The Perfect Ruse by Blake Pierce

Author:Blake Pierce [Pierce, Blake]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-02-02T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Jessie couldn’t decide what to blame.

Was her exhaustion causing the headache, or was the pounding in her skull making her whole body heavy with weariness?

As she entered her mid-Wilshire house through the side door connected to the garage, she set aside the question and focused on solving the most pressing issue. She moved into the kitchen, poured herself a glass of water, popped an 800mg ibuprofen, swallowed it, chomped down a few crackers to fight off any potential stomach upset, and sat down at the breakfast table to regroup.

The house was quiet. She had assumed that getting home after 7 p.m. that at least Hannah would be home, if not Ryan. But she was the first back. She pulled out her phone and was about to text her sister to see where she was when she heard a car pull up out front. A few seconds later, the front door opened, and Hannah walked through.

“Hey,” Jessie said, “how are you?”

“Okay,” Hannah said, looking pretty tired herself. “You?”

“Long day. Kat didn’t want to stop in?”

Hannah shook her head. “That wasn’t her. I took a rideshare back,” she said. “Our supposed cheater is taking his wife to the symphony tonight, so Kat said she’d tail him back to his house and I could skip out.”

“Oh,” Jessie said, getting the odd sense that her sister was leaving something out, but deciding not to pursue it. “So, the phrase ‘supposed cheater’ makes me think today wasn’t the day you captured your guy in a compromising position.”

“If by ‘compromising position,’ you mean capturing him boring his staff as much as he bored me, then yeah, I busted him real good. Otherwise not so much. What about you? How was your day?”

“Our case involves a likely serial killer,” Jessie said, “killing wealthy women alone in their Hancock Park homes. Somehow getting access to their alarm security codes. All our leads so far are dead ends. So, not the best day.”

“What about your head?” Hannah asked. “You’re squinting when you talk.”

“So?”

“You squint when the headaches get really bad,” Hannah noted. “Also, you never turned on the light in the kitchen.”

Jessie quietly noted her sister’s improving skills at observation, even if they were being used on her. “I didn’t realize the thing about the squinting,” she conceded. “I’m hoping it’s just the day catching up with me.”

“Did you have any issues with memory or confusion?” Hannah pressed.

“I don’t remember having any,” Jessie said, trying to smile, “but then again, if I was having issues, I guess I wouldn’t remember them.”

“That’s not as funny as you think it is,” Hannah said.

Jessie shrugged and sighed heavily, not sure what topics were on or off the table. “The second victim today was a mom,” she said quietly. “She had a little boy and a girl. I met them both. When I saw them, and how they’re going to grow up without a parent, I couldn’t help but think about Callum Reid, about his kids. It made me—”

“I’m sorry but I can’t,” Hannah interrupted, her eyes welling up with tears.

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