Chapter 27 - Lila #4
"Shaw has been positioning me as a suspect, building a case that connects me to the copycat murders through my knowledge of your methodology." I push myself up, sitting cross-legged beside him on the couch. "But what if I became a victim instead?"
Kent's expression sharpens with interest. "Explain."
"Nine years ago, I was Delilah Jenkins—a traumatized teenager who'd lost her father to violence.
I played that role perfectly, convinced everyone that I was exactly what they expected: broken, vulnerable, grateful for any protection the system could provide.
" The memory should taste bitter, but instead it feels like power remembered.
"What if Delilah Jenkins came forward now, scared that the Carver has returned? "
I can see Kent processing the implications, understanding dawning across his features. "You'd be repositioning yourself from potential accomplice to potential victim."
"Exactly. And more than that—I'd be providing information that helps the investigation while protecting both of us.
" My mind is racing now, the pieces falling into place with satisfying precision.
"Detective Rivas was the lead investigator on my father's case.
He knows Delilah Jenkins, has a professional relationship with that identity.
If she reached out to him, scared and seeking protection… ."
"He'd listen," Kent finishes. "And he'd want to help."
"More than that. He'd want to prove that he can solve this case, that he can catch the Carver this time when he failed nine years ago." I reach for my phone, the decision crystallizing with absolute clarity. "I'm going to call him."
Kent's hand catches my wrist gently. "Are you sure about this? Once you make that call, once you activate the Delilah Jenkins identity again, there's no taking it back. You'll have to maintain that performance until this is over."
The concern in his voice makes my chest warm, because he understands the psychological cost of what I'm proposing.
Delilah Jenkins was built from trauma and vulnerability, designed to elicit protection from authority figures who needed to see victims rather than survivors.
Stepping back into that identity means suppressing everything strong and dangerous about who I've become.
But it also means taking control of Shaw's chess game.
"I'm sure," I say, reaching for his free hand. "Shaw thinks she's been manipulating me, studying my responses, controlling the variables in her psychological experiment. But she's been studying Dr. Lila North. She has no idea what Delilah Jenkins is capable of."
Kent brings our joined hands to his lips, pressing a soft kiss against my knuckles. "Then make the call. And Lila? Make her believe every word."
I find Detective Rivas's number in my contacts—he's been calling periodically for years, checking in on "that poor Jenkins girl" with the kind of paternal concern that made him easy to manage when I was actually seventeen. The phone rings twice before his familiar voice answers.
"Delilah? Jesus, I haven't heard from you in months. How are you doing, sweetheart?"
The endearment slides over me like oil, triggering muscle memory from years of performed vulnerability. I let my voice shake slightly when I respond, just enough to suggest barely controlled fear.
"Detective Rivas, I…I need to talk to someone. Something's happening, and I don't know who else to trust."
"What's wrong? Are you safe? Do you need me to come over?"
The immediate concern in his voice confirms what I remembered about him—Detective Mark Rivas is a good cop who's spent nine years feeling guilty that he never caught his mentor's killer. He's been carrying that failure like a weight, and now I'm about to give him the chance for redemption.
"I'm safe for now, but…." I take a shaky breath, the sound perfectly calculated to suggest someone fighting panic. "Detective, have you been following these new murders? The ones that look like…like what happened to my dad?"
Silence on the other end, followed by the sound of papers rustling. "Delilah, what makes you think they're connected to your father's case?"
"The positioning. The way the bodies are arranged.
The surgical precision." I let genuine emotion creep into my voice—not fear, but the satisfaction I felt watching Kent deliver justice.
Rivas will interpret it as traumatic recognition.
"It's him, isn't it? The person who killed my father. He's back."
"Sweetheart, I need you to stay calm. Can you tell me exactly what you've observed that makes you think these cases are connected?"
Kent squeezes my thigh and smiles at me when I mention the Carver, mouthing silently: "Forever, baby." The words make heat pool in my chest despite the performance I'm maintaining.
"I've been following the news coverage, and some of the details…
they match what I remember from that night.
The way my father was positioned, the methodical approach.
" I pause, letting my voice drop to a whisper.
"Detective, there's something else. My aunt recognized someone from the old investigation.
A psychologist who was involved back then—Dr. Shaw? Dr. Evelyn Shaw?"
I can practically hear Rivas's attention sharpen through the phone. "What about Dr. Shaw?"
"She's been around recently. Asking questions, showing up at places she shouldn't be.
My aunt remembered her from the funeral, said she seemed…
wrong somehow. Not like someone who was there to grieve.
" I inject genuine uncertainty into my voice.
"I'm scared, Detective Rivas. What if she's involved somehow?
What if the person who killed my father has been watching me all this time? "
The silence stretches long enough that I wonder if I've overplayed my hand. Then Rivas clears his throat, and I can hear the protective instinct I've been counting on engaging.
"Delilah, I want you to listen to me carefully. If you think you're being watched or threatened, I need to know immediately. Can you come to the station tomorrow? I want to take an official statement, and I want to make sure you have proper protection."
"You believe me?" The relief in my voice is only partially performed, because having Rivas take this seriously means my strategy is working.
"I believe that you're scared, and I believe that your observations deserve investigation. After what happened to your father, after what you went through…you've earned the right to have your concerns taken seriously."
Perfect. He's already positioning me as a victim who deserves protection rather than a suspect who deserves scrutiny. Delilah Jenkins is working her magic, transforming a potential threat into an ally.
"Thank you," I whisper, letting him hear the tears I'm not shedding. "I've been so alone with this, so afraid that no one would believe me."
"You're not alone, Delilah. Not anymore. Come in tomorrow at ten a.m., and we'll figure this out together. In the meantime, if anything else happens—if you see Dr. Shaw again, if you notice anyone watching you—you call me immediately. Day or night."
"I will. Detective Rivas? Thank you for still caring about what happened to my father. I know you never stopped trying to find his killer."
"And I never will," he says, voice heavy with the weight of nine years of unresolved guilt. "See you tomorrow, sweetheart. Stay safe."
I end the call and set the phone aside, my hands steady despite the emotional manipulation I've just orchestrated. Kent is watching me with something that might be awe or might be concern.
"How do you feel?" he asks.
"Like I just took control of Shaw's psychological experiment," I say, settling back into his arms. "She's been studying Dr. Lila North's responses to trauma and pressure.
But tomorrow, Detective Rivas is going to meet Delilah Jenkins—scared, vulnerable, seeking protection from the very people Shaw has been trying to turn against me. "
"And Delilah Jenkins has never been a suspect."
"Delilah Jenkins is a victim. Someone who deserves protection and support, not investigation and surveillance.
" I trace patterns against Kent's chest, my mind already working through the performance I'll need to give tomorrow.
"Shaw won't see this move coming because she's been focused on the wrong identity. "
Kent's arms tighten around me. "You're magnificent when you're strategic."
The compliment sends warmth through me, because he understands exactly what I've just accomplished.
I've taken Shaw's own methodology—using psychological manipulation to achieve specific outcomes—and turned it against her.
Tomorrow I'll walk into that police station and transform myself from suspect into victim, from threat into someone who needs protection.
It's my move in this chess match, and Shaw won't realize what's happened until it's too late to counter.
"Tomorrow I become Delilah Jenkins again," I say, already mentally preparing for the psychological costume I'll need to wear. "And Detective Rivas gets the chance to finally catch the Carver."
Even if the Carver he catches isn't the one he's expecting.