by Jerry Cole
“To where? We’re private agents.”
“I told her to go ahead as it would simply go back to us.” Kirsty blew out air from her mouth. “God, she was annoying. I’m so glad my mother was never like that.”
“At least she won’t try to hire us again when she thinks one of her other children’s spouses are cheating.”
“Or she might try to hire someone else to change the outcome of our case. She mentioned that she would do it. She knew her daughter-in-law was cheating and she was going to prove it.”
“Charming.” Lee indicated and turned his car into the street where Joseph had lived. “Put the word out when we get back. Warn them about the lady. No one respectable will touch her once they hear everything.”
“Already done.”
“Good.”
Kirsty was coming along well. Lee pulled up outside Joseph’s house, a one-story condo in the middle of the street. From the initial look of the place, it had been tended to. The grass was cut and looking healthy, and the car in the driveway was clean. Joseph had lived with his mother Marie, who was a hard-working woman and single mother. It had meant that Joseph was alone a lot of the time while Marie worked three jobs to keep a roof over their heads.
Hopefully, she would be able to help shut down Joseph’s second bout of cyber-bullying.
Lee was ready for this. Clearly, the little shit hadn’t learned his lesson. He certainly would after Lee and the police had spoken to him.
Chapter Three
Andrew looked between the two suggestions for the front cover. He always enjoyed seeing what was going to be on the front of the books. It surpassed any of his expectations.
“These are really good.” He said approvingly. “Rosemary’s really surpassed herself this time.”
Claire laughed.
“I’ll let her know you said that. Again.”
He did have a habit of saying that. When Claire had told him that the publishers did book cover designs ahead of time so they could tease the next book and the date it was coming out, Andrew had been skeptical. He thought a story should come first and then match the book cover later on. That’s how it worked in his head. But Rosemary, one of the cover designers at the publishing company, was excellent at her job. She took on board everything she was given and turned it into something remarkable. Andrew couldn’t think of anyone better to look after the designs.
He put the proofs aside and reached for his coffee mug. He and Claire often met at their favorite coffee shop to discuss things regarding the book and marketing - often marketing, seeing as Andrew hated doing it - and to catch up on what they didn’t discuss over the phone every day. But Andrew had been very reluctant to leave the house after the day before, and he was feeling exhausted from meeting Detective Turner at the police precinct.
The detective had been shocked that it was happening again but sympathetic. She didn’t treat him like he was going mad or that it was anything but serious. Everything had been copied and put into a file and Andrew had signed his statement. All the evidence was there for people to see and those who had sent threatening messages were going to be contacted about their conduct.
Andrew could only hope they would back off with police intervention. Or it was going to get worse. He had no idea, but at least his cell phone had been quiet for the last hour.
“Thanks for coming over, Claire.” Andrew sat back and took a sip of his coffee. “I didn’t feel like going out again after everything I had received.”
“It’s fine. I completely understand.” Claire frowned and shook her head. “I can’t believe Joseph would do this again, though. He said he would stop, that he would get help for it.”
“He didn’t have much of a choice. He was going to jail either way.”
“I thought he was supposed to be in there still.”
“Same here.” Andrew rubbed at his eyes. This had kept him up for most of the night. “Lee tried calling them but nobody picked up. He’s gone over to Port Arthur to check if Joseph really is back out. Hopefully, the threat of going back to jail will stop him.”
As far as he was aware, Joseph was supposed to be inside for a minimum of six years. He had gone to jail four years ago, his time already inside during the trial not considered. Maybe they had decided to take it into consideration. Andrew hoped not. That would mean that Joseph was more depraved than they expected and he had fooled everyone.
The knot in his stomach that had appeared when the message from the fake profile popped up on his laptop was still there. It wasn’t getting any looser.
“Let’s hope he either cleans up quick or goes back to jail.” Claire declared. “He screwed up your high school days big-time.”
“And most of junior high.” Andrew shuddered. “I don’t ever want to relive those days. Everyone gave me a wide berth when they weren’t cornering me in a dark alley, and I was fine with that. Especially once they left me alone. Now they’re coming back again.”
“I could tell them to stop. That your catfish has come back again.”
Andrew snorted.
“They didn’t believe it last time. They’re not going to believe it this time.”
“You never know. We’re not hormonal teenagers anymore. Then again,” Claire grunted, “The people we went to school with were idiots.”
“Lee said that himself last night.” Andrew muttered.
Andrew had been too terrified to leave for university; he didn’t want to come across someone who had been caught up in Joseph’s lies and believed it really was Andrew. He had attempted to go to community college, but his fears of what might happen stopped him from leaving the house. It was a wonder he had managed to get an apartment on his own in the first place. His parents had been scared about letting Andrew go - their protective natures had kicked in high gear once they discovered what was going on - yet somehow Andrew had persuaded them to leave him be. He needed to strike out on his own.
If he was honest, he just wanted to be on his own. Being a writer meant he could hide away and not need to interact with many people face-to-face. His parents, his sister and Claire were the only ones who got the honor of his company without needing to force him out of the apartment.
