I watch as he waves, and I force a smile. I don’t know what he plans to say, but I hope he listens to what I have to say without freaking out or hating me.
Chapter Eleven
The Bold Truth
Tag
I can’t stop smiling. She still wants me.
Just as I’m about to leave the of
fice, a detective from Ash’s case steps off the elevator.
“Detective Marks, I wasn’t expecting you,” I murmur in bemusement. “Did you catch the guy?”
“Not exactly. He did break into Ms. Branderwood’s storage facility, and he stole or trashed everything she had. Is she still staying at your place?”
Fuck.
“Yeah. I’m not letting her out of my sight.”
“Here’s the thing. The target is no longer just Ms. Branderwood. We found these,” he says while handing me several photos locked inside evidence bags.
There are pictures of Trip and Ash taken from afar from her old place. Trip’s eyes have been blacked out, his mouth has been burrowed through, and there are crossed-out marks over his body in every picture.
“We also found this,” he uneasily releases while handing me a baby doll inside an evidence bag. The eyes have been gouged, the mouth has been ripped out, and the head is disconnected. The sickening part, he’s wearing a shirt with a picture of Trip.
“Fucking shit,” I release as my hands tremble.
“I know. This guy is beyond fucked up. In cases like these, I have to notify both parents. Ms. Branderwood said I could share anything with you, so I’m hoping you’ll do the same for me.”
“Yeah, of course. What do you need?”
“Well, she’s sort of silent on the matter of the child’s father. It’s possible this guy might be the one doing all this, considering the new target. I went to rundown the name of the father, but I couldn’t find a man in this area by that name. I’m hoping you can help me locate him. If he’s not the suspect, he at least needs to know someone is targeting his kid.”
He knows his name.
“I don’t even know the dad’s name, but I’m sure I can help if you give it to me. Her best friend is on my speed dial. I’m sure he can help.”
My stomach flip-flops. I've wanted to know the name of this bastard for months now.
The detective smiles appreciatively.
“Great, it’s Shannon Pierce.”
I tilt my head curiously, and then I shake it.
“Shannon Pierce isn’t a guy. That’s one of her friends - a girl friend. What’s going on?”
He frowns, and then he makes a note of what I’ve said.
“What’s going on is Ms. Branderwood is hiding something. Whatever it is, it could end up getting her hurt if the father is indeed the suspect. Care if I come over tonight?”
“Yeah, sure," I mutter, now losing the euphoric cloud I was on.
***
Tag