It terrifies me that we don’t know how many women Maguire’s hurt or murdered. Men like him are scum and deserve to rot in hell. They lead seemingly normal lives but behind closed doors, the malicious possibilities are endless when they are that far over the edge.
They have no morals. Punishment or risk of being caught doesn’t faze them. They focus on their innocent prey as if it’s a game to them. Not as if there are lives at stake.
This makes my job even more difficult, yet at the same time, more rewarding. Men like Maguire need to be locked away. That knowledge is what allows me to leave Tinsley for nine hours a day, five days a week.
Shannon’s our rock. She brings the twins over, and they have a girls’ day every time I’m gone.
It’s our new normal.
“Be back around dinner time?” Shannon asks as she walks her little ones into the living room, one on each side of her, holding her pointer fingers. With her laptop in her diaper bag, she’s able to bring her work with her, all while managing the toddlers and Tinsley.
I seriously need to buy her a nice Christmas present.
“Yep. I’ll bring Chinese home for everyone. What do the girls eat?” I bend down to give both of them big squeezes, causing them to giggle in delight.
“Chicken nuggets and chocolate milk,” she tells me in all seriousness.
“So a side trip to Mickie D’s then. Sounds like a plan. See you tonight.” I stand and give her hug before grabbing my coat and keys. “Tinsley’s still asleep if you want to let the minions go wake her up.” I look around but I’m beaten to the punch. I see Emmie and Charlee toddling through the hallway and toward our bedroom.
They know the drill.
I head out and pray for a good day. We’re switching up tactics with Maguire today since we have a tip that he isn’t the only serial killer of sorts in town. We hadn’t pieced it together before, but there’s been a slew of missing women over the past fourteen years. Nothing confirmed, but it’s enough to reopen a few cases.
There’s a stack of files and boxes on my desk when I get to work. Fingering through some of the files, I see name after name of women who were no longer with us. I had no idea the number was this high.
This is a month’s worth of work ahead of me if I tackle it alone. Walking out of my office, I ask my assistant, Sue Ellen, to get me a cup of coffee while I go and have a chat with the chief. I need manpower, and he has the ability to get it for me.
“Good Morning, Sir.” I knock on his open door and wait for him to invite me in.
“You saw the files.” He waves me into his office, and I take a seat in front of him. Duncan has been chief ever since I started out of college. He’s serious about his job but doesn’t mind when matters shift into the gray. It’s part of what I admire about him. Knowing that to get the criminals, we can’t always go by the book, and at the end of the day, as long as good beats the shit out of evil, then it’s a win.
“I did. It seems like they’ve been swept under a rug after they’ve been labeled as missing for longer than a few days. These women, though, I don’t think all of them simply left on their own will. I need to look harder into each file, but Chief, I need more eyes on this.” I hope to hell that my hunch is wrong and that these women left town on their own will and are living happily somewhere else. I cringe thinking about the deception and suffering they went through if they were with a man like Maguire.
“Pull Borton, Fitzpatrick, and Miller. They’ll help you out. Let them go through the boxes today. Right now, I have a professional interrogator over at county to hopefully get more out of the son of a bitch. Head on over and maybe you can get some useful intel out of him.” He nods his head, and it’s my cue to go.
I wasn’t able to get shit out of Maguire, but maybe the other guy can. At this point, I wouldn’t mind bringing in a black market interrogator who uses less conventional ways to get the man to talk. I doubted even Duncan would go for that, though.
I make my way down yet again to see Maguire. Just looking at him makes me see red. It’s his casual arrogance—as if he knows so much more than we do. He’s calm and intelligent, much unlike our normal criminals who’ve been caught. When I see him, I see him and Tinsley together. She had no idea who she was in bed with, and I was helpless to tell her. Having to force myself not to interfere was the hardest damn thing I’ve ever had to do. Knowing who he was and what he was capable of doing, yet still letting her fall for him?
