Page 68 of Reaper Flame

I don’t know how long passed before West cleared his throat. He turned and gestured at the cop cars approaching. “We have company.”

It wasn’t one car, but a whole fucking fleet. They raced up the road like they were ready to stop a bank heist and turned on their wailing sirens to make a point.

Rocky scratched his chin and voiced what everyone was thinking, “Why are there so many of them?”

“I swear to fucking God I’ll kill someone if they don’t turn the sirens off,” Vixen said, holding her head.

The first cop car’s brakes screeched as it came to a halt. An officer holding a megaphone jumped out. “Back away from the building,” he ordered. “This is a crime scene.”

Another officer jumped out of the second car and ran over to snatch the megaphone from his hands, motioning for his colleague to cut it out.

Vixen sighed in relief. “Thank fuck for that.”

“It doesn’t look like all the cops in town have been infiltrated by Giles,” West said, nodding at the more superior officer in mutual understanding.“Some of them still know their place.”

“Are we gonna hear them out?” I asked, already itching to leave. Being around law enforcement made me twitchy. Zander didn’t reply and started walking. “I guess we’ll follow your lead then.”

Behind the row of cop cars, white vans climbed the hill. Forensics. Why so many reinforcements? This didn’t seem like standard procedure for a case of arson. Anyone with a nose could smell the gasoline from miles away!

“Sorry for the entrance,” the cop said apologetically as we approached, then glared at his co-worker. “Some of us didn’t realize who it was.”

“This is my fucking land,” Zander replied coldly, making the officer who acted out of turn shiver. “Make sure he falls in line.”

“I will, sir.” The cop nodded. “But I have to tell you, there have been new developments.”

“Developments?” Zander asked sharply.

“Well…” The cop’s voice trailed off like he was scared of breaking the news.

“Why are they here?” West asked, motioning at the procession of approaching vans. “What’s going on?”

“A body was found,” the cop said. “This is now an active murder investigation.”

“A murder investigation?” Vixen’s mouth fell open. “But we’re all here?”

Zander’s shoulders tensed. “How old were the remains?”

I knew what he was thinking. We all knew Bryce murdered his and Vixen’s mother. They never found her body. Was it possible that she’d been buried in the walls of Briarly Manor for all these years?

“They were… fresh.” The cop grimaced. “Whoever was inside died in the fire.”

“Do you have an ID yet?” West pressed.

“Not yet,” he replied, scrunching his nose. “The body is in pathology now. We’re having to check dental.”

Whoever it was had died a terrible death, but who the hell was it? And why were they snooping in the manor when we were out of town? Hiram’s men were too well-trained to trap themselves inside. We knew Giles was in the area, so it ruled him out. But what about Bryce? It’s not a stretch to imagine he could have returned to the manor to steal a long-forgotten treasure. After all, it’s something Giles and I initially planned to do on the day of Rocky’s funeral.

“We’ll be in touch as soon as we’ve made an identification,” the officer said. “We understand you were all away at the time of the fire, but we still have to take statements. I’ll make it quick. It’s just formality.”

Vixen paled, swaying on her feet. “I think I’m going to be—”

Rocky grabbed her hair just in time for her to vomit over the officer’s shiny shoes.

“My cousin is in shock,” Zander said. “You can take our statements at the club later today.”

“Of course.” He nodded obediently. If the new decoration on his shoes and the disgusting smell of acidic tequila bothered him, he didn’t show it. “I will see to it personally.”

Giles may have wanted to send us a message through a rookie cop to show he had his claws in local law enforcement, but he was still an outsider. Zander was the true heir to the Briarly line in everyone’s eyes. That still held credence... for now, anyway.

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