I shrugged. “Yeah, well, not everyone can be this amazing at murder.” He laughed at my sick humor. That was how it was here. If you didn’t play the heaviness, the heaviness would play you. Besides, I’d earned my right to be dark.
“You tell Lisa?” He studied me.
I made a face. I knew my aunt loved my writing and basked in the fun of it, but… “I did, but not with the whole story. I wanted to make sure this was something I could do before I shared it.”
“Okay, but…”
“I promise I’ll call her shortly.”
He nodded once to let the topic go.
I leaned forward and licked the drop of coffee that splashed on the back of my hand. “This will require me to be around some more homicides.” He squinted while he thought. “Uncle G, you know I’ve signed all the paperwork, checked all the boxes, and I would never do anything that would come back on you.”
“I know,” he agreed. “It’s just some stuff you can’t un-see.”
“When has that ever been a problem for me? Shit.” I leaned back and picked at a string on my ripped jeans. “I’ve held my stomach more than most of the men in this office.”
He laughed deeply then sighed. “Fine, but if you need a damn break, you need to promise to take one.”
“You have my word.”
Someone whisked by the door in a hurry and caught G’s attention.
“Hey!” he shouted, and a moment later, Benny stuck his head in the door.
“Hey, Spencer, thank you for the brew.” Benny eased his way into the office and sat on the arm of the couch. “Who are you riding with today?” His eyes lit up when he looked over at Uncle G.
“Not sure yet.” I side-eyed my uncle, hoping he’d catch my tone before Benny did.
“Where’s Blake?” G asked, pulling on his glasses to check his phone.
Oh, yes, the new detective Zoe had her claws in at the barbecue. Poor guy.
“He was here but was muttering about crime scene photos and blood splatter.” Benny shook his head. “I don’t think the man sleeps, and if he did, he would dream in red murder.”
I smirked. I understood that, but from a different angle.
“Blake,” G made me jump at his tone, “where are you?”
He glanced at me as he listened with his phone to his ear.
“I’m sending someone to follow you today. Someone who you will not let anything happen to.” He winked at me. “I’ll get Benny to drive them over.”
Once he hung up, I stood and threaded my bag over my arm. “Why didn’t you say it was me?”
G’s eyebrows drew together as though in deep thought before he let whatever it was go and smirked. “Blake is an interesting duck. He’ll be thrown off his game when he sees you, so this way is much more fun.”
I laughed to myself as I slipped into the passenger seat. That would be a fun evening.
“So,” I held on to the handle while Benny took a hard turn, “tell me about this new detective.”
He bumped his horn at someone jaywalking and threw up his hands, annoyed. “His name is Blake Daniels, transferred from NYPD’s Emergency Service Unit.”
“Which is SWAT,” I confirmed.
“Yeah, he mentioned he was burned out, but he’s anything but. You should have seen him with the Mackenzie case. He figured it out in under a minute.” He glanced me. “He’s quiet but seems nice when he finally opens up. Think he just carries a lot of shit up here.” He pointed to his head.
“Just like the rest of us.”
“No,” he lowered his voice, “he was first responding officer on the Liberty massacre two years ago. You know, where the forty-six kids were held hostage, and later twenty-one of them were shot to death on camera.”
“Yeah.” I raised my hand to stop him. That was a heavy story that made headlines for months. “I remember.”
“Oh! That’s right, you wrote that article about the killer and why he did it.”
“Yes.” I let my gaze wander to the window. I hated that story. I hated that I had to dig deep into a ruthless killer and explain why he put bullets into innocent children while their families watched in horror. My conclusion was he suffered from a mental illness his own family knew about, but they never got him help. They were afraid the doctors would lock him away. Bet they wished they had done that now.
“He took out two of the men and saved those twin boys in the first fifteen minutes of the standoff.”
I cleared my throat as I tried to recall if any of my findings were of Blake.
“So, you have an idea of what he must have seen and dealt with over that time period.”
“Sadly, I do,” I whispered.
He shook my leg to make me loosen up again. “Tell me, why are you leaving me for detective work? Did you get a new column?”
Benny knew I worked for the newspaper. I also knew he suspected more, but he was respectful enough not to ask. He just enjoyed hanging out with me. He wasn’t overly flirty, even though I knew he liked me. He liked that I was easygoing and didn’t get offended easily.
“I did. It’s a piece on the string of murders that’s been going on since last month. G thought Blake would be able to help me.”
“He’ll be good, just don’t take his silence to be dicky. He’s just quiet.”
“Got it.” I pulled my bag on my lap when he pulled up to the curb. “He’s in that coffee shop waiting on someone. Trust me, you won’t miss him.”
“Considering I met him at the party, I don’t think I’ll have trouble.”
“Oh, you did?” He seemed surprised. “Okay, then, you’re good to go.”
“Thanks for the ride.”
Chapter Six
Jonah
I jammed my knife into the carpet and tore through the fabric, creating a jagged square that I then tossed into the container. The smell was worse than normal, but what did you expect from the rich bitch who had the heat set to ninety-eight, thinking it was cold. Maybe lay off the blow, and your blood would flow better. Well, I smirked, guess it doesn’t matter now. Her cold gray eyes stared straight up at the ceiling.
I caught the side of her blouse and, with my glove, peeked inside. Meh, I’d seen better.
“How’s the knee?” My buddy Tim helped me pull a larger piece of carpet free.
“Not bad, just twisted it playing basketball.” I almost laughed at myself. I’d never played basketball, nor did I know many people who played, but I knew I needed to look like less of a loner.
“Sucks.” He stood with a huff. This job sucked, but we both needed the money.
“Sure does.”
“You got this, Jonah?” Tim signaled he was going to start on the broken banister that was caked in brain matter.
“Yeah.” I waved and pressed my forehead to my arm to soak up the sweat with the liner of the hazmat suit. Just then, the sun broke free from the clouds, and something shiny caught my attention next to the dresser. I bent down and awkwardly picked a diamond tennis bracelet off the floor.
My stomach rolled, and so did my memories.