There’s no way a death machine like this would live to see another day. Especially not in today’s health- and safety-crazy world.”

“Yep. Too true. Whoever stole it did me a favor, really.”

Cael thanked Roger for his time and made his way back through the overly loud working-class environment. It wasn’t something he was used to.

Inside his vehicle, Cael concluded that somehow the death of Greg Morris was related to the bizarre murder of Stephanie Brady. However, he had told Roger Larkin a lie regarding the missing blade. While it was possible a colleague had removed it out of a deep sense of loss or protest, this was likely not the genuine reason. What was more likely was that the killer realized such a blade was perfect for his own sadistic uses and, thus, took it for himself.

The more Cael learned, the more his strange new theory made sense.


11

 

 

These were the moments that police officers dreaded the most. Crime scene navigation was often traumatic but the only emotions an officer had to be concerned with was their own.

However, dealing with those who had been affected by the death of someone else was much more difficult. Tyler’s meeting with Josh Chambers, Stephanie Brady’s boyfriend, was no different.

Josh ushered Tyler into his lounge area and offered him a drink. His eyes were swollen and red and the surface of his lips had begun to crack – a sign of intense fatigue.

“No thank you. I don’t want to take up any more time than I need to.”

“It’s fine, bro. I’m glad for the company, to be honest.”

“I’m sorry for your loss. I can’t possibly pretend to know how you feel. I just need to ask you a few questions about Stephanie, if that’s okay with you.”

“Go for it,” said Josh.

“How long were the two of you together?”

“Not that long, really. Coming close to a year.”

“What can you tell us about her?”

“She’s a quirky kind of girl. Quite confidant but not overblown, you know?”

Tyler nodded.

“She loves theater. Loves art. All that hipster kind of stuff.”

“Would you be able to tell us what she did for a living?”

“No.”

“Is that because you can’t, or won’t?”

“Can’t. She kept that part of her life private. To be honest, I assumed she was living off her parents.”

“Were they rich?”

“No. They were dead. I think she inherited a ton of money from them. Even so, though, I know she did something for employment.”

“Why so?”

“Every Thursday night she wouldn’t text me from around 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Always said she was “distracted” but I knew she was doing something. I doubt she was sleeping around on me. She definitely wasn’t that kind of girl. I thought maybe she had a part-time job in a store or something. She didn’t wanna talk about it, so I never asked.”

“Understood.