A Life of Death: Episodes 9 - 12 Read Free

her husband all along and I’ve been chasin’ a ghost all this year. The thought stirred me with excitement, but also seemed hollow and unlikely.
    Rollen perused the documents and autopsy report before saying, “Nah, nothin’ that I know of, but he was pretty charred up. It would’ve been hard to tell. Why do you ask?”
    As the feminine voice echoing from the monster’s snout in my past visions came to mind, my shoulders slumped as though mimicking Jessie’s earlier. “That’s just one of the few things I’ve found that tie the murders together, an ankh tattoo, but the serial killer couldn’t have been Victor Harris.”
    “How do you know?”
    Closing my eyes for a second, I pondered telling the truth, but knew it would end any hope of future information. Yes, Rollen’s superstitious, but will he buy my story? “I can’t really say, but a reliable witness told me it was a woman’s voice he heard.”
    “You’re sure?”
    I nodded.
    “Okay then. Seems like you’re back where you started. You know there’s more women in this country than men, right? You’ve got a long way to go, and a new question to answer: if Victor Harris wasn’t victim fifteen, who was? Worse yet, was there a murder last year, or did she take the year off?”
    “Yep,” I said with a frown as the added uncertainty piled on. “I’ve got one more question for you, though. Can you look into Greg Rayson?”
    Rollen spun his computer chair to fully face me. “Why? Didn’t you just say you were sure it was a woman?”
    I wanted to tell Rollen about Greg Rayson and Evie Cervantes, to expose him, to mention her abuela , Mrs. Sanchez, and Louis’s needless death, but none of these were callous murders. The living were suffering, and there was no one to avenge, no justice to serve. The deaths were so closely linked that it would rip apart all of their lives and end their livelihood if the health department found out. The Taco Hut couldn’t be using the same meat, no matter how vivid my nightmarish imagination was. Weighing the costs against the suffering of the living, I stood in silence. Rollen just stared until I finally said, “Yeah, but there might be a connection. It’s a hunch.”
    The sergeant’s eyes said he knew there was more to it, but he said nothing and turned back to his computer. Pulling up another screen, Rayson’s rap sheet appeared. “He’s got some priors, a B and E as a kid, a couple DUIs, and a domestic disturbance with his ex-wife, but their addresses are separate now. It appears they divorced and are living in different states. There’s nothing to implicate Rayson, though. We’re pretty hooked up to things, but without giving me more to go on, I can’t fully investigate the guy. Your department might be able to though.”
    I nodded. Just a man in the wrong place at the wrong time who made some bad decisions. The inner turmoil of the decision whether to fess up ate at me, and Rollen’s face turned quizzical.
    “What’s on your mind?”
    I shook my head. “Nothin’ I can say until I’ve got more to go on. You got a card? I’ll let you know if I come up with anything.”
    Rollen pulled one from his breast pocket and handed it to me. “Alright—Alex, was it?”
    “Yep.” I gave him a half smile. “Alex is fine.”
    He reached out a hand. “Keenan Rollen. My friends call me Keen.”
    I shook it.
    “By the way, keep your investigation on the down low. Not too many guys on the force up here like outsiders traipsin’ through. If you get something, call me. The last thing we need is a fiasco with cops working out of their jurisdiction. At least if I’m involved, we can keep things legal and from becoming a thorn in the bureaucrats’ asses.”
    “Sure thing, Keen. You have my word on that.”
    As I turned away, he added, “And if you finally come to a decision about that other stuff or just want to run it by another professional, let me know.”
    I nodded and stepped out from behind the corner,