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

Parker watched the scenery flash past as they sat in silence. North East had a population of three thousand five hundred and seventy-two, and he felt like he had already seen at least three thousand, of them. The town was truly alive — families walking down the street with their dogs, bike riders ringing their bells, everyone smiling and soaking up the amazing sun. He glanced at Surin, noticing the fine lines of tension increase around her eyes as she drove.

“So, your thoughts on where to begin?” he asked casually. Surin shrugged.

“Well, I guess we’ll need to start with what led us here.”

Parker shifted in his seat. “Your ex-boyfriend then?” he suggested innocently, trying to masquerade his curiosity.

Surin snorted. “Geez, you make it sound like we just broke up.” She signalled to turn off the main road and pulled into a parking lot surrounded by well-maintained gardens. “I was eighteen and a totally different person. It was literally a lifetime ago,” she finished and turned off the engine. They sat in silence for a few minutes. “It didn’t end well, Parker.” She reached behind him and grabbed the files off the back seat to look at over lunch.

“I broke up with him and basically left town. I haven’t seen or heard from him or his family since.”

Parker nodded.

“They probably won’t even remember who I am,” she mumbled, and he smirked.

“I find that hard to believe, Elliott,” he said.

Surin looked over and smiled shyly. “You’re thinking of me in the cheerleading outfit again, aren’t you?”

Parker laughed. “Yes, yes, I am.”

Surin shook her head. “I am never going to live that down.”

They got out of the car and walked together into the restaurant. Surin chose a table in the far back corner that faced the entrance. She sat down and laid the files out in order. Parker took the seat directly across from her and took out his notebook.

“Let’s review the order chronologically,” he began, “starting with when you and your jock split.”

Surin looked up at him. “Eamon Sutherland,” she said. “His name was Eamon Sutherland.”

“E,” Parker confirmed. Surin nodded without reply.

The waitress approached them with an open smile. They ordered burgers and beers and waited for her to leave before continuing.

“We split right at the end of senior year,” she began and shifted uncomfortably in her chair. “So that would be 1998.”

Parker made notes. “Then, if it began like we think, Emma Silverman was his first,” he said.

“She was his first,” Surin confirmed. She was, without a doubt. “She was a nineteen-year-old waitress from Annapolis.” She took a swig of her beer as soon as the chirpy waitress set them on the table. Parker did the same, resting his pen on the side plate.

“That was in 2007?” he asked, even though he knew the answer.

“Yes,” Surin mumbled, preoccupied with her own thoughts.

Parker pushed on. “What were you doing then?”

Surin’s head tilted as she looked at him questionably. “What do you mean?” she asked.

“We’re trying to establish if you’re connected to this, Elliott.” She looked away again. “I’m not trying to be a nosy bastard,” he added with a grin.

She shook her head. “Fuck, I know, sorry, Rhodes,” she said, running her hands through her hair, sighing. “This is just, I mean this has to be impossible, right?” she added, a hint of desperation in her voice.

“I hope so,” Parker replied, “but humour me, OK?”

Surin nodded. “OK, 2007? The only thing that stands out is my brother’s wedding,” she said.

Parker picked his pen up and nodded for her to go on.

“It was the first time I had come home since taking off to college after high school.” She sat back in her chair, looking at Parker.

“It’s possible that was the first time Eamon had seen you since you broke up with him nine years earlier?”

Surin threw her hands in the air., “This is fucking ridiculous,” but she continued, “Yes, it was the first time I had come home. I stayed here for literally seven hours and then left. I can’t even remember if I saw him.” Parker began scribbling into his book. Surin reached over and grabbed his hand.

“Talk to me please, you know I can’t stand it when you do that.” Parker stopped writing and tried not to notice that she was still touching him.

“Sorry,” he said meekly. She withdrew her hand immediately, but his skin felt like it was on fire.

Surin continued, “Tell me what you’re thinking.”

Parker took a deep breath. “OK, I think that maybe seeing you after all that time was what started it all.”

Surin just stared at him, not saying a word. She opened her mouth and then closed it again. “You can’t be serious,” she said finally. “That’s a major leap you’ve taken there, Parker,” she added, as two ginormous burgers were placed in front of them.

“Y’all enjoy,” the waitress chirped as she walked away, her shapely hips swaying from side to side.

Parker picked his up with two hands and forced an impossibly large bite into his mouth. “This is pretty good!” he managed, looking at Surin, who hadn’t touched her grilled chicken. “Eat,” he said sternly. Surin rolled her eyes and had a small bite.

“I used to eat here with my friends on a Friday night,” she said. “It was like, you know, the place to be.” Her hands made invisible quotation signs in the air. Parker nodded and washed his final bite down with a swig of beer.

“You eat, I’ll write,” he said. “I think it might be easier if I call out the dates of the murders and then you say the first thing that pops into your head from your own life at the same time.” Surin nodded and had another bite of her burger. “If there is a pattern, it’ll