JAKE
Callum leads us through their house. It’s bright and open, the many windows letting in tons of natural light. When we approach a door, Callum knocks and waits until someone answers before opening. When we arrived here this afternoon, he was clearly not happy we were going to talk to Julian. I was questioning where Xavier was until we walked into the room and see him seated next to Julian in the bed on top of the covers.
Julian looks like a haunted version of the man in the photos we have on file. He’s even paler than before, and much thinner. His brown hair is a dyed blue green color, though he still has the same bouncy curls as before. He’s sitting up against the cushioned headboard, covered in blankets. They mentioned that he deals with side effects from the bond suppression medication but what kind can do this in nearly a year?
He gives us a polite smile as we enter. Callum immediately goes to sit on Julian’s other side, he and Xavier taking their protective stances. Logan and I remain standing near the foot of the bed.
“Xav and Cal said you needed to ask questions about Mark?” Julian begins tentatively but resolve underscores his tone. I feelbad that we have to bring up what is likely the worst thing to happen to him, but we need any information he can give us.
“We do. Did they tell you about Thea and what’s happened to her since last summer?” I ask. I told Logan on the way here I wanted the lead today. He had no objections.
Julian nods solemnly. “Yes. Can you tell her how sorry I am for her loss?” Taken aback by that statement, I quickly agree before finding my footing again.
“Can you tell us what Mark said to you in the days or weeks leading up to his leaving the pack as it relates to Thea and her alpha?” I question.
The hands that Julian was twisting together reach for Xavier and Callum on either side of him. They hold his hands without question. This is clearly a pack that loves each other. The anger for Mark Henderson rises again. He’s ruined so many lives.
Clearing his throat, Julian begins, “He was very erratic during that time. I don’t remember the exact date but he only said she went to stay at her alpha’s parents’ house for a bit and rarely left the property while staying there. He was furious at being unable to see her. But it was nothing to how upset he was when she quit the company.”
“Did he ever hurt you physically during these outbursts?” I ask, something in my gut niggling that more than Mark leaving and abandoning him happened. If he did, it could be another charge against him.
Julian’s eyes are downcast. Callum and Xavier stiffen at his response, or lack thereof. I guess they didn’t know. Julian must pick up on their reaction because he rushes out, “Nothing too bad. He never hit me, just grabbed me hard when talking or uhm…was rougher than usual during sex.”
It’s still abuse. Xavier is fuming more than Callum. He gets up from the bed, letting go of Julian’s hand. He begins pacing back and forth, a low rumbling emitting from him. Callum isdeathly still, like a tiger before pouncing on his kill. I have no doubt if either of them had Mark in front of him right now he’d be a dead man. Julian’s eyes widen in panic. “Xav, it’s fine. I’m fine, please calm down.”
When he hears his voice, Xavier’s head snaps in his direction and he rushes back over to the bed, hugging Julian to him and scent marking him. I look to Logan who just shrugs. That at least is none of our business. When Xavier releases Julian, I notice Callum’s arm is now around his shoulders. Julian groans slightly at the movement, clutching his head.
“Are you okay?” Logan asks concerned.
“Yes, sorry. One of the side effects of the suppression meds has been extreme vertigo. It’s what made me nearly bedridden lately. The sudden movement just caught me off guard,” he explains,brushing it off quickly, clearly not something he wants to talk about. Clearing his throat, Julian asks, “So what else did you need to know?”
This time Logan asks, “Did Mark ever talk to you about planning to get rid of or otherwise hurt Thea’s alpha? What was his ultimate goal with her?”
“His ultimate goal was clear. He wanted her as his—our—omega. Convinced she was his scent match, his soul mate,” Julian says in a dejected tone. “He never said anything about getting rid of her alpha. He acted like he didn’t exist most of the time. Except during those few times he was upset. Mark always had a tendency to get obsessive about things but it always worked in his favor. Hobbies, his work in IT…me. Yet when he met Thea, it’s like his train got routed to the wrong line completely. He grew more frantic and frustrated the longer she wasn’t his.” Julian’s still not making eye contact. I hate what I have to ask next but we need to know if there’s anything we can tie him to Connor’s death.
“What did he say or do when he left the pack for good and do you remember feeling anything odd in the bond in the days following?” I ask with as much compassion as I can.
Julian is quiet for a while, his fingers toying with his shirt. “There are things he said that aren’t relevant to Thea and her alpha, at least not in the way you mean. I’ll just say when he left, he said we as a pack, including me, did not support him or him trying for a relationship with her. Which was untrue. He didn’t mention anything about her alpha, but he said that she was his and he was going to make sure of it in spite of us.”
Ominous but nothing we can use as evidence. “As far as the bond goes. I was all over the place with my own emotions after he left, but I do remember an overwhelming feeling of relief and joy that flooded the bond a couple days later. I was surprised to feel it as we both had tried closing off the bond, but you can only do that for so long. I still have no idea what it was that made him feel those things,” Julian says softly.
That timing matches up when Connor died. Sick bastard feeling that way after murdering someone.Breathe, I can’t lose it here.“Thank you, Julian. I am truly sorry for having to bring up these memories for you. We can show ourselves out,” I say and move to leave but Logan stops me.
“Two brief questions, does Mark have any knowledge of automobiles?”
Thank Gods for Logan. Guess a few years away from the bureau has made me rusty. All three of them look slightly confused, their brows pinching together. “Yeah, his uncle had a garage and he worked there over the summers as a kid and teenager. He always helped us with anything wrong with our vehicles before bringing it to a shop,” Julian answers.
We’ve established he has the knowledge to tamper with a car. Now to prove it. “Thank you and our final question. Can youconfirm if this is Mark’s handwriting?” Logan asks, handing his phone to Xavier who shows it to Julian.
I hope for his sake Logan picked a letter that was relatively tame. A big ask considering I wouldn’t classify any of them as that. Whatever he reads, Julian, and by extension Xavier and Callum, look sick and furious. What the hell did Logan show them?
“Ye-yes it’s his handwriting,” Julian answers with a shaky voice before muttering to himself but we catch it. “Mark, how could you?”
Xavier hands the phone back to Logan and we both say our goodbyes and leave quickly. Once back in the car, I ask, “Which letter did you show them?”
He gives me a solemn smile. “The one where he confesses to killing Connor.” I’ve never been more grateful for having him as a friend as I do right now. I should be kicking myself for not thinking of that. But the truth is I can’t be fully objective when it comes to this case. My omega is involved. Thankfully we have Logan to help where I’m dropping the ball. So now we’ve established he has a knowledge of cars, enough to be able to tamper with one and cause a crash. His prior pack confirmed he was obsessed with Thea, and that his handwriting matched the letter confessing to the crime. It’s not a smoking gun but it’s enough for us to keep digging. The problem is all of this is the word of his ex-pack that are currently suing him. We need at least one piece of unbiased evidence, an irrefutable fact, to tie this together and we need to find it soon.
12
