Page 106 of Sin

Keith took in the room. “No, I’m staying here as a live-in caretaker. Mr. Radley owns the place. Though, he’s not home right now.”

“Wow, someone’s really got an eye for decorating,” Mare said dryly, her lip curled in distaste as the door shut behind her.

“Is Mr. Radley into hunting?” I asked, trying not to sound too judgmental, but there was hunting, and then there was this. It was more than excessive.

Keith apparently didn’t appreciate our tones. “It’s actually my side business.”

“And how is business for making animal carcass decor?” Mare asked saccharine sweetly.

“It could be better,” Keith muttered, but he rushed over to Blade when she picked up a small display case housing several Monarch butterflies. “Please, don’t touch anything! I have everything inventoried and can’t have things misplaced.”

Blade relinquished the box, and Keith eyed the box carefully, as if looking for any blemishes. Then he very attentively placed the display case on the entryway table Blade had picked it up from. He adjusted it, stood back and studied its placement, before shifting it the tiniest amount to the right. He repeated this a few times before seeming satisfied it was back to its original spot.

Mare met my gaze and hiked up a brow.

Keith seemed to realize we were all staring at him, and flushed. “Um, shoes off please.” He pointed to his socked feet, wiggling his toes. “Or there’s a box of disposable shoe coverings by the shoe bin.”

While we all chose the latter option, slipping the blue coverings over our shoes, Keith padded into a large living room off to the right of the front door. A cozy armchair sat across a glass coffee table from a pink loveseat. When we all remained rooted to the entryway, he gestured for us to have a seat on the couch. “Come on, let’s get this over with. You did say you had questions, yes?”

London was the first to move, sitting down on the loveseat with Jinx following after. When Jinx sat, his butt took up nearly half the couch. Keith frowned when he realized there wasn’t enough room for us all to sit, but he didn’t offer to fetch more seats, very obviously wanting to keep this visit short.

“I don’t want to keep you. I’m sure you’re very…” He glanced around at the taxidermy. “Busy.” He somehow managed to keep his tone both polite but assertive. “So I’ll try to keep this as brief as possible, all right? You worked at the Citadel labs and oversaw Lucas Delacruz’s… treatment, correct?”

Keith fidgeted with a thick, silver ring on his finger and nodded, his gaze darting around the room nervously. “Correct. I was an engineer in the labs.”

That must have been how he’d learned about warding.

“But you oversaw Lucas’s treatment?” London pressed.

“Yes.”

“What were some of the tests performed on Mr. Delacruz?” London asked, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees.

“I thought you had his file,” Keith said, frowning down at a loose thread on his chair.

London chuckled. “Come on, we both know his file was lost the night of the fire. The UAS wouldn’t have allowed his information to be digitally documented, considering the illegality of his experimentations. Which means,” London said, eyeing Keith with a keen gaze, “it all burned with the labs.”

Keith bit his lip, looking almost impressed. “You’re right, it was. Though, you must have recovered some things if you know his name.”

“True,” London conceded. “But what we found isn’t the least bit insightful. So let’s cut the bullshit here. What the hell happened in the labs, Keith?”

Taking a slow breath, Keith crossed his arms and looked away. His breath hitched when he spoke. “It would be easier to tell you what didn’t happen. About five years ago, our labs were working on developing some new drugs for anxiety. Lucas volunteered for one of the drug trials. It was a paid study, and test subjects were paid at the end of the testing period. Lucas said he volunteered because he needed the money to help support his family.”

“I didn’t realize he had a family. Is he married?” Blade questioned.

Keith frowned at her. “He’s not. At least, not any longer. But he had two daughters and was struggling to make ends meet with his job.”

Two daughters. That was more important information missing from his file.

“Do you know what happened to his children?” I asked, feeling like this was important.

Shaking his head, Keith said, “No, sorry. He didn’t talk about them much.”

Probably wanted to keep them out of the UAS’s radar.

Mare dragged a fingernail along the top of the loveseat as she passed it, her expression and tone bored, though her rigid shoulders gave away her irritation. Keith cringed at the sound of ripping fabric.

“So for five years, you and your colleagues, what?” she asked. “Experimented on him?”

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