He raised the gun at her.
“NO!” Stasia screamed. “PLEASE!”
His eyes flickered. “Actually. There is a way. I just thought of it. Alright. Stand up, my girl. On your feet, soldier.”
Stasia got back to her feet. “What now?”
“We finish what we started.”
CHAPTER 36
There was a barrel of gasoline in Graves’ trunk. He didn’t get his hands on it. He made Stasia open the trunk up, get it out and bring it back to the barn. He made Stasia tip the thing over poor Cody’s head.
She stood at the side, trying to block out the teenager’s terrified protests as Graves dragged Wendy’s body into the edge of the barn. “You see what we did?” Graves asked. He pulled a lighter from his pocket and tossed it to Stasia. “This is your last chance, kid. There won’t be another after this.”
“Okay, okay,” Cody pleaded. “I was paid off. Alright?”
“How much?” Graves asked.
“Ten grand,” Cody said.
“Cash?”
“Wire transfer.”
“From who?”
“Just this guy I met online. I thought it was some kind of joke or something. But he put five-k in my account and promised five-k more when the job was done.”
“Did he pay up?”
Cody nodded. “That’s all I know. Check my statements. You’ll see the guy’s account number. I’m sure you can trace it.”
“You don’t have your phone on you, I suppose?”
Cody shook his head. “It’s at my house. We’d have to go get it.”
Graves nodded. “Alright. Stasia.”
Stasia saw he was looking at the lighter. “What?”
“Just do it.”
“He told us what we needed. That’s it. We can let him go.”
“Well, we can’t,” Graves said. “Because of your nosy sister. You’ll have to finish it. Or I can just shoot both of you. Up to you.”
“Nicholas. Seriously. I’m not gonna set a kid on fire.”
“Yeah man,” Cody said. “Relax. Jesus. I told you what you wanted. I won’t say anything about…”
Graves stepped further into the barn. “You’re not giving me a lot of options.”
“Do you really want to start a fire?” Stasia asked. “Won’t that draw attention?”
“If you have an easier means of killing him, then please go ahead.”
Stasia shook her head.
“Come on,” Graves said advancing. “Give me the lighter.”
“No, I won’t let you –”
“Stasia –”
She backed away from him towards the corner of the barn. As Graves moved past Cody he was caught off guard, the boy lunging at him headfirst. He struck Graves’ in the stomach, both of them falling over under the weight of the chair. “You little shit!”
Stasia stepped over them, reaching down for Graves’ gun which had spilled free.
From the floor Graves swiped upwards, knocking the lighter away just as she picked up the gun.
Stasia fell to her knees, did a somersault, then jolted back around, the gun aimed at Graves.
He shoved the kid off him, standing up, and pinned the boy’s back to the ground with his foot. Graves flicked the lighter’s flame.
“You do it, you die,” Stasia said.
“You shoot, he dies,” Graves fired back.
Cody howled angrily from the floor.
“Give me the gun,” Graves ordered.
“No way.”
“What are you going to do then?”
Stasia backed away towards the entrance.
“Don’t leave me here!” Cody yelled. “He’s gonna kill me!”
“Don’t do it,” Stasia said. “You’re supposed to be better than this.”
“Than what?” Graves queried.
“Than the lowlife, murdering scum we chase every day.”
Graves nodded. “I am better.”
“Then prove it.”
Graves swallowed. His face showed signs of tiring. He let out a sigh, then reluctantly closed the lighter, slipping it back into his pocket.
“I was gonna try and be with you on this thing,” Stasia said. “But killing my sister? You fucking lost it, man. And you will pay.”
She pulled away from the barn.
“Stasia!” Graves yelled. “Stasia, come back!”
Stasia trudged across the damp trail, freezing winds smacking her in the face, the night’s atmosphere echoing all around. She went to Graves’ car and hopped in the driver’s seat.
He came out of the barn, bottle of whiskey in hand.
Stasia keyed the ignition as he wandered over to the side of her car.
Tap, tap, tap.
She wound down the window.
“Just tell me what to do,” Graves said. “How do I make it right?”
“You can’t make it right. You’ve gone too far.”
“We can still get him. He’s out there, Stasia. He knows all about us. You saw him like I did. You know he’s real. He’s our true enemy.”
“No,” Stasia said.
“No?”
“You’re your own worst enemy, Graves.”
He looked at her in horror, the words shaking his core.
Stasia shifted the gear to reverse.
“We all are,” she said and backed the car away.
CHAPTER 37
The lights were so bright inside the precinct, it was hard to tell what time of day or night it was without looking outside. Fae moved around the corridor clutching a box containing the last of Christian’s personal things, ready to be loaded with the rest into the back of her car, and driven home to their empty, sorrowful home. Fae knew of course she couldn’t stay there. Stasia’s absence had been bad enough to deal with. Now that Christian and Mei-Lee were no longer present, the agony in that house would be unbearable. She’d looked online for a hotel nearby, even though she knew she’d probably just swing by her brand-new office and sleep on the sofa.
Passing the conference room on her left, she saw Special Agent Morello was still hard at work. She peered in through the doorway. “Don’t you ever sleep?”
