Skullduggery {sapphic thriller}

CHAPTER SEVEN

For the rest of the walk, we were silent, just the sound of our heels tapping the wet sidewalk echoed back and forth in conversation between us. The crisp autumn air was just cold enough that I could feel the heat coming off Desirae as she walked next to me. I could tell she was somewhere deep inside her head. She had this focus about her. It was intimidating, but attractive all the same.

Even if she was a cop.

No wonder she'd been so adamant about not seeing me again after tonight. At least now I had a little more context as to why. With her looking into the Cassini family, we'd both be smart to say our goodbyes after tonight. As much as I'd love to sit back and watch their empire crumble, I wasn't about to risk my own ass to see it happen.

"I'm right up there." Desirae nodded ahead. "Fourth floor."

As I looked up, I was surprised to see her gesture towards the old brick projects where I had lived off and on as a kid, then more surprised to see the building looked completely renovated to match the rest of the gentrified residential developments downtown.

"Wow, they actually installed fire escapes. And functional balconies?" I peered down the alley and followed the cast iron stairs up to the top fourth floor. "When I lived here with my mom, this building was ready to collapse."

"You can thank your ex," Desirae said as she slipped around to the front of the building.

"Artie?"

"The Cassini's own most of the property from here to the marina now."

"Good to know..." I mumbled, discreetly trying to search the building's eaves for cameras.

Desirae punched a code into a panel along the building and the glass door swung open in front of us. Overhead, the lights automatically flicked on. Clean, white walls surrounded us as we walked in. No cracks or punched holes in the drywall. No piss stains on the carpet. No carpet, actually. Smooth gray-washed flooring filled the foyer. It almost felt sterile. As the elevator chimed, I followed Desirae into the car, trying not to gawk at it all as the doors closed in front of us.

She was one of four apartments on the top floor that took up each corner of the building. Inside, her place mirrored the same open, clean aesthetic as the foyer. Sleek gray cabinets in the kitchen and a marbled granite island with three stools split the living space. I ran my fingers down the arm of a white plush couch that stretched the back wall as I walked over to the wide panel of windows that faced the bay. A sliding glass door stepped out onto the wrap-around balcony. Tidy bookshelves and a mid-century modern desk filled the far corner where I recognized some of Desirae's anatomical artwork hanging.

"I wouldn't wander too close," she warned. "I think I left Amelia hanging out."

And as I glanced down at her desk, I saw why Amelia came with a warning. My heart spiked at a photograph of a decomposing face with an exposed skull. I quickly turned back towards the windows, trying to shake the peeling flesh from my mind, but it took me right back to Gabriel and I could smell those chemicals again.

"How do you do it?" I shuddered, hugging my elbows to my sides. "Take this stuff home with you? Don't you want a break from it?"

"Families of missing loved ones don't really get that privilege. They don't get any real sense of closure until they're reunited with the remains." Her fingers went to her necklace again as she spun the wedding band. "I do it for them."

"Sure, but what do you do for yourself?"

"I—" She let the band fall to her chest as her eyes narrowed on me. "Why don't you take a seat."

"All work and no play makes Special Agent—what was it, Venus?" I arched my brows, watching her glare soften. "A dull girl..." She turned her back to me, tapping the kitchen faucet to rinse a couple glasses. "Venus indeed," I said behind the sound of the water.