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Luca crouched down at her level and said,‘My partner and I, we're just trying to sort out a sticky situation. I'm sure aclever lady like you can understand that.’
The old bird near swooned, apple-dollcheeks gone ruddy. ‘Okay. Though I don’t know what help an old thing like mecould be.’
‘More than you know,’ Luca assured her.‘Now, about your son. We’d love to talk to him. Do you know where we might findhim?’
The old woman's face crumpled, tearsspringing up to swim in cloudy eyes. ‘Oh, it’s awful! Just awful!’
Luca took her hand and asked, ‘What’sawful, ma’am? Please tell us what you know.’
‘They were so cruel,’ Mrs. Doyle warbled.‘Awful people!’
‘Which people?’
‘They ruined him,’ she hissed. ‘Thosepeople, that crowd. Laughed my poor boy offstage. Broke him.’
Ella's gut clenched. So Sebastian hadspilled his guts to Mommy Dearest. Poured out all his blackest bile. But didhis mother know just how far his son had taken it?
Luca, bless his handsome mug, kept hiscool. ‘And these people, ma'am - you know they've passed on?’
Ella held her breath, watched confusioncloud those milky eyes. ‘Passed on? You mean...dead? No, no. Seb, he was justgonna talk to them. Sort it all out.’
‘Ma’am, all of those people at your son’scomedy show – the ones shouting at him – are all dead. And we believe Sebastianmight be the one responsible.’
The wail that slipped out of granny'swithered lips was damn near inhuman. She started rocking back and forth,keening like a banshee with a busted 8-track.
Ella's heart twisted in her chest. Thisold bird was a victim, too. A mother's love, blind and fierce, warped intosomething tragic by her son's sickness. She stepped forward, crouching downbeside Luca, her voice soft as she'd ever managed.
‘Mrs. Doyle, I know this is a lot to takein. And I can't imagine how much you're hurting right now. But we need yourhelp.’
Luca jumped up, put both hands on hershoulders and kept her still. ‘Mrs. Doyle, I know this is hard, but we need tofind Sebastian immediately. If you can help us, we can put an end to all ofthis.’
The old woman took her sweet time. Wailsturned to inaudible murmurs and after a good long stare at Luca’s chiseledfeature, she said, ‘Seb is out.’
‘Where?’
‘Gone to meet the last one.’
‘Last one?’
‘The main one. The one who started it. Thelast one.’
The last one.
Frustration bubbled up like a volcano, andElla was just about to go full rabid dog when her cell buzzed in her pocketlike a cattle prod to the backside. She snatched it up, clocked the name.
Harland.
‘Chief, what is it?’ she answered as shescuttled out of the room, leaving Luca to mind the mother.
‘Christ, woman, you tryin' to deafen me?You find him yet or what?’
‘Negative,’ she bit out. ‘But we’re in hishouse. With his mom.’
‘His mom?’
‘Don’t ask. What about a next target?’
‘That’s the problem,’ Harland said. ‘Mytech guy here IDed three of Laughingstock Larry's targets from that video.Newman, Bolton, Shepherd. But there ain't enough pixels in the world to putnames to any other mugs in that crowd.’
