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Somewhere to my right, there’s a muffled thump, and I slow down. “Did you hear that?”
“Hear what?” Asher squints at me.
“There was a thud.” I glance at the house, a looming, malevolent presence and suppress a shiver.
The others stop, look around.
“There’s nothing here, man.” Zane kicks at some leaves. “Can we just get the hell outta here?”
So that’s what we do, walking quickly off the property and piling into our cars. We peel off fast, as if we can’t wait to get away from this place.
“There was something about that house,” Megan says softly as I step on the gas, shivers dancing up and down my spine. “Something sinister.”
I know what she means. Like it’s haunted or something. Maybe that’s what the neighbor saw and heard. A ghost. Like that phantom thud I heard as we left.
Jesus Christ. Would you listen to yourself, Rafe.
I’m not superstitious. Sure, my dad was Sicilian, and I remember he had a few quirks. For instance, he believed in malocchio—the evil eye—and used to wear a horn-shaped pendant on a chain around his neck to avert it.
Much good it did him.
Funny that I remember this now. Has to be because of what I know about Kenneth Shaw. He is no sorcerer or witch. He’s a flesh and blood criminal, a rapist of kids. In fact there aren’t any words strong enough, vile enough, to describe the son of a bitch.
And he’s walking free.
We file up to the apartment like prisoners on a death row. Silent. Shuffling our feet, lost in our thoughts. Tyler unlocks and helps Erin make fresh pots of coffee and tea, and after it’s served, we lounge on their sofas and armchairs, glum and worn out.
This sucks balls on an unprecedented level. It’s a major clusterfuck. A huge set-back.
And none of us know how to fix it.
“So…” Asher glances at us, his pale gray eyes troubled. “Any thoughts about today?”
“Fucker, you sound like a CEO at a merger meeting,” Zane drawls. He glares at Tyler who snickers. “Something funny?”
I’m fucking glad he seems okay. I expected a backslide after visiting the house. Possibly a flashback.
“Been to a lot of merger meetings lately?” Tyler’s grin is unrepentant.
Zane smirks, one side of his mouth tipping up. “Shut up.”
The tension in the room goes down a notch. It’s as if a collective sigh has gone up.
“Well,” Megan says after a bit. “I have a theory about the disappearance of Kenneth Shaw.”
“Let’s hear it.” Dylan waves a hand, the gesture tired.
“We assume the police haven’t reached him yet. But what if they left a message on his phone, asking him to call back or something? Then he’d know something is up, and he decides to lie low for a while, making sure they’re off his track.”
“That wouldn’t be very careful on the part of the police,” Tyler mutters.
“But they don’t believe there’s anything they can do,” I argue. “Even if they believe Zane’s testimony, they basically told us nothing will come out of it. The man won’t confess. That much is fucking clear. So they don’t have any reason to be careful.”
“Goddammit.” Asher rakes both hands through his spiky hair.
“Maybe… maybe this is a good thing,” Zane says.
We all stare at him.
