Page 99 of The Art of Dying

“Where I work, trusting your gut keeps you alive.”

“That’s why I’m meeting you like this. Mason acting crazier than usual, Mack and the kids, you keep popping in and out of town without saying hi or bye or even a fuck you.”

I shifted. “I’m not as stealthy as I thought.”

She made a face. “Your parents’ neighbor is my mom’s best friend. You think Sylvia doesn’t notice when lights come on in a vacant house? Even dim ones?”

I frowned.

“Listen to me, Kitsch. I’m tellin’ ya, my gut has been screaming. And you know who else died?”

I shook my head.

“Clayton Johnson.”

I thought for a moment and then recognition hit. “The guy Mack dated before Mason?”

“Yeah. In a back alley behind a bar in Nashville. Execution style, but he was beat beyond recognition. They had to use his dental records to identify him. He was murdered three weeks after Mack’s funeral.”

“What the fuck?”

“So, you see it, right? All completely random things that somehow fit together. One big puzzle, but… I don’t know. I think I’m too close to see it. But that’s why you keep coming back, isn’t it? Because you have pieces I don’t.”

I sighed. “I have his journal.”

“Who’s journal?”

“Mason’s. That’s why I know Alecia isn’t part of any of it. She made an excuse to go to Nita’s and got it. She’s kept it hidden for years. She finally gave it to me. It’s in the Jeep right now.”

“Holy fuck.”

“I know.”

“Why has she held on to it for so long?”

“I’m not sure. She was pretty mad. To piss me off, and because she was afraid of what I’d do when I read it.”

“Why do you want it?”

“Don’t ask questions, Vaz.”

She glared at me.

“To find Mason.”

She looked down at her watch. “My shift ends in an hour. I’ll uber over. Sneaky shit just in case. We can read it, put our heads together.”

“You don’t wanna get mixed up in this.”

“The fuck if I don’t. Mack was my friend. You’re my friend. And something ain’t right about all this.”

I sighed. “I don’t know, Vaz…”

“I can handle it.”

We stood, walking back to our cars.

When Vazquez got to her cruiser, I called to her. “Hey, you can help, but… be careful. Something’s brewing, I can feel it.”

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