Killer Queen [Book 1]

Chapter 20

Stiles and I walked into the sheriff's office, his father looking up from his desk and looking at the bag of take-out I was carrying.

    "Not to worry, Daddy-o. We got you food." Stiles said as he took out a wrapped veggie burger and handed it to his father.

    His father unwrapped it and groaned. "Ugh, what the hell is this?"

    "Veggie burger." Stiles answered.

    "Stiles, I asked for a hamburger."

    His son shrugged. "Well, veggie is healthier. We're being healthy." he said, getting out a salad.

    "Oh hell...why are you trying to ruin my life?"

    "I'm trying to extend your life, okay? Could you just eat it, please? And tell me what you found." Stiles said, the two of us sitting in the chairs.

    His father sighed and took a bite of the veggie burger, shaking his head. "No, I'm not sharing confidential police work with two teenagers..."

    I peered around him. "Is that it on the board behind you?"

    "Don't look at that..." the sheriff told me. "Avert your eyes..."

    Stiles sighed. "Okay..." he looked over st the board again.

    "Hey!" his father said with a weary sigh.

    Stiles gestured to the board. "Just-it's just-I see arrows pointing at pictures!"

    "Okay, okay, stop. Fine. I found something. The mechanic and the couple who were murdered—they all had something in common."

    I looked at the board, seeing the three victims. "All three?"

    He nodded. "Yeah. You know what I always say..."One's an incident. Two's a coincidence—"

     "—three's a pattern." Stiles finished.

    His father nodded and looked back at the board. "The mechanic, the husband, the wife? All the same age. All twenty-four."

    I frowned. "Wait, what about Mr. Lahey? I mean, Isaac's dad isn't anywhere near twenty-four..."

    The sheriff nodded. "Which made me think that either A) Lahey's murder wasn't connected, or B) the ages were a coincidence... Until I found this, which would be C)—Did you know that Isaac Lahey had an older brother named Camden?"

    Stiles picked up one of the files. "Died in combat..."

    "But, if he were alive today, take one guess as to how old he'd be..."

    Stiles looked at his father. "Twenty-four."

    "Wait. What if same age means same class? I mean, did you think of that?" I asked the sheriff.

    He nodded. "Yeah. Yeah......well, I would have. I mean, I—Look, I just got Lahey's file two hours ago!"

    Stiles looked at his father, exasperated. "Two hours? Dad, people could be dying."

    "Yeah, I'm aware of that, thank you." his father answered sarcastically.

    "Same class...okay, this is it—class of 2006. They all went to Beacon Hills."

    "Including Isaac's brother." I added.

    Stiles nodded to me. "All right, but...so, what if they all knew each other, you know? I mean, two of them were married, so maybe they all just hung out?"

    The sheriff tilted his head in through. "Well, they could have had the same classes together. They could've..."

    Stiles looked at his father. "What?"