Page 78 of The Secret Mate Society

"Wait, Ethan—" Jake's voice turned urgent."I’m sorry.I shouldn’t have?—”

“You’re right, Jake,” I said.“You shouldn’t have.”

“I’m sorry.I just don’t trust the guy.”

“Well, you’re allowed to be wrong.”

There was a long silence on the other end of the phone.

“Anything else I need to know?”I asked, wanting this conversation to be over with.“Work related stuff?”

“No,” Jake replied flatly.“Just that trick-or-treating is cancelled this year.And there’s a curfew in place for anyone under eighteen.”

“Thanks for letting me know.”

“Sure.”

Then the line went dead.“Well, the city cancelled trick-or-treating this year,” I said, looking up from my phone.

“Not surprising,” Calder replied, looking more irritated than I’d seen him in a long time.”

My phone buzzed again.But this time it was a message from my mother.“Oh, and it looks like Mom is gonna be in town tomorrow afternoon.Leave it to her to show up on a holiday and during a crisis.She gives me a hard time about being a reporter and then doesn’t bat an eye when there’s a murderer on the loose in her vacation spot.”

Calder's eyes narrowed as he looked at my phone."Great.Just what we need right now."

I pocketed my phone with a sigh."She means well.She just has terrible timing."

"And terrible judgment," Calder muttered."Coming to a town with an active serial killer."

"To be fair, she doesn't know that part."I gestured toward my building."Let's get that box and get out of here.I don't want to stay any longer than necessary."

The walk to my apartment felt like crossing a minefield.Every shadow seemed to stretch a little too long, every sound made me flinch.Calder stayed close behind me, his body radiating tension like a coiled spring.When we reached my door, I fumbled with the keys, my hands shaking slightly.

"I've got it," Calder said gently, taking the keys from me.

Inside, my apartment felt foreign, like it belonged to someone else.It had only been a few days since I'd stayed here, but it felt like a lifetime.The place smelled musty and unlived-in, nothing like the warm, spicy scent of Calder's home that I'd already started thinking of as mine.

"Under the bed," I said, leading him to my bedroom.

I knelt down and pulled out a large banker’s box.It was heavier than I remembered, weighted down with fourteen years of obsession and grief.My fingers trembled as I pulled off the lid.

"You okay?"Calder asked, his hand warm on my shoulder.

"Not really,” I replied, taking a deep breath.“This box… it’s full of too many memories, too many sleepless nights.And too many nightmares that I’ve tried to forget.”

Calder squeezed my shoulder.“I’m right here, pup.”

Inside the box were newspaper clippings, photocopied police reports, maps marked with red ink, photographs I’d collected, and dozens of handwritten notes.It was my life's work, myobsession, hidden away where no one could judge me for it.I'd promised my therapist I would let it go, that I'd stop trying to solve my father's murder and move on with my life.I'd lied.

"This is everything," I said, my voice barely above a whisper."Everything I've collected about the attacks.My father's murder, similar cases in New England, patterns I've noticed."

Calder's expression was unreadable as he looked at the contents."You've been tracking this thing for fourteen years."

It wasn't a question, but I nodded anyway."I had to.No one believed me about what I saw.They all thought I was traumatized, making things up to cope."I pulled out a folder of newspaper clippings."But I wasn't the only one who saw something they couldn't explain.Other victims, other witnesses...they were just smart enough to keep quiet about it.That or they didn’t understand what they saw.”

Calder reached into the box and pulled out a map with red ink marking attack sites."These are all connected?"

"I think so.They all seemed to have unexplained attack patterns or things that didn’t fit a normal animal attack.Some of them have the same MO too with the heart missing.”