I let her down. I was supposed to protect her, but I failed her on so many levels all because of my job. Having to pretend to be someone I’m not around her changed me. I started believing the lies I was telling. I hadn’t planned to fall for her as hard as I did. She was a long-term task that turned into love. So cliché, but I would do it all over again if I got her in the end.
Watching behind the two-way mirror, I’m doubtful of any reliable results from our interrogator who looks like a lingerie model, only she’s wearing a perfectly fitted, black pantsuit. Her hands are on the table while she leans over Maguire, trying to break him in a way I couldn’t.
“She knows what she’s doing,” Lachlan, my partner, tells me as we both stand with our arms crossed, watching the interaction between the two. Lachlan is like me; he wants to get the bad guys and almost itches to do things our own way to get the job done.
We can hear her prying. Trying to get information out of him like that won’t work, though. When I hear her ask about Tinsley, I cringe. His smile and rapt attention to her name makes me want to punch through the glass and slice his neck with a shard.
“Do you love her?” she asks him as she takes a seat in a metal chair. “Is that why you didn’t kill her? Why was she different than the others?” With each question, her voice becomes more steady and powerful.
“We love each other. She understood that I was better than her other flings,” Maguire tells her with a smile, and the way he dismissed Tinsley’s and my relationship as if it were casual makes me wonder if he knows I’m watching and he’s trying to get under my skin.
I won’t allow it. I’m better than he is.
“And the other women? Why’d you kill them?”
He licks his lips before answering. “They were too tainted, too far gone. I tried to help them, but they were all cheaters who hadn’t learned their lesson.”
“Just like your mother? She was murdered, and rumor had it, she wasn’t the faithful type.” Her words strike a chord with Maguire, causing him to slam his hands on the table and scream out at her.
“Shut up!”
“Who ingrained it into your brain that cheaters don’t deserve to live? Who gave you the right to make that decision!?”
“Stop it. Just stop talking!”
Maguire’s starting to shake, his veins pulsing in his neck. She’s getting to him. She hit him in a weak spot and is twisting and grabbing until he breaks. I can hear his breathing becoming deeper, louder.
Shaking his head, he clamps his eyes shut, muttering words I can’t make out. She’s close. She knows it. He knows it.
“What about Nora? She was pregnant, and you killed her.” She’s reaching, but maybe he’ll give her what we all know.
“She got pregnant with his child. I’d seen them together, and when I brought it up, she lied right to my face. A lesson had to be taught. For every action, there is a reaction.” His face is red, and he’s no longer looking at her in the eye. Instead, he’s focusing on the two-way mirror behind her. “He taught me from a young age that those who are disloyal have to pay the price. That’s why he killed my mom but not Liam’s.”
There’s a hint of a smile on his face as he says the last few words. Furrowing my brows together, I slowly piece together what he’s talking about, but he helps me along. He’s staring right at me, and it’s then that I realize my whole world’s about to be turned upside down.
“My father’s name is Rick. I know, I know. We’re just about the same age. You see, while he had his perfect life at home with your pre
gnant mom, he couldn’t stop his obsession. He was careless with my mom, though, and knocked her up. Gave her enough money to get by but after I was born, it was time for her retribution. He knew about her whore ways, and he wasn’t going to give her a free pass. I was two months old when he killed her, and I ended up living with my maternal grandparents. Rick visited once a year, and once I was old enough, he started telling me about why Momma had to die.”
I’m going to be sick. The cheesy grin needs to be ripped off his face. I want to say he’s lying, but that’s not like him. It’d be dishonest.
The interrogator looks behind her with a questioning look, unsure what to do with the news that affects me and gives suspicion to look into my father about the missing women. I unlock her door and allow her out.
Rubbing my hand over my face, I contemplate what to do next. Thoughts are running rampant in my head regarding my father, but I can’t even begin to process what Maguire said about his hobbies.