And Lee. Lee didn’t need to force him. Andrew found himself agreeing to anything before Lee had even finished the question. Andrew inwardly shook himself. There were times when he thought of Lee as a boyfriend, but that wasn’t possible. Lee was straight, wasn’t he? And Andrew had no idea how to conduct himself in a relationship. The few he had managed to sustain didn’t last more than a few weeks. Andrew just couldn’t relax even then. His past lovers had told him he had too much baggage and needed help.
And people wondered why his self-esteem was so shit.
Andrew was jerked out of his thoughts by a knocking on the door. He found himself jumping to his feet, almost spilling his coffee.
“That’ll be Lee.”
“Go.” Claire’s eyes glinted, smirking at him over her coffee mug. “I’ll wait.”
“What are you grinning at?”
“Nothing.”
Andrew groaned and hurried to the door. Lee was out in the hallway, his jacket over his arm and his hair mussed up. He looked exhausted, tension clearly in his shoulders. Andrew had a sudden urge to reach out and hug him, see if he could make the tension go away.
He really needed to keep his hands to himself.
“Can I come in?”
Lee was looking at him expectantly. Andrew realized he was standing in the doorway staring at him. He cleared his throat and nodded.
“Sure. Come on in.”
“Thanks.”
Lee stepped inside and moved into the living room. Andrew shut the door and hurried after him, watching as Claire put her coffee mug down and stood to her full height of five-five, grinning Lee a warm smile as she approached him.
“Hey, Lee.”
“Claire.” Lee smiled back and returned the hug that Claire gave him. “Nice to see your sunny self again.”
“Glad I’m still making an impression.” Claire pulled back and glanced at Andrew. “Is this a private thing? Because I can leave, if you want.”
Lee looked at Andrew, raising his eyebrows.
“Do you want her to leave, Andrew? It’s up to you.”
But Andrew was already shaking her head.
“No, I want her to stay. I’ve got nothing to hide from her.”
He gave Claire a smile, which was returned. Claire moved away and slipped her arms around Andrew’s waist. Something about his closest friend holding onto him kept Andrew centered. From Lee’s expression, the news wasn’t good, and he needed Claire at his side to stop him from panicking.
Joseph was back. And he had no intention of stopping. Andrew just knew it.
“How was the journey to Port Arthur?” He managed to ask. “Eventful?”
“Insightful, certainly.” Lee sighed and draped his coat over the back of Andrew’s chair at his desk. “Joseph’s mother Marie was at home. She’s keeping well and has managed to go down to one job full-time, which is more than enough to cover bills for just herself.”
“Sounds like she enjoyed time away from her son as well.” Claire grunted. “Did she say that Joseph wasn’t there and was still in jail?”
“Actually, she didn’t.” Lee paused. He did not look happy. “She said that Joseph was dead.”
Andrew felt Claire tense at his side. He thought he couldn’t have heard correctly. Joseph Gulliver was dead? How was that even possible? He couldn’t be dead.
“He...what…” Andrew stared at Lee, hoping this was some sort of joke. But Lee’s expression said it wasn’t. “Is he really dead?”
“Yep.” Lee said grimly. “I called the jail myself. This time they picked up. Joseph was killed in his cell three months ago. His cellmate had snapped after Joseph tried to buff himself up and turn into a proper bully. He was a wannabe, so everyone else simply rolled their eyes and ignored him as he was small fry. But his cellmate got fed up with hearing Joseph spout of everything and just wanted him to shut up.”
“And he never thought to ask for another cellmate.”
“Jail’s full to bursting. The warden was in the process of moving things around when it happened. He figured it was a simple clash of personalities and wanted to stop it from escalating.”
And he did that a little too late.
“Being killed because he was an annoyance.” Claire grunted. “I wish we’d thought of that.”
Andrew stared at her.
“Claire!”
“What? He did ruin your time at school. What he did to you was unforgivable, in my eyes.” Claire pushed away and held up her hands. “I’m sorry if it was in bad taste, but I’m not sorry that he’s gone. It shouldn’t have been like that, but there it is.”
Lee grunted. He slumped onto the couch, resting his head back against the cushions as he stared at the ceiling.
“And Joseph’s death doesn’t answer the question of who is behind the new fake profile going up and who has been starting it all up again.”
They were back to square one. Andrew felt his heart sinking. Their best lead, the one they thought was doing this, was gone. Now they had nothing.
“Can’t you find out who’s doing this?” He asked. “You managed last time.”
“And it took a while back then.” Lee grunted. “I’ve got a start on it, but chances are whoever it is will have made sure to cover their tracks or put me onto a false lead.”
Andrew growled.
“Great.” He snapped out a foot, kicking the side of the couch. “Just fucking great.”
“Andrew…”
Andrew shrugged Claire away and stormed into his bedroom. He could feel the walls closing in around him and the sound of Joseph’s voice seeping into his head, mocking him. It was making him feel sick. Andrew just wanted to empty his guts.
He curled into a ball on the floor, buried his head in his hands, and tried his best not to let the panic take over.
***
“Lee?”
Lee looked up. Kirsty was in the doorway to his office. He had been staring at the doorway, but his mind had been on other things. How long had she been standing there? Lee sat up, rubbing at his eyes. They were stinging.
