"Excellent advice." Boner clapped his hands. "I'll make sure to have a buddy with me everywhere I go."
A flash of irritation crossed his features. Getzoff leaned forward, placing his weight on his arms. "You don't seem to be taking this seriously, Mr. Bonegard."
"Call me Boner," Boner said. Which really did nothing to counter Getzoff's accusation. "I'm taking it very seriously, believe me. This is who I am. Take me or leave me." He spread his hand either side.
Getzoff looked like he’d take the ‘leave me’ option if he had a choice.
"Is there anything we can do?" I asked, trying to divert the conversation. "The killer could be someone we know. What do we do if they are?"
I hoped he was buying the potential damsel in distress routine. If I found another serial killer, I knew exactly what to do.
"You contact me immediately," Getzoff said. "Don't try to point fingers at them."
"We'd never do that, would we, Cass?" Boner said, pointing a finger at Cass.
Cass gave him a funny look and batted it away.
"What would we be looking for?" I asked, genuinely curious. It wouldn't hurt if I picked up a few tips to help me avoid being caught.
"Usually serial killers are loners," Getzoff said. "They either don't like the company of people, or people are uncomfortable around them."
"Luckily none of us fits into that description," I said, ignoring the fact Archer hid in the kitchen all evening. "In theory, we'd be looking at someone who comes in and eats alone?"
Getzoff was starting to fit into this description better than we were. Was he trying to draw attention away from himself? He was a police detective, but that didn't mean he was a good person.
"Potentially," Getzoff agreed, clearly seeing the comparison I'd raised. "They'd be unlikely to hold a conversation for very long. Nor would they enjoy a meal like tonight’s."
"No offense, but you're starting to make serial killers sound really boring," Boner complained. "Makes you wonder why people watch all those serial killer documentaries."
"Those are interesting," Archer said. "Human psychology is fascinating. You'd be surprised what motivates people to do things."
"I don't know if I'd bethatsurprised," Boner said. "I’ve met some strange people in my life." He looked around the table and grinned.
Cass elbowed him in the bicep. "We're not strange," he said.
"That, dear Titmus the Younger, is a matter of opinion," Boner told him. "Don't worry though, being strange isn't a bad thing. Look at me, I'm strange."
"You don't say," I teased.
He blew me a kiss not offended in the slightest.
Did he have to be so adorable? Yes, I supposed he did. Otherwise, he wouldn't be Boner.
I covered a yawn with my fist. I'd been so wired all day, it was starting to catch up with me. I looked into my coffee only to see it was empty, a thin layer of the milky beverage in the corners of the cup. I should finish cleaning up.
I yawned again, blinking a couple of times. My eyelids were getting heavy.
"Yes, I should call it a night," Getzoff said, downing the last of his drink and placing his mug in front of him on the table.
He pushed his chair back and rose, blinked a couple of times and staggered. He tried to grab onto the edge of the table, but collapsed onto the floor with a thump, landing in front of the legs of his chair.
I blinked a couple of times myself, trying to get my head around what happened. I said something but it came out slurred. Why was I so tired?
I tried to stand, but my legs wouldn't hold me. I flopped back down, hard enough to hurt my ass. My vision was blurry. Was everyone else struggling to stand too, or was I seeing things?
Cass let out a groan, reached for me and missed. He fell against me, his weight bearing down. The feet scraped on the floor as we both fell off the chair and onto the floor in a heap.
We landed with his weight on top of me. Heavy, and horribly still.
