Page 105 of The Eleventh Hour

“To murder?” Descario barks.

“To unchristian thoughts,” I say evenly. “I don’t commit murder.”

“So you keep singing. Same song, but the evidence is mounting. Especially after we found a particularly unique ring in your abandoned apartment. It’s a sapphire, very expensive.”

“It’s not mine. Wrong colour,” I snap back at her, telling her the truth. Mine is red, not blue. “And did you find the cameras? The water bottles with drugs in them?” I throw back.

Descario laughs. “Here we go. Playing the victim again. For the record, Miss Shade, there were no water bottles, drugged or otherwise, and no cameras anywhere. But I’ll give you a seven for creativity.”

I can feel my hope slipping away.

Wayland frowns at me, but I can’t even think of anything to say.

“There’s a party tonight. A huge to do at the Red Shard. Are we going to find a body?”

I look between them helplessly. It doesn’t occur to me to lie. “Probably.”

“Someone in Hurricane is hiding Louis, and when we find them, we’re going to take every single one of you involved and punish you to within an inch of your lives. No quack will save you when I’m done. That cage will hold you for the rest of your unnatural life.”

I can feel my eyes burning, but I still can’t get my mind to work.

Descario pulls out her notepad and flips it open. She barely glances down before looking up, meeting my gaze and holding it.

“Now, we saw Titan at your doctor’s office last night. What was he doing there after hours?” She seems so much larger than she is, her aggressive personality dominates every space she enters, and I feel like a helpless child again.

I blink several times. “Titan?”

“Yes, the gang banger, the last one to see Lisha alive. Why would he be visiting a respected shrink? A shrink that you see routinely. A shrink that is determined to keep you out of my jail cell. What the fuck does he want with a criminal?” She puts the notepad away and steps closer, I can see all the flecks of indignant colour in her dark brown eyes. Her lips curl in a smile, satisfied, like she thinks she’s finally got the evidence that will put me in a dark hole forever. A scary smile.

“Perhaps he needs to discuss his…penis problem?” I guess, quickly wincing. “I don’t know. I wasn’t there.”

“Ah, but you were. We saw you sneak out and go creeping into the alley like the low-life you are. Titan showed up a few minutes before you. All neat and tidy with a bow.”

“Detective Descario, why do you hate me so much?” But I’m doing the math. It could be him. Fuck, why is Sparrow selling me out to Titan? Oh, god, that’s almost as bad as the stalker having information on me.

What if Titan is the stalker? What if he’s the copycat?

Her jaw clenches, and she lifts her hand to brush her hair behind her ears. “I hate people who hurt others and then get away with it. People should pay for what they’ve done.”

“But what if you're wrong? What if that person didn’t do anything?” I blurt in frustration.

Descario leans towards me, smiling slightly.

“Then they have nothing to hide. They will be honest, open, and trust in the law's judgement.”

“Our laws are corrupt and protect the bad guys,” I growl at her.

“Our laws are our laws, and they should be respected.”

“The world isn’t black and white, Detective. Its shades of fucking grey. Right and wrong are either ors, and people can be innocent and unfairly punished by our so-called laws.”

“Bullshit,” the detective spits. “You’re just trying to get away with a free pass after what you did to those people…”

I stare at her, my eyes widening as a fury fills me. “You told the press my name and where they could find me. Every time I moved. Was that punishment? Was that to the letter of the law, Detective? This is the first time you haven’t because telling my dad would have been too far. A line even you wouldn’t cross. They threw food at me. Bottles. They broke my belongings. They left bruises and terrorised me. Who’s going to pay for that?”

Descario throws herself at me. My back slams into the door frame, and I see the red veins in her eyes throbbing with fury as she squeezes. In her eyes, all I see is a burning hate.

“Maria, let go! Hey! Detective Descario!” Wayland shouts and hauls her back, leaving me to sag against the door.

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