He frowns at me. “You don’t want your father and brother to be there?”
Bile rises in my stomach. Sometimes I forget that Drew doesn’t know about the secrets I’m keeping. Or my true feelings for him. With a gulp, I try to make my words sound sad. Frankly, I’m glad the bastards won’t be anywhere near me. “Nah, they’re busy with this Mad Hatter case and already told me they wouldn’t be home to celebrate my birthday.”
He nods his head and keeps driving. A text message comes through, and I see it’s Donnie.
Donnie:Next time you leave, you better tell me goodbye.
My hands are unsteady as I type a reply.
Me:Father said not to bother you.
I put my phone into my backpack. I just don’t care what Donnie wants. Our father’s rules are absolute. I refuse to disobey him any more than I already do.
Drew draws my attention back to him. “Do you have enough time to get a quick bite to eat?”
He is so thoughtful. I smile at him, thinking he cares. “Yes, with you picking me up, I have plenty of time to go inside and eat.”
Drew laughs and turns up the radio as he takes us to my favorite hangout. I love going into the retro 50s vibe decor of Whataburger. The place is another refuge I have. Thank goodness.
I sit down at the table and wait for Drew to come with our drinks. I always get the same thing so Drew orders for me. It takes five minutes for him to sit down and another three minutes after that for our food to arrive.
“Drew, what are you doing here?”
My father’s voice grates down my spine. I’ve stopped midair with my food as Drew looks at my father like he’s a goddamn hero.
“Hey Chief. I’m feeding Maddie before I take her to work.’
My father’s eyes meet mine, and I see the flash of anger in them before he can correct himself. He smiles down at Drew and pats him on the shoulder.
“Thank you for looking out for my little girl, Drew.”
I swallow the bite of food I just took before I can choke on his fakeness.You self-righteous bastard.I seethe in silence as he talks a little while longer with Drew. He acts like a damn God out in public. If only they knew what kind of monster he was behind closed doors.
I wish lightning would strike him, but he leaves. I try to school my features so Drew doesn’t see how pensive I am.
Once I dropMaddie off at the dispatch office, I head to the locker room to get my bag. Something isn’t sitting well with me as I think about the interaction with Maddie and her father. Maddie clammed up as soon as he was around. But that’s not the only thing that’s got me unsettled. She usually jabbers the entire time she’s in the truck with me. Once again, she didn’t talk as much. I was going to ask her if she was feeling alright, but she jumped out of the truck and headed inside as soon as I parked.
Two officers interrupt my thoughts as they discuss The Mad Hatter case. They are bitching about how they get all the boring shit while the night crew gets the exciting cases. Fuck, if they want it, they can have it. The Mad Hatter case is causing me nightmares.
The crackling of the radios perks up my ears. “Lieutenant, we received a call from the security guard over at the school on Spade and First. There’s a room that’s locked, and he doesn’t have a key. He says there’s blood leaking from under the door.”
It takes a moment to realize they’re talking about Wonderland High School. I head out of the locker room and bump into the Chief. Before I can tell him I’m willing to work this scene, he looks at me and shakes his head.
“Drew, go home. I’ll call you back if I need you. Get some rest and be ready to go full throttle tonight.”
“10-4 Chief.” I choose not to argue. It doesn’t look good on your record if you disobey a direct order from the Chief. Walking out of the precinct, I sigh, thinking about how this case is taking a turn for the worse.
* * *
My first nightoff turns into me having to work. The bodies at the school racked up. Three more murders, all with similar M.O.’s of The Mad Hatter killings. One body was warm. The Mad Hatter does not kill in the daylight, and the wounds were different. The Mad Hatter kills with passion and reason. Someone killed this person methodically—it was incredibly calculated. There was no passion or even a reason from what we can tell. This body seemed staged.
I’m flipping through this morning’s case notes on my phone when Donnie talks about a party he wants to go to. I tune him out because, honestly, at this point, he’s annoying me. There’s no way he should go to a party during his days off. He’s a grown ass adult and should know better.
Cutting him off, I place the files in front of him. “These two victims aredefinitelythe work of The Mad Hatter. This third person is not. The angle of the wound suggests this victim was killed by someone well over six feet tall. The stroke of the blade is downward instead of upward. Every victim from The Mad Hatter has been upward or straight in. This doesn’t fit the pattern. We have a second killer.”
Donnie laughs as he stares at the picture, studying it. “Man, let's just lump it in with The Mad Hatter and be done with it.”
He’s always been lazy, and everyone knows it. I shake my head. “No, Donnie. We need to go to the Chief and explain this is not the same case. They are separate cases. We may have a copycat killer. They aren’t related.”
