“What do you say, Arianna? A meal to call a truce?” Conrad says to me.
I don’t know what he is playing at here, but being resistant will only make him suspicious of why we don’t want to call a truce to a pointless war.
“The guys can’t stay out late. They need rest,” I say. “But… if they want to go… We can hang out for a little while.”
“Why not,” Jovian says with the fakest smile. “We’d love to settle the past.”
“Good,” Conrad says with a menacing smile. “We can go to that Italian restaurant down the road.”
“Kay,” I say simply. When we turn to leave, Conrad makes one last comment.
“Good to see you back out on that ice, Arianna. It’s been a long time coming,” Conrad says, making my steps falter for a moment. I tighten my fists to contain both my fear and rage before continuing out of the building.
We get on the bus, leaving the other one for second and third line, and I fall apart the moment the doors shut, and arms wrap around me. I know it’s Ray, but he doesn’t let go, even when I try to push him away. He moves us to sit while everyone surrounds us in the seats.
“When I touched the ice… I remembered something,” I admit when I pull away and wipe my face. I go through my memory and relay every word and movement I can recall. I can see that Mom is on the phone at one point, but she turns her screen to show me that she is on with Detective Rogers.
“Anthony Rodwell is dead,” Rogers says. “But…”
“But what?” I ask with a sigh.
“I am still finding out more, but… Diane, were you aware of what he did for work?”
“He ran a shipping distribution center. His father owned it, and he took over. When he died, his brother took over,” Mom says. “Why? Is he alive?”
“The Rodwell family… is the mafia,” Rogers says. “Anthony fell off the map around the time Arianna would have been born, but several sources knew he was involved, just at a distance.”
“So… Was his death staged?” I ask. “If he burned up in a fire… That could be anyone in there, right?”
“Right…” Rogers confirms. “Conrad’s father, Vinny, has been accused a few times of being dirty, but anyone who has spoken up against him has disappeared. Sutter pops up as an alibi for Conrad… a lot…”
“So… are they serial killers or something?” I ask.
“From what I am gathering so far, it looks like the victims end up in the same places as them. Clubs, bars, casinos, and so on. They are never local, and at most are there with female friends. The girls go missing for a while and then pop up dead. All of them have died of blunt force trauma and had severe damage from being raped with a foreign object. Evidence has never been found, and one rape kit has gone missing. His father has signed off on all of these cases, and they are still cold to this day.”
“How many?” Ray asks.
“Dating back as far as I can connect the injuries to unsolved cases, I would guess hundreds,” he says. “I’d say they were someone’s sick protégé, and now they are out killing alone while his father cleans up his messes.”
“What is he gaining from this?” I say.
“Is it possible that it’s trafficking?” Kip asks. “What if he only killed the ones that he didn’t get what he wanted out of?”
“Did the other bodies have defensive wounds?” I ask. “They didn’t seem to care that I was fighting. It was like a game to them.”
“All of them,” Rogers says. “All of them have something bitten off, too. A few fingers, an ear, a nipple, and one was a chunk of flesh from the breast.”
“Ow! The nipple?” I ask. “Goddamn. I don’t feel so sad about losing a finger now. Jesus. That makes my nipples hurt to think about.”
“You’d still look sexy with one nipple,” Hunter says with a grin.
“Freak.” I laugh.
“What would make him not take those girls then?” Mom asks.
“They fought back,” I say. “What if he killed the ones who fought back? I still stand by thinking they never intended to kill me. He specifically told me during the attack that if I ran my mouth, I’d die. Sutter thought I was dead, and they believed it, too. They looked shocked when they realized I was alive.”
“Okay. You all go to dinner. I am in town, but let me talk to my boss and go from there,” Rogers says. “Do not let her be alone with them. Don’t eat or drink anything they touch.”
