Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 98819 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 494(@200wpm)___ 395(@250wpm)___ 329(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98819 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 494(@200wpm)___ 395(@250wpm)___ 329(@300wpm)
“Let’s revisit the evidence.” If BK was really behind the events of today, it’s a break from his usual modus operandi. But so is his new habit of leaving dead birds.
Inara’s voice drops to a hush. “This was meant to trap me once and for all. He’s fixated on me and won’t be happy to be deprived of his prey.”
“Which is why I came to you immediately,” Hamish says. “I have a plan. But I need both of you to agree.”
Inara
* * *
“What plan?” Rex growls at my side. I’m glad he’s here. My head is full of puzzle pieces—Burgess, the path of dead birds, the explosion—and I don’t know how to sort them so I can think. I know I’m being too hard on myself. I’m not alone anymore. Rex is on my side. He doesn’t have to carry me forever, but the fact that he can is a relief, a safety net I didn’t know I needed. Right now, I’m content to remain silent and lean on him.
“The explosion is an opportunity,” Hamish says. “The department-owned vehicle Burgess was driving has already been found at the scene and linked back to him. Eventually, they might discover that he invited you to ride along with him.”
“He did,” I say. “But he made sure to pick me up off-site. No one at the department saw me leave with him.” I’m sure that was part of Burgess’s plan—deliver me to the Bondage Killer and leave the site unscathed. I can’t say I’m sorry he’s dead. “No one will know exactly what happened.”
“Unless we tell them. We can leak that you were there with him and did not survive.”
I blink, trying to follow.
“You want to spread the news that Inara is dead,” Rex says. His muscles tighten as if the mere thought causes him stress.
I can pretend I’m dead. Go into hiding, lay low. The idea takes hold, and suddenly, it all makes sense.
A laugh bubbles up my throat. I try to stop it and end up wheezing. Which only makes me laugh more.
Rex and Hamish stare at me, but I can’t stop my hysterical outburst. My head grows light with a rush of relief.
I’ve dreamed of my death, but maybe this is it. I don’t have to actually die. I just have to fake it.
“I’m all right.” I press my hands over my face, trying to get myself together. For a moment, I get a brief vision of black feathers covering my face and the sense of falling, but as soon as I drop my hands, I’m back in the room with Rex. Both he and Hamish have somber expressions I read as worried. “I’m okay,” I reassure them. “It’s a brilliant idea, Hamish, thank you. I’m in. How do we do this?”
“I’ve taken the liberty of turning off your cell phone,” Hamish says. “Any calls will go straight to voicemail, and texts will read as undelivered. You’ll still be able to see them. . . but I recommend you do not respond. We’ll need you to keep up the ruse.”
“Got it.” I sober, realizing how this will play out. My contacts, my colleagues at the department? Everyone in the world will need to believe that I’m gone.
“Why would we do this?” Rex asks. “You’ll have no outside contact. And then what?”
“That’s how we catch him.” I face him so he can see my determination. “We find a way to lure him out and catch him. And maybe he’ll stop killing because he thinks he’s won.”
18
Inara
* * *
I sit in my situation room with Lacy Collins’s old murder book in front of me. Rex and Hamish are holed up nearby in a makeshift office, dealing with the details of our plan. My role is done, so I’m paging through Lacy’s notes, still unable to focus.
I’m in the first few hours of being a dead person, and it’s both a relief and a burden. My phone’s blown up with messages from colleagues. I can see them come through, although I can’t answer because the official story is that my phone was destroyed in the explosion. The frantic phone calls from Diego Silva and Agent Larsen are the hardest to ignore, even though it’s necessary. Even Bonds called twice but left no message. At least Hamish and Rex agreed to loop Mina in. It’s a relief not to have to lie to everyone and worry about how Mina might feel.
To pull off Hamish’s plan, Rex went ahead and released preliminary data that I was seen in Burgess’s vehicle. The news is speculating that we both were there to investigate a lead in a murder case when a “terrible tragedy” took place.
Unfortunately, this requires Rex to play a shocked and grieving widower. He’s been on the phone with his staff ever since. I’m trying to give him space, although I’m wondering if that’s a mistake. He’s roleplaying his worst nightmare.