Chapter 14
Graham
Ihad no business sitting across from a serial killer, but I needed answers only he could give me.
The room was cold and smelled of stale sweat and body odor. I’d had to call in a few favors with the prosecutor to get this meeting. Amos Anderson wasn’t really allowed visitors.
When he looked at me, I forced my muscles not to tense. I couldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing I was at all uncomfortable.
Two guards stood against the wall behind him, looking bored. I hadn’t spoken face-to-face with the killer in over a year. He used to contact me regularly, and at the time, I humored him, curious as to what he might want with me.
When it was clear he wanted nothing more than to play with me, I’d ended my side of the communication. My entire being revolted at the idea of sitting here, but it was necessary.
“Doctor Ramsey,” Amos purred.
I held completely still, face impassive.
“It’s been too long since you’ve come to see me.”
I ignored the comment. It had been three days since Quinn’s attack. Detective Whize had very few leads. There were no security cameras at the library. No evidence at the scene.
Jake had been questioned, but there was nothing physically connecting him to the crime—unless he confessed, and he hadn’t.
The trail was going cold, and it was eating me alive.
So, I went to the only person in Ember Hollow who might know something, and the one I least wanted to see.
“I need to ask you some questions,” I said, my tone as cold as the cinderblock room.
His expression went stony. “Oh?” he said with forced indifference.
“It seems your counsel is having a hard time being welcomed into the town.”
“My counsel?” The arch of his brow twitched. “You mean Ms. Carpenter?” He lifted a shoulder in a halfhearted shrug. “She’s always seemed perfectly reasonable to me. A bit…rigid, perhaps, but you can’t deny she’s quite the beauty.”
I fisted my hands under the table. I hated him even speaking about her.
The fact that he saw her privately every week made me sick. He was the one who wanted her to stay in town until the trial. He’d personally requested that she meet with him alone. That couldn’t be a coincidence.
“Someone attacked her,” I said bluntly, trying to gauge his reaction. He didn’t give much away, which in itself told me something. He had been prepared for that. He had known.
“Attacked?” he echoed, forcing a frown.
“Let’s stop pretending you don’t know what I’m talking about,” I snapped. “You wanted her here. You know what this town thinks of you. She’s seen as an extension of you, and the tensions have been high since the moment she set foot in Ember Hollow.”
His lips curled over his white teeth. “It’s hardly my fault how the town treats her.” He looked around the room. “After all, I’ve been stuck in here. You can’t blame me for wanting to see a pretty face every week, can you?”
“Do you know who hurt her?” I snarled, unwilling to engage in the games he wanted to play.
The killer’s eyes sparked. I couldn’t tell whether it was anger igniting or humor.
“Doctor Ramsey.” He tsked, lifting his shackled wrists. “What makes you think I could have anything to do with this attack? On my own counsel, no less?” He shook his head. “That makes no sense.”
“Kidnapping women to murder them and mutilating their bodies makes no sense either. And yet, you did that.”
“Accusation is not guilt, Doctor.” He sneered. “That is something Ms. Carpenter will defend with her life, I’d wager.”
I shot him a glare. “She won’t be dying for you,” I spat.
His eyebrow twitched again, and he leaned forward. “My, my,” he said, gliding his tongue over his teeth. “Have you caught feelings for the young counselor, Doctor?”
“No.” But I said the word too quickly, making me sound defensive.
His smile curved wider as he clicked his tongue disapprovingly. “You’d better be careful,” he crooned, his voice low. “You wouldn’t want her to end up like the last one.”
He almost whispered the words, but they hit me like a lance to the chest.
My clenched fist trembled beneath the table as I stared at him—the monster. It shouldn’t have surprised me that he knew about my past. What surprised me was that he hadn’t brought it up until now. The man seemed able to buy any kind of information he wanted, even from a jail cell.
He snickered, then glanced over his shoulder at the guards standing behind him. “I think we’re done here for today,” he said, casually.
I let him go without a word. He wasn’t going to help me. He wouldn’t freely give away the information I wanted.
I was going to have to fight for it.
Back in my office at Hearthstone later that day, I was failing at getting any good work done.
