Page 105 of White Raven
There was a heavy silence on the other end for a long moment before Sarah spoke again.“Stay with her. Don’t fucking move. We’re coming.”
Who could do something like this? Who could kill a precious elderly woman for some old pieces of fuckingpaper?It was the reason Wren had such a hard time leaving her apartment for weeks. This world was evil. The parts that everyone saw…andthe parts they didn’t. There were obviouslyno boundaries drawn in either world where the sanctity of life actually mattered. Nell filled that hole that was ripped in her and gave her a new gift that she could carry into her future. Brent was the other filler, and the stitch that bound it back together. Seeing how quickly and easily that hole could be torn wide open, and half-emptied, left her soul exposed and wounded. It didn’t matter how many years Nell had on her…compared to the years Athan had, and the years Sarahwouldhave? Nell’s life just seemed too short. And it sucked. She wasn’t just robbed of something she was passionate about in this little back room…she was robbed of her short life. A light that sought to warm any lost and broken body…had been snuffed out.
Wren sat back down on the dirty floor, and inched closer to Nell’s body, crying a little harder, and growing more angry and bitter by the second. She raised the phone back to her ear.
“I guess you’re calling about an itchy nose. I was most definitely talking you up over here.”
Wren smiled through her tears and ran a fingertip through her eye. “Hey, stupid.”
“Wren? Shit, what’s the matter?”
She broke. Her snotty sob must have set him into motion. Brent’s phone rustled like he was leaping off the therapist’s couch. “I need you.”
“Where. Tell me where I need to be.”
“I’ll ping you. Please just get here.”
“I’m on my way, baby.”
Squad cars lined the entire block, and yellow tape had already been placed to rope off the alley leading to the back door of the antique shop. Foley paced the sidewalk, gesturingwith a finger to the rookies holding off the curious crowd. News reporters were already gaining on each other to get a spot close enough to spill whatever bullshit they’d no doubt come up with.
“Keep these scavengers away from the line. I don’t wanna see a toe move past a good five feet from this tape,” he ordered. The uniform gave him an assuring nod and walked off.
As he made his way around to the back door where camera flashes were firing off from inside the building, his eyes caught tagged items just outside. A spilled cup of something long since dried on the pavement, and a small paper bag with a croissant. Simple. Human.Normal. The reminder that something so ordinary could be the final act of any unsuspecting person when they face Death…it was eye-opening. Something he’d never forget for as long as he lived. A cup of tea, and a piece of bread. Foley sighed heavily and turned to walk into the crime scene. Wren was still giving her statement, Stratford having her back, and Sarah stood dumbfounded a few feet away by an impressive collection of restored papers.
“You alright, St. James?” he asked, approaching her.
“M.E. said he doesn’t believe it was a homicide. Jenkins was telling me about it a few minutes ago. How can that be true if it was a robbery?”
Foley glanced over to where they were finally bagging the old woman’s body. “You’re not really supposed to be privy to that information, Sarah.” The way she cut her eyes at him, pressed him with guilt. He forfeited. “There weren’t any signs of struggle. We don’t know the estimated time of death yet, but from what I’ve been briefed on, your friend here may have died of natural causes.”
“That’s bullshit.”
“I don’t disagree that the circumstances are…questionable. According to you and Vintorri, there are some things missing. But as we’ve got no catalog, other than yourveryparticularmemory of what used to be on this wall, we can’t call it a robbery gone wrong, yet.”
Sarah’s brows lowered, and her eyes narrowed as she tilted her head and crossed her arms. “My very particular memory? Are you suspectingme?”
“I didn’t say that, Sarah.”
“But you’re implying it?”
“That’s not what I’m trying to do. Look, I understand that you’re upset, and I don’t blame you. But until forensics finishes up here, we’ve got nothing to go on. Who, or why would someone break in here and kill an old lady, for a select few things? You both told me that everything in this room was incredibly valuable. In my years of experience, this seems more like a message, or a cover-up than a robbery. If it was a robbery, and they were after money, don’t you think this room would be empty? What’s a crippled old lady gonna do?”
“Stop calling her that,” Sarah growled. “You didn’t know her. I expected some level of respect coming from you, Captain Foley.” She dropped her arms. “Do you wanna hear my theory?”
“I’m all ears.”
“Athan was taken. Nell was an important part of his life. She went after him when he left, and when she came back in, she had something of mine in her possession. She was gonna pass it off to some of her appraisers and try to see where it originated. When Wren and I left, she said she wouldn’t be far behind. Wren even locked up the front for her. Nell didn’t look at me with anything but adoration since Athan introduced us. She was proud of him. Shelovedhim. But the way she looked at me then…it was pity. I figured it was because me and Athan had a fight. But then I remembered her looking at me that way before he’d showed up here to talk to me.”
Foley let her words sink in for a moment. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying, don’t you think it’s a little odd…that everything we’re looking into revolves around the Black Bird coven, the wolves,The Raven, the vampires? You know what he is, Captain. It doesn’t seem strange that he gets taken, my blanket is missing, Nell’s catalog, and theonething missing from this shop are directly related to Poe’s works, and the only witness to it is fucking dead?”
“You think someone is trying to keep you from figuring it all out?”
“I think that’s exactly what they’re doing. And I think I know exactly who the fuck is behind it. I think you do too.”
“Ryan Sykes.”
