Page 41 of Girl, Unmasked
Ella felt that this conversation was about to go one of two ways.She prayed it was the way that ended up with handcuffs.Her hand inched towards her weapon on reflex, but something told her she wouldn’t need it.Kane looked like a harsh wind could knock him over.
‘Okay, I’m listening,’ she said.
‘First of all, I’m not a killer.Look at me, for God’s sake.’Kane swept his hands down his lanky figure, the way a chiselled model might show off their abs.Ella wasn’t about to make any conclusions just yet.
‘Keep going.’
‘Every second Wednesday, I host a writing class here.A place for amateurs to share their work.We have guest speakers and such.’
‘And?’
‘A few months ago, we had a guest speaker here.Kirsten Lawler.Local celebrity author.’Kane tapped a stack of paperbacks on the counter, all the same title.AllHouse of Shadowsby Kirsten Lawler.
‘Thanks for the recommendation, but I’m here about a murder.’
Kane stumbled a little, gripped the counter again for support, then scrubbed a hand over his face.Ella noticed how impossibly tired he looked like he'd aged a decade in the space of this conversation.
‘Right, sorry.It’s just… we had this newbie in the class.Sat in the back, didn’t socialize much.We take it in turns to read our work out, and when it came to him, he got up in front of everyone, and…’
‘And?’
‘It was this murder scene,’ Kane said.‘About a man named Cain, skinning a woman, pulling her eyes out, putting barbed wire around her head.Cain and his angel.’
Ella felt like the cosmos had just kicked her in the stomach.This was it.The phantom author, the ghost who'd turned Sophie Draper into an angel.Her unsub had been here.In this very shop, in the unholy flesh, reading out his perverse fiction for real people to hear.
‘Wait a second.This book your mystery man was reading from.Did it have a name?’
Kane stared in a straight line to his left.Any modern body language expert would tell Ella that Kane was recalling an auditory memory.Also known as telling the truth.As much as it pained her to admit, all signs pointed to Kane being innocent.
‘Gosh, I can’t remember.He did say, but…’
‘Was itHalosomething?’Ella asked, leading the witness only slightly.
Kane snapped his fingers.‘Yes!Halo of Blood,’ he exclaimed, with all the enthusiasm of a man who’d just remembered where he’d left his winning lottery ticket.
‘Kane,’ she said, leaning in so close she could smell the musty amalgam of old books and what she hoped was just really strong coffee on his breath, ‘I need everything you've got on this guy.And I mean everything.Name, description, what he was wearing, any tattoos or distinguishing marks.Hell, tell me what brand of deodorant he used if you can remember.I want to know if he parted his hair on the left or the right, if he had a nervous tic, everything.
Kane blinked at her, nonplussed.‘I...I don't really know.I mean, how often do youreallylook at someone?’
‘Quite often when they're talking about mutilating women.’
‘It was just fiction!’Kane protested, shrinking back like he thought she might vault the counter and go for his throat.Not a bad instinct, all things considered.‘Just words on a page!I didn't think…’
‘Ditch the excuses and give me whatever you’ve got.’
That seemed to pierce Kane's indignation.He deflated.
‘He was young,’ Kane said after a moment.‘Maybe thirty or so.Had long black hair, kind of scraggly.Down to his chin at least.Long nose.Dressed in army trousers and a gray jacket.I didn't see any tattoos.’
Ella blinked, then frowned.That description was so far off from the portrait painted byHalo of Bloodthat it might as well have been a different species.Where was the wiry scarecrow with the haunted eyes and hacking cough?Could Drago LaChance have deviated that far from his fictional counterpart?
‘Are you sure he didn't have wild hair?’she asked.‘Or look sick in any way?’
Kane just looked confused.‘No, nothing like that.Guy looked healthy enough.Bit grungy.Maybe some acne.He looked like he was trying to blend in, you know?Like one of those plants you put in an office that you only notice when it starts to die.’
Ella waved off the question.‘Never mind.I need a name, Kane.Tell me you got a name.'
‘I remember thinking of that movie, you know?’he said after a moment.‘You know, the boxer one?With Stallone?’
