Page 94 of Stalker

“You didn’t leave much on your message, Mr. Blackwell, so what can I do for you?”

“As you likely know, I’m one of Cain Demarco’s sons.”

His hesitation was followed by a strangled breath. “I’m very well aware of who you are, Mr. Blackwell. However, quite frankly I’m shocked that you’re calling me. You shouldn’t have been told anything. That was my understanding.”

“Why keep the man’s children in the dark?” I was growing angry; the three of us had asked questions over the years and had been told nothing.

“So you could live your lives like normal kids. So you wouldn’t have the stigma of who and what your father was attached to you.” He was surprisingly exasperated.

“I prefer the truth to some bullshit I was forced to endure as a child.”

“How did you find out?”

I laughed. “Let’s just say there is no safe secret on this earth. All it took was a reporter digging.”

“Goddamn it. I’m sorry you found out that way, but this complicates things.”

“Why would it complicate things, Mr. Carter? The fucking son of a bitch who gave his sperm so I could be created into a child is dead. I simply wanted to know the gory and hopefully torturous details of how he was murdered.”

The catch in his voice pissed me off. Was he actually trying to suggest that he hadn’t heard much worse given he was the warden of a prison that house fucking serial killers? That was utter bullshit.

“Mr. Blackwell. We need to talk. I don’t know if you have the time to come to the prison.”

“Over my fucking dead body, Mr. Carter. No offense meant. Whatever you have to say to me, you can do so over the phone.”

“That isn’t the best option, Mr. Blackwell.”

“Just fucking tell me. Was he gutted like a pig?”

“No, Mr. Blackwell. He wasn’t.”

* * *

Cassandra

“You’re kidding me,” I said before taking a bite of my salad.

Cash shook his head. “Nope. Our buddy Drew is insisting that he’s not the one who killed those women.”

“Still. Well, he’s consistent. Didn’t you say you had rock solid evidence?”

“He has a few people believing him,” he said as he glanced around the diner. We’d selected one off the beaten path, siting in a booth far away from other people so we could talk more freely. I needed his advice and, evidently, he needed mine. “However, you wouldn’t believe the videos found at his house. Plus, he had a list of names that coincided with the dead girls as well. Plus, with a little more digging on his computer, supposedly they found photographs of the dead girls after he’d…”

“He’d what?” I leaned in. I had to admit, I was a sucker for learning.

“Let’s just say the fucker has some medical training and he used it. Just disgusting shit, man. What those girls suffered is just horrific. I hope the guy fries in the electric chair.” He took a bite of his sandwich.

“Then what is he basing his insistence on?”

“On the fact he was found bound with the evidence right there on his desk next to him. And there was an anonymous tip leading the police right to him. Still, there’s no evidence of who did that and at this point, it doesn’t seem to matter to the detectives working on the case. Just Daddy and his cronies.”

“What are these videos?” For some reason, I was starting to lose my appetite. Medical training. The two words stuck in my mind.

“Don’t you dare breathe a word of this, but he found his victims through a porn site. Sugar Babies. Only get this, the girls who provide sexy videos aren’t prostitutes or lost waifs. They’re respected teachers, doctors, and even politicians. A real scandal for the city if the news gets out. It’s insane. So far, the information hasn’t been released to the public but when it is, whew…”

Sugar Babies.

Oh, my fucking God.

---