Page 22 of Sweet Like a Psycho (Secrets of Suburbi 2)

I clenched my hand into a fist. If I had any other options, I’d walk away. But I needed more information from this idiot.

“Did either of you know her when she was in high school? She had a boyfriend…Joel something. Know his last name?” I could have asked Damien about it, but I swore to him I was off the case. He wouldn’t answer my question even if he knew Joel’s last name. I didn’t have a choice here.

“Nah,” Doyle said. “Heard he left town as soon as he found out his chick was nuts.”

“You shouldn’t talk shit about someone you don’t know. Didn’t your mom teach you any manners?”

“Don’t talk about my mother, Reed, or we can take this outside.”

I held up my hand. “Cool your loins. Thanks for the insightful conversation.” He hadn’t helped me at all. The only thing he had accomplished was pissing me off. But maybe that had always been his intention. I had at least learned never to talk to him again. Judgmental asshole. I started to walk back to my desk, but before I sat down, his friend caught up to me.

“I actually knew Joel in middle school. We lost touch in high school but his last name is Walker.”

“Any idea where he is now?”

“Last I heard he was moving to LA to pursue screenwriting or something like that. Or was it acting? Can’t remember.”

The few love notes I had seen from him had been short and not exactly groundbreaking. I wouldn’t have guessed he was into screenwriting. Acting though? Maybe. He had certainly pretended to love Violet and then left her out of the blue. “Do you still talk to him?”

“No. Like I said, we weren’t even friends in high school. I assume he’s still out there, but I haven’t seen his name scrolling during any credits.”

“Is he Zeke’s father?”

He shrugged. “I really have no idea. I don’t think anyone knows. She kind of disappeared after Joel skipped town. We all thought she went with him, but then we found out she was living in that shack she calls a house.”

“Did she buy it? Or did she just start living there?”

“No idea. And I doubt that anyone cares. It had been abandoned for years. I’m sure no one’s going to come a-knocking anytime soon. Rumor has it that the place is haunted.”

It didn’t feel haunted to me. Violet’s home was warm and inviting. The place was full of love. “Does she have any other family?” Damien had mentioned that they had left too. I couldn’t even imagine what it would be like if my family turned their backs on me.

“I didn’t really know her. Sorry I couldn’t be more help.”

“It’s fine. Thanks for the info about Joel.” I thought he’d walk away from my desk when I sat down, but he kind of hovered.

“So is it actually about a case? I get it if you just didn’t want to tell Doyle that.”

“No, it’s not.” I didn’t need anyone else getting into my business. I needed to figure this one out on my own. Especially since I was tiptoeing the line of professionalism. Or maybe I had already jumped over the line completely.

“So you’re like…into her?”

“What if I am?” I didn’t mean to sound so defensive, but the words came out like I was about to punch him in the face.

“None of my business. It’s just…” his voice trailed off. “Her boyfriend and parents left around the exact same time. No one’s really heard or seen them since. People think she axed them.”

I laughed. “Yeah…I don’t think so.” But then I thought about the unregistered gun hidden underneath her floorboards. I couldn’t imagine her slaying anyone with an axe. But a gun? She had hid the thing for a reason.

“Just be careful with her. I’m not one for rumors, but when you hear them so many times…you start to wonder if there’s some truth to them. Like the whole dragon thing. If there are so many stories about dragons from different literature all over the world…you gotta wonder.”

I glanced at his name tag. Officer Montgomery. I looked back up at him. I’d take anything a man who believed in dragons said with a grain of salt.

“I mean, she lives out there in the middle of nowhere. With no one around. All that land. That’s a lot of places to bury bodies. A lot of places.”

I shook my head. “You’re letting your imagination get away from you.”

“Well, let me know if you find Joel. Guess he could put the rumors to bed.”

“I’ll let you know when I find him.”

---