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I squeezed my eyes shut and just focused on my breath for a moment. Another police car pulled up, the jarring sirens bringing me back to reality. The panic was subsiding, but I was feeling anything but relief. We needed answers.
Delove came around back and stripped off the rubber gloves he was wearing. “Our analyst confirmed this is the same vehicle Goodacre was seen jumping into after he attacked you on Halloween.”
“God dammit, Delove.” Cian stood from the ground and wiped at the dirt on his knees. “How do we even know for certain that is Goodacre in there?”
“All right, just calm down.” Delove held his hand up and pointed to the window with the light on above us. “We received an anonymous tip stating Goodacre was hiding out in this building. There was some confusion earlier at the gala. One officer said they had him, but they meant they had found the apartment. The detectives have already swept through the premises. It’s definitely where he’s been hiding out. There are personal effects and… several pictures.” Delove glanced in my direction, then back to Cian.
“What pictures?”
He shook his head, not meeting my eyes. “You don’t want to know.”
What the fuck? God, maybe I didn’t want to know. I already had a list of things that were going to haunt me for the rest of my life; I didn’t need to add to the list.
“Look, we’re headed to the morgue now for the autopsy and we’ll check the dental records. But this is him, guys. I know it.” Delove opened the back door, and I crawled in behind Cian.
I had too many questions and no answers. Like, if that were actually Ryzen, how the hell had he ended up like that? Kaviathin’s face popped into my head, and I glanced at Cian. I wouldn’t put it past Voledetti to set someone on fire, as morbid as it was. That seemed like a thing the Mafia would one hundred percent do.
A short while later, the three of us stood behind the glass separating us from the medical examiner as he worked on the body—well, what was left of it. Delove stood with his arms crossed over his chest, and Cian paced back and forth.Soon. We’ll have answers soon.
The examiner pointed to one of the leg bones, and I scrunched up my nose. Delove went into the room and donned a gown, gloves, face mask, and goggles. He hovered over the body, nodding as the examiner pointed from one spot to the next. It was driving me crazy not being able to hear what they were saying, and I pressed my forehead against the glass, shutting my eyes. This was the first time I had seen a body like this, and God, did I hope it was my last.
Delove knocked on the glass, making me practically jump out of my skin, and pointed at the little speaker box on the wall. Cian pressed the button and Delove’s voice carried over the speaker. “Do you recall if Goodacre had any leg injuries as a teenager? Maybe through sports?”
“I don’t know.” Cian furrowed his brow. “It’s possible. He used to get hurt frequently during football practice.”
Delove gave a thumbs-up. “We’ve got a broken leg bone that never healed properly. ME says it’s old.”
We watched as the ME worked on the body, speaking notes into a little recording device. Delove held up the skull, pointing at a bullet hole right in the front. So someone had shot him, then set him on fire?
Using tweezers, the ME began pulling out teeth and placing them on a tray. Cian and I both looked at each other, our faces twisted in disgust. I just wanted this to be over so we could get out of here. The ME handed the tray to his associate, who took the teeth over to a sink, washing and drying them before putting them in an evidence bag. Delove came back into the room we were in a short while later, holding the bag.
“ME was able to pull intact molars and incisors that didn’t get burned. I’m going to take this down to the lab for X-rays and photos so we can run them against his dental records. I’ll have an answer in the morning.”
“So, what do we do in the meantime?” I glanced at the body on the table, then back to Delove. Was that it? It was done for good?
“Go home and get some rest. I’ll call you first thing in the morning. DNA tests will confirm the identity, but that could take a few weeks to get back.” He walked us down the hallway and into the lobby where Valik and Harvey were waiting for us.
By the time we got home, it was after midnight and we were both exhausted. I was still processing everything that had happened over the last few hours—first all the anxiety mixed with excitement at the award ceremony, then Dobbs rushing into the bathroom like a madman, and now this: a possibly dead, crispy Ryzen. It seemed too good to be true. A part of me couldn’t believe it was over. Was it that easy? After almost a year of torture, was it finally over and I was going to be able to live my life?
Cian was down in his office talking to Eros and Orin on speaker phone. Their excited chatter carried down the hallway to our bedroom. I punched in the password to our gun safe next to the bed and reached into my purse, putting my gun away.
The photo Dobbs had given me earlier that night fell to the ground, and I tilted my head to the side as I looked it over. What had he said? This photo proved something wasn’t right? The anger in his eyes as he had pointed at Delove had been absolutely lethal. He must have blamed Delove for his forced retirement.
My fingers traced over the faded photo as I tried to decipher what he had meant. A group of young children, five boys and two girls, stood in the photo, all touching a giant dog that looked like a mastiff. The photo was old and curled at the edges. Part of a man’s face could be seen peeking out from a window in a house behind them, but there was nothing ominous about it. What the hell was Dobbs trying to show me with this photo? I would have to call him tomorrow and ask, that was if he wasn’t too hungover and Delove hadn’t locked him up somewhere. Poor guy, he really had to get a grip and learn to enjoy retirement. Otherwise he would spend the rest of his life chasing ghosts.
Cian came down the hall and I debated hiding the picture, but stopped myself. No, we’d told each other no more secrets. Which meant I had to come clean about seeing Althazair in New York City as well.
He came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist, his chin on my shoulder. “How are you feeling, little star?”
I reached my arms up behind my head and ran my fingers through his hair. “Honestly, I’m exhausted. I just… want this to be over so badly, but something doesn’t feel right about this whole thing.”
He dragged his nose along my neck, inhaling as he hugged me close. “I know. Something’s not sitting right with me either. It feels too easy.” He turned me around to face him and pressed his lips to my forehead. “Let’s get some rest and see what tomorrow holds.”
“Agreed, but first I need to show you something.” Butterflies raced in my stomach as I grabbed the photo and held it up to him. “When you walked in on Dobbs, he had just given me this photo. He said—well, more like babbled—that this was going to prove something.”
Cian narrowed his eyes as he studied the picture, shaking his head. “This means nothing to me. He looked slightly unraveled, like he was hanging on by a thread. Perhaps we will call him tomorrow.” Cian placed the photo on the nightstand and tried to walk me over to the shower.
“There’s one more thing.” I scrunched up my nose. “Now don’t get upset, because this isn’t technically a secret. More like… I forgot to tell you something.”
