Page 185 of Depraved Boys

“Right,” I said.

“They took another look at the cave and found clues they’d missed the first time.”

“Like what?”

Cormac shook his head. “They wouldn’t say.”

I placed a hand on his knee. “How do you feel?”

He grimaced. “I don’t know. It’s taken a while to get to the point where I’m not breaking down every half-hour about Corrine. Now this whole can of shit has been reopened, and I resent being dragged back to how I was. Does that sound callous?”

“Your sister would want you to be happy.” I leaned my head against his.

Cormac placed his hand on top of mine. “Would she be disappointed in me if she knew I’d found someone to fill the hole she left in my life?”

“That’s not true.” I gave his knee a gentle squeeze. “I’m just warming your heart until the day you get to see her again.”

“That’s the sort of sweet thing she would say.” He chuckled. “It’s so uncanny how similar you both are. Not looks-wise. She had the same coloring as me, but you’re both so big-hearted, you know?”

“I think so.”

Cormac’s words made a peculiar sort of sense. While I’d never had a brother and never had a loyal and protective sibling, having Cormac had eased the pain of Ashley’s betrayal. I had barely thought about Ashley since she had left the academy.

My phone buzzed. It was probably Leopold, asking me where I was. Now that the police had reopened the investigation into Corrine’s death, we needed to find where Ashley had hidden her so-called evidence against Prakash more than ever.

“I-it’s time for me to go,” I murmured. “But I’ll come and see you as soon as I get back.”

Cormac dipped his head. “Thanks for being here when I need you most.”

Hours later, Leopold parked Sebastian’s jeep outside our house, and I stepped out of the vehicle, still feeling like a bastard for leaving Cormac on his own after getting such earth-shattering news. A thick layer of frost covered the front garden and over the brass letterbox, leaving a few fingerprints where I hoped the postman had pushed it open.

Turning the key in the lock, I pictured the look of betrayal on Prakash’s face when Ashley had announced that I’d been collecting evidence against him.

I opened the front door of our cottage and stepped inside. The scent of stale cigarettes hung in the air, making me wrinkle my nose.

Leopold stepped in after me and shut the door. “Does Ashley smoke?”

“Not cigarettes.” I’d heard a rumor that DJ Bones smoked heroin, but I had no idea how the drug smelled.

“She’s probably been here since getting expelled.”

My stomach churned. “Or whoever broke in through the back returned.”

“Is there anything missing?” he asked.

I walked through each downstairs room. The lounge’s TV and DVD player were untouched, as was the stereo. The dining room didn’t have anything worth stealing as it only contained furniture and books, and no one had touched the kitchen’s small appliances.

My gaze caught the holes made in the doorframe by the policeman who had boarded up the door. Three feet above and below it were the new bolts I’d had a locksmith install. Hopefully, it meant that the intruder hadn’t returned.

Leopold’s arms wrapped around my middle, and one hand snaked up to squeezed Velma. “If you were Ashley, where would you hide incriminating evidence you wanted to sell for a six-figure sum?”

“DJ Bones’s squat.” I moved his hand back to my waist.

“I beg your pardon?” He drew back and tilted his head to the side.

“He’s an ex-con who runs illegal countryside raves.”

Leopold rubbed his chin. “We went to one of them last year and only stayed for an hour.” He shuddered. “The girls were ghastly and not up to my standards. Where’s his squat?”