Files were scattered across my desk. In the past couple of years, I’ve been doing more for the company and dialing back on my clinical work.
After everything with the Shadow Stalker, I was getting burnt-out in the prisons and hospital settings.
August helped facilitate contracted work for me in all different areas.
Most of it I could do remotely, but that didn’t mean it was easy.
I had three ongoing cases this month: a corporate case, a violence threat assessment for a private individual, and attorney-contracted forensic analysis.
Not to mention another ongoing advisory case.
Between all that and helping Detective Whize figure out who might’ve attacked Quinn, I was running on fumes.
It didn’t help that I was still agitated from the meeting with Anderson. My skin felt too tight for my body.
You wouldn’t want her to end up like the last one.
His words echoed in my mind.
He reveled in the information he could get, and with his money and connections, he could find out almost anything about anyone. I just hadn’t realized he was interested enough in me to look.
I dragged a hand through my hair, my gaze landing on a file in front of me without really seeing it.
Amos had managed to entwine himself so tightly with my family, particularly after my brothers had fallen in love with two of his direct victims. It was almost as if he wanted to slowly choke the life out of all of us.
Despite everything I had testified to on the stand the day I met Quinn, my judgment was compromised when it came to him.
I looked up at the sound of my name.
August stood in the doorway of my office, his bulky arms crossed over his chest. His jaw was tight, stormy-gray eyes dark.
Tension immediately coiled through my body at the sight of him. Something was wrong.
“What’s going on?” I forced calm into my voice. I was used to hiding stress from my brothers. I was the composed one—the logical pillar of steadiness when the rest of them weren’t sure where to turn.
August shifted on his feet, clearly uncomfortable. “I had a discussion with Whize.” He sounded on edge. “I’m sure you know, but he brought Jake in for questioning.”
A muscle in my cheek rippled as I clenched my jaw. I leaned back in my chair. “Quinn was attacked a few nights ago.”
August tensed. I hadn’t spoken about the attack to anyone but Whize. Quinn didn’t want me to, but if August had talked to Jake—he had to know.
August scrubbed a hand over the back of his neck and sighed. “I know. And I’m sorry about that, but…” He shook his head. “I wish you would’ve come to us about it. Jake’s been having a hard enough time, Graham. He didn’t need to be dragged into the station like that.”
I forced myself to push down the rush of emotions welling in my chest, threatening to crest over and smother me. I pretended I didn’t feel it, anything to stay in control.
I stared at my brother, who I’d do anything for. This wasn’t really about August—I knew that. It was about Emersyn, the love of his life. It was about everything Amos Anderson had put her through.
This wasn’t August’s fault. It was the serial killer’s. The man who had ruined so much of this town, and so many good people.
“I had to let Whize know about my suspicions of Jake,” I said evenly.
“You could’ve asked me first.” His voice was almost as sharp as his stare—like edged steel. “I’ve been looking after him. If I thought there was a chance he’d done something like that, I would’ve told you.”
I tilted my head, studying him. He looked exhausted, like he hadn’t slept in days.
“You have enough to deal with,” I muttered. “I didn’t want to add more to your plate if I could avoid it. Whize is good at his job. I trust him.”
August looked away, frustration tightening his features. “It would’ve been nice to have a heads-up, at least. Being questioned was like throwing a stone at an already compromised piece of glass. It could shatter him.” His fists clenched.
A pang of guilt struck me like a punch to the gut, but I ignored it.
“Quinn didn’t want people to know.”
August’s face pinched at the mention of her.
“It took enough convincing to get her to make a report in the first place,” I explained. “I wasn’t going to talk about it if she didn’t want me to.”
August dropped his gaze to the floor, his body vibrating with tension. He opened his mouth, then closed it again. He shook his head, letting out a heavy breath.
“Just…if there’s anything else involving Jake or Emersyn,” he said, his voice rough, “come to me about it. Okay?”
He didn’t wait for a reply before pushing off the doorframe and walking out of my office.
I stared after him.
When had this happened?
I’d always thought of my brothers as my closest friends—my team. My anchors.
Now, I just felt…alone.
Just like I had when I left home to go to school and work in the city.
Maybe I’d always been alone.
And maybe I’d just been pretending I wasn’t.