Page 71 of Nothing But the Night (Basic Instincts 2)

“Him?” She seemed genuinely surprised by the question. “I couldn’t give a shit about him. If the media found out what he got up to with those whores, that was his problem. I’m good at my job and would have lied convincingly on his behalf, but I wouldn’t risk my own freedom for the sake of Soloman Archer. His wife might have killed him if it got out, though. Marianne knows exactly what he gets up, but as long as it doesn’t reflect badly on her, she’s fine with it.”

Marc’s muscles quivered with anger, and heat radiated all through his body. “Why did you kill my brother?” He slowly enunciated every word.

Chantelle cocked her head. “Why? Your brother was a vile, manipulative piece of shit. Your shitty sibling is the reason my son is dead.”

He shook his head. “What the hell are you talking about?”

She showed the first flicker of emotion as her jaw clenched. When she spoke, her words were full of cold anger. “My beautiful son.Hewas a wonderful boy. He wanted for nothing and could have achieved anything with his life, until Theo corrupted him and dragged him into his sleazy affairs.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I don’t suppose you do. Isn’t that how you handled your brother? Sticking your head in the sand and pretending not to notice what he was up to. The porn. The prostitution. It embarrassed you, so you ignored it. Even now, this pathetic investigation you’ve been running was to protect your own reputation, was it not? Theo was filth. You know it as well as I do. Everything he touched was tainted. And eventually, that included my son. Your brother corrupted him.”

She stepped around Ryman’s body and paced the floor. The fingers of her free hand flexed repeatedly. She was losing that inhuman control.

As the room was illuminated by a flash of lightning outside. Chantelle didn’t react. Marc doubted she’d even noticed it. She was lost in her head.

“Stefan died of an overdose. The damn coroner claimed it was suicide, but she knew nothing. Stefan would not have touched drugs if he hadn’t met your slut of a brother. He needed them to numb the pain. Forthe shame of what he had done. Of what he’d become. A whore. Theo took someone wonderful and pure and dragged him into the gutter.”

Who is this Stefan?The name had never once come up in all the time he’d been investigating. He couldn’t remember Theo ever mentioning him. Neither had any of his friends or collaborators.

“I’m sorry for what happened to your son,” he said. His voice was abnormally calm, given the situation. “I didn’t know him, but whatever happened, does it really justify the murders of five other men? Shit, if any of what you’re saying is true, Ryman and Soloman won’t have even known him.”

There was a sheen of sweat on her face. “Ryman, okay, yes. Soloman, I’m not so sure. I haven’t found any evidence, but with all the other shit he’s into, I wouldn’t put it past him. He might not have known Stefan was my son. I doubt it would have bothered him anyway.”

“You’re mad. Can’t you hear how insane this sounds?”

“Mad? Is it mad for a mother to love her son? To want to protect him from corrupt abusers, Soloman and your brother?”

“You seemed happy enough to have turned a blind eye to what Soloman’s been up to all these years. Is it only abuse when it involves someone that you love?”

“I don’t take any pleasure from what I have to do.” She had regained her confidence. She stood straight and defiant. Her features composed. Even her eyes had lost their madness, replaced by steely determination. “I only ever wanted justice for my boy. Your brother and those disgusting friends of his, they would have been enough. If you hadn’t gone snooping in things that don’t concern you, no one else would have had to die.”

Her knuckles tightened around the handle of the knife, and her tight-lipped smile sent a chill through Marc that went all the way to his soul.

* * * *

“Pull up at the end of the street,” Jason said. “I don’t want to tip her off that we’re here.”

“I’m coming in with you,” Nadine argued.

“No,” he said firmly. “I need you to keep trying the police. And watch the office. If she comes out without us, follow her.”

Nadine seemed on the verge of disagreeing, then closed her mouth and nodded. She turned the car into the terrace and pulled up to the kerb, four properties down from Soloman’s office. The rain made it just about impossible to see, but through the rapidly wiping blades, he made out a light in one of the upstairs windows.

“What are you going to do?” Nadine asked. “She got the better of you once before, remember.”

“She took me by surprise. This time I have the advantage.” He put his hand on the door. “Keep calling the cops, okay. We’re going to need them.”

Nadine already had her phone in hand.

Jason stepped out. A surge of water washed clear over the gutters. This was the worst storm he could remember in years. The river Bly would burst its banks if it kept up for much longer. He pulled his jacket up to his throat.

Ryman’s car was parked farther along the street. They were still here, then. Talking to Soloman? Or had it been a trap orchestrated by his PA?

Jason reached the front door. He tried the handle, relived to find it unlocked. He couldn’t remember whether there was a bell to alert the office upstairs whenever someone entered.Damn it. He’d have to take the risk. Opening the door, he rushed inside and closed it behind him. To his relief, it didn’t appear rigged to an alarm.

He pressed his back against the wall and waited, listening. Even without a ringer, it was possible anyone upstairs would have heard the increasing noise from the storm as he made his way in. He counted slowly to ten.

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