Page 28 of Watch Me Burn
“No, nothing like that. This doesn’t feel like the person who left the bodies.”
“I’m on my way. Don’t touch anything else in that box, and if you have security footage, pull it up for me to review.”
“Already done. Thank you, Karen.”
Jenny and I stand in awkward silence, both of us avoiding looking at the box. Honey has moved in front of Flower, her small body rigid.
“I’m gonna go back to work.” Jenny gestures toward the door.
I nod. “Don’t worry about this, Jenny. I’m sure it’s nothing.”
She doesn’t look convinced, poor thing, but I can hardly blame her. She walks out of my office, leaving the door open, and I sink back into my chair. I close my eyes and rub my temples again when I hear Maren’s angry voice from down the hall.
“What the actual fuck?”
Maren appears in my doorway like a storm cloud, her eyes blazing as she takes in the box on my desk.
“This is some fucked-up bullshit, Lu.” She takes a peek inside the box. “Shit, is that blood?”
“I'm pretty sure it is.”
“I need to sit down.”
She lifts Honey and Flower from their wicker bed and goes to the sofa, where she collapses, cradling the rabbits against her chest like furry shields.
Neither of us knows what to say, but she stays with me until Karen arrives half an hour later.
“Luna.” She steps into my office, her eyes zeroing in on the box. She pulls latex gloves from her jacket pocket and lifts the lid again. “This is definitely an escalation.”
She examines the contents, making notes on a small notepad while Maren mutters something sarcastic under her breath. I catch her eye and give her a sharp look.
“Any idea who might have sent this to you?”
“No.”
“Do the dahlias mean anything to you?”
“Not black ones. Red dahlias are my favorite flower, but no one knows that except Maren and… Caleb.” I glance at Maren, who’s watching me while Flower explores the space between her knees and the arm of the sofa.
Karen’s pen stops moving. “Caleb, your ex?”
“Yeah.”
“Have you heard from him recently?”
Oops. I never told her about his visit, did I?
“He showed up a few weeks ago.”
The silence in the room is deafening. Even the rabbits seem to pause their movements. Maren and I exchange a glance.
“Luna.” Karen’s voice carries that warning tone cops use when they know you’re about to admit something significant. “What happened?”
I fidget with a pen on my desk, rolling it between my fingers. “It wasn’t a big deal. He dropped by and wanted to talk about getting back together. I said no. He just wanted me to drop the restraining order against him. Get it off the record. He was fired after I filed it, and, from what I understand, no other law firm will touch him. Apparently, even Daddy’s money and reputation couldn’t help with that.”
“Was that all that happened?” Karen continues making notes on her pad.
“No. He got a little heated about it, but Damien showed up and made him leave before anything really happened.”
