Page 112 of Three for a Girl

The building had been scrubbed clean, any evidence destroyed, but the heatwave of the past few days had aided Chad, cracking the ground for the fox to find food.

Chad closed his eyes, relaxing into the darkness. His gut untangled, the squirm in his stomach ceased.

Romeo pressed against his back, wrapping his arms around Chad’s waist. Lips skimmed the side of his neck, climbing higher until they reached Chad’s ear.

“Found your evidence.”

“Yes.”

****

It was after midnight when they arrived home, and the full moon shone above the house. Romeo sat at the kitchen table, bouncing his leg on the floor. Chad could tell he wanted an explanation, but Chad ordered him to stay put until he was ready.

The printer beeped constantly, piquing Romeo’s curiosity, but Chad didn’t let him see his evidence, not until it was displayed in the correct manner.

Chad shoved the sofa in the living room against the back wall before retrieving Romeo from the kitchen.

“Sit.”

He perched on the edge, whipping his eyes back and forth along the opposite wall. It wasn’t the high-tech screen of the incident room, it was back to basics, tacked up printed photographs and documents.

Chad had run the printer out of ink, and most of the pictures were in black and white, but it added the familiarity he needed. He was still catching a killer, still doing his job, but the justice served out would be different.

Justice came in the form of a monster.

Kerion, Ellen, Andrew, and Zara were all on the wall, as were maps, photographs of the empty building, the fire, the severed finger, and the graves.

Romeo’s gaze jumped all over the wall, and Chad waited for him to connect the dots, to see the completed puzzle when there were still bits missing, but he only frowned.

“You—you don’t think there’s enough evidence?” Chad asked.

“I might, if you explained it to me.”

“Right, yeah—sorry.”

“Crack open that head of yours and spill your secrets. I want to know all of you, the detective, and Chad, every detail.”

“I don’t think—”

“I do.”

Chad itched his brow. For him, the puzzle was only part incomplete, but for Romeo he’d scattered pieces and expected him to know what picture he was working to. He turned away, swallowing, not knowing where to begin, but settled on the photograph at the top of the wall.

The one that had intrigued Romeo since he’d printed it out.

“This isoursuspect. Doctor Clive Carter…”

“You think he was the intended recipient of the scarf?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Chad took a deep breath, then took the plunge. “I met him at the hospital when Ellen’s kidneys had been sent to the ICU. He stated he knew of the victims, lived nearby, had spoken to Kerion a few times about their super cars, and had sent him a condolences card after Ellen was killed.”

“A nice neighbor.”

“There was a look in his eyes, but I got distracted. He pushed the spotlight away from himself on to Marcy, suggested the kidneys were mocking her, and we blindly followed his lead and I forgot about him until I almost crashed into him.”

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