Page 67 of The Lies We Believe

“No, sir. We waited here like you ordered.” Montoya stepped up next to me, turning her glare toward Bower. He might have been our boss, but she never backed down when she felt someone was being treated unjustly. She was my best friend, but my partner first and foremost. We protected each other. We were loyal to a fault.

“Do I have to do everything myself?” he grumbled and pushed the doors open to the grand ballroom. His anger made them fly back until they crashed into the walls, the sound echoing in the vast space.

What we saw when he did would be burned into the inside of my skull forever. The cavernous room was deserted except for two bright spot lights that were directed at the floor in the middle of the room, illuminating the macabre scene displayed for our—or my—viewing pleasure. The coppery taint of fresh blood filled my lungs as I sucked in a sharp inhale. In the middle of the illuminated circle lay another body. I didn’t need to get a good look at the unfortunate soul to know who the victim was.Devastation rocked through me at the thought of having to tell River that another one of his friends had lost their life in a war they’d had no choice but to be sacrificed in.

“I wasn’t expecting that,” I muttered under my breath as Bower and I stepped into the bright circle of light. “Stop!” I flung my arm out in front of Bower, halting his progress. He turned to me, his irate face a deep shade of puce.

“You better have a good reason for this, Benson. There’s another dead body in here!” he ground out and crossed his arms over his chest, turning the full weight of his accusatory gaze on me. I refused to cower. I would not crumble or give him any reason to think I was guilty, even by association.

My shoulders rose and fell as I took a moment to get my rapid breathing and flaring temper under control. “I do, sir. If you look closely at the floor, you’ll see why.” I gestured with my hand, and his eyes followed to where I was pointing. His head tilted to the side, and his hand flew up to cover his mouth.

“Thank you.” Bower’s genuine tone surprised me. “I couldn’t see it from where I was standing.”

“I was lucky the light caught on the blood. This is just like the one the other day,” I continued. “The victim’s body had been brutally tortured, his skin flayed from bone. Neck slit and blood drained. The MO matches perfectly, even down to the blood used to leave a message. The only difference this time is that it’s on the floor and not a wall.”

“Montoya, get Daniel down here now.” She jerked her head in acknowledgement and spun on her heel. “Wait,” Bower barked, holding out a burner phone. “Take this, and tell no one. Make sure Daniel understands this stays between us.”

“Yes, sir.” Montoya slipped the phone into her pocket and headed into the hallway to call Daniel.

I crouched down, inspecting the floor, and pulled out a pair of gloves. Snapping them on, I dipped my finger into the viscousliquid. It was cold to the touch and tacky, but still fresh. Poor Gabriel hadn’t been dead for long, that was for sure. Daniel would be able to confirm the time of death for us. This game of cat and mouse was getting old. It felt like we were chasing our tails rather than making any headway, and each warrant we applied for was harder to get. We had a limited window left to solve this case before it went cold and Black Dahlia won.

“Can you see what it says, sir?” I peeked up at Bower as he paced the circumference of the circle with his cell in his hand and was momentarily blinded by the flash when he snapped a photo.

“Next move. You lose.”

“Huh?”

“That’s what it says.” He exhaled heavily and scrubbed his hand down his face. “Does it mean anything to you?”

Bowing my head, I answered. “Yes. It’s personal, just like the last one. Dahlia is targeting River, and by extension, me. She seems to think he can make us stop the investigation. That’s why she’s killing off River’s friends.”

The sound of Bower’s shoes on the hardwood floors echoed in the cavernous space. “This isn’t a bad thing. It means we’re close, Benson. We’ve got her rattled, and it’s just a matter of time before she makes a mistake. We need to keep pushing.”

“I agree sir, but…” I glanced over my shoulder, looking for Montoya. It was time to put forward our theory and see if he agreed. I had an idea, but I didn’t know the why.

“What is it?”

“Daniel will be here in thirty, sir,” Montoya said as she stepped up beside me. “Oh, shit.” Her eyes widened as she took it all in. “That’s the same MO as?—”

“Yeah, it is,” I agreed and cleared my throat. “Montoya and I have a theory about why Black Dahlia keeps slipping through our fingers.”

“Alright, let’s hear it.”

“Oh, Daniel also confirmed that some of the evidence he’s been working on has been tampered with. Luckily, he has trust issues, and made duplicates of everything.”

“That’s just fucking awesome.” Bower narrowed his eyes in exasperation. “This is the biggest case I’ve ever worked, and it’s going to shit.” He shook his head before turning back to me. “What’s your theory?”

“We’ve got a mole.” The color drained from Bower’s face, and I could see the cogs turning in his head. “The only people that have known the finer details of this case—dates, times, and locations—are the team directly involved. This raid was only confirmed this afternoon. No one left the station, and all the phones were locked.”

“No!” Montoya shouted. “Remember, you commented about someone on their phone during the brief.”

An evil smile curved my face. “I know who our rat is, sir, and just how to catch him.”

CHAPTER 27

RIVER

“Ugh, g-get off. It’s too early for kisses,” I groaned as a rough tongue lapped at my face. “Shadow, no more. Stop. Ugh, p-please?” I batted him away until he left me to sulk alone at my rude awakening. “I’m awake, alright?”

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