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”Yes, but it’s not public record,” I said. ”And the orchid thing is a rumor. I don’t know if it’s true. I heard about it from a source but obviously I can’t confirm that myself.”
He cocked his head. ”Have you tried to go to the police about this?”
I nodded. I almost opened my mouth to tell him that my brother was a cop, but then I clamped it shut.
He waited for me, his gaze probing into my eyes.
”Yes,” I said. ”But they don’t think it’s a real issue; most of the people that are being affected aren’t really people on their radar.”
”So they aren’t taking you seriously.”
I sighed, my heart hammering in my chest. I would’ve preferred not to talk about the Mercy Drive Blades if possible, but it was clear I wasn’t going to be able to avoid it. ”They think the Blades had something to do with it,” I said. ”And I can’t tell them about the orchids, right?”
”Because they’ve found the bodies behind our clubs.”
”Right. The ones whose bodies have been found,” I said. ”I think there are a lot more.”
”We haven’t killed anyone, Sofia.” He sounded genuinely hurt, which surprised me.
”You haven’t?”
”No,” he said. ”Not like that. Not fornothing. This might be hard for you to believe but I actually really hate senseless violence.”
I didn’t contradict him. The Mercy Drive Blades were known, in part, for their brutality. If someone crossed them, they needed to watch out, because the Blades were very unlikely to hold back. They didn’t do drive-by shootings or jail yard stabbings. They threatened and hurt and sometimes practically even tortured anyone who might’ve crossed them.
”How many times have you talked to the police about this?” he asked.
I knew I needed to be smart about revealing my full involvement with the police. I thought back to my brother. I wondered what he would do when we spoke about this. I wasn’t lying, I had gone to the police numerous times; first, to report what I thought might be a serial offender, and second, to make sure I did my due diligence in case my investigation actually went somewhere and my knowledge became public.
But the police weren't very interested. I asked Sam about it, and he told me he would bring it up to his superiors. He had, and it had gone nowhere. ”A lot of times,” I said. ”Enough that it’s clear they don’t care. I’m going to have to be the one investigating this.”
He scoffed. ”That sounds right. And I assume you told them what you’ve found?”
”I’ve tried,” I replied. ”But they don’t want to hear it. And I can’t exactly expose my source at the medical examiner’s office without getting them in trouble. I take my job seriously, so this is the best I can do.”
He considered this for a long time. ”Do you believe me?” he asked.
”Do I believe you?”
”Do you believe me when I tell you that we,” he said, making a sweeping gesture with his hand, ”had nothing to do with it?”
I didn’t. But I also wanted to get out of this alive. ”Yes,” I said, my heart hammering in my chest. ”Yes, I believe you.”
Chapter Eight: Teo
TherearefewthingsI’ve always been good at doing. Everything I do is deliberate, slow and practiced. Reading people was one of my few innate talents, though I wasn’t so much born with it as trained in childhood by a father whose moods were always unpredictable.
I could tell that Sofia was lying, but I didn’t think that there was any other information I could get out of her. I considered what to do. I didn’t think that killing her would solve our issues; if anything, it would likely make things worse.
There was another solution. I didn’t love it. I didn’t like to bring anyone into our inner circle, but we hadn’t gotten anywhere with our investigation, and she was clearly getting close to uncovering something big.
I sighed. ”What did you say your name was?”
”Sofia.”
”Last name.”
”I didn’t,” she replied. ”My name is Sofia Reyes.”