Morello exhaled. Looked up from his computer. “It’s not even that late.”
“It’s ten to one. What time do you normally go to bed?”
“I guess I’ll be stopping soon,” Morello said. “You going home now?”
Fae shook the box a little. “Yeah.”
“I’m, well. I know you and Christian had a thing. If it’s worth anything, I’m sorry.”
Fae shrugged. “Did Graves hand over much? Are we going to get this guy?”
Morello shook his head. “I don’t know what to make of it. There’s a few things we can check out, but it could take a while. And even then, we could be staring at dead ends. I just – this whole thing doesn’t sit right with me.”
Fae entered the room. She put the box on the table. “You need someone to bounce stuff off?”
“I couldn’t, it’s late,” Morello said.
“What’s five minutes?”
Morello wiped his brow and leaned forward. “Okay. So basically, according to what Graves has provided, this individual is obsessed with him. He’s basically stalking his every move. Maybe Stasia’s as well. I mean the theatrics here… He claims he followed the killer to the beach tonight, and he fell into this pit the killer had dug out, and there’s a talking dummy inside with glowing eyes that is made for the very purpose of Graves following him. Graves himself could see the missing logic.”
“Do you mind spelling it out for me?” Fae asked.
“Well, not only would the killer have had to deliberately lead Graves to this site for him to fall in – knowing in advance Graves would be investigating the theatre presumably that very day – he had to dig the hole, build the dummy, record the voice – I mean it’s possible to do, I’m sure. But why? Why really? Why go to all this trouble? It doesn’t make any sense.”
“You’re right,
it sounds far-fetched,” Fae said. “So you assume Graves is exaggerating? Making stuff up?”
“We’ll see if it’s real tomorrow, I suppose. And we’ll be going over that theatre with a fine comb. As ridiculous as it may seem, we have to assume this ‘Trapdoor Master’ exists.”
“Trapdoor Master?”
“The killer apparently sent Graves some taunting emails or something. Which have yet to be provided. It’s all one giant mess. And the more I step away from it, the more I realize it’s not real. It can’t be.”
“And what about Mei-Lee? Christian? We have the surveillance at the station showing –”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Morello said dismissively. “We have a man that they’re chasing. And a stupid sewer hole that was open in the middle of some train tracks. I swear, the only obvious conclusion that I can come to…”
“Yes?”
“It’s Graves. It’s all Graves. It has to be. The man is a lunatic. Christian himself said he was confessing to murder this very evening. No. I just – I can’t accept what he’s given us.”
“You’re probably right,” Fae said. “It probably is Graves. So, what then? Maybe wait until more evidence comes in tomorrow?”
“There’s this one thing I want to look into before I go home. I was able to get into all the miscellaneous records on Graves, thanks to his termination. Just this one thing I found interesting. It’s a long shot, but it might be the key to solving this whole thing.”
“Well go on then,” Fae said. “You want to fill me in?”
Morello scoffed. “Ah, it’s probably nothing. It’s late, like you said. We should go home. Call it a day…”
Fae frowned. She leant against the side of the table. “Dick?”
Morello smiled. “Yes?”
“It’s not time to go to bed yet…”
CHAPTER 38
Graves wondered how long he had. She hadn’t taken her phone with her, so perhaps she would stop off at the nearest house or establishment and call the fuzz on him. Perhaps she’d go straight to the precinct. Things would move pretty quickly from there. He probably had between twenty minutes and an hour before they turned up. Time to decide what to do.
He pulled out his phone and saw Patricia had still been trying to reach him. He’d told her he’d be back late, again and again. Told her about Detective Nguyen’s demise. She kept at him. She kept on.
“That’s not helping,” Graves muttered.
He swiped away her messages and grasping the phone he stumbled back in towards the barn.
Cody had moved since he’d left him. He was by the wall, stretching his legs, still trying to break free. Graves approached.
“Please man,” Cody said. “I beg you…”
“What’s your home phone number?”
“My what –?”
“You heard me. I’m calling your house. Your folks can come get you.”
Cody relayed the number and Graves called it. The mother answered after four rings.
“Hello?”
“Your son is Cody?”
“Yes. Who is this?”
“I have your son.”
“Cody?”
Graves leaned over Cody and held the phone to his ear. “Say hi to Mom.”
“Mom?” Cody winced. “I’m – I’m in this barn –”
Graves pulled the phone away. “You there, Mom?”
“What’s going on?” she said, panicked. “What do you want?”
“I need you to go upstairs and find your son’s phone. Can you do that for me?”
“Well, why do you want me to do that?”
“There’s some information that needs to be verified.”
“I don’t know if –”
“If you do it, I promise not to hurt him.”
“Alright, alright, I’m going –”
Graves moved the phone from his ear. Picked up his bottle of whiskey. Drank some.
Belched.
Put the phone to his ear again. “Have you found it?”
“Yes,” the Mom answered. “I’m holding it now.”
“Is it turned on?”
“Yes. But the screen is locked.”
“Cody. What’s your pass-code?”
They bypassed the locked screens. Accessed Cody’s bank app. Logged into his account. Found the wire transfers.
