Page 90 of The Guy Next Door
Leif and Isit in the reception area at the station.
I’m still reeling in emotion.
My grief has flared up along with my anger, but it’s all muddled in a confusing mix after my chat over the phone with Detective Roth.
“Come to the station. I’ll explain everything. It’s not Mike.”
Even after hearing those words, it’s not enough to console me, and I can tell Leif’s on edge as he sits, scrolling through his phone.
Along with the other emotions that have taken over my body, there’s the guilt that I just ruined what was a lovely date with my boyfriend.
“I’m sorry,” I tell him.
He looks up from his phone. “You don’t have to keep apologizing.”
Do I keep apologizing? I barely remember how we even got to the station, so maybe I have.
“This is a big deal,” he adds. “It’s okay to be worked up.”
There’s aclickof heels, and Roth rounds the corner, running her hand through her bangs before catching my eye. Her gaze shifts, and she notices Leif.
A part of me is like,Fuck, but with what I went through at the Nights of Lights, I don’t really give a damn.
“I’m gonna see if I can bring you with us,” I tell Leif, then approach her and ask.
Her gaze wavers. “Zane, no. Not for this. And I think we need to have a chat.”
I turn back to Leif, shaking my head, and he nods.
Roth doesn’t say more. She guides me through the building until we’re in her office. But the moment she shuts the door, she lays into me, “What the hell is going on, Zane?”
“I’m freaking the fuck out right now, that’s what’s going on.”
She paces toward her desk, then spins back around to me.
“I need to know what makes you so confident that body isn’t my brother.”
“Do you think I’m an idiot? I’ve met that kid. And I know why you really reached out to him, so what is he doing in my office?”
“That kid is my boyfriend.”
She puts her hand to her forehead. “Why do I feel a migraine coming on?”
Fine by me after the stress she put me through.
“Roth, my brother,” I press.
She searches around the room, like she’s sifting through so many thoughts that she doesn’t know what to address first.
“Couldn’t have given me a heads-up?” I ask, hoping she’ll focus on why I’m here.
“I was told it wasn’t going to print until tomorrow. I thought I had time. But apparently, someone in the department wanted this information out, for whatever messed-up reason, and now here we are.”
“But there’s still a body you thought at some point might be Mike, which for all I know right nowisMike.”
She closes her eyes and takes a measured breath. “When we found the body, there were identifying features that lined up with Jason Kilbourne, not your brother, which is why I didn’t reach out. We’ve been waiting for confirmation.”
“Then why the hell didn’t you let me know right then? I told you that case was connected.”