Page 26 of Edge of Control

“I won’t take up your time. I’m just looking into the death of someone who may be associated with one of your exes. Does the name Gioring any bells?”

“Yes. And I’m not going to talk about him. So whatever you want, I’m sorry, but I can’t give it to you.”

Alright, at least I knew I was getting somewhere. Just had to get Allecia to talk now, and I had five minutes to do it.

Great.

“He seems to have been the boyfriend of the person who was found murdered. And they appeared to be involved in something together. I’m trying to connect the dots here. Your name won’t be implicated in anything. I just need you to tell me what you know about Gio. Even a last name would help.”

The baby wailed louder. Allecia gave a few motherly coos to try and calm it down. “I really don’t want to get dragged into whatever he’s doing. That man is terrible, and so is everyone he surrounds himself with.”

“Which is why if he’s involved in this, I want to make sure he’s held accountable.”

“His last name is Lamott. He changes his number every other week, so I don’t have a way for you to contact him.”

“When you say you don’t want to be dragged into what he’s doing, do you know what that is?”

Another pause. I could sense her weighing out her options. My leg bounced nervously under the table. “Blackmail,” she said. “He’s involved in some kind of extortion, blackmail ring. I don’t know any details, and I only know that because he let it slip one day. He almost killed me when he realized I heard him. I ran. I didn’t look back. I don’t ever want to look back.”

Blackmail? Extortion? That was something new. I jotted it down.

“Does the name Ricky Walters ring a bell?” I asked. Maybe Allecia had a connection to the victim. Could Gio be the one behind the killings? But if he was, then why go after his own boyfriend?

“No, nothing.”

“What about someone named Valdoni?”

That got a strangled sound from Allecia. Something mixed with surprise and shock. “I’m not—that’s it. I’m done. I’m not getting involved in this. I’ve already said too much.”

I could tell she was close to hanging up. Shit. “Allecia, hold on, this is some?—”

“Goodbye.”

The call dropped. I was left holding the phone with no one on the other line. I leaned back in my chair and looked out the window. It felt like I was moving closer to an answer and yet somehow being pushed further away. What did a blackmail ring have to do with the Nevermore killer? And why did the name Valdoni strike such an intense amount of fear?

Why, why, why?

Question after question after question.

I rubbed the bridge of my nose. My phone vibrated. I thought it was Allecia calling me back.

It wasn’t. It was a message from Theo. A simple “hey, what’s up?”

Chapter 10

Theo Glass

The office was packed today.Half the people that normally worked from home were called in for a mandatory meeting, which meant the break room was buzzing with gossip and idle chatter I couldn’t really give three fucks about. I waited for my coffee to pour while trying to pointedly avoid eye contact with anyone in talking range.

“Yeah, little Sean is graduating kindergarten today!”

“Did you see the weather for this week? Beautiful, huh?”

“Bagels with cream cheese, my favorite.”

I had to use every ounce of willpower I had inside me not to grab the nearest fork and start stabbing people.

Not that I would have done that anyway. I wasn’t a bloodthirsty psychopath, regardless of what people might think if they ever (God forbid) found out about my extracurricular activities. It may not have been obvious to the casual observer, but I followed a strict code when itcame to the people I killed. It wasn’t just random sex workers, nor were they good-hearted people, either. There was a reason why I felt the need to end their lives.

---