“You’ve got them? Alright. Just a minute.”
Graves stumbled back out of the barn. He looked across the grass for Stasia’s pad and pen she carried everywhere with her, but they were nowhere to be seen. He lumbered on back to her sister’s vehicle and found a ballpoint and some tissue in the glovebox.
“Read the account numbers out to me.”
The account was under the name Jason Hong – a name he didn’t recognize. Probably fake.
“Alright. Thank you. Take care of yourself.”
“What about Cody?” the mother cried. “Will you –”
Graves ended the call. He walked back to the barn.
“Are my parents coming?” Cody asked hopefully.
“I’m afraid not,” Graves said.
“Did you get the account number?”
“Yeah.”
“So, will you let me go?”
Graves wiped his eyes. Found his whiskey again.
“I’m really sorry if I was rude before,” Cody said. “I didn’t mean to upset you. Just let me go and everything will be fine. I know how to keep my mouth shut. I understand this is all my fault.”
Graves sat down on the ground. Swallowed more booze and sat the bottle upright beside him.
“If I’m already beyond redemption,” Graves said, “then what’s one more?”
“Huh?”
“The act of sparing you, of showing mercy, doesn’t make me a good person. The act of killing you … doesn’t really make me that much worse than I already am. The judgment’s already been made.”
“I don’t know what you’re saying.”
“If I let the man live,” Graves said. “If I hadn’t shot him. If I’d never even pulled him over. If the boy hadn’t fallen through the ice…”
“You’re not making sense –”
“If I could still save myself, then I could still save you.”
“No. No, man. Don’t do it.”
Graves climbed back to his feet. He pulled the lighter from his pocket.
“No! NO! HELP! HELP SOMEBODY, PLEASE FUCK OH FUCK NO, NO, NO, NO, NO –”
CHAPTER 39
Stasia made it to the precinct in thirty minutes flat. She didn’t stop off anywhere. She didn’t slow down. Her mind was racing. Her emotions shattered. She couldn’t believe what Graves had done. The depths of his depravity. Sure, there’d been warning signs all along that he’d go that way. But Stasia had always thought at worst she’d be putting herself in danger. She hadn’t imagined he’d be able to hurt a kid like that. Let alone poor Wendy…
Would he let the boy live? And if he didn’t, was that going to rest on Stasia’s shoulders? She supposed it would have to. But she wanted to believe Graves was bigger than that. That inside, he was a hero. A hero who had made a major wrong turn.
Of course, she knew where they were now. There was no going back for either of them. They were both tainted. Both complicit. She was sure if people knew what she’d done tonight, how she’d helped him carry out these atrocities –
“GODDAMN IT!!!” Stasia screamed by herself in the car.
She was so tired. She couldn’t think. She couldn’t see clearly. The road in front of her led only to darkness. There was no light. No light at all.
She steered Wendy’s car through the mostly deserted parking garage underneath the precinct, keeping her eyes peeled for a familiar face. Near the far end she spied Captain Carmichael exiting the building on the way to his car. She hit the brakes, pushed open her door, and rushed over to him.
“…What do you know,” Carmichael was saying. “She is here after all. Do you want to speak to her?”
“Captain, I
need to tell you –”
“Hold on,” Carmichael handed the phone over. “It’s Graves.”
Stasia made a face. “Alright. Don’t go anywhere. We have to speak.”
“Stasia, it’s twenty past one in the morning –”
“Dammit, stay put!” Stasia shouted.
Carmichael frowned, surprised by her outburst.
Stasia pulled away from him and put the phone to her ear. “What?”
“Stasia, I’m glad I caught you.”
“You’re not getting away with this. Understand? It’s over. We’re done.”
“I had a feeling you would take that position,” Graves said. “Given our most recent exchange.”
“And?”
“I found out who the Trapdoor Master is. I had Carmichael trace the account that wired Cody the money, and now I know the man’s identity. There is no doubt.”
“Is Cody still with you?”
“I let him go.”
“Really?”
“Of course. I’m not a monster.”
“Alright.” Stasia shook her head. “Well. This doesn’t change anything.”
“Don’t you want to know who it is?”
“Who?”
“His name is Jason Hong. A fifty-two-year-old Chinese man. I didn’t recognize his name, but now I have his records, I can attest that I have met this man before.”
“You have?”
“He owns a gas station on the main road opposite 13th Avenue. He lives in a unit at the back of it. I had a brief interaction with him right before it happened. He must have been driving by or something. Seen the cars. Maybe even seen us running into the trees. He followed us. Watched everything that happened. And the rest of the story writes itself.”
“Well. I’m glad you finally figured it out.”
“I’ll be heading over there shortly. I think you should be there too. You can arrest him. You can arrest me too if you want. I think I owe you that much.”
Stasia sighed. “Don’t do anything until I get there.”
“Alright. I’ll hang back.”
“You promise?”
“I promise if you promise not to tell Carmichael about the barn. I know it was the wrong thing. I’m sorry. I’ll spend the rest of my life behind bars because of it. But please, Stasia. Let me give you, your revenge.”
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