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“No, they didn’t. My guess is all that evidence has been languishing in a box for nine years, gathering dust.”
Chiara stares at me over a printout. “If that’s true, then the killer’s identity might be in that box. Their DNA. Their fingerprints. CCTV recordings. If we got our hands on it, we could investigate their deaths ourselves.”
“We’d have to see what evidence there is first, assuming it hasn’t been accidentally on purpose destroyed.” I smile at her. “But yes, you’re right. That’s exactly what I want to do. Acid and Zagreus are connected to private investigators. Lorenzo knows medical people. Between us and Strife, we could launch a pretty good investigation on our own. If Strife can be persuaded to help us.”
“Strife owes me a favor,” Chiara points out. “A big one.”
“They sure do, kitten.” I pick up one of the printouts. “This murder in Shady Point caught my interest. It’s a town off the Interstate between Philadelphia and Coldlake.”
Salvatore takes the page from me and starts reading aloud. “Unsolved murder of a nineteen-year-old woman from thirteen years ago…name’s Kira Campbell…body mutilated and posed…missing four days before she was found dead.” He grimaces. “Sounds familiar. What caught your interest about this one?”
“Thane and I can’t find any connections between the Coldlake cops and the Shady Point cops. Shady Point is a small town. No corruption. Not much crime. They hold a vigil for Kira Campbell every year. A place like that wants its cold cases solved.” I look at each of them in turn. “That makes it perfect for us.”
“Perfect how?” Chiara asks.
“Imagine that the Shady Point detectives have been doing this research,” I say, indicating the articles and the map laying on the coffee table. “They see that there were four unsolved murders in Coldlake around the time Kira Campbell was killed. They also discover that there wasn’t much of an investigation and they’re hungry for leads that might help them solve their own cold case. They approach the Coldlake cops and ask if they can come and talk to them about the Black Orchid Killer, and the Coldlake cops say sure, knock yourself out.”
“How are you going to persuade the Shady Point cops to do that?” Cassius asks.
“I’m not. I am the Shady Point detectives.” I turn to Salvatore with a smile. “Me, and maybe you. We could pass for detectives. Are you up for it?”
Salvatore stares at the printouts on the coffee table. All this time, we’ve been assuming that the murders were a Coldlake phenomenon. I don’t think the possibility crossed anyone’s mind that other women could be suffering like our sisters.
He nods sharply. “Yeah, I’m up for it.”
“Hold up. What about your faces?” Lorenzo asks. “You two are known criminals.”
“Suspected criminals,” Salvatore counters.
“Whatever. The point is, the Coldlake cops know you, and there are bounties on your heads. You’re going to walk into police HQ and have a friendly chat? You’ll be fucking arrested.”
“Yes, we are just going to walk in, and no, we won’t be arrested. Don’t you remember the Main Street bank robbery three years ago?”
“I remember that,” Chiara chimes in. “A man walked into the biggest bank in Coldlake and talked his way into the vault in the middle of the day. He stole millions in jewels and bonds.”
“Two and a half million, to be exact,” I say with a smile. “I would have managed more but my bags and pockets were full.”
Her eyes grow round. “That was you? But the robber didn’t look anything like you! I saw the CCTV images.”
“It’s a wonder what makeup, prosthetics, and a bit of acting will do. The Coldlake cops know Salvatore and me as the handsome, well-dressed, confident men you see before you. I’ll turn us into two over-caffeinated, overworked cops in cheap suits in less than an hour. Fake badges and IDs are no problem. And I haven’t told you the best part of our plan yet.”
“Well?” Cassius asks.
I hold out my hand to Chiara. “Our beautiful junior detective who’ll have the Coldlake detectives falling over themselves to help us. Kitten, do you mind working a room full of jaded men with your charm?”
Since the night of the poker game, I’ve known that she’d do anything to help us. For this mission, I need her.
“For you and for your sisters, I’ll do anything. I think that’s a wonderful idea and I’d love to be part of your plan.”
Salvatore smiles at her. “Wonderful, baby.”
“I don’t like this,” Cassius mutters, but he knows as well as I do that it’s Chiara’s decision, not his. He glances at Lorenzo. “What do you think, Lorenzo?”
Lately, Cassius has been saying Lorenzo instead of Scava. I don’t know why he’s switched, but I like it.
Lorenzo peers at me and then at Chiara. “I think you’d better make fucking great disguises, or our next plan will be me and Cassius breaking the three of you out of jail.”
“Vinicius can do it,” Chiara says, turning to me with shining eyes. “What happens next?”
