents are.

Real pieces of shit, those two.” I lay it on real thick, pushing him farther and farther away from Mallory with rational thought.

Hoping his thoughts twist and warp into something malicious.

Mallory could definitely be ignoring him because she’s running drugs for Dennis, or whoring herself for money with his old crowd.

Sowing the seeds of doubt within him swells my half chub to an almost noticeable size. I need to get out of here soon.

“How do you know who her parents are?” he asks, eyes alighting with renewed interest. The air around us has changed and it sets me on edge. I definitely need to leave, now.

“I saw the missing persons report. We all did, Sir,” I reply.

I also did my own research on Mallory Elizabeth Knight after I pulled her over and couldn’t get her out of my fucking head.

The visions of her being my next victim wouldn’t leave me alone.

She was quite the drastic change from the blonde drug addicts that reminded me of my mother, but the heart wants what the heart wants.

“Did you need anything else from lock-up or are you all finished? I imagine you can’t be late to whatever event you need all this surveillance equipment for,” I ask, changing the subject.

“Umm…yeah. I think I’m all done,” he says.

I put a line through ‘bola wrap gun’ and initial beside it.

I check what’s on the clipboard against what’s inside his duffle bag, then sign off as a witness, and hand the paper back to Officer Graves.

He signs it, and we leave the room together, locking the door and following protocol perfectly.

I double check everything like we’re supposed to.

Annoyance flares in his eyes as I copy his movements step for step until we are back upstairs.

He disappears into the captain’s office, and I divert to the bathroom, pumping my hard on until I shoot into the toilet.

Mallory’s dried blood flakes off my skin and floats to the ground like gently falling crimson snow flakes.

I hope Officer Graves sees and dismisses it as if it’s nothing.

Leaving the bathroom, I head towards the exit. Tipping my cap to Carla along the way, I let her know I’m heading out for my first rural patrol of the night.