Page 65 of Sins of Seduction
“Blood is on your hands, and soon you’ll see what it’s like to bleed for the one you love.”
Greyson’s jaw cracked on a yawn. He hadn’t gone to bed yet, and his coffee was starting to taste more like flavored water than actual coffee. He needed to crash soon, he was running on stale donuts and caffeine, but as he looked down at the mess in front of him and the board behind him, he felt the answer to the riddle staring at him, he just couldn’t see it.
“What am I missing? There’s a link here, but what is it?” He spoke to the loud fan in the room, hoping if he said it out loud enough times, everything would just click.
Greyson looked down at the paperwork in front of him. He’d already gone over the statements that had been left from the guests the uniforms had been able to interview at Jess Murray’s home. They still needed to interview those who left early to see if they saw anything out of the ordinary and maybe place the time they left with the dead body. Though, Greyson felt like this was a waste of time.
Whoever they were dealing with was intelligent and careful. They knew the placement of the cameras Jess Murray had in her home and avoided them when they led the victim—Brenda Jennings—up the stairs to her death.
This death had been less bloody than Bastillo’s but felt more intimate in a way. The woman had been strangled with what might have been rope, going by the lacerations, and her wrists had been bound, no chance for her to fight back. Greyson hoped they would be able to find some DNA on her body that would point them in the right direction, but he wasn’t holding his breath. Given the events that took place in the Murray home, there might have been too much DNA to choose from.
Greyson looked over the guest list again, noting the names that had red checkmarks against them. There were only four left who had yet to be interviewed, and two of them were coming in now. That left Detective Daniel Cruz and someone named Dee Cunningham. Greyson was shocked that Cruz was even on the guest list; the man was as straight-laced as they came with a piss poor attitude most of the time. Greyson never would have pegged him as the type to step foot into Jess Murray’s home.
“Dee Cunningham, Dee Cunningham.” He repeated the name over and over trying to remember why the name was so familiar. He searched through the papers on his desk when there was a knock on the door.
He lifted his head to see one of his coworkers in the doorway. “Cruz come in today?” Greyson shook his head. He hadn’t shown up yet, which was usual. Cruz lived here, especially when he was in the middle of a case.
An eerie feeling snaked its way down Greyson’s spine, but he ignored it. He was too tired to jump to any conclusions, even ones that had jumped out at him when he first asked Pierce and Ms. Wright to make a list of everyone they knew.
“If you see him, tell him Cap’s looking for him. Pierce and Ms. Wright are here. Where do you want them?”
“Can you put them in interrogation room two? I’ll be out in a minute.” His coworker nodded, and Greyson abandoned his papers to pull out his phone. He dialed Cruz’s number as he stood up to look out the window of the office toward Cruz’s empty and neat desk. The phone went straight to voicemail, causing Greyson to curse. “Where are you, Cruz?”
Jax’s high from last night lasted all of five minutes after he opened his eyes. He hadn’t expected to be back at the station, at least not under these circumstances. The phone call from Greyson had been a blast to his senses, reminding him that as of late, the good he felt would always be accompanied by the bad that was going on.
There had been another death and right under his nose. While Jax had brought Raven pleasure, finding his own, someone had lost their lives. The killer, maybe the same one who killed Bastillo, had been in the same home as them, and Jax wondered how close the killer had gotten to Raven.
Jax replayed every interaction in his mind, wondering about every glance that slid their way, every bump, every smile in Raven’s direction. Whoever this was, if it was the same person who cut his breaks and had been leaving bloodied rose petals for her, had been close enough to Raven when they were at their most vulnerable. Something that was supposed to be fun and safe had turned deadly for a second time, and it left a nasty taste in Jax’s mouth.
An officer whose name Jax couldn’t remember had escorted them to an interrogation room. Jax kept his hand on Raven’s low back—trying to infuse some strength and warmth into her. She had shut down the second he told her there had been another killing with a message. The fire that normally sparked in her eyes had been extinguished, leaving behind a grief that came with feeling responsible. He tried to tell her it wasn’t her fault, but years on the force told him his words were falling flat.
Jax glanced around the station, waiting to see Cruz, but as they passed his desk, Jax saw he wasn’t there and how clean the desk looked. That was a complete contrast to who the man was. Cruz worked better amongst chaos while Jax had needed order.
Jax was hoping to run into Cruz. He wanted to check in and talk about last night. He hadn’t expected Cruz to jump in like that, yet when it happened, something about it felt right. As if every single moment—every fight and snide comment had led them up to an explosion of bodies intertwined together. In the back of Jax’s mind, he knew Cruz would be the perfect addition. Him and Raven’s animosity toward each other would easily burn between the sheets, and it had taken Jax as its victim. When it was all said and done, all three of them had been turned to ash.
Jax and Raven walked into an empty interrogation room. As soon as they sat down, Greyson had come in alone with a cup in one hand and a stack of papers in another. He looked as weary as Jax felt, which didn’t bode well. The fact that Greyson called him and had been open with what he found let Jax know Greyson thought there had been a connection between what happened at Lush, with Jax’s car, and at Murray’s.
“Do you guys want coffee? It’s shit here, but I can’t offer you anything stronger.” Greyson sat across from them, and Jax and Raven both shook their heads. “Okay, I’m going to level with you a little bit.” Greyson let out a heavy breath and Jax gripped the top of Raven’s chair.
“I technically needed you down here to interview you about your time in Jess Murray’s home last night. But I also want—”
Raven’s body stiffened as Greyson continued to talk. Jax tuned him out as he watched emotions fight for dominance across her face. She had her arms wrapped around herself and looked like she was crumbling. Jax pulled her closer to him, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. “You good?” Jax whispered, and he noticed that Greyson had stopped talking.
Raven shook her head. “Who was the victim?” Her voice was barely audible.
“I can’t give you that information yet. The family hasn’t been notified.” Greyson looked at Jax like he was looking for some type of confirmation or back up on his stance.
“I think in this case you can make an exception,” Jax commented. “You wouldn’t have told me what happened over the phone if you didn’t think it was connected. You can give her the victim’s name.”
Greyson looked like he was going to object but let out a sigh and opened up the thick folder he carried into the room. He had already broken protocol by calling Jax and telling him what he found. What was one more line they hopped over if it got them closer to figuring out what was going on?
Greyson pulled out a piece of paper and pushed it in front of Raven’s face. “Does the name Brenda Jennings mean anything to you?” he asked and Raven nodded.
She never looked at the paper in front of her though. Her gaze had seemed to gloss over like she wasn’t really there—her body just going through the motions.
“Yeah, I know her—knew her. I fucked her twice. About four, five years ago.” Raven’s voice was cold and detached. “If my memory serves me correctly, it was a couple of months after I fucked Bastillo.”
Pretty little Raven
