The front of the guy’s hoodie blew wide open, blood and chunks of meat flying everywhere as his body hit the floor. Ilooked up to see Vernon, standing in the basement doorway…the smoking end of his shotgun still pointed at the man. I don’t think I’ve ever been so fucking proud—orsurprised.
“None of you leave this house. I don’t care if you end up injail…I get answers.Now.”
I’m all for giving the man answers…I’m just not sure he’s ready. I’m not sure either Malek,nor I, are ready for what’s about to be exposed about us as soon as they see what we’re capable of. We live in the moment…and what wedoin said moment…can be a little…extreme. Seven brought the little ones upstairs, covering Vivian’s eyes and I’m guessing Emmy’s instructions were to keep hers closed while she led her out of the house. Greg holstered his pistol to go after them and Malek tugged his arm on his way past.
“Greg…I’m—”
“I’m not. They shot my mom. I didn’t get to be there for Sev when she needed me last year…whether I knew it or not. This is my job. This isyourjob.” He clapped Mal’s shoulder and nodded firmly. “And we did it well. Thank you for taking care of my girls.Allof ‘em.”
I swallowed, hanging my head while he followed Seven outside. Vernon looked about ready to combust, metaphorical question marks popping up all around his head.
He doesn’t know about the O’Dell debacle.
All the dots he’s connecting must be fucking agony. Sirens started ringing out through the night and the funeral home was…um…‘dead silent’. Sev’s talents are gonna be missed with these bodies. Miss Ruth doesn’thavetime. What little of it remains, doesn’t need to be wasted on trying to cover up what was necessary to stay alive. I don’t trust cops, but at the very least…anything they uncover and have to report will be helpful in whatever I’ll have to dig up to find Bridge.
“Mr. Vernon,” I started, raising my head to address him. He looked torn between falling apart…and rightfullytearingme apart. “I’m ready to take full responsibility for everything that’s happened here tonight, sir. But when the police get here…if you want to protect Seven…this was a home invasion, and you don’t know what they were after.”
He looked to Malek, I suppose for confirmation. “What’s she got to do with this?”
“With this? Nothing. But without disrespecting my wife…all I can do is tell you that I agree with Declan on this one. And then we can sit down later and see what Sev’s comfortable telling you.”
Vernon shook his head, defeated and weary. “All this time…I knew my instincts were right. I knew it couldn’t have just been because she was heartsick over you, Malek. I’ll do what you ask. But you owe mesomething.”
“You have my word.”
The lights from squad cars and an ambulance started flashing throughout the open front door, and I squared myself up for everything coming afterwards. Dan straightened, ready to explain away his involvement, just like we rehearsed, and now…
…Now the real show begins…
I have to admit? Accepting Seven’s aggressive invitation to family dinner at her parents’ house…didn’t quite look like this in my mind. The four of us sat on a bench at the Castine Police Department, waiting for someone to come follow up with us. None of us spoke. Nobody even looked at each other, each one of us with a different person on our mind. Greg had to let his wife and kids go on to the hospital. Vernon watched his onlydaughter and the love of his life ride away in an ambulance, one of them in critical condition. Malek’s thoughts were no doubt on his wife and the potential fate of his only sibling…and me…all I could think about was how badly I wanted to hold Bridget, while simultaneously ripping her ass apart.
Why is this becoming the norm?
It took them all of two seconds, after trying to get our initial statements, to haul us up to the station for further questioning. Dan has been in an interrogation room for over an hour and the only thing that we’ve gotten as far as information about Ruth was that she’s currently in surgery. Vernon is about to die over here to be at her side.
Oh…wait…there’s movement.
Dan shook hands with a man in a cheap suit and nodded towards me before turning to leave.What the fuck, Dan…
Cheap suit guy trudged towards us, stopping in front of the bench and we all looked down at the floor. “Well. Sixteen total victims—”
“Criminals,”Vernon corrected. Damn straight.
“Fine. Sixteencriminals. All dead. Some of them clean shots, and others…questionable. You can’t expect me to believe this was a first time for at leastsomeof you.” Nobody breathed a word. The detective started pacing the bench, producing a paper he pulled close to his face while he walked. “One victim was found with a towel rod speared through his gut in a guest bathroom.”
Yeah, that was me. I was excited.
“One victim had paper from a Rolodex shoved down his throat and a letter opener in the back of his skull.”
Also me.
“Hmm…this one’s interesting. One victim was found with a very large crucifix…in hisrectum.”
Malek covered his mouth and quietly snorted, chuckling. I bit my lip and shook my head while I kept my eyes on the floor. “It’s alwaysyou, dude.” Greg and Vernon looked down the bench at us both, their faces equal parts confusion and shock.
“Two were found with single gunshot wounds to the back of the head, lying right next to each other…about three feet from another victim who was stabbed so many times that the coroner is having a hard time counting.”
Well, that has Bridget written all over it.
