Valerie Law Mystery 07-No Refuge by Pierce Blake

Author:Pierce, Blake [Pierce, Blake]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Suspense, American Suspense, Police Procedural, Crime Thriller, FBI, Murder Investigation, Serial Killer
Publisher: UNKNOWN
Published: 2023-04-06T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Charlie and Will drove off in a hurry. The engine roared as they sped down the street, cutting corners and mounting sidewalks if there was a chance to get ahead.

Will glanced over at Charlie with concern. He had never seen him drive so recklessly before, but he knew that Charlie was just trying to do his best with the situation.

"Hey, slow down!" Will shouted above the noise of the car engine. "You're going too fast!"

Charlie glanced back at Will in surprise, then quickly looked back at the road. He slammed on the brakes and pulled over to the side of the street, narrowly avoiding a collision with an oncoming bus.

He sighed heavily and put his head against the steering wheel for a moment before turning around to face Will again. "I'm sorry," he said softly. "I just want to find Masley as soon as possible."

Will nodded in understanding, feeling relieved that Charlie had finally come to his senses and stopped driving so dangerously.

"I understand, Charlie," Will said. "You really think he's going to go after Valerie if he knows she's here?"

Charlie sighed, looking at the wheel. "I have a bad feeling, Will. It's like ... something back on one of my tours in Afghanistan. Sometimes you'd go out and you could feel it almost in the air."

"Feel what?" Will inquired.

"Death."

Will looked at Charlie for a few seconds, then shook his head. "We're all under a lot of stress right now," he said. "The worst thing we can do is rush into things without thinking."

"I know, I know," he said. "It's just ... last night, I was looking through some of Valerie's old notes on Masley that she gave me. And it just hit me. The Child."

"Ah, yes," Will said. It was starting to make sense to him now. He'd observed Charlie since they had arrived at Billings, and he knew that something was bothering him. "The voice in Masley's head that he talked about after his arrest. The Child converses with him."

"It's his conscience," Charlie added. "It's the piece of him that's been pushed so far down that it struggles to speak to him when he's going to do something terrible."

Charlie put his foot on the gas and started driving again.

"And this idea of the Child, it upsets you?" Will asked as they turned around a street corner on their way to Mason's Avenue where someone had been attacked.

"Do you think ..." Charlie hesitated. "It doesn't matter ..."

"Charlie," Will said in a calm voice, "you can talk to me about anything, and it's best to get it off of your chest."

"Do you think," repeated Charlie, "that a kid can have that good part of them, and then ... it gets pushed away by life? He ends up repressing it with something worse? A ... a darkness or a bitterness? Maybe brought on by a traumatic event."

"Charlie," Will said, "are you talking about Masley's split personality, manifesting partially as a conscientious child, or are we talking about your son, Richard?"

"Yeah .

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