Old Bones by Reis Asher

Author:Reis Asher
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: murder-mystery, crime, transgender, gay, detective
Publisher: Reis Asher
Published: 2021-09-30T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

Nick woke to find Roy was gone. He dressed in the faded clothes left at the end of the bed. His smart overcoat looked absurd with them and his ragged sneakers, but he didn't care.

He was quitting anyway. It didn't matter what he looked like. Maybe if he appeared at the station a disheveled mess, Tom would realize the enormity of what he'd asked Nick to do. He'd understand when Nick told him he couldn't pay the price of losing all his friends for one child, a stranger to him.

It felt selfish, and he knew in his heart it was, but he had to draw boundaries somewhere. It was time to stop dreaming of being some great detective and accept that life was a series of compromises. It would be a relief to let it go, finally, and enjoy living a normal life in the company of his friends.

A life in which he knew who was friend or foe.

Franklin's car wasn't at the station when Nick arrived. Just as well. He didn't need a speech from the old detective telling him he was a washout. A failure. Just as Franklin had suspected from the get-go. Nick had confirmed all his biases.

Tom met him behind the double front doors, a frown etched into his face. He looked like he hadn't slept either, and his usual uniform shirt was crumpled. Nick wouldn't have been surprised if it was the same one he'd worn yesterday. His tie had a coffee stain on it, too, and it was hard not to wonder if he'd even gone home last night.

"Come into my office, Nick," he said. His grave tone suggested something was wrong, and combined with his body language and dress, Nick could only assume the worst. He tensed up as he entered Tom's little office and closed the door.

"Where's Franklin?" Nick asked.

"He's gone back to Bangor to get a warrant. He's gonna compel Connor to give that sample." Tom pursed his lips, and Nick couldn't help but wonder if Tom knew something he didn't.

Nick closed his eyes, trying to block out his churning thoughts. This case wasn't his business anymore. "Maybe that's for the best."

Tom slumped into his desk chair. It creaked beneath his weight, threatening to dump him onto the floor. "Maybe it isn't." His words came out defeated, like he'd finally solved the puzzle of two-plus-two, resigning himself to the fact he couldn't make it add up to five.

Still, Tom's change of heart came as a shock to Nick. "You can't honestly suspect your own brother!"

Tom played with a pen, clicking the end of it repeatedly in a nervous tic. "Why not? You do. Roy does. Emily, too. Sabrina and Lily are standing by Connor. This case has caused a rift that won't be easily healed. If he did do it, Lily and Sabrina are going to be devastated, while Emily will feel vindicated. As for you... I don't think you want him to be guilty, but you're running out of excuses to claim otherwise.

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