Page 51 of Three for a Girl

They were close enough to the officer that he heard. His bushy eyebrows tugged together, settling above the dark shades covering his eyes.

“No. I’ve got you a rope, a black pillowcase and a role of duct tape.”

Ally reached into her jacket, and pulled out a pair of gloves. She raised her eyebrow at Chad as she snapped them on. “Always be prepared.”

She handled the evidence bag with the pillowcase, and her frown grew more severe. “Strange.”

“And this…”

Chad recoiled at the sight of the needle.

Marc had stabbed him.

The sharp pinpricks were quickly followed by helplessness, and pain.

He’d thought of Romeo in the farmhouse. Romeo had taken care of him, he didn’t inflict pain on him over and over again, no end in sight.

“Where did you find this stuff?” Ally asked.

“In the trunk of the car.”

“The Aston?”

“No. One they kept in the garage. A battered old red beetle.”

Ally eyed the garage, Chad inadvertently took a step behind her, away from the needle. He released the breath he’d been holding when the officer put it back on his seat.

“Why would they own a battered old beetle?” Ally whispered.

The officer shrugged. “Some people like them.”

“Come off it. No onewantsto drive a beetle and if you’re this wealthy, you don’t need to.” She hummed. “The perfect cover.”

“Perfect cover?” Chad asked.

“Criminal intentions, you pick a car that blends in, something average, not worth looking at too closely.”

Chad swallowed.

“Anything else suspicious?” Ally asked.

“Bedroom drawers turfed out. Half packed suitcase in the living room, cash, and Kerion’s passport.”

Ally hummed. “He was in the midst of leaving when we called him in.”

“And someone intervened before he had a chance to continue.” Chad said.

Ally led Chad over to the beetle in the garage. They circled it before both stopping in front of the tinted back windows.

“Why would you get black tints, huh?”

Chad ran his gaze along a scratch mark in the car. It ran the entire length of the vehicle. “And how do you get a scratch like that?”

“Parallel parking.” Ally laughed. “Come on.”

They walked back over to the waiting officer.

“We need to get this evidence back to the station.” Ally pointed at the needle on the seat. “We need to know what that is. What Kerion planned to stab into someone.”

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