Page 2 of Hide From Me

I nearly crushed the phone in my hand as I scrolled past numbers I recognized and some I didn’t. Several being politicians, and most of them had a mean streak.

I looked at Zeid who grabbed her bag.

“Yeah, you’ll have to whore her out later. She’s going to stay at our place for a few days.”

Her father’s face darkened, and then he flashed me a rotted, toothy grin.

“Yeah sure. The going rate’s a hundred bucks an hour.”

I flipped him the bird and tossed his phone back while reaching into my pocket.

“The going rate is whatever the fuck anyone will pay. Here’s three hundred to fuck off and buy you two worthless assholes another hit.”

I grabbed Rylee’s arm and yanked her with me. What the fuck was I doing? X and Zeid didn’t say shit as she followed me, shaking but silent. My grandma had raised the three of us, or rather, she had kept us in line. We didn’t have money to burn,not yet, but I sure as fuck wasn’t letting anyone ruin someone like Rylee.

Her mother had gotten out, and maybe it was for the right reason. Maybe it wasn’t, but Rylee had had a chance, and something about that, something about her, made me want to save her.

ONE

rylee

“Look this way, Mr.—”I broke off to look at the paperwork I’d been given. “Mr. Willson.” He looked real familiar.

I clicked the shutter button, and Mr. Willson would forever be frozen in abject horror. Strange, really. To be frozen in a photo forever in your worst position ever.

“It’s like you didn’t even try. Is this your best side?”

I stood from my crouch and walked around the body, careful not to disturb any of the evidence. There wasn’t much around this place that would count for proof. I’d been photographing crime scenes for a few months now. My shiny new college degree hadn’t exactly gotten me where I thought I would go. Which was fine. Strange how I’d been given an out of this city and here I was, back where the echoes of my demons ran rampant.

I snapped another series of photos and looked at the digital screen.

“Nope, that was defiantly your best side.” I snapped another image, this time capturing the brains leaking from the man’s shattered skull.

“You really look familiar. I just can’t place why.” I rapid fired and captured every angle of the pale, sad, and lonely man.

“Oh, my god. It can’t be.”

I pulled the camera away from my face and crouched closer, leaning in so close I could make out the little crow’s feet around his eyes.

“Rylee, unless you’re into necrophilia, get your ass over here and catalog this shit.”

I took one more glance at the dead guy and smirked. “Guess that’s karma for you.”

I waltzed over to the detective on the scene. He liked to give me a whole lot of direction, and I guess he had the right to when he was the one in charge of the crime scene.

I saluted as I stopped in front of Eric Fuller, the detective that I seemed to see more than dead bodies.

“For fuck’s sake. He’s dead. He doesn’t need to have a fucking conversation with anyone. Unless you can get me the name of his killer and motive.”

I shrugged and started to take photos of the scene, careful to get every tag and every little detail. I held the camera close to my face, adjusting the focus, and smirked.

“Motive? I’m guessing it’s the way he propositions women to get their cars fixed.”

The detective cleared his throat, and I turned a side-eye at the guy. He’d stopped whatever it was he did and glanced at the guy and back at me.

“How do you know that? Did you take him out?”

That made me laugh, and I had to stop photographing altogether. I’d need to get a photo of what I think might have been his brains wiped on the doorjamb. I’d have to look at that closer in a second.