Page 31 of Lost Kingdom

“Oh, well…” Best friend, my ass. Minka Mayet has no care at all for my wellbeing, because she bursts out in laughter and claps her hand to her mouth like that’ll somehow mask the sound. “She sounds like a treat.”

“Don’t get too comfortable. You’re going to Eli’s wedding, too. I’ll be sure to tell my mother how open you are to discussing the Kama Sutra handbook and how you have questions about vaginal health; pH levels are her forte. She’ll keep you occupied forhourswith stretch routines, lube brands, and how sex is best experienced with someone we have a spiritual connection with.” I pull onto the street and into slow-moving traffic. “Why are there so many cars out already?”

“Jesus.” She bites her knuckles and snickers around them. “You’re supposed to be the less angry one of the two of us. When I’m the one driving around and cussing out every person who dared use the roads I wanted to drive on, you’re the one who sprinkles her unicorns and good vibes everywhere. I’m not sure I considered a world where we’re both bitches.”

I meet her stare.

“The city won’t survive.”

“The city can kiss my ass. And New York, too. In fact, every city can suck a fat eggplant, because Timothy Malone is the man my heart has bledfor,hemorrhaged, for years. He could have been my Romeo. But instead, he stole and lied and became my Tybalt.”

“Romance,” she groans, intolerant of the concept.Except, of course, until Archer Malone enters the chat.“Romeo commits suicide. You know that, right? And Juliet, too.”

“Shush.” I slam my palm to the horn and move idiots out of the way. “Why don’t we get lights and sirens, too?”

“Because we’re not the police? Might I suggest, despite your well-placed anger this week, that Tim may be the calmest, most level-headed Malone of them all. Except maybe Micah, I suppose. Tim has had the opportunity to claim you for the last several years, but has not.”

“Great, thanks.” I peel my lips back and allow a feral smile to spread over my face. “Warms my heart to be reminded.”

“He had reasons for his actions, is what I’m saying. I believe he always has a motive for every move he makes. If you put your rage aside and reflect on this with a little objectivity, you might consider he has valid justification for his current rash of dickheadedness. You might not agree with it, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.”

“And until he can refrain from being a sphincter and instead choose to communicate effectively and maturely, then I fear we’ll continue to circle this drain of death and never truly find happiness.”

“So date someone else.” So casual, so carefree, she takes out her phone and checks her email. Scrolling. Scrolling. Scrolling, like her suggestion hasn’t moved the tectonic plates this city rests upon. “He’s not your man, and you’re not ready to accept what he’s offering. Makes you a free agent. There are plenty of eligible bachelors in this city who would enjoy tucking you under their chin and risking internal decapitation when Tim finds out.”

“You’re cruel and mean.” I cross the city and find the red and blue lights that precede every dead body I’ve ever seen.

Except one.

Bringing the car as close as I possibly can without crossing the yellow police tape, I pull to a stop and shut off the engine with a quick snap of my wrist. Snagging the keys and unsnapping my belt, I slide out and go to the trunk to get our murder bag. “Do you see him?”

Minka slips out on her side, hunkering into her coat and casting her eyes around the closed off intersection sprinkled in snow. Ambulances are already here. Paramedics. A half-dozen police cruisers. And uniformed officers dressed in blue.

“I see one Malone.” She glances back when I slam the trunk closed. “My favorite one.”

“You think you’re being cute, but I can’t actually say for certain which Malone is your favorite. I know you married one, but you fight the least with Micah, and you threaten Felix the most. Tim supplies coffee and food. And Cato sleeps on your couch. Archer gives you the O’s, but I dunno, Minnie… if I had to put money on it, I might bet Micah wins.”

“Call me Minnie again, and I’m making you run every advanced decomp that presents from now until next Christmas.”

“You mean Christmas in a couple of weeks?”

“No.” She looks me up and down with fierce, brown eyes. “The one after that. Now catalog this scene for me. With a medical examiner’s eye, but also, a crime scene investigator’s eye, since clearly you enjoy that, too.”

“Well…” I cast Tim out of my mind. And New York. My bad mood. And Cato Malone’s infectious and infuriatingly easy grin. Then I study the dark green sedan crumpled against the side of a brick building. The hood has folded like an accordion and the doors are bent out of shape.

“Single car accident. Two thousand something, car.Earlytwo thousands. Four doors, sunroof, sedan, five seats. Detective Malone mentioned four injured and one deceased, so the vehicle was at capacity. It’s barely nine in the morning, which makes it quite early for someone to be driving under the influence. Though not unheard of.”

“Do you see the vics?”

“I see four, separated, bleeding patients, one in each ambulance. All are sitting on their own accord. I see the fifth, deceased, laid out on the crumpled hood.”

“Alright. Let’s get closer. The alive patients aren’t for us. We speak for the dead.”

“Yes, Chief.” I tighten my grip around the handle of our murder bag and quicken my pace as we approach the taped off car. The ache of early death settles in the base of my stomach, and the pain of the deceased’s friends is like a hammer to the side of my skull. Glass shards litter the road, because every single window of the car, including the sunroof, has blown out. Blood spray paints the brick wall and dribbles down the side of the car. So even if our decedent didn’t die from traumatic head injury, he’d be gone from blood loss at this point.

“Detectives Malone and Fletcher.” Minka steps under the yellow tape when Archer lifts it. “This is… gruesome.”

“It’s our thing.” He holds the tape for me too and winks when I duck under. “Recorder on yet, Doctor Emeri?”

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