C.A.R.M.A

24

"It's not him", I said, backing away from the computer. "This is wrong."

I looked at Taylor where she stood with her hands behind her back, and never saw her wear such a tender expression. She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose before staring back out through the windows of her old office.

Max and I had rushed up our office at the promise of a lead and muffins. We emerged, hand and hand, to find Taylor and Becca looking at something on the desktop computer. Both of them beamed when they saw us together again.

Their expressions then were a theatrical mirror to the shock and disappointment on their faces now.

Becca stared up at me from the office desk like she couldn't believe her eyes.

"Thea", she began, but I cut her off.

"No. No!", I threw my hands up. "I know what you're going to say. It's not him. It can't be. He can't be helping her. He wouldn't do this."

Taylor and Max exchanged a glance that made my blood begin to roll and boil. I was going to throw up. I was going to be sick all over my new fancy, immaculate office.

My head spun, around and around and around.

"We're wrong", I whispered, refusing to believe what my eyes were showing me. The damning evidence that should excite me to see; my license to kill. My license for revenge.

"Thea", Becca began again, raising her voice over my protests. "Olivia hacked into their hotel's security system. The feed is coming to us directly from their database." She gestured again to the computer in disbelief. "That has to be Tyler."

Because there, splatter across the computer screen were over a dozen videos in black and white showing a man with his head tucked down, a baseball cap with the Mariner's logo obscuring his features, but with Tyler's build, Tyler's exact clothes I'd seen on him. And the man was leading various women right to Alexia's door. And she would answer, in a robe with a snakelike smile. Alexia nods at the man, in each video she gives a stupid, little dip of her head. And then the man continues down the hall, never showing his full face. Like he knew where the cameras would be in the hotel.

In any other case, seeing this evidence would make my body coil like a snake waiting to get the order to strike.

But I didn't feel that.

No, I felt limb and sweaty and broken and defeated.

"Why is this footage in black and white?", I asked widely. "It's the twenty-first century and we still have black and white footage? We can't even tell what this man's hair color is."

"A lot of hotels and restaurants still use black and white, to save money," Becca explains.

I discarded this explanation, trying to find something, anything, to discredit the man's help in this video.

"Thea", Max tried again, coming over to put his arm around me. I side stepped him, not taking my eyes off of Taylor.

"We're wrong", I planted my feet wide, crossing my arms, my fingers trembled. My chin wobbled but I held it high, tears blurred my vision but didn't fall. The sweaty gym clothes felt cold and tight against my body.

"Why are you so convinced it's not him?" Taylor peered back at me, a slight tilt of her head sent her dark long hair flowing over her shoulder.

"Because we were just in this position with Sloane!", I exploded on the trio before me. "All we had to go off of were pictures of a woman's fucking hands."

Becca gaped, "And the words of a witness, saying that Sloane hurt her."

"Speaking of," I cut her a dry glare. "Where is that witness? Don't you think we should talk to her again?"

Max winced, "We can't find her."

I rubbed the heel of my hand against my forehead, combating a budding headache. "What do you mean we can't find her?"

He cut a look to Becca, who admitted, "She's just vanished."

"Didn't we promise to keep tabs on her?" I slid an incredulous glance toward my mentor.

Taylor shrugged, "Being Head Vixen is fun, isn't it?"

Ah. There's the clap back from our power struggle. Message received loud and clear: you wanted this mess, you clean it up now.

"Find her", I hissed to my best friend.

"Don't you think we're trying", the venom in Becca's words matching my own.

I sighed. "Double your team and try again. Pull from other cases if you must, just find the witness that had me kill an innocent woman."

Becca flinched, and again I felt guilt grip my stomach like a fist.

"Why are you so convinced it can't be Tyler helping his cousin?", Taylor asked, folding her arms across her chest and collapsing into one of the plush armchairs.

I willed truth to fill my voice, my eyes as I told her everything I promised Tyler I'd never tell anyone. With his life hanging in the balance, I think he'd find it in himself to forgive me.

I gave her every gorey detail that he laid bare to me, every regret, every haunting thought about what he couldn't change for his sister, who died in Seattle.

I confessed all of the time I spent with him outside of my assignment, and how I trusted the man I came to know and called my friend. Max's eyes burned twin crates into the side of my head, I ignored him.

"It doesn't make sense" I finished, out of breath, still clutching my arms to my chest.

"Our research shows that people who have experience with this", Max stared softly, like he was talking to a wild animal.

Fine if that's what he wanted. I bared my teeth.

"Not everything is a statistical problem! You can't give me the numbers on this. I know him and we're wrong here", I fired at my partner. Max recoiled like each one of my words physically struck him.

Again, that damning guilty clenched my gut. I went to reach for him, but he took a step back.

"Max", I pleaded. I could feel our new repaired relationship fracturing, spider webbing cracks starting from the words I yelled.

"Do you?" Taylor's voice cuts me. "Do you know him?"

"What?", I willed my anger toward Taylor.

"I think what she means", Max said, not meeting my eye. "Is that we have to go on a field trip."

I turned back toward Taylor, who nodded but it was Becca who voiced what needed to be done. "You two have to break into his suite and see what you can find."

"And while we're doing that, Becca's going to track down our star witness." Taylor finishes.

I sank into an armchair, rubbing my hands over my face. I needed to shower, I needed coffee, I needed time to think.

"You know where his suite is, right?" Max's voice is filled with ice, so much so that when I look up at him, there's ice in his stare at me as well.

I opened my mouth to tell him it's not like that, not at all, but Taylor cuts me off.

"You should go tonight. Red Wolfe has an event on Bainbridge Island and they won't be back until well after midnight. I'm surprised you weren't invited", she finishes with a slight sneer at me.

I roll my eyes, but agree to go tonight with Max.

I agree to find out how well I really do know Tyler.