Page 61 of Unholy Bonds

“I can’t ever reveal my identity to him, Irene. Remember that.”

“I just think you should consider it. Working with a partner would be fun, don’t you think?” she asked, running her fingers through her curly brown hair.

“I don’t think so. We’re not partnering to play ping-pong, Re-Re. Stop thinking about The Strangler. I promise I’ll find him, no matter how long it takes me. You just concentrate on college,” I said. “I’ll see you in the evening.” She gave me a strange look before she nodded, frowning as she did. “Please don’t do anything stupid, Irene.” I looked at her and she huffed in response.

“Yeah, yeah. Bye.”

As I walked through the familiar, white-painted corridors of the medical examiner’s office, I had only one thought in my head. The Strangler. Like Irene said, it had been years. I was a good hunter, and yet I failed over and over again with him. I hadn’t even come closer to finding out who he was. He had no name, no face, no identity. His profile was a fucking black hole filled with blood, death, and debris.

I stopped when I saw Detective Rosario in my office with a file in his hand. I noticed Victor’s name scrawled on top of it.

“Is that Victor’s autopsy report?” I asked, wondering what he was doing with it. The case was closed, wasn’t it? I gave him the culprit on a decorated silver platter. I’d be so angry if he let her slip away.

He nodded, running his fingers through his hair, a somber expression on his face. “Someone’s submitted a request to exhume Victor’s body and conduct a second autopsy.”

My spine stiffened as I looked at the detective. Dark circles adorned his eyes, and he seemed to be running on a mix of coffee and fumes.

“Who did?”

“It was an anonymous request, or at least, that’s what the chief is telling all of us. But I think the request came from someone powerful. Millicent Wark has connections in high places.”

“Since when did the cops take anonymous exhumation requests seriously?” I glared at the detective.

“Like I said, I don’t think the request is anonymous at all. Some hijo de puta wants to save Millicent Wark.” Detective Rosario huffed as he threw the autopsy report on my desk and slumped into the chair. “My mind has been running since last night, and my head feels like it’s going to detonate. I don’t need this headache. Victor is a monster, and he deserved to die.”

He did, and that was why he was dead. I didn’t kill innocent men.

“I never make mistakes,” I said with a smile, and he gave me a grim nod in return.

I had made sure of it. Regardless of how many doctors examined his body, they would ultimately reach the same conclusions I had.

“I know, I know that. You’re my best ME, Doctor West. I’m just so stressed… with this and The Strangler.”

“I read the news,” I said as I pushed a cup of coffee in his direction. He nodded, rubbing his forehead.

“I’ve been following The Strangler for six years. He’s elusive, but…” The detective pressed his finger against his temple, and I could clearly see he almost wanted to share something important with me.

“But?” I prodded.

“It’s not on public record, but the Baltimore detectives and FBI suspect that The Strangler is deviating from his usual patterns of behavior.”

“Did he? What did he do now?” I leaned forward, staring at the detective, my heart thundering.

“It’s not much, but he deviated from his MO the last time he killed.”

That made me sit straight back up. The detective took another gulp of his coffee with a shake of his head.

“Don’t tell me that he’s…”

“Devolving. Spiraling. Losing it. Whatever you want to call it.”

“Fuck. Oh, fuck.”

“Exactly my thought.”

25

SLEIGHT OF HAND

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