Page 29 of Sins of the Fathers

None of this would bring them back, but that wasn’t what Jasper needed. What he needed was the truth, and he would find it.

Chapter Eleven

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FOR ONCE, ARCHIE WAS glad that Jasper had needed to go to work. He’d spent the entire day after talking to Leroy holed up on Archie’s couch, looking through the documents with a focus that had Archie wondering if his eyes were about to cross. He hadn’t said anything because he didn’t have anything to say. He wasn’t going to try to stop Jasper from doing what he needed to do. He would be there for Jasper, and he had been.

Jasper had needed a distraction, which was where work had come in. He’d tried calling out sick, but Archie had pushed him out the door. Hopefully, spending a few hours working on an old car would help Jasper see things better. Right now, his focus was clouded with anger and anxiousness, and it wasn’t helping.

That didn’t mean that Archie wasn’t working on the case. After all, Petra was paying him to find out what happened to Daniel, and while he knew now, he still didn’t have the name of the killer. He wasn’t sure what he would do once he did, but that wasn’t something he needed to find out now. No, what he needed to find out now was who the killer was, and he suspected that Jasper had been right.

The answer was in that box.

Archie stared at the piece of paper on the coffee table in front of him. It was a list of names. It didn’t have a title or anything that would tell him what it was, but it didn’t need to. Seeing the names he recognized on the list told him what it was.

Leroy was there, as were Daniel and the other two who’d been killed. There were other names, some of which Archie recognized, some he didn’t. He couldn’t be sure who the killer would go after next, but this was a start. If Archie thought like the killer, he was sure he could shorten the list and go visit these hunters and ex-hunters. He needed answers, and one of them was bound to talk.

He had his computer next to him. He’d looked up all of the names on the piece of paper, so he knew which hunters lived within the headquarters of the hunters and which ones lived outside. He even knew where they lived. It had been fairly easy to find out now that he had the names, which meant that he knew how easy or complicated it would be for the killer to get to them. The killer wouldn’t try to get into the headquarters. That would be too dangerous, even for someone who might feel like they had nothing to lose. Archie was actually surprised the killer had gone for someone still working for the organization. He would’ve thought the killer would’ve gone for a retired hunter first, but he hadn’t realized that so few of them would’ve retired after what had happened.

Maybe he should’ve known better. Hunters were monsters, even though it was only monsters on the inside.

There was only one name that caught his attention. This hunter had retired a few years ago. He didn’t live at the headquarters anymore, but rather, in a small cottage. It was isolated enough that no one would hear him scream, which no doubt appealed to the killer. There was no way for Archie to know if the killer had already gotten to this man, but he was about to find out.

He gathered everything he’d need and left the apartment as quickly as he could. There was a chance that the killer hadn’t gotten to this ex-hunter yet, and if they hadn’t, it would give Archie the opportunity to ask questions and hopefully, get answers. He wouldn’t be above threatening or slamming the hunter around a little bit if it helped. After what these people had done, they deserved it.

He briefly thought about telling Jasper about it, and he knew that Jasper would drop everything instantly, but he decided it would be better not to. Jasper would expect answers, and if Archie couldn’t get them, they’d be right back where they’d started. Jasper deserved a few hours without obsessing over what was going on in the case, and it was Archie’s job to solve it.

Hopefully, he was closer than ever to that happening. Petra deserved to know what had happened to Daniel, but even more than that, Jasper deserved to know what had happened to his parents. He might be conflicted over the whole mess, but he did.

Archie counted on the fact that this hunter wouldn’t be like Leroy. Even for hunters, Leroy was particularly hard and harsh. Most hunters loved their children as much as they hated monsters, but not Leroy. Things might have been different if Jasper had actually been his son or if he’d been fully human, but Leroy himself had chosen Jasper. It should’ve been enough for him to love the child he’d raised. Instead, he’d pushed Jasper out, which, in the end, had revealed itself to be a good thing. Jasper hadn’t stayed a hunter for long. He’d freed himself of the organization, and hopefully, he’d be able to live a happy life soon.

*

THE COTTAGE WHERE THE ex-hunter lived wasn’t as isolated as Archie had expected. He checked the name on the mailbox to be sure he was in the right place, and the name confirmed it.

Kevin Johnson.

Of course, it was a common name, but the hunters’ archives were precise except when they were actively trying to hide something. They kept updated addresses and phone numbers for all their current and ex-members. They even kept records of deaths and births. It was invasive, but the hunters knew what they were signing up for. Archie couldn’t care less about their privacy. In fact, he couldn’t care less about anything when it came to the hunters.

Everything was quiet in the area. Archie carefully made his way to the front door, knowing that Kevin would probably not be happy to find him on his doorstep. Being retired didn’t mean he wouldn’t be willing to attack Archie. It wasn’t the first time Archie had dealt with ex-hunters, so he knew what to expect, and he’d come prepared.

He knocked on the door.

The door creaked open.

Archie stared for a second. That wasn’t supposed to happen. Why wasn’t the door closed? Why couldn’t he hear anything coming from inside?

What the fuck was happening?

None of that meant that Archie was done. He carefully pushed the door fully open, listening, wondering who was in there. Maybe Kevin had just forgotten to close the door, although that sounded weird to Archie. Something was definitely off, and he was about to find out because he wasn’t leaving without answers.

He stepped into the house. He heard a shuffle, then something knocking against something else. He followed the sound, grinning when someone cried out. The sound was quickly muffled, but it was enough to give him a direction.

He found them in the kitchen. Kevin was standing by the back door, holding his bleeding arm. A man a little older than Jasper was standing in front of him, his arms crossed over his chest, a smirk on his lips. He wasn’t holding a weapon, but then, he didn’t need one. He had claws instead of fingernails, and Archie was pretty sure that was what he’d used to wound Kevin.

Archie had found the killer. The killer had also found Kevin, although Archie didn’t care much about that. Now that the killer was standing in front of him, Kevin could die for all Archie cared.

“I didn’t expect to find you here,” Archie said. He kept his focus on the killer. Kevin was dangerous, but the killer? He was lethal. Archie didn’t think he’d come after him, although he couldn’t be completely sure of that. Maybe if Archie put himself between the killer and his prey.