Eric clapped me on the shoulder and squeezed. “It’s a tough choice, man.”
I sighed heavily. “I know.”
He slapped me upside the head. “No, it’s not. The woman you love is a psychopath and murdered people. Turn her ass in before you end up dead.”
Andrew
“You’re sure you want to do it this way?” Robert asked me as we approached the police station.
We had already talked about all this. I knew that going to Jack would most likely land me in jail, but I also knew that something was going on with Barty. The man wasn’t all there and he had another agenda. So, despite the fact that I knew Lorelei was a killer, I also wanted to make sure that she had a fair trial. I wasn’t so sure that she would get that if Barty was involved in any way.
I took a deep breath and nodded. “Whatever happens, I was working a case. I wasn’t withholding evidence. He can try whatever he wants. It won’t stick.”
“Alright, let’s do this, then.”
He pulled the door open and we walked inside, instantly greeted by Jack’s scowl. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“I’m here to report a crime,” I said, swallowing hard. There was no going back. I had to do this. Shit.
Jack’s eyebrows shot up just as Corduroy walked out of the back room. “Ah, the Cortell brothers. Whatever did we do to get so damn lucky?”
“Apparently, they’re here to report a crime,” Jack snickered. “What happened? Did someone steal your computer?” he asked sarcastically.
I shook my head slightly. God, I felt so sick to my stomach right now. “I’m here to report a murder.”
Jack’s face turned dark quickly. “Please tell me it was you and that I get to lock you up.”
“The murder isn’t recent.”
Jack stood so quickly that his chair flew backward. “Is this about Natalie? Does this have to do with her?”
Robert held up his hand, pressing Jack back before he attacked me. “Just hear him out. This has nothing to do with Natalie.”
Corduroy put his hand on Jack’s shoulder, trying to pull him back, but Jack was wound too tight.
“It’s about the new woman in town, Lorelei Henning.”
“She’s dead?” Corduroy asked.
“No…she’s the killer.”
Both of their jaws dropped, and against every fiber in them, they offered us both a seat. I pulled my research documents out of my bag and handed the file over to Jack. He opened it and flipped through it.
“What am I looking at here?”
“That’s all of my investigation. I was hired by her step-son, Bartholomew Henning, because he suspected her of killing his father.”
Jack’s eyes shot up to meet mine. “And you have proof?”
I shook my head. “No, but I was with her when she got a phone call. I overheard her admit that she had killed three people.”
His eyes slowly dropped back down to the papers as he looked them over. Corduroy was looking over his shoulder, pointing to things randomly as Robert and I waited for them to finish looking over it. Of course, it would take a lot more than just a cursory glance to really understand everything that was there.
“Okay, you’ve got my attention. Who exactly do you think she’s killed?”
“Her mother, father, best friend, fiancé, and husband.”
Jack narrowed his eyes. “That’s more than three people.”
“I’m aware. And I don’t have solid proof of any of it, but I know what I heard and if you really look through that file, you’ll see that things are just a little too coincidental in her life.”
Jack leaned back in his chair with a sigh. “And just what do you expect me to do with this?”
“Well, first of all,” Robert started, “we’d like you to get a search warrant to find DNA evidence that links her to her fiancé’s car accident. There were hairs found at the scene, but nobody in the database matched. If it’s a match, that would be enough to reopen the case.”
Corduroy shifted beside Jack. “I’m confused. I thought you were dating this woman.”
I nodded. “I was. But I was also investigating her.”
Corduroy burst out laughing. “You knew that she might be a murderer and you slept with her?”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “I never said I slept with her.”
“Hell, the whole town knows the two of you are sleeping together.”
Jack’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “If you had suspicions, you should have come to the police. Instead, you slept with her, had an intimate relationship with her. I could charge you with aiding and abetting a criminal.”
“First, he didn’t have any proof of any wrongdoing. Second, as soon as he found out, he came to you.”
He shrugged slightly. “Not from where I’m sitting. How many other people in your family know about this? I’m betting most of them. Which means that you were trying to figure out what to do. That sounds an awful lot like conspiracy to me.”
My nostrils flared in anger. I was already pissed enough at myself for what I was doing to Lorelei, I really didn’t need him adding to it. “Look, I was investigating her, and then I came to you as soon as I found out more information.”
“And what about the step-son?” Corduroy asked.
“I have a feeling he has another agenda in mind. I’d like to make sure that Lorelei is given a fair trial.”
Jack’s gaze studied me for just a moment. “Fuck, you went and fell for her. Goddammit,” he said, slamming the file down on the table. “How the hell are you supposed to be a reliable witness if you’ve been fucking her and you’re in love with her?”
“I never said I was in love with her,” I argued, though it was so obvious I did.
“This is not the ideal situation to—“
“Ideal? Do you think any of this is fucking ideal? The woman I love turns out to be a serial killer and you think
