Page 9 of What's Left of Us

“Mr. Constantine, please,” McKinney says, drawing my attention. It’s the touch on my wrist that makes me try and jerk back, but the cuffs don’t allow me to go far. His eyes are unreadable and his expression firm when he gazes at me. “The detectives just want to ask some questions. I’m here to ensure you don’t say anything you shouldn’t.”

I can’t really make myself care about that after the memory. Since surgery, and the medley of medications they’ve given me since arriving here, I seem to slip into the memories more than ever before. It’s like I’m not in control of where my thoughts lead, and the protective walls I built inside my head to shut out certain things are no longer there.

Trickster.Vinny only called me that a few times. He became Jo’s protector in the end. I just tricked them, masquerading as someone else.

Maybe sleeping with the three of them was the wrong call, and I may be a glutton, but it was one I couldn’t pass up. Not for the only chance I’ll have in this lifetime.

“This isn’t a game,” Jensen says, his tone brokering no amusement as he interrupts my thoughts again. He’s in a worse mood than usual, and I wonder what’s going on with the team. If they suspected Sterling of being a dirty agent, he wouldn’t be in the room right now. “We need answers, Constantine. You and Porscha are out of time.”

“I’m not on a team with Porscha,” I say darkly, trying to gesture to myself. It’s hard between the sides of the bed and the cuffs. “She’s her own team.”

“Well, she wasn’t killed,” Sterling agrees, glancing towards my attorney. I guess a bit of banter is to be expectedafter knowing these agents for months. I like where Sterling’s train of thought is going, and I’d prefer to keep things going in this direction.

This is the first time since Porscha’s return that anyone has had a chance to interview me, attorney included. After missing for a number of weeks, we’re finally both back, aware, and conscious. I’m no longer lost to the drugs or suffering through surgery. Now we’re into recovery, and I guess it’s fair game to dig into the past.

Wetting my lips, I look between the two of them. Despite the harsh lines across both their faces, probably from stressing and worrying about everything that happened and the women who have died since we disappeared, Sterling manages to look less severe. He has a decent mask going, but at any moment I could crack that wide open simply by mentioning the moments we had together.

There’s no real point in doing so. It’s never going to happen again.

“Mr. Constantine has already answered all your questions about the original fifteen victims-” McKinney begins.

“Fourteen,” Sterling interrupts. “There’s no fifteenth because there was no Porscha. Who was the cut up body in the cellar, Alastair?”

My attorney shakes his head, but I ignore him and shrug. “I don’t know who she was. I didn’t stage her.”

“So did you choose to pretend that you decided to inflict all that torture onto a body and just forgot it wasn’t Porscha?” Jensen asks, narrowing his eyes, “or did you just decide to look the other way and let Porscha cover things up?”

I frown. “I don’t know. I don’t remember the body being there. It was smoky and when I saw an opportunity, I decided to try and get Jo out instead of letting her burn.”

They exchange a glance, and beside me McKinney grips the edge of the bed and shakes his head at me. He leans in, almost speaking into my ear. “Not another word until we have a deal.”

My eyes drift to him and I scowl. I don’t want to play a game of politics and rules again. I evaded this the last time and I want to do so again. I don’t want this tied up in the courts for years with my name on it and an even longer, drawn-out case. The victims can’t rest and neither can I until the case is finished.

“Look,” Sterling says, and I notice he’s staring at McKinney more than he is staring at me. Can he not look at me anymore after what we shared? “We are questioning Porscha as well, and we will get a story out of her eventually. It’s going to contradict the statements we previously have from Constantine since it’s clear that she was alive all this time. Those five bodies we found when he was in prison? We can’t pin bodily harm on you, Alastair, since they appeared while you were locked up, but did you convince Porscha to pick up the CGS moniker when you no longer could?”

I narrow my eyes. He’s baiting me, I can feel it.

“There’s eight new bodies,” Jensen agrees, glancing towards his boss. “Eight new ones in six months is a lot of carnage. Five of those you couldn’t physically kill, but what of the other three?”

“I didn’t kill anyone,” I snap, and McKinney groans beside me. I never claimed I would be an easy client to work with.

“Ever?” Sterling asks, raising a brow. “What of the other bodies? You and Porscha had a team effort going on, didn’t you?”

“And you turned into a coward when your girlfriend was the victim,” Jensen agrees, nodding along with Sterling.“Or maybe it was remorse. Did you pick the victim, or was it Porscha? Maybe she ran out of shame.”

“Fear?” Sterling asks, tilting his head. I sneer at him, fighting the urge to blurt something out that will ruin us both. “Did you fear hurting your girlfriend, or being caught?”

“You’ve already answered these questions before, Constantine,” McKinney snaps. “He’s not going to recant over the old case files. You want answers for the new ones? My client was busy talking to your agents until he was abducted from prison by a lunatic. Have you gone over the schematics of the prison? Have you looked for clues from the tunnels or exit points? A well-run prison doesn’t have weak points like that.”

“We’re doing our jobs,” Sterling tells him. “Like you’re doing yours. Even if Constantine did not kill the first five women since the Copycat appeared-”

“Porscha Surwright,” McKinney agrees. “She’s all but admitted to being the new killer.”

Sterling doesn’t acknowledge that as he continues. “There are still three victims we need to address, and give closure to the families. We want answers to that, and how things were split between the two of you. We’ll see where your stories line up and contradict each other, and that will lead us to the truth.”

“There’s nothing you can offer us that we won’t discover,” Jensen continues, and Sterling shoots him a look. Jensen seems extra hostile today. “The only person you might help is yourself by striking a deal with the DA.”

“I’ll be speaking to the DA again before the preliminary hearing with our offer,” McKinney agrees. “You won’t be pinning everything on my client for an easy way out.”

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