Page 23 of In the Monster's Wake
“I willnotdrink dirty water.”
“What do you think coffee is?”
Jasper bit the inside of his cheek.These two had to be more than colleagues.They sounded like Jasper and Corey.
Archie turned toward Jasper.“This is Braith.We opened this agency together.He’s going to work with us on the Kester thing, although most of the time, it’ll probably be only us.We have other cases, and Braith agreed to take care of those while we focus on Kester.”
Jasper nodded.“Kester’s dangerous.”It was a relief to know that Jasper wouldn’t have to take care of him on his own.
“He is, and we were paid to take care of him.”
Braith cleared his throat and stared at Archie.Archie cocked his head as he watched him back, then shrugged.
Yep, definitely more than just two people working together.These two had an entire conversation without saying a word.
“I don’t care if you’ve been paid to kill him,” Jasper said, deciding to put Braith out of his misery.“After what I read in his records, I don’t think there’s anyone who deserves to be killed more than he does.”Jasper had seen too many things during the years he’d been a hunter not to be convinced that some monsters and humans shouldn’t be allowed to live.Killing them saved many lives that would’ve been lost otherwise.
“Why don’t we go into the office?”Archie said as he gestured toward it.
Jasper followed him and Braith.It was a tight fit considering how small the office was, but he sat in the same chair as he had the other night.
“So, the records,” Archie started.
“I told you I could check them, and I did.Having a name made it easier.There was a picture, so I’m sure that the monster I fought at the park was Kester.”He wished he’d never read those files because he would never be able to forget them.Kester was a true monster.He’d hurt countless people, not caring if they were monsters or humans.He killed for sport and entertainment, which made him one of the most dangerous beings Jasper had ever dealt with.
Archie’s expression was serious now.“I’m not surprised.He’s been terrorizing our community since he arrived in the city.”
“The bogeyman.”
“Yes.If he’s evil enough to scare monsters, he needs to be stopped, and that goes beyond the fact that Braith and I were hired to do that.”
Jasper agreed.He hadn’t wanted to be involved in this, and he still didn’t, but now that he knew more about Kester and what he’d been up to, he understood that the monster couldn’t be allowed to live.He might not be a hunter anymore, but that wouldn’t stop him from stepping in one last time.Kester was probably the most ruthless and cruel monster Jasper ever had to deal with, and he’d been a hunter for almost fifteen years.
He would have dropped all of this into his father’s lap if he’d been working on it alone, but he wasn’t.Archie would do it with him, which meant that Jasper wouldn’t have to rely on the hunters and that he’d get to spend more time with Archie.It probably wasn’t a good idea to allow himself to be so distracted, but for now, they only knew who Kester was.They still had no idea where to find him or how to stop him, or even if he truly was behind all the recent attacks and murders.
They’d have to find out soon because Kester wouldn’t stop killing.He seemed to enjoy it too much.
* * * *
ARCHIBALD HADN’T NEEDEDJasper to go into details to know that Kester was a monster.He’d looked into the murders he and Braith suspected Kester was responsible for, and he’d read enough details in the articles and reports.Kester was one of the worst.He didn’t kill because he was in danger or felt threatened.He didn’t even kill because he wanted something.He killed because he felt like it and because, for him, it was easy.He didn’t have a conscience and probably didn’t feel anything for the people he hurt.
Killing him wasn’t going to be easy.
“Where do we go from here?”he asked after Jasper explained what he’d found in the hunters’ archives.“We know he’s in the city, but how do we find him?
“You talk to people,” Braith said.“I don’t know if they’ll want to talk to you if you go around with a former hunter, but it’s the only way we’ll find him.”
“We could also use the fact that he seemed interested in me,” Jasper offered.
Archibald was shaking his head before Jasper could even finish that sentence.“We’re not using you as bait.”
“If it’s something we all decide we’re okay with, I don’t see why we shouldn’t.”
“We’ll never decide it’s something we’re okay with becauseI’mnot okay with it.”
Jasper narrowed his eyes.“Why not?”
“It’s dangerous.If he’s already taken an interest in you, it makes him even more dangerous.”