“Kirsty. Sorry, I was miles away.”
“I noticed.” Kirsty gave him a wry smile. “I was standing here saying your name and you were just staring through me.” She put a hand on her cocked hip. “I was beginning to think you were admiring my outfit.”
Lee groaned.
“Don’t mess around now, Kirsty. I’m not in the mood.”
“Sorry.” Kirsty entered the room, crossing the floor towards his desk. “You’re still thinking about Joseph Gulliver, aren’t you?”
Lee hadn’t been able to think about anything except Joseph Gulliver since he had driven back from Port Arthur. Finding that their main suspect - their only suspect - was dead had completely thrown him. Now Lee had no idea which direction to go. The searches he had been doing on the fake profiles were producing nothing. Whoever it was in charge of the profile was covering their tracks, and very well. They had to be more than a bit computer-literate.
Lee knew a lot about computers, but his previous partner had been the computer whiz. It had been Charles who had found Joseph in the first place. But he wasn’t here now. Lee and Kirsty were on their own.
Sitting back in his chair, Lee laced his fingers over his belly and scowled at the file open on his desk.
“I got a friend at the morgue where Joseph’s body is being kept at to show me his autopsy report. He sent it over for me within half an hour.”
“And it was him?”
“Yep.”
Lee had hoped someone was messing around and that it wasn’t Joseph’s body. But it had been. His face was swollen up with the bruises, the cut lip and the broken nose, but it was definitely him.
Kirsty sighed and sat in the chair across his desk, crossing her leg, shapely legs.
“You were hoping it was someone else, weren’t you?”
“It’s not exactly something the jail would get wrong, but the thought did cross my mind.” Lee shook his head. “He was a cold, disturbing young man. He was barely eighteen when he went to jail. But if he had been given some therapy, worked on things in his life, then he might have gotten through it all and become a normal human being.”
Kirsty tilted her head to the side.
“Did he get any of that therapy in jail?” She asked.
“No idea. The warden said he would let me look at the file if I drove down there to get it. Apparently, he can’t tell me over the phone or email it to me.” Lee shuddered. “I remembered the first time we confronted him. “There was just something in his eyes when we cornered him. Nothing. He didn’t see what he was doing was wrong. It was just chilling.”
Kirsty was silent for a moment. She tapped her mouth with a finger. A rookie compared to him, the woman’s mind was sharp. She could follow Lee’s line of thought much faster than anyone else. Except for Andrew, maybe. That man could keep up with anything. Lee had never met anyone who understood him so well.
Maybe that was why he was drawn to Andrew. Because they could understand each other.
And because he was gorgeous.
“He could have been getting the help in jail.” Kirsty said. “Maybe he had plans to make a fresh start.”
“Well, we’re not going to find out now, are we?” Lee grunted. “He didn’t get any help the first time around, and he wouldn’t give a reason for doing it except he wanted to bully those that bullied him.”
“But he and Andrew had never met. Nor had he met any of his other victims.”
“Which threw that out of the window. He just wanted others to suffer.”
“And now someone’s pretending to be Andrew again.” Kirsty grunted.
“Robert Hodgson first.” Lee reminded her. He sat forward, tapping his fingers on the desk. “It was Robert Hodgson for about six mont
hs before turning into Andrew’s fake profile. And it happened again, going from Robert to Andrew as soon as Andrew saw the message. This is turning into a warning of what Andrew’s got to look forward to.”
“So to speak.”
Lee grunted.
“I’m trying to figure out who’s doing it, but I’m coming up blank. Joseph was the prime suspect. I didn’t think it might have been Marie Gulliver, but she was horrified at Joseph’s actions. She begged him to change, wanted to get him help.”
Marie had been firmly on their side, even calling the police herself. She had apologized over and over again to Andrew about her son. Andrew had forgiven her, but Marie had clearly been unable to forgive herself. When Lee and Kirsty had spoken to her, Marie had been crying about her son. She felt anger at his death and guilty that she didn’t see it happening before it spun out of control. Lee hadn’t known what to say to that.
“You don’t think she could have flipped at any point?”
Lee shook his head.
“No, I don’t think so. Joseph was an only child, as far as I’m aware. Marie never had any more children and she didn’t marry again.”
“So, family is not doing this.” Kirsty mused.
“Nope.” Lee rubbed at his temples. “This is giving me such a headache.”
“Sitting there staring into space or at your laptop isn’t going to help you, is it?”
“What are you, Kirsty? My partner or my wife?”
It had meant to be a quip, a bit of banter, but then Lee saw Kirsty’s face stiffen, her smile fading. Then she went bright red, looking everywhere around her but at him. It wasn’t the first time she had done that. In fact, that had been happening a lot recently. Lee was used to having banter with Kirsty, teasing her like she was his wife instead of his partner, but now it looked like Kirsty was getting embarrassed about it all.
Embarrassed? Had he been pushing it a little too much? Inexperienced as she was, Kirsty was a fast learner and she was invaluable. Lee didn’t want to lose her because he was being a fool around her. Maybe he should ease back a little, tone it down. He didn’t want Kirsty complaining to someone.