He shouted, trying to tear me off him, but I was determined to stop the madness, once and for all. “What the hell, Lenny?!” he yelled. “Have you lost your damn mind?!”
“I know you have her. You have Angela. Tell me where Angela is,” I said icily, like something had possessed me.
He wriggled and squirmed, trying to break free. “I don’t know, man! Those pictures were just me goofing off! She knew about them! She knew! I swear!”
Suddenly, my mind went blank, and I blinked hard. The subtle whispers vanished, and it was silent again. I didn’t understand what I was doing or why I was doing it.
I let go of him as he coughed hard, and scurried away from me. “I—I thought—”
“You thought what?!” his eyes flashed at me angrily. “That I’m your enemy, or something? Are you insane?”
I held up my hands in peace. “No, no! I don’t know what overcame me. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I saw the photos and…I don’t know.”
He looked at me with skepticism, eyes wide, unforgiving. “Just get out of my house, please. I don’t want to hang with you anymore.”
I slowly got up and straightened myself out. I understood where he was coming from; I’d do the same if I were in his position. I couldn’t believe that I allowed the voices to convince me that Joseph was the Xmas Day Butcher.
I was really losing it, and I needed to put my head on straight. I knew that I missed Angela, but there was no excuse to become an empty shell of my former self—a raving lunatic who lost his sanity.
I could barely look at Joseph as I made my way to the door, thoroughly ashamed of myself. “I’m sorry, Joseph. It won’t happen again. I…I’m sorry. I’ll walk home.”
What the hell is happening to me?
CHAPTER 14
DECEMBER 14TH
Detective Castillo’s call came early in the morning and woke me up, just as the sunlight bled through my blinds, flashing my closed eyes. I grabbed my phone from the nightstand as I rubbed the grittiness from my eyeballs. I stared at my ringing phone, concerned about what she might say.
Can you please come down to the station to answer a few questions? That’ll be it for me. It’d be over.
I took a deep breath, answered it, and pressed it to my ear. “Hey, good morning.”
She didn’t waste any time. “Hey Lenny, I just wanted to provide you with an update on George St. Nicklaus’ case. I know he was your employer and a friend of yours. I’m sure it was very traumatic seeing that gnarly scene, along with Clara…just despicable.” She sighed. “Look, George didn’t leave behind any indication that he could’ve been the Xmas Day Butcher,” she said, her voice low and steady. “But I found something in his bedroom—a safe that I cracked open with another officer. There were several hundred-dollar bills wrapped with rubber bands, along with a confessional note inside.”
A confession? I never would’ve guessed. “I understand, Detective. Are you allowed to tell me what it was?”
There was a pause, and for a second there, I thought she was going to say “no.” “A lot of it was ramblings about how Mayor Hamonte is corrupt and how he’s in league with Doctor Tuttle from the Gibraltar Institute.” I swore that I felt her rolling her eyes through the screen. “But aside from that, he admitted to killing Henry Hamonte because he believed Henry was responsible for Clara’s death.”
That I already knew, so no new information for me. I was hoping for something relating to Angela or even Clara. “My goodness. That is absolutely horrible. What about Clara? Did he confess to killing her?”
Her breathing was heavy, thick with exhaustion. “Nothing about Clara. The body’s being sent to the institute to be examined.” I thought that was odd. “Looks like that case is about to be closed.”
Why would they send a dead body to a mental wellness center? “Why is Clara’s body being sent there?” I asked, suspicion present in my tone of voice. “We have a special procedure that we do in Whisper’s Creek; it relates to Doctor Tuttle’s expertise. That’s all I’m legally allowed to say. I was told to provide you with an update, per Mayor Hamonte’s orders.”
I furrowed my eyebrows, not exactly believing what I was hearing. It sounded like George was right about Mayor Hamonte and Doctor Tuttle. There was something very wrong going on in Whisper’s Creek. “Well, I appreciate that very much,” I said gently. “Is there any update on the objects you took from me? The items from the gift boxes I was sent?”
There was nothing but silence. I already knew what the answer was. “No updates at this time. Roads are still blocked.”
I frowned, defeated. Thirteen days had passed, and I still had no idea where Angela was being held. I wasn’t even sure if she was still alive. “Okay, thank you for your help,” I replied as my heart dropped.
“Mayor Hamonte wants to see you, Lenny. He regrets not being able to see you earlier due to other commitments. May I come pick you up in thirty minutes?”
I found it odd that he had not written to me or called me ever since Angela’s disappearance. I found it even stranger that he wanted to talk to me now. I couldn’t pass it up—I needed to hear what he wanted to say.
“Yes, I’ll be ready.”
Detective Castillo didn’t say much as she drove me to Town Hall. She seemed on edge; something must’ve been preoccupying her. Perhaps seeing the dead bodies in the St. Nicklaus basement had shaken her to her core. I couldn’t blame her. I was on high alert from the second I entered her cruiser. I felt that at any second, she’d accuse me of murdering George, and that meant I’d be royally screwed.
