Page 29 of No Capes
After a long minute, Dark Static uncrosses his legs. “Think you can find anything else on Aaron?”
“Short of following him around? Probably not.” Before Dark Static can request that, I add, “unlikesomepeople, I draw the line at physical stalking. And it was hopeless to try anything at the pool today. This mission has been doomed from the start.”
Maybe I research Golden Ace too often and maybe I know more than I should about Damian, but real experience tailing someone is a line I don’t want on my resume.
“Alright then, Roberts. If you’re sure that’s it, I did you a favor, and you did me one. We’re square. Thank you for your service.”
“Really?” I hadn’t definitively proven whether Aaron has powers, only that it’s more likely that he doesn’t.
“You think I’m letting you off too easy? I knew it.” He grins at me. “You’re going to miss this.”
“Yeah, I’msogoing to miss having a Supervillain stalker.”
A loud buzzing comes from my nightstand, and his air of amusement dissipates. I lift my phone and see an alert from theCapital Chronicle:Golden Ace Exposes Murder of Capital City Journalist.
Crap. That is not what I’d asked Molly to do.
My dad taps on the door. “Madeline? We need to talk.”
When I look up, curtains blow across the open window. The only sign Dark Static had ever been here.
~
My dad rests on the absolute edge of my bed, like he’s afraid of popping a bubble between us. He’s average height, strong from repairing cars. His white skin looks pasty in my bedroom’s lightning, with red blotches underneath. I’ve seen my dad lose it before, and this isn’t that. But it’s close.
“I’ve only seen the headline,” I start. “How bad is it?”
“You should read the rest.”
I click on the article from my news alert. I’d asked Molly if she could release what Golden Ace had found about the accident: the evidence that had been deemed “unimportant,” and the sketchiness of there being a missing autopsy. I thought that information going public would pressure someone,anyone,to dig into it. As I skim the article, it’s clear that someone has.
Golden Ace Exposes Murder of Capital City Journalist
By Chronicle Staff
There’s been a cover-up in Capital City. Police officers have reopened what they thought to be a car accident but is now being investigated as murder in the first degree.
For over three years, officials maintained that theCapital Chronicle’sformer Co-Editors-In-Chief Meredith Roberts, Elaine Levine, and Jonathan Levine, died from smoke inhalation after their car crashed into a guardrail on Capital Cliffs.
Newly surfaced evidence tells a different story.
The crash’s autopsy report, conducted by the city’s coroner, confirms that the Levines died from smoke inhalation, consistent with the fire that consumed the vehicle after it crashed. Roberts, however, had no smoke in her lungs, indicating her death took place before the car caught fire.
More disturbingly, the report documents blunt force trauma to the back of Roberts’ head, including a fracture and subdural hemorrhaging. Upon review for this article, experts concluded that Roberts’ injuries were inconsistent with the crash itself, noting that the pattern and location suggest she was struck prior to the accident and likely dead before the crash.
“This was not caused by an airbag or headrest,” said forensic analyst Dr. Sandra O’Hare. “This was an intentional blow.”
The report was originally submitted to Police Chief Taylor Kitteridge, who denies ever receiving it. An internal investigation is underway. In light of the autopsy findings, police have officially classified Roberts’ case as first-degree homicide.
The rest of the article describes our families and how Phil and Arielle had declined to comment. Dad hands me a tissue and I realize my face is wet, fat tears stinging my cheeks.
My mom was already dead, so I didn’t think the “accident” could get much worse. I didn’t know an answer could feel so treacherous.
“Mom was killed?” I finally say. “Who did this?”
But I know: It has to be Mr. and Mrs. Levine.
It has to be.
