Chapter Fifty-Three
Matteo
“How is he still alive?” I complain. Bryan was completely skinned at around ten last night. He managed to eat most of it but threw up violently afterward. I thought he would have died when we fell asleep, but I can still hear him mumbling. Brynne told us to check on him throughout the day, but not to dispose of him until he was truly dead. This has got to be excruciating to lay there with no skin to protect you. Every breeze or fly that lands on him must feel like getting touched by a cattle rod.
“Stubborn pricks usually last longer,” Damon says from the darkness.
“I can only imagine what she has planned for Westmoore and Featherstone,” I blow out a breath.
“Damon, Matteo,” Sawyer calls from the top of the
basement stairs. “You need to get up here right now,” he yells. Damon and I share a look and walk back up to the living. I see Brynne standing in the dining room with her work bag on the table. I look over at the clock and it's only noon.
“What are you doing home?’ I ask.
“Adam is dead,” she says plainly. She looks around the living room and realizes Ryker is gone. “Where’s Ryker?” she asks nervously .
“He went to his father’s office to check on the files,” Sawyer answers.
“What do you mean Epson is dead?” Damon asks.
“I got to work and everyone was talking about how Adam still hadn’t come into the office,” Brynne pauses.
“Didn’t he call out yesterday?” Sawyer asks.
“He sent an email according to Pam our receptionist. No one had heard from him since. The morning was just all gossip until she went to put a file on his desk. She started screaming and I ran out of my appointment to see what the commotion was and saw him in his chair. He cut out his tongue and gouged his eyes out,” Brynne explains.
“What did the authorities say?” I ask.
“I overheard them talking about how he was missing his heart. I guess he had been dead for a few days. It makes me wonder if he was in his office this whole time. I think I was the last one to see him alive,” Brynne continues.
“He will be coming back to me now,” Damon says in a voice of challenge. “And I’ll be ready,” he adds.
“That’s not the weirdest part. One of the officers was weird,” Brynne starts.
“Weird how?” Sawyer asks.
“He kept looking at me like he knew me. He didn’t even look inside Adam’s office and was talking to the other officers about very specific details. I hurried to my office to dismiss my client and grab my things. I could feel him watching me and then he was in my doorway,” Brynne swallows.
“What happened?” Damon growls.
“He said my name,” she says.
“Your name?” I ask .
Brynne looks at Damon. “My real name. He is the same person from the haunted house. I’m sure of it.”
“A cop?” I say. Why would a cop want Epson dead? It doesn’t make sense. “Why would a cop kill Epson?” I ask.
“Because he works for Hachett,” Damon says plainly.
“Fuck,” Sawyer mumbles.
“I rushed home before he could get me alone. There
was a strange feeling of familiarity between us. I tried to place him in my head, but I couldn’t. Not until I left the office,” Brynne shivers and wraps the scarf I gave her around her neck.
“What was his name?” Sawyer asks.
“His uniform said Harbor, but his real name is Asher
Lantree,” Brynne pauses. “He’s my foster brother from when I was placed with Clara,” she sighs.
This spiderweb keeps getting more complicated with each day. I don’t know if we are going to be able to pull this off without one of us getting hurt.
“He will be at the press conference. We will take care of him there, and Hachett. Kill two birds with one stone,”
Damon commands.
My attention goes to the muted tv when Hachett’s face pops up on the screen. I grab the remote and unmute the tv. “What are you doing?” Sawyer says. Robert is with the police chief and looks distraught. He gives a statement about his wife Tara and how she has gone missing. He talks about being targeted after his dear friend David Penfield was brutally murdered and now they have taken his wife.
“What a piece of shit,” Damon spats.
“Sawyer, don’t you still have the live feed for the office building?” Brynne asks .
“Yeah, why?”
“There has to be some angle where we see who put Adam in the office. If they erased it on the office end, you would still have a copy, right?”
“Hand me my laptop,” Sawyer demands. I grab his computer and hand it to him. We all huddle around him and watch over the videotape footage. Sawyer clicks on the day Brynne goes to the office and brings Adam to the police. He fast forwards until he sees another person Sunday night.
“Gotcha,” Damon says in a menacing voice.
“Do you think we could trade?” Brynne asks.
“Trade what?” I ask.
“We won’t release the video if he helps us get to Hachett,” she shrugs.
“I’m not working with that fuck,” Damon says angrily.
“I might be able to get through to him,” Brynne offers. I don’t like this plan one bit, but if we could get better access to Hachett we could maybe get more information on Digicon. Hopefully, Ryker pulls through today before Brynne takes it upon herself to enact this crazy plan.