Maguire and I are half-brothers. How the hell did that happen? I know he went to school with Tinsley and was fascinated with her before I ever came along. Before he could act on anything, I came into play, and Tinsley and I became serious about each other.
I got in his way probably at the perfect time.
He’s my brother.
My father groomed him to be just like him. I knew my dad had faults but was oblivious to his disturbing way of thinking.
I want Tinsley by my side. I need her support, but the fact that I’m related to such filthy, inferior individuals makes me feel weak. I’m not deserving of her love.
“You okay, man?” Lachlan touches my shoulder, and I had forgotten he was in here.
“Yeah. Can you handle this? Bring Rick in while I’m gone and question him. I don’t want to deal with him right now. I’ve gotta go.” I give him a look, and he nods his head knowingly. I need to get out of here and away from Maguire.
Before I even realize it, I’m walking back into my apartment. I don’t recall any part of the drive, which scares the shit out of me. The twins are asleep on the couch with Shannon and Tinsley blocking them in with their legs up on the edge of it, making a barrier for them not to roll off.
“Hey, baby. You never come home for lunch? We have some pizza rolls left if you want.” Tinsley carefully breaks free. She comes over and wraps her arms around my neck before giving me a slow kiss.
I look in her eyes, and all I see is the girl I’ve loved for the past few years, without any pain or suffering behind them. She’s making progress, and I’ve slumped back into a crater.
“Hon? Everything all right? You look sick.” Her worried expression makes me want to break and tell her everything. Looking at Shannon, she smiles and shifts her head toward the hallway, giving me the go-ahead.
“Come on. We have a few things to talk about.” With her hand, I lead her into the bedroom and shut the door. Keeping this a secret is going to consume me.
She takes a seat with her legs crisscrossed on the bed. “Liam, what’s going on? Is it Maguire?”
I take a seat next to her and hate that I have to say the next words. “My dad is like Maguire. More specifically, my dad is also Maguire’s dad. We’re half-brothers.”
Tinsley’s face is expressionless at first, but then the tears slowly roll down her cheeks. Her arms come around me and embrace me with love. I take all of her in, kissing her neck as she holds onto me.
When we separate, both of us are crying. “Rick’s sick and twisted too, maybe even more so than Maguire. I had no idea.” Bowing my head, I have no clue how she’s going to react to this news. Hell, I’m not even fully reacting yet. I’m so disgusted with my father. I lived with him for eighteen years and never saw anything more than a jackass workaholic.
“Their actions don’t affect the person you became. You’re a good man, Liam. I know you’re beating yourself up over being related to both of them, but you are not them. Are they taking him into custody?” She moves to settle on my lap, and I gravitate toward her strength.
“How did I not know? About having a brother or how malicious my father is. They’re going to see if they have enough to charge him. Right now, it’s just Maguire’s word.” I lean back and take both of us to a lying position, her weight on top of me. Her sweet scent assaults my senses, and I’m brought back to a simpler thought of just her and me without the chaos around us.
“We should move to a quiet beach. One that doesn’t have any crazies.”
I chuckle, causing her body to move up and down. “There are crazies everywhere.”
She props her head up to look at me. “At least they won’t be related to you. And I swear if Rick passes that gene on to our future kids, I’m going to punch him in the nuts.”
“If we’re her parents, then we’ll make sure she’s the sweetest little princess ever.” I rub her back softly and wish more than anything that I could escape this week and just lock myself in our bedroom and make sweet love to Tinsley. Away from destruction and sadness.
“Wait, what did Maguire say about what Rick did?” she asks the part of the story that I was hoping she’d shy away from.
“He killed Maguire’s mom for her infidelity. Rick saw everyone else’s flaw but failed to see his own. It seems like he’s passed on his hobby and perspective to Maguire, therefore, in lies why we’ve had women go missing long before Maguire came along.” I let out a deep sigh and press my palm to my forming headache.
“Shit.”
