Page 92 of Sinful Justice

“Exactly. It wasn’t there this morning when Carlene was called in. We went back an hour ago to look for the diary, and there it was. Just fucking sitting there.”

“Planted,” I snarl. “Garry?”

“He was down at the precinct having a heart attack.”

“Brantley.” Aubree’s breath comes out on a choked gasp. “Uncle Brant.”

“What?” I look across at her. “What the hell are you—”

“E, n, o, l, a, e, e, v, a, e, l, t, n, a, r, space, e, l, c, n, u, t, n, a, w.” She slaps her page with the pen then shoves it in my face. “Read it!”

“I can’t read it! It doesn’t— oh god. It’s backwards.”

“What does it say?” Archer demands. “Minka!”

“Want Uncle Brant to leave me alone.” My stomach rebels. “I missed a letter here and there, and there’s a space. But ‘Uncle Brant.’ It says Uncle Bran—”

“And then you had to go and fuck it all up.”

Twisting, I shove off my chair at the sound of Tribble’s venomous voice at the autopsy room door. My heart in my throat, my blood racing at a sprint, I step in front of Aubree and meet the eyes of a murderer. A rapist. A horrible, disgusting, vile excuse for a human being.

“Mayor Tribble…” My voice shakes, but my hands do not. I look to Aubree for a single beat and stare deep into her eyes. “Do. Not. Move.”

“Mink—”

“You have my orders.”

Bringing my gaze back around to Tribble as he closes the autopsy room door at his back, I leave my second behind, and with her, my phone. Then I look over the mayor’s shoulder and watch on in horror as my entire staff rushes toward the elevator. “What did you say to them?”

“I said there’s an armed intruder in the building.” His lips cruelly curl up. “I’m the mayor, and though they’re your staff, Mayet, you’re mine. So they listened.”

“What do you intend to do?” I slowly make my way around Carlene’s body, almost as though I’m shielding her too. I’m shielding someone who’s already dead. “The DNA under Louisa’s nails has already been filed. The diary will be found soon. The page we have already fingers you as Louisa’s attacker. Mayor…” I stop near Carlene’s head and lean against the table. “You’re already screwed.”

“There are ways.” He takes a single step forward and slowly takes a gun from beneath his suit jacket. “Armed intruder inside the George Stanley building,” he starts. “This is a high-profile case, and these people are my family. It’s natural I would be here. It’s obvious I would work tirelessly to help your team find justice. But while I was here, that pesky armed intruder let themselves in through the fire stairwell.”

“For what purpose?” I lift my chin and palm a scalpel at my back. “Why on earth would there be a gunman here? Most occupants of the George Stanley are already dead. The rest of us are just pushing paperwork for the cops.”

“How did Carlene’s death come about?” Aubree steps forward, not even stopping when I snap my gaze around to her and glare. “How did it happen, Mayor?”

“She knew too much,” I volunteer, since I know he won’t. “Carlene loved her daughters. She tried to help Louisa through what she considered a creepy uncle. But when Louisa died and Carlene read the diary, she knew the truth.” I swallow the nerves from my throat and firm my lips. “She knew. And you knew she knew. So you killed her.”

“She was as nosy as she was useless.”

“And you were far too obvious,” I counter. “Being in my office the morning after Louisa’s murder. Demanding to know about my case. Trying to access my computer. Did you think you were subtle?”

He scoffs. “Do you honestly think you’ll wake up tomorrow and come back to work?” He brings the gun higher, aiming straight toward my stomach. A kill shot for many without immediate medical assistance. A kill shot for me, even if Aubree plugs the hole the moment I drop.

“Chant chose you. But she was wrong, and you’ll be nothing but a tragic hiccup in the George Stanley and Copeland City history. You’ll die protecting the dead. You’ll get a lovely obituary written up about you, but no one will cry, because you have no family.” His smile grows. “You have no one, Mayet.”

“You checked me out?”

“Deceased parents. No siblings. You have no one, so when you die today, that’ll be the end for you. The city will foot the bill for a nice headstone, since technically, you’ll die a hero. But the fact is, a week or two from now, you’ll be forgotten. And in a few months, I’ll ride my tragedies straight into the next election.”

“So you’ll kill Doctor Emeri too? And Detectives Fletcher and Malone? And the security team who watch the cameras in the lobby, since they’ll know there’s no other intruder? And the pathologists who, right this moment, are studying the DNA I sent for testing? What about Miranda London of Channel 63? She and I have already exchanged emails.”

I take another step forward when the panic in Tribble’s eyes grows. “That’s a long trail for you to clean up,Uncle Brant. Maybe my parents are dead, and my brothers and sisters never came to be, but don’t underestimate family who come together for the dead.”

I stop just two feet away and shield Aubree from a bullet if he pulls the trigger. “You’re not leaving this building the same person you were when you stepped in.”

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