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“What was?”

She handed me the bloody piece of metal, and as I looked, it turned out there were two pieces. A small fragment had been knocked off, probably from hitting bone. I looked at it in silence a moment. This was a fucking nightmare. Yet, I glanced up and saw her dark eyes watching me, and simply said, “thank you.”

How on earth were we going to explain this? I watched in numb silence as Gerard and his people went to work on the place. Wiping every surface we had been in contact with, removing every object we had touched that could be removed. Other than answering their questions when asked about this, I said nothing. Too stunned by it all. The efficiency shocked me. They had done this before, but it couldn’t be often. I had never come across a crime scene where parts of it was wiped down like this. They left the bodies undisturbed, minus mine and Evans’ little operation of course. Since Larkin and the bald man had shot each other, there seemed no point in hiding it. They were thorough and efficient. Still, I began worrying about the landlord. This was a short-term lease, after all. They could show up any time simply to be social.

“We’ve got it handled,” Gerard said when I asked. “It’s Mrs. Latimer, out by Greenoak, who owns this place. She’s got two flats today, and someone is watching her place.”

So, the woman wouldn’t be able to drive anywhere. Too far to walk here from Greenoak.

“Yeah, she called me a couple of hours ago,” Gary chipped in from wiping the kitchen sink with bleach. “Said I’d send someone over soon as I’ve got time.” He snickered at this as he kept on with his task.

“Listen,” Gerard said, taking pity on me. “We can finish up here. As soon as Maggie gets back, I think you should leave.” He led me out of the house while saying this. “You can take Alan’s car, and he’ll take the boat back.”

I found myself nodding silently as the car key was put in my hand.

Gerard went back inside and left me alone. I didn’t have to wait long before I saw Evans and Rob emerge over by the cliff. They must have left the other two guys I didn’t know down by the kidnapper with the broken neck. Evans and Rob stopped a moment and embraced each other for a long time. She would never have done that in the house, not in front of the others. This had to have taken its toll on her as well. And yet, as I stood there feeling completely lost in a madness I had never experienced before, I found myself wanting nothing more than to trade places with the guy. I sighed, and went and sat down on the steps again, waiting for them. I noticed the beer bottles were gone now. I felt no worry for a future blackmail incident. It was clear to me this was an ‘all-guilty’ kind of operation. They were all committing a crime together and keeping each other safe that way. Still, I had learned by now that the real reason was to help each other when things got out of hand. When those in the dark didn’t understand.

So screwed.

I sighed and shook my head, before looking up and seeing Evans and Rob rounding the corner of the house.

“Everything all right?” I noticed Rob’s wary eyes on me, and realized the last time he’d seen me was when I had tried to arrest him. Shit. I didn’t have the energy to deal with that now.

“They’ll take care of it,” Evans said, and somehow, I didn’t doubt it.

She didn’t argue when I told her Gerard had said we should leave. She looked tired and ready to be anywhere else. We had failed Andrea. This place was not a good place to be. In that, we agreed fully.

“Do you want me to go with you?” Rob asked her, but she shook her head and squeezed his arm gently.

“I am starving, and there’s nothing I want more than that shrimp and pasta thing you make, but there’s someone Detective Hansen and I need to talk to right away.”

I was about to blurt out “who?” but luckily refrained from it. I knew after a moment’s thought, as Rob asked her–the other people we had let down.

Andrea’s parents.

Twelve

As Hansen unlocked the door,Kona came with a joyous greeting. This time I was expecting it. My frame of mind calmed her down instantly as she knew something was wrong. The smell of blood on our clothes made her shy away a moment before she changed her mind and came back. Like last time, I simply sat down in front of her and this time I hugged her. Hugged the dog like a sad sack. Which is exactly what I was. I heard Hansen sit down on the floor behind me. He was in no better shape. The meeting with Mr. and Mrs. Kirby had been gut-wrenching. They had confirmation their daughter was dead. They blamed Yorov. Not us. That had almost been the worst. Thanking us for trying.

Trying wasn’t good enough.

Kona whimpered by my ear, making me release her. “I’m sorry, girl. You’re picking up on our bad moods, aren’t you?” As I switched to scratching her behind her ears, her tail started wagging back and forth on the floor like a fan. I glanced back at Hansen, who sat leaning on the door, eyes raised to the ceiling. Seemed he was looking to see if something helpful was written there. By the look of him, there wasn’t. Disheveled and tired was a kind description. Our clothes needed to be burned, and soon. The bloodstains alone would tie us to Steep Rock. He also had five burn marks on his jeans, and five on his right jacket sleeve. At least the bald man hadn’t incapacitated him this time around.

“I hated that.” Hansen’s voice jolted me back, but of course, he could see me even if he wasn’t looking right at me. “Theythankedus.”

“I know.”

“Thanked us for doing nothing…”

“I know.”

“Damn it.” He shook his head, got up, and headed for the kitchen.

I looked at Kona, whose big eyes stared back at me. No judgment there. Her owner being pissed off and feeling awful about the Kirbys’ way of understanding what had happened, was one thing. His calmness about how Gerard and the others had stepped in to handle Steep Rock, was another. He seemed onboard. But he had also seemed somewhat shocked. Understandable, of course. Gerard had likely picked up on all of this, but he hadn’t said anything. He didn’t have to, did he? I knew Hansen well enough by now to know he still might tell the other cops everything. That was why I was still here and not back to help Gerard and the others. I needed to make sure.

I mentally shook away the image of the Kirbys sitting on their pristine couch, crying in each other’s arms, Mrs. Kirby holding her daughter’s locket.

I did as Hansen and got up. Kona sniffed at my feet and then walked ahead of me into the kitchen. I still had sand in my shoes from earlier that morning. Walking into the kitchen I felt like a hundred years. I ached all over but knew I was fine, considering. My headache had vanished with Larkin’s painkillers, but exhaustion was beginning to set in now. With no immediate threat, that was usually how it went.

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