Page 34 of Resist Me Not (Bloody Desires #4)

“ Fuck .” He whirls back toward me. His voice is hushed now, a fervent whisper. “Since he knew I’d be back, he said he was coming over. He has more evidence. He won’t wait for me to keep dodging him. What do we do? No ,” he hisses in answer to his own question, surging toward me. “Please, Trey—”

“Walker—”

“Doctor Hammond, it’s Detective Clancy!” The detective knocks again. “I really need to speak with you.”

Walker grabs his inhaler off the kitchen island and takes a puff. He leaves it and his phone there and darts toward me. “I’ll be right there, detective!” He grabs me by the shoulders and starts pushing me toward the laundry closet.

I do not resist, letting him move me as desired, but I tell him, “Walker, you know I might need—”

“ No ,” he says again and holds me there against the running washer. “Let me see what he says. Let me try to fix this first. Please.”

He wants to protect the innocent so badly, just as I do, so I can’t refuse him. I nod and close myself into the closet. There is barely enough room for me, but at least this door has slats, narrow so the detective won’t be able to see me, but I can see out, however minimally.

Walker tries to calm himself before he opens the door, but he is visibly agitated. I am doubtful the detective will be easily deterred given his persistence thus far—and Walker’s projection of guilt .

I take stock of the physicality of the detective as best as I can from my angle and limited visibility.

Tall, husky but not overweight, confident in how he holds himself.

He will put up a good fight if attacked, so best to be able to take him out in one swift strike.

I just need to wait for my moment—should it be needed.

“May I come in, Doctor Hammond?” the detective asks after some forced pleasantries.

“Uh, sure.” Walker reluctantly opens the door wider to let him in.

“I literally just got home, and I start my fellowship tomorrow, so I’m a little frazzled, sorry.

Lots to do and prepare for, you know? No offense, but constant calls from you didn’t exactly help me enjoy the last few days of my vacation. ”

What I can make out of the detective proves he is also armed, wearing a shoulder holster and no jacket to hide it. Likely on purpose.

He has already pegged Walker as guilty and is here to prove it.

“Where did you go this weekend exactly?” the detective asks.

“Visiting family.”

“Was Mr. Fisher with you?”

Walker laughs in a very un-humored sort of a huff.

“Can we skip the misleading bullshit and just get to whatever evidence you think you have?” Oh Walker.

You need to stay calm. “Because all I know is you refuse to leave me and my boyfriend alone despite Curtis’ case being officially closed weeks ago. ”

The detective remains unmoved, so it’s clear he knows what he is doing and getting everything he wants out of Walker.

“Maybe not for much longer.” He turns before Walker can respond and approaches the island, giving me a slightly better view of him, since the laundry closet faces it and is at the edge of the hallway toward the bedroom and bathroom.

“Did you know Mr. Van Kirk had a web cam?”

What ?

“Doesn’t everyone?” Walker asks.

“Many keep their cameras covered when not in use, but Mr. Van Kirk’s was uncovered the night of his disappearance.

” The detective removes a small flash drive from his pants pocket and sets it on the countertop, as Walker joins him.

“It turns out Mr. Van Kirk had it specifically set up as surveillance to keep watch over his apartment when he was away. Sort of like a Ring device, where it takes still shots when detecting unexpected movement.”

That can’t be right. I check for such things and delete any storage, any cloud backups, everything if such a device or setup exists. Could I have missed something?

“I watched the footage and while you can’t see clearly enough to determine if the person captured on camera is Mr. Fisher—”

“So you don’t have any real evidence?” Walker asks too rushed, too telling.

“ But ”—the detective pushes on—“the existence of this footage does point to possible foul play. Someone other than Mr. Van Kirk was in his apartment the last night he was seen, which reopens the case as a possible murder investigation, and gives me access to many more resources to continue inspecting Mr. Fisher as a person of interest. And you , Doctor Hammond.” He faces Walker, blocking him from me, so the detective’s back and shoulder holster are all I can see. “Maybe you were in on this together.”

“I would never—”

“First do no harm.” The detective tilts his head around Walker to indicate the poster on the wall.

“Do you believe in that, Doctor Hammond? Because if you do, you should understand that harm is exactly what Mr. Fisher is and does. We both know that Mr. Van Kirk is not the first person Mr. Fisher helped make disappear.”

“You’re just speculating.”

“Am I?” He puts his hand over the flash drive, tapping it like how the tell-tale heart must have sounded to its killer—but not for me.

If I act now, from here, the detective will have too much time to react, maybe even draw his gun. I can’t risk that. I need him closer.

“You are an accomplice if you don’t come clean, Doctor Hammond,” the detective continues.

“You are just as at fault as he is if you continue to protect him and lie to me. This is your last chance. I only came to you first to give you that chance. Because I think you do believe in first do no harm and that you want to do the right thing.”

I wish I could see Walker’s face. I wish I could read whether he was crumbling.

That he does not immediately answer says something of his resolve, but it is not great either, because his hesitation makes him look guiltier.

“I can show you the evidence if you like,” the detective says.

“It took a lot of digging to acquire it and right now only I know it exists. But be aware that I am submitting this into evidence tomorrow, and if I do that before you make a deal with me, I can’t protect you from suffering the same fallout as your boyfriend. ”

I have to act. I have to act now, even if it means the gun going off.

Walker is going to panic.

“You made espresso, doctor? For me?”

“Um… y-yes? I needed something to wake up after the flight.”

“Strange…” The detective circles Walker, so I can finally see him again. He is panicking, one hand trembling at his side, as the detective moves to where I set the espresso to cool. “You seemed surprised to see me, so I figured you had only just gotten my messages.”

“I, uh… well, um… like I said, with my fellowship starting tomorrow—”

“May I see your ID for a moment?”

“Why?”

“Just something I need to check.”

Walker complies, the habitual human reaction to always do what authority asks. He holds his ID out after removing it from his wallet. “What about it?”

The detective does not take the ID, only glances at it long enough to say, “Happy birthday. Whose wallet is this?” He nods down at the kitchen island.

Shit .

“Mine!” Walker lies, with far too much force like this entire interaction. “I needed a new one.”

“This doesn’t look brand-new to me. May I take a look?”

“ No .” Again, too forceful, too panicked.

“And why not?” The detective circles further around the island to reach it. “I assume it’s empty if it’s new.”

It’s not empty because it’s mine and the detective knows it.

“Maybe I’m in the market for a new one myself—”

“It’s mine .” Walker grabs it off the counter before the detective can. “And I already have sensitive things in here, so—”

“Mr. Fisher!” the detective calls out, ignoring Walker and turning away from him to move deeper into the apartment. Finally toward me. “Best if you come out now!”

Leaping from the laundry closet will not make this an easy scuffle. I am going to have to try to incapacitate him as quickly as possible. I ready myself as he nears me, blocking my view of Walker again. He seems about to check this closet first, and I am a trap ready to spring.

“This will all be easier for you both if—”

But the detective cuts off, body stiffening, eyes bulging, and for one brief moment, he clutches back behind him, only for his wide eyes to turn glassy as he drops.

Leaving Walker, still with my wallet in one hand and a large bloody kitchen knife in the other. Apparently, a doctor knows well how to aim for the heart, because the detective isn’t even twitching when I open the door and look down at his body.

Walker in the kitchen with the knife .

And just like Mother, he did it for me.