“Yep. Super mega shit. So not only did I find out I had a half-brother, but I found out he’s a serial killer with an obsession with my girlfriend, and to top things off, my dad was the one who created the monster. See why I came home for the day?” Looking up at the ceiling, the weight on my chest feels like it’s going to crush me.
I have to be stronger.
“Well, how about I send Shannon home, we order in, and lock ourselves away for the night. Let your guys do some of the legwork, and hopefully, by tomorrow, the burden won’t weigh as heavily on you.” She wiggles on top of me. Looking at her, it sounds like we have more on the agenda than she’s letting on. Nodding my head, I give her a kiss and push her away.
“Get them out of here and then we have a date.” I laugh as she squeals. Climbing off the bed, she hops onto the floor and has a skip in her step as she heads into the living room. I hear Shannon laugh and then the distinct sounds of Shannon and Tinsley picking up the sleeping girls, telling them to go back to sleep when they start to stir. Both women head out to Shannon’s car and I wait impatiently.
A few minutes later, the front door shuts and Tinsley comes bouncing back into the bedroom, taking off her top and shorts as she gets closer.
“I’ve missed you,” she says as she straddles me.
“You’ve been gone maybe two minutes,” I point out. “Did you miss me that much?”
Her seductive grin is enough of an answer for me as she slowly inches her way down my legs and settles between my thighs. After undoing my pants and sliding them down, she pulls my length out of my boxer briefs and uses her hand to rub me up and down. Her tongue brushes over my tip, and she takes me into her warm mouth.
“Fuck that feels good.” I run my hand through her hair as she pays special attention to both my cock and balls. Her strokes are deep and even. Trying to delay my release, I pull her up to me and turn her around so I have access to her wet core and she can continue sucking me.
Her moans send me over the edge. The vibrations of her voice while I’m in her mouth causes me to pulse, coming down the back of her throat. Her moans continue after she’s licked me clean and I can feel her thighs starting to quiver.
She’s close too.
I continue spearing my tongue inside of her while rubbing her throbbing clit. Over and over until she falls apart. Once her moans begin to subside, she collapses beside me, her face still near my crotch.
“Part one of the mission is complete. Now a nap before we go for part two.” She sighs and turns so she’s
cuddling with me now.
“Can’t wait, babe,” I tell her as I start to drift off.
I’m going to marry this girl one day. She’s mine, and I never plan to let her go.
Tinsley
VISITING LIAM’S DAD in jail is surreal.
A businessman who from afar looked like he had everything going for him. It’s when you look under the microscope that you find the infection.
Liam’s taking the new information as well as anyone could. Today, though, is the first day he’s seen his dad since he was charged with the murder of Maguire’s mom and three other women. Dressed in our warmest jackets and boots, we walk hand in hand together up to the gate.
Austin only gets really cold a month or two out of the year. The rest of winter is chilly but bearable. Today is just under freezing, and it’s supposed to start icing tonight and into the weekend.
“You gonna be okay?” I ask, seeing my breath as I speak.
“I make no promises,” Liam responds as we go through security.
“Hey, babe?”
“Yeah.”
“Did you ever tell Rick about your career and all it entails?” I’m suddenly curious.
“I tried to tell him I was a detective, but he called me a pussy and said I was probably holding a desk job while the real men were out risking their lives. After that, I never told him anything else, not even that my death was faked.”
“Huh.” It’s sad how callous of a man Rick is, even to his own family. At least Liam wasn’t like his dad.
I just can’t seem to shake off this feeling of impending doom, so I remain quiet and observe our surroundings.
Thick cinder blocks are painted a dull gray and the walls and flooring are a dusty white. It’s sterile and unwelcoming. We take a seat as requested, and I can’t help my leg from bouncing up and down from nerves.
“It’ll be fine, babe. In and out. Okay?” Liam reassures me and holds my hand on his lap. I know he’s nervous too, but he’s also got anger mixed in with it.
Catalyst Page 13
