Josh Lanyon - The Mermaid Murders

Jason said, “The initial attack is more bold and aggressive than Pink’s. But subsequently there’s a much more determined effort to conceal the crime?”

“That’s the way it appears,” Kennedy agreed.

“Is this his first kill?” Officer Courtney asked.

“Unknown. On the one hand, this was a bold and brutal crime efficiently carried out. On the other hand, the foolhardy nature of it would seem to indicate a neophyte.”

Jason said, “It’s got to be his first kill in Worcester County.”

Kennedy nodded. “Most likely.”

Gervase said reluctantly, “It won’t be his last. That’s for sure.”

“No,” Kennedy said. His expression was bleak.

“Which brings up another possibility. I don’t like it. None of us will like it, but I think we have to consider it. Maybe we’re not looking at a copycat. Maybe we never got the Huntsman.”

Shock rippled through the room.

“Martin Pink is the Huntsman,” Kennedy said. “We got the right guy.”

“We can’t be sure, not one hundred percent sure, Agent Kennedy. How can we be?” Gervase was regretful but stubborn.

“I’m one hundred percent sure. I’ll stake my career on it.”

Jason heard the words with a sinking feeling. Of course, Kennedy’s career was already at stake. He was just putting into words what everyone already knew.

Still. A guy like Kennedy made enemies. Why give them more ammunition? They were already loaded for bear.

Jason had the unmistakable feeling someone was staring at him. He glanced up, and sure enough, Boxner was regarding him with his usual pugnacious expression.

“Well, here’s another possibility.” Boxner continued to scowl, and for a confused instant Jason thought he was being personally addressed. “What if this accomplice of the Huntsman was someone young, someone who didn’t live here all the time, someone who didn’t come back after the first couple of murders. What if he isn’t an accomplice? What if he’s a disciple ?”

Boxner’s fierce gaze never wavered. Jason, unable to believe what he was hearing, was so flabbergasted he nearly laughed. It wasn’t funny though. In fact, it was so far out of line…

No. Even Boxner couldn’t be that nuts.

Or could he?

“Did you have someone in mind?” Kennedy asked dryly.

Boxner pointed at Jason like the embodiment of J’accuse . Everyone in the room turned to look at Jason. Even Kennedy looked startled.

“You’re kidding, right?” Jason said. He tried to keep his voice even, but he was so angry he wanted to leap across the room and throttle Boxner. What the hell? What was his problem ? He couldn’t really… Did he really …?

Boxner was glaring right back at Jason like yeah, he did really. Boxner said, “He was a suspect when Honey Corrigan was killed.”

“ What ?”

“Boyd, what the hell are you talking about?” Gervase demanded.

“Are you out of your mind?” Jason cried. “I wasn’t a suspect. I was never a suspect. Are you crazy ?”

Boxner said to Gervase, “You gave him a lie-detector test.”

“I did what?” Gervase continued to look amazed and alarmed. “ I did?”

Everyone else in the room looked like they were watching an exceptionally good show at the Coliseum. That would be Lions versus Christians, not Springsteen in concert.

Everyone but Kennedy, and even he looked slightly less impassive than usual. He was frowning as he met Jason’s appalled gaze.

“It’s right there in Honey’s file,” Boxner said. “The files they asked for today.”

“Who the hell are you?” Gervase asked Jason. And then to Boxner, “Who the hell is he?”

“He’s Jason West.”

“I know he’s Jason West!”

“His family used to spend summers here. You have to remember them. They used to own the old Harley place out on Amber Road.”

“The Harley place?” Gervase threw Jason a quick, uneasy look. “He’s a Harley?”

“Right,” Boxner said. “One of them . A bunch of rich snobs laughing at the rest of us. And he was there, he was a witness—he claimed to be a witness—when Honey disappeared. And now here he is again when another girl is murdered.”

It was beyond ridiculous. Boxner was leaving out all the essential parts of the story like how Jason had an ironclad alibi and zero motive for Honey’s death, like how he had passed his polygraph, like how after Honey’s death Jason’s family had never returned to Kingsfield, like how he was only here in an official capacity to investigate a murder that had already occurred two days earlier—it was ludicrous, laughable, and yet he could actually see the surprise on people’s faces turning to shock and suspicion. This was how rumors got started.

How people’s careers and lives were destroyed.

“You crazy sonofabitch,” Jason said, and this time he did start after Boxner—only to find Kennedy in his way.

“No,” Kennedy said. He spoke with utter finality, like he was delivering a decree, and as Jason stared into Kennedy’s stern blue eyes, he realized Kennedy was right. He was about to give Boxner exactly what he wanted.

Which was still bewildering because why would Boxner—did Boxner genuinely hate him this much? Could he seriously suspect Jason of murdering his best friend?

Boxner said, “I don’t believe in coincidences. He’s here for a reason. He’s—”

Kennedy said, “Okay, we’re going to take this behind closed doors. Now .”

“You’re not in charge here,” Boxner began, but Gervase cut him off.

“ Now , Boyd. My office.”

Kennedy led the way. Jason followed, numbly listening to Gervase adjourning the rest of the briefing until the following morning.

Gervase’s office was on the ground floor. Impressively mounted on the wall behind the desk was the head of a seven-point buck. The rest of the wall space was covered with framed commendations. Short bookshelves held binders and law books. Several family photos sat on a reasonably tidy desk.

“God almighty,” Kennedy muttered. “You’re just full of surprises.”

Jason opened his mouth to answer, but the next minute Gervase had entered the room followed by Boxner who fired a furious look at Jason, as though this was somehow Jason’s doing.

Gervase slammed the door shut and took his chair behind the desk.

“All right, let’s hear it,” he said to Jason.

Jason looked at Boxner. “Be my guest.”

This seemed to set Boxner off all over again, and he poured out his tale of damning circumstances that weren’t really all that damning once you laid them out end to end. Or at least Jason hoped not. Kennedy’s face was back to its normal granite state, and Gervase was getting redder by the minute.

“That’s it?” he demanded when Boxner had finally come to a sullen stop. “He was a suspect for few hours during the Corrigan investigation? That’s what this is about?”

“He was the prime suspect.”

“The hell I—!” Jason broke off, startled, as Kennedy placed a hand on his arm.

“Boyd, for chrissake. He was cleared. He was completely cleared.” Gervase scrubbed his face in his hands. He looked up at Jason. “I guess I do remember you now. A scrawny kid with long hair and a mouth full of metal. Why didn’t you say right away who you were?”

“I did—I wasn’t hiding anything. I had no idea I was ever considered a suspect.”

“They dragged you in for questioning,” Boxner said.

“They didn’t drag me. And if they did, they dragged you too. They dragged all of us, everyone who knew Honey.”

Boxner recoiled as though this had slipped his mind. Maybe he had grown so used to thinking of himself as a police officer, he had forgotten there ever was a time when he stood on the outside.