Page 34 of Fatal Attraction

I snorted. He’d been in and out of my house for God knows how many days now, and he was just now noticing?

“There’s another one in the kitchen above the back door.”

“Do they work?” asked Carter.

“Yeah, they do. They came with my security system. I only activate them when I’m not home.”

“As I was saying,” Phoenix cut in, “before I was so rudely interrupted, Peter fit the part. Plus, I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but the guy is literally head over heels in love with you.”

Now it was my turn to frown. “I know… He told me.”

Spike coughed, damn near choking on his pizza as Carter mimicked the sound of a bomb exploding and acted it out with his hands.

Clearing this throat, Spike gruffly said, “When the fuck did this happen?”

I sighed, knowing I should’ve just bitten the bullet and told them sooner. “It was days ago, when Captain Burgess sent us to the lab. I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to think about it, or much less deal with it, not after what happened to Blaire.”

“Have you spoken with him since then?” Phoenix asked me. “I know he was at the funeral this morning.”

I shook my head. “No, I haven’t. He didn’t even attempt to talk to me then. Once it was over, he left.”

It hurt that he was ignoring me. I loved Peter, yes, but not like that—not the way he cared for me. Peter was my friend, an annoying as fuck brother figure if I was being completely honest. With Blaire gone, I needed him now more than ever, and the only reasons I hadn’t picked up the phone and reached out was because, for one: it was unlikely he’d answer, and two: it was possible he’d mistake my plea to be near him as an invitation for something else. The last thing I ever wanted was break his heart, and I hated myself for it. All I could really do was hope and pray I wouldn’t end up losing his friendship in the end.

“It doesn’t matter anyway,” said Spike. “Peter’s not our guy. DNA cleared him from all three cases.”

“Who else could it be then?” Carter wondered. “You said it has to be someone close to Charlotte, right?”

“Correct,” Phoenix agreed.

“Okay…so, let’s make a list,” he offered. “A list of all the men Charlotte encounters on a day-to-day basis.”

“It could be anyone,” I said after a moment. “There’s Captain Burgess, Chief, possibly some of Karl’s friends who used to come to the house and get drunk back when we were married. There are tons of men at my job, not to mention all the clients I’ve dealt with over the years. And I can’t leave out all the times I was at the club either. Hell, it’s possible it could be a club member who managed to slip through the cracks.”

“Jesus Christ,” Carter groused. “And you can’t get any of them to submit their DNA?”

“No,” Spike answered. “I mean, wecouldreach out and ask them to volunteer, but that’s a lot of searching, and the problem is that unless we have concrete evidence linking them to these crimes, they aren’t obligated to cooperate. Plus, with that many samples, the lab would be backed for weeks. Hell, maybe months depending on what other work they have stacked on their plates.”

It was an unmistakable truth that had each of us falling silent.

“There has to be something we can do.” I scoffed, rubbing the heels of my palms against my eyes. “Karl’s running out of time.”

“There may be something,” Spike muttered, “but first, we need to talk about your visit with Ben.”

“How did you know I—”

“Harley,” was Phoenix’s swift reply. “Ben called her.”

My heart sank, my guts twisting. “Wh-what did he tell her?”

“Everything.”

“Please tell us you didn’t take anything from Angel,” said Spike.

I glared at him like he was out of his goddamn mind. “Of course I didn’t. I’m not fucking stupid, Spike. Any evidence I’d have taken from her would be inadmissible.”

“Then tell us what happened when you went to see her. Don’t leave anything out.”

I was gravely pissed Ben would go as far as calling Harley, but I nodded and explained what happened.

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