The Dark Places by R. Whitfield (novel24 TXT) 📕

the prestigious title, ‘Greatest concentration of drinking establishments in Baltimore,” boasting over one hundred and twenty pubs and taverns. Madison made the trip back to Fell’s Point in April each year to see her family and celebrate the Fell's Point Privateer Festival. The annual weekend-long festival commemorated the privateer and maritime history of Fell's Point, culminating with The Pirate’s Ball, her single favourite night of the year.

She sat still, staring out the window of the much-loved restaurant, Eat Bertha’s Mussels, and tried to piece together what she had discovered. She was finding herself in a precarious position, and to be honest, not one she had ever been in before. Run the story — her personal motto — collateral damage was inconsequential. This time, however, it felt different. She looked over her notes, over the names of the poor girls who had been murdered and let her head fall into her hands. Since when do you have a conscience, she asked herself for the hundredth time that day. Standing, she pushed her laptop and notebook back into her satchel. At that moment, her cell phone began vibrating in her jacket pocket.

“Madison speaking,” she answered, not recognising the number.

“Did you get the files?” the voice asked, not introducing itself.

“Yes, yes, I did, thank you again,” she replied.

“Don’t thank me, you gave me no choice, and you know it.” There was bitterness in the retort.

“Yes, I know,” Madison replied, feeling shame creep up her neck.

“I will not print the article, as promised. It’s already destroyed, and no one else caught it,” she added.

“I won’t hear from you ever again then,” the voice asked desperately.

“You have my word,” she replied.

A deep laugh resonated down the line. “Yeah, like that means anything.”

Madison was going to reply, but the line went dead. Don’t feel bad, she told herself. Information is power, and nobody got hurt. She was about to leave when her phone rang again, this time it was her boss from the paper.

“Yeah?” she answered.

“Have you finished that ‘baby born in car’ story yet?” he asked.

Madison rolled her eyes. “It’s in your email,” she replied sighing, and in that moment, she decided what she was going to do.

“Excellent,” he replied, adding, “are you coming in today?”

“No, actually, you’ll have to manage without me.” She smiled and walked out the door. The little bell above it dinged as she left. “There are two people I really need to talk to.”

***

The mood at Siesta’s was upbeat as always. Out of the corner of his eye, Parker was watching Surin eat nachos. Something was very wrong.

“So, what’s our next step?” he asked her, trying to sound normal. Surin shrugged her shoulders and took a swig of Corona.

“How about another beer?” she replied, a half-smile tugging at her lips.

Parker took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Leaning forward, he grabbed the bottle out of Surin’s hand and placed it on the table.

“Hey!” she protested, grabbing it back.

“What is going on, Elliott?” he asked, his tone serious.

Surin’s face immediately lost all its colour, but she sat back and tried to look nonchalant. “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she replied, her voice steady and measured.

“Bullshit,” he said, leaning back into the padded booth. “You haven’t been yourself since leaving the station last night.” He ran his hand through his hair then tucked a wild strand behind his ear. “We are partners, Elliott, what’s the point of that if there’s no trust between us?”

Surin stared into his eyes, and could not only see frustration but concern, and for the first time in her life, she wanted to tell him everything, which made lying to him even harder. “Nothing’s wrong.” She shrugged. “I dropped the bag off to the hotel and went home, stuffed my face with Chinese and the rest, as they say, is history.” She plastered a fake smile across her face hoping it came across as mildly convincing.

“To be honest, I just don’t feel a hundred per cent. This whole case is taking its toll,” she lied. Parker was watching her intently, trying to work out if she was playing him.

“OK,” he finally said, deciding that it was not the right time to press her. “Sorry, I just, well, you can tell me anything, you know that, right?” he replied.

Surin nodded, telling herself she was doing the right thing. “Same goes with you,” she added.

They both started eating again, this time in comfortable silence. The tension surrounding Surin was slowly dissolving, but her mind drifted back to the chain stored safely inside her car. A coincidence, that’s all, she told herself. Isabelle could have received that from anyone. Her mother is not going to know every piece of jewellery her daughter had ever owned, not to mention the fact that no one in their right mind would tell their parents if they were casually hooking up with someone. She immediately started feeling better. A coincidence, she repeated to herself. She looked up at Parker to apologise for her mood when the smile playing on her lips immediately dissolved.

Madison Brooke was walking over to their booth, a cautious smirk on her face. Surin continued to watch her approach, every sense in her body starting to tingle.

“Detectives,” Madison said carefully, as she reached where they were sitting. Parker leaned back, a look of alarm crossing his features.

“I’ll give it to you, Madison,” Surin said, shaking her head in disbelief, “you’ve got balls.” Parker nodded in agreement.

“I know this is awkward in every sense of the word,” Madison replied, straightening her jacket hem compulsively, “but I do need to talk to you both and believe me you’re going to want to hear what I have to say.”

Surin took a deep breath and looked over to Parker, who she was sure was waiting for