Page 16 of Vicious Hearts

Icannot believe this is happening to me.

At this time of life-or-death crisis, I run into Benedikt.

I didn't know he was back. I didn't think he would ever come back at all. But here he is, the last person I want to be near.

But he's the only one who can help me.

"Please just shut up and listen to me," I say. I squeeze my eyes closed, but it's too late, and tears run down my cheeks. "I think your profile was accurate, but the man is innocent. The Dollmaker is still out there. At least hear me out."

Ben raises an eyebrow at me. He stands up, and for a moment, I think he'll come over and hold me. He taps his toe again.

"Do you want some wine?" he asks. "It's Rioja, so it's good stuff."

"Yes, please."

I wipe my face with my sleeve. Ben sets a glass down in front of me and gestures at my coat.

"I'll hang it up. Otherwise, you won't benefit when I throw you out."

I manage a smile, but he doesn't return it.Damn. He's so hard to read.

He puts my coat on a hook near the door. As he walks back toward me, he lifts his shirt and pulls a gun out of his sweatpants. He places the pistol on the table like it's the most natural thing in the world.

I never get used to seeing firearms. Leo and Ali don't leave theirs on display because they have a kid, but you'd think I'd be desensitized. After all, I'vebeenshot. By Ben, and not intentionally, but still.

"Do you have to leave that there?"

"This is my home, and you barged in," he replies, stretching out along the couch. "So I don't consider you a guest. Deal with it."

His shirt hitches a little, revealing his taut lower abs. A sliver of hair is just visible above his waistband.

No. Have to stay focused.

"Tell me what you came to tell me, Roxy. Then I'll give you as much time as it takes for me to explain why you're wrong. Okay?"

Fine. Be a dick.

I open a file.

"Simon Farraday was not a suspect before you provided your profile," I begin. "He wasn't known to any victims or their families, as you predicted, and he had no significant priors. No flashing, no child molesting, no attempted abductions, no stalking."

Ben is looking at the ceiling. I continue.

"He was swift to confess. Extraordinarily co-operative. He did everything the police asked him to do and didn't waste time or dick anyone around."

"I know. It was a good thing, too." Ben turns his head and looks at me through half-closed eyes. "What's your point?"

I glance at the report in front of me. I've read it so often I practically have it memorized, but I don't want Ben to know that. "Your profile suggests a subject who is a malignant narcissist. A good mimic that could show performative empathy but didn't understand the real thing. Someone like that wouldn't have many close relationships, but nothing in Farraday’s personal life matched up. He was married with a child and had friends he’d known since his childhood."

Asshole. Lying there like he's the only one who can know anything.

"Farraday didn't revel in his confession," I continue. "He didn't withhold information or drip-feed interviewers to force them to keep engaging with him. He showed no grandiosity or desire to be seen as better than everyone else. He just cried a lot."

Ben sits up. He stares at me for a few seconds, and I let the thought take hold.

Something about what I'm saying is bothering him.Good.

"Your profile was submitted but dismissed as incorrect and irrelevant because it didn't fit Farraday. Did you know that?"

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