Page 76 of Dropping Like Flies

We all looked to Kendrick, but he shook his head. “Nothing yet.”

“The demon you told DCI Weaver about,” Emma interjected. “The one you were sacrificing men to. The one who needed fingers as proof of your killings. That demon.”

Flynn laughed and leaned forward slightly, elbows braced on the table. “I think you’ve been watching too many horror films. I killed because I could. Because it was easy.”

“Then why remove their fingers?” Lou asked.

Flynn shrugged. “A souvenir. We killers like our souvenirs. Have you heard of Ismo Kullervi Juno? He was a Finnish killer who kept the teeth of his victims. Jeffrey Dahmer kept skulls. Anatoly Onoprienko took his victim’s underwear. Bit kinky, that one, if you ask me. Charles Albright took eyes. It’s very common. We like to look back at them and remember how the moment felt. I would have thought you’d have done your research and know all about trophies.”

“You’re lying,” Lou said.

“Am I?” Another shrug. “If you say so.”

Kendrick let out a breath. “He’s too calm. Too guarded. I can’t get anything.”

“Fuck!” The epithet from Baros was uncharacteristic, but I shared the sentiment wholeheartedly. A nugget of an idea came to me and I turned it over in my head, hoping to find an alternative. When none presented itself, I gave in to the inevitability of it. Flynn had reverted to the amiable bartender, the man used to dealing with difficult situations without letting them get to him. Granted, you wouldn’t find many bartenders who talked about killing as easily as he did. But when it came down to it, the only time I’d seen him rattled was when he’d been attacking me. “I’m going to go in there,” I stated. “I need an earpiece so Kendrick can communicate with me.”

Griffin’s head whipped my way, his eyes blazing. “Absolutely no fucking way! I don’t you want you anywhere near him.”

I’d wondered if news of our relationship had reached Baros’ ears. His lack of reaction at Griffin’s proprietary attitude said it had. No doubt we’d be having words about it later, where I’d have to choose whether to lie and pretend it was a recent thing, or confess to not having told him about our past when I should have done. Something to look forward to. “I should have gotten the truth out of him before. He alluded to the demon. He would have said more if I’d pushed him on it.”

Griffin gave a sardonic laugh. “What? When he was trying to kill you? Don’t be ridiculous, Ben. You were too busy trying to stay alive to interrogate him.”

“True.” I stood taller, pushing my shoulders back and making it look like going into that room with the man who’d tried to kill me and almost succeeded wouldn’t be the hardest thing I’d ever done. Kendrick knew, though. I could see by his expression. No doubt he’d plucked the thoughts right out of my head. “But this time, I will interrogate him.”

Baros had stayed silent, scrutinizing me without giving away what he was thinking. Griffin was still shaking his head when Baros finally spoke. “You don’t have to do this.”

“I do. I need an end to it. And I need it today. Maybe then I can take medical leave.”

Baros nodded slowly before getting on the radio. “This is DCS Baros. I need an earpiece brought to observation room one, and I need it yesterday.”

It arrived in under a minute, the detective constable tasked with delivering it out of breath. “I need to be alone in there,” I said as I jammed the earpiece in my right ear and Kendrick did the same with its twin. “Just me and him.”

Griffin swore under his breath, my fiancé still no happier about my decision. “No.”

Despite us not being alone, I grabbed hold of his hands and forced him to look at me. “There will be people outside the door.” I looked to Baros and waited for his nod of agreement. “All I have to do is shout and they’ll come running.”

Griffin shook his head. “I don’t like it.”

“I know. And if the roles were reversed, I wouldn’t either.”

Griffin brightened. “That’s what we should do. I should go in there. I can tell him what a piece of shit he is and how much I enjoyed tasering him.”

It was my turn to shake my head. “It wouldn’t work. He’s too clever.” I hated admitting that, but that didn’t stop it from being true. “He’d smell a rat a mile off. Whereas if I go in there, I’m just another detective wanting to ask him questions. Well, not just another detective given our history, but you get the idea.” I let go of his hands and stepped back.

“If he touches you, I’ll kill him,“ Griffin said.

I laughed. “Not the best place to be making threats like that, but I appreciate the sentiment.”

It took a few minutes to get our ducks in a row, Lou and Emma asked to vacate the room, and Kendrick and I making sure the equipment did the job it needed to and we could hear each other. Finally, I stood outside the interview room with nothing left to do but push the door open and walk in.

“If he goes for you, just shout,” Graham Price, one of the DCs tasked with waiting outside the room, reminded me. “We’ll be there in seconds.” He lifted a taser similar to the one Flynn had already become intimately acquainted with. “Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to give him 1500 volts.”

I nodded and then stepped inside. Flynn’s bored expression disappeared as he glanced up, a smile lighting up his handsome face. “Well, well, well, look who it is.” He touched his own head where my bandage was. “Head still sore, is it?” He lowered his gaze. “What about the fingers? Any of them dropped off? If so, I’ll have them.” He laughed at his own joke.

I took the seat opposite him without saying a word. For a moment as I stared into his eyes, I was back on that bed with him holding me down, and knowing there was no chance of escape, that my head wound had incapacitated me just like he’d intended. It had never been a fair fight, and he’d made sure of it. I swallowed and pulled myself together, refusing to give in to the fear lurking beneath the surface. We’d been alone before, but we weren’t alone now. Not really. There were men in the next room and men just outside the door.

He was just another killer who’d used underhand tactics to get the jump on me.

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