Chapter 3

In the end, Serena took the boy to file a report.

She chose her words carefully when she told him the office had just received an unidentified young male victim and that, if he wanted, they could begin basic identification procedures.

For a second, it looked like his legs might give out entirely.

Then his phone rang.

A young man's voice burst through the speaker, bright and annoyed. "Where are you? I came back from out of state to surprise you, and the house is empty."

The boy stared, then let out a broken laugh-sob. "Jesus, you scared the hell out of me."

A few minutes later, he was apologizing over and over and sprinting back out the door.

The whole office exhaled in relief.

Only I felt emptier than before.

Two days passed. The field investigators came back one by one, and none of them had anything useful.

Miles's expression darkened by the hour. Finally, he cornered Serena again. "I still think something's wrong with Adrian. He wouldn't just vanish this long for no reason."

Serena had already been in a foul mood because the case was going nowhere. Hearing my name only made it worse.

"I said he's fine."

She grabbed her coat. "And I'm not spending all night on this. I still have to get back to Blackwood in time for Evan's graduation dinner. Adrian can do whatever he wants. I don't care."

Miles's jaw tightened. "He could actually be in trouble."

"If he is, he probably brought it on himself."

Then she walked away.

I stayed where I was, staring after her, my eyes burning.

Even Miles knew this wasn't normal.

Why was the only person who couldn't see it the one who was supposed to know me best?

She had barely reached the door when her phone rang again.

My thesis advisor.

"Hello, is this Adrian Hart's sister? I'm calling because we still haven't resolved the authorship dispute on his graduation paper, and we've been unable to contact him—"

"I don't know where he is."

Serena cut him off without missing a beat.

"And frankly, whether he's dead or alive is not my problem. Stop calling me."

She ended the call, face set like stone, then sent me a text.

[Adrian, have you had enough yet?]

[If you don't show up at Evan's graduation dinner, I'll kill you myself.]

I stared at the message and felt cold all the way through.

I'm not refusing to show up.

I'm lying in the room next to yours, and I can't get up anymore.

That evening, Evan arrived at the morgue carrying an insulated lunch bag that probably cost more than my monthly rent used to.

"I was worried you hadn't eaten," he said. "So I brought soup. And your favorite sandwiches."

Serena's eyes softened instantly. She reached up and smoothed his hair like he was still a child.

"You're the only one who ever thinks of me."

Then, with a bitter little laugh, she added, "Unlike Adrian. He only knows how to make my life harder."

Evan lowered his lashes. "Actually... I ran into Adrian on the way here."

Serena's whole body sharpened. "Where?"

"I tried to say hello, but he got angry the second he saw me. He shoved me."

Evan lifted the hem of his trousers just enough to show the reddened skin at his knee.

Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a silver pendant.

"He threw this at me too. Said he's done with all of us."

Serena's face turned cold.

But the second Miles saw the pendant, something in his expression changed.

"You said Adrian gave you that?" he asked, voice suddenly serious.

Evan flinched like he'd been accused of something unfair and stepped closer to Serena.

She was already angry. "Miles, I told you he's fine. And now he's putting his hands on Evan? I swear to God, I—"

"That's impossible." Miles cut her off. "This is a silver Saint Christopher medal. It was Adrian's mother's. The last thing she ever left him. He never took it off. Not for showers, not for anything. He would not just throw it away."

Serena pulled out her phone and dialed my number.

Then someone picked up, Serena snapped, "Adrian, get your ass to the examiner's office right now. If you laid a hand on Evan, I swear—"

But the voice that came back wasn't mine.

"Dr. Hart? This is the dockside crime scene unit."

"We found a phone at the primary scene. It belongs to Adrian Hart."

"We believe he may have been murdered."