Page 15 of Beautiful Prey

He waved his hand. “A few investigators and a social worker. They come around every so often to ask him questions.”

I frowned. “Shouldn’t they talk to his lawyer?”

Dr. Langley shrugged, still not making eye contact. “Probably, but Emery isn’t in a position to have a lawyer present, and by the court ruling, if he is to be admitted here, then theyhave permission to question him. Not that they ever get anything out of him. Such as things are when dealing with the criminally insane.” He looked back at me this time and smiled. “It could have been worse though. Try getting him to see a doctor.” He chuckled, yet I didn’t see the humor in it. “Either way, you’ve been making such good progress, I didn’t want to disappoint you and turn you away. I think if anyone can get around to him now, it might be you.”

This time, the room was bathed in a low gray light from the windows, yet somehow the shadows still hugged the corners, like little black holes. The windows, I noticed, had a light film over them so the outside was just a foggy blur.

Emery sat quietly in his seat. And from the cold silence, I could already tell his mood was still sour.

“Hey, Emery,” I said, pretending not to notice.

His gaze flicked up to mine. “Eve…” he said in that low, almost seething voice.

I shrugged my bag off my shoulder and dropped it to the ground. “How’s the journaling coming?”

“Truthfully not well, but are you surprised?”

“Not really. But that’s okay. You’ll get there.”

He fidgeted in his seat, the chains rattling softly. He rubbed his finger against his palms as if he wished he had something to hold on to. I watched him for a moment, then took a seat.

“Dr. Langley told me you had some visitors today. Do you wanna talk about that?”

“No.”

“I understand. How about your—”

“I don’t want to talk about me today.”

I watched him as I sat back. “Sure. That’s totally fine.”

“I want to talk about you.”

I shifted in my seat, thinking for a moment. “Alright,” I said carefully. “What do you want to know?”

He leaned forward, placing his arms on his thighs. I could see the tension in his forearms, the strong build of muscle that had ripped apart my cousin and brother. I remember seeing a copy of the report and a comment one of the forensic officers had made. They said the killer had to have had astoundingly unnatural strength.“Couldn’t tell if a man had done this or an enraged grizzly bear”had been written in the final statement.

Emery tilted his head a little as he studied me per usual. “Anything,” he said. “Everything. I don’t care what it is.”

I swallowed hard.Oh, how about that a deranged killer tore my dad open and left his entrails on the table next to the punch bowl on my sixteenth birthday. Sound familiar?

If he wanted to know about me, I wouldn’t deny him.

“I’m an orphan,” I started. Ah, yes, that got his attention. Perked him right up. “My parents died when I was young. My mother when I was four. My dad when I was…a teen,” I explained. “I lived with family friends until I went to college.”

“It’s hard,” he said. “Losing someone you love. Worse than not knowing them at all.”

You have no idea. But I took it back. He had lost his sister.

“I would have rather had the time I had with them. Though I don’t remember much of my mother. It was good to have had my father when I did. Until he was taken from me.”

Emery didn’t pry, and, though a part of me wanted him to ask so I could scream at him that it was his fault, another part was grateful he didn’t. I was risking too much bringing it up in the first place so I moved on, “I’m scared of the ocean and swimming in deep water because I almost drowned when I was five.”

“So you can’t swim?”

“I can, just not well.”

“Got it.”

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