Chapter 39 – Aster
ASTER
“So you’ve been getting random gifts and calls, and now the head from the most recent Kodak Killer victim is on your fucking bed?!” I ask, exasperated, as panic claws at my insides. Why did she keep all this from me?
“Looks that way…” Lily replies, her eyes dropping to the floor.
“Do you think it was the Kodak Killer leaving you these… gifts? Calling?”
“I’ve suspected it.” She swallows hard. “But they never made it seem like they were the killer. More like they wanted me to understand him.”
I pace the room. Great. My girl is being hunted by another killer.
“What do we do with it?” Lily asks, gesturing towards the head.
“We could toss it?”
“This could be the only piece of evidence we have.”
“It is out of the ordinary for Kodak to leave body parts behind,” I agree. But how would it even work? “Are you considering telling Liam about this?”
“I probably should.” Her eyes stay on the box. “I’m really sick of all the secrets.”
“What if we let the police handle the head, and we look into the file you got from Liam to see if we can find any more out about Violet?” I suggest, and Hell must have frozen over if I’m recommending calling the police.
I suppose I could call my own contacts, but I’m starting to wonder who I can and can’t trust. And when it comes to Lily’s safety, besides me, no one would care more than Liam.
“How am I going to explain where it came from?” she asks, eyes swimming with hesitancy.
It goes against my usual judgement, but I say, “Tell him the truth.”
“The truth?” she scoffs. “You mean that I’m dating a serial killer and being left body part presents?”
“Not all of that information is necessary. Just tell Liam about the calls and gifts from this anonymous caller.”
“Are you insane?!” She looks at me like I have six heads. “Liam will lose his ever-loving shit if he finds out I’ve been keeping all of this from him.”
“Yeah, well, he’s not the only one unhappy about the secrets you’ve been keeping,” I snap, unable to keep the bite out of my tone.
She sighs. “I really don’t know what to say. I thought it was the right choice at the time.”
“Because you believed it was me?” I ask, hurt aching in my chest, and she shrugs. “Well, what’s the better option than Liam?”
She drags her hands through her hair. “I. Don’t. Know!”
The front door opens and shuts. “You better decide fast.”
She stands paralyzed, unmoving, as creaking footsteps ascend the stairs, growing nearer. But this is her house. Her brother. Her decision. She closes her eyes, taking a calming breath, and they pop open as he nudges the door with his foot.
“Hey, Lil—” His words halt as his eyes land on me, move to Lily, then drop to the bed. In one swift motion, he’s unholstered his gun and has it pointed straight at me. I throw my arms up, and Lily jumps in front of me.
“Stop!” she shouts.
“What the hell is going on?” Liam yells, and I hook my arm around Lily, moving her behind me, opposite hand still in the air. I’m aware it’s me he wants to shoot, but I’m not about to cower behind her or let her think she’s shielding me from a bullet.
“Maybe put the gun down, and we can talk about it,” I suggest.
He narrows his eyes, gaze dropping to the head, then back to me.
“Liam!” Lily shouts. “Put down the goddamn gun.”
He huffs a breath, lowering it, then ultimately returns it to the holster, and I breathe a sigh of relief.
“Jesus,” Lily says, waving a hand at her brother. “Little trigger happy there, aren’t you?”
“Well, forgive me!” He stomps into the room. “I come home to the sight of my sister, the freak who’s always at my crime scenes—”
“It’s my job to be there,” I interrupt, and he glares at me.
“And,” he continues, glancing at the mattress, “a severed head on your bed.”
“So, you thought shooting my boyfriend would get you an explanation faster?” Lily snarks, and my eyes swing to her.
“Boyfriend?” Liam and I say in unison. She rolls her eyes, and I can’t fight the shit-eating grin spreading across my face. Boyfriend. I think I’d prefer a more permanent title, but it’s a start.
“It was left outside my bedroom door,” she tells him.
“Outside your…” He brings a hand to his temple. I’m right there with you, buddy. “How?”
“I don’t know.” Lily throws her hands in the air. “Maybe because you refuse to get an alarm.”
“Those things never work! They just blare whenever the hell they want to. And the beeping always woke you when I had to leave the house at night.”
“Okay, well, the alternative is a serial killer delivering gifts to Lily like fucking Santa Claus,” I point out, and he glares at me, brows knitting.
“Serial killer?” His eyes bounce between us. “Wait, do you think this is…?” He paces. “Lily, is this the first time? Have there been other gifts before?”
“No,” she says, and I try to mask my surprise. Looks like she’s not interested in telling the full truth.
“So why now?” he asks her.
“I. Don’t. Know,” Lily grits out. “Can’t you just take it in and have forensics run some tests or something?”
“I can’t just walk in the precinct with a head in a box, Lily!” He laughs, but there’s no humor in it.
“Kodak delivered photos of a new victim today, and the body was decapitated.”
“We know,” she replies, and he runs a hand over his face.
“Lil…” He steps closer and points to the head. “Is this the guy you told me about who was drugging people at the bar? The guy you Karma’d?”
She taps her foot. “Yes.”
His eyes practically bug out of his skull. “Do you realize how guilty you look right now?”
“What?” she screeches. “A severed head appears on my bed, and I’m the suspect?”
“Unless your boyfriend here would like to admit to anything?” Liam says, glaring my way. “Next time try flowers, bro.” I flip him off.
“Oh, will you two stop it,” Lily snaps, then returns her attention to her brother as he drags his fingers through his blond hair. “What should we do?”
I open my mouth, and Lily silences me with a hand, whispering, “It’s his process, just wait.”
A moment later, Liam clears his throat. “Okay, here’s the story, and you both have to stick to it cause it’s my ass on the line.
I’m going to call it in and say it was left on our front doorstep.
I’m the lead detective on this case, so the assumption will be it was left for me.
” He runs a hand along his tight jaw. “It’s a bit out of the ordinary from their usual MO, but at least we should be able to bring it in for evidence testing. ”
Lily releases a heavy sigh, and I can see the weight lifting off her shoulders. “And in the meantime?”
He grits his teeth, glancing between us. “I don’t like suggesting this considering I didn’t even know you had a… boyfriend until three minutes ago. But you shouldn’t stay here alone. He needs to stay or you need to leave with him.”
“Liam,” Lily protests. “I’m not—”
His eyes harden. “This is non-negotiable. We don’t know what this person wants with you, so until we figure that out, you will either be in this house with me or with this Clark Kent wannabe—”
“Rude,” I scoff.
“Or,” he continues, “I can get you a police detail if needed.” Lily sighs, and I can tell she’s exhausted by the entire ordeal. “Agreed?”
“Agreed,” she grumbles.
Liam pulls a pair of latex gloves out of his pocket. “Did either of you touch this?”
“Only me,” Lily says, and I’m thankful I had the self-preservation to keep my hands to myself.
“Okay, good.” He grabs the head off the bed and returns it to the box. “We can check for prints and DNA fibers.”
A phone call and a few minutes later, he and the severed head are out the door, and Lily’s stripped the bed and thrown the comforter in the wash on the absolutely hottest setting with a gallon of bleach.
“So what now?” I ask, back in her room.
Strolling over to her desk, she grabs the file on top. “Guess I can’t avoid this any longer.”
“Okay, let’s do it.”
As Liam told Lily, Violet’s file contains far more questions than answers. There are some unnecessarily graphic photos, courtesy of the Kodak Killer, which I removed before letting Lily see it. Liam’s a dick, but he was right. Seeing those won’t help her in any way.
In fact, not much from the folder helps at all. No wonder the Kodak Killer hasn’t been caught. If the evidence for all victims is like this, they don’t have jack shit to go on.
“Another dead end!” Lily shouts, tossing the folder across the room, pages flying out and floating to the ground. I crouch to clean them up. When setting it on her desk, I notice a small piece of paper rests on top of the pile.
901 Cedarwood Park - Abandoned
2093 43rd Street. Client? - Dead end
“What is this for?” I ask Lily.
“Addresses?” she says, taking it from me. “You check GPS, I’ll check the tax appraiser’s office.”
I grab my phone as she opens her laptop and begins clicking away.
“901 is an abandoned cabin in the middle of the Blackridge Forest,” I tell her.
“Yeah, and get this. It’s owned by Onyx Ares Inc., and only a few miles from the Westerfords’ place.”
“Isn’t that the same shell company that owned the crematorium?” I ask, searching the other address.
“Yep.”
“2093 is a high rise near the river,” I tell her, and the sound of clacking keys fills the room.
“Owned by Frederick Vetrel.” She spins the computer to face me.
“What?” I tug it closer for a better look.
“Was he a client?” She abandons the device, pacing the room. “I would understand if she had ties with the Westerfords because of the art. But what the hell would Vetrel want with her? Art for the bar? Or was it something else?”
The more we learn, the more I believe Violet was keeping secrets. That Lily didn’t know as much about her best friend as she thinks she did. But rubbing salt in the wound won’t bring Violet back.
“You could ask Liam what he knows about those addresses,” I recommend.
“No.” She shakes her head. “He’s going to tell me to leave it alone, but we clearly need to check these places out ourselves. Okay,” she says, seemingly shaking out of her spiral. “I’ll take Vetrel’s, and you take the other address?”
I scoff. “First, there’s no way I’d let you near Vetrel’s place by yourself. And in case you forgot, I actually did kill him, so being caught in his apartment seems like a pretty stupid thing to do.”
“Okay, but I didn’t kill Vetrel, and we’ll cover more ground if I go—”
“Did you not hear Liam? You’re not going anywhere without backup.”
She folds her arms over her chest. “Since when do I have to take orders from him?”
“You don’t.” A grin splits across my face. “But you seem to take them pretty well from your boyfriend.”
She rolls her eyes. “We do not have time for this.”
“Hey, you said it.” I boop her on the nose. “Not me.”
“Instant regret,” she mutters, but her tone is teasing.
“Unfortunately, though, I do agree with him on this one. We don’t know what this caller wants from you. You shouldn’t go anywhere alone, especially not for a literal part of the investigation.”
She grumbles. “Okay, fine.”
“See?” I grin, hooking the hem of her jeans and pulling her close. “You take directions so well.” She rolls her eyes, and I silence her with a claiming kiss.
For a brief moment, the entire insane world around us disappears.
It’s just me and the most beautiful, stubborn, enamoring woman in the entire universe.