Page 76 of Kiss of Deceit

He chuckled. “You don’t know Harry very well, do you?”

“What does that mean?”

“The man is superstitious as hell.” He offered me a cigarette, lighting one after I declined. “He isn’t going to want to work in a building where someone was murdered. I’m guessing he’s been giving excuses as to why he’s keeping the station closed?”

I scoffed, shaking my head. “That makes sense. We collected evidence days ago.”

Great. All I needed was ten minutes alone with Natalie’s computer, but this new information proved that Harry was going to make that difficult. He couldn’t keep the station closed forever, could he?

I began walking, not saying a word when Riggs remained beside me, smoking his cigarette. We passed a few people who were heading to the factory for their shift, reminding me I needed to find out more about that building too. It was far too secretive to be a damn box factory.

“So,” he drawled, blowing out a cloud of dark smoke, “what’s going on between you and Kole?”

That was a great question. Seeing as he was in my bed every night, giving me a nightmare free sleep, it was more than just sex like it had started out. Whatever it was—it would never last. A relationship was about honesty, and I could never give that to Kole. But the selfish part of me never wanted this internship to end. I liked falling asleep in his arms and didn’t want to lose it.

“We’re roommates,” I said with a shrug. “And friends.”

“Friends,” he echoed, glancing at me out of the corner of his eye. “In the years I’ve known Kole, he’s never had a friend like you.”

“I think that answers your question, doesn’t it?” a feminine voice spoke up from behind us.

Riggs rolled his eyes when Adella appeared beside him. “What are you doing up this early?”

She grinned. “I could ask you the same thing. Don’t you work mid-shift at the factory?”

“I switched shifts this week.”

I eyed them curiously as the tension thickened. There was friction between them. Nothing sexual…but there was something. We headed for the café in silence, the only sound was our boots crunching on the ground.

“How is Miles?” Adella asked, breaking the awkward quiet.

“Better,” I answered. “Still healing. He left the clinic a couple days ago. He should make a full recovery.”

“That’s good. I’m not sure how many more murders this town can handle.” She shook her head. “Any new leads?”

“No.” I sighed. “Whoever he is, he didn’t leave any evidence behind.”

“You’re positive it’s a guy?”

Riggs scoffed at Adella’s question. “You think a woman is running around on a murdering spree? You know how rare that is?”

Her eyes flashed in annoyance. “It’s not rare. It’s just not as common.”

My stomach twisted anxiously as they bickered. The thought of the killer being a woman had been fleeting. Once I saw how he threw Miles into the wall the night at the police station, I was positive it was a man. But Adella was right. I’d already killed once since moving here. Something no one would ever suspect me of.

“Statistically, when women murder it’s someone they know. A crime of passion,” I recited what I learned in my psychology classes. “Men are more likely to kill strangers. They are also the vast majority of serial killers.”

Riggs stumbled a step. “Serial killer?”

I nodded. “If this person kills one more, that’s what we’ll be dealing with.”

“Unless he killed Lucas,” Adella murmured. “Then he’s already at three. I mean, you really think he just walked off a cliff?”

I kept my face passive as they spoke about the murder I committed. My heart rate stayed even as I inhaled slow breaths. I’d taught myself years ago how to stay calm when my crimes were talked about. There was no evidence linking me to it, which meant I had no reason to worry. The only thing I had was Lucas’s pocketknife which was a generic one with no identifying markers. Unless someone rummaged through the back of my closet, it would stay in its hiding place.

Riggs stubbed his cigarette out on the side of the trash can before dropping it in. “The only people who are sad about that fucker’s death is Tristin and his little group of friends. Lucas was a nasty piece of work. This town is better off without him.”

“Look.” Adella snagged my arm, pulling me closer. “Who is that?”