Page 29 of Broken Deeds MC: Second Generation 12

“Yes.”Bee shows some other old pictures.“Though, in every single photograph of the mother, and of the younger Della, you can see the buttons are all the same ones.The mother used to be a seamstress before she married.She made the clothes, and clearly the buttons were the trademark for her creations.”

“Wait.The mother went missing when Della was sixteen, right?Does this mean she’s dead and Della is indeed the serial killer?Or is mommy dearest, who is alive and living her serial killer life in the damn shadows?Wait.Samuel’s ex-wife is missing too.That’s a lot of missing persons for a tiny circle of people.”

“I know, right?”Bee replies with a duh tone of voice.“I can’t find recent shit about either women.No bodies or bones found, no nothing.They have simply vanished.”

“No one fucking vanishes without a trace,” Archer grunts.

Leontine walks into church, a laptop in her hands.She’s Veloz’s old lady, and the daughter of Chopper, one of the first generation.Chopper is great with computers, and so is his daughter.

“Did you check the pictures of the hotel interior after they redecorated the lobby?”Leontine places her laptop next to Bee’s.“Look.”

We all watch as she shows one picture, switches to another one, and then back again.I mutter a soft curse.Archer jams his fingers through his hair, and Bee shakes her head.

“Can someone fill me in?Because I’m not seeing it,” Lyla grumbles.

“Here.”Bee points at the screen while Leontine flips the pictures from one to the other.

Lyla leans in.“Oh, now I see it.There’s less space behind the front desk, as if they pulled the wall forward.Wait.Do you think they hid a body in there?Doesn’t it stink the whole place up?”

“We’ve had cases where they’ve wrapped the body in plastic and even if there was a distinct scent, they blamed it on the new drywall and such,” Archer tells her.“Seriously, from now on you’ll hear and see shit you can’t even begin to imagine.”

“Okay, but if you have the results about the meat pastries you had checked and it did turn out to be human flesh?Please don’t tell me.”Lyla’s gag reflex kicks in and Bee chuckles while Leontine shoots her a look of sympathy.

“Then I won’t tell you,” Archer states.

“You’re fucking kidding me,” Lyla snaps.“For real?Human flesh?”

Archer turns to me.“Results just came in.They need to run some more checks but it’s human and they are fairly sure the meat belongs to Fitz Wright.”

“I’ve never been so happy to be pregnant.Holy shit.I didn’t have any morning sickness or anything until I caught wind of those horrible meat pastries.”Lyla covers her belly with both hands and whispers, “Thanks so much, little one.Mommy is so happy with your gut instinct.”

I’m grinning ear-to-ear.

“She’s already a smart cookie,” Bee states.

I reach out and sneak my arm around Lyla’s waist to pull her close.

“Like her mom,” I whisper against the top of her hair.

“More like her daddy,” Lyla murmurs in return.

“You two look exhausted.Why don’t you two take a shower, have a nap, and we’ll wake you in a few hours when we’ve done some more digging,” Bee suggests.

Archer nods.“I agree.The thicker wall doesn’t have to mean shit.The button of her mother is a direct link to the victims, but not to Della.We need more to take her down.”

My shoulders sag because I know they’re right.“Shower and some sleep sound good.I didn’t get much last night, and knowing Lyla’s room had video and sound is fucking creepy.No damn hotel room feels relaxed enough to sleep in.”

“Just when you think the eyes watching you are cut off, someone else will get their creepy-jam on and take over,” Lyla grumbles.

“Shit, that’s right,” Bee snaps.“Your neighbor watched you in your home through peephole cameras.”

Lyla snuggles closer against me.“Yeah.He wasn’t a serial killer, though.So, I guess there’s always someone out there ready to outdo another person’s madness.”

“And that’s why our workload always has a steady flow of new cases,” Archer states.

Leontine snorts.“Along with cold cases popping up, and let’s not forget the copycats.”

Lyla gives Leontine a small nod.Everyone knows she was taken by a killer earlier this year.The scars littering her face and the rest of her body are a visual reminder.That killer turned out to be a copycat.All while the real killer was one of our own.

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