Page 67 of Smokescreen (Knight & Daywalker)
Or maybe it had just been the sobbing maid and her stories of how Charles had only met with people at night, like an evil plaid-tuxedo-wearing West Hollywood drug kingpin.
“It’s like an Agatha Christie novel, the second victim planning to name the killer right before getting offed themself, isn’t it?” Davin was the one asking the question, and I had to admit he wasn’t wrong. It was like she’d been following some script that required her to almost give me the info, but not.
Cain, meanwhile, shook his head. “It’s not that surprising. Human nature. They don’t like to give major revelations on the phone, because it’s only half a conversation. So much of human conversation is non-verbal, and phone conversations are only verbal. It’s off-putting, so people avoid having important talks that way. But then she was acting erratic and suspicious, so thekiller knew she had figured something out, so they tracked her down and killed her.”
“A woman,” I said. “That’s all I know for sure. She said it was a woman.”
Cain looked me straight in the eye when he asked the scariest question ever. “You’re certain she didn’t mean your mother?”
I didn’t even know why, but the truth came out of me. “No.”
Both Davin and Cain looked stunned, but from her spot in my lap, Twist gave a little nod. “Grandmother is a dangerous predator. If she had wished him dead, she could have managed it easily.”
“No,” I corrected the cat, making Cain lift a brow at me, so I refocused on him and answered the questions I was sure he had. “I mean, I don’t know she didn’tmeanmy mother. I’m sure my mother didn’t do it. I really am. But I’m not sure Kate knew who the killer was. I only know that she thought she did, and now she’s dead. But I also talked to Kate about the murder before now, so I knew a little about her. If my mother had gone to her and told her she killed Charles because he was plotting against her, I don’t think Kate would have told a soul about it. The whole thing would have just gone away for her.”
Cain looked a little horrified, but Davin nodded. “True. I doubt Fiona would have even needed to speak to her on the matter. She’d have just dropped it all if she’d thought your mam did it.” He waved Cain off. “So really, he is sure she didn’t think it was the—Ms. Knight.”
Cain’s eyes narrowed on Davin at the near slip, and I sighed at that.
Part of me wanted to just tell him everything. Literally, everything: vampires, the Senate, and even Mother’s job and its connection to the murder.
But even if he believed me, that didn’t serve Tobias Cain in any way. In fact, knowing more about vampires was only bad for him.
So I pulled Twist up against my chest and leaned forward on the couch, meeting Cain’s eye steadily. “Honestly, detective, I don’t think this helps you. If anything, I think that was the end of it. Any chance the Avalon PD is going to catch Charles’s killer died with Kate.”
“But you’re going to keep investigating?” It was a question, but he clearly meant it more as an accusation.
That my mother had ordered me to look into the murder was on the tip of my tongue, when suddenly, my brain reorganized itself in a different order.
I didn’t want it to be her.
Kate wouldn’t have given a damn if my mother had been the one who killed her boss. Not after how she’d declared undying loyalty, and I’d believed every word of it.
How many other people could she wish weren’t involved in the situation? I’d looked into Kate’s family, and they were all still human, so it wasn’t one of them.
No, there was literally only one person it could be.
I blinked and shook my head, only to find everyone looking at me suspiciously.
“I’m not going to keep investigating,” I answered honestly. My part in the case was over, regardless of why that was true. “Hell, I’ve barely been investigating as it is.”
“Really?” Cain asked, dubious. “Then the CCTV footage of you going to an abandoned building that used to be a club called Broken Dreams was just a coincidence?”
I winced, desperately hoping the cops had gone there before my encounter with the attackers and not after. I didn’t need to be explaining a dead body torn to bits by my two pound kitten.
I took the chance. “But you didn’t find anything more there than I did, did you?”
He made a sour face at that, so I was probably in the clear for it.
“Charles used to own the place, a long time ago. Since Whisper was in that message, I thought maybe he was meeting them there. But it’s not like clandestine meetings with possible gang leaders leave magical videos behind.” I lifted a brow at him. “It looked like a few people had been there, but that was all I got out of it. You?”
He sighed, letting his head fall forward, but eventually nodding. “Yeah. You know if it was actually Whisper, there’s almost no chance we’re ever going to find the murderer, right?”
“I do, and if I’m being honest with you, even if I were planning on continuing to investigate, Whisper is the last person in the world I want to run into. If they did it? They’re gonna get away with it. I got nothing there.”
His sigh this time was epic, but I couldn’t blame him. Instead of arguing with me, though, he just nodded and pushed up out of his chair, turning toward the door, so I figured—hoped—the interview was over. “I can’t say I’m sorry to hear it, Flynn. You’ve got to stop this. You’re not a cop, and it’s not your job to fall into messes like this. You’re not getting paid, and you could get hurt.”
“Yeah yeah,” I said, flicking my hand toward the door. “Tell me something I don’t know. I literally vomited on your scene. I’m not a big badass. Oh. One more thing, Detective Cain? Lose the cross. It isn’t your style, and doesn’t do anything.”
