The Drifter

C H A P T E R 5 0

C H A P T E R  F I F T Y
Curiosity Killed the Cat...

My phone's GPS had been shut off since the failed search party.

Later that evening, Aunt Mia had returned and she was caught up to speed by Arianna and I. Aidan received an enigmatic phone call and had to rush to the new premises of Blake Industries. But that was when Aunt Mia confessed she had been invited out with some friends for a sophisticated meal and drinks that evening, biting her lip in contemplation as she considered declining the invitation once I announced about the search party. It was called off earlier, finishing at seven, once I'd called Detective Larkins again and they sent a car around to us and to ultimately seize Marley's signature black bow.

They cautiously placed the bow into an official exhibit bag ready for analysis, nodding at us gravely before driving off again. That left the three of us, and with Arianna paling even more, she discarded her almost-full bottle of water. I was starting to regret the chocolate bar, also, but I hadn't foreseen the probability of being stalked and finding Marley's bow.

"I can't go out while you two are here alone," Aunt Mia protested once we'd run through the entire story. She'd already asked how I'd been when I stayed the night at Aidan's last night.

Arianna kept her eyes on me for longer than I thought necessary at that point, causing my cheeks and neck to flush furiously.

"We'll be fine, Mia," Arianna replied. "Detective Larkins has decided to keep the security outside so we'll be fine."

I thought against confessing that someone had broken in to the house while I'd been at Aidan's, not wanting her to lose sleep with worry. She seemed to be safe, after all.

That was probably a stupid move on my part, huh? Someone was potentially after me and I was keeping a break-in a secret against my legal guardian. Real smart, Addison. Real fucking smart.

So five minutes after Aunt Mia had left, dolling herself up and donning a classy cocktail dress, I was yanking down the makeshift staircase to the attic. Arianna was hesitantly waiting behind me, wrapping her arms around her chest. She eyed me as I placed the stairs on the ground, and I knew she was waiting for me to go first. I did so and she begrudgingly followed.

"I've never liked attics," she confessed. "Why are we even going up here?"

Right. You don't even know my thought process at this point. Sorry. I'll explain.

"How have all the girls died so far?" I asked her, locating a light switch on the wall so Arianna could see what she was doing as she approached.

"Overdose of morphine."

"And the guys?"

"Dave had morphine in his system, but it didn't kill him. He was stabbed. And... Robbie, too. I read it in an article earlier this morning. That's why there was loads of blood on him when you found him. He had morphine in his system, but it wasn't the cause of death."

It hurt her too much to mention Nate's name but I understood. I nodded at her, settling myself on the hard ground of my attic and gestured for me to take an uncomfortable seat opposite me.

As she did, I praised, "Exactly. And the stabbing reminds me of my parents. They were stabbed too. I know there's absolutely no way these crimes connect, but it's nagging at me. It's like I have a constant itch and I can't reach it. It's infuriating," I breathed, dragging a large cardboard box between us, followed by a second and then a third. "And these three boxes contain details about my parents. I looked at a few things when I was younger with Aunt Mia, but she was controlling about which items I looked at. I've never felt safe doing it again, but I need to now."