Page 28 of The Dirty Saint

It’s a shame, really. I heard Ms. Mitchell wanted to go to art school.

Now, she’ll never get to…

-Killian

I put the note down with bated breath.

“Fuck you,” I say through gritted teeth.

“Ezra, you in there—Oh, Ez,” Briggs looks at me. “What happened?”

I put the note down and stand.

“He raped her, and then he killed her. She was hanging from my fan when I opened the door. He left me a note.” I hand it over to Briggs, who takes it from me. “He said this happened because of what I did to Caleb.”

Briggs reads the note once over and then turns to me, “Ezra, do not think for onesecondthat that girl died because of you.”

Tears run down my cheeks in violent numbers. “How am I supposed to tell her family that their daughter is dead because ofme? Because ofmypast?”

“Ezra.”

“All she wanted was extra money for art school,” I whisper.

“Ezra, you didn’t do this.”

I shake my head. “God, I don’t even have their numbers. I’ve never even met them before. I—”

“I will look into Addison’s family. You don’t have to worry about that.”

“They’re gonna want her body, Brianne,” I pace around the room, trying to calm myself down. “They’re gonna want to bury her.”

“Ez,” Briggs says, stopping me. “They will get it. But right now, I have to deal with Killian. Are you okay with staying here alone, or do you want to come with me?”

I stare at Addison.

“No. I’m good right where I am.”

During

JOEY

I dig my knife further into Killian’s leg, ignoring the sound of the blade ripping through flesh.

“You feel like telling the truth now,” I snap.

Killian spits out the blood from his teeth. “She admitted to having past relations with Caleb Santo. She told me they dated for eight months before he died.”

“Did she say anything else about their relationship? Did they end on good terms? Was the split amicable? Was there cheating involved?”

“She told me they grew apart.”

“Anything else?”

He shakes his head. “No. The bitch kept her mouth closed after that.”

I backhand Killian in the face, and he lets out a grunt.

“Shut the fuck up,” I snap.