Ashes in the Dark by Ally Vance

Author:Ally Vance [Vance, Ally]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-07-26T23:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER EIGHT

Standing on the cliff edge, I look out at the dark ocean and listen to the methodic pounding of waves crashing over the rocks at the bottom. It’s a beautiful spot, but there’s a lifelessness here that makes it perfect for my mystery lover and my mom. Unsealing the ziplock bag, I tip it upside down over the edge of the cliff and let the breeze carry the ashes away.

There’s not much else to do, other than sit quietly and listen. I don’t get to see, smell, or hear the ocean often, not with living so far inland, that I want to take a moment to enjoy it. Nature is beautiful, which is probably why I find so much of it in death, no matter the cause. We are all destined for the same fate, it’s only a question of when and where we will meet it. Will it be at the hands of another, an illness, or quietly slipping away during the night?

Watching and admiring death is one thing, but being the cause of it is another, and one I’ve no intention of crossing the boundaries of. Even if I were, the risk would be too great, and could implicate not only myself, but Zach, if I were caught. How I choose to pursue women is risky enough, without adding murdering them to do it to my list. I don’t think I could take another human life, not even for the sake of finding love.

Once I feel like I’ve spent enough time in my mom’s final resting place, I get to my feet and head back to my car, which I left parked a short walk away from the cliff top tree. No sense in leaving tire tracks behind after taking so much care to leave little trace of me behind, only to have it all be for nothing. I may not be as thorough or reckless as Zach, but I’ve seen enough crime shows to know what not to do, and the most important lesson is not to murder anyone to begin with.

As I’m driving home, I find myself diverting from my usual route and heading toward Zach’s house. Under the cover of darkness, I may be able to catch a glimpse of Violet without drawing attention to myself. Although I’m sure it would be easier to just knock. If he’s in and not sleeping, then he’s probably dealing with the aftermath of his nocturnal activities. Either way, he certainly won’t want a midnight visitor disturbing him.

I don’t know where he’s keeping her, but last I knew she had free rein to wander the house. Why, after so many years of dabbling in death and pursuing relationships with no future other than burial, am I suddenly finding a living and breathing woman so appealing? I’ve spent the past few months since we’ve met agonizing over exactly that. She’s gotten me all twisted up inside, and I can’t decide whether I want her alive or dead, or both, just to experience everything she could give me.

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