“Yeah. What happens to him when it’s done?”
“Well, this is where it gets weird.”
“This is where it gets weird?”
He pulls out another document and passes it to me. “That’s his will. He left everything to Brielle and her sisters.”
My eyes scan it. “He had it done through an attorney and everything.”
“He wasn’t a stupid man. An evil one, but not stupid.”
“So now they own the property and all of his personal effects.”
“Yes, and as next of kin, they get to decide what to do with his remains.”
“Well, that’s pretty fucked-up, Asher.”
“Oh, trust me. This is the weirdest case of my career, and like I told you before, I’ve seen some shit. This rivals some of the most extreme serial killer cases I’ve heard of.”
“Same here, and I’ve also seen some shit. But there’s something that I can’t put my finger on that tells me this isn’t entirely over.”
“He’s on ice in the morgue,” Asher reminds me. “It’s pretty much over.”
“Yeah.” I stare at all of the evidence on Asher’s desk. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. How in the hell am I going to tell the girls that the sick fuck who wanted them all tortured and dead left all of his worldly possessions to them?”
“I can tell them,” Asher offers.
“No, it should come from me.” I sigh again and stand. “How soon do you need to know what they want to do with his remains?”
“No rush at all.”
“Good. I’ll be in touch.”
I’m on my way out of the police station when my phone rings.
“Hey, Felicia. How’s it going over there?”
“Well, we’re at the ER,” Felicia says. I can tell she’s trying to sound like nothing’s wrong, but something’s wrong. “I didn’t want to worry you, but I thought you should know.”
“What’s up?”
“I just didn’t like the sound of your mom’s breathing. She says it’s nothing, that she always wheezes like that, but she didn’t sound this way when I arrived. So, I brought her in just to get checked out.”
“Good idea. Please keep me posted. I need to call Andy. I haven’t talked to him in a few days.”
“You’ve been a little busy,” she replies kindly. “But he’d like to hear from you. I think he’s getting a little lonely without me.”
“I’ll get in touch with him today. Thanks, Felicia.”
“You’re welcome. Talk soon.”
Before I can put my phone into my pocket, my brother calls.
“Did you just talk to my wife?” he asks after I answer.
“Just hung up with her.”
“I’m worried about Mom. The last time she had pneumonia, she almost died.”
“We don’t know that she has pneumonia. She could have allergies.”
“Yeah.” I can hear the strain in my brother’s voice. “You’re right.”
“Why don’t I come by and take you out to lunch? Are you free?”
“I have some time.”
“I’m still at the police station. I’m sitting on the steps out front.”
“Be right there.”
He hangs up, and I shoot Brielle a text.
Me: Hey, babe. Gonna grab lunch with Andy. Need anything?
I grin when I see the dots bounce as she replies.
Brielle: Have fun! I don’t need anything. I’m at Daphne’s store, having lunch with the sisters.
Me: I’ll text when I’m done.
I’ve never been to Daphne’s store. We always meet at either Brielle’s apartment or Witches Brew, but Brielle told me that Daphne owns an antique shop.
I bet there are a lot of antiques in New Orleans.
“I didn’t know you were still working on the case,” Andy says as he approaches.
I stand and join him on the sidewalk. “Yeah, there are still things to tie up. That man was on a level of evil I’ve never seen before.”
“I’m glad you were here to help with it,” Andy says. “I don’t know how you do what you do. I think it would drive me insane.”
“I put the cases in boxes,” I say as we walk into a restaurant nearby. We’re quickly shown to a table. “I have to compartmentalize it all. Because you’re right, it messes with you. The last case, losing Carlson—”
“Which was not your fault.”
“That one got under my skin. And, frankly, you wouldn’t be human if they didn’t get under your skin a little bit. But you have to put it all in boxes, or it will consume you.
“I don’t know how I’m going to make a relationship with Brielle work.”
“Why?”
“Because what I do takes me all over the damn world, Andy. I haven’t seen the inside of my apartment in Dallas for at least two months. I don’t even know why I have it. Not to mention, you said yourself that I see some horrible shit. That’ll bleed into any relationship.”
“First, I want to know how this case has affected you.”
“It messed with me,” I admit, knowing I can trust my brother. “Because it was less black and white than any other case I’ve worked. I’ve never had to deal with the paranormal. I didn’t think I believed in it before.”