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“All of this sounds right enough to me but we’re forced into guesswork here, and that really sucks because I’ve got the chief breathing down my neck. And he’s got the mayor and governor breathing down his. Can I just speak to the public and tell them there’s no known danger to the general public?”
“What if that’s a challenge in the killer’s eyes?”
“Fuck, Lilah,” he murmurs, scrubbing his jaw and settling his hands on his hips. “I’m in a bad spot here.”
“Tell your people to call me.”
“They did. You didn’t answer.”
True, I think. True. With that, I say, “Tell them all that I’ll call them back later today.”
He gives a tight nod and motions to Jack. “Is he a problem?”
“Yeah, but he’s not our killer. He’s going to get himself killed. Scare the shit out of him and tie him to his desk.”
“Kit’s out front,” Jay informs us.
“I’ll call you after I find our grandma,” I say, and I start to turn but pause to add, “You’re not so bad, Rollins. I mean, you walk around with a stick up your ass, but you do it efficiently.”
“Fuck you, Lilah.”
“Fuck you, too, Rollins.”
It’s like a vow of friendship in New York City.
I give him my back and he proves my point by saying, “Be careful, Agent. You bleed like the rest of us.”
It’s also not something anyone smart and with a badge talks about, which is why I don’t turn around. I lift a hand and when I step outside, I do so without fear. It’s not a confrontation we have to worry about. It’s this guy going at someone else. A few minutes later, I’m in the backseat of the SUV on the way to see our person of interest, when Tic Tac calls. “Talk to me,” I say.
“This corporation that owns the diner and the theater is locked down hard. So much so, that it’s fishy. I need help but I can’t reach Murphy. We need a nudge to open this file from the upper ranks.”
Murphy is ghosting him, too, which could just be another way of ghosting me. Or there’s something else going on. Thereissomething else going on. That’s the problem. “I’ll call him,” I say, and I disconnect from him and try Murphy again. He doesn’t answer. Of course, he doesn’t answer. I type out a message:I know you have shit going on, but I have a serial killer taking over the city. I need a contact in Europe. There are lives depending on it. And I need help unlocking the info on the corporation.
Shockingly, he replies almost instantly:I already made calls based on Tic Tac’s message. You’ll have the corporation info by tomorrow. As for Europe, you already have a contact. Call Rich. Your ex is now the head of our European division.He includes a phone number.
Rich, who he sent to Europe to keep him out of Kane’s reach.
And Europe is not far enough to protect Rich should Kane want to reach him.
But I also need to know what Landry is running from. I need to know what he knows, and I need to know now. Murphy could have called Rich himself. He just chose not to. Murphy is such an asshole.
Chapter Thirty-Two
There is only one person in this world I’m a hundred percent honest with, and that’s Kane.
However, Kane and Rich do not mix.
After a few moments of contemplation, I decide it leaves me with only one option.
Call Rich and then apologize to Kane after it’s already done. It’s not as if I want to talk to Rich, and it’s not like I want to piss Kane off. But he’s also far from cool as a cucumber where Rich is concerned, and this call is about stopping a killer from taking innocent lives. I hit the number in Murphy’s text message but not without vowing to make him pay. He could have made the call. He knew why I shouldn’t make the call. He also knew I would. The call lands in Rich’s voicemail, and just hearing his voice has me cringing.
Kane is not going to be happy when I tell him about this. And I will tell him. If I want him to keep no secrets, I cannot keep secrets, even if it would be so much easier not to tell him about this.
As for the voicemail, of course, I couldn’t just get this over and done with. That’s not how Rich ever rolled. The beep sounds to leave a message on Rich’s voicemail. “It’s Lilah,” I say, speaking quickly because I have a time limit and a lot to say. “I’m hunting a serial killer who’s imitating horror movie killers. Last night he played Leather Face with a chainsaw. A person of interest ran off to Europe. I don’t think he’s the killer, but he seems to know something he doesn’t want me to know. Maybe he’s in on this, apparently, that’s a horror movie thing—a group of people plotting murder. I’m hoping someone on your team can go and see him and get him to talk. I’m texting his information. The next kill will be number six and he’s claiming victims quickly. Okay. Text me back.”
I barely make it before the message cuts off but I made it.
I shoot Rich the promised message and then decide the voicemail was a gift. I didn’t have to talk to him. Jay leans around the seat. “I got you an extra slice of pizza.” He opens the box top and I lean forward and grab my slice, which is actually perfect, unlike the one I ordered myself.
