Page 16 of Petty Deadly Gorgeous

Taking my time, I used the moonlight to guide me and help wash away any trace of evidence of my game tonight. Once I felt clean, I stepped from the water and shook my body like a dog trying to remove the excess water before slipping into the clean clothes.

My backpack sat beside the rock and I pulled out my slippers before dropping the soap inside along with my athame. Then I picked up my bag and followed the path back to Gran’s. I needed a nap, a proper shower and some good home cooking from her.

I snuck back into the house and up to my room without notice and the moment my head hit my pillow, happiness filled me.

I’m home for good.

Chapter Four

Dominick Present Day

My office chair molded to fit my ass. This was both comforting and disturbing. “Memory foam, you say?”

“Dom. Stop being a pussy. They got us good chairs to keep us at our peak.” My partner Sean threw a ball of paper at me. “I like it.”

“I know what you like, man. That’s what scares me.” I laughed and threw the ball in the trash.

Together we were the best cold case duo our jurisdiction had. This morning while I assembled my new chair, the higher ups brought down a case from Castle Hollow. A young girl lost both her parents the night of her thirteenth birthday. After thirty years and no leads, they dumped it on us.

I glanced at the folder with the cold case and then turned my attention to another set of files in front of me. In this stack were the current cases of missing girls who either went to visit Castle Hollow or were near the area.

“You ever been out to Castle Hollow?” Sean asked while flipping through the dossier.

I leaned back and decided the chair was definitely more comfortable than anything else I’ve ever sat in. “No, but I’ve heard the stories.”

It was hard to live near a tourist trap of haunted woods, buildings, and not hear all the rumors about the surrounding areas. People were superstitious and always looked for a reason to explain what they didn’t understand or want to accept.

“We could go talk to the girl.” He shrugged. “See what she remembers?”

“How much do you remember from thirty years ago?” I sat up and crossed my hands on the desk.

Sean’s face twisted up, and he laughed. “Shit. Not much, except I was a fucking idiot.”

“She was thirteen. And she wasn’t even home.”

He drummed his thumbs on his desk. “What are your thoughts on the missing girls?”

“I think it’s fucking weird that the only thing in common is the age range.” I reached for my coffee and took a big swig of the now cold swill. “But. The owner of the Serene Raven Inn is the same girl who lost her parents.”

“Well, that’s two birds with one stone if I ever heard one.” Sean leaned over and pulled a quarter from his pocket. “Call it.” He balanced the coin on his thumb and then flipped it into the air, catching it on the back of his hand.

I watched it flip and called out my choice. “Tails.”

He uncovered it and frowned. “Dammit. Guess I’ll go dig through thirty-year-old evidence.”

“That means I’ll go to Castle Hollow and meet Anna Bishop.” I stood up from the chair and grabbed my blazer from the back, and picked up my copy of the files. I preferred an old wood desk to this new one, but they were trying to pull the station into this century.

The small coffee station still had the old wood desk, and I wondered for a brief moment if anyone would notice if I swapped them out. Shaking my head, I threw my blazer over my arm and left our office.

For a small area, we had a busy office, and there were people rushing around and others on the phones, all with their own cases to handle. I waved at the other officers as I made my way out of the station and down to my car.

I took a deep breath of fresh air and enjoyed the stillness outside the station. My mind drifted to the case. According to the reports I read, there was no weapon found, but the couple’s tongues had been cut out of their mouths.

“That’s not a bad plan if you want to keep your victims silent.” I opened my car door and slid into the driver’s seat. “But how do you get them to comply when there’s no signs of a struggle?”

Sticking the key into the ignition, my car fired up, and I continued to talk to myself while I drove down the highway that would take me from Grimgate to Castle Hollow.

“Why wasn’t there a struggle, though?” I reached over and lowered the radio. “If someone is trying to kill you, you fight for your life. It’s instinct.”

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