Page 193 of Whisper

“I didn’t want to know. I couldn’t know. But, Dan, the autopsy. They couldn’t definitely prove it was him. Everything was circumstantial.”

“I’ve read it, Kris. He was beaten to death beside the car,” Dan whispered. “There was enough blood in the rubble to know he’d lost so much. Then he was dragged into the trunk, where they poured accelerant on his body.”

“There was no DNA match to the bones.”

“Because every trace of DNA was gone. He wasash. Even the bones that did remain… They fell apart when the team tried to recover them.” Dan’s face twisted. “Kris, they took him out of there with a shovel. His ashes filled a plastic bag. Don’t do this to yourself. Don’t hurt yourself like this.”

It wasn’t David. It wasn’t David because I saw David last night, I held him in my arms.

Itwasn’t me they burned, David had said.

“Kris.” Dan reached for him, grabbed his hands. Held them between this own. “Kris,please. If this is because of last night. Us. Please, Kris. You need help. I want to help you, but I can’t help with this.” He nodded to the files, the papers littering the floor. “I love you, and I want you to be happy. I thought I could do that for you, butthis.” He kissed Kris’s hands. “You need help. Have you ever talked to anyone? About his death?”

Kris ripped his hands away. “I’mfine.”

“You’re not fine.Thisis not fine.”

“I am fine! Don’t you think knowing is important? Don’t you think we should be sure, absolutely certain, about what happened?”

“We are certain! We know! There was a Congressional inquiry, for God’s sake! You don’t want to go down this path, Kris. You’re only going to hurt yourself with the truth!”

He stood, turning his back on Dan as he started gathering the papers, the files, the statements and evidence.

“And you’re hurtingme,” Dan breathed. “What is this? Another reason to not be with me? Another excuse for us not being together?”

Kris sagged. The air punched out of his lungs, like he’d taken a hit right to the center of his chest. “Dan…”

“We can’t keep doing this. I can’t keep taking this from you. Last night, you made me the happiest I’ve ever been. I thought, ‘Finally, he’s letting me in. He’s letting me love him. Maybe, maybe one day he’ll love me a little bit, too’.”

“Dan—”

“I can’t compete with a ghost. I can’t compete with your complete devotion to him. And if last night sent you spinning down this rabbit hole. If being with me is such a terrible, terrifying thought for you that you had to come here, dothis…” Dan took a shaky breath. “You need to get help. You need to move on. And I can’t be a part of that. You have to do that for you.”

Kris slammed the lid on one of the file boxes. How the fuck could he move on when David was alive and out there somewhere? How could he ever let go?

But… David had pushed him away. Had shoved him away and then fled. What did that mean?

Did David not want him anymore?

What had ten years apart done to David?

What if he’d moved on?

What if Kris really was clinging to a ghost?

“Kris…” Dan’s voice shook. His voice never shook. Kris couldn’t face him, not now. “They called me here because you scared the techs. And you’re scaring me. Please, I’m begging you. Call someone. Today.”

Kris stacked the file boxes, grabbed David’s autopsy report and his photo, and strode away.

Brentwood

Washington DC

September 8

1500 hours

Brentwood hummed with urban decay, with poverty, with murders in broad daylight. Police sirens wailed at all hours. Steel-eyed residents turned inward, living behind fortressed walls and ignoring the outside world.