“That is a question we want answered as well.” A tiny bit of fear flickers across Carl’s face. “Only a handful of people know about Patrick’s death and the real cause, with a majority of them being hunters. We were able to keep the case as closed as possible. The death was ruled accidentally after Patrick fell asleep with a bottle of Jack in his hand and a cigarette in his mouth. Things were dealt with accordingly…until a few days ago.”
“What happened a few days ago?”
“Someone new moved into Patrick’s apartment and conveniently found a lighter stashed inside a vent in the wall.”
“Okay, that’s a little suspicious,” I admit. “But how does that make an accidental death a murder?”
“The lighter was covered in sulfur dust, which is highly flammable. And there was one very clear fingerprint on the lighter.”
“Ethan’s.”
“Yes,” Carl says, eyes meeting mine. He doesn’t have to say it: I know what he’s thinking, and it’s bad. Really fucking bad. Because whoever framed Ethan not only knew that Patrick’s death wasn’t an accident, but they knew enough to use sulfur.
Which means they know about the demon.
ChapterFour
“Are you sure we can trust him?” I nervously twirl my hair around my finger. Nik and are back in my car, talking to David on the phone.
“Not in general,” David responds. “But in this case, yes. The Order didn’t set Ethan up. Carl was telling the truth in saying they want Ethan back in their ranks. You know he’s a good hunter and losing him is bad for business, you could say.”
I look at Nik, making a face and shaking my head. I hate the fucking Order, but if they can pull this off, then I’ll owe them one. Which is another problem on its own, but I can’t think about that right now.
“Yeah. I guess. They, um, weren’t happy he left. Retaliation didn’t seem too far off.”
“I agree,” David says, surprising me a bit. “But not in this case. They really do want him back, and…” He lets out a sigh, hesitating before saying what he was about to say. “And Ethan doesn’t know this, but the Order has used him as what you’d call their poster boy for the last few years.”
Now it’s Nik’s turn to give me awhat the fucklook. “Poster boy?” he repeats. “What do they do? Send out pamphlets with pictures of him killing demons?”
David hesitates again. “More like video clips.”
“And Ethan doesn’t know?” I echo, surprised but not at the same time. Ethan and I have only been together for nearly ten months now, but I know him. I trust him. I love him.
And he feels the same about me.
But I’m starting to realize there’s a lot I don’t quite know about his family…and now I’m wondering if I’m not the only one. It’s not the first time his dad kept him in the dark about something, either. From downplaying the severity of an Order member entangling with a witch to this?
David was born into the Order, raised as a hunter, and never questioned it. Then he had a son and expected the same. Except, Ethan did question things. He wanted to go to college. Get a regular job and have a life as well as hunt and kill demons.
And I thought we had that, but the Order wanted to keep Ethan on a leash.
“You know he wouldn’t be happy if he found out,” David goes on. “Telling him won’t change anything.”
“Right,” I say, hearing the unspoken request to not mention this to Ethan. David is right in saying that the Order won’t stop using Ethan as promo, and itwillpiss Ethan off to know the Order has been using video clips of him.
“If the Order didn’t frame Ethan, then who did?” Nik asks.
“I have no idea,” David says with a sigh.
“What about another hunter?” I suggest. “Someone who’s mad Ethan left the Order and is dating a witch?”
“It’s a possibility, though no one loyal to the Order would reopen a case like that. They’d find another way to get back at him, or they’d go after you, Anora.”
I raise my brows and nod as I talk. “Yeah. That makes more sense. Unless…” The words die in my throat, not wanting to say them out loud.
“Unless they knew they couldn’t take on a witch,” Nik finishes for me. “And they knew going after the one person she loves more than anyone would hurt the most.”
“We will look into it. Julia is getting information on the new couple in the apartment as we speak.”