Page 32 of The Asylum
“Why?”The word burst from the ghost box, making us all jump.
“Shit!” Magic exclaimed.
“She’s asking why we want to talk to her? Damn, that’s intelligent, not residual,” Phil said.
“Dude, Emma’s answering questions, of course she’s intelligent,” I replied, and Phil sent me a dirty look.
“Rude,”the ghost box spat, and everything fell silent.
“Think we just lost her,” I murmured after several attempts to regain contact.
The radio crackled, startling us.
“Can you return to the command centre? Ashford, River, and Jack have found something,” Harry announced.
“On our way, dude. Emma, you have my gratitude and respect for talking to us today,” I said.
“Thank you,”a voice whispered in my ear, making me flinch. Thank you for respecting her. Shit, I felt lower than ever.
Jack
My fingers were itching to pry the lock box open, but I held still. Especially as River Carey kept watching me. It had taken most of the night to discover this, and now I itched to know if the list of names was inside. The tour bus slowly filled as the parties returned. Finally, Callie and Michelle arrived back from the field with Detective Maines.
“It’s locked,” River said.
“Open it,” Maines replied.
River dipped his chin and carefully pried the rusted lock open. It snapped after some effort, and River stepped back. He looked at me.
“Ashford found it, so he should open it,” River said, and I nodded in agreement.
Ashford came forward and opened the lid, and we hissed. Inside was a book and loads of trinkets in tiny bags.
“Use gloves,” Sin ordered, appearing, and Ashford moved away.
“You’re the expert here,” he said, deferring to her. Sin donned some gloves and placed a sheet down to protect the items from damage. Carefully, she picked up the book and opened it.
Her lips tightened, and tears formed in her eyes. “It is a journal of every woman and girl child who was raped or sexually assaulted under Mr Edwin Lawson’s management. He details their names, ages and how they died. Lawson also noted how much he sold their bodies for andtheir clients,” Sin stated bitterly.
“Shit, what?” Maines exclaimed.
“Lawson kept this for blackmail purposes. It’s here that he shows extra payments for his silence,” Sin pointed to a column.
“There are some powerful names in here, Hayden,” River said, peering over Sin’s shoulder.
“Those of families who’d like to keep this quiet?” I asked.
“Yeah. This type of scandal could ruin several families. Some might even still be alive, although elderly by now,” Maines agreed.
“As this was found by Ashford, who works for the GSI, it’s their property,” Sin stated. Maines opened his mouth to argue, but Sin kept going. “As a consultant for the GSI, I would suggest each page is scanned, and samples are sent off for analysis to prove this is genuine. Once that is completed and we’ve recorded that this exists, the GSI can hand it in.”
Maines held Sin’s gaze. “How long will that take?”
“Sunday night, Monday morning at the latest,” Sin replied.
“Do it,” Maines ordered, and Sin took the book and disappeared into Harry’s office.
Callie and I swapped glances.
