Page 20 of Ruthless Riches

5

Alexis

Robert Hawksley didn’t haveany other information to give us about the Satan’s Penthouse tunnels. He didn’t have access to the Polaroids he mentioned earlier, either. Apparently they’d been lost when the town planning department moved into a different office fifteen years ago.

We thanked him for his time and left. On our way back to the car, we decided on a new plan—we were going to try to track down the homeless man who claimed to have found an entrance to Satan’s Penthouse. It wouldn’t be easy, because according to Robert’s story, this man had told his colleague’s brother-in-law about it over ten years ago, but it was worth a shot.

A chill ran down my spine as some of Robert’s final words to us echoed in my head. Killing season.

Nate noticed the shiver and rubbed my back. “Cold?”

“No. I just can’t stop thinking about what Robert said,” I replied. “The whole ‘killing season’ thing. It was creepy.”

“Yeah. He’s right, though. Cold weather is the best time for the Butcher to hunt new victims.”

“I know. It’s just so horrible.”

Nate tipped his head to look at me again. “Have you thought any more about who it could be?”

I frowned. “What do you mean?”

“This killer probably has some sort of connection to you, remember?”

“Oh. Right.” I stuck my hands in my coat pocket, huddling into myself as a cold blast of wind ruffled my hair. “I’ve thought about it a lot, but no one stands out to me. Have you thought about it?”

Nate rubbed the back of his neck. “Not really,” he said, averting his eyes.

I raised a brow. “I can tell when something’s on your mind, Nate. What is it?”

“It’s nothing. Really.”

“Come on. It’s obviously not nothing.”

He raised his eyes to meet mine again. “Look… something came into my head a while ago, but I really don’t think I should tell you.”

“Why? You can tell me anything.”

“I know, but I don’t want to upset you. It’s probably wrong, anyway.”

“Well, now you have to tell me,” I said, brows puckering. “You can’t just leave me in suspense.”

“Fine.” He lifted a palm. “Promise you’ll hear me out?”

“Of course.”

He hesitated a moment longer. “Okay, this is it,” he finally said, scratching his jaw. “You know how my uncle told us he killed your dad?”

I swallowed hard as Greg’s vile face flashed in my mind. “Yes.”

“They never actually found a body. Only blood and a couple of his teeth.”

“I know,” I said, eyes narrowing slightly. “What exactly are you saying?”

“I’m just wondering—what if your dad actually survived?” he said. “What if he’s still out there somewhere, and he wants revenge on the people of Avalon for what happened to him? That would explain why the other victims were killed, and you were only—”

I cut him off, nostrils flaring. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

“It’s just an idea.”