"How close?" I spun to face him. "Close enough to do this?"
He stared at me. "You think I did this?" He tucked his chin down as he spoke in disbelief. "I know we've had our moments, but I wouldn't fucking kill… That was one of your staff, right?"
He couldn't hide the fact he was rattled by what he saw. Who wouldn't be? Even after the things I'd seen and done, this was horrific. The fact it was someone I knew and cared about…
Heads were going to roll for this, one way or another.
"She was, yes," I said. "Did you see anyone in here?"
"The only person I saw in here today was you." He raised his chin. "Are you sure this wasn't you?" He gestured toward Erin's head. "You might have lost your mind and done that to her."
I opened my mouth to immediately dismiss the accusation, but stopped. Serial killers weren't necessarily known for being sane. I might have snapped and acted without knowing what I'd done, then blacked out.
I considered carefully, but I remembered every part of my morning. The last two hours were clear as day.
"I didn't kill her," I said finally. "I'm certain."
To be absolutely sure, I'd check the security cameras. I'd already asked Cass to look into the feed and make sure the cops didn't see anything incriminating.
Things not done by me. I deleted sections after I brought anyone in here for disposal. Or I'd turn the cameras off while I was working.
I had a feeling we wouldn't get a clear picture of Erin's murderer. You didn't go to these lengths without being careful. They wanted her death to be seen, but they'd continue to hide their identities.
He looked doubtful, but nodded. "Now you get why I don't want my brother involved with you. This could have been him."
"No it couldn't," I said softly. "It was her they wanted."
"Because of you," he insisted. "If she didn't work for you, she'd be alive right now. Wouldn't she?"
"Not necessarily," I said. It was possible, but until we knew who did this, we couldn't know for sure.
I shook my head slowly.
"Thank you for the…support. I'll be fine." I gave him a tight, not particularly sincere smile.
"I can't stand you, but you're not fine," he said. "How could anyone be fine after seeing this?"
He gestured around carefully, like he didn't want to risk brushing a hand against the blood that coated the walls. Was that out of respect for Erin, or did he not want to get dirty? I couldn't rule out the possibility that both were right. When it came down to it, Jules Titmus wasn't a bad person, just an asshole to me.
I closed my eyes and let out a breath through my nose.
"Okay, I'm not fine. But you don't need to babysit me. It's nice of Cass to send you, but you can go and get on with your life."
Cass and the others were likely busy with work. Too busy to get here quickly.
"I'm not leaving until either the cops or my brother get here," he said, his jaw set with determination. "They might come back."
I hated to admit it, he was right. They could come back. And if they weren't alone, I could end up like her. I could take care of myself, but I wasn't superhuman. Two, three, four men and I'd be overpowered.
"Fine, you can stay," I said reluctantly. "We should wait outside and not touch anything."
Wasn't that what you were supposed to do when you found a crime scene? Instead of cleaning it up and disposing of the evidence? I wasn't used to being on this side of the situation. I never wanted to be again.
"I wasn't planning to touch anything," he said deliberately. Meaning me as well as Erin.
"Good. Wouldn't want you to end up in jail," I said. After a beat I added, "Or the hospital."
He barked a laugh as he headed back towards the door. "You think you can take me?"
