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“Not Valen.”
“He wasn’t even an adult. He was a seventeen-year-old boy.”
“He’d slept with all the cheerleaders in his high school and half of the ones in mine.”
“So? Being sexually active does not give automatic consent to everyone who may want to fuck you. You should know that, being a cop and all.”
“I’m not saying it does. You’re twisting my words. What I’m saying is Ward fucked everything that moved, and his stepmother was hot. There is no way he wouldn’t have seduced her. We all heard the rumors, but anyone who really knew Valen knew what he was truly like. He’s a user. Always has been. As for the version of truth he’s given you?” He snorts.
“Funny how this all came out after there were rumors of the wife wanting a divorce. That would have set them back a pretty penny with a lucrative prenup in place.
“An affair however broke the terms of the agreement and meant she walked away from that marriage with nothing.”
“It’s not your job to make assumption about someone’s character. Just investigate,” Cyril says, making me jump. I forgot for a second they were still in the room.
“Cyril’s right. So do fucking better because whenever Valen’s name comes up, you turn into a fucking asshole. Even if all that was true, which I don’t believe for a second, it still has nothing to do with you and doesn’t explain why you hate him so much.”
“I don’t hate him. I just don’t like him. I’m sure he’s great with you. But to me, he’s still the same old guy from high school that uses people and drains them dry. He and my brother were always at each other’s throats and I was always getting caught up in the crossfire.
“Again, Valen Ward is not the same person you knew back in high school.”
“Yeah, well, he’s not the person you think he is either.”
“So, you know him personally? As an adult, that is. I mean, you must because you have a lot of opinions about someone you used to know.”
Nathan starts pacing as a look passes between Cyril and Eddie.
“You think you might be too close to this, Hask?” Eddie asks.
Nathan glares at him. “I know how to do my job. Do I think Ward is guilty? Fuck yes, you just can’t see past his friendly act. But either way, my thoughts on the matter won’t interfere with or hamper my ability to investigate this case objectively. If the evidence leads us to Ward, then I’ll pat myself on the back for seeing what the rest of you can’t. But if it doesn’t, then so be it. I sure as shit won’t fabricate evidence just to make it fit. I can’t believe you, of all people, would think that.” He glares at me.
“Now you’re putting words into my mouth. Not once did I say you’d frame Valen. Do you honestly think I’d be here if I thought that? All I’m saying is that while you focus all your attention on making Valen the bad guy, the real killer is running circles around us. And honestly Nathan, nothing you’ve shared so far has made me change my mind about him.”
“Oh, shit.”
I turn at the sound of Eddie’s voice.
“What’s wrong?”
“We know Briarwood was shut down, and the site has been abandoned since.”
“Yeah, and?”
“The site wasn’t just abandoned. It was sold to a developer.”
“It’s a prime piece of real estate. Of course, it was sold,” Nathan says, frustrated.
“Yeah, well, the company that bought it was called, and I’m probably butchering the pronunciation here,Esrohn Ajort. I just ran it, and it’s one of five subsidiaries that fall under the umbrella of one large corporation.”
“What is the corporation?” Lance asks.
A sinking feeling in me tells me I already know the answer. “GhostWard,” I whisper.
“Bingo.”
Chapter Thirty-One
Then
