BURDEN OF AN ANCIENT OATH by Joshua Brown (early reader books TXT) 📕

time we worked together.” I gave him a wink. “I don’t want you to feel inferior.”

He laughed, raising his glass up to mine.

“Inferior? That would mean I had something over you at some point. And we all know you’re the brains of these operations.”

“Then how can I say no to your offer?” I asked, clinking glasses with Jack. “Let’s kick ass and take names.”

“Jack!?” I heard the sudden call come from behind.

The door swung open with Aaron Hart standing in it. He was out of breath, but the second he saw me, his eyes went wide.

“Gwen? Holy hell, good to see you again,” he said, but before I had the chance to reply, he continued. “But I really need to talk to Jack about something. It’s about a case we’re working on.”

“Gwen’s going to be helping out. We can chat about it together,” Jack replied.

“Right, good, because what I’ve found is something big. And it doesn’t look good…” Aaron’s grim tone set the tone for what was going to come next.

And where I was happy to hear there was some kind of headway on this seemingly impossible case, it pained me not to get a few more minutes alone with Jack Mercer.

Chapter 7

Jack

How surprising it was to be standing beside Gwen Sullivan, ready to tackle another case. Though we were both in the midst of what seemed to be an impossible case, I had to find joys in the little things. She wasn’t the kind to ask for help, no matter the task—nor was I. So, to think that when she got so stumped, I was the person to call, brought a smile to my face.

That didn’t stop the case from taking a turn for the worst with her introduction. Now, there were two—a brother and a sister locked in a battle for survival. The chances of either knowing the other existed was near-impossible, I thought. Had Spencer Crossley known anything about his sister, Gwen would’ve heard about it.

So, what then? The idea that they were twins sparked in my head. Both too young to remember, but Spencer could’ve been in his toddler years and still not recalled his youth and a sibling. She was a phantom part of his life, gone before she ever really existed. Now, years later, they were going to be brought together by this terrible tragedy.

The parents were my biggest concern. From everything I heard and all Aaron’s searching, mother and father Crossley never existed to begin with. At least, until now, I suspected. He had to have had something to barge into the building, out of breath and excited to spill some news.

All these thoughts struck me at once while I followed him from my office back to his work station just outside. Lauren came too without an invitation, but she never really needed one for anything anyway. She was always the pillar of the Mercer Detective Agency—both Aaron and I knew it.

Gwen walked in front of me, her hips swaying with every step. Five years was a long time, but she never managed to lose her figure. It was pristine, perfect almost, only enhanced by her beautiful green eyes, rosy cheeks, and auburn hair. Even from behind, and without having to see, I knew she had an almost gleeful grin on her face. She knew I’d be looking; that’s why she put on a show with each step.

Our history, for whatever it was, made way for a strong relationship. We were lovers once, partners in crime (fighting against it, rather), and the best of friends the world could imagine. If I was a simpler man, I’d have asked her to marry me. And if Gwen was a simpler woman, she’d have said yes.

Now wasn’t the time for those thoughts, I considered, shaking them aside and getting back to the matter at hand.

“So, what do you have for us, Aaron? The suspense is literally killing me,” I said, watching him collapse into his chair.

“Figuratively,” Gwen replied, trying to point out my mistake.

“No, I meant literally,” I teased as she looked over her shoulder.

“I’ve been doing some digging into this little problem,” Aaron cut in, trying to keep it purely business. “And what I found is an extremely sinister past for the Crossley family.”

Gwen, Lauren, and I huddled around Aaron as he typed away at the computer, bringing up a single newspaper article from decades prior. Enhancing the image, zooming in to the exact article he was looking for, he gave us all some time to read it while he spoke.

“Turns out the Crossley family was slaughtered in their home all the way back in 1982. The funny thing is, with such a big story, you’d think there would be more about it, right? That the city would be up in arms about a family being killed and only two kids getting out of it alive? But that’s the thing… it completely vanished after this article. I couldn’t find anything else. It’s like this was swept under the rug completely.”

The article read of the Crossley family, Orlando and Jill, that were killed in their home on one late September night. There were no details about why it happened or who could’ve done it, but spoke of the abandoned children, Marilyn and Spencer. It did, however, mention that the family received threatening letters before the slaughter. A statement put out by then-police chief, Marty O’Brian, spoke of how the couple came to the station, but there was little to go on. The Crossley family received police protection for the better part of two months, with no further signs of anyone coming after them.

The murders happened just a few days after the police protection dispersed.

“What the hell?” the words left my lips without thinking. “So, you’re telling me that this all happened, and it was just brushed away like