Page 7 of Only in the Dark
He defended his friend and business colleague, but only because it benefited him if he didn’t go to jail. It wasn’t my wheelhouse, but I knew the Carrington family was guilty of many white-collar crimes.
“I don’t work on high-profile crimes,” I reminded him, knowing he wanted me to pull strings. “I work on violent crimes.”And sometimes committed them.He didn’t need to know that part. It wasn’t like my family wasn’t full of criminals. All people like my father committed some sort of crimes to keep or accumulate their wealth. He was part of my inspiration for not choosing to work in white-collar crime. I could only imagine the trouble I’d create with my family if I were arresting his buddies, or even him. Though, I could one day direct my friends to look into my dad’s finances if I found proof of wrongdoing.
“Hm,” Dad mumbled before diving back into his dinner, washing down the food with a new beer. Mom took a few conservative sips of wine while I stuck to drinking water.
“I told Olivia I’d head over after dinner. She said the girls were going out, and she was staying in,” my brother lied, his eyes staying glued to his food—another tell, refusing eye contact.
“Are you going to propose to that girl? She’s cute, and she seems to handle herself well,” Mom questioned.
“I sure hope not,” my dad grumbled.
My brother started choking on his food before spitting it out onto the plate. “Marriage?It hasn’t been that long. I’m not ready to think about marrying someone.”
“Matthew, you’re twenty-seven. You should be dating to marry. But someone much nicer, from a better family, ready to be a stay-at-home mom to your kids,” Dad pointed out.
“Children?” I could see the panic forming in Matthew’s eyes. I had to bite my lip to hold back the laughter that threatened to outpour. Though I was glad he wasn’t thinking about this stuff with Olivia. Maybe he’d give her up soon. Maybe I wouldn’t have to hurt him to get her. Not that I’d mind. If Matthew weren’t my brother, I would’ve killed him already. He was like every other man I took down. “I think I’m done eating,” Matthew said, pushing his plate forward. “May I be excused to head over to see Olivia now?” He kept up the lie well.
“Sure, son,” Dad said. Mom smiled and hugged Matthew goodbye as he walked around the table. He skipped me, rolling his eyes at me before heading out the door. Lovely.
“I’m full. Thank you for dinner, Mom. It was delicious.” I had to leave hastily in order to follow him. “I…have a date,” I lied.
They wanted nothing more than for me to meet a nice girl from a wealthy family who Dad could manipulate for more money. Same as they expected from my brother.
“I’ll catch up later.” Without giving them a moment to voice any objections, I darted out the door with a playful skip, trailing closely behind my brother. I got in my car and followed the direction he took off in. His bright blue Lexus was easy to catch up to even as the night sky blanketed the streets.
My brother chose his car based on money and status—though many considered it a fake luxury vehicle—and I chose mine based on reliability, which was how I ended up with a Honda Civic.
The most unexpected part of the night was the rundown motel he stopped at. My brother—the epitome of trying to show off his wealth—was at a motel that looked like it hosted nightly drug deals. It made no sense, but it piqued my interest.
I sat in my car across the parking lot, watching as my brother met with a young woman, who looked too young to even check into a motel. I brought out my burner phone, the one I got solely to taunt Olivia, and texted her the address. Her curiosity would make her come. I included the room number, and she’d figure out how to get in there. I’d sit quietly in my car, the hood of my sweatshirt pulled over my head like a shadowy veil, as I peered out into the dim expanse of the parking lot. My spot was shrouded in darkness, the absence of any light rendering my vehicle almost invisible, its dark paint merging seamlessly with the night.
I hated the idea of hurting her, but she needed to see my brother as he was. I’d be the one to put the pieces back together after. I wasn’t sure what she’d be walking into beyond him cheating, but I hoped it wasn’t too bad. I wished it would be sufficient to convince her to leave him, but that the girl wasn’t at risk.
My work phone started to ring, and I picked it up, refusing to look away from the motel room door.
“Harlowe,” I answered. The caller ID said it was a buddy of mine in Texas.
“It’s Woodson,” he said, also referring to his last name. “Remember the serial killer I told you about last year who targeted men who had gone free after a run-in with the judicial system?”
Of course. They believed she was a woman because of the method of killing. Most female serial killers avoided things like blood and gore, opting instead to poison them. Like how women who killed their spouses would sometimes make them sick over time to make it less suspicious. When I had heard this, I wished it were my case. She was my equivalent, and I knew we’d get along great. I refused to call her a serial killer since we had similar extracurricular activities—not that I could tell Woodson that.
“Yeah, but what’s this got to do with me?” I was across the States and would be of no help.
“We have an image of her leaving a hotel after a witness came forward. A victim, actually, who survived and was too ashamed to speak to us. I’m going to send a picture. Keep an eye out and tell me if you see her. I’m sure we’ll be looping the FBI in soon, and they’ll take up shop in Chicago. I wanted to give you a head start.”
I had Olivia to obsess over now, so tracking down a serial killer and falling in love with her was out of the question, but I could bring her onto my team if I got to her first. I was sure I could protect her, whoever she was. If she were as smart as I thought she was, she’d be in disguise.
“Send it over through email. I’ll take a look and call you if I have any further details. How’d the guy survive?” I questioned. There were several deaths, and no other known survivors at the time. But maybe more would come out.
“His case is a little different. Says she physically attacked him unprovoked. She dropped a vial of her poison of choice at the scene when fleeing—thallium.” It made perfect sense. Victims would feel ill but slowly die over the next few days. She’s a genius, and I knew this alleged victim was lying about her attacking him unprovoked. It wasn’t what she did.
“Smart. Hey, I’ll look at that photo when you send it, but I’m working right now. Staking out a place,” I partially lied. It wasn’t work, but I was creepily sitting in a dark corner of a motel parking lot and watching someone.
“Sure. I get it. We’ll talk later,” he said before hanging up.
He hung up just in time for me to watch a confused Olivia pull up to the motel and approach the room. She took the quiet path instead of making noise, opting to lean against the door while trying to listen to what was happening inside. I gave her nothing but an address and room number; she had no idea what was happening beyond that door or even what to expect. I’d kill to know what was going on in my little serpent’s mind.
I rolled down my window a tad so I could potentially hear the potential argument when that door busted open.
