“That’s what was written on the walls where the cadets were killed,” Dean said low.
“What? You never…no one ever told me that,” my words tripped over one another.
“We’re still investigating the homicide. We haven’t let out all the information. You know that. There’s absolutely no leads. Not until now.”
“You think they’re tied together?” I asked, heart pounding in my chest.
“I don’t know.” Dean looked at our father—a retired detective who served for over twenty-five years—and nodded to him. “A burglary at a dentist’s office where nothing was stolen. And an execution style murder of two seventeen-year old kids? The commonality is in both places the word, ‘whore,’ was written all over the walls.”
“Which dentist? You’re not talking about Dr. Morton, are you? Gavin?” My mother asked, clutching her hands to her chest.
“Yeah,” I nodded gravely, hoping she wouldn’t ask any other questions. “I took the call myself with Gunner.”
My mother’s eyes widened. “I tried to set the two of you up last month, didn’t I? I got his personal number after my cleaning. He liked the picture I had of you on my phone.”
Shit. She remembered. “Yeah, we went out for…ice cream.”
Dad and Dean gave each other a strange narrow-eyed look.
“What? What wasthatlook for?” I stammered.
“It’s a far reach that it has anything to do with you, but you were close to the cadets, and you dated the dentist.”
“I went for ice cream with him. I wasn’tdatinghim.”
“Ryan said something to me after I watched him walk you to your car,” Dean said quickly, ignoring anything I was saying.
“Youwatchedhim walk me to my car?” I said, voice rising.
“Does anyone find it strange a dentist would take someone on a date to an ice cream parlor?” Liv asked.
Ignoring Liv, Dean continued, “He said I should be worried about who was sending you flowers and making you cry. He was trying to make sure you were okay. Do you have some sort of a stalker? Who are you dating?”
“No one,” I said with a relieved laugh. “And I can take care of myself. No one needs to make sure I’m okay, because I’m okay. The flowers were from someone completely not related to any of this, okay? That’s a dead end. It has nothing to do with it. It’s just a guy I was dating who wants another chance.” I darted my eyes to Liv, who looked at me questioningly.
“Someone’s sending you flowers? At work?” My mother cooed. “That’s a grand gesture. Maybe you should give whomever it is another chance?”
“Yeah, sure Mom, maybe.”
How I wished I could tell everyone, but I couldn’t. I was too ashamed, and too damn scared of what would happen if everyone knew.
