Page 38 of Girl, Bound

Are you sure you wantto kick this hornet's nest? Once the cat's out of the bag…'

‘What’s thealternative? Wait around for Barber to show himself, by which time we mighthave another body bag to unzip?’

‘True.’

‘Can’t pussyfootaround the subject. We need to end it. Get every officer in the building in themeeting room in thirty minutes. Holbrook included.’

‘Alright partner. Seeyou soon.’

Ella gave Barber'slair one last death glare. Out there in the dark, that twisted son of a bitchcould be on the prowl, hungry for fresh meat.

And it was up to herto put this rabid dog down.

***

Ella paced the meeting room like acaged panther, her nerves strung tighter than a banjo string. Ripley leanedagainst the wall, her arms crossed and her face a mask of stone. The aircrackled with tension; a live wire waiting for the wrong foot to step on it.

The door swung open,and the officers of the Millhaven PD filed in one by one. They moved with theswagger of a pack of wolves, all puffed chests and narrowed eyes. SheriffHolbrook brought up the rear, his face as dark as a thundercloud.

Ella could feel theirgazes boring into her and Ripley. A dozen pairs of eyes filled with suspicionand disdain. It was like being on trial, facing a jury that had already made upits mind.

‘Alright, what's thisall about?’ one of the officers called out. ‘Who died and made you queen of thecastle, Fed?’

A rumble of laughterrippled through the room, a mocking chorus that set Ella's teeth on edge. Shecould feel Ripley tensing beside her, coiled like a snake ready to strike.

But Ella wouldn't riseto the bait. She'd faced down worse than this, stared into the abyss andwatched it blink. A roomful of pissed-off cops was just another day at theoffice.

She stepped forward,her chin high and her eyes flashing. A hush fell over the assembled officerslike a shroud.

‘As you all know,there’ve been two murders recently, and we’ve got reason to believe one of yourown might be involved. Officer Patrick Barber.’

The words hung in theair like a bombshell waiting for the fuse to burn down. For a moment, the onlysound was the ticking of the clock on the wall. A metronome counting down todetonation.

Then, the roomerupted.

‘Barber? Are you outof your goddamn mind?’ one of the officers shouted.

Another, ‘You thinkone of us had something to do with this?’

‘Pat's a good cop,’another chimed in, jabbing a finger at Ella like a blade. ‘He's been on theforce for years, never had a single complaint. And you want to pin this onhim?’

‘You’ll need somedamning evidence for this,’ another shouted.

The accusations flewfast and thick, a hail of verbal bullets aimed straight at Ella's head.

‘We have reason tobelieve that Officer Barber had run-ins with both victims,’ she said, her voicecutting through the din like a razor. ‘Eric Saunders, one of the founders ofSeraphic Labs. And Kara Murphy, a local sex worker.’

The room went deadsilent, the air sucked out of it like a vacuum. Every eye was on Ella.

‘That’s it?’ onecalled out. ‘Run ins?’

‘Pretty seriousrun-ins. Very recently, too,’ Ripley added.

Another uniformshouted, ‘That’s insane. Pat wouldn’t do that.’

‘Are you sure aboutthat?’ Ripley asked, her tone as cold as a winter's night. ‘Because from whereI'm standing, it looks like Barber had plenty of motive. A personal vendettaagainst Saunders, and a history of using his badge to get favors from working girls.’

‘And we need to knowwhere he is,’ Ella said. ‘He’s not at home, so if anyone has any idea where wemight find him, we need to know.’

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