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12
Mercy
Standingon the back lawn not far from where Titus must have hit the grass, I peered up at the fire escape that zigzagged across the mansion’s rear. I couldn’t make out a whole lot from down here. The ladder to the second-floor section wasn’t reachable from the ground, and the sun glared off the metal bars, stinging my eyes.
The promise Wylder had made came back to me, and with it the image of him slowly sucking the trickle of blood from his finger. My stomach fluttered at the memory. It was probably one of the sexiest things I’d ever seen, and there shouldn’t have been anything even remotely sexual about it.
I shook my head to clear it. He’d given me his terms, and now I had to meet them. Even if I didn’t have much of a clue how to accomplish that. Examining the scene of the murder had seemed like the most obvious place to start.
Heading inside, I got to enjoy the rush of the chilly air conditioning for the climb to the third floor. A large window at the end of one hall opened to the fire escape. I guessed that was how the Nobles’ patrols climbed out to survey the yard from above. Titus would have had to squeeze to get out there.
I clambered through it back into the summer heat, grateful that the sweats and tee I’d put back on meant I wasn’t flashing anyone who might have walked by below like I would have in that ridiculous dress. My shoulder twinged when the bandage brushed against the frame, but the bullet wound seemed to be healing nicely. It barely hurt when I moved now.
The third-floor section was only wide enough for three or four people to stand side-by-side. Maybe two if you were as big as Titus. A chunk of the railingwasmissing partway down.
I crouched next to it and examined the surface, running my fingers down the length of where the metal had broken off. Flecks of rust stuck to my finger. The broken ends definitely looked corroded. I checked the floor. There was a little sheen of dust but not enough to make a proper footprint. Well, by now a lot of people must have come out here to investigate anyway.
The lawn was a good thirty feet below me. Hardly anyone could survive that fall.
Especially with their neck already broken.
A loud screech behind me startled me so badly I nearly jumped out of my skin. My foot slipped, my body swaying dangerously close to the precarious drop.
A hand shot out and snatched the back of my shirt, yanking me away from the gap in the railing. I stumbled to the side and whirled around with a hitch of breath.
“Careful there,” Anthea said. She climbed out of another, smaller window—its pane must have made that screech as she’d opened it—and onto the metal platform beside me. The thin smile that curved her lips suggested she was more amused than concerned by my near fall.
I narrowed my eyes at her. What the hell was she doing sneaking up on me? I curled my fingers around the more solid railing next to me.
Anthea hopped up and down a couple of times, managing to make the floor beneath us wobble. “It’s a very old structure, you know,” she said conversationally. “I’m not sure it was the wisest for Titus to be coming out onto it in the first place. Unfortunately, my brother isn’t very keen on renovating. He doesn’t want strangers on his property.” She fixed her penetrating gaze on me.
I took a moment to study her right back. Other than the red in her hair and the proud slope of her nose, she didn’t share a whole lot of features with her supposed nephew. But then, gang leaders had a habit of getting around. Especially with the age gap, chances were she and Ezra Noble didn’t share a mother. Which made her, what, Wylder’s half-aunt?
“What are you doing out here?” I asked, trying to keep the accusation out of my tone. I didn’t want to seem like I was paranoid or show that she’d rattled me.
She shrugged. “I thought you’d need some help.”
I highly doubted that she’d come here out of the goodness of her heart. But two could play at this game. I pushed my mouth into a smile. “That’s fantastic. I had some questions, so I’m glad you’re here.”
Anthea looked surprised that I’d decided to take her up on the offer. She leaned back against the side of the house. “Shoot.”
I ran my hand along the railing, tapping the broken edge. “How exactly did you know this wasn’t an accident? Like you said, it’s a pretty old structure, and itisobviously rusted.”
Anthea tsked and pointed to a couple of whitish marks, so tiny I’d never have noticed them on my own. “You see that? Some kind of chemicals have been poured on the metal to accelerate the process of corrosion. They sawed out a chunk of the railing and doctored it afterward so it’d look accidental.”
I examined the marks. “What does a person use to make metal rust just like that?”
Anthea shrugged. “The easiest would be a combination of hydrogen peroxide, vinegar, and salt. It’d take just a few hours.”
“And who around here would know that?”
“Anyone who can run a quick Google search,” she said dryly.
Okay, so that wasn’t going to be my big clue. I glanced at the window Anthea had climbed through and then the one I’d used. “So, someone knew Titus would come out here on his patrol. They prepared the area ahead of time. Then they caught him while he was on the platform, broke his neck, and pushed him off.”
“Right, simple as that.”
I ignored her sarcasm, frowning. Itwassimple, actually. The real problem was how anyone had managed to do the “simple” task of overpowering Titus in the first place. Even if they’d snuck up on him like Anthea had with me, who could have gotten a good enough grip on his neck and managed to snap it without him tossingthemover the edge instead first?
