“Wait!” Katie called before I could take one step down the stairs. “I’ll get his things.”
She scampered through the beaded curtain and returned shortly carrying a backpack. “Is it still snowing? He really shouldwear a hat if it is.”
Chester gave me a look ofcan you believe this woman?
“No, buddy, I can’t.”
I tucked my furry little man into my jacket and under my arm and bolted down the steps. Just as I reached the driver’s door, Katie popped up.
“Gah—! Where the fuck did you come from?”
“Don’t be a deadbeat dad, Locke.” She shoved the black backpack bursting at the seams with cat clothes, toys, and snacks into my chest. “He can only have the salmon-flavored Fish Crunchies at night—the tuna and shrimp will give him nightmares if it’s after seven pm.”
Katie plunged her hand into a side pocket of the backpack and pulled out a stocking cap. “It’s freaking winter, Graham! Don’t let me catch him outside without his hat or I’ll tell Maggie just how irresponsible you are with him.”
Then she plucked Chester from my arm and plastered on the kisses. “Come here, baby, give auntie kisses. Oh, and don’t forget your protection.” She clipped a silver pentagram charm and a black crystal onto his collar. “Remember, if you take him to the store, he needs to be in his baby carrier, not on a leash. There are a lot of terrible things on the floor and not enough wet wipes in the world.”
“Here you go, buddy. Maybe this can be your home for a little while,” I said, opening the front door to the cabin and setting Chester in the kitchen. He paused, then took off exploring, sniffing like he was more hound than feline. “I’m going to set up your litterbox in the bathroom, so don’t miss it!” I hollered to the little guy, like he’d respond, then grabbed a beer from the fridge, before peeling off my leather jacket and my henley. I fell onto the couch, threw my feet up on the log coffee table next to the case files, and settled in.
Chester jumped up, curling himself onto my bare stomach, and even though his daggers were gearing up for a round of painful biscuit-making, I didn’t flinch.
I ran my thumb between his ears, slow and steady. “You’re the only sane one left in this chaos. You’re spot on for your dislike of Hunter too. Ican’t stand the way he touches her. There’s more to it than a dom/sub relationship. That slap was something else.”
Chester trilled as I ran my hand down his spine and twirled his tail around my finger.
I took a swig and examined one of the files. Then like a bolt of lightning, a crazed thought came to mind. He stages them, just like he stages Maggie. Hair to one side, tidy, perfection. I pulled my phone from my pocket and dialed Maggie.
“Hey.”
Her voice was small. Cracked. Broken.
Something tightened in my chest. I should have stayed. “You okay?”
“Yeah, Hunter’s just really upset you did that.”
I gripped the phone tighter. “I bet he is. Where is he now?”
“He took off scouting again.”
“How often does he scout?”
“I don’t know, a couple times a week, maybe—why?”
“I have a theory, and you’re not going to like it.”
“Ok—ay?”
“What if Hunter’s scouting trips are just that—scouting. But instead of scouting for new camgirls, he’s scouting for his next kill?”
“You’re insane.”
Maybe.“But it makes sense. Come on, think about it. When is the last time heactuallyadded a new girl to his roster? Does he have receipts on his whereabouts?”
“I don’t know, I was the last one, I think, besides Katie. And I think his car has a navigational tracker in it? Couldn’t you check that?”
“Maybe. I’m going to pull his record… look into him.”
“Graham, don’t.”
