Page 47 of Girl, Reformed

Aleister nodded jerkily, his gaze stillglued to the screen. ‘Y-yeah. I made both of those. But I swear, I never usedthem on anyone. I'm not a killer, I'm just a craftsman! I didn’t know about anymurders.’

Ella leaned back in her chair, armscrossed. She'd seen plenty of perps try to play the shocked and appalled card,but something about Aleister's reaction rang true. The guy looked like he'djust seen a ghost, and not the Casper kind.

Luca scoffed. ‘Why should we believe you?Two people are found in your stocks. Strangled, the same way you attacked mypartner here. And you run when the feds show up on your doorstep?’

‘I thought you arresting me for cookingcrystal,’ Aleister cried. ‘I’m telling you, I didn’t kill anyone.’

‘Seems real convenient,’ Luca began, butthen Ella held up a hand, silencing her partner. Aleister was sweating bulletsand he looked about two seconds away from passing out or puking his guts up allover the interrogation room floor. This wasn't the reaction of a guilty man.This was sheer, pant-wetting terror. A mission-oriented offender like thiswouldn’t shy away from his handiwork when presented with the truth. He wouldembrace it.

Ella leaned forward, elbows on the table.‘Alright, Aleister. Let's say I believe you. You didn't kill anyone. But thoseare your stocks, your handiwork. So how did they end up at our crime scenes?’

Aleister licked his lips, his eyes dartingaround the room like a cornered animal.

‘I don’t know,’ he said.

Ella kept a watch on Aleister’smicrosignals. The purse of his lips, his quick-draw knees, the subconsciousgazes to the top-left of his vision. All dead giveaways of a liar.

‘Looks to me like you’re holding somethingback,’ Ella said. She rose to her feet and leaned across the table. ‘We’vealready got you on cooking methamphetamine, so we can hold you here for as longas we like. But, you know…’

Aleister bit his lip and asked, ‘I know?’

‘If you give us the whole truth, maybe Ican get you out of a prison sentence.’

Aleister’s eyes expanded to the size ofcasino chips. Dangling the carrot of potential freedom in the face of a loomingjail sentence never failed to get suspects to open up.

'Okay, goddamnit. I'll tell you what Iknow. But I want it on record I'm cooperating.’

The sudden awareness of police procedurecame as a shock. Maybe this guy was sharper than Ella thought.

‘Done. This is all being recorded.Whenever you’re ready.’

Aleister slumped forward, chains rattling,head hanging low. His shoulders were shaking but Ella couldn't tell if it wasfrom relief, fear or barely-contained rage. Maybe all three.

‘About three months ago, I had two…commissions.’

‘Commissions? For what?’ asked Luca.

‘Stocks.’ Aleister tapped Luca’s phonescreen. ‘These exact stocks.’

Ella’s pulse rate tripled in speed. ‘Whatdid this person ask for?’

'Stocks, pillory. One made of steel,another of wood. The person was very precise with their instructions regardingthe measurements.'

'And who was this commissioner?'

'I...I don't know his name. It was alldone through anonymous emails, proxies, that whole deal. Dude was cagey ashell.’

Ella thought Aleister had some seriousgall, calling someone else cagey. ‘No name? No address? Nothing?’

‘Nothing,’ Aleister repeated.

'Alright,' Luca jumped in, 'So Mr. Xcontacts you out of the blue, asks for these custom torture pieces. What then?'

'I made 'em to his exact specifications.Serious craftsmanship, y'know? Takes time, skill. He paid up front, full cost,plus a little extra for my discretion.'

‘And how’d you meet? How’d you exchangethe goods?’

'We met up in the park. After dark. Heinspected my work, I collected the cash. Simple as that.’

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