Page 27 of In the Monster's Wake
Camille had told Archibald where they could find Cherry’s ex.Archibald was tempted to ask Jasper to go home or stay in the car, but he already knew what Jasper’s answer would be.“He lives in a monster neighborhood.”
Jasper nodded.“I’ll stay out of it, then.”
“You could stay in the car.”
Jasper arched a brow.That was all he had to say.
Archibald sighed.“Fine.You can come with me, but be careful.Some monsters don’t take it well when they see humans in the place they call home.”
“You seem to forget that I’m used to dealing with monsters.”
“I didn’t forget it.No matter how many times you had to fight monsters, you’re still weaker than most of us.”
Thankfully, Jasper didn’t seem to be offended by Archibald’s words.He stared at him for a moment before nodding.Archibald waited, but Jasper just turned toward the window and waited.
They were silent as Archibald drove.He couldn’t help but wonder what was going through Jasper’s mind.Did he still want to find Kester?Why was it so important to him?He wasn’t a monster, and he wasn’t a hunter anymore.He shouldn’t care what happened to either of those people—although Archibald supposed that they weren’t the only ones in danger with Kester in town.
Maybe Jasper just wanted to get his father off his back, but even if that was the case, Archibald was thankful.It was nice to know that people cared.Usually, the only people who cared about monsters were other monsters, and even that didn’t happen often.Monsters were wary of humans and of each other, and with good reasons.
Jasper had never shown any kind of disgust or even fear when it came to Archibald.He seemed to like Braith.He didn’t appear fazed by the way they looked, and he acted normally with them.It wasn’t something Archibald had expected, but he liked it.He especially liked the fact that Jasper had kissed him back without hesitation.Archibald had taken the lead, but Jasper hadn’t pushed him away.
He parked the car as close to the address Camille had given them as he could.The houses on the street were small, but most of them were well-kept.That couldn’t be said of the one where the monster they were looking for lived.
There was trash in the front yard, and the gate squeaked when Archibald opened it.Jasper was visibly tense, and his gaze kept bouncing around, but he didn’t say anything as he followed Archibald.He was Archibald’s shadow.
Archibald knocked on the door.He eyed Jasper, but there was no way to know how he would react to what Archibald was about to do.He knew how to deal with this kind of people and did it routinely, but it might offend Jasper’s human sensibilities.
As soon as the door swung open, Archibald grabbed the throat of the monster who was behind it.He slammed the monster against the wall and kept him there, with his feet dangling, not caring how hard the monster wiggled.Archibald leaned closer to the monster’s face then smiled.
“We know you abused your ex-girlfriend,” he murmured.“As much as I wish I could kill you for that, I need answers, so you’re going to tell me what you know about Cherry’s death.”
The monster in Archibald’s hold was gray.His eyes were black and wide, and his hair was a greasy black mess.He wore a tank top that exposed patches of rough skin on his arms and chest.He didn’t smell great, but Archibald didn’t care about smell.
Not much anyway.
“I didn’t kill Cherry,” the monster said with a squeak.
Archibald tried to remember what Camille had called him.Harold?Archibald didn’t really care.“Are you sure about that?”he asked.“Because Camille is convinced it was you.”
Harold shook his head.“It wasn’t me.Everyone in the neighborhood knows who did it.”
“Well, I’m not from the neighborhood, and I don’t know, so please enlighten me.Who killed her?”Archibald squeezed Harold’s throat harder.
“Kester,” Harold whispered.
Archibald had to resist the urge to give him a good shake to get more out of him.If he was like everyone else, he was probably terrified to say anything about Kester.“How do you know that?”
Harold didn’t answer right away, so Archibald slammed him against the wall again.He ignored the whimper that came from the monster.He didn’t care if Harold was in pain or scared.Even if he hadn’t killed Cherry, he’d been awful to her.He’d hurt her.Maybe it was time to give him a taste of his own medicine.
Archibald glanced at Jasper, who stood next to him silently.He didn’t seem fazed by what was happening.He had his arms crossed over his chest and was staring down Harold while managing to look bored.
Harold didn’t even seem to have noticed him.His full focus was on Archibald.“There’s a rumor that he’s staying in the area.Everyone knows it.”
“Whatdoes everyone know?”
“That he’s here.”
“Tell